LITTLE FISH -- movie review by porfle

(NOTE: This review was originally posted at Bumscorner.com in 2006.)

Labeled a "psychological thriller" and promoted with a trailer promising a dark tale that'll have you on the edge of your seat, LITTLE FISH (2005) only qualifies as such for five or ten minutes near the end, and even then just barely.

The rest of the time it's simply the story of a reformed heroin addict named Tracy (Cate Blanchett) who dreams of buying a video store in the "Little Saigon" district near Sydney, Australia where she's worked for the past four years, but she can't get a bank loan to save her life. She's also busy trying to help her surrogate father Lionel (Hugo Weaving), a former national rugby hero, who is fighting his own losing battle against heroin now that his dealer-slash-lover Brad (Sam Neill) has retired from the drug underworld.

But Brad's underling Steve (Joel Tobeck) secretly keeps the business going on his own and eventually enters into a big drug deal with Tracy's ne'er-do-well brother Ray (Martin Henderson) and her ex-lover Jonny (Dustin Nguyen), who has just returned after spending four years in Canada trying to get his drug-addled life back together.

Jonny's return complicates Tracy's already messed-up life, especially when he persuades her to "borrow" money from the video store where she works and invest it in the drug deal, which will supposedly pay off enough for her to buy it at last. But as usual in stories such as this, such a scheme seems destined to fail.

Cate Blanchett gives a casual and restrained performance as Tracy and is a likable main character whose struggle to better herself keeps this very leisurely-paced film interesting throughout. Hugo Weaving is also very good as the drug-ravaged ex-athlete who maintains a strong fatherly relationship with Tracy long after breaking up with her mother, and it's fun to see him in a role so different from the ones he played in the MATRIX and LORD OF THE RINGS trilogies (Blanchett is also miles away from her "Galadriel" character from RINGS).

Sam Neill gives his usual reliable performance, and the rest of the cast is good, especially Noni Hazlehurst as Tracy's long-suffering mother Janelle.

Director Rowan Woods' informal, documentary-style camerawork gives the story a contemplative, dreamlike quality that makes us feel as though we're inside Tracy's head, viewing all the inevitable uncertainties of life from her disoriented point of view. As events spin slowly but surely out of control, this dreamlike quality threatens to turn nightmarish at any point, but never quite does. The brief scenes of tension and suspense near the end of the film as the drug deal threatens to go wrong (as we feared it would) never reach a real crescendo, and the film ends with a frustrating lack of resolution.

I didn't exactly feel as though I'd wasted my time watching it, but I certainly expected more of an ending than seeing three people silently strolling into the ocean at dawn and splashing around for awhile. They seem to be cleansing themselves of the horrid events of the night before, which is nice, but all of the problems that the story has saddled them with thus far still remain and the fade-out comes at least a scene or two too early to satisfy me.

So, while I did enjoy watching it to a certain extent, LITTLE FISH left me unfulfilled and wishing that scriptwriter Jacqueline Perske had taken the time to think of an ending.

Buy it at Amazon.com

"Batman 25th Anniversary Two-Disc Edition" from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Nov. 11



Celebrating 75 Years of Caped Crusader Entertainment…
 

Batman 25th Anniversary Edition
Debuts November 11

in New Diamond Luxe Packaging

 



Burbank, Calif., August 14, 2014 – To help mark Warner Bros. Entertainment (WBE) and DC Entertainment’s milestone 75th anniversary of DC Comics’ popular Batman character, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will release Batman 25^{th Anniversary Two-Disc Edition,} a new Blu-ray™ edition debuting November 11 (at $24.98 SRP) in the studio’s distinctive new sleek Diamond Luxe collector-style packaging. With its state-of-the-art sophisticated and durable design, the new packaging is perfect for those wishing to add this edition to their home libraries. Also included is Batman: The Birth of the Modern Blockbuster -- a look at the phenomenal marketing, extensive merchandising and franchise foresight that set the template for the next 25 years of tentpole pictures.

WBHE and DCE’s year-long celebration, befitting the world’s most popular Super Hero, will boast new products from WBE and DC Entertainment in numerous areas – comics, TV, Interactive Entertainment, Consumer Products and more. There is a new commemorative 75th anniversary Batman logo and an exclusive "Cape/Cowl/Create" art exhibit, featuring 20 contemporary artists’ interpretations of The Dark Knight’s iconic cowl headpiece and cape from the new Batman: Arkham Knight video game. Various other events are taking place throughout the year.

In addition to releasing Batman 25th Anniversary Two-Disc Edition, WBHE will also feature the highly anticipated release of the 1960s Batman: The Complete Television Series for the first time ever. Other new home entertainment releases include animated films Son of Batman and Batman: Assault on Arkham.

