Sitting down to write this weeks column I had nothing to talk about for an opener, until I went to Wal*mart and picked up a copy of V for Vendetta…
DVDs used to be (and on occasion still is) the format designed for true film loves, from around 1998 to 2001 it was really heaven on earth for film geeks who owned DVD players. With which you could do things like listen to director’s commentaries religiously, before more and more began to just go through the motions. Deleted scenes were treated like special treats, now they’re extended scenes with ten added seconds of silence. We got to see alternate cuts of films the way director’s intended for them to be seen, with their approval, not used as marketing ploys by studios like Sony who will tack on an extra five minutes of old deleted scenes just to move a few million units. But by around 2002 DVD finally broke out as the official format of the masses, and then things went down hill for the people who helped nurture the DVD format to begin with.
Here we are in 2006 and DVDs are being designed for mass appeal, and with studios in that mind set the format made for people who wanted more, are getting less. And if they want what was once the purpose of owning a DVD player then they better pony up the extra cash, because I guess the first taste was free and now we have to pay. Warner Brothers, a studio that has become nearly the standard when it comes to releasing classic films on DVD has just as quickly become the exact opposite role model for treatment of modern films. The way they handle current releases on the format has ranged from carelessly thrown together (which include, at most, a commentary track) to nothing short of price gouging (their two tier method).
Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Constantine, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and V for Vendetta all come as single or double disc releases. They also share the commonality that each release is sure to disappoint anyone who pays for either release. Either they buy the single disc versions and get a wonderful film on DVD but have nothing to watch after the credits roll outside of perhaps a short making of piece. Yet if they fork over an extra ten dollars they’re given the extra material that made DVD’s fun to own in the first place, however the quality of which don’t quite warrant such a large price tag. Making it feel like the content was purposely spread over two discs just to make excuses for charging more.
They say that they offer the two tier format because it helps video rental chains along with customers who only wish to own the film. That’s fine, in fact it’s nice to hear they’re listening to what customers have to say. Too bad they aren’t listening to the outcry from the other side, people who are sick of having to pay an extra ten bucks in order to watch under an hour of bonus material that, some times, isn’t even worth it. But they pay because they love the format, they like having those behind the scenes look at film making, being able to see how movie magic is created, all they’re asking for is a break.
Studios like Universal, Paramount, Dreamworks, and Fox are already taking the same route. Universal goes one step further and makes their two disc sets available for a limited time only, films like Munich, Cinderella Man, and Jarhead are nearly impossible to find within their two disc forms, yet are praised for the level of content in each. The same can be said for Dreamworks War of the Worlds 2-disc DVD set which is also a rare find at retail stores, but covers at great length the films production. Fox now releases their titles as single disc barebone DVD’s and then six months down the line drop fully loaded 2-disc sets, forcing customers to repurchase the unknown re-release a second time (I, Robot, Man on Fire, The Day After Tomorrow), and lets not get started on their Walk the Line, Master and Commander or I Heart Huckabees 2-disc releases.
Many of the above listed DVDs can run you anywhere from $30 to $40 dollars depending on where/if you can find them, while their single disc counterparts all hang around the $15 dollars of less sections. This new concept has become the new widescreen vs. fullscreen, does anybody remember those days? when you had both choices on ONE disc? And then one day there was a forced choice between the two. I remember scoffing at the idea that people would pick up a fullscreen DVD when they began to be offered, now here we are and almost every DVD today is put out in both options. How long until special features take the same road?
Columns
The newest 50 Club is quite possibly our most controversial one to date. We’ve been receiving many emails about what our group of reviewers had to say about the Martin Scorsese masterpiece GoodFellas. Do you think our reviewers gave it a fair shake? You’ll have to read what is sure to be a much talked about edition of The 50 Club.
I thought I was the only person to ever watch Love Stinks, but Matthew Romanada proves me wrong as he chose the film for this weeks Off The Beaten Path. I’m a strong supporter of anything Third Rock From the Sun related and the cast is still doing pretty well after the show. John Lithgow has a new series on FOX starting soon with Jeffrey Tambor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in Brick which comes out on DVD Tuesday and is one of the best films of 2006 so far. But poor French Stewart pretty much drifted off in to obscurity after the series ended.
