Fantastic Fear of Everything

Jack (Simon Pegg) is a children's author who has switched to the dark and eerie world of crime writing. Having researched Victorian murderers for his book, Jack has become paranoid that someone is out to get him and he now barricades himself in his London flat. He does manage to venture out to meet with his agent, Clair (Claire Higgins), who isn't enthusiastic about his latest work, wanting him to work on a children's story about a hedgehog instead. Clair's opinion changes somewhat when a Hollywood executive expresses an interest in Jack's crime novel and there is talk of a possible movie deal. Jack has to get himself together to meet Clair and the executive for dinner and so begins a series of mishaps.

Jack's flat is run down and in need of a clean up. He parades around the place in his dressing gown and underpants, has no clean clothes and is reluctant to answer the door to anyone. Managing on little sleep, Jack spends his time trying to stay sane and piecing together suspects including one man who he is convinced must be a descendant of Dr Crippen. Forced to venture out, Jack has the difficulty of going to a launderette to wash a handful of clothes and make himself presentable for his meeting. This is far from straightforward though. Jack senses someone is after him and his fears are not helped by strange noises in his own home and peculiar figures wandering the streets. The basic routine of getting ready to leave the flat goes somewhat awry when Jack is forced to leave with a knife and drying his clothes in the oven literally backfires. The question is, is Jack's fear of danger on the streets of London all in his head or is there something to justify his fears.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything started well enough and Pegg raised many smiles having to carry the film on his own for a time. The problems he creates for himself are very funny but the film loses its way somewhat in the second half when Jack heads for a launderette. What began as a fairly straightforward and quite funny comedy grew a little too incredulous in the latter stages which is a shame. This is still a good comedy and Pegg fans will likely enjoy this but compared to his other work such as Spaced and Shaun of the Dead this one pales significantly.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything is an okay comedy about a writer losing his grip on reality in switching to a genre that has him constantly on edge. There are some very funny moments in here but the second half of the film does not live up to the first. Pegg puts in another good performance but the film doesn't quite match up to his talents as a comedian.

First of all, I'd like to say that one of the advantages of Blu Ray is that the region codes aren't as stingant as with DVD. Any Blu Ray player in the states will play European disks, which makes many titles available and often at more reasonable prices than you can get in the US. This film doesn't have a US release as of yet (and might not find a large audience to merit one). I find Simon Pegg to be a comic genius, he can rarely do wrong. Spaced is one of my all-time favorite television progams. This film doesn't compare at all to Spaced, but I enjoyed it all the same. Like some of his other films, this is a dark comedy (although some won't find it "funny", there aren't any zingers or jokes, but I find the situations and Pegg's reactions to be real and humorous). It's a sort of one-man act through a large portion of it, following him around his flat as he narrates his paranoia. His character is a real sad sack, but even while watching his pathetic misadventure, you still find something relatable about him. His delusional, irrational phobias are wildly exaggerated, yet most of us can find something about them to identify with. An oddball film, unconventional story which isn't something a mass audience, or even fans of Pegg's previous work will all enjoy. Worth watching if you like off-the-wall, random movies which don't follow a standard format. It's not a story I've seen before, perhaps with good reason!

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Needless Collection 1

MADHOUSE the same studio that brought you anime gems like Death Note, Black Lagoon, Summer Wars, The girl who leapt through time, to name just a few, now brings You a sci-fi-action-moe-comedy worth your time. Based on Kami Imai's Manga, NEEDLESS is set in an apocalyptic future after World War Three. The war left a huge crater and 50 years later it's commonly known as "The Black Spot", as time passed people began to inhabit the wasteland but because of the contamination in the area some developed supernatural abilities and are now called "Needless".

Adam Blade is the main hero, a Needless with the ability of "Learning" his opponents attacks, his "look" could be described as a combination between Hellsing's Alucard and Devil May Cry's Dante, Blade is suppose to be a priest BUT he hates to listen to people's confessions and has an attraction to underage girls.

Needless is always breaking continuity, character development, fight scenes, product placement or fan service, in short it's a fast paced anime that once you get to the end credits you'll feel the curiosity to see what is going to happen in the next episode, if you like One Piece or Bleach, then you will enjoy this 24 episode anime that unlike One Piece and Bleach, NEEDLESS has a beginning and an ending.

CONS:

O.O?

PROS:

Opening theme.

Character design are from metro to moe.

sci-fi-action-moe-comedy.

All characters are likable.

Lots of fan service.

DISC.

Episode 6.

English and Japanese versions are topnotch.

Ending theme.

It's really hard to enjoy something not involving Moe, and I don't mind if Moe is in every anime now these days, but if it is used in the right way like here then let there be more action-moe-comedies in the future. Overall big thumbs-up to Sentai Films for high quality anime and I'm more than glad to hear the ADV films voice actors again, 5 out of 5.

Ok, I saw this anime before the English dub was realeased, so I'm not going to talk about that because it's horrible and the comedy holds no water with English voices. Anyway, the reason I love this anime so much is because it doesn't take itself seriously; hilarity follows. It's hard not to laugh when you're watching an intense fight scene and one of the characters throws out a move called "Little Boy."

As far as the animation goes it could be better but it could also be a lot worse, there are a lot of stills but not nearly as many as an anime like Inuyasha. One scene in particular really shows how much the animation shines where the animation completely shifts so everything is drawn "sketchy" (lots of lines? think of the opening cut scene to Super Street Fighter IV) and everything is really fluid with little to no stills at all. The animators decided to do this at seemingly random points throughout the episodes. I would also like to note that I really like the artwork. It's the happy medium between way too much detail (where characters look like they could be real people) and way too little detail (looks like an 8 year old did it).

Story wise it's a pretty run in the mill anime story with only a few plot twists. The story isn't really the main draw to this anime though, it's the comedy. The anime basically parodies any other action anime released. They succeed in doing this through stupid move names(stupid moves), and just a general lack of seriousness most of the time. The soundtrack is pretty good too, if you like Guilty Gear's music you will like the music here. As a matter of fact I'd go as far to say if you like Guilty Gear you'll like this anime.