In announcing the Batman 75th anniversary initiative in March, WB Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara noted, "Batman is an incredibly important property with multi-generational appeal across all of the Studio’s businesses, and we’re proud to celebrate this milestone anniversary. From billion-dollar blockbuster films to TV, home entertainment, video games and consumer products, The Dark Knight continues to resonate with audiences worldwide and rightfully deserves his place as a global pop culture icon for the ages."

About the Movie
In 1989, director Tim Burton breathed new life into one of the most complex and intriguing characters in popular culture. Burton cast off the 1960s camp depiction of the Dark Knight and launched for Warner Bros. one of the most popular comic book film series ever. Batman was the top-grossing movie that year and subsequently became a global phenomenon.

Tim Burton’s vision and Michael Keaton’s performance as the Caped Crusader combine perfectly to capture Gotham City’s sinister atmosphere and Batman’s brooding nature. Jack Nicholson stars in a memorable performance as the maniacal Joker and Kim Basinger is Vicki Vale, the beautiful and resourceful photojournalist desired by both men. Featuring songs by Prince and a score by Danny Elfman, Batman won the 1990 Oscar® for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Anton Furst and Peter Young).

　
Special Features

Batman: The Birth of the Modern Blockbuster (NEW) Discover how the film's phenomenal marketing, extensive merchandising and franchise foresight set the template for the next 25 years of tentpole pictures.
　
Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.

Academy Awards® and Oscar® are both registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Blu-ray Disc™ and Blu-ray™ and the logos are the trademarks of Blu-ray Disc Association.

Warner Home Video Blu-ray Discs™ offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The format also provides a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film.


About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
 
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com and WBUltra. 

FORTY SHADES OF BLUE -- movie review by porfle

(NOTE: This review was originally posted at Bumscorner.com in 2006.)

FORTY SHADES OF BLUE (2005) won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, which just goes to show that the Sundance Film Festival probably isn't a very fun film festival to go to. In fact, they probably shouldn't use a term that's derived from the word "festive" in their name if this is the sort of film that turns their crank. Maybe "Sundance Film Ordeal" would be more fitting.

I'm not saying I hated or even actually disliked this movie, just that if I were on that jury I wouldn't have voted for for something so slow and boring. The main credit for whatever interest I had in it goes to the two lead actors, especially the great Rip Torn as Alan James, a Memphis music-biz legend with a long career as a top rhythm and blues performer and record producer.

Offstage and away from his admiring public, he tends to be a puerile old fart who throws tantrums in the recording studio and can only relate in a meaningful way with groupies and little kids, such as his three-year-old son, Sam, with whom he gleefully plays children's games.

Sam's mother is Alan's current love interest, Laura, a wispy, introspective Russian beauty who met him while he was on a business trip in Moscow. Laura is played by Dina Korzun, who is another reason this movie is as watchable as it is. At first I didn't like her distant, disaffected manner much, but eventually I began to appreciate Korzun's eccentric acting style more and more as she slowly revealed the nuances of her character.

Laura's main problem is that she doesn't really love Alan anymore, and is tired of being left alone at parties and stood up for dinner dates while Alan wanders off with his latest sexual distraction. She tolerates this because he actually loves her in his own way, and because he gives her a pampered lifestyle she never could've had back in Russia, but without even realizing it she's begun to yearn for something more. Which is where Alan's son comes into the picture.

Michael (Darren E. Burrows of TV's "Northern Exposure") is Alan's semi-estranged offspring from a former marriage, whom Dad has invited to come help him celebrate his winning a lifetime achievement award of some sort, and also to hopefully patch things up between them. Well, before you can say "wuh-woh", Michael and Laura start to develop feelings for each other that soon lead to clandestine bed-ins in various hotel rooms. Yes, of all people, they "complete" each other.

Although, of course, their unlikely relationship is doomed from the start. To make things worse, Michael really cares for his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, and Alan, bless his heart, has chosen this unfortunate moment in time to finally, and very publicly, ask Laura to marry him--even though he's beginning to suspect that things between Laura and Michael are getting disturbingly intimate.

Burrows isn't very interesting as Michael--he may resemble a young Michael Parks, but his morose presence is far removed from Parks' inventively oddball acting style. Dina Korzun is rather fascinating to watch as the movie progresses and Laura becomes more and more conflicted, until finally she is unable to hide an overwhelming despair.

But it's Rip Torn's performance that is the main reason to stick it out all the way to the end. He's a great actor, and makes the most of his character. When Alan finally realizes that he's lost Laura--probably his one true love in life--for good, Rip makes us feel it.

All artsy-fartsy trappings aside, FORTY SHADES OF BLUE is pure soap opera--an updated version of the kind of stuff people like Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson used to star in--but it's pretty good soap opera if you can just stay awake long enough to see it through. I didn't like the abrupt ending very much, though, because just when it started getting good, it was over. Hmm...I couldn't wait for this movie to end, but it ended too soon? Talk about conflicted.

