RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars)
As much as people complain about Hollywood having a case of sequelitis, it was starting to feel that 2011 was having a case of prequelitis. And while I like a good prequel now and then, it’s a tricky film to make. But lo and behold, 20th Century Fox managed to release two fantastic prequels during the summer of 2011, both of which were far better than some of the sequels to their respective franchises.
The first prequel of the summer that defied convention was “X-Men: First Class,” which was loads of fun and delivered on the stagnating comic book movie adaptations. Then August rolled around, and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” defied convention again, coming out as one of the best films of the summer. And as award season approaches, we’re seeing a strong push for nominations for its special effects as well as a supporting actor nod for Andy Serkis.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” tells the story of Caesar (Serkis in mo-cap), a genetically augmented chimp who shows signs of amazing intelligence. He is raised by the scientist who created him, but when Caesar attacks the neighbor because he’s trying to protect his family, the authorities get involved. This leads Caesar to be placed in an ape habitat where he rallies the others in captivity to rise up against the humans.
One of the sub genres of science fiction that I love are the films that take place in a laboratory where the scientists think they’re helping humanity, but something goes horribly awry. Last year, “Splice” (which follows that basic premise) made it on my top 10 list. Now, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” gets this honor.
The centerpiece of acting in this film is Serkis, who gives more humanity through a motion-capture suit than co-star James Franco does with only a smattering of stage make-up. It is truly Caesar’s movie, and when the focus goes on the humans (including John Lithgow, who plays Franco’s father in the film), I lost interest. Fortunately, the focus is rarely off of Caesar.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” manages to be both science fiction and thriller. It also manages to be its own movie yet include some neat Easter Eggs that tip the hat at the original 1968 film with Charlton Heston. It may not be the best film of 2011, but it’s certainly one of the best science fiction films of the year, and easily one of the best sequels/prequels in the last several years.
The Blu-ray comes with a DVD/Digital Copy disc, which has the film in standard definition. The Blu-ray itself includes 11 deleted scenes, scene breakdowns, character concept art, audio commentary, plus the featurettes “The Genius of Andy Serkis,” “A New Generation of Apes,” “Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries,” “The Great Apes,” “Mythology of the Apes” and “Composing the Score.”
TORA! TORA! TORA!
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars)
On the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, 20th Century Fox released a Blu-ray book of “Tora! Tora! Tora!” This is the first Blu-ray release of the film, and it features a 22-page booklet within the packaging about the movie.
When it hit theaters in 1970, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” was a flop in the U.S., though it was a pretty big hit in Japan. Watching the film now, more than 40 years later and understanding the cultural differences between the countries back then (and to a degree, today), this is not a surprise.
Told from a rigid historical perspective, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” shows the lead-up and the attack from the perspective of the United States and the Empire of Japan. The American segments were directed by Richard Fleischer while the Japanese segments were directed by Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku.”
From a strictly historical perspective, I respect “Tora! Tora! Tora!” because it makes a pretty solid attempt at making sense of how this attack could have happened. It points out where the holes were in the American preparedness while looking at the planning from the Japanese perspective, not as an evil sneak attack but rather a military risk.
However, it’s easy to see why this film was rejected by American audiences. While the country started down the path of criticizing its own military in the 70s, few people wanted to see the bumbling idiots that the World War II heroes were made into. It’s a polarizing film because it is heavy-handed on both fronts.
From the American side, we are made to barely keep our organization running. People are flippant and dismissive to the point of fault throughout. Plus, it paints the American sailors are panicky and stupid. Things reach a point of silliness when two generals stare at a bomber blowing up ships for several minutes without even running. It pains me to say that Michael Bay’s atrocity “Pearl Harbor” did a better job recreating the chaos surrounding the event than this film does.
On the flip side, the Japanese are portrayed in typical overly honorable fashion. Not a shred of humor, humanity or comfort is shown. They are painted as near-flawless and overly brilliant, when the success of their attack relied on a lot of luck, as many military victories do.
Still, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is an interesting footnote in cinema history and worth checking out at least once for anyone interested in World War II movies, though it’s no less propaganda than the flag wavers from the 1940s.
The Blu-ray includes both the U.S. theatrical cut and the extended Japanese version. There’s a commentary track, plus two galleries of stills. Several documentaries are included that examine Pearl Harbor and the film: “Day of Infamy,” “History vs. Hollywood – Tora! Tora! Tora!: A Giant Awakens” and “AMC Backstory: Tora! Tora! Tora!” Finally, and probably most interesting, is a collection of ten vintage newsreels from Fox MovietoneNews reporting on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath.
STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Anyone who has ever played in a marching band, particularly anyone who has played a tuba (as I did in high school) is aware of John Philip Sousa. He is the King of the Marches, and his tunes are immediately recognizable when you hear them. Back in 1952, 20th Century Fox produced a biopic of John Philip Sousa, starring Clifton Webb as the famous band leader. Now, the movie has gotten a Blu-ray release.
