|
"THE ORDER" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: * (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Heath Ledger stars as Alex Bernier, a maverick priest who is sent to Rome to investigate the death of an excommunicated member of the order. He learns the dead priest was visited by a Sin Eater – someone who can literally consume the sins of a person about to die to ensure passage to heaven. When he starts investigating further, Father Bernier uncovers a dangerous conspiracy surrounding the church which threatens his faith and the power structure of the Vatican.
WHAT I LIKED
Like any fan of horror films over the years, I always like a good religious thriller. Classics like “The Omen” or “The Exoricst” have pre-disposed me to get excited about any film that juxtaposes the good of the church against an agent of evil. On the surface, “The Order” has everything in place – from the cast to the set design to the locations to the concept of a Sin Eater.
This is to say, I liked the set-up of “The Order” quite a bit, and from a technical perspective, it’s not a bad film. The problems are all in the plot and characters, so read on...
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Although well-acted by director Brian Helgeland’s stars from “A Knight’s Tale,” “The Order” is an effort to get through. There are some fantastic concepts, but they are presented in the most convoluted and careless matter. I never remotely connected with Heath Ledger’s character, even when he went through his toughest trials, questioning his faith and finding his loved ones in danger.
The best part of the film is the Sin Eater himself, who we are introduced to in the beginning, but he doesn’t make an appearance until the mid-way point. By then, I was so bored with the characters and their aimless meandering through the story that I had lost interest.
And even when we really start to delve into the concept of the Sin Eater – which should have been the focus of the film in the first place – it’s supported by a messy and cheap looking digital effect.
Near the end of my viewing of this movie, I realized I had seen this before, a memory triggered by a discussion of the sunflower by Shannyn Sossamon’s character. However, I had all but forgotten the entire movie. Even now, I’m forgetting it, and I just watched it the other day.
Yes, suffice to say that “The Order” is forgettable.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with the imported features from the DVD, which includes a commentary by Brian Helgeland and about a half-hour of deleted scenes, which also include the director’s commentary.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Brian Helgeland.
|
"THE AMITYVILLE HORROR" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: MGM Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
After the success of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes latched onto another horror movie property from the 1970s, remaking “The Amityville Horror.” This incarnation of the film stars Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George as the hopeful Lutz family who have just moved into a house in Amityville. However, the house is haunted by spirits, which may have caused the son of the former owner to kill his whole family one night. Over the course of several weeks, the Lutzes face paranormal activity and emotional stress, which threatens their well-being and their very lives.
WHAT I LIKED
While I’m a fan of horror movies, and I have a special affinity towards 70s horror, I was never a fan of the original “The Amityville Horror.” Still, I can respect that movie for the impact it had on popular culture. So the general story and the atmosphere this movie generates is pretty solid.
The actors in this version do a fine job. Melissa George works well, but it’s Ryan Reynolds who carries the movie. He still is clinging to his comedic roots here, and that sometimes makes his line deliveries a little too humorous, but on the whole, he handles the dramatics well. Also, horror fans should get a kick out of seeing Chloe Moretz from “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In” as the youngest of the Lutz children.
I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying with this film, even if they didn’t quite succeed.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
For as short of a film as “The Amityville Horror” is (clocking in at a lean 89 minutes), it is needlessly convoluted. What made the original work was what they didn’t show rather than what they showed. This played into the realism of the film and the ability to fool the audience into thinking it was a true story.
In this remake, they show too much. Taking a nod from “The Grudge,” the director puts the ghosts right there in the frame with obvious digital manipulation. This makes the movie just another cheesy horror movie rather than being something truly scary.
There’s a randomness about the story, mostly with the slow degrading of George Lutz’s personality. While Reynolds manages the subtleties of the acting well, we just seem to jump from scene to scene without any real flow.
Finally, there was too much backstory crammed into the film, which explains too much and leaves the mystery behind. The film all but says what exactly is haunting the Amityville house, and the moment it does that, the magic is gone.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The new Blu-ray includes only the feature film. It’s bundled with the DVD from its original 2005 release, including deleted scenes, a photo gallery, multi-angle on-set peeks, audio commentary with Reynolds and the producers, plus two featurettes: “Supernatural Homicide” about the original Defeo murders and “The Source of Evil” which is a basic making-of spot.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Horror buffs who don’t remember the original or just looooooove Ryan Reynolds.
|
"INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated PG Studio: United Artists Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In 1978, Philip Kaufman remade the classic 1956 sci-fi thriller about seed pods from outer space coming to Earth and taking over people’s bodies. In this new version, he set the film in the bustling city of San Francisco, following Department of Health workers Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) and Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) who slowly discover this chilling conspiracy.
WHAT I LIKED
When I was in first grade, my father took me to the public library to see the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” I loved the movie with a passion but I didn’t sleep for a week. Shortly after that, this remake came out, and no matter how much I begged, he wouldn’t let me go see it. Many years later, I watched it on television, and again I couldn’t sleep for a week.
To this day, Kaufman’s remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is one of the best remakes ever done, right up there with John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” What makes the ’78 “Body Snatchers” work so well is how serious it takes the subject matter. We hadn’t yet gotten to the cheesy tongue-in-cheek horror of the 80s, and the 70s mentality of thrillers played into this version of the film.
The genius of the ’78 film is that we don’t see the invasion happen on the forefront. While we are there at the beginning, it grows slowly around us... like a weed. In the beginning, we half-think that the characters themselves just might be insane. By the time things are bad enough for anyone to believe the invasion is happening, it’s too late.