Buy it at Amazon.com

H.G. WELLS' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS -- DVD review by porfle

(This is a repost of my very first online movie review, posted at Bumscorner.com in 2005. I had just bought the DVD of Timothy Hines' notorious H.G. Wells adaptation--the original version, that is--and decided to choose it as my debut title. Thanks to Mike Eschelman of Bumscorner for giving me my start.)

This certainly is a familiar title these days! I haven't seen the mega-bucks Steven Spielberg version or that other one with C. Thomas Howell and Jake Busey in it yet, but it's a pretty good bet that the absolute worst of the current bunch is "H.G. Wells' The War Of The Worlds" (Spielberg didn't mention Wells in his title, and the other one only has one "The" -- that's how you tell them apart), which is now available on DVD.

I'd seen the trailer online and was aware that this film's budget was way too small for cinematographer/editor/writer/director Timothy Hines to afford any really expensive CGI. But the shot of Big Ben getting blown in half by a Martian heat ray and crashing into a bridge looked pretty decent, and the quick glimpses of advancing tri-legged Martian war machines didn't seem too bad. I figured at that price (under nine dollars) I couldn't go wrong, so I picked up a copy and gave it a chance. Three seemingly interminable hours later I was wanting my money back really, really bad.

The script by Hines and Susan Goforth (who also produced and plays a role in the film) sticks close to Wells' novel, retaining the original period and locations and much of the text itself. The costumes are very authentic-looking. But as soon as we see the main character of the film sitting there with what resembles a glob of spinach glued to his upper lip, we know something's wrong. (Actor Anthony Piana also portrays this character's twin brother later in the film, without the fake mustache.)

From the very first scene this film looks like it was done by the same people who shoot dramatizations for shows like "Unsolved Mysteries" and "America's Most Wanted." It's hard to believe that anyone ever considered releasing this to theaters instead of directly to DVD -- I can't imagine sitting in a movie theater witnessing this amateurish effort actually being projected for an audience.

The computer effects look like something out of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", only slightly less realistic. I read somewhere online that Hines actually created them on his laptop, and I don't doubt it. As a viewer, it's really hard to suspend your disbelief when everything looks like really bad video game graphics.

Not only that, but almost every shot uses some kind of inept computer effects, even for simple backgrounds, both indoors and out, and the green-screen stuff is so bad that the contours of the actors' heads keep changing when they move. Distant soldiers and horses look like cartoons; people riding in carriages are manipulated against fake backgrounds like characters on "South Park." And some scenes which are supposed to take place at night are filmed in broad daylight, with a strip of star-bedecked black added to the top of the frame.

It just keeps getting worse. The first casualties of the Martian death ray burst into flames, become computer-generated skeletons, and then keep on thrashing around even after all their flesh has been totally vaporized. The Martians themselves are just plain dumb-looking -- sort of like Fruit Roll-Ups with eyes and tentacles. Their war machines look okay, but are clumsily-animated.

The performances fall into two categories: bad silent movie-type mugging, and tiresome overacting. Director Hines is no help, though, making his actors walk, trot, or sprint from one place to another in several unnecessary scenes, or simply having them stand there and make faces denoting various emotions as they pretend to witness spectacles that the special effects can never hope to depict. Much of his direction appears to have consisted of phrases like "Okay, look sad! Action!" or "Okay, look horrified! Action!", or "Quick! Jog over there! Action!"

Did I mention that this thing is three hours long? And those are doctor's office waiting room hours, not Happy Fun Theme Park hours.

There is one pretty good thing about this movie -- the music. The opening titles, in fact, are the best thing about it, with an impressive theme (the synth often sounds convincingly orchestral) and the cool way that the text slowly moves forward like in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Sometimes I pop the DVD in and watch this first minute or so just so I don't feel like I totally wasted my money on it. There's a danger in doing this, though -- if I'm not careful, I actually see part of the movie before I can hit the "stop" button.

Buy it at Amazon.com

Originally posted Tuesday, June 28, 2005

LOW WINTER SUN: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD review by porfle

After seeing him play good guys in the fairly interesting psychological thriller ANNA and now this, AMC's one-season cop show LOW WINTER SUN: THE COMPLETE SERIES (a 3-disc, ten-episode DVD set from Anchor Bay), I have now officially forgiven Mark Strong for being the totally boo-hiss Frank D'Amico in KICK-ASS. (The fact that I hated him for that in the first place is a testament to his acting skills.) So now, I can accept him in the role of a morally conflicted homicide cop who's the good guy except for one tiny little catch--his cop character is also a cop-killer.

That's right, the term "good guy" can be pretty relative. Here, Strong plays Detroit homicide detective Frank Agnew, a former hero whom you might call a "faded flower" of departmental integrity. We know this isn't going to be your standard police procedural when the series opens with Frank and fellow detective Joe Geddes (Lennie James, "The Walking Dead") murdering Geddes' now-former partner Brendan McCann in cold blood and disposing of the body by staging a fake suicide.