The latest R0BTRAIN’s Bad Ass Cinema is about The Great Silence, where Rob talks Spaghetti Westerns. Last week’s column was for Clerks, who doesn’t like Clerks?
In this weeks Contradicting Popular Opinion column ML Kennedy takes a look at the film career of M. Night Shyamalan. I won’t lie, I didn’t read that much of it because I”ve yet to see Lady in the Water (which I’m looking forward to) and the column seemed to be going in to spoiler territory. You’ll have to read the column yourself to see exactly what he has to say about the director’s filmography, and what it has to do with CPO. Last week Kennedy talked about The Bourne Identity in his columns one year anniversary. Oddly enough, today is MY one year anniversary with IP. Looking at those What a Tease! columns kinda makes me want to bring it back, hmm…
Reviews
Tom checks out the latest CGI film jam packed with a star studded voice cast, The Ant Bully. It seems strange that they haven’t been promoting this thing at all with a cast that includes Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, Larry Miller and Bruce Campbell.
Scott went to see both Miami Vice and My Super Ex-Girlfriend recently. Miami Vice is still on my “to watch” list, but he seems to have walk away from My Super Ex-Girlfriend much more satisfied than I did.
Travis got a chance to see Who Killed the Electric Car? which takes a look at the short life span of what was considered by many a step in the right direction for a cleaner future.
Michaelangelo has reviews up for both Clerks II and Lady in the Water. His Clerks II review is one of the more honest ones you’ll find on the net. And since I still haven’t seen Lady in the Water, you’ll have to see how he feels about the movie by clicking the link and reading for yourself.
DVD Reviews
22 DVD reviews? Yeah, I’ll be cutting a few corners here…
Rob reviewed Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That!, The Shaggy Dog, and Cello.
McCullar has four reviews including The Sisters, Shogun Assassin, Road House 2, and Road House: Deluxe Edition.
Travis checked out both The Hidden Blade and On a Clear Day.
Noyes Has four reviews up for your reading pleasure, Robert Anton Wilson – Maybe Logic, We Jam Econo: The Story Of The Minutemen, The Garden, and Ladybugs.
Joe Corey took a look at Plunder of the Sun, Will Rogers Collection, Volume 1, and The Benchwarmers.
ML has two this week, Final Destination 3 and The Cavern.
I reviewed What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, along with Grilled.
Sawitz checked out the DVD for Ask the Dust.
And lastly, Hevia has one up for Annapolis.
Features
InsidePulse’s Funniest Film of Our Generation Tournament is still running strong and we’re down to four films. Who will walk away with the title? Ghostbusters? Office Space? Animal House? Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Vote and find out!
Also enter our latest contest for a chance to win a 13 Tzameti Prize Pack!
Around the Pulse
I frequent the Review Section in the Music Zone weekly, and usually discover at least one new album to listen to until the next batch of reviews are posted. From hip-hop to indie, the guys manage to cover a bunch of artists I would have otherwise never known existed were it not for their reviews. My iPod is eternally grateful.
Hatton and Hernandez are without much news for this weeks Rabblecast (#10). But they make up for it by talking about their experience at the recent Raw/Smackdown Super Show.
Who’s Who in the DCU is a mega two parter this week, what on earth could make Mathan and Tim talk so much? Read the column and find out.
I never link to ML’s culture column, Add Homonym Attacks! but I should more often. In the newest column he writes about the Loch Ness monster, so read dammit! I wonder if he’ll ever cover Incident at Loch Ness in Contradicting Popular Opinion some day.
Trent covers the latest Roy Jones Jr. fight which like he says in his opener, I had no clue was even booked let alone took place.
Kevin Wong reviewed the new DVD for Chappelle’s Show: The Lost Episodes which has the few skits Chappelle recorded before fleeing the country. I’ve still yet to watch the second season of this show, making me the last person in America to do so.