Now...this anime isn't for everyone. If you're looking for a serious story with serious characters I'd stay far away from this. And if you have any problems with the main character being a *SPOILERS* borderline pedophile, *SPOILERS* I wouldn't watch this. There's also a lot of fanservice(panty shots, nearly naked ladies, anything short of actual nudity) which I don't think is really good or bad, that's more your call. I personally think some of the moments wouldn't be funny without it. But yeah, LOTS of fanservice here.

After watching the series once I fell in love with it. It's now one of my favorite anime series. So if you're still interested after reading this I'd highly recommend giving it a shot. I promise you won't be disappointed, as long as you don't watch the English dub...

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I was thrilled when I first saw this anime. It started off with a bang; it was funny, somewhat original, good fight scenes, and drew you in immediately. Then it stopped. I was really disappointed with this show It could have been so much better.

This anime series had an excellent formula: a post-apocalyptic "X-Men" with the edgy attitude of Gurren Lagann, pitting unlikely heroes against the usual evil syndicate, and plenty of goofy humor and fanservice. This series got off to an excellent start. They introduced the characters, began building the worldview, and surrounded it all by fun fight scenes and hilarious antics. Then they stopped. It was like one third of the way through, they fired the talented director and writing staff and replaced them with a bunch of C-list wannabes incapable or writing anything deeper than a Saturday morning cartoon. They tore out any and all sense or originality and depth and replaced it with the same tired old shonen anime tropes and stereotypes. Granted, with this type of anime I'm not expecting a level of depth on par with Berserk or Elfen Lied (and I wouldn't want it that way either). But considering the foul language, intense violence, and prevalent fanservice, you'd think that it was not made for 8-year olds; that they'd put a little more thought into it. Not only did they shut down the character development and plot, the fight scenes grew stale and boring as well. Why is it that all the heroes forget how to fight when confronted with a new enemy? Granted, constant one-up-man-ship is a staple of these shows, but its not even amusing here. At least shows like Dragon Ball, Bleach and Naruto keep it interesting.

We all know how these shows tend to use filler in order to separate story arcs, and allow time for plot development, but here it seemed like the fight scenes in the middle were filler. Seriously, you could probably skip episodes 9-20 and not miss anything. [Just know: "it's the sister. She's evil." Now you're caught up.] They missed excellent opportunities for plot and character development. Even the interactions amongst the characters got stale and boring. Many characters are supposed to have these old, deep relationships (Eve and Blade, Cruz and Aruka, Saten and the Professor) but they never really go into them. It's just presented to us as factual information.

In conclusion Needless began well, but stopped. They threw away any and all opportunities for emotive depth and character development, and stopped trying with the humor and fight scenes. Granted, there are some gems within here; and the parts they spent time on they did well. But those are as typically rare as diamond find. This is a renter. Find it on netflix.

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This split season collection "Collection 1" is OOP and I bought this used at a good price. Great action anime series!

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I love having complete collections not only does it save more space on your book case but it also has all the episodes that you can watch again and again. This anime had pretty artwork and i love the plot just wish they made more of this anime.

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Last Man Standing / The Last Boy Scout (Action Double Feature) (2010)

2 of my most favorite guilty pleasures are only better on blu ray(duh....); Both are films that generally went overlooked in many ways w/the exception of the fanbases for each; Boyscout def has the edge humor-wise(an actual great 'buddy' picture....Damon Wayans is very funny, & Shane Black can write a wicked screenplay....), but visually, Last Man Standing has the edge. Detailed and crisp, it is how this movie was made to be seen. And the gun sounds are even more amazing here. Walter Hill has generally been overlooked as a filmmaker I think, and while some people thought this was a little 'slow', I had no problem w/the pacing. Ry Cooder scores this movie perfectly too...

This is a great disc of 2 classic, lesser seen Bruce Willis movies, each of which contain lots and lots of welcome familiar faces. I know many times these 'double feature' discs stick a lemon w/something decent, but in this case(in my opinion...), you kill 2 birds with one stone...2 modern 'classics' on one!

Now if they can only find something to pair The Long Kiss Goodnight up with.....

This Blu-Ray transfer is excellent! Years ago, when I bought The Last Boyscout on DVD, I was very disappointed. The picture quality was horrible. It was very grainy. It was better to just watch it on a VHS tape. The DVD quality was that bad. (If you ever bought The Last Boyscout on DVD, you know what I'm talking about!) So, I'm glad that this Blu-Ray edition of The Last Boyscout finally gives the movie justice in terms of picture quality.

The movie itself -if you are a Bruce Willis fan, or an action fan in general, and for whatever reason that you haven't watched this yet -go buy this movie! It's an excellent action movie that I have watched over and over!

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Bruce Willis has had the profound good luck to star in some of the greatest American action films of all time, including its single greatest: the first DIE HARD. And this paved the way for Willis to become one of the biggest film stars of the 1990's, and for better (PULP FICTION, THE SIXTH SENSE, the other two DIE HARD 90's films) or worse (THE COLOR OF NIGHT, STRIKING DISTANCE, MORTAL THOUGHTS, FOUR ROOMS), he was king. The two films in this Blu-ray double feature represent his best 90's action works: THE LAST BOY SCOUT and LAST MAN STANDING.

THE LAST BOY SCOUT is another film in the mismatched buddy-cop actioner genre from writer Shane Black, who set the perfect blueprint for the genre with LETHAL WEAPON, slightly misstepped it with THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT and injected fresh and wonderful life back into it with the woefully underseen KISS KISS, BANG BANG. But what's different about the mismatched pair here is one of them is a former Secret Service agent turned alcoholic loser deadbeat private eye (Willis) and the other is a former star quarterback turned gambling addict and coke-fiend (Damon Wayans)... neither of them are cops. But they're losers who are down on their luck that, despite themselves, find redemption as they take on corrupt government officials and sleazy, murderous sports executives. Both of the men that they seek to bring down are both involved in their respective falls from grace, so they look to dish out a heaping helping of cold-served revenge... until a wonderful plot twist has one of them protecting the very person who ruined his life.