The viewer is thrown for a loop from the first minutes. Here we have the show's two lead cops pretending to investigate their fellow detective's brutal homicide while actually doing their best to sabotage said investigation until the case goes cold. When a witness crops up claiming to have seen a tall, bald white guy and a medium-sized black guy--namely, Frank and Geddes--plunging the dead McCann's car into the river, they respond by contradicting, confusing, and discrediting him until he doesn't know what he saw.

The first episode (entitled, simply enough, "Pilot") establishes the basics--crooked good cops, crooked bad cops, crooked bad guys. In short, crooked everything. Interdepartmental tension grows when Internal Affairs sets the small but tenacious Lt. Simon Boyd (David Costabile) loose in the squad room. McCann, it seems, has been under scrutiny for quite awhile due to his shady dealings with drug traffickers, leading to the murder of some small-time dealers and the disappearance of a prostitute-witness named Katia (Mickey Sumner).

To complicate things even further, Frank was in love with Katia and is now obsessed with finding her. Geddes, on the other hand, doesn't want her found because she knows too much about his own involvement with McCann's extracurricular activities.

The plot is so twisted that lead characters Frank and Geddes alternate between working together to stall the case, and being at each others' throats due to their wildly conflicting motives. Their boss, Lt. Dawson (Ruben Santiago-Hudson), just wants everything to work itself out in any way necessary so he can move up the ladder and get a corner office with a view. Perhaps the biggest threat to Frank and Geddes, strangely enough (aside from Internal Affairs man Boyd), is Detective Dani Khalil (Athena Karkanis), since her honesty and integrity have yet to be hopelessly corrupted.

While all of this is going on, we get to know the criminals with whom McCann was secretly dealing and, at times, even empathize with their ambition to break out from under the thumb of local Greek crime boss Alexander Skelos (Alon Aboutboul) and make it on their own. Husband and wife team Damon and Maya Callis (James Ransone, Sprague Grayden) know they're playing with fire, especially when Damon hatches a dangerous plan to hit Skelos which Maya is strongly against because of the danger it poses to their children.

And yes, our heroes Frank and Geddes themselves have a long personal history with the two which, like just about everything else in this show, leads to plenty of complications down the line.

We're meant to be ambivalent toward almost all of the main characters in LOW WINTER SUN, and for the most part the writers pull this off. This can be rather stimulating to watch as standard good-bad stereotypes are manipulated to make us wonder sometimes who we should be rooting for or against. It also makes for storylines that are wildly unpredictable, especially since most of these characters are a highly volatile bunch prone to violent acting out.

The downside of this series is that all of the good stuff takes a while--several episodes, in fact--to come together enough to demand our attention and make us insatiably eager to see what happens next. At times, the show tries too hard to be "gritty" (in one scene, Frank tells Geddes that they're trying to push a "square turd down a round toilet") and the early going is filled with long, uninteresting dialogue scenes that make us yearn for the next sudden shock or explosive confrontation.

Around the third disc, however, things heat up to the point that I was watching in rapt attention as Frank, AWOL from a pressing court date while being sought by his own police department, goes through a life-shattering meltdown--a magnificent, self-destructive breakdown of epic proportions. (Mark Strong has a field day in these final episodes.) Geddes, meanwhile, continues to be an increasingly complex character who knows he's sold his soul but is trying to salvage what's left of it even as we keep being surprised by what he is capable of.

Stylistically, the series is a bit murky-looking at times but keeps the handheld-camera thing on an acceptably functional level like the old show "Homicide: Life on the Streets" rather than going full-out "NYPD Blue." Much of the show's "gritty" quality comes from its production design--the squad room, in particular, looks like it should either be totally renovated or condemned for demolition.

The 3-disc DVD set from Anchor Bay is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish. Extras include the featurettes "A Look at 'Low Winter Sun'", "Detroit Grit", and "Designing the Precinct." There are also brief featurettes for each episode and a wealth of deleted scenes.

With its excellent leads and a fine supporting cast, LOW WINTER SUN rewards patient viewers who can make it through the slower early going until the final episodes catch dramatic fire. It's a shame the series wasn't picked up for a second season and given a chance to get even better--it would've been interesting to see where the writers went with it. But these ten episodes are fairly self-contained and supply enough of a resolution to not leave us hanging.
Buy it at Amazon.com

TCM: Three New Greatest Classic Films Collections

 

New from Turner Classic Movies & Warner Home Video

December 2

Three New Greatest Classic Film Collections Include

Cary Grant Vol. 2, Taylor & Burton and Bogie & Bacall

 

BURBANK, Calif. , August 5, 2014 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (WBHE) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) are adding three new collections to their TCM Greatest Classic Films: Legends line, which spotlights Hollywood’s greatest legends. Available December 2, the newest additions are Cary Grant Vol. 2, Taylor & Burton and Bogie & Bacall.  Each collection features four classic films and is affordably priced at $27.92 SRP.

