DVD Review & Discussion Thread

I'm trying to cut down on my collection, but I bought three used DVDs recently as part of 3 for $20 deal:

"War of the Worlds" - While it has its' flaws, it's a great, great "end of the world" movie. I'm not too crazy about acting in this movie, but sounds and SFX are nothing short of spectacular. I had my DTS on today, and sound effects of the storm sequence was just amazing.

"Serenity" - I rented this while back, and I knew I was going to have to buy it eventually. I don't know why I like it so much. Everything about this movie/DVD is just OK. I guess the plot is bit(just bit) interesting, characters are definitely cool. Must be my Sci-Fi nut biase.

"The Motorcycle Diaries" - I have yet to watch this film. I couldn't find the third DVD for the "3 for $20", so I took a chance on this one. I hope it's good.

I might be buying couple more tomorrow. "Grand Prix" is due out tomorrow, which I'm definitely getting. Also, widescreen enhanced(or anamorphic) version of "Event Horizon" is on sale, so I might pick that up as well.

Cast:

Bill Murray
Julie Delpy
Brea Frazier
Heather Simms
Jeffrey Wright
Jessica Lange
Christopher McDonald
Sharon Stone
Chloe Sevigny
Tilda Swinton
Francis Conroy

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

DVD Features:

• Extended scene
• 'Start To Finish': outtakes with Bill Murray
• 'Farmhouse': behind the scene with audio commentary from director Jim Jarmusch
• Trailers

The Features arn't that extensive or great if im honest, but I don't think the Film or the DVD needed or warented lots of in depth interviews or documentarys. What is included dosn't lend much to the film and are pretty much the standard of films of this claiber, like "Sideways" or "Lost In Translation".

Movie:

Where to start with this film? I could start with the fact that Bill Murry is awsome in this film, and put on a show that much like "Lost In Translation" (which he should have won the Oscar) or I could start with the fact that this film is a truly great film in my eyes. Jim Jarmusch proves once again to be a director of boat loads of tallent and quite a delicate touch, "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" being another of his movies and a great favourite of mine is on the same par as this film in this review, its a slow but well paced film with great small and delicate touches that make the film a pleasure to watch, but also the fact that Bill Murry is a very dry comedian proves to be a great match for this film, the rest of the cast are great too and all put 100% in to this qurky road trip type movie.


For those who love Bill, you are guaranteed to love him in this film, his mannerisms and the way he looks and smiles make it fun to watch, and the little comic touches he brings to the role of Don really make this film for me.

Now for the downsides to this film, for some it may be a little slow, but if you have patiance to stick with it its a great watch. Editing is pretty shabby for me, and makes the movie even slower than it needed to be, the editor had the chance to put in some pace to the film but failed, and left the whole film feeling a little rough around the edges, but again if you can get past this, then you will be rewared.


I dont want to spoil the film by giving away the plot or storie too much, but the ending left a bitter sweet taste in my mouth, I was expecting more from it and it will make the less patiant or none movie fans a little upset and short changed. I on the other hand actully found the ending quite nice and probably the best way to end the film but still a little bit of a shame.

I could go on about the other things that go into making a film, but none stand out in this film, only the directing and acting make the film a good film if not a great film.


On the music front, some people will like the soundtrack like I did, or will hate it like the people that I watched the film with did. But get past it and move on and you should enjoy this movie, I think the final remark for this film will be "you either hate it or love it" and I know this is sitting on the bench and not sticking my neck out, but it proves to be the correct way to view this film, see it with an open mind and with people who enjoy murry and you should have an enjoyable movie experiance.

DVD Extras: 👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

Movie: 👍👍👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

Hell of a review 👍.

live4speed

Hell of a review 👍.

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cheers tonight im watching "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" or "A History Of Viloance" so I will do a review tommorow of which ever I watch. I enjoy doing the reviews, I did start a review on the "Alien Quadroligy" but I lost the reiview half way through doing it so I wasnt about the start it again. It would be nice to hear your thoughts on the movie when you get around to watching it.