Tony Scott, prior to this film, had long been determined as an untalented, coat-tail riding hack whose flashy MTV-style of filmmaking used with such films as TOP GUN and BEVERLY HILLS COP 2 seemed to serve 30-second commercials better than a feature film. However, he proves that with the right script and the right players, from Noble Willingham and Taylor Negron to Chelsea Field and Bruce McGill and a before-she-was-famous Halle Berry, you can make a really great film. Ultimately it was the success of this film

Yes, there are logic-holes that you could fly a 747 through (How does Willis afford such a beautiful home with his barely-solvent business?), and the film may not be up to par with the dramatic performances of a Merchant-Ivory film, but as pure adrenalinizing popcorn fare, it's perfect. Black's one-liners zing back and forth, Scott keeps a healthy tempo going, and it has the benefit of Willis playing one of the coolest action heroes ever. His character is probably a little too cool for a sense of realism, but that is NOT what this film is going for. It goes for mythical cool, by telling a tale of redemption of two fallen heroes in the snappiest and most entertaining way possible.

Now, onto LAST MAN STANDING. This film is another remake of the legendary film YOJIMBO from legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa with legendary actor Toshiro Mifune as a ronin, or masterless Samurai, who reluctantly helps to bring order to a town with two warring gangs in feudal Japan. The first remake of the film was legendary directory Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS with legendary actor Clint Eastwood as a gunslinger-for-hire who reluctantly helps bring order to a town with two warring gangs in the Old West. Now, Walter Hill, director of such classics as 48 HRS. and THE WARRIORS brings Willis as a former mob gun-for-hire who reluctantly helps bring order to the dusty desert town of Jericho, that happens to have two warring mobs in the late 1920's. The film isn't jam-packed with action, but when you get the action, you really are slammed with it. The film also features Christopher Walken as the town's crazed main gun for hire (Walken playing a crazed and violent man? What are the odds?), WARRIORS and 48 HRS. alum David Patrick Kelly as the head of the town's Irish mob, Michael Imperioli as the idiotic cousin of the head of the town's Italian mob, Bruce Dern as the sleazy and amoral town sheriff and William Sanderson as the the heart-of-gold town barkeep. Willis gives a very understated, quiet cool performance that is pretty quip-free. But when he pulls out those twin .45's, you better run for cover. There is a spectacular shootout near the climax that is just awesome. And Ry Cooder's rock/blues infused score is a highlight as well.

As a director, Hill had a series of missteps like BREWSTER'S MILLIONS, STREETS OF FIRE, RED HEAT and ANOTHER 48 HRS., but LAST MAN STANDING stands out as one of his strongest films, alongside his biggest successes and some of his other seriously underrated films, like WILD BILL and JOHNNY HANDSOME.

Overall, this is a double-bill that features Willis in his prime as an action hero and major film star, and it doesn't hurt that both films are terrific.

Warner Bros. Blu-Ray films can really vary in quality. Most of their Blu-Rays are very good, and some are very poor as far as additional content and the lack of lossless audio, which is part of the standard of Blu-Ray discs. Sadly, this is one of the examples of the latter. This disc does NOT have lossless audio. Watching THE LAST BOY SCOUT, every now and then, I can hear my player (and it's not an issue with the player or physical issues with the disc) rev up and there's a slight audio skip. It's doesn't terribly detract from the experience, but it doesn't help, despite the very crisp picture.

Still terrific films, but it does have audio issues that might make more of a surround sound setup owner think twice before getting this.

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This double bill (just like in the old days) features Bruce Willis with two of his 1990s hits, "Last Boy Scout" (1991) and "Last Man Standing" (1996). The films share not only Bruce and the word "last" in the title but they also share the 90s style action film genre.

"Last Boy Scout" is the better of the pair, a 5 star flick, with good action, some of the snappiest dialogue you'll ever hear in films, a cute little girl who steals the show, and an over-the-top ending filled with death, destruction, and fireworks. There's even a little sex, with such hot ladies as Halle Berry and Chelsea Field. Add to that some great performances from Bruce Willis, his partner Damon Wayans, Danielle Harris as Willis' little girl, Noble Willingham as Wayans' sleazy ex-boss, and Taylor Negron as the dangerous Mr. Milo. Really a classic 5 star flick that shouldn't be missed.

"Last Man Standing" is a remake of Yojimbo, one of the best films ever. Japanese and American films are often interchangeable, as we see from "The Seven Samaruai" (1954) and "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) or from "Rashomon" (1950) to "Outrage" (1964), but this works best when the remake is a Western as the gun slinger is more compatible with the samurai. Thus the Yojimbo remake as "A Fistfull of Dollars" was a better version of Yojimbo than the current film, "Last Man Standing."

If "Last Man Standing" is not as good as "Yojimbo" or "A Fistfull of Dollars" it nonetheless has its compelling moments. Good performances from Bruce Dern as a corrupt Sheriff and Christopher Walken as an assassin help the rather dour plot, but Willis' personality, copied from Mifune and Eastwood, just doesn't work when the film is transplanted into Prohibition.

Think of this package as getting a great film with an OK film thrown in. My 5 star rating is for "Boy Scout" and I'd have to give "Last Man Standing" a 3.

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Since everyone else has already provided their summaries of the storyline, their opinions on the acting and everything else, I will, as I always do, only focus upon the quality of the transfer of this film to Blu Ray.

Not sure why other reviewers have said these film's audio is lossy, they are not. Both utilized DTS HD MA 5.1 audio which I will come back to later.

Very important for you to know that this collection does not consist of two separate discs...both movies are on a single blu ray disc.