 

To build further momentum for these titles, WBHE has set the street date for the collections to coincide with the airing of one film from each collection on TCM. Additional promotional support will include on-air promotional spots on TCM and print advertising in TCM's Now Playing guide.

 

ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS

 

TCM GREATEST CLASSIC FILMS: LEGENDS – CARY GRANT VOLUME 2

 

 

  SYLVIA SCARLETT (1935) - Katharine Hepburn is Sylvia Scarlett, a woman who disguises herself as a man to evade the law. Cary Grant is jewel smuggler Jimmy Monkley, a competing young grifter. The two find themselves cooperating on a heist...and caught in a web of romantic entanglements.

 

GUNGA DIN (1939) - Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. star as cheeky British soldiers armed with battlefield gallantry as they combat a murderous sect in colonial India. Director George Stevens orchestrates teeming battles and boisterous humor from a screenplay by Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol.

 

DESTINATION TOKYO (1943) - Grant plays the captain of a submarine making its battle-strewn way from San Francisco to the Aleutians and into the enemy’s front yard. Delmer Daves (who co-wrote with Albert Maltz) directs, while John Garfield leads an array of costars playing boys-next-door gone to war.

 

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944) - Frank Capra breezily directs this classic farce written by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein based on the Broadway hit. A frazzled drama critic’s two maiden aunts put a secret ingredient in their wine – and the result is howlingly hilarious, with Grant at his comic best.

 

 

TCM GREATEST CLASSIC FILMS: LEGENDS – TAYLOR & BURTON

 

 

THE V.I.P.s (1963) - Fog rolls in, grounding air traffic. Over the next fateful night, elite passengers awaiting London-to-U.S. flights must face problems instead of fleeing them. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and more deliver romantic melodrama mixed with wry comedic flourishes.

 

THE SANDPIPER (1965) - Rapturous Big Sur is the backdrop as a minister (Burton) is torn between his yearnings for a beautiful free spirit (Taylor) and his love for his wife (Eva Marie Saint). Directed by Vincente Minnelli from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and Michael Wilson.

 

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) - Taylor and Burton are ideal as malevolent marrieds in first-time film director Mike Nichols’ searing film of Edward Albee’s groundbreaking play (written for the screen by Ernest Lehman). The movie won a total of five Oscars®[1] and remains a taboo-toppling landmark.

THE COMEDIANS (1967) - Romantic and political passions are set ablaze in Haiti during the brutal rule of Papa Doc Duvalier. Burton and Taylor lead a ‘who’s who’ cast of stars caught up in the strongman’s reign of terror in a story as disturbing and redeeming as mankind’s conflicted heart.

 

 

TCM GREATEST CLASSIC FILMS: LEGENDS – BOGIE & BACALL

 

 

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944) - World-weary Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) changes his mind about helping the Free French when a sultry siren (19-year-old Lauren Bacall in her screen debut) comes along. Full of intrigue and racy banter, this is the thriller that brought Bogart and Bacall together.

 

THE BIG SLEEP (1946) - L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe (Bogart) takes on a blackmail case and trails murderers, rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Bacall costars under Howard Hawks’ brisk direction of William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman’s ace adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel.

 

DARK PASSAGE (1947) - Bogart is a prison escapee framed for murder who emerges from plastic surgery with a new face. Bacall is his lone ally, and the chemistry between the leads is undeniable. Agnes Moorehead plays a supporting role as a venomous harpy in Delmer Daves’ stylish film-noir thriller.

 

KEY LARGO (1948) - Outside, a hurricane swells. Inside, a sadistic mobster (Edward G. Robinson) holds a hotel owner (Bacall), her invalid father-in-law (Lionel Barrymore) and an ex-GI (Bogart) at gunpoint in this classic from director John Huston (who co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Brooks).

 

                                                             Order Information:

Street Date: December 2, 2014

Order Due Date: October 28,, 2014

SRP: $27.92 for each collection

 

TCM Greatest Classic Films: Legends -  Cary Grant Vol. 2 MAT: 1000491025	TCM Greatest Classic Films: Legends -  Taylor & Burton MAT: 1000491021
TCM Greatest Classic Films: Legends -  Bogie &  Bacall MAT: 1000491023

 

Academy Award(s)® and Oscar(s)® are registered trademarks and services marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

 

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com and WBUltra.

 

About TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection is a partnership between Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies. The initiative combines the strengths of the companies in serving both serious film buffs and a new generation of movie lovers. The TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection builds on the success of previous joint initiatives between Turner Classic Movies and Warner Home Video, including the TCM Archives series and the TCM Spotlight series.

 

Warner Home Video, which owns the world’s largest film library, has more Best Picture Oscar® wins than any other studio and its films have garnered more than 300 Academy Awards®.

