DVDs, Oscar pics and a TCM viewing tip

TODAY'S DVDs

Adam : Quirky indie romance never seemed to catch fire but looked fairly charming in its trailers.

Amelia: - So this was supposed to be a big Oscar contender, huh? Oops.

House of the Devil:  I can see why some people liked this low-rent throwback to 80s-style horror, and for a good long while it does build suspense nicely. But I think some people's nostalgia for that era blinds them so they don't notice or care that the ending, as the Hollywood reporter rightly put it, "borrows literally from a well-known horror film made by a guy (who was recently) in a Swiss jail." I do like the idea that it's being released on VHS - in this case, Blu-Ray must seem an anachronism, no? GRADE: C

Love Happens: Seemed nobody cared what happened between Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. Eckhart is allowed a slip, but Aniston really needs to start picking better material. The Bounty Hunter does not give me much hope.

New York, I Love You: This omnibus film tries to do for the Big Apple what Paris Je'Taime did for the City of Lights - and apparently does it with much less success. At least New York Stories went two-for-three.

The Time Traveler's Wife: This adaptation of the best-seller gets by largely on the charm of its two stars, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, who save the movie from occasionally muddled storytelling. I get the sense something was lost in the translation from page to screen. Full review. GRADE: B

Zombieland: Terrifically inventive and hilarious horror spoof, aided by a cameo everyone must know about by now. (Hint - Today's his day.) I didn't like it enough to buy it, but I did feel oddly compelled to buy a box of Twinkies this week. Full review: GRADE: B+

IN THEATERS

Crazy Heart: Jeff Bridges absolutely deserves every bit of praise he's received  for his performance as a burned-out country star, but the movie doesn't succeed solely because of him. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also excellent as the woman who prompts him to better himself, and the film as a whole is sharply observed. Every time it threatens to go into Lifetime movie territory, it goes off the beaten path and surprises. Well worth seeing, even if country music is not your favorite. GRADE: A-

Edge of Darkness: Mel Gibson's return to starring roles has been underrated by critics; I think the movie succeeds largely because Gibson still holds the screen as well as he ever did. People expecting an action-packed ride may be disappointed, as this movie is more of a police procedural than a thriller, but it's a story well told. Director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), who once again proves himself to be one of the sturdiest craftsmen in the business. He may not be a visionary, but I think Campbell warrants comparisons to a classic Hollywood warhorse like Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), who was never visually showy but was always a strong storyteller. GRADE: B+

A Single Man: ZZZZZZZZ. Oh, I'm sorry. I was just reminded of watching this film, which is this year's The Reader:  a piece of stiflingly pretentious twaddle about piteous bores who really need to get over themselves. Colin Firth works hard to provide some emotional connection, but he can't escape the film's overbearing sense of self-importance.  GRADE: D

TCM Viewing tip

The Oscar nominations  come out today. My predictions are here, and I will write a reaction piece tonight. However, while we're on the subject of the Academy Awards, I'd like to alert you to Turner Classic Movies' 31 Days of Oscar, which is under way.

As before, every single movie TCM plays this month was at least nominated for one Oscar. But the channel's brilliant programmers have created a unique connecting thread for the films. Each movie in the lineup is connected by one actor to the next film in the lineup. For instance:

Tonight at 8 p.m. is The Thin Man, staring Myrna Loy, who was also in ....

The Best Years of Our Lives, the peerless post World War II drama playing at 10 p.m. The movie also starred Fredrich March, who was in ...

Inherit the Wind, playing at 1 a.m.


... and so on. It's really fun to try and guess the connections between the films - and it's even more fun to watch them. I'll be doing that even more than usual this month. You should too.

What happens to DVD extras if we go to downloads?

Despite my doubts about the longevity of Blu-Ray, I have been greatly enjoying the format since I upgraded on Christmas Day. (Well, except for the fact that I can't hear two of my BR's at full sound quality since my receiver doesn't support DTS, but that's another story).

One of the reasons I have been most enjoying the format is the array of extras available. Out of all the discs I have seen so far, that has never been more apparent than on Disney's Blu-Ray of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

The non-movie disc of the set is organized as an absolutely fascinating interactive tour through Disney's Hyperion studios, where most of its work through the 1930s was made. This includes several of the revolutionary shorts made there, such as Flowers and Trees (the first Technicolor cartoon), Steamboat Willie (the first sound cartoon, and the first Mickey Mouse cartoon to be released), The Old Mill (the first to make use of the multiplane camera) and one of my all-time favorite cartoons, The Skeleton Dance.  Even though that  was made 81 years ago, its ingenutiy still blows me away.