Last Man Standing

VIDEO....not the cleanest transfer you will ever find, but not the dirtiest either. There is some noticeable film grain, and a general loss of detail in the darker areas. Overall, the color grading is very warm, almost orange which I suppose is typical of what directors want to see when a film takes place in a dust bowl environment. Mbps rate averages in the mid 20's. The amount of DNR is also noticeable in skin close ups where you can easily see the smoothing out of features. In early scenes there is also a lack of detail in the grassy plains area as well as the street that Bruce Willis drives into to start the film. Despite these faults, it's still an enjoyable viewing of Willis's lesser known films and retains its legs despite the years.

AUDIO...the lossless DTS HD MA 5.1 audio is not demo worthy but it is not terribly bad either. Most all the audio is nicely spread across the front stage with several instances of discreet channeling to the right and left sides. There is some, not much, channeling to the rears but don't expect a whole lot. The audio levels are just fine and the dialogue is easy to understand with good transient response. The sub gets put to work with many of the gunshots throughout the film.

The Last Boy Scout

VIDEO....This film is representative of the many early buddy cop films and does not hold up quite as well as it has aged but it was still an enjoyable enough film. The video transfer to blu ray is certainly not a remaster but was probably just re-encoded for blu ray. There is a goodly amount of grain throughout the film and a crushing of the blacks far too much taking out much of the details in the shadow and darker scenes. Though I do not have this film on Standard Definition, I doubt there would be much of an improvement between it and this Blu Ray version. I saw no artifacting or dirt in any part of the film and it played just fine. Never the less, if you already have the film on standard DVD, do not expect a whole lot of difference.

AUDIO...The DTS HD MA 5.1 audio was surprisingly good. No need to reset your remote's volume control as the levels were fine between dialogue, foley and soundtracks. There was some nice panning between the front and rear stages as well as some unexpected directionality to the rears with foley fx.

EXTRAS...There were no extras for either film. Each film has an old static graphic with play, scene and language set up in addition to going to the other film.

All my reviews focus solely on the quality of the transfers to Blu Ray of both video and audio and I do hope that this review has been of some help to you in deciding upon your purchase decisions and that I am on the correct path with this type of review.

Thanks for reading.

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Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010)

Lots of questions out there about the whole prequel/sequel argument and the inevitable comparisons between the two films, but in the end this is really about Carnahan having a fun time indulging the premise of his success by making another film (have to watch the supplements).

The story contains two characters from the first film, but there is no other other connection and each of them only have bit parts that provide a few laughs so watching the first film is not mandatory to get anything happening here. The FBI protects one of their own from a conglomerate of assassins, all of whom get their chance to display their special skills. Tom Berenger plays the FBI target, and he does play his age but I really only liked his last scene. Vinnie Jones gets some corny screen time, the Tremors are way over the top and the majority of their scenes were filmed like Natural Born Killers (fake backgrounds while driving). The film does get some stand-alone uniqueness with exploding clowns and a 50s retro FBI fashion look, but the cheese gets pretty heavy.

The BD clarity is excellent, so much so that when they tried any special effects they looked horrible, but both the interior and exterior shots without effects were pristine. The 5.1 DTS gets used extensively, reference the exploding clowns through the walls sequence. The makeup looked so thick on Berenger that you sometimes wished the BD wasn't so clear. The supplements are thorough and include (some are hidef and some are not):

* Deleted scenes, 10:01 minutes. Glad most of them were deleted, this also includes the alternate ending but I think most people will agree the ending included is much better (a revenge thing for how this whole movie was written).

* Gag reel, 6:32 minutes. Had a couple of funny moments, but they were mostly tedious (watching the FBI gal repeatedly cuss like a sailor was funny though).

* Behind Carnahan, 6:30 minutes. Covers everything about Smokin Aces I, and a little about why this came to be.

* Confessions of an Assassin, 25:59 minutes. The behind the scenes as told through the month of filming (in a day by day format). The two things I liked about this the most were the old guy Michael Parks who plays one of the Tremors and the foul mouthed producer Elliot. Both of those guys are hilarious, hard to tell with Parks but I think he was genuinely pissed off anytime a camera was rolling. Elliot slammed everything I hate about these kinds of documentaries so the self-loathing thing worked well.

* Weapons of SA II, 4:17 minutes. The main weapons guy reviews the variety of armaments in the film.

* Cue Clown, 2:57 minutes. Reviews how you make an exploding clown scene, gross.

* Bunker Mentality, 3:35 minutes. Reviews production design and construction for the best set in the film nice room.

* pocketBlu. More iPhone/iPod stuff for portable fans.

* BD Live, nothing relative or new to this film online.

* Unrated version, 2 minutes longer. The majority of the added footage is in the beginning as they removed the sex scene from the rated cut you get to see AK-47 Tremor do her very wild thing sans clothing, worth the watch.

Once you watch the supplements one should understand this was about having fun and putting some cheese on film. The critics who slam this film are all correct, but having no expectations helps. 2 for the film, 2 for the BD clarity and supplements. Enjoy.

This movie is great. There are no necessary connection between the first and the this one but to be enjoyed by itself, I think this is better or at least the same quality. The story is more thrilling, the action is little more frequent and the quality of the action is the same. The dialogues are great for a B movie or direct to DVD movie. Tom Berenger and Calyne Crawford have a great conversation and relationship in this whole movie in many different angles. Satisfying ending and pretty good message they put in the movie. I easily say it's at least the same quality as the 1st one or even better. If you enjoyed the first one, you will definitely enjoy this one, as far you put in mind that this is just another smokin' aces movie, not a sequel or continuing from the first one. Enjoy the shootout and little sarcastic (and sometime smart) jokes there. Ooo.. one flaw, they make the FBI look dumb in this movie even worse than the first one, especially agent Durane?? We as a normal citizen (except you're a high class, FBI or assassin hehehe..) know that's the worst reaction you can give to something that suspicious.... counter attack special agent? and the whole team with lack of sensitivity or weirdness and communications, anyway, just enjoy the ride for the shootout and twist and political struggle, nothing more and you'll enjoy it!