 

Turner Classic Movies is currently seen in more than 85 million homes and will support Warner Home Video and the new collection with extensive marketing. TCM’s marketing plan includes print ads in TCM’s popular Now Playing guide, banners on tcm.com, and on-air mentions by the network’s renowned primetime host, Robert Osborne.

 

 

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. TCM, which is available in more than 85 million homes, features the insights of hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. Currently in its 20th year as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials; film series like The Essentials, hosted by Robert Osborne and Drew Barrymore, and Friday Night Spotlight; and annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® in February, Summer Under the Stars in August and TCM Essentials Jr. during the summer. TCM also connects with movie fans through such events as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City . In addition, TCM produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs, and hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app.

 

TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. Turner Broadcasting creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

 

Connect with TCM:

 

Website: http://tcm.com

Pressroom: http://news.turner.com/tcm

Facebook: http://facebook.com/tcmtv

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tcm | http://twitter.com/tcmpr

THE MARSH -- movie review by porfle



(This review originally appeared online at Bumscorner.com in 2007.)

You know how nerve-wracking it is when you think you're alone and someone sneaks up from behind and grabs you? THE MARSH (2006) loves to do that. It does it so frequently, in fact, that you begin to expect it and the effect is diminished, although every once in a while your guard is down and it grabs you again. But is it really scary? No.

Claire (Gabrielle Anwar) is a children's book writer/illustrator who has been having horrible nightmares about a little girl and a scary old house, and when she happens to see the house on TV, she travels to the sleepy community where it's located and rents it. Before long, she starts seeing the ghosts of the little girl and a teenage boy who seem to be trying to tell her something. These random appearances are where some of the movie's best "gotcha!" moments occur--the "shock" makeup on the boy is particularly effective.

The town's newspaper editor and local historian, Noah Pitney (STARGATE: UNIVERSE star Justin Louis, who also played Sarah Polley's husband in the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake) seems immediately attracted to Claire and supplies her with information about the house--years ago, a boy named Brendan and a little girl named Rose were lost in the nearby marsh and never found--but is skeptical of any ghostly manifestations. Eventually Claire begins to suspect that he's holding something back from her and can't quite trust him.

She finally seeks the help of a paranormal investigator named Hunt (Forest Whitaker) after finding his business card under a sofa (he's been summoned there before). After touring the house, Hunt advises Claire to check into a motel. She doesn't, so he agrees to help. "What do they want from me?" she asks at one point, to which he replies, "I don't know, but one thing's for sure...it's you they want it from."

Their investigation will soon turn up evidence of foul play involving some of the town's leading citizens, for which certain entities in the spirit world now seem intent upon seeking revenge. And somehow, Claire herself is connected with the whole thing.

THE MARSH wants to be really scary but only knows how to startle you now and then. There's some good CGI whenever Claire's bedroom reverts back to its original state on the night Brendan and Rose disappeared, but as the remake of THE HAUNTING so effectively demonstrated, CGI isn't scary. Neither are a bunch of wind effects, flashing lights, and a loud soundtrack. As evidenced in an early scene, a mere shadow on the wall can be a lot more frightening than any of that over-the-top stuff.

But like so many of these haunted house movies, the filmmakers give us a spooky set up with some potential and then, throwing sublety aside, try to hammer us with a lot of frenetic activity. It's interesting to look at but it isn't scary, and ultimately ends up being rather pedestrian. Rod Serling churned out more effective stuff than this on a weekly basis back in his "Night Gallery" days.

The final resolution of the mystery is okay but not all that interesting, with a twist that we've seen numerous times before. What we're left with is a mildly entertaining spook story that looks good, with some nice performances (especially from Forest Whitaker, who's always worth watching), but not nearly enough of the truly spine-chilling stuff that the first half of the movie sets us up for. Then again, I didn't think THE CHANGELING with George C. Scott was all that scary, yet I know people who still shiver at the mention of it. So your mileage may vary.

Buy it at Amazon.com

PROUD -- movie review by porfle

(This review was originally posted at Bumscorner.com in 2006.)

As a history lesson, PROUD (2004) serves its purpose pretty well. But as a movie, it's about as exciting as one of those educational films they used to make you suffer through in school.

As our story opens, we find grumpy old grampa Ossie Davis awakened by some of that awful hippity-hoppity music his visiting grandson Larry and his two friends are playing in the living room. He drags himself out of bed to wander in there and yell at them, and to tell them that the noise they've been listening to isn't real music and that they should listen to some of his old blues records because this singer that he likes from the old days could sing the blues like nobody else. So he orders Larry to go fetch his old record player and makes them listen to one of his records, and sure enough, the blues singer that Grampa likes so much really does sing the blues like nobody else, which is good because she's freakin' horrible.

But that doesn't matter, because while grabbing the record player Larry also digs out Grampa's old World War II scrapbook that tells of his service on the USS Mason, a warship with an all-black crew. How, asks one of the persnippity youngsters, could he have fought for a country that had such a history of prejudice against his race? To which Grampa responds that he was fighting for his home and his people, and that for better or worse America is his home and he is proud (key word there) to have have helped defend it.

