|
"RAIN MAN" 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
Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a fast-talking businessman who finds himself owing a huge financial debt. When he learns that his father has passed away, he eager attends the reading of the will only to find that his father’s money is left to his autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). In an attempt to seize the money, Charlie leaves with his brother on a road trip, hoping that the trustee and doctor caring for Raymond will pay him off. However, after a cross-country road trip, Charlie learns to care for his brother he never knew he had.
WHAT I LIKED
“Rain Man” is one of those cinematic enigmas that crop up every decade or so. It wasn’t an expensive film, and it wasn’t a financial juggernaut right out of the gate. However, after being released, it spent many weeks at the top of the box office and eventually became one of the biggest hits of 1988. Like “The King’s Speech” last year, “Rain Man” saw its stars align, released just in time to keep a wave of buzz that helped it win the Oscar.
While Tom Cruise was a big star when this film was made, he wasn’t exactly a respected actor at the time. “Rain Man” (and not much later, “Born of the Fourth of July”) made people take notice of his acting ability, which kept him alive as a superstar through the early 2000s. It was the fact that he had something to prove with this movie that helped him deliver such a great performance, and together with Dustin Hoffman, they balanced each other well.
A lot of my love of “Rain Man” isn’t just for the film and the era, but for what was happening in my life. I was seventeen when it came out, and I had only recently graduated from strictly watching popcorn cinema to finding quality films. Add this to the fact that I saw it on a date with a girl that – until that afternoon showing – had only been a friend, and you have a perfect storm of nostalgia for myself.
But even without the nostalgia and the warmth of the time when I saw this film, it’s a great movie to revisit. The acting is superb. The directing is even and deliberate. Barry Levinson doesn’t cheapen the movie by making it falsely optimistic, but at the same time shows real growth in the character that matters – Charlie Babbitt.
Even watching it again after more than 20 years, “Rain Man” was powerful and evocative. It kept my attention even when I knew what was coming, and that’s a real testament to the life it has lived.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There was nothing I really disliked about the film itself. The only issue I really had was the Blu-ray transfer, which is always a struggle with films from the 80s and 90s. They were never mastered for high definition video, and they tend to be really grainy. But the transfer on this disc has a noticeable gate weave and some real contrast problems. While it’s not too distracting, especially as the film gets going, but the opening shot looks positively terrible. Fortunately, things get better from that point.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
There are three audio commentaries included on the disc. One featuring Barry Levinson flying solo. The second features writer Barry Morrow. And the third features writer Ronald Bass. I love commentaries on films, and the presence of three on a disc is enough to bump this film to a buy rather than a rental.
Additional features includes featurettes from the DVD release several years ago: “The Journey of Rain Man” and “Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism.” There’s also the theatrical trailer and a deleted scene.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like quality dramas.
|
"MOONSTRUCK" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Rated PG Studio: MGM Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Cher won an Oscar for her performance in “Moonstruck,” a romantic comedy about a middle-aged woman who unexpectedly falls in love with her fiancé’s brother. After getting engaged, Loretta (Cher) learns her fiancé (Danny Aiello) must travel to Italy to his mother’s deathbed. He asks her to contact his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) so he can attend the wedding. However, after meeting Ronny, Loretta finds herself torn between men.
WHAT I LIKED
Just like my opinion of “Rain Man” is colored by my experiences surrounding my viewing of the film in the theaters back in the 80s, so is my opinion of “Moonstruck.” I saw “Moonstruck” back in 1987 with the same girl I saw “Rain Man” a year later. (We were just friends at this point, still, but that’s really not important.) She wanted to see “Moonstruck.” I wanted to see Wes Craven’s “The Serpent and the Rainbow.” She got her way.
When I saw “Moonstruck” that night in the theater, I hated it. (Don’t worry... I got her back the next week when I managed to drag her to see “The Serpent and the Rainbow.”) In retrospect, I realize that not only was I a stubborn teenager who was really into genre films, but I also didn’t know what to make of the film. Not having seen too many romantic comedies – more artsy like this one or more traditional either – I thought it was too heavy of a film for a comedy.
Looking at the film again more than 20 years later, I get it. It’s not a knee-slapper, but it definitely has its moments (often from the older characters or Nicolas Cage). It’s sweet and harmless and very well meaning. Now that I’m very close to the age of Cher’s character in the film, I understand that life perspective, and I can empathize with the regrets and rekindled excitement she has in the film.
“Moonstruck” has some fantastic performances, and with Nicolas Cage a decade from his own Oscar as well as A-list box office draw, he really threw down for his performance. Even though he’s given some decent performances lately, you don’t see the raw, young and hungry power he has in this film when he’s still got something to prove.
So, I can amend my opinion of “Moonstruck” from that of a naive sixteen year old boy. It’s not bad. Not bad at all.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
While I like the film better than I did in 1987, I will admit that it’s not perfect. It gets a little cheesy at points, and the characters get out of their mess a little too easy at times. I still prefer the traditional “Pretty Woman” type of romantic comedy, but this one will do in a pinch.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary featuring Cher, director Norman Jewison and writer John Patrick Shanley. It also includes the featurettes “Moonstruck: At the Heart of an Italian Family” and “Music of Moonstruck.”
Also, not listed on the cover box, there are several bits from “Taste of America” with Mark DeCarlo, featuring how to cook some traditional Italian meals. To be honest, I’m eager to try these more than anything else. I can’t say they’ll taste any good, but damn if they don’t look like they will.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of 80s cinema and those who like a more art-house romantic comedy.
|
"LAST TANGO IN PARIS" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated NC-17 Studio: MGM Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
After the death of his wife, a man in his 40s (Marlon Brando) has a chance run-in with a beautiful 20-year-old Parisian while shopping for an apartment. This starts an anonymous sexual affair between the two in which the only rule is to not learn anything about each other. Over the course of several weeks, they couple explores various facets of sexuality – from role play to abusive actions.
WHAT I LIKED
I can’t say that I really liked anything from “Last Tango in Paris,” but I can say that I respected it for what it was trying to do. I respected the attempt to make a French film with French style for a wider audience, which ended up clicking in America. I respect the pushing of the envelope of sexuality. I respect the fact that the film proudly wore its X rating (even though it was eventually was edited for an R release). And I respect the acting in the extremely vulnerable situations it presented.
Oh, and titties. I did like those.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
This movie is so indicative of the 70s, with grown adults moping around and wondering what to do with their lives. It seems so out of touch now in an era when soul searching still exists but is not so accepted by the mainstream.
I understand how this film pushed boundaries with condiments, but it all seems so mundane in our modern world where a couple mouse clicks can get you to in-your-face POV internet porn. It just doesn’t seem very naughty any more, and even during the scenes where they were pushing the envelope, things just didn’t seem natural. (Forgive me being crass, but in the infamous “butter scene,” I refuse to believe that Brando even had his fly undone.)
As an adult who has my life and family figured out – and who also happens to not be a raging asshole like Brando’s character in the film – I have no sympathy for the characters. Watching the film, I feel like I would if I watched two hipsters bitching about the MPAA across some overpriced coffee. It just seems so unnecessary.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Unfortunately, the disc only contains a theatrical trailer as it’s bonus content.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Viewers who like French films and sexuality... even if it’s not that titillating by today’s standards.
