CONTAGION
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
When “Contagion” came out this past fall, I thought the marketing kind of missed its mark. After all, a movie about a deadly virus that has the potential to wipe out a quarter of the world’s population would have been a perfect release for cold and flu season. This was so evident when, in a crowded theater and someone inevitably coughs, you can hear people shift uncomfortably in their seats.
Well, cold and flu season is upon us and while it’s not being seen in crowded theaters, “Contagion” can now be seen at home. The immediate terror of hearing someone cough a couple rows back is gone, but considering most people will feel a tickle in their throats sometime in the next couple weeks, it can still cause a strong feeling of dread.
Steven Soderbergh directs the film, which is told in his docudrama style. It follows a sudden outbreak of a deadly virus from the second day of infection. Rather than sensationalizing it into an action film like the similarly-themed “Outbreak” from more than fifteen years ago, “Contagion” takes a clinic approach. The heroes of the film are the doctors and scientists at the CDC trying to wrap their heads around this microscopic killer.
“Contagion” relies on realism and shared media experiences to hit close to home, and it covers its bases. There’s the average people who are terrified of the disease. There’s the WHO worker who is kidnapped in order to secure the first batch of vaccines. There’s the media whore in the form of a blogger (showing some surprising contempt for the online media) who spreads disinformation. And then there are the doctors who work behind the scenes.
“Contagion” is gripping to a degree, though it is betrayed by some cliches in docudrama filmmaking, namely the overuse of non-specific narration presumably from news reports. At least these narration scenes are handled a little more delicately than they were in “Atlas Shrugged: Part I,” but it’s still a clunky form of exposition.
At the heart of “Contagion” is the fear of a disease that can send the world into anarchy, a scenario which seems extreme but is actually dangerously realistic.
The Blu-ray comes with a couple featurettes: “The Reality of Contagion” (which relies a little too heavily on fear-mongering media scientists selling fear-mongering books), “The Contagion Detectives” and the cute and clever but informatively animated “Contagion: How a Virus Changes the World.” The Blu-ray package also includes a DVD and UltraViolet Digital Copy for portable viewing and streaming.
IN THE NAME OF THE KING 2: TWO WORLDS
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars)
There was a time when a movie from Uwe Boll meant a dreadful and incoherent two-hour theatrical experience. The prolific and reviled director made a name for himself several years ago by funding his films through creative financial dealing in his native land of Germany. The result was a slew of terrible video game adaptations like “Alone in the Dark,” “House of the Dead,” “BloodRayne” and the original “In the Name of the King.”
Boll’s widespread fame was relatively short-lived, and his movies all tanked at the box office. Generally, his films have been forced onto the direct-to-DVD market, and while he’s still making them, he’s found his niche, apparently. In fact, while they are still far from brilliant movies, Boll’s direct-to-video films have stumbled into a certain level of camp entertainment. If you don’t believe me, pick up a copy of “BloodRayne III: The Third Reich” and tell me you didn’t find anything fun about it.
Boll’s latest venture is the sequel “In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds,” which forgoes the relative big name cast of the first film (that had included Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, Ray Liotta and Ron Perlman) for a single name player, Dolph Lundgren. Now, Lundgren has spent plenty of time in the direct-to-video market, often directing his own stuff, but he’s got a slight reprieve with his work in “The Expendables.”
The story follows Lundgren as a modern special forces veteran who is whisked back in time to the Dark Ages to fulfill an ancient prophecy. I’ll be honest with you... I’m not really solid on the story as it does get murky and convoluted at times. But this film has the enjoyability of a typical movie you’d find premiering on Syfy on a Saturday afternoon. Were it released in the theaters like its predecessor, it’d be terrible. But finding its place as a low-budget sword-and-sandal action flick, I kind of enjoyed it.
What’s not to love about a movie that features time-traveling ninjas, a CGI dragon and a scene where Dolph Lundgren literally asks the king what his name is. Genius!
The Blu-ray comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette and a profile on the screenwriter’s process. There’s also two commentary tracks, one featuring Boll and the other featuring writer Michael C. Nachoff.
THE HELP
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
When I first saw advertisements for “The Help,” I dreaded seeing it. I don’t have a problem with the subject matter or the actors. Rather, it felt like a predictable story reserved for book club enthusiasts who watch too much Oprah and Rachel Ray. I can’t say that this is an inaccurate statement, but it is quite impressive how good the film is, considering.
Based on the best-selling novel, “The Help” follows a young woman from the South who profiles the lives of the African American maids in her home town. Once her own book is published, it causes a stir in the community and sheds some light on the troubles these women face.
After making tons of money in the theaters and up for dozens of critical awards, “The Help” has become a bona fide hit, and rightfully so. It’s a real button-pusher, and the film has the easy-to-read flow of the original book. In the theaters, I didn’t hate it; quite the opposite, I found it surprisingly enjoyable. And I suppose that’s the greatest compliment I could give the film: I didn’t hate it, even if I was dreading it going in.
The only real problems with this movie is, evidenced by its polarizing nature in some circles, it lays things on a bit thick. The story is incredibly one-sided, and every single maid featured in the film is a kind and gentle soul. In fact, the only African American character who has any problem is the abusive husband of one of the characters, and he’s never actually seen in the film.
The movie takes plenty of opportunities to wag its finger at the audience, capitalizing on white guilt and trying to shame the viewer. The problem with this is that families that can afford full-time help like this are more in the minority than the actual minorities portrayed in the film. I’m sure that the stars and filmmakers have their own put-upon staff. I doubt Viola Davis is out there mowing her grass on Sundays. She’s probably got a minority doing that for her.
So, if you overanalyze the movie, you’ll find plenty of fault. But if you’re looking for a feel-good film that pushes the right buttons at the right times, you can easily enjoy “The Help.”
The Blu-ray comes with quite a few deleted scenes, which feature introductions by director Tate Taylor. There’s also Mary J. Blige’s music video “The Living Proof.” Finally, the featurettes “Making of The Help: From Friendship to Film” and “In Their Own Words: A Tribute to the Maids of Mississippi” are informative but will probably send the film’s haters into a tizzy for the same reasons as the movie did.
COWBOYS & ALIENS
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars)
The entire ride that “Cowboys & Aliens” had from script to screen is fascinating. If you asked people at the beginning of 2011 to name their most anticipated films of they year, this would have been up there. However, when the movie finally came out, people cried foul, saying it was nothing more than a cheesy western with aliens.
I ask, what else did you expect from a film titled “Cowboys & Aliens.” I happened to like it, appreciating the relatively cliched western story of a stranger who rides into town to eventually shake things up with the bad guy who is terrorizing the town. The difference here is that while the grumpy cattle rancher and his pissant son starts out as the bad guys, the real bad guys appear as aliens searching for gold and mind-slaves.
Looking slick and featuring some nice action scenes, “Cowboys & Aliens” is a fun ride. I wouldn’t suggest watching the extended cut available on Blu-ray and DVD (as that 16 minutes to the already drawn-out running time), but it’s an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
The Blu-ray comes packaged with the DVD and also features Universal’s Second Screen for use with the pocketBLU app. Other features include interviews with director Jon Favreau, a commentary track, plus a long-form, multi-part making-of feature (including the spots “Finding the Story,” “A Call to Action,” “Absolution,” “Outer-Space Icon” and “The Scope of the Spectacle”).