Well, after reading the review, I definitely want to watch it now. Great job as usual!

Cast:

Robert Downey Jr.
Val Kilmer
Michelle Monaghan
Corbin Bernsen
Dash Mihok
Larry Miller
Rockmond Dunbar
Shannyn Sossamon
Angela Lindvall
Indio Falconer Downey
Ariel Winter
Harrison Young

Director:

Shane Black (creator of the "Lethal Weapon" movies)

DVD feature:

Nothing, Nada, Ziltch.

I purchased the basic DVD, it has nothing exept for the standard, interactive menu's and sene selection stuff like that.

Movie:

I dont know what I was expecting from this film, I wasnt sure if it was going to be bad or good, but one this I was sure of and that was the Direcotrs credability, the "Lethal Weapon" films are great and my type of action movie, I like buddy cop/PI movies too like "Midnight Run". So with this in mind I watched this film.

The overall film was very good, every little bit from cinematography to the editing and special effects were good, nothing really stood out as exceptional or stunning, but they all seemed to be working along the same lines and made this film feel homely.


The acting in this film was also very good, but nothing oscar worthy (even if that is a mark of good acting,which im not sure it is anymore) but nobody tried to outperform each other and the on-screen bond of the characters was good, almost like you knew the character from a 70's TV show.

The comic parts were done with a nice finess and made them quite a breath of fresh air compared to the more common and quite tiersome stuff of Vince Vaughn or Ben Stiller. The jokes and one liners were fast and not too elaborated on, which will make for re-watching quite a pleasure, as im sure I missed a few jokes along the way, also the comic timing was spot on and the actors played the jokes well and said the one liners with nice touches in facial and body movements that make those jokes that much more lifelike.


Allot could be said for the direction and wrighting of this movie, and Im going to, because I think its worth bringing it up, that while films are being turned out in hollywood, allot seem to tyr to hark back to the good old action flick mold, but always seem to miss the point and make a really poor movie, but seeing as Shane Black actually wrote one of the best action movies of the late 80's he has the credentials to make a good movie in the same fashion as those movies but also has had the sense to make this movie a little more up-todate and fresh, but not stray too far from the winning formula.

I would also like to applaude Joel Silver for backing this film, as in recent times he has backed some real let downs like "Matrix Reloade & Revelutions" and "V for Vandetta", but because of his history with Shane Black he had to make this movie and im glad he did.

To sum up the film, I persoanlly liked it, it filled me with a warm and knowing feeling, from the direction and acting straight through to the standard cinematography and editing, the only thing that had small suprises was the story and script, I didnt know how the stry was going to end and what was coming next, which in todays movie scene is a big change indeed. I also would like to point out the soundtrack, it was very inconspicuous and didnt detract from the movie.

This film was a breath of fresh air in the action/comedy genre and made a change to the stale wannabes of truly poor quaity, for me this is how movies should be made, and I can see myself watching the DVD many times to come.

DVD extras: 👎 /👍👍👍👍👍

Movie: 👍👍👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

I passed by this DVD so many times. I think I would rent this one too now.

sprite

He also meets the gorgeous aspirant actress Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), and finds that she was a friend of his childhood for whom he had a crush.

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Like he was 12 and she was 3 months old? j/k

Cast:

Brian O'Halloran
Jeff Anderson
Marilyn Gjigliotti
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith
Scott Mosier
Walter Flanagan
Scott Schiaffo
Al Berkowitz

Director:

Kevin Smith

DVD features

Disk 1:Theatrical Version

• cast & crew commentary
• Enhanced playback track
• "Clerks": The Lost Scene
• "The Flying Car" Short film
• MTV spots: With Jay & Silent Bob
• Theatrical Trailer
• Music Video
• "Clerks" Restoration Intros
• Original "Clerks" Auditions

Disk 2: "Clerks": The First Cut

• new cast & crew commentary

Disk 3: "The Snowball Effect: The Story Of 'Clerks'

• "Mae Day: The crumbling of a documentary"
• 10th Aneniversary Q&A
• Outakes from "Snowball Effect"
• Still photo gallery
• Original Kevin Smith journals
• Articles & Reviews (8 of them)

Great selection of extras, most quite interesting, but some a little dull, I wont go into a full blown extra by extra review as this would be boreing, If you can find this on the shelf or the net for a good price, then its worth looking at if your a fan of the film and want to know more about the movie.

