Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Movie Review: Visioneers Starring Zach Galifianakis (Man Vs. Office Culture Continues)
Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Thirty minutes into Visioneers—a high concept indie dramedy that is, well, brand new to the public—I was consumed by the thought that I, most likely, will never see the movie for sale in a really choice record store. (Don’t worry, this movie review will not serve as a wistful rant on the music industry courtesy of a wannabe Nick Hornby or Chuck Klosterman.) The realization got me down for a half-a-second. Nevertheless, calling Visioneers a “prized would-be staple of the ‘choice record store movie genre’” is a tidy complement that sums up how I feel about it.
In the mid/late ‘90s and early ‘00s, one could find a softly-curated section of DVDs in many independent record stores. Browsing the small selection was a welcome, habitual cool-down after hours spent listening to and considering albums. Generally, the selection amounted to: concert films like Ziggy Stardust, The Show, and Bill Hicks Live. Drug movies like Easy Rider and Neco z Alenky. Godzillas. Tromas. “OG”-flicks like New Jack City and Fresh. Usually a movie starring Natasha Lyonne that wasn’t American Pie. Docs like Grey Gardens and The Corporation. And odd movies starring great comedians like The Magic Christian and The Razor’s Edge. Right, Visioneers would be bunched in with those two.
Of course, “cult movies” is a broad umbrella term for these films, then and especially now, but their location under a roof housing infinite great music birthed the silent notion that the works belonged to a cinematic family. The odd symbiotic relationship is perhaps why the DVDs were rarely purchased; another reason is that, while the DVDs were new, the hands of countless gross nerds, junkies, and patchouli weirdos had flipped them over in states of blank studiousness and after many months of this they felt second-hand. Yet another reason is that most of the diehard culture addicts were shopping for music and…had already seen the majority of these films multiple times.
Watchmen’s Maximum Movie Mode Could Be The Best Blu-Ray Special Feature Yet
Posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
One of my many complaints about Blu-Ray is that the movie studios have yet to embrace the format and create some cool extra features using the new technology. Disney has done it right in the past. The visual commentary of the Pixar discs is amazing. Today I came across this video preview from the Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-Ray which shows the Maxium Movie Mode, and I have to say — this might be the coolest Blu-ray feature yet.
Director Zack Snyder actually comes on screen and hosts an incredibly indepth look at the film, complete with behind the scenes footage, comic to film comparisons, history timelines, trivia, and much more. From this clip alone, it appears like it could be the best Blu-Ray feature I’ve seen thus far, offering a lot more than the usual audio or visual commentary tracks. Now if Warner Bros would quit producing those worthless Blu-ray mini-books, and instead start creating more special features like this for their future releases… Watch a video preview after the jump.
Zack Snyder Watch: Watchmen Director’s Cut, Sucker Punch and 300 Follow-Up
Posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
Zack Snyder did promotion yesterday for the Blu-Ray release of Watchmen, and quite a few small tidbits of news came out of his various interviews. He talked about the theatrical release of the Watchmen Director’s Cut, which will hit four theatres, the future of his next film Sucker Punch, a possible follow-up to 300 and more. Read More »
Some people have pointed out that The Hangover could be looked at as a spiritual sequel to one of director Todd Phillips‘ previously released comedies, Road Trip. I mention this because a sequel to Road Trip is not only in the works, but its been shot, edited, and will be released in August. Of course, I’m talking about one of those crappy DVD spin-off sequels.
Road Trip II: Beer Pong is directed by Steve Rash, the same guy who directed Son in Law and recently found a consistent paycheck directing a series of direct-to-dvd sequels fr the American Pie and Bring it On series. Of course, the previously mentioned Todd Phillips has no involvement in this cash grab, and DJ Qualls (The New Guy) seems to be the only original cast member to return. What, Tom Green wasn’t available? Watch the terribly unfunny trailer, after the jump.
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Slumdog Millionaire Deleted Scene: Prem Visits the Police Station
Posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Fox Searchlight has provided us with a deleted scene from Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire to promote the UK DVD release on June 1st 2009. The scene, which can be viewed after the jump, features Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), host of the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, visiting the police station where Jamel (Dev Patel) is being interrogated.
Stupid: Watchmen Blu-Ray Connects To Your Facebook Friends
Posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Warner Home Video has announced that Watchmen will be released on DVD and Blu-ray simultaneously in late July, either July 21st or July 28th, to coincide with San Diego Comic-Con International.
