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"A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: New Line Cinema Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The teenagers of Springwood are having nightmares. However, these are nightmares they aren’t waking up from. A mysterious man in a striped sweater, wearing a Fedora and wielding a glove with knives on its fingers is terrorizing them. And when he kills them in their dreams, they die in real life. As the kids deal with insomnia and persistent fear, they learn the town’s dirty little secret of the man in their dreams, Freddy Krueger.
WHAT I LIKED
I have been a huge fan of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series since I was in school in the 1980s. In fact, a couple years ago when the “Friday the 13th” remake came out, a lot of my horror movie buddies threw out the “Freddy or Jason?” question the way music fans throw out the “Elvis or The Beatles?” question. For me, it’s Freddy and Elvis every time.
While I have some major beefs with this remake (see below for more on that), I did find several elements of the film to have been done effectively. First, the movie shines with its dream sequences, which utilize digital effects incredibly well. Also, where the earlier films tried this and often failed, the “Nightmare on Elm Street” remake was able to switch between dream and reality almost seamlessly.
Also, even though he takes the role a little too seriously, Jackie Earle Haley does a good job as Freddy Krueger. Haley is hardly an imposing figure, but he manages to bring a presence to the film that is both foreboding and chilling. And I’m okay with a horror movie villain who doesn’t resort to wisecracking and silliness, which the original Freddy Krueger fell into far too deep.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
When I first saw this remake with an audience of teenagers who had never seen a Freddy Krueger movie that wasn’t on DVD or VHS, I saw why it did well. This was essentially new material for them, and if I had seen it in a vacuum, I probably would have enjoyed it more. But coming at this film with all the “Nightmare” films that preceded it, and I just was left cold.
My biggest problem was that I didn’t give a hoot about any of the characters. I know that’s nothing new for a “Nightmare” movie, and as the sequels wore on, the teenagers become nothing more than slasher fodder. But I still like the characters from the first film, and these kids were cardboard shadows of them.
Finally, the story makes Krueger a child molester rather than a child killer, which never quite sat right with me. I understand this was Wes Craven’s original vision before he sanitized the crimes in 1984, but going from the psychology of adoring children so much to a psychotic level to just killing them seemed like a leap for me. Maybe if Krueger brought that element to the nightmares it would have made more sense.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The best special feature on this disc is the “Maniacal Movie Mode,” which is the slasher version of Warner’s “Maximum Movie Mode.” This includes interviews, behind the scenes and commentary on the film’s process.
Also included in the special features is an alternate opening and alternate ending with additional footage. There’s also a stand-alone documentary about the making of the film called “Freddy Krueger Reborn.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Teenagers who have never really experienced the original films.
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"THE HANGOVER: EXTREME EDITION" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R and Unrated Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Four guys head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to end all bachelor parties. After a night of raucous drinking and a little unplanned drug use (thanks to some roofies slipped to them by their needy new buddy), they wake up with blinding hangovers and no memory of the night before. They also have lost the groom, whom they need to find before his wedding in Los Angeles the next day.
WHAT I LIKED
“The Hangover” was the sleeper hit of 2009, and Warner Bros. is milking it for all it’s worth. After a pretty big DVD and Blu-ray launch almost a year ago, the studio is ramping up for Todd Phillips’ follow-up this fall with “Due Date.” Also starring Zach Galifianakis as an awkward and eccentric whack-job, “Due Date” is hoping to cash in on the success of “The Hangover.”
The release of “The Hangover: Extreme Edition” coincides with the “Due Date” launch, and it reminds us how funny this film was in the first place. There’s really nothing new and unique about it, considering many of the jokes were thrown against the wall with “Bachelor Party” decades ago, but that doesn’t stop it from being most effectively done.
This is now the third time I have seen this movie... once in the theater, once on DVD and now on Blu-ray, and I am happy to say that it holds up to repeat viewings. What really makes it work is the chemistry of the cast, which captured lightning in a bottle with three relatively unknown but experienced stars (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis). There’s a generosity to their comedy, which makes them play incredibly well off each other.
With the buzz surrounding “Due Date” and the upcoming “The Hangover 2,” I can only hope they hold up to the original, ‘cause this movie is a ton of fun.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Like the aforementioned “Bachelor Party,” “The Hangover” is bound to be a classic, and that can also be its own worst enemy. As with the insane hype surrounding the movie in its initial release, it’s best to see this one cold, otherwise you could be expecting too much.
And like any great comedy like “Ghostbusters,” “Caddyshack” and “Meatballs,” there is a sense of dread hanging over the would-be sequels as I fear nothing’s really going to live up to it.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray offers both the theatrical and unrated versions, which don’t seem different in spite of the eight extra minutes. Additional features from the original Blu-ray release include a gag reel, the Dan Band performing “Fame,” an “Action Mash-Up,” the “Three Best Friends” song, a feature commentary, a selection of improv lines from Ken Jeong and about 100 additional photos from the “missing camera” (although none quite as shocking as you’ve already seen in the closing credits).
There’s also a picture-in-picture commentary (on the theatrical cut only) exclusive to the Blu-ray. And the new “Extreme Hangover Deluxe Wedding Album Edition” includes a hard-bound Blu-ray box-sized book with 28 pages of candid wedding photos from The Best Little Chapel.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of raucous comedies.
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"PSYCHO: 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Universal Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, Anthony Perkins plays Norman Bates, a reclusive motel owner who doesn’t see many guests come his way. Living with his allegedly invalid mother, Norman finds himself having to clean up her messes... which happen to be dead bodies that have been hacked up with a kitchen knife. When one of the victim’s sister tracks her last known whereabouts to the Bates Motel, Norman’s secrets are threatened to be revealed.
WHAT I LIKED
What’s not to like – and what’s not to love – about Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”? It is the original slasher film, pre-dating “Halloween” by almost two decades. So much about this film is brilliant, and so much of it was groundbreaking and ahead-of-its time for its release.
The brilliance begins with the story, which was adapted upon and improved over Robert Bloch’s original novel. It’s a very simple story that still holds up today with some of the more twisted realities of people’s psychoses.
As a film, it is directed perfectly, never dragging and continually moving forward. If you’ve never seen it and are one of those people who are lucky enough to not know any of the critical plot points, you can enjoy it even in this modern age without feeling lost or bored. With the possible exception of “Rear Window,” “Psycho” is Hitchcock’s best directed film ever.
Then there’s the acting. From the icy beauty of Janet Leigh, who gets killed off half-way through, to the career making (and some might argue career ending) performance of Anthony Perkins, the performances are a perfect balance of reality and melodrama. Perkins gives off a fantastically sympathetic performance filled with ticks and quirks that seem so real. Even in the less-than-stellar sequels he made in the 1980s, Perkins never embodies Norman Bates like he does in the 1960 original.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Nothing.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
This 50th anniversary Blu-ray release comes with a fantastic transfer that allows the viewer to see more detail than you have ever before on home video. In fact, short of seeing “Psycho” on a projected print, you won’t get a better presentation.
The Blu-ray includes a wealth of bonus material, including featurettes on the making of the film, the sound production, Hitchcock’s legacy and the infamous shower scene. There are excepts from the interviews Hitchcock did with François Truffaut, newsreel footage of the original release, storyboards for the shower scene, advertising archives, lobby cards, behind-the-scene photographs and a feature commentary with “Psycho” historian Stephen Rebello.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Hitchcock fans and anyone who enjoys a fantastic thriller.