Watching this film more than thirty years after it was made still works, and the chilling nature holds up. Instead of being a story of “it could happen,” it becomes “what if it did happen?” Improving upon the original film as well as Jack Finney’s original book, this remake has one of the most brilliant and terrifying endings ever committed to film. Even today, I can’t start this movie without watching every single frame of it... and still have some trouble sleeping.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Nothing. It is as perfect a thriller as it can be.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The newly released Blu-ray comes with several featurettes: “Re-Visitors from Outer Space, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod,” “Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod,” “The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod” and “The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod.” It also has the original 1978 theatrical trailer.
The package also comes with the original DVD which has a commentary by Philip Kaufman.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of science fiction who don’t mind a slow burn thriller and a modicum of insomnia.
|
"RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: MGM Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the summer of 1985 while George Romero was releasing “Day of the Dead,” his former writing partner John Russo was releasing his own continuation of “Night of the Living Dead.” “Return of the Living Dead” starts in a medical supply company where the original zombies were shipped after the events of the first film. When two incompetent workers accidentally open the containers, the zombie infection begins again. After cremating the bodies of the zombies that escape, the smoke mixes with the rain and reanimates all the corpses in a nearby graveyard, and all hell breaks loose.
WHAT I LIKED
Calling “Return of the Living Dead” a horror movie is a bit of a misnomer. Rather, it’s a comedy in a horror movie setting. It has the set-up of many horror films from the 80s, in which a group of teens are up to no good and run into a supernatural killer.
The horror elements are actually quite good, though. The effects are pretty solid, in particular the iconic “Tar Man” who emerges from one of the containers. While some people might blame Danny Boyle for his fast-moving zombies in “28 Days Later” or Zack Snyder for his in the “Dawn of the Dead” remake, “Return of the Living Dead” features some pretty athletic zombies for its day.
For the gorehound, “Return of the Living Dead” delivers with plenty of brain-eating and flesh-tearing effects. Even by today’s standards, these make-up effects are pretty impressive and help move this out of spoof territory.
But it’s the comedy that really makes this film work. From zombies radioing back to headquarters to “Send more paramedics” and “Send more cops” to the ridiculous excuse for Linnea Quigley to strip down to nothing but leg-warmers, this movie is an icon of the 80s and a hell of a lot of fun.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The problems with “Return of the Living Dead” are the result of its era more than anything else, including some cheesy cinematography and lighting as well as stock characters from 80s horror movies. The only real problem I had with this film upon revisiting it is the somewhat abrupt ending and reused footage to finish the story. It just seemed thrown together or changed for no real reason.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Both the new Blu-ray and the bundled DVD include the features from the previous release, but they’re worth checking out because they are very extensive. There are two commentaries, one featuring the cast and crew with the undead, and the other featuring the director and production designer.
Featurettes include “The Decade of Darkness,” “The Return of the Living Dead – The Dead Have Risen” and “Designing the Dead.” Also included are two versions (“bloody” and “even bloodier”) of the theatrical trailer.
Clever featurettes include zombie subtitles and “In Their Own Words – The Zombies Speak” subtitles which translate what the zombies are saying.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Zombie fans.
|
"TROLL 2" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Studio: Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the non-sequel to Full Moon’s “Troll,” “Troll 2” tells a story not about trolls but rather about goblins that turn people into plants before eating. In this militant vegetarian tale, a family from the city travels to the small town of Nilbog to live for a week. Guided by his deceased grandfather, young Joshua sees the goblins for what they are and must convince his family that they’re in mortal danger.
WHAT I LIKED
Before “Best Worst Movie” and before Conan O’Brien put “Troll 2” on his must-see list of movies, I was a fan of this film. I rented it on a whim back in the early 90s with my sister, and we watched the video amid gales of laughter at its godawfulness.
But that’s godawfulness in the best way imaginable. “Troll 2” is such a ridiculous film but so indicative of the inexplicable sequels that lined video shelves in the heyday of VHS. It’s fodder for “Mystery-Science Theater 3000” (though Mike and the Bots never skewered it, but RiffTrax did a take on it). But you don’t even need call-outs to enjoy this movie. Just watch it for its silliness of story and line-reads, and the film speaks for itself.
By now, all genre fans should have heard of “Troll 2,” even if it’s in reference to Michael Stephenson’s autobiographical pic “Best Worst Movie.” But unlike other famous bad movies, “Troll 2” is surprisingly watchable. It may have terrible characters, a convoluted plot and a ridiculous story set-up, but it’s the kind of movie that can take you to the very end. It’s put together like a wet Happy Meal box, but every film buff should watch it at least once in his or her life.
There’s a strange heart in “Troll 2” that gives the independent filmmaker hope. Some of that hope comes from the cast, who acts their guts out whether they have the chops to do so or not. And Michael Stephenson is strangely empathetic as the child who figures out the great goblin conspiracy.
What is the purpose of a movie? Most of the time, it’s there simply to entertain. In this respect, “Troll 2” with all of its warts and imperfections is wildly entertaining. And that’s all that anyone can ask for.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There are so many problems with “Troll 2” that I wouldn’t know where to start. But the truth is that all the foibles of the film are also its greatest strength. After all, can you imagine “Troll 2” will a coherent storyline? Or well-constructed characters? Or good make-up effects? Or a child who chooses NOT to pee on food?
Well, that would be like giving Ed Wood a budget. It’d be pointless.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Sadly, the brand new Blu-ray of “Troll 2” only comes with the film and theatrical trailer. Sure, you get it on both a Blu-ray and a DVD, but there are no extra features at all.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who love a good bad movie.
