Reel News: STAR WARS coming to Glorious Blu-ray

The STAR WARS Saga is finally coming to the coveted Blu-ray format, according to Lucasfilms Director of Fan Relations, Steve Sansweet.

Sansweet let the Womp-rat out of the bag at the Chicago comic book convention over the weekend. The set is to be "a very full set of all six movies...with lots of extra material". He also promised lots of material that has "never been seen before". The release "won't be in the too distant future".

Long-time fans are probably hoping that George will finally clean out his closet and let out the much sought-after deleted scenes from A NEW HOPE in a proper format. On the same page, there is (ahem) hope that this set will include the Special Editions along with the Original Theatrical cuts.

The other group of cranky STAR WARS fans may just see this as just another way to line George's pockets with more moolah, as this will be the 3rd or 4th time the Saga has been released for home viewing. Providing the extra material is worthwhile, and the transfer is eye-popping, long-lines can be expected (whenever the release date will be) at stores (I'm assuming December). After all, STAR WARS is one of those films why they invented the glorious Blu-ray format in the first place.

A Reel Review: WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE

In what is probably the very first full-length documentary film on The Doors, WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE utilizes never before seen footage backed by narration by Johnny Depp, and falls just short of providing fans and non-fans with enlightenment.

STRANGE plays out unlike most documentary films, skipping over any historical insight from people who might have been there during the band’s rocketship ride to fame. It instead relies on Depp’s narration to tell The Doors’ story from beginning to end. It is a very linear approach, and the lack of material from surviving members makes the entire film offering not much more information that what is readily available online or in the nearest bookstore. The lack of the human element takes away the heart of the film, and makes Jim Morrison’s tragic end arrive with a ho-hum. The narrative just tells the story from the outside, and the intrapersonal relationships within are only tragically hinted at.

The film focuses mostly on Morrison, and the lives and backgrounds of the other members gets left by the wayside. Despite the heavy attention to Morrison and his addictions/behavior, the reasons behind his madness (and genius) are only hinted at and never explored deeper. His estranged relationship with his parents, the devotion he recieved (maybe undeservingly) from his girlfriend, his addictions and powerful (albiet altered) mind are only mentioned in the script as facts.

Where the storytelling falls a bit short, it is the footage that really keeps things interesting and far from boring. The film puts the viewer smack in the middle of the bands’ world, from their recording sessions to their business discussions to their backstage interactions. It’s fascinating to see for both fans and newcomers. The intimacy of the footage actually draws attention to the weak script, which does not support the visuals. Footage that we’ve seen hundreds of times is restored to pristine shape here. And the new footage, which includes live performances from The Ed Sullivan Show, a TV performance in Copenhagen, and the historic Florida abortion of a concert that saw Morrison arrested, looks as fresh and new as it did 40 years ago. Perhaps the most fascinating stuff comes from Morrison’s attempt at an indie film, which is played out in a different context, as Morrison wanders the countryside after his death is announced over the airwaves.

Director Tom DiCillo does a fine job with the new and old footage, and things are edited just right. Non-fans will probably be a tad bored with the many musical montages, as things start to feel like an extended tribute over an engaging story. Good attention however is given to the musical talent of all the members.

WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE is worth a look for Doors’ fans, as this may be the film they have been waiting years for. The lack of intrapersonal stories and emotion may frustrate those just looking for a solid story on celluloid. The film does manage to never get boring, and what is there is much better than what is missing.

BOTTOM LINE: See it.

WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE is currently playing at select theatres, including the Puff Movie House in Philadelphia

A Reel Release, or a Reel Ripoff?

THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy finally hits shelves in glorious Blu-ray today (4.6). The catch? These are the theatrical versions, not the vastly-superiour Extended Editions.

With all the legal-wrangling between New Line and Warner Bros., which has left Peter Jackson out of the DVD decision-making processes, it's clear that these editions were just a ploy to get people to buy the movies twice. With no clear release date on the horizon for the REAL versions of the films, here's hoping this release falls flat on its face and teaches some group of bastards a lesson.

On a sidenote, Ralph Bakshi's animated (and somewhat bizarre) LORD OF THE RINGS is also released today in Blu.

A Reel Review: CLASH OF THE TITANS

Years from now, this version of CLASH OF THE TITANS may serve as the perfect example of a big-budget soup sandwich. Horrible scripting that is inconsistent and devoid of any heart is the downfall here, despite a somewhat valiant effort to impress with visuals. Flat, boring, and devoid of any dread or danger, this is a dud that sinks faster than the Kraken after an encounter with Medusa.