News
More DVD shenanigans by Warner
Speaking of Warner Brothers and Harry Potter, the studio has made it known that they plan to pull all of the first four Harry Potter DVD’s off stores shelves by early 2007. Putting them on moratorium with no mention of when they would be made available again. The first three will be made unavailable after December 29th, 2006 with the fourth film following suit on February 9th, 2007. Many are assuming this is Warner hoping to increase sales of the series during the holidays since there will not be a new instalment out for sale at the time, others are wondering if it might be a sign that all four will be making their debut on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. I’ve got to say, this is one serious bone headed mistake by Warner, why would you stop selling Harry Potter merchandise, in any form? The thing generates money with no need for promotions or advertisements and is a billion dollar franchise, why on earth stop that? Unless this is just their way of holding off sale so they can release an ultimate edition once the series is complete and all seven films are made available on DVD in one box set.
Philip K. Dick biopic in the works
There appears to be interest in a film based on the life of author Phillip K. Dick, with Bill Pullman in talks to play the legendary author. Many probably know by now that Dick is the author of such classics that have been adapted to the silver screen including Blade Runner, Minority Report and more recently A Scanner Darkly. The film will be titled Panasonic.
But the biggest thing from this news isn’t in the casting, or even that fact that it’s being made. No, the part that will surely make you wonder who’s exactly makes decisions in Hollywood revolves around the director. Musician Matthew Wilder has been signed on to direct the film, a guy who’s most famous for songs like his 1983 “hit” Break My Stride. Yeah, I have nothing at all to say that could in any way, shape, or form explain that kind of hiring.
It’s hard out here for a Pimp War Machine?
It seems that director Jon Favreau is looking to add Terrence Howard to his cast for the upcoming Iron Man movie. Many believe the role that he’s looking at for Howard is James Rhodes, good friend of Tony Stark who would eventually take the mantle of Iron Man and later become War Machine. Howard has been on a roll with his film career over the past year, and something like this could make him a known name to mainstream audiences. This certainly also opens up the possabilites of what the Iron Man movies could be like if it were set up as a three film story arc with that storyline from the comics. We’ll have to wait and see how this all works out in the coming weeks, but things are looking pretty good for this movie right now.
Benjamin Button finally happening?
After years of the film remaining in Limbo, Brad Pitt has finally committed to star in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Which makes me ecstatic, because I’ve been wanting to see this ever since I first heard the plot and that Pitt and Fincher were looking at it as a great project to re-team on. Which was almost two years ago. He’ll be joined by his Babel co-star Cate Blanchett as his love interest in the film. Written by Eric Roth from a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the drama casts Pitt as a man who hits age 50 and begins aging backward. Complications ensue when he falls in love with a woman of 30. The film will not begin shooting until he finishes his work on the upcoming Ocean’s 13 which is due to start filming soon.
Sequels you were just aching to see
Pink Panther 2 – It seems that Sony Pictures and MGM are moving forward with a sequel to this year’s “The Pink Panther,” hiring newcomers Scott Neustadter and Michael M. Weber to write it says The Hollywood Reporter. The plot for the “Panther” sequel is being kept under wraps, though it has been described as high concept. Robert Simonds returns as the producer, while Steve Martin is on board to reprise his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Is this one going to cost $80 million to make too? I’m shocked that anyone from the cast would WANT to come back after that first one, but I guess we all get to sit through another 90 minutes of poor Peter Sellers impersonations by Steve Martin. And “high concept”? Are you kidding me? Have these writers watched any of the old Pink Panther films?
National Treasure 2 – Director Jon Turteltaub tells the LA Daily News that the sequel to Disney’s 2004 Nicolas Cage hit, National Treasure, will start filming the first of the year. “We are just about to start preproduction,” says Turteltaub. “We’ll have Nic, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight and Harvey Keitel… Everyone’s back except anyone who’s in jail or died.” He adds that the sequel will take our intrepid adventurers to “exciting destinations within America as well as around the world. As we were shooting the first one, it kept changing, so I’m scared to commit to anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Mount Rushmore made an appearance.” Like the first film, Turteltaub co-produces with Jerry Bruckheimer.