Movie:

Well I came to this movie back in '95 (I was only 13 & yes I was into movies then) when it hit the streets in the US, and I read good things about it, and saw a trailer which intrigued me even more, but unfortunatly It slipped by and whent under my radar since, until I watched a programme on BBC 2 called "Talking Movies" which did a preview of "Clerks II" which then shunnted my memory to the back of my brain and pulled out the memories of "Clerks", then while browsing my local HMV I found the 10th Anniversary Edition for £7.99, and I had to have it.

I had mixed feelings about this film, as I had only seen Jay and Silent Bob in "Dogma" and had only knwo Kevin smith for this film, the thing was I loved "Dogma" and liked the look of this movie, but I had heard from a friend who knows his movie stuff, and he mentioned that it wasnt that good, so I had to watch it with an open mind. The first 15 to 20 minutes were a little dull and un eventfull, but I presisted (I gave up watching "Troy" the first time around at this point, But I still hate it).

later on the film picked up and I liked some of the jokes and capers they got into, but I didnt like the vulger side of this movie, and had a hard time swallowing some of the diologue due to the amount of swearing. This side of the film let it down, and seemed to be in there just to prove that they could, rarther than severing a purpose. I wasnt sure what the film was trying to get across, and maybe that was the point, maybe there wasnt a punchline to the film or a morale of the story, but this just let the film down even further for me.

Due to its lack of substance this film was an average movie, the acting was good, some of the script was good, but the way in which it was filmed let if down, black and white didnt work it just made it even more like it was trying to be something it wasn't, I think this film is a bit too, I dont know... and maybe that was the problem.

To sum it up, I would have to say, if you havent seen it, rent it dont go out and buy it, and then if you like it, get the version I got, as its got loads of extras, this film had good acting and a up and down script. The music and sound were ok but I didnt like most of the music, but this didnt detract from the film, which was a good thing, I think that I may have missed the point of the movie, maybe there are some of the stuff was too American and it didnt translate to me too well, who knows.

DVD Extras: 👍👍👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

Movie: 👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

Cast:

Tilda Swinton
Liam Neeson
Brian Cox
Georgie Henley
William Moseley
Skandar Keynes
Anna Popplewell
Rupert Everett
Dawn French
James McAvoy
Patrick Kake
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Jim Broadbent
Ray Winstone
James Cosmo
Michael Madsen

Director:

Andrew Adamson

DVD Features:

Disk 1:

• Audio commentary from the filmmakers
• Audio commentary from the director and the kids!
• 'Discover Narnia' fun facts
• Bloopers

Disk 2:

• 'Creating Narnia': behind the scenes footage
• 'Chronicles Of A Director' featurette
• 'Anatomy Of A Scene - The Melting River' featurette
• 'Creating Creature' featurette
• 'Cinematic Storytelling' featurette
• Creatures' Lands And Legends, hosted by Mr Tumnus
• 'Creatures Of The World' featurette
• 'Explore Narnia' featurette
• 'Legend In Time' featurette

Not a Bad selection of special features, I watched most, but really wanted to get onto the movie, and get to bed so I skipped some, but the ones I watched were good for those who actually knew to works of C.S. Lewis, but for those who dont, the na documentary about him and his books would have been nice, the features on the disk focus only on the film.

Movie:

Seeing this film was a mixed thing, I was going into this movie with a feeling of dread, not just from what I have read about the actual movie, but also from the aspect of how anyone could make the book into a film, I recently read the book, and wasnt impressed by it one bit, the lack of detail and washed out characters made it a dull read, and not very inspireing, but Im not a totale loss when it comes to not liking anything, as I dont bare grudges that long.

