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"THE A-TEAM" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 and Unrated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Based on the classic 80s television series, this updated big-budget adaptation tells the story of an elite team of Army Rangers who go on impossible missions. However, after they are convicted for a crime they didn’t commit, they have to break out of military prison and try to clear their names.
WHAT I LIKED
Growing up in the 80s like I did, it was impossible to escape watching at least some of the original “The A-Team” television show. Oddly enough, it wasn’t on my weekly to-watch list because my mother thought it was too violent. (Forget the fact that the show was famous for no one ever getting killed in it. Mothers can be a little silly sometimes.)
But I had watched the show a little bit, during sleep-overs and Friday nights at my friends’ houses. The original series was a hell of a lot of fun, and this film version of it keeps that spirit intact, for the most part. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the action is meant to be explosive and at times ridiculous.
Similar to the television show, the chemistry between the members of the A-Team is the key, and the four guys really seem to have fun in this film. It helps to have your cast be led by a powerhouse actor like Liam Neeson, but believe it or not, it’s Sharlto Copley who steals the show as Murdock. This guy came on the acting scene with a bang in “District 9” last year, and he’s proving to be a fantastic, versatile and all-around fun actor.
Sadly, “The A-Team” was one of those films that fizzled a bit at the box office, and that’s a shame because it was one of the more enjoyable things to watch this summer in the theater.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Director Joe Carnahan, who is known for more grittier, R-rated work in films like “Narc” and “Smokin’ Aces” does a decent job keeping things consistent with the original source material in this film. However, there are times that he and co-writer/star Brian Bloom can’t resist going more edgy than they probably should have. The movie exists safely in PG-13 territory, but at times it feels like Carnahan tries too hard to knock down the A-Team cliche of no one getting killed.
Also, like Baz Lurhmann’s “Australia” a few years back, “The A-Team” seems to cram more than a single story in the film, and that leaves it feeling a bit disjointed at times. The extended cut on Blu-ray plays well and gives the viewers an extra couple minutes that aren’t too noticeable, but this film could have really been two movies, and it just feels like Carnahan was putting both films in one basket because he was afraid he wouldn’t get a sequel green-lit.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with a DVD that includes digital copy. On the Blu-ray itself, there’s the theatrical and the extended version, which aren’t too noticeably different. On the theatrical cut, Carnahan sits in with an embedded picture-in-picture commentary experience called “The Devil’s in the Details.” These are great little features that are normally most often found on Warner Bros. discs, and it’s nice to see Fox stepping up to the plate with a feature like this.
Additional features include spotlights on the different characters, the behind-the-scenes featurette “Plan of Attack,” deleted scenes, a gag reel and a mash-up montage from the film.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who likes a good action film or grew up watching this show in the 80s.
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"CYRUS" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Fox Searchlight Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
John (John C. Reilly) is a divorced man in his 30s who sees his life ticking away when he learns his ex-wife is getting married. He meets a great woman named Molly (Marisa Tomei) at a party, and they start a relationship. Soon, he discovers that Molly has an adult son named Cyrus (Jonah Hill) who commands her attention. As John falls deeper in love with Molly, the feud between him and Cyrus threatens all of their relationships.
WHAT I LIKED
This is the kind of movie that you see not so much for the story or the situations, but rather for the actors. It’s loaded with fantastic performances, anchored by John C. Reilly, who is one of the most unconventional but strangely charming leading men in Hollywood. The interaction between him and Hill is brilliant, sometimes subtle and sometimes over-the-top.
Likewise, Tomei continues to be adorable and appealing as a love interest, and Catherine Keener does a great job as John’s non-estranged ex-wife.
Ultimately, “Cyrus” is one of those comedies in which great performers are thrown together in a terribly awkward situation. It’s fun to watch, and even more so, it offers you a look at a totally dysfunctional relationship that allows you to look at the relationships in your own life and breathe a sigh of relief.
There is also a neat aspect to a film like this in that, with a few exceptions of minor set pieces, it could exist at any time. It does not have to take place in 2010, but it is timeless to the modern age. There’s something to respect from a filmmaking perspective about a movie that doesn’t date itself.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The biggest problem with “Cyrus” from my perspective is that it doesn’t go far enough. I’m not expecting a Will Ferrell comedy or anything, but there were plenty of moments where it felt like the characters could have been even bigger in their dysfunction. In a strange way, it felt like the directors were trying to make this too real of an experience, and in the process they sacrificed some of the potential comedy.
Also, as someone who has lived his whole life in the Midwest, watching a film like this that is so drenched in L.A. culture can be frustrating. Similar to “Greenberg” earlier this year, “Cyrus” could only exist in L.A. because of the underlying neuroses of the characters. I know these types of people live all over the nation – and the world, in fact – but the movie revels in its narcissistic and over-analyzed culture.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with two deleted scenes featuring more awkwardness with Reilly and Hill. There’s also a Q&A segment with directors Jay and Mark Duplass as well as a spotlight on them when they took the film to the South-by-Southwest Film Festival.
Additional features include a music mash-up with Reilly and Hill, plus two “In Character” spotlights from the Fox Movie Channel, featuring Reilly and Hill.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the awkward situational comedy.
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"TWELVE" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Rated R Visit the online Twelve Flipbook. Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Joel Schumacher directs this adaptation of Nick McDonell’s novel about a young drug dealer who crosses the line between his high-society upbringing and the crime of the streets. Chace Crawford stars as White Mike, who deals with his pressures of being a rich kid with crappy parents by dealing drugs to his other rich friends. His double life breaks down when he gets involved with a dealer pushing the new designer drug known as “twelve,” bringing violence to his swanky life in upper Manhattan.
WHAT I LIKED
“Twelve” was mildly enjoyable in the way that “Havoc” was. It does its best at showing the gritty underbelly of New York City as it spills into the lives of the rich and privileged. Imagine if “Gossip Girl” brought in 50 Cent as a drug dealer who sells ecstasy for sex, and you’ll get the picture.
The production looks pretty slick, actually, taking full advantage of the city of New York as the backdrop. It’s a well-made film, and the acting is actually pretty decent, considering it’s anchored around Chace Crawford.
And while this isn’t Joel Schumacher’s best work (because it doesn’t hold a candle to movies like “The Lost Boys” and “Falling Down”), it beats the pants off crap like “Batman & Robin” and “The Number 23.”
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Well, let’s face it, this movie is symbolic of the people it’s about. It’s not enough for some folks to have a good life and enjoy their success. They have to feel that their struggles are just as hard as others. Why else do we have suburban kids throwing up gang signs in pictures and dressing like thugs? They want to be in a dangerous world, and so they invite that in.
In the same way, “Twelve” tries to present itself as a movie that shows how hard it is to be a rich kid in New York. I call shenanigans. It’s easy as hell to be rich, and most of the problems you end up with are of your own design. So to see a movie that bemoans how dangerous it can be to be mixed up with creepy people on the good side of the tracks is irritating. I had the same problem with the aforementioned “Havoc.” (At least that movie had nude scenes with Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips to smooth it out.)
Plus, it doesn’t help having a classy actor like Kiefer Sutherland narrating the film like a bad episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It’s poor narration which gets really creepy when you hear Jack Bauer discuss the finer points of masturbation in the voice-over. Brrrr...
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Nothing... just the movie.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People from the suburbs who want to feel their manufactured problems are even close to those of people from the ghetto.