 Tell us more, Grampa!, the young whippersnappers excitedly urge as a sudden thirst for knowledge overwhelms them, and before you know it Grampa is happily strolling down memory lane toward the foggy banks of flashback-land.

We next see the young Grampa (whose actual name is Lorenzo DuFau) in a Navy uniform with his two best buddies, Skinny and James, serving aboard the USS Mason along with their other black shipmates. Right away we are shown how the crew are treated as second-class sailors or worse (the ship's chief is an especially huge jackass), and how some enraged dockworkers almost storm the ship after seeing the black sailors dancing with some white female USO entertainers.

The Navy itself looks down upon the Mason as an "experiment" that will probably fail, expecting the all-black crew to jump overboard at the first sign of danger. But as history shows (yes, this is a true story) this was hardly the case, as the crew of the USS Mason performed with valor in a number of hazardous situations.

The trouble with PROUD, unfortunately, is that these potentially exciting experiences are depicted with about as much dramatic impact as a film strip. The camera angles for the scenes on the USS Mason's deck are obviously designed to hide the fact that they are all filmed on a stationary ship, and these are intercut with actual black-and-white WWII footage and clips from old movies, which only emphasizes the static, artificial look of the new scenes.

Just when it appears that we're about to see something exciting, as when the ship encounters a German U-boat that fires a torpedo at them, all we get are a few tense close-ups, some black-and-white stock footage of a torpedo going by, and Grampa's voiceover announcing, "We DID it! We outsmarted that U-boat! And that torpedo went right by us."

 Later, a sequence showing the Mason trying to stay afloat during a fierce storm on the Atlantic while leading a convoy to England is similarly deflated before it even begins to pick up steam. A few tense looks, some stock footage of a storm-swept ship, and it's frustratingly over. It's like movie night at the old folks' home, as though the filmmakers were afraid a little excitment might be bad for our digestion or something.

There's a sequence in which the ship docks in Ireland, and Lorenzo and the gang are denied shore leave until their sympathetic captain ignores his orders and lets them go. There, they are treated with respect and regarded simply as "Yanks." They go to a pub where they are given free pints of dark, yucky ale -- which they seem to like more and more with each refill -- and meet up with Barney (Stephen Rea, best known as the guy who got such an eye-opening surprise in THE CRYING GAME), who takes them to a party with lots of traditional Irish singing and dancing.

During a stirring rendition of "Danny Boy", Barney encourages James to go AWOL and stay in Ireland, never having to return to America again and suffer the racism that he has faced previously. This sounds great to James at the time and he takes off. As the clock ticks toward the deadline for them to make it back to the ship, Lorenzo -- that's young Grampa, remember -- and Skinny go cross-country in search of James, and for a few moments it seems as though this subplot will develop into something suspenseful. But then they find James. And go back to the ship. And that's it.

Later, they get some time off in America and visit Skinny's mother (Denise Nicholas) and sister. James falls in love with the sister and they get married. During the post-nuptial party the radio announces that Germany has surrendered. Everyone sorta goes "Yaaa-aay." And after a while the flashback segment of the movie finally fizzles out, since all the main story points have been duly laid out for us in as perfunctory a manner as possible.

When we return to the present, we find that Larry has become all fired up by Grampa's stirring tales of heroism and vows to petition the Navy to finally grant the crew of the USS Mason the recognition they deserve. It turns out that Larry's dad knows a senator who might be able to help them, but Larry's dad is mad at Grampa for not giving him enough Dad-time when he was a kid.

However, this subplot gets worked out before we're in any danger of getting excited about it, and we finally get to see a ceremony in which Grampa and his crewmates are given an official commendation by the US Navy, whose negligence in appreciating their valiant efforts is rectified at last.

There's even some actual footage at the end showing President Clinton with the real-life Lorenzo DuFau and other surviving members of the USS Mason's crew on board a new ship that has been given the same name in their honor.

PROUD, written and directed by Mary Pat Kelly and based on her book, "Proudly We Served", was Ossie Davis' last movie, and he turns in his usual strong performance as the older Lorenzo DuFau. My guess is that he believed strongly in this project, and intended it to enlighten more than to entertain -- which it does -- so he'd probably be happy to have it as his swan song. I'm certainly glad to have learned the story of the USS Mason and her crew.

But cinematically, PROUD is a dull, lifeless experience. It makes the perilous adventures these men had on the high seas during WWII seem about as thrilling as one of the slower episodes of "The Waltons", and as dry as a history textbook. And while I watched it, I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't going to be tested on it later.

THE WHO “WHO HITS 50” 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS (The Who Wants You!)

THE WHO “WHO HITS 50”

50^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

 

THE WHO WANTS YOU!