Such is the storage capacity of Blu-Ray that each and every one of these shorts (and more) is on the disc at full length. And that got me to wondering ....

I have doubted Blu-Ray would last very long as a format because sooner or later, we would be watching movies at home not through physical media, but through downloading or streaming. Witness Netflix's increasing emphasis on its Instant Viewing feature.

And yet, if that does indeed happen, what happens to Blu-Ray/DVD extras as we have come to know and love them? What about deleted scenes? What about making-of documentaries that, all told, are sometimes longer than the movies themselves? What about audio commentaries? Where is the place for them in the download world? How would downloads handle the kind of extras we have now? Could they? It would have to be a pretty complex system to include everything that's on Snow White. And I want ALL that stuff.

What worries me is that those extras would diminish, since most people buy discs to watch the movie and not the extras. Still, even the most lowbrow movies have them. Sony spent money to put a commentary on Paul Blart: Mall Cop, for pity's sake, so demand for extras must be out there somewhere.

That supposed, what happens to extras when downloading/streaming becomes the dominant movie delivery format? What do you think?

Sir Critic converts to Blu-Ray - partly

Regular readers of mine will know I have expressed considerable doubts about the longevity and viability of Blu-Ray. Only a month or so ago, I was railing against Disney/Pixar for including so many extras on the Blu-Ray and so few on the DVD.

Well, now I find myself in the curious position of owning Up on Blu-Ray - and, so it must follow, owning a Blu-Ray player. (You can never own too many copies of a movie that good).

What made me change my mind? Christmas. Or, more specifically, my mom. When I made my initial list, I apparently didn't check it twice because my mom asked me if I wanted any "big ticket" items. "No electronics? Blu-Ray player?" she asked.

And I thought, "Well, why the hell not?" At the very least, it would be a way for me to know what I was criticizing RE: Blu-Ray, and I could finally get some of those Pixar extras I had been sorely missing. I selected the LG BD370, because it got really good reviews, was very reasonably priced, and could connect to the Internet so I could stream Netflix movies to my TV. Very handy feature, that.

I also received the following Blu-Ray titles: District 9, Star Trek (2009), Enchanted, Cars, Ratatouille, and Up. You may notice those are all the Pixar titles of the Blu-Ray age, save WALL-E. That DVD was pretty well stocked with extras, unlike the DVDs for the other movies. I'll be renting that Blu-Ray from Netflix to see if the Blu-Ray-exclusive  extras are worth the coin.)

So am I now convinced that Blu-Ray is the wave of the future, and can my friends look forward to me giving away my old DVDs as I replace them with Blu-Rays?

No, and for the most part, no. When I do end up with duplicates I will approach potentially interested parties and let them know. ;)

There is no doubt Blu-Rays look and sound better than DVD. A lot of people talk about the improved picture, but I find the audio to be punchier as well. Even so, my impression is that you can't truly appreciate the difference unless you have a super-duper home theater setup. Mine is merely super. I have not yet added the duper part of getting a flat-screen 16:9 TV, although I hope to do so before 2010 is out. For now, I DO have an HDTV, but it's a 4:3 CRT model with a 27-inch screen. Not exactly breathtaking CinemaScope, but it'll do while I scrimp and save.

However, am I now convinced that Blu-Rays are a worthwhile buy if you're a movie nut?

Absolutely.

The extras on Blu-Ray are simply too cool for me to resist. The way they're laid out on the Pixar DVDs is especially cool. They use what the call the Cine-Explore option, in which you can not only hear the filmmakers talk on an audio track, but you can see pictures of concept art and photographs of Pixar's research road trips as the movie is playing. You may also program the Blu-Ray to jump to a mini-documentary about the scene you're watching.  With Cars, I saw footage of Pixar's visits to Route 66 destinations. And thanks to Blu-Ray I learned that Dug from Up  made a very fleeting appearance in Ratatouille - two years before we actually knew of him.

And the coolness is not limited to Pixar. The Enchanted DVD has a nifty trivia game that asks you questions about the many Disney films Enchanted references. And if you get the question right, you're treated to a vintage clip of the scene in question. For instance, when Giselle sings "The Happy Working Song" and her image is refelected in soap bubbles, the Blu-Ray can show you the scene from Cinderella that gave rise to that image.