Having witnessed his adopted parents drown in the aftershocks of Hades’(Ralph Fiennes) attack on mortals, young Perseus (Sam Worthington), who also happens to be the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), sets out on a quest of revenge against the Greek gods. Aided by a gaggle of soldiers (who come off as lumbering dumbasses), Perseus seeks to thwart the gods’ plans to wipe out the city of Argos with their superbeast Kraken.

TITANS fails mostly because of the weak portrayal of Perseus. While Worthington does an okay job with the role, it’s the writing that kills the hero of the story. This Perseus is driven by revenge, and it’s difficult to feel empathy with a vengeance-bent character. The lack of interaction between Perseus and the princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) strips the film of any heart. Andromeda is offered up as a sacrifice to the Kraken to save the city (although it’s never clear if that will work or not), and this Perseus seems to not care about her as much as getting payback. With the hero not caring, the audience is not going to care either. What makes things laughable is the character is supposed to be a humble fisherman, and yet he manages to rattle off these BRAVEHEART-like, rally-the-troops monologues that are so far out of character it’s awful.

The portrayal of the gods is also a disappointment. Liam Neesons’ Zeus is a wasted opportunity, as he seems to be more of a grump than a being that seeming should be full of wisdom. Ralph Fiennes is perfectly cast as Hades only because he and Neeson actually look like brothers, but nothing else is very compelling about him. He is not diabolical or despicable, and that makes him a boring villain. He also speaks in the exact same voice he uses for the POTTER films, and is sure to roll some eyeballs in the audience. The usually wonderful and strong Danny Huston is nicely cast as Poseidon, but is tragically reduced to one, ONE line in the entire film. Wasteful.

CGI work is hit and miss. Pegasus probably looks the best and most convincing, while everything else is just obvious and not very convincing. Probably suffering the most is Medusa, who wouldn’t scare a two-year old in this cartoonish rendition.

Lifeless and clumsy, this TITANS barely manages to hold interest let alone entertain. It may also serve as the perfect example of what happens when the writing stage of filmmaking is taken too lightly.

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it.

A Reel Delay...

Reel Speak will be back up and running shortly!

Reel News: Corey Haim 1971-2010

Various media outlets are reporting Corey Haim has died of an accidential drug overdose in Los Angeles.

The former child-actor was probably best known for his roles in THE LOST BOYS, LICENSE TO DRIVE, and LUCAS.

Haim was 38.

Reel News: Shake off your Oscar hangover with this:

A Reel Review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND

This latest rendition of ALICE IN WONDERLAND is Tim Burton’s attempted masterpiece of craftsmanship, held together with scotch tape and Popsicle sticks instead of nails and wood. Using Lewis Carroll’s novels as a merely a backdrop for his dark and whimsical vision, ALICE is a dull film that is occasionally cute to look at, but is overall ineffective and dull.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now in her twenties, falls back into the hole leading to Underland, a magical world she once visited as a young girl, but has little to no memory of. The world is now ruled by the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter, in her 5,000th Burton film), who has devastated the once lush and beautiful landscape. Hooking up with old pals in the form of the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp, in his 5,001st Burton film), the Chesire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the looney-tunes-looking Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), Alice reluctantly looks to restore Underland back to its rightful rule under the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), all while fulfilling her prophesized destiny of slaying the wicked Jabberwocky.

As stated, this Wonderland serves merely as a backdrop and playground for Burton, who doesn’t give us a straight-up adaptation, but more of an alternate tale of what would have happened if a grown-up Alice came back (HOOK, anyone?). It’s not a horrible idea, but Alice’s character doesn’t develop deep enough and never seems to feel any dread or longing to get away from this bizarre place and back home. The storyline is a fresh take on a tale seen a million times over, and it does have teeth at times, but the overall script lets it fall into just another big-budget retread that is bland and predictable.

Burton has always had an excellent eye for striking a perfect balance between dark and whimsical, and here he leans more towards dark. The storyline of an Underland falling into ruin gives him a pass to avoid a Disney-like design and lean towards his trademark bleakness. In this forum it works, but it’s sure to anger many purists loyal to the source material. The CGI work is cartoonish at best, and nothing is convincing or jawdropping. The lack of practical filmmaking leaves things feeling heartless.

Wasikowska looks and feels right as Alice, but is lost amongst the overused green-screen. Depp succeeds as the Hatter, and he mugs and rambles away in front of the camera seemingly on his own with no direction. Hathaway doesn’t do much as the White Queen, but carries what she has to do well. The voice talents are the real stars, with Rickman and Fry getting the best lines and what laughs there are here. Probably the nicest touch is Christopher Lee’s short but sweet work as the voice of the Jabberwocky. His unmistakable pipes are a nice touch to a CGI-overloaded creature with little dread.