 

There is no more significant a milestone in Rock Music than the 50th Anniversary. Alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, THE WHO complete the holy trinity of British Rock bands that have the honor of celebrating that landmark.

 

WHO HITS 50 will be celebrated with a year-long series of releases, promotions and events designed to capture the imagination of existing fans and the younger generation of fans that are only coming to realize the enormity of THE WHO’s influence not only musically, but through music, art, film and fashion.

 

All launched in June with the announcement of a string of UK Arena shows and a Greatest Hits collection to be released on October 28, 2014.

 

 

In anticipation of the celebrations, THE WHO are reaching out to fans and collectors around the world, looking for rare and lost recordings to complete a thorough trawl of their archives.

 

The band is looking for rare radio and TV performances, home movies from gigs, extraordinary bootleg material, demos, unusual photos and memorabilia for their 50^th anniversary releases. If you think it’s rare, we’d like to see it!

 

In 2002 the legendary film “The High Numbers at the Railway Hotel" from 1964 was found in a loft in the Netherlands. This priceless snapshot of the band in their formative years shows that there is always undiscovered material somewhere.

 

Any item that is used will be fully credited on any release and the person with the most outstanding find will receive 2 VIP tickets for a show on the next Who tour.

 

The contact for any fan wanting to get in touch is thewho@umusic.com

 

www.thewho.com

WBHE Press Announce: "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Extended Edition Debuts November 4

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG EXTENDED EDITION

A PRODUCTION OF NEW LINE CINEMA

AND METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES,

THE NEWEST EPIC IN THE HOBBIT TRILOGY

ARRIVES ON BLU-RAY 3D^TM AND

BLU-RAY™ NOVEMBER 4^TH FROM

WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Extended Edition Features a 25-Minute Longer Cut and
 More Than Nine Hours of New Special Features

Digital HD will be available in late October

 

Burbank, Calif., August 5, 2014 – The Quest through Middle-earth continues in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, from Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, when the epic fantasy adventure is released as an Extended Edition on Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray on November 4^th from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE). A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, this extended cut of the second film in The Hobbit Trilogy includes 25 minutes of extra film footage that extends individual scenes, making this the must-see, definitive version for fans. Both versions of the Extended Edition include more than nine hours of new bonus features that will enrich the experience of the Trilogy as fans gear up for the December 17 theatrical release of the third and final film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

 

Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. The international ensemble cast is led by Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. The film also stars Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Adam Brown, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Ryan Gage, John Bell, Manu Bennett and Lawrence Makoare.

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition will be available as a 5-disc Blu-ray 3D set ($54.98 SRP) that features the Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray versions of the Extended Edition; and a 3-disc Blu-ray ($35.99). Both the Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray include a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet.

The nine-plus hours of new special features boasts audio commentary with Peter Jackson, the film's director/producer/screenwriter, and Philippa Boyens, co-producer/screenwriter, as well as “The Appendices,” a multi-part documentary focusing on various aspects of the film and the Trilogy. Complete special feature details are provided below.

 

SYNOPSIS

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

 

Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company travels East, encountering along the way skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood . After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all–a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself–The Dragon Smaug.

 

 

 

ALL-NEW SPECIAL FEATURES ON BLU-RAY 3D AND BLU-RAY

 

·         Commentary with Peter Jackson, Director/Producer/Screenwriter and Philippa Boyens, Co-Producer/Screenwriter

·         The Appendices – The Appendices Parts IX and X showcase an immersive multi-part history of the filming of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, training, the work done on set and in the world of its digital effects.

·         New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth – Part 2

 

 

 

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS

 

Beginning late October, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition will be available for download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers.

ABOUT DIGITAL HD WITH ULTRAVIOLET

*Digital HD with UltraViolet allows fans to watch a digital version of their movie or TV show anywhere, on their favorite devices. Digital HD with UltraViolet is included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs. Digital HD with UltraViolet allows consumers to instantly stream and download movies and TV shows to TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones through UltraViolet retail services like CinemaNow, Flixster, Target Ticket, VUDU and more. For more information on compatible devices go to wb.com/ultravioletdevices. Consult an UltraViolet Retailer for details and requirements and for a list of HD-compatible devices.

 

 

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition

Street Date: November 4, 2014

Order Due Date: September 30, 2014

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 186 mins.

Blu-ray 3D: $54.98 SRP

Blu-ray: $35.99 SRP

 

 

 

Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.

 

 

“Academy Award®,” “Academy Awards®” is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

 

Blu-ray Disc™ and Blu-ray™ and the logos are the trademarks of Blu-ray Disc Association.

Warner Home Video Blu-ray Discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The format also provides a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film.

 

About The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

From Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar^®-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 

 

The screenplay for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh.  The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.

 

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  The film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production.  Warner Bros. Pictures handled worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.  www.thehobbit.com

 

 

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com and WB Ultra.

 

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content.  In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.