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"SUNDAY IN NEW YORK" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ****(out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Warner Archive Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Although it doesn’t star Rock Hudson or Doris Day, “Sunday in New York” is a perfect example of the early 60s sex comedies (in which “sex” is often tip-toed around in typical pre-revolution style). Jane Fonda stars in one of her earliest roles as a twentysomething virgin who runs away from her would-be fiancé to stay with her womanizing brother in New York. While in the city, she runs into a dashing writer and falls in love, but is still struggling with the question of whether to put sex before marriage.
WHAT I LIKED
While the movies of the 1960s are far from my favorite era in American cinema, the decade managed to produce some of the best quirky romantic comedies. We don’t see these any more, as they have been replaced with either wannabe raunchy rom coms (like “No Strings Attached” and “The Ugly Truth”) or the generic modern rom com (like... well, almost anything with Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon in it).
There’s a bubbly punch to films like “Sunday in New York.” They don’t take themselves too seriously, and this makes them more digestible. Who are we to question the quintessential cute-meet of Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor when her brooch accidentally pins her to his lapel? These sort of things happened all the time in the fluffy past.
Unlike the bigger classics of the era (like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”), this doesn’t set out to change the world. It’s a cute little story of mistaken identity, budding relationships and potential sexual awakening. It’s cute, and it’s not meant to be anything more.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Looking at a movie like “Sunday in New York” from almost 40 years in the future, it’s almost confusing at times to work through the double-speak of sex talk. While this was a necessary evil of the time, it does add a certain amount of charm to it. But if you’re at all bothered by pre-sexual revolution stereotypes and double-standards, this movie will definitely get under your skin.
DVD FEATURES
Like the majority of films in the Warner Archives library, this disc only has the film and the original theatrical trailer.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the early 60s sex comedy romps.
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"NEVER LET ME GO" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Fox Searchlight Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In an alternate reality, human cloning was developed in the 1950s in order to provide donor organs for the main population. The story, told in flashback from one of the clones in her adulthood, recounts her experiences while at her boarding school, how she discovered her true purpose in life and how she fell in love for another one of the clones from the school.
WHAT I LIKED
I have always enjoyed the science fiction realm, and while I do love the hard sci-fi films that make up the summer tent pole season, I also admire more speculative pieces that tell a human story outside of the gadgetry and action.
“Never Let Me Go” is one of the best treatments of the cloning issue that we’ve seen in films like “Part: The Clonus Horror” and its criminally imitative unofficial rehash “The Island.” Rather than going for the hard-edge science fiction action, “Never Let Me Go” examines the characters of the issue. It opens up the questions of how the human soul fits into the mix, which is something that people have been debating ever since they realized that real cloning was possible.
At its heart, “Never Let Me Go” is a dramatic love story, and it works fantastically on that level. But it’s also has elements of speculative horror, beyond the sci-fi background. After all, I challenge anyone to watch this film and not contemplate the human rights violations being committed without question. Watching the movie, even knowing it’s a work of fiction, gave me a sinking feeling.
So yes, “Never Let Me Go” is a beautifully acted and heartbreaking story of young love, but it opens up more thoughts that just from that angle of storytelling.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The only issues I would take with this film would be in its construction as being too heavy on the dramatic angle and pushing the greater human rights issues to the side. In an attempt to humanize the characters and focus on their emotions exclusively, the film misses some opportunities for a greater statement. I know that’s not what the filmmakers were going for, but as the most effective examination of cloning issues to come out of Hollywood, I would have liked to have seen more.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray includes a lengthy behind-the-scenes featurette that, quite honestly, is a bit of a snoozer. It’s very self-congratulatory and drags along without hitting the point often enough. There are also two montages, one of director Mark Romanek’s on-set photography and the other of the many pieces of artwork from the character of Tommy.
Finally, the most intriguing bonus feature for me was the faux advertising campaigns of the National Donor Programme and the graphics from the Hailsham Campaign. In a strange way, these short presentations touched more effectively on the issues at hand than the film itself.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of dramatic speculative fiction that wants their science fiction to be more artsy.
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"CONVICTION" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Fox Searchlight Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Back in the early 1980s, Kenneth Waters (Sam Rockwell) was convicted of murder. His sister Betty Anne (Hilary Swank) never believed he was guilty and suspected he was framed by the police and prosecutor. After exhausting every reasonable possibility to free her brother, Betty Anne goes to extremes to get a law degree and continue working as his lawyer to free him.
WHAT I LIKED
Every year in the fall and winter, we see a bunch of films that exist for no other reason than to hopefully earn someone an Oscar. Last year, Hilary Swank made a woefully unsuccessful attempt at this with “Amelia.” This year, it was “Conviction.”