From the trailer I watched, and also the little tit bits that the film makers put up on the net as a diary made this film look as tho it was just going to be looks over substance, and quite a weak film. I was quite pleased to find that in reality its wasnt as bad as I had in my head, it moved allong at a decent pace as not to be too dull, but left enought time to tell the story to its full, some scenes could have been longer, like the fight scenes, and soem could have been kept shorter, like the stone tabel/Aslans death scene.

I really liked the beavers, but I wasnt impressed by Aslan, he should have been bigger, and Liam Neeson's voice was lost in the role, the rest of the creatures were good, but I didnt like the wolves, and they looked a little naff when they were speaking. Overall the creatuer stuff were good, and WETA did a good job with the armor and other stuff, but what really looked rubbish, and spoilt the film for me was the Green screen stuff, the children stood out against the backgrounds too much, and really looked out of place, it remindered me of old films back in the day when Blue/Green screen work was still been developed.

I like the kids they got to play the Pevensies were top notch, and the acting was quite good, but the stand out performance for me was Tilda Swinton as the Queen, she has an odd look which lends her to play roles that make use of strange, but not ugly people, some dont like her, but for me she was the correct choice.

The music in this film was ok, but it needed to be more a part of the film rarther than supporting the film, as allot of the sets looked basic and the music was more needed to give the film atmosphere and a feeling all of its own, but unfortunatly it didnt and the film felt like any other run of the mill fantasy movie.

Its unfortunate for this film, that "The Lord Of The Rings" movies were so good, and that they came first, as its hard not to compare all other fantasy movies with them, just like Sifi films have to stand up against "Bladerunner".

To sum this film up, I would have to say that its worth watching, and if you like it allot, then buy it, but other wise its a rent job, I dont know how much milage I can get from this film, as the "Harry Potter" films I can watch then over and over again, as the fill the correct boxes, they are easy to watch and do a good job of entertaining, even though they arnt the best films in the world. This movie has it moments of greatness, but they are only fleeting glances of what could be great scenes, but the Director takes the film away from this, and spoils it with poor script, and lackluster editing, the music in parts really lifts the film, but as soon as its get there it lets the film fall back onto its ass. Entertaining but not stunning, its was a missed opertunity to make a great film.

DVD Extras: 👍👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

Movie: 👍👍👍/👍👍👍👍👍

I agree with the "Lord of the Rings" comment. That movie set a whole new standard. That poor Peter Jackson is going to look like a underachiever rest of his career.

P.S. I rented "Broken Flowers" and am planning on watching it this weekend!

a6m5

I agree with the "Lord of the Rings" comment. That movie set a whole new standard. That poor Peter Jackson is going to look like a underachiever rest of his career.

P.S. I rented "Broken Flowers" and am planning on watching it this weekend!

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Yeh LOTR's is what all fantasy films should be like, in depth and not shy from telling the story.

Broken Flowers was a very good film for me, but I love most stuff that Big Bill does, so I could be classed as Biased.

sprite

Broken Flowers was a very good film for me, but I love most stuff that Big Bill does, so I could be classed as Biased.

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It was recommended by couple of people(and you), plus, I'm bit biased when it comes to Bill Murray as well, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

You know I still haven't got round to watching Broken flowers yet, I have it lying on the desk next to me just itching to get put into the player, but between work, football, the missues and lazy time I often forget what films I've lined up to watch next and watch ones I've seen loads of times instead.

I know what you mean about Bill though Sprite, he's a class act imo, people arn't biased towards him, thwey're just giving him credit where credit is due. You name a film where his acting was bad, not a bad film, a film where his acting was bad. I can't.

live4speed

You know I still haven't got round to watching Broken flowers yet, I have it lying on the desk next to me just itching to get put into the player, but between work, football, the missues and lazy time I often forget what films I've lined up to watch next and watch ones I've seen loads of times instead.

I know what you mean about Bill though Sprite, he's a class act imo, people arn't biased towards him, thwey're just giving him credit where credit is due. You name a film where his acting was bad, not a bad film, a film where his acting was bad. I can't.