Now that The Da Vinci Code movie has come and went, how sad is to look back and realize that National Treasure was the better film?
Aliens Vs. Predators 2 – Fangoria reports that Alien vs. Predator sequel “Alien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest” (new title) starts shooting in Vancouver on September 23 and wraps on December 14: AVP’s Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics, veterans of the first AVP and all the previous ALIEN sequels, will encore on the creature FX. The Shane Salerno script places the battling extraterrestrials on U.S. soil (the Midwest). Colin and Greg Strauss are making their feature directorial debut on the film, opening December 21, 2007.
OK, I’ve found the recurring theme to these sequels, they’re ones that the studios took a risk on, knew they were bombs, but since they made a mint at the box office they’re making more. When will they realize that just because they pull a financially successful film out of their ass, it doesn’t mean they should go and make the same mistake again expecting the same results? Know what made Alien great? The fact it was in space and you were trapped no matter what, same with Predator where in the jungle there were even if you tried running away there was no place to go. Even the first AVP was in a location that was just as dangerous. How on earth will this be interesting based in the midwest?
Rambo IV – While the film doesn’t have a domestic distributor yet, Rambo IV is expected to start filming October 1 in Thailand. Stallone said he called Soldier of Fortune magazine to get their opinion on who Rambo should face next and asked, “‘What is the most critical man-doing-inhumanity-to-man situation right now in the world? Where is it?'” The answer was Burma. He has written a first draft of the script with Art Monterastelli (The Hunted), which finds Rambo living a monastic lifestyle in Bangkok and salvaging old PT boats and tanks for scrap metal. When a group of volunteers bringing supplies into Burma disappears, a relative of one of the missing missionaries begs Rambo to find them. Rambo then heads off with a team of young guns to find the relative.
Can’t we just set up a Sylvester Stalone fund raiser instead of having to watch either this or Rocky Balboa?
Day of the Dead – The remake stars: Mena Suvari (American Beauty), Ving Rhames (Dawn of the Dead), and Nick Cannon (Drumline). Steve Miner (Halloween H20, Lake Placid) will direct the film. Jeffery Reddick (Final Destination) has penned the script. In this terrifying remake of the George Romero classic, a group of scientists, military personnel and civilians find themselves battling for their lives against a plague of flesh eating ghouls. When a band of survivors seek shelter in an underground military bunker, they find themselves trapped with an even greater danger that lurks inside.
Granted, this isn’t so much a “sequel” as it is a remake of a sequel but I figured why not throw it in with all the other suck. Romero must really love that fact that much like the Dawn remake, this will more than likely make at least double what Land of the Dead pulled in. Steve Minor directed the second and third Friday the 13th instalments along with Halloween H20, so the guy has a background in horror. Casting however is awful, but that hasn’t stopped any of the recent horror flicks from fairing well at the cinema.
Live Free or Die Hard – The film features John McClane attempting to stop a techno-terrorist from shutting down the nation’s computer systems on the Fourth of July. McClane enlists the help of either his son, or a computer hacker to help him take down the terrorists. The story takes place around Washington, D.C., and will be directed by Underworld: Evolution filmmaker Len Wiseman.
Lets go back to the title first, Live Free or Die Hard. Anyone else think that the person who came up with that was stuck in traffic behind a guys from New Hampshire? The only returning character will be McClane, so I guess his marriage has fallen to pieces by this point. If he needs the help of someone else to solve the thing, why not drop the McClane character and just rename the movie something else and make this in to something slightly more original.
Let’s not get started on the fact that this thing is being directed by the Underworld guy either.
Hellboy 2 – In a script by del Toro, Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, the humanoid creature born in the flames of hell who was deposited on Earth’s doorstep as an infant and battles otherworldly evil for a covert government agency. Selma Blair returns as the horned hero’s pyrokinetic love interest. Production starts in April in Budapest and London. With Revolution out of business, the sequel became available and Universal slotted it for summer 2008.
