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"EMMA" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD February 9 www.WarnerBlu.com Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Jane Austen’s novel about comes to life on the BBC, starring Romola Garai in the title role and Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley. Emma is a girl of privilege who meddles in everyone else’s love life. As she plays match-maker to her friends, she comes to the realization that she can’t find a mate for herself.
WHAT I LIKED
It is no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am not a fan of Jane Austen. However, when looking at a film like “Emma” – or any other adaptation from “Clueless” to the many “Pride and Prejudice” knock-offs – I try to look at things from a Jane Austen fan’s point of view. So please forgive me if I don’t heap praise on the story itself.
The first thing that stood out to me in this adaptation was the rather stunning cinematography. The imagery is crisp and colorful – except when the story dictates otherwise. The film gives a warm feeling of the English countryside. “Emma” is a beautiful looking film.
Additionally, the acting is excellent. Romola Garai, who doesn’t have much of a career in the states but is greatly respected in the U.K., is adorable in the role... much better than Gwenyth Paltrow from the American adaptation. Johnny Lee Miller is also quite good, coming off much less cheesy than he does when he sports an American accent.
It may not be my cup of tea, but the Jane Austen fan will really enjoy this, also because with its four-episode length, it encompasses more of the novel than a two hour movie.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My biggest complaints about this film is with the story, but that’s a Jane Austen thing. I’m not a huge fan of stories about the idle rich, whether they be contemporary movies or a period piece. This may be sanitized to a near ridiculous degree, but I can’t get over the fact that a story about Emma Woodhouse is nothing more than a Georgian-era tabloid piece about Paris Hilton and her socialite friends.
DVD FEATURES
The two-disc DVD set comes with four featurettes, two per disc and running around ten minutes apiece. The first disc includes spotlights on the locations and costumes (which are two of the strongest aspects of the production). The second disc includes a look at the music behind the miniseries as well as a set of interviews with Michael Gambon, who plays Mr. Woodhouse.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Jane Austen-ites.
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"THE INVENTION OF LYING" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In “The Office” creator Ricky Gervais’ directorial debut, the world is a very different place. People in this alternate reality always tell the truth, no matter how awkward or bizarre. Their brutal honesty makes for a depressing world for people like Mark Bellison (Gervais), who has to face the fact that he’s not that attractive, is a bit chubby and has a dead-end job. However, when he discovers how to lie, the world is at his command. Unfortunately, this leads to a level of dishonesty of Biblical proportions.
WHAT I LIKED
While I haven’t watched much of the U.K. version of “The Office” or Gervais’ other series “Extras,” I have enjoyed seeing him in films. I thought last year’s “Ghost Town” was highly underrated and deserved to do better. Gervais is not a mainstream American comedian, but he is one funny guy, and it shows in this film.
Hands down, the best part of this movie is the first half, which first features scenes of brutal honesty and some of the most awkward situations you’ll ever see. Add this to the fact that Gervais has made an art form out of stammering, and you have some great one-on-one comedy.
The funny moments continue once Gervais’ character learns to lie. We’ve seen a lot of these scenes in the trailers, featuring Gervais doing everything from convincing a bank teller to give him extra money to telling a beautiful woman on the street that they have to have sex or the world will end. These moments are comedy gold, often featuring supporting actors like Louis C.K. and even Phillip Seymour Hoffman. In fact, the bar scene with these three, in which Gervais tells a string of lies to his buddies, is worth the price of admission.
What’s great about this film is the whimsical sketch comedy nature of its beginning. The cast alone – featuring Tina Fey, Rob Lowe and Jennifer Garner – is wildly entertaining and a lot of fun.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
“The Invention of Lying” stumbles where a lot of feature-length situational comedies do. It makes the critical error of trying to put a plot with a deeper meaning into the film about half-way through. This leads the story into a very bizarre area, in which Mark is seen as a prophet. It’s not that I’m offended at some of the religious gags in the film. Rather, it seems that they are just out of place and misdirected.
“The Invention of Lying” would have been served better if it had just committed to silliness from beginning to end rather than teaching a lesson or telling a meaningful story.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a nice selection of alternative content and behind-the-scenes features. The film’s original prequel called “The Dawn of Lying” is included, showing the characters in caveman personas as the lying gene first emerges. There are also basic features like a making-of featurette, additional scenes and a slate of outtakes featuring the cast “corpsing,” which are basically Gervais versions of bloopers.
There are also several video podcasts that Gervais and co-director Matthew Robinson present about the making of the series as well as a cute featurette called “Meet Karl Pilkington” in which Gervais flew his buddy Karl from the U.K. to Boston to be one of the cavemen in the prequel.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of Ricky Gervais’ brand of comedy.
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"WHITEOUT" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
At the bottom of the world in an Antarctic research station, U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) stumbles upon a murder. After finding a mysterious crashed plane and a dead body that seems to have fallen from the sky, Carrie must uncover the reason for the murder and reveal the killer hiding among her crew before the station shuts down for the brutal winter.
WHAT I LIKED
Having never read the original graphic novel, I can’t weigh in on whether this film was a fine adaptation or not. However, I will defend it against the scathing reviews it received back in September when it was released.
For your basic suspense film, “Whiteout” works. It gets predictable at times, and I would have preferred something with a little more bite to it, but overall I found the film to be an enjoyable ride. Given the unique setting of Antarctica, “Whiteout” has a fresh perspective on the genre. Instead of being trapped in a building or on a ship, the characters are trapped in the seemingly unending white death surrounding the station.
Kate Beckinsale seems to be slumming it a bit, but she is no stranger to the suspense genre, having starred in two “Underworld” movies and taken a turn as a vampire hunter in the uber-cheesy “Van Helsing.” However, eve though she seems to be holding her nose while she acts in this film, she gives a decent performance.
I write this review surrounded by a blanket of snow that has pummeled my home town, and it really does put me in the mood for a film like this. It’s not a brilliant piece of moviemaking, but “Whiteout” is becoming a guilty pleasure for me. It’s one of those films that I’d watch if I stumbled on it while flipping channels late at night.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My biggest disappointment with “Whiteout” was the fact that the original advertising seemed to be angling closer to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” than towards a sub-zero crime drama. When I first saw the movie in September, I really hoped for something more and was left a bit disappointed. Knowing what the film was, I accepted it better, but I still would have liked to have seen a little more bite to the mystery.
The only other major problem I had with the film was the constant flashbacks to Carrie Stetko’s life as a U.S. Marshal and what landed her in Antarctica. This technique may have worked in the graphic novel, but it was just distracting in the movie version.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD only comes with a couple deleted scenes.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who wants to see a decent cold-blooded murder.
