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"LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) Rated PG Available on Blu-ray December 19 Official Warner Bros. Blu-ray site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Based on the best-selling children’s book series, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is a fantasy tale about a tribe of owls that are enslaved by another tribe. The slavemaster owls, who call themselves the Pure Ones, are using the other owls to build a weapon which can defeat the mysterious Owls of Ga’Hoole, which are guardians of the species. A young owl named Soren escapes enslavement and must find the Owls of Ga’Hoole to help defeat the Pure Ones.
WHAT I LIKED
When I originally saw the trailers for “Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,” I wasn’t impressed. Sure, the CGI looked pretty slick, but like most people in the world, I dismissed this film as being a flying rip-off of “Happy Feet” (which I didn’t think was worthy of a lot, much less the Oscar).
Boy, was I wrong. Not only is the CGI in this film as breathtaking as anything Pixar has to offer, it’s a thrilling and exciting tale that the whole family can enjoy. This movie presents a classic hero’s journey, and there’s a lot of drama in the lives of these owls. The hero Soren is someone you can really get behind, and unlike his counterpart in “Happy Feet,” we don’t spend half the movie looking at him in his awkward adolescent phase.
The villains, though, are what make this movie work. Under the command of Zack Snyder, who has directed several visually stunning films that honored their source material, this film really lays it on thick for the bad guys. Although it does get a little hammy with some of the delivery, the Pure Ones are fantastic villains in this film.
Then there’s the action sequences. It’s not just a bunch of pretty flying shots, which the trailers led on, but rather some fantastic battles and gorgeous scenery. I really am sad that this movie didn’t strike a chord with the rest of the audience because it’s one of the best animated films of 2010... and that’s saying a lot considering the competition it has out there.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There are some elements that get a little silly with this film. In particular, I’m talking about the snake nursemaid that pops up at the most ridiculously convenient points. Also, there are several parts of the film that are weighted down by “Happy Feet” references, including a sage echidna who plays basically a less-comedic Robin Williams. Also, like most family fantasy films, the story dips a little too much into cliche and genre cheese at times.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Few movies from 2010 demand a viewing on Blu-ray as much as “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” Warner Bros. has great transfers, especially for current films, and this movie is brilliant to watch in high definition.
To add to the point, there’s some nice features available on the disc. Stand-alone features include a new Looney Tunes cartoon “Fur of Flying” (featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner) and a featurette called “True Guardians of the Earth” in which one of the characters of the film joins with Rico Rodriguez from “Modern Family” to take a look at owls in our world.
Exclusive Blu-ray features include four artwork galleries, a music video for “To the Sky” and a motion comic version of the “Legend of the Guardians: Rise of the Guardians” bedtime story that inspired the film’s journey.
Taking the lead from other Warner Bros. Blu-ray releases, this title is presented in “Maximum Kid Mode,” which features picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes and interviews that can play during the entire film.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Kids and families.
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"THE TOWN" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R Available on Blu-ray December 19 Official Warner Bros. Blu-ray site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Ben Affleck presents his sophomore directing effort, in which bank robbers in Boston come to an end of their careers. Affleck plays Doug, one of the robbers who continually tries to keep people safe while they steal money. During one heist, they take a hostage (Rebecca Hall), whom he later meets in the regular world and has a relationship with. Meanwhile, Doug’s high-strung friend (Jeremy Renner) threatens to destroy their professional relationship with his out-of-control nature. Meanwhile, the FBI is getting closer to busting up this bank robbery ring.
WHAT I LIKED
Like most of the other critics who saw this movie, I was impressed with Ben Affleck’s work. “The Town” shows that “Gone Baby Gone” was not a fluke, and this guy is a potential triple threat in the industry. Could Affleck be the next Clint Eastwood, who can write, direct and act in his own dramas?
On the whole, “The Town” is a fine film, providing both action and drama. There’s some interesting character relationships, especially those of the darker characters, like that of Jeremy Renner. The movie revels in the underbelly of Boston, which has become a bit of an award film cliche in 2010, but “The Town” probably presents this best.
There’s several scenes with strong doses of action, which keep the excitement up throughout the movie, helping to even out the more heavy dramatic moments.
“The Town” may not be perfect, but Affleck does a lot of things right, including picking some great actors and letting them do their jobs to deliver fine performances.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Like many dramas – especially ones that aren’t being shy about going for some awards – “The Town” does run a bit long, and it gets into its own drama a bit too much. I understand the need for sympathy for your main characters, but “The Town” lays it on a bit too thick with Affleck’s own character. This might be ego from Affleck, and hopefully as he matures as a director, this gets toned down a bit.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The biggest advantage to the Blu-ray of “The Town” is that it is presented with the extended cut, which includes close to a half hour of new footage. While the movie itself runs a bit slow at times, these additional scenes don’t. In fact, the 2 1/2 hour version plays out more smoothly than the two-hour version, possibly because it flows better as a character study. At the very least, this extended cut is a superior version of the film, which makes home viewing a good choice.
Additional features include commentary by Affleck on both versions of the film as well as 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes lumped under the general title of “Ben’s Boston.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like heavily dramatic action films.
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"RUSH HOUR" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Available on Blu-ray December 7 Official Warner Bros. Blu-ray site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
James Carter (Chris Tucker) is an LAPD detective who keeps getting into trouble. When a Hong Kong official’s daughter is kidnapped in L.A., Carter is assigned a new partner on the case: Hong Kong inspector Lee (Jackie Chan). Even though the FBI is trying to keep this bickering pair of cops away from the investigation, the two soon become friends and help uncover the case.
WHAT I LIKED
I love a good buddy cop film, whether it’s “Lethal Weapon” or “Red Heat.” They were a staple of my teenage years growing up in the 80s, and they’re still fun to watch now. As one of the last great buddy cop films of the 20th century, “Rush Hour” is a big heap of fun.
I’ve never been much of a Chris Tucker fan, though he has fine chemistry with Jackie Chan, which is why they were able to make two (and possibly more) sequels to this movie. Both actors have enough of a handle on comedy to really make the movie fun, amidst threats of killing a child, but they are both fit enough to make the action scenes believable.
“Rush Hour” is a great blast from the past, and while I’m not fond of the fact that I realized this movie is more than twelve years old, it’s one of the better buddy cop films I’ve seen in a long while.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There really isn’t too much about this movie that doesn’t hold up. In fact, the only thing that really reeks of the 90s is a couple music cues and some general camerawork that tips its hat at its decade. (But to be honest, there’s too much camera movement in movies nowadays, so I welcome a little bit of steadiness to the action sequences.)
Oh, and if you know your history, the changeover of Hong Kong from British rule to mainland China also gives away the decade.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
There isn’t anything on this disc that you can’t already seen on the DVD, so this is one of those future-proofing high-definition purchases for “Rush Hour” fans. Still, it’s nice to see all the old features imported onto the Blu-ray, which is not always standard practice.
Vintage features include commentary by director Brett Ratner, deleted scenes, two music videos, the theatrical trailer and an isolated score with commentary by composer Lalo Schifrin. There’s also a feature-length behind the scenes featurette gallery as well as Ratner’s short student film “Whatever Happened to Mason Reese?” which should inspire anyone to hit up Steven Spielberg for money.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of buddy cop movies, Chris Tucker or Jackie Chan.