Hellboy was one of my favorite films of 2004, which I believe I’ve said before somewhere around here. And when Revolution went belly up and Del Toro was being talked in to doing Halo, I was wondering if H2 would be stuck in development hell forever. Now it seems that everything is in motion and most of the cast will be returning. Sweet.
Kevin Smith sure does compain about complaints a lot
After Kevins Smith’s recent bout with film critic Joel Seigel after an incident at an early screening of his new film Clerks II, he’s now setting his sights on yet another person in the media who dare speak against something he did. L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke criticized his decision to include 10,000 fan names during the closing credits, a marketing ploy by The Weinstein Co. and Smith on the service MySpace to generate word of mouth.
Finke stated in her article that the list was an insult to guild members who work hard to secure screen credits. Smith responded on his blog stating that “it’s so sad” and how she’s the only person he’s heard complaints from about it. If that’s the case than why not just brush it off as someone’s personal opinion that nobody seems to agree with and carry on with your day? Why make sure your side of the story is heard over something that it seems one person in the country disagrees with?
Since when did Smith turn in to a big cry baby? Ever since Jersey Girl got panned he’s been 100 times more defensive of whatever he does than ever before. Is having someone not enjoy something you make that hard of a pill to swallow? I’ll admit that the Joel Seigel stuff was funny, and the Opie & Anthony audio clip was hilarious to listen to. But seriously, just let it all go already and take all the bad press like every other director.
I could see him being so defensive for any of his previous films, but when you put things like a donkey show in a movie there’s bound to be a group of people that are displeased. So if you plan to include something like that, expect some backlash. When his next non-View Askewniverse film flops we can all look forward to Mallrats 2, and all his whining after people critique that one too. He’ll also probably cast his wife as the lead love interest. Oh, wait…
Fletch Won gets a new writer/director
Speaking of Kevin Smith, Fletch Won has a new director, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. With his hiring, we can probably expect Zach Braff to play the lead, Braff was also a front runner for the role when the project was Smith’s. Only Smith was dead set on hiring Jason Lee to fill the shoes of Chevy Case as the classic Fletch character, and when he was told no, he picked up his ball and went home.
Fletch Won predates the first seven books in the series, and follows the early days of the title character’s journalism career as a junior reporter in his 20’s working at the News-Tribune. Bill Lawrence has already stated that he is a diehard fan of both the Greg Mcdonald books and the original Fletch film. Hopefully now with a director who doesn’t get cold feet or throw hissy fits we can finally look forward to seeing a new Fletch film in theaters soon.
Batman: The Dark Knight
After all the wait and speculation, we not only have the title for the next Batman movie (The Dark Knight), but also who has been cast to play The Joker (Heath Ledger). And boy, was it nothing short of a blip on the radar. Maybe the fact that the Ledger casting rumor was leaked a few days earlier is why this doesn’t seem like the big deal that it should. Nolan will return to direct the sequel along with Bale, Caine, Freeman, Holmes, and Oldman set to reprise their roles from the first film. Production is set to begin on The Dark Knight in early 2007.
You can discuss the film over at the InsidePulse forums.
Top 10 at the Box Office
1. Miami Vice Review Here
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Review Here and Here
3. John Tucker Must Die
4. Monster House Review Here
5. The Ant Bully Review Here
6. Lady in the Water Review Here
7. You, Me and Dupree Review Here
8. Little Man
9. The Devil Wears Prada Review Here
10. My Super Ex-Girlfriend Review Here
New Releases in Theaters (8/4)
– Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
– The Descent
– The Night Listener
– Barnyard: The Original Party Animals
– World Trade Center — (8/9)
On Store Shelves This Week (8/8)
– Brick
– Bring It On: All or Nothing
– Cavite
– Don’t Come Knocking
– The Frat Boy Collection
– The Hidden Blade
– Inside Man
– The Jayne Mansfield Collection
– Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
– The Last Mogul
– The Lost City
– Manderlay
What a Tease!
The Departed
Hollywoodland
American Hardcore
Flyboys
Running With Scissors
Employee of the Month
Mini’s First Time
Jackass 2
Infamous
The Quiet
There, a full column without a single mention of Mel Gibson being anti-Semitic.