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Agreed, he is one of the best comedy actors around and has been for some time, even his version of scrooge was very good. And I dont think I have ever seen a bad film from him either.

Just a heads up. Lost Season Two is coming out on September 5th in the States. More than a month earlier than the earlier speculation. Here's more info:

Amazon.com

DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Episodes from the 2005-2006 season on 7 discs
Exclusive unaired flashbacks
LOST connections: interactive experience that plants seeds for season three
Conspiracy theories with creators, writers, fans
Fire and Water: Anatomy of an Episode
Secrets Of The Hatch
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers

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They forgot to add that it is 1.78:1 widescreen.

I just finished watching "Broken Flowers", and I can recommend this film as well. It was weird. It was slow. It had an somewhat unsatisfying and sudden end(as I suspected). But the ride was strangely enjoyable, and for a very slow movie, an hour and forty minutes went just like that!.

Cast was excellent. Jeffrey Wright from "Syriana" I recognized. Lots of big name actresses in this film, and they were all so hot in this, you gotta check it out just for that. What was really cool was the I recognized the singer Holly Golightly's vocal from hearing her on the White Stripes "It's True That We Love One Another". Good soundtrack overall. I might have to check that out. I'd give this DVD a "B+".

a6m5

I just finished watching "Broken Flowers", and I can recommend this film as well. It was weird. It was slow. It had an somewhat unsatisfying and sudden end(as I suspected). But the ride was strangely enjoyable, and for a very slow movie, an hour and forty minutes went just like that!.

Cast was excellent. Jeffrey Wright from "Syriana" I recognized. Lots of big name actresses in this film, and they were all so hot in this, you gotta check it out just for that. What was really cool was the I recognized the singer Holly Golightly's vocal from hearing her on the White Stripes "It's True That We Love One Another". Good soundtrack overall. I might have to check that out. I'd give this DVD a "B+".

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Glad you enjoyed it a6m5. I may do a Review of some of my new DVD's If I get a Chance next weekend.

The day of the Jackal

I bought this dvd for the bargain sum of £3 delivered. It's suprisingly a film I'd never seen before, though I had seen the remake "The Jackal" with Bruce Willis.

The film follows an assasin who uses the codename Jackal as he takes identities and disguises in an attempt to get to Paris to assasinate one General Charles de Gaulle, the film is well shot and Edward Fox does very well as the Jackal, the way he uses people in the film is ruthless. He'll happily kill an old lady just to use her apartment (he actually does kill an old lady to use her apartment, bit of a suprise considering the film was made int he 70's).

Overall I liked the film, I thought it was well put together but it showed it's age. The picture quality wasn't that good, and I did take issue at the very fist scene where you see Edward Fox's character, he's coming off a plane, and all through the rest of the film he's brilliant, but in this scene he stepd off the plane and he's pulling a face sort of a where am I, what am I meant to be doing here kind of face. In that scene, he didn't look very suave put it that way, but the rest of the film he was in his element. The second complaint was near the end, I won't say why so as not to spoil it for anyone yet to see the film, but it was bit anti-climatic imo. Overall it was a very good film and the 2hours 17 mins running time was well worth the £3 the film cost.

As I said, the film does show it's age, but if you can enjoy a film all the same despite that then this is a very good film, much better than the 1997 remake imo.

live4speed

As I said, the film oes show it's age, but if you can enjoy a film all the same despite that then this is a very good film, much better than the 1997 remake imo.

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While I don't remember everything from those two movies, I agree with you. I have a fond memory of the original, but when I think of the remake, I just remember it for the let down of a movie it was. I also remember Bruce Willis kissing a guy and that Jack Black(first time I had seen him) was so annoying, I was really happy about what happened to him next!

