GOD BLESS AMERICA
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars)
Have you ever watched television, surfed the internet of just heard the inane water cooler discussions at work and wonder how our culture can be obsessed with such awful people? I’m not saying that you’d want to take a shotgun to the cast of “Jersey Shore” (or maybe you would... who knows?). However, the world’s obsession with the dregs of celebrity can be mind-numbing.
Comedian-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait has had plenty of these feelings, and his attempt at catharsis resulted in the potentially offensive but sharp-witted film “God Bless America.”
The movie focuses on Frank (Joel Murray), a middle-aged man whose life is falling apart around him. With an estranged daughter from a failed marriage, his life is in shambles. He lives next to wildly inconsiderate neighbors, he’s been fired from his job and he just learned he has an inoperable brain tumor. Soon, he snaps and goes on a killing spree with victims that just are not nice people. From prima donna reality stars to assholes in a movie theater, Frank serves out a strange form of justice. He’s joined on the lam by a teenage girl who also has an axe to grind with the world.
The biggest hurdle that “God Bless America” has to overcome with anyone seeing it is the somewhat distasteful nature of its protagonist. Our uptight society makes us want to reject him and this film because it’s hard to justify shooting someone in cold blood because they didn’t turn off her cell phone in a movie. However, “God Bless America” is not meant to be taken that seriously.
Instead, “God Bless America” is a modern-day parable. It does not seek to be offensive. In fact, it’s got real heart behind it, and it challenges the overall Hollywood image that it’s okay to kill bad guys but not not-nice guys.
There are some moments of spot-on biting satire in this film, and lots of finger-pointing at the devolution of our culture. It’s not always easy to watch, but it’s got a lot to say. Just be prepared to have your worldview challenged.
The Blu-ray comes with a nice slate of special features to compliment this excellent film. Bobcat Goldthwait, Joel Murray and Tara Lynn Barr do a commentary track, and they also are featured in extended interview segments. Other standard features include the theatrical trailer, deleted and extended scenes, outtakes and a music video. “Behind the Scenes: Killing with Kindness” gives a solid look at the making of the film, and there’s another featurette from HDNet called “A Look at God Bless America,” which covers similar ground but is still worth checking out.
THE HUNTER
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars)
Every now and then, I stumble across a movie that is hard to compartmentalize. “The Hunter” can be many things, and no matter how it gets summarized, it’s not at all accurate to the film’s tone. On the surface, from a plot standpoint, “The Hunter” appears to be about a man on a mission, but there’s much more to it. A lot of the greater themes in the film are very subtle and linger in the background, making the movie more than its relatively simple plot.
In “The Hunter,” Willem Dafoe plays Martin David, a mercenary who is hired by a mysterious company to track a suspected Tasmanian tiger, which is thought to be extinct, in the wild. He poses as a scientist and lives with a local family who is pushing the conservation of the land. Martin learns that the local loggers have been at violent odds with the conservationists because jobs are on the line, and they may be responsible for the death of the family’s father, who disappeared after searching for the Tasmanian tiger himself. As Martin delves deeper and deeper into his mission, he bonds with the family and faces new dangers in the wild and where he’s staying.
The trailers make the film look like a suspense thriller, with a cat-and-mouse game between Martin and his unseen quarry. However, in reality, the film is a story of Martin’s redemption. It’s not a neat package, and the film goes in some ambiguous directions.
Willem Dafoe carries the film well, showing a man with a troubled past who is softened by the family he is staying with. Wrapped around this is his own guilt of deception and his past, and that’s where the meat of the movie is. Dafoe is the hero, but he’s also his own villain.
The rest of the cast is strong as well, and not just the known quantities of Sam Neill as Martin’s contact to the area and Frances O’Connor as the widow he’s staying with. In particular, Morgana Davies as the precocious daughter does a fine job going head-to-head with Dafoe the actor.