Probably suffering the most from the thin script is Bonham-Carter’s Red Queen. Manipulated by CGI to give her an XL head, she looks and feels the part, but there is no dread or malice coming out of the character other than saying “off with his/her head” every other scene. She’s an uninteresting villain that no one would care how she may meet her end or morality lesson.

Younger audiences will be drawn to the film courtesy of the talking animals and wildly colorful palette. Older audiences (anyone over 13), will walk away un-entertained and looking for a bit more. It would have been interesting to have seen Burton attempt this film during his BEETLE JUICE years, where the lack of crap CGI would have kept him grounded with more attention paid to character and script. ALICE is not a disaster, but is far from a stroke of genius.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.

Reel Talk: Oscars are this weekend

The 82nd Academy Awards will be presented Sunday, live on ABC 8pm eastern.

Hosted by the tag team duo of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, this year goes back to an older format of ten (10) nominated films for Best Picture.

The field of Best Pic Noms looks crowded, but only five of the ten have been nominated for Best Director. That makes AVATAR, THE HURT LOCKER, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, PRECIOUS, and UP IN THE AIR the real contenders. With the exception of AVATAR, all those films have been also been nominated for their screenplays, which hurts James Cameron's epic. THE HURT LOCKER and BASTERDS seem to be the favorites on paper, with nominations in acting and technical categories. However it's hard to ignore what AVATAR has done in both the box office and in the visual arts. This writer is filling in the circle next to AVATAR in his pool, as it's just too BIG of a monster to ignore. By the way: the last film to win Best Picture without a screenplay nomination: Cameron's TITANIC in 1997.

My other pics:
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges CRAZY HEART
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Best Actress: Gabourey Sidibe PRECIOUS
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique PRECIOUS

A Reel Release: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Director Spike Jonze's adaptation of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is released today on DVD and Blu-ray. Released in theatres in October of 2009, the film was met with mixed reviews and took it on the chin from fans of the original childrens' book. It earned $77 million at the U.S. Box Office, and was nominated for several awards from the Golden Globes, Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the Art Directors' Guild.

Below is my review posted on Facebook in October of 2009:

Director Spike Jonze returns to the big screen with a charming, engaging, and emotional re-telling of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

WILD THINGS follows the adventures of young Max (Max Records), an imaginative, lonely, and misbehaving boy. His sister is outgrowing him, and his mom is busy with work and a new boyfriend. After a major temper-tantrum, Max runs away from home, and sails away to the land of the wild things, centered upon a group of fantastic creatures who crown him their king.

Max’s story is told through his eyes, and is done masterfully well. There are touches here that will take the viewer right back to childhood, as Max hides, plays, interacts with his mom, and builds things with vivid imagination. With low and unique angles, coupled by well-used shaky-cam, Max’s world is shown from his perspective, and there are elements that will touch the inner-child in everyone.

As good as his home life is presented; it’s his journey to the wild things’ land where things really come to life. In each of the creatures, a portion of Max’s life is represented; from his childhood, to his mother, to the part of him that never gets the attention he seeks. His behavior is reflected back at him, and it makes for great character development. There is a LOT of allegory here, and nothing should be taken literally. Some of the allegory is obvious, and some of it requires some thought and hindsight. Messages concerning the way children play, think, and act are abundant here, and it’s a fulfilling experience. Elements we see from his home life in the early goings are expanded upon in this new world, and it’s fascinating to see.

The creatures are brought to life using animatronics, suitronics, and some CGI . The CGI work is used for the wild things’ faces mostly, and it is beautifully realized. The wild things carry their emotions on their faces, and it is remarkably easy to connect with each one.

The technical work here is superb. Jonze’s camera work is awesome with his unique angles and perfect framing. The score is perfect for its environment and very moving.

Acting-wise, things are perfect. Young Max Records is a great find, as he displays fear, wonder, and anger in a convincing performance. The voice talents of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, and Chris Cooper are perfectly cast, and the voices blend in well with their characters. Catherine Keener is perfect as Max’s mom, as she displays all the love and emotion needed and them some.

Despite being a film about childhood, WILD THINGS doesn’t really lend itself as a kids’ film. There is no villain, no vivid colors, and no colorful characters to catch attentions. Kids will easily become restless in viewing this, as there is a lot of dialogue and few action sequences. Where kids may struggle with it, adults will be taken back to places they had not visited in a long, long time. WILD THINGS is thought-provoking and powerful, and Spike Jonze’s first masterpiece.

BOTTOME LINE: See it.