The story follows Sousa from a relatively young leader of the military band, through his glory days as he writes his famous marches and how he left an impact on the military and the American music scene. It’s a musical at heart, through it follows a vastly different structure than you’ll normally see in the big musicals from the 50s.
I’m a bit confounded by the release of this film, right in the middle between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s really flown under the radar, which I doubt would have happened were it released closer to the Fourth of July. In many ways, this film is as much an enigma as its release. It was made before widescreen movies were fully employed, yet it has the richness in color you’d expect from and older musical.
The musical numbers are solid, about half of them spotlighting the marches that made Sousa famous. There are a few production numbers, only one of which is achingly out of place. Still, it’s a breezy, fun movie for someone who likes these older biopics, in that it was made before Hollywood tried to show the edgy roughness of real life in every story it tells.
While I wasn’t wild about “Stars and Stripes Forever” (though as a former marching band member who polished and carried a sousaphone on my shoulder for years, it was a bit nostalgic), I appreciated it. This is the kind of film that my father-in-law, who loves movies of the 50s and musical tributes, would love. So I guess the release makes it a worthy potential Christmas gift.
The Blu-ray comes with the original theatrical trailer, still galleries, an alternate U.K. opening sequence and the two featurettes “From our National March to the Silver Screen” and ‘John Philip Sousa’s Contribution to American Music.” A standard-definition DVD is also included in the package.
THE ROCKETEER
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars)
Before Joe Johnston was even thinking about directing a comic book hero movie about Captain America, he directed the comic book hero movie “The Rocketeer.” Released in 1991, this film was on that first wave of modern comic book adaptations, a wave that was relatively short-lived from Tim Burton’s “Batman” and crashing and burning somewhere in the mid-90s with the Batman sequels.
“The Rocketeer” is based on the graphic novel of the same name, paying homage to jet-pack heroes like the Commando Cody and “The King of the Rocket Men.” Those were fantastic short works back in the day, but their low budgets and dated nature made them easy targets for “Mystery-Science Theater 3000” around the same time “The Rocketeer” was out.
The story follows Cliff Secord, a young test pilot who discovers a jet-pack left in his hangar by some thugs. He decides to use the jet-pack to make money in air shows, but he’s soon swept into a greater story with a dastardly actor and ruthless gangsters trying to steal it for their own means. With the help of famous aviator Howard Hughes, who also created the jet-pack, Cliff tries to save his girl from danger.
It’s kind of sad that “The Rocketeer” never made much of a splash when it premiered in 1991 because it was by far one of the better superhero movies out there. But then again, that’s not saying much considering most of the superhero adaptations of that era were absolute crap. Still, “The Rocketeer” has held up quite well over the past two decades. It’s still not at the level of superhero movie making that we see post-“X-Men,” but it’s fun.
Released by Disney under it’s full-fledged banner (and not hidden under Touchstone Pictures, like it was in its international release), “The Rocketeer” is a fun family entertainment film. It’s not as dark or as edgy as Tim Burton’s “Batman” films, but it’s still cleaner and more digestible. It’s not a deep story, but it’s full of fun nostalgia and action.
Unfortunately, the new Blu-ray doesn’t include any special features. It has the original theatrical trailer on the disc, but it’s not a hi-def version of it. At least the film looks decent on an HD screen.
MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
I have never read the original book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” but from what I understand, it has very little bearing on the Jim Carrey film that came out this summer and is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. I suppose it’s somewhat accurate as there are penguins in it, and a guy named Mr. Popper. But from what I understand, the film abandons most of the story in lieu of a rather rote children’s movie plot. Correct me if I’m wrong.
In the movie, Jim Carrey plays Mr. Popper, a divorced dad who is focused exclusively on his career. One day, he receives a mysterious gift from his own father, who always left his own family to tour the world. The gift is a gaggle of penguins straight from the South Pole. Popper desperately wants to get rid of them, but when his kids discover the birds, they become part of the family. This leaves Popper in a quandary of trying to keep the birds alive in his Manhattan apartment while trying to reconnect with his family.
I suppose “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is cute enough, ‘cause everyone loves penguins. Perhaps this would have been better if it came out about four or five years ago when penguins were all the rage. The cuteness factor alone is off the chart when it comes to the birds. And in this respect, the kids (who are the target audience for this film, after all) will enjoy it.
But the grown-ups in the audience will quickly become annoyed with the squawking, the poorly conceived penguin names (including “Loudy” and “Lovey”) and the copious amount of penguin poop. (Seriously... why is it in movies when someone is getting peed on or crapped on do they never actually move away?)
Though if you happen to be divorced, this isn’t the best movie to show your kids. The penguins act as a means to get Popper back together with his wife, which is woefully unrealistic. Watching too many movies like this might encourage too many questions for kids of divorced parents.
The Blu-ray comes with a gag reel, deleted scenes and a new animated short film, “Nimrod & Stinky’s Antarctic Adventure.” There’s also some featurettes, including “Penguin Pandemonium” and “The Legacy of Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” which heaps praise on the original book while not mentioning the drastic differences it has with the film.
A DVD of the film is also included, along with a Digital Copy Disc for mobile viewing.