All that said, I do still find it unfair of Disney and other companies to make certain extras Blu-Ray exclusive when they could very easily go on a DVD. The Enchanted trivia game is understandable, but there was no good reason not to include at least a commentary on the Ratatouille DVD.

So will I buy Blu-Rays or DVDs from this point forward? That all depends. For certain filmmakers (Scorsese) and fimmaking companies (Pixar), Blu-Ray will be automatic now. Otherwise it will depend on the price and the extras. Thankfully, Blu-Ray discs are finally starting to come down in price, so the primary pivot for me will be the extras, especially if I already own a regular ol' DVD of the title.

And there was one other factor that made me take the hi-def plunge. The best movie channel in the whole wide world, TCM, just added a hi-def channel. I was waiting for that particular event to happen before I fast-tracked an HDTV, and with that now in motion, I figured I might as well go whole hog.  

Besides, any format that makes Amy Adams look that glorious has got to be worthwhile, right?

An honest letter to Disney RE: DVD and Blu-Ray

Russell seems as perturbed as I am about the Up DVDs

To Buena Vista Home Entertainment:


Hey guys. You oughta know by now that when it comes to most things Disney, I'm a big fan. I love a great deal of your work and the Disney connection has gotten me some truly wonderful friends. 

So it really hurts me when you make me feel ripped off and devalued. 

How? With the packaging of the Up DVDs. 

Up is my absolute favorite movie of the year, so I was very excited to buy it this week. Then, when I watched the disc, I was sorely disappointed at how you skimped on the extras.

Let me backtrack a bit: The Pixar DVDs have been among my favorites in my collection, not just because of the movies themselves but for the excellent, comprehensive packages of extras. All the Pixar movies, from Toy Story through The Incredibles had outstanding packages of extras.

Then along comes this high-def format called Blu-Ray. And then you started skimping on the extras for regular ol' DVD while still loading the Blu-Rays with content. Unfair. Unjust. Greedy, even. 

The Cars and Ratatouille Blu-Rays had all kinds of goodies while the DVDs had hardly anything. I know some features only work on Blu-Ray, but it seems to me a lot of what was on those Blu-Rays could have gone on the DVDs too. Why should we be shortchanged because we couldn't invest in a high-def system yet?

Then WALL-E came along and you seemed to wise up. Both the Blu-Ray and the DVD had very nice extras packages. All seemed right with the world. 

Now, along come the Up DVDs and the configuration is rather maddening. There are three editions: 


1. A single-disc DVD which is pretty bare bones


2. A double-disc DVD with a few extras


3. A 4-disc Blu-Ray set.


The Blu-Ray was obviously out for me, so I figured this would be like WALL-E: get the two-disc set with more extras. Well, as it turns, out the second-disc of the DVD set is nothing more than a "digital copy" of the film, which I will never use.  Sorry, but I think watching movies on iPods and the like is pointless. 

Meanwhile, the Blu-Ray is stocked with all kinds of nice bonuses that aren't on the DVDs, like:


*Geriatric Hero. History behind the creation of our old guy. All of these documentaries are interview oriented with sketches and film clips to supplement.
*Canine Companions. In depth analysis on the breed choices, training and dog behavior studied to get the dogs in the film to be more - dog like.
*Russel Wild Explorer. Covers the reasons for his character to have the loss and why he was "egg" shaped as opposed to other sketch ideas.
*Kevin (bird). Nice reference to the Swiss Family Robinson ostrich; covered the hardest part of any of these animation films - the feathers.
*Homemakers Pixar. Enjoyed the work that went into them studying sub-floors and lighting options in making this look so real in the house.
*Balloons and Flight. Tells the now famous number of balloons used; some interesting dirigible history; shows the Pixar group using that local Bay Area air service I keep seeing fly around here (research stuff).
*Composing for Characters. Have to be into the musical/scoring stuff for this one. 


Now why on God's green Earth couldn't you have put those on an actual second disc? I can't think of any good reason. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the commentary and the few extras I have, but I still feel cheated  - especially since, with sales prices, the Blu-Ray is actually CHEAPER than the two-disc DVD set. That is nothing less than galling. 

Forget it, guys. You are endlessly pimping Blu-Ray, but when you pull this crap, that just ticks me off. I'm not convinced Blu-Ray has a long future anyway, and these kinds of shenanigans only make me LESS inclined to support it. Surely that wasn't in your plan.

All I can say say is if you pull this BS with Toy Story 3 next year, I think you'll find a lot of unhappy Sids, Scuds and Zurgs out there. 

Indignantly,

Sir Critic