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This is a great action flick for those who don't take their action flicks too seriously. Walter, a low level FBI worker suddenly has a $3 million dollar bounty on his head and no one knows why. The first part of the movie shows us a number of ingenious assassins performing their various skills on their victims. They are all mercenaries.

One group, the Tremor family appears to have been copied from a Rob Zombie film down to the sexy sophomoric humor of Sherrie Moon Zombie as the pretty Autumn Reeser. The action moves along to a good soundtrack. The movie uses its own fast forward for fight scenes. The unrated edition has simulated sex and very brief nudity. While the assassins are being introduced, Walter is moved to a secure bunker in Chicago under a jazz club. The assassins show up and fighting and killing break out between the FBI men and the assassins who also fight amongst themselves. There is a slight plot twist but the story line isn't worth a flip to care. Yes the acting is campy. It is a cult movie and I found it more enjoyable than the first one.

Read Best Reviews of Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010) Here

I'll start off by saying I didn't really love the first Smokin Aces. It was alright, and my type of movie, it just wasn't pulled off very well. I wasn't expecting nearly as much from the sequel and I came away a bit surprised!

If you like the over the top, crank-like movies (Crank [Blu-ray] ), this has a lot of that. Unfortunately, rather than making it a pure "Crank" movie, they split it up with some story. I never found myself bored, but was always looking forward to the stylized action scenes.

Yeah, it's stupid but sometimes thats what you need! If these movies were realistic, they wouldn't be nearly as fun!

Video and Audio were both nice crisp video and some nice DTS-HD sound. Unfortunately, the poor CG effects really look bad in HD.

Fortunately this one had a lot of nice extras no U-Control this time around, but a decent set of features on the disc (most in HD).

If you like the crazy over-the-top stylized movies, it's worth checking out. You might not love it, but you'll definitely like parts of it.

I picked it up in the Smokin' Aces: 2-Movie Collection [Blu-ray] pretty cheap, and wasn't disappointed, keeping in mind its a direct to video title.

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Of course, not as good as the first one, but still a must-see for fans of the first. I wish they would've spent a little more time on Martha Higareda's and Vinnie Jones' characters. The twist was predictable; lots of action and violence but it still was a likeable movie. I would only recommend this to fans of the first one ... and even still, it's not as good as that one.

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Sweetie (The Criterion Collection) (1989)

"Sweetie" is here! A Criterion treatment! The first time I saw "Sweetie" was purely by accident. It was before Jane Campion went on to make better known, bigger budget films--this film was her feature debut in Australia. And while I respect many of her works including "The Piano" and "An Angel At My Table", I don't have the passion for them that I do for this oddball of a movie. Part of the joy of seeing "Sweetie" for the first time was having no expectations. The film surprised me in every regard--it's wickedly funny, yet horrifying and moving at the same time. A few years ago, I found it again and I made my friends watch it, too. I was concerned it might not hold up to memory, but that feeling was short-lived as soon as the wondrous Genevieve Lemon came onscreen as Sweetie.

"Sweetie" is a film that really explores the notion of family. As the titular character, Sweetie is a powerful presence whose very existence has crippled her family and, in many ways, held them hostage. Primarily, we see things through Sweetie's sister Kay and I love that the film introduces us to the peculiarities of Kay without explanation. Then when Sweetie arrives on the scene, things start to become very clear as the family dynamic takes the foreground.

I consider "Sweetie" a comedy, but I'm not sure everyone would agree. But then, I have a bit of a sick sense of humor. Certainly there are many laughs to be had in the film--if only uncomfortable ones. But, make no mistake, there is also genuine and vivid emotional turmoil. The films success is that it balances these elements so well--and, in fact, that brings a bold realism and resonance to the proceedings.

The film is shot beautifully, and always slightly askew (which is perfect for the subject matter). The performances are vivid. Karen Colston is great as Kay, and you won't soon forget Lemon as Sweetie. And as odd as the film is, it will stay with you. And you just might recognize elements of your own family dynamic within the excesses presented! KGHarris, 9/06.

I've seen three Campion movies. It took a long time for me to forgive 'The Piano''s humorless, heavy hands and move on to 'Holy Smoke!'. But HS revealed a comic sensibility that 'The Piano' never suspected. 'Sweetie,' Campion's first feature, is by far my favorite yet.

'Sweetie' is an odd film. Mostly, it's an examination of what it means to be an individual--inside of and outside of the repetitive struggles of family dramas--and the perils and joys of exclusion and elitism. Campion uses her sharp wit to draw blood, and without the comforts of a privileged moral voice (e.g. the competent parent or maternal sufferer of most family dramas), the humor can seem a little mean-spirited at times. But 'Sweetie' tempers its alienated perspective with moments of grace that are as terrifying, joyful and sublime as the dry open spaces of its Australian landscape.

Moving the viewer through a fractured world of beautiful and unsettling images, Sweetie is this director's most richly creative and psychically adventurous work.