Warner Bros is really proud that the Director’s Cut Blu-ray will include a feature which will allow you to view the film simultaneously and share comments with your Facebook friends. It might have been cool if you could somehow host a screening online for your friends, but everyone needs to own the Blu-ray for the “viewing party” to work. And Hollywood wonders why Blu-Ray isn’t selling as well as they had hoped.
McG Explains Terminator Salvation Alternative Ending, Claims 30+ Minutes of Deleted Scenes
Posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
McG tells our friends at Collider that the Terminator Salvation DVD will likely have 30 to 40 minutes of deleted scenes. We know about the now infamous Moon Bloodgood topless scene, and after the jump, we’ll talk about the alternative ending, but McG also says “There are great long takes of Connor giving speeches, evoking Sarah Connor that we ultimately lifted because I didn’t want it to feel that he was dependent on the voice of his mother to find his leadership.”
Remember how McG said a few months back that the ending of the film would polarize fans? Well apparently that ending is no longer in the film.
Disney Follows Fox in Removing Bonus Features From Rental DVDs
Posted on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
In Mach, 20th Century Fox announced plans to strip rental DVDs of special features like commentaries and featurettes, in what David Chen called “a horrendously misguided attempt to spur retail DVD sales.” I quote Dave because I agree with him 100%. And in Hollywood, stupid ideas become viral.
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Cool Stuff: Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
Posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Universal has announced and released the box art for Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series, which hits DVD store shelves on July 28th. Amazon has the DVD set available for preorder for $167.99 and the Blu-ray set for $244.99.
IFFBoston EXCLUSIVE: Director Paul Solet Reveals Details About Grace’s Future DVD Release
Posted on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 by David Chen
Horror fanatics among you might have already heard about Paul Solet’s audacious debut film, Grace, which has been generating obscene amounts of buzz on the festival circuit (screenings of the film have reportedly even resulted in some people fainting). Last night, I saw the film at a packed midnight screening at the Brattle Theater as part of Independent Film Festival Boston and found the overall experience to be exciting and tense. Those of you hankering for a horror film that will make you deeply uncomfortable have a lot to look forward to in this film. While the movie’s theatrical prospects currently remain unclear, I had the privilege to chat with Paul this afternoon about the future DVD release of his film. Look for a brief review of Grace and my full video interview with Paul in the near future. In the meantime, hit the jump for some details that he revealed about the future DVD release for the film.
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Warner Bros. Launches Red2Blu Program, Offers Blu-Ray Copies of HD-DVDs You Own (For a Small Fee)
Posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 by David Chen
Tell me if this describes you: When Toshiba and Sony were going at each other during the great format war of HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, you placed your bets on HD-DVD, the cheaper, more sensible option. Then, you watched in horror as the tides shifted and Blu-Ray won the day. Since then, you’ve sat idly by, watching others gleefully build up their Blu-Ray collections while you’ve decided not to really indulge in Blu-Ray and vowed never to spend another $30 to buy Batman Begins again.
Well, brother, have I got some good news for you: It seems that Warner Bros. feels your pain, and with the recent launch of their new Red2Blu program, are seeking to bring you back into the fold. They are offering HD-DVD owners an extra Blu-Ray copy of any HD-DVD discs they own in exchange for a small fee per disc ($4.95, plus $6.95 in shipping and handling). Hit the jump for some more details.
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If Battlestar Galactica asked the question “How would humanity survive a holocaust led by our most advanced technology?”, Caprica asks “At what point does our need for progress supplant our humanity?” Even though it’s set a mere 58 years before the events of the Galactica series, Caprica has a startlingly different tone. It makes sense, I suppose, since there are no Cylons hunting humans down to extinction (yet). Instead, Caprica gives us a look at a society on the brink of civilization-changing technological discoveries—with all of the hubris that follows unchecked progress.
For those confused by the release of Caprica, the DVD and digital download being released today is actually an uncut version of the 90-minute pilot. The series proper won’t start airing until early 2010, at which point we’ll also see a more tame version of the pilot aired as well. I’m not sure about the logic in waiting so long to premiere the series—Sci-Fi is aching for new content and BSG is the closest thing they’ve had to a hit in some time. It would make more sense to try and get this on the air by Fall 2009. Then again, this is the same network that spread the release of the fourth Galactica across 2008 and 2009 for no good reason. Read More »