While I have plenty of problems with this film (see below for more on that), I will admit that the performances were quite good, even if the characters weren’t already a bit over-the-top. And like any story of human struggle, it seems more powerful when the events play out.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
“Conviction” is the perfect example of Oscar bait. It has pretty much every cliche for Oscar season you’re likely to see. It’s a true story. It’s a family struggle. We see characters yelling at each other, with the actor’s giving their all to a hopeful Oscar clip. We see the main character get so upset in multiple scenes that she falls down in grief, screams at nothing or just throws things around. And with both “The Town” and “The Fighter” aiming for real awards this season, it has now become a cliche for everyone in the film to have a thick Massachusetts accent.
Director Tony Goldwyn, who isn’t a bad actor but often lays it on too thick from behind the camera, doesn’t handle anything delicately or subtly here. There’s an attempt to show the closeness of Kenny and Betty Anne with flashbacks of them as kids and as adults bonding in a bar. But these do more to make the characters dismissive as white trash and unlikable.
Finally, as admirable as it is for someone to literally give their life and career to help someone who cannot help himself, it annoyed me that (at least the character in the film) Betty Anne neglected her own children and marriage for the sake of her brother. Like the film “Flash of Genius” several years ago, in which the main character destroys his marriage to prove a claim in court, this shows misplaced love at the very least.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
When a film like this, which I’m not wild about, comes out on Blu-ray and DVD, I hold out hope for at least a nice selection of special features. A year ago, I considered “Amelia” a definite stinker, but at least it had some nice historic bonus material.
Sadly, “Conviction” has only a single special feature, which is a conversation with director Tony Goldwyn and the real Betty Anne Waters. Sure, this is interesting, but I really hoped for more, particularly something more objective to look at the original case.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like Oscar-bait dramas.
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"GLEE: SEASON 2, VOLUME 1" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The first half of the second season of the wildly popular show choir series “Glee” is available on DVD. The first ten episodes of the second season are collected, showing the kids in glee club facing more bullying, sexual awakening, Halloween, Christmas and multiple episode themes like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and Britney Spears.
WHAT I LIKED
I enjoyed the first season of “Glee.” I really did. I thought it was original, creative and a hell of a lot of fun. As we move into the second season, the show’s awareness of itself is starting to be a problem. These first ten episodes of the second season might contain the last of the spirit of the old “Glee,” which has a somewhat molestery former glee club teacher and a punk football player who sells pot brownies to fund the club (all from the first season, mind you).
There’s still some neat elements to this first half of the second season, though. My favorite character of Brittany finally gets some meat in her stories and additional screen time. For now, they’re not trying to develop her too much, choosing to keep her oblivious and stupid, but smoking hot (though the fact she never learned to brush her teeth is a bit gross).
There’s also the inclusion of “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” as their Halloween episode. I had a love-hate relationship with this episode. Read below for an explanation of the hate, but also understand what I loved. As a fan of “Rocky Horror” since I went to high school, it was great to present the music to a wide audience. Half of the cast was perfect for their roles (like Kurt for Riff Raff, Finn for Brad and the Cheerios duo for Magenta and Colombia), and it was nice to see Jayma Mays get a little sexy in this.
At this point, “Glee” is a still a cute show, but even in its early second season, the storytelling through song has been lost, and the tunes have become nothing more than an excuse to sell iTunes downloads.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Rather than having a problem with the season itself, or this DVD set, I have a problem with the show becoming self-aware. Adam Shankman, who directed “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” said it best in the special features when he was concerned that he didn’t want his episode to be the one that parents turned off. When the show worries about being too politically correct, it’s lost its edge. “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” proved that when questionable lyrics were changed and the “transvestite” language was sanitized.
Sadly, this series is realizing its influence, so it’s spending more time to push social agendas like Kurt’s sexuality and the fact that he’s being bullied. These are important issues, sure, but they just don’t fit in a fun, silly show like “Glee.”
Plus, as much as I enjoyed watching Brittany in all her Britney Spears get-ups, the theme episodes have got to stop. They’re replacing story with gimmicks, and that’s going to burn out fast.
DVD FEATURES
Bonus features are spread among the three discs. The “Glee Music Jukebox” (basically a song-selection feature) is available on each disc. Disc 2 includes “The Making of the Rocky Horror Glee Show” and includes the bonus song (with no video besides big, red lips on-screen) of “Planet, Schmanet, Janet.”
Disc 3 includes a spotlight on Jane Lynch getting her Madame Tussauds wax statue, plus a look at the wit and wisdom of Brittany. Finally, this disc includes “Glee at Comic-Con 2010,” which might have been the real reason why someone was stabbed in Hall H last summer.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Gleeks.