“The Hunter” isn’t a straightforward film, but it is a thought-provoking one. I can’t say I was very warm to everywhere it went, but it was an interesting ride nonetheless.
The Blu-ray comes with a commentary track with director Daniel Nettheim and producer Vincent Sheehan. There’s also the theatrical trailer and deleted scenes with commentary. The most meaty element on the behind-the-scenes menu is the rather lengthy “Making of The Hunter,” which is broken into four parts: The Story, The Characters, Tasmania and The Tiger.
AMERICAN REUNION
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars)
After 13 years (and what an odd choice of timing that is), the entire gang from “American Pie” returns to the movie screen to deal with their lives in their 30s. The result is “American Reunion,” which represents the first theatrical film for the series in a decade.
For some strange reason, the Great Falls High School is having a 13th high school reunion, and we see the characters all come back. The focus of the film is Jim and Michelle, who now have a two-year-old and are facing intimacy issues. However, the magic of the movie comes from Stifler, who has turned into one of the best characters in the whole series.
It’s full of raunchiness and some fantastic nude scenes, as you’d expect from an “American Pie” film. The beginning is extremely rocky, and I really hated the general set-up. Fortunately, there’s some fun moments of comedy throughout, and the heart that helped the original “American Pie” work is also present. It’s by no means as funny as “American Pie,” but it’s easily the best sequel of the film that has been made... for what that’s worth.
Even though the film itself is a bit of a retread of a popular property, there’s plenty of bonus content on the Blu-ray. Exclusive features to the Blu-ray include the “Out of Control” track, extended scenes, alternate takes, “The Best of Biggs: Hangin’ with Jason B.,” “Lake Bake,” “Dancing with the Oz” and the “American Reunion Yearbook” which includes profiles of the most popular characters.
Additional features that are also available on the DVD include deleted scenes, a gag reel, a feature commentary, plus the featurettes “Jim’s Dad,” “Ouch! My Balls!” and “The ‘Reunion’ Reunion: Re-Launching the Series.”
The Blu-ray also comes with a DVD and Digital Copy, as well as UltraViolet streaming capabilities.
BEING FLYNN
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars)
I am a writer. I have been a writer for most of my life. I discovered my talent when I was still in grade school, and one of the greatest moments of my life as a kid was when my parents purchased our first word-processor. I now make my living writing, and I have had few jobs that did not rely on this talent.
However, I try not to be pretentious about it. In fact, the start of that previous paragraph is probably the first time in years I have actually identified myself that way. The reason for this stems from hearing so many people (including real writers and wannabe writers) brag about being a writer and look down on everyone else because of it.
It is my distaste for those people that helped make me dislike “Being Flynn.” It’s based on a true story, about a writer named Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) whose father Jonathan (Robert De Niro) fancies himself one of the great American writers. Of course, his father is also an ass, having abandoned his family when he kid was just a child. After losing his job and being evicted from his apartment, Jonathan ends up in the homeless shelter where Nick works. This leads to a rocky road of the two reconnecting and finding a mutual respect.
The big draw for a film like this is the performances. De Niro gives a solid take on Jonathan Flynn, and Paul Dano holds his own against the seasoned actor. But all the great performances in the world can’t save this movie from its own melodrama.
Like many films dealing with estranged families, “Being Flynn” revels in its own negative feelings. Featuring several obvious “Oscar moments” (that will never be seen in an actual Oscar broadcast), the film swirls around the toilet drain with Nick and Jonathan engaging in self-destructive behavior.
Eventually, the movie warps in on itself and becomes its own parody, which emerges from the script written by director Paul Weitz, who is not a great writer at all. In the end, it becomes an overly pretentious movie about an overly pretentious writer, which is not very well written at all.
The Blu-ray runs very thin, which doesn’t give much added value to a film that’s already weak. “The Heart of Being Flynn” is the only special feature on this disc, and it profiles the real people behind the movie and how it was made.