Buy Sweetie (The Criterion Collection) (1989) Now

This film is to director Jane Campion's The Piano what David Lynch's Eraserhead is to his The Elephant Man a personal highly stylised experiment before the challenge of the more conventional big budget assignments that would allow for both a controlling of each director's excesses and a streamlining of their obsessions. The parallel between Lynch and Campion can also be extended to their mutual interest in loners, misfits and eccentrics, and they both treat them with piteous dignity, in much the same way photographer Diane Arbus did for her "freaks". Sweetie is similar to Eraserhead also because it's an endurance test for those who hold a high opinion of each director's later work. The fine line between pleasure and pain can be felt with great artists and their fine line between genius and crud. Campion here uses a song "Love will never let you fall" sung by Tony Backhouse and The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation Choir as a backdrop to her tale of two sisters. Campion dedicates the film to her own sister and the screenplay written by herself and Gerard Lee is based on Campion's idea, so we know this is a personal story. (Campion's sister Anna is now also a director). Campion doesn't introduce the title sister until she has established the nature of the first, Kay, but also we don't fully understand why Kay is the way she is until Sweetie arrives, and is soon followed by their father. Sweetie is a monstrous child/woman but when the arguments between sisters begin it's hard to know whose side to take, since Sweetie makes Kay just as dislikable. Perhaps because Campion knew the narrative could be reduced to the domestic struggle of those tied by blood, she employs an expressionist use of framing where the person on view is placed off centre, as well as stop motion footage of the growth of plants, a montage of the workings of Kay's mind when she attempts meditation, and a flashback to Sweetie as a childhood performer with a growling dog as audience. There are also strangely disturbing images 2 men dancing together at a cattle station, and Sweetie bathing her father. However, like Lynch, Campion has a wicked sense of humour and the climactic incident in a tree is equally comic, tragic and metaphoric. As the sisters, Karen Colston and Genevieve Lemon are never allowed to become grotesques they are both given touching breakdown scenes and Campion appears to have a special gift for handling child actors, with the little boy neighbour and the girl playing Sweetie as a child at the end particularly good. And like Eraserhead, once you manage to adjust yourself to the slow rhythms and lower your too high expectations, you find that Sweetie gets better as it goes along.

Read Best Reviews of Sweetie (The Criterion Collection) (1989) Here

Once again, the Criterion Collection's given us a marvelous DVD transfer of a wonderful film that had rather fallen through the cracks -in this case, Jane Campion's haunting feature debut, SWEETIE. Odd and intensely personal, the picture's full of striking images (particularly brilliant use of color in the set design), camera angles that are unusual without feeling forced, subversive comic writing, a wonderful soundtrack and, not least, fearless performances from a talented cast. This is the kind of movie that has such strong interior logic, the audience willingly follows where it leads, no matter how bizarre or unexpected the destination proves to be. I'd vividly remembered many scenes of SWEETIE since seeing it theatrically in its original release; experiencing Campion's vision again today is just as strong. The usual superior Criterion touches -fascinating commentary and student works from this director, insightful essay in the accompanying booklet. If the only Campion films you know are THE PIANO or PORTRAIT OF A LADY, you may find many surprises here. Very worthwhile.

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Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)/Passionless Moments (Jane Campion, 1983)

Sweetie is the type of comedy I would write if I wrote comedies-relentlessly black, full of subversive moments, and deeply, deeply twisted. Barrel of monkeys? I scoff at your fun!

Kay (Karen Colston) is rather mousy, introverted, and not terribly happy in her relationship with Louis (Tom Lycos), whom she lands after consulting a fortune-teller. Not the best start to a relationship, one would think (and one would be right). Still, Kay and Louis are content, in their own miserable way, until Sweetie shows up. Sweetie (Genevieve Lemon) is Kay's younger sister, and she's well, I believe the technical term is "crazy as a loon". No one but Kay, however, seems capable of seeing this; her parents just see her as slightly eccentric, though still their darling baby daughter. Louis is oddly entranced by her. Gordon (Jon Darling), her manager/boyfriend, is convinced she'll be the one to finally net him some success, and he's not put off by the fringe benefits of managing her, most of which he reaps between the sheets. Loudly. As Sweetie slips farther and farther round the bend, though, the rest of the family does come to see that, perhaps, there might be something wrong; unfortunately, no one's equipped to deal with this new perception, and anything that can go wrong, etc.

I should probably insert some sort of warning about triggering conversations/behaviors, but that's kind of the point of the movie, isn't it? This is supposed to push your buttons (in much the same way that Very Bad Things did a few years later). And it does a very good job of it; the movie was castigated and/or damned with faint praise when it appeared, though it has since been recognized as a classic in the making given some of Campion's later output (e.g., The Piano). Campion, who both wrote and directed, is a twisted genius with a camera here; all you can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. And I highly recommend you do so.

I wouldn't normally review a thirteen-minute film, but Passionless Moments, which can be found in Sweetie's DVD extras, is on Jonathan Rosenbaum's list of the thousand best films ever made, so I should probably give it a paragraph. A short made by Campion in 1983, Passionless Moments takes a number of disparate scenes and puts them together. Each of them is oddly familiar, things you've done or wondered about yourself, but presented from odd angles, or with weird cuts; it's as if Roald Dahl got inside your skull and started writing Tales of the Unexpected straight out of your subconscious. It's absolutely worth your time, and is worth the cost of buying the Sweetie DVD by itself. **** (for both).

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Rocky Horror Picture Show (2011)

I loved going to "Rocky Horror" when I was in college, but watching on home video just wasn't the same. I'm probably committing heresy but there's a reason why this sci-fi, horror, B-movie satire, rock musical didn't really make it big until theaters started showing it as a midnight movie and fans started attending in costume and talking back to the screen. The 25th anniversary DVD, with several audience participation options, really is the next best thing to being there.

For the uninitiated, "Rocky Horror" tells the story of two clean-cut American youths, uptight Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick of "Spin City") and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon of "Dead Man Walking") whose car breaks down on a dark, deserted road in the middle of a storm--the classic beginning to many horror movies--and who seek help at a nearby castle. Castles, as Rocky fans know, don't have phones! What this castle has instead is a cross-dressing mad scientist Frank-N-Furter Tim Curry, in perhaps his finest performance), two very creepy servants, Riff-Raff (Richard O'Brien, who wrote the musical) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn), and various other hangers-on, including lovers Columbia (Little Nell) and biker Eddie (Meat Loaf). Brad and Janet walk in on a party celebrating the creation of Frank-N-Furter's muscle-bound boy-toy "Rocky." Bed-hopping chaos soon ensues, until the servants reveal their true identities and take control.

Punctuating this wacky plot are some of the wildest rock-musical songs ever written. In addition to the classic "Time Warp," there's O'Brien's salute to cult-classic B-movies, "Science Fiction Double Feature," Meat Loaf's "Hot Patootie," and Sarandon ode to sexual self-discovery, "Toucha Toucha Touch Me!"