Pink Floyd Live in Pompeii: The Director's Cut (2002)

The Film

The original concept of the original film (1971) was to do a 'concert' with no audience to present the innovative music of Pink Floyd in a way that was as visually unique as their music. As such, there is loads of brilliant and unique live footage of one of the world's greatest rock bands, performing at the height of their talent (prior to and during the recording of 'Dark Side Of The Moon'). The new version of the film is interspered with some candid (as well as hilarious) footage of Messers Waters, Mason, Wright and Gilmour in their prime (the former pair couldn't look more stoned than if they had said "Jehovah" in Judea in biblical times...) In addition to the original 'film', there is also several sections from the 'Dark Side Of The Moon' sessions in Abbey Road. The film is mostly live performance (as you'd expect) but it has been shot in an almost deliberately Stanley Kubrick-esque way. There are definite visual similarities in places to 2001: A Space Odyssey throughout the film.

The film has been 'updated' by the addition of some new, computer generated visual effects. These are mercifully not over-used, and sometimes they work quite well - but in other cases, like the 'virtual trip' around Pompeii during 'Echoes' Pt. 2, they really shouldn't have bothered. But in other places, the visuals are used to good effect. Weird and bold imagery, sometimes related to the lyrical content of the song and sometimes related to the themes of Pompeii, make for a surreal visual backdrop that complements the Floyd sound really well.

The Music

Musically, this film/DVD is as essential for Pink Floyd fans as most of their album output. The film contains live performances (without an audience) of some of their more ambitious, mostly instrumental efforts from the 1968-1971 era - 'Echoes' and 'One Of These Days' (from 'Meddle'), 'Set The Controls...' and 'A Saucerful of Secrets' (from 'A Saucerful...') and 'Careful With That Axe, Eugene' (from 'Ummagumma'). There is also footage/clips of 'On The Run', 'Us And Them' and 'Brain Damage' from 'DSOTM' and the rather pointless/superfluous 'Mademoiselle Nobs', which involves a dog singing along to a bluesy jam. (It sounds as good as you might expect...)

The DVD sounds perfect, and the performances are simply to die for.... for example, "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" is musically better than either the original version (from 'A Saucerful of Secrets') or the live version on 'Ummagumma' - coupled with some stunning visuals and imagery, this is about as essential Floyd as you are likely ever to get. All of the other full-length live performances (with the exception of 'Nobs') are brilliant. Nick Mason is the visual focus of 'One of These Days' and you see him lose a drumstick mid-song and still manage to keep the beat flawlessly (although it does bring on a slightly premature drum fill!)

The DVD

This is a great DVD - not least for the brilliance of the film, but also because it has plenty of (useful) extras too... An interview with director Adrian Maben explains how he came up with the concept of the film (a live performance with no crowds) and how it came to fruition. There are a few picture galleries - stills from the film, promo/bootleg material, as well as graphics from the original albums (album covers etc.) from the material used in 'Live in Pompeii'. There's even a bit about the history of Pompeii and complete lyrics of each song in the film.

But this is all trumped by the inclusion of the full original version of the 'concert film'... just the plain performances (with some original visual effects from the 1971 version) and no interviews, random clips or computer-generated visual effects superimposed over the footage. This is great, because this allows us to see the bits of live performance that have been obscured by the visual effects in the new version of the film - so it's a really valuable addition.

The original concert film is presented in 4:3, however the new version of the film is presented in 16:9.

My only gripe, apart from some of the new visual effects, is that there is no inlay card or booklet, which may have been preferable to have a 'hard copy' of some of the graphics included as stills on the DVD - but for £7 (in a London high street store), I ain't complaining!

Summary

Music:
Sound:
Film:
Visual:
Extras:
Pack:

Overall:

Great Review, TM. Im a big Pink Floyd Fan and would like to buy this dvd, Maybe next week, your review made up my mind, I may even get "Pulse" too.

Thanks sprite, you've certainly set a high standard for reviews 👍 Keep up the good work...

I can't believe I didn't buy this sooner, and I bought the DVD for £7 in Fopp (not too common, but they opened a new store in Tottenham Court Road, London recently), but you will notice that the DVD is dirt cheap on Amazon at the moment, making it an absolute bargain.