So much for the "Rocky virgin" portion of the review... What makes the DVD so exceptional is the chance to experience "Rocky Horror" at home nearly like you would in the theater. The DVD has the option of turning on the audience screen comments as well as another option for viewing members of the Rocky Horror Fan Club performing select scenes before returning to the main movie. For those less familiar with audience participation, the DVD can prompt when to throw toast, toilet paper, rice, etc., light a match, put your newspaper on your head, etc.

The second disc contains fascinating interviews with cast members, where fans can find out about their reaction to starring in this cult classic. Meat Loaf's description of not realizing what "Rocky Horror" was going to be about and running out of the theater when Tim Curry entered wearing fishnet stockings, spiked heels, a merry widow, and a leather jacket and singing "Sweet Transvestite" is hysterical. Patricia Quinn talks about how her fondness for the opening song, "Science Fiction Double Feature" made her want to take the role even though she hadn't read the rest of the script. What? Don't remember Quinn singing that number? In the stage versions she did, but the song got reassigned in the film version--and Quinn makes her feelings about that QUITE clear. Sarandon makes the interesting observation that "Rocky Horror" probably kept a lot of art house theaters in business over the years, since they could count on good revenue from the midnight movie, even if the latest regular-hours offering flopped. In Bostwick's interview, however, the actor sounds a bit like William Shatner giving his anti-Trekkie diatribe on "Saturday Night Live."

The only disappointments on the DVD are that the outtakes really aren't that interesting and actor bios aren't provided. I would have liked to see what else the "minor" cast members did after Rocky, but that information is limited to a few lines in the companion booklet. Also, some of the audience-participation comments are nearly impossible to understand because fans are talking over each other. But then that's part of the modern-day theater experience. Even Sarandon noted in her interview that talking back to the screen has gone from the more unison catechism approach to a loud free-for-all.

What seemed so risqué and shocking a few decades ago seems much more innocent today, but it was great when it all began and it's still great! If you've never ventured into the theater to experience "Rocky Horror," this is the best way to experience it at home.

Having owned several 35mm prints of this film and watched many others, I know how this film should look. Overall, this disc looks amazing with intact grain structure and details; however there are 2 major issues.

1. For unknown reasons Science Fiction is LETTERBOXED ( within the 1.66 frame which the Fox logo and the rest of the film is in), cutting off the top and bottom of the lips during parts of the song. The entire film was 1.66 on the dvd so this blunder on the Blu-ray is unforgivable.

2. The blue tint from Brad's bedroom scene has been removed. The blue tint from the Timewarp flashback has also been removed.

I have emailed FOX and have not heard back.

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So you haven't seen this movie and you call yourself a true movie fan! BAH! I'm sorry, folks. Whether you like it or not, this one's required-reading. And I will tell you something now: I've seen worse on USA's UP ALL NIGHT. In fact, that's just what this movie makes fun of. It takes all those late-night science-fiction thrill-omedies and skewers them mercilessly. A favorite of mine since first-viewing, it's a great musical and an outrageously fun romp. Misunderstood greatly when it first came out, this satire preys on cheesy musicals("Dammit, Janet" is a wondeful indication of this), sex-and-science-fiction films(read "Flash Gordon" & "Barbarella") and a bit of society's judgement of man("Frank-n-furter!/It's all over/your mission is a failure/your lifestyle's too extreme") and how we're crucified if we're not perfect. The performances are on par(including early ones from Barry Botswick and Susan Surandon) but it's truly Tim Curry who steals the show(as the transsexual Vampire known as "Dr. Frank-n-Furter") in a role STILL arguably unequaled to this day.

Wonderfully kinky, catchy and definitely DIFFERENT, it's not a film for everyone but then again, wasn't that the aim to begin with?

--Matt

Read Best Reviews of Rocky Horror Picture Show (2011) Here

This is a movie you either love or hate. I first heard of this movie when I saw "Fame" ... when I saw the kids in the movie watching this in the theater, it not only looked stupid, but the whole environment of people throwing things at each other in the theater seemed a little scary... and what's with all the midnight theater showings?

I finally had to find out what the big fuss was about and so I rented it on video and watched it at a friend's house. The beginning moves pretty slow, but you will soon be either taking the video back (without rewinding) to the store, or you'll be doubled over in laughter during the few minutes your jaw isn't hanging open.

Tim Curry is absolutely hilarious and perfect for his role... an outerspace Transexual from Transylvania (a planet, not the country I think)... Dr. Frankenfurter.

Despite the slow parts here and there, the music is great and funny to boot. Where else can you see Susan Surrandon walking around in her underwear and Meatloaf riding a motorcycle with stitches all over his head like Boris Karloff? This is a cult classic, but not just because it's weird and twisted... it's also a musical and a comedy. The soundtrack is great just by itself, good beat, peppy tunes, clever (albeit not mainstream) lyrics.

If the idea of seeing a man walking around wearing lipstick and a garter belt makes you want to scream and take a bath, then this isn't the film for you... you'll feel like you need an exorcism afterwards!

If you like a good laugh, good music and a movie like you've never seen before, this is worth a shot.

After seeing this in the safety of my friend's home, I saw it a couple of years later in the theater. It was an interesting experience I can say I've been through, but that's about it... the movie is enjoyable by itself, just watching it on your tv. The closed captioning makes the DVD worth the cost immediately, so you don't miss any dialogue or lyrics... but this DVD includes hilarious out-takes, previously deleted musical numbers AND terrific THX sound!

If you are already a nostalgic fan of this film, this is a must-have DVD.

The film includes simulated violence (you see Frankenfurter swing a pick-axe at someone, later he's covered with blood).... and the themes are adult in nature and should not be viewed by children.

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I've been a Rocky Horror addict for years and have watched it hundreds of times in theatres, on VHS, DVD, and anywhere else I could find it. Therefore you can imagine my surprise when I popped in this blu ray and felt like I was watching a 2010 remake. The picture quality is STUNNING! Details pop out vividly that went by unnoticed in standard definition and colors blast the screen in absolute perfect clarity. I cannot go on long enough about how perfect the picture looks. I'm not new to blu ray and I know how much data 35mm film holds, but releases like this still blow my mind and remind me how amazing a good 1080p transfer is.

Likewise the audio transfer is a miracle. Whatever restoration they used is beyond wonderful and sounds 1000000x better than my old CD soundtrack.

My only complaint is that the song "There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)" is noticeably different from the versions I remember. I don't know how or why this is (maybe i'm just not used to hearing it in surround sound?) but the backup chorus sounds really awkward to me. If anybody knows why this is I'd be interested to find out.

Overall A+++ transfer! If you have any love for this movie or have never seen it before you owe it to yourself to purchase it on Blu Ray. I haven't watched any of the special features yet (there are a lot to watch) but based on the picture/audio quality of the movie, Rocky Horror is one of the must-buy BDs of the year.

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Jennifer's Body (2009)

What was it about Jennifer's Body that made it seem like it would be so worthless upon first glance? Was it due to the fact that it at its heart is a teen horror flick, or the fact that it was written by Diablo Cody, whose darling Juno I just didn't care for (I know, I know, blasphemy). Regardless of the reason, upon viewing Jennifer's Body, I can honestly say that it is a surprisingly good, funny, and even enjoyable flick that lampoons its high school setting as much as it celebrates it. Transformers beauty Megan Fox stars as the title character, who is the hottest girl in high school, and ends up falling prey to a devil-worshipping band (led by Adam Brody) who use her as a sacrifice. However, Jennifer ends up coming back to life as a demonic boy-devourer, and it's soon up to her unlikely BFF Needy (Amanda Seyfried) to save the day, and put an end to Jennifer's spree. While the film is a play on the sapphic relationships between teen females, there is enough hearty helpings of humor and gore for horror fans to eat up. Combine that with Diablo Cody's Juno-esque dialogue and surprisingly good turns by Fox and Seyfried, and Jennifer's Body ends up being surprisingly enjoyable. Give it a chance, you'll be pleasently surprised.

In 2009, the dark comedy horror film "Jennifer's Body" would mark the return of award winning writer Diablo Cody ("Juno", "United States of Tara") and would feature a collaboration with director Karyn Kusama ("Aeon Flux", "Girlfight"), actresses Megan Fox ("Transformers" films, "Hope and Faith") and Amanda Seyfried ("Mamma Mia!", "Veronica Mars", "Mean Girls").

"Jennifer's Body" which cost around $22 million to make, earned around $33 million worldwide and has received mix ratings from a variety of critics but earning praise from Roger Ebert and Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone Magazine".

Now "Jennifer's Body: Unrated" is released on Blu-ray with a special unrated version which includes both the original theatrical version of the film and also an unrated version. The Blu-ray release also includes a digital copy of the film.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Jennifer's Body" is presented in 1080p High Definition (Widescreen 1:85:1) with AVC @ 26MBPS. Picture quality is pretty solid as you can see the detail in various surfaces around town. A lot of scenes featuring blood, dirt and grime on the characters which is quite detailed onscreen. There is a fine layer of grain, skin tones are natural and blacks are nice and deep.

The lossless audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish, French and Portuguese in Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is dialogue and music driven, so most of the audio is coming from the front and center channels. There are some scenes that utilize the surround channels, from the slight sounds of a police siren, crowd ambiance and some of the action sequences. Some of the bass you hear from the film comes from the music but for the most part, the film is front and center channel driven.

Subtitles are featured in English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Thai.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Jennifer's Body: Unrated" comes with the following special features:

* Audio Commentary with Director Karyn Kusama and Writer Diablo Cody (Theatrical Version) An enjoyable commentary featuring director Kusama and writer Diablo Cody discussing the unique script and the structure of the film.

* Audio Commentary with Director Karyn Kusama (Extended Version) While watching the film, a red box will show up on the corner (indicating an extended scene) in which you can hear Karyn discussing the differences of the theatrical version from the extended version of the film and how the extended version of the film which is much more closer to the original script.

* Deleted Scenes (13:55) Six Deleted scenes which include the following deleted scenes: Dead Boys, Jennifer Check Is Gross, Needy Confronts Jennifer, Who's Cindy Crawford?, Needy Faces The Band, Ass, Gas or Grass...

* Gag Reel(4:55) Bloopers from "Jennifer's Body".

* Jennifer's Body: The Dead Pool (13:59) The cast and crew (including writer Diablo Cody, directory Karyn Kusama and the producers) talk about the concept of the film and working with the main talent of the film. And filming of the pool scene and the visual effects and make up effects involved.

* Video Diaries Video diaries from behind-the-scenes on the set of "Jennifer's Body" featuring Megan Fox and Johnny Simmons (12:49), Amanda Seyfried (10:23), Diablo Cody (7:05) and Dan Dubiecki (3:02).

* Megan Fox Is HOT (:53) A short special feature showcasing the sexy scenes of Megan Fox from the film.

* Megan Fox "Peer Pressure" PSA (:37) A naughty public service announcement for "Peer Pressure" (ala promotion for "Jennifer's Body").

* Fox Movie Channel Presents `Life After Film School' With Writer Diablo Cody (26:26) An interesting episode of "Life After Film School" with the three film students interview writer Diablo Cody about the film, her career, working with director Karyn Kusama, Megan Fox and more. Definitely love listening to Diablo Cody discuss her perspective of life and writing.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I suppose that there are horror fans who felt cheated that "Jennifer's Body" was less of a horror, teenage slasher film (despite it having horror elements) and was more of a film that was character driven and really focused on the relationships between Needy and Jennifer.

"Jennifer's Body" is quite interesting because Diablo Cody is pretty good of writing films, her way, her style and it's a carefree style of showing school popularity and the cruelness that happens amongst students. And what better way to take on the role of Jennifer than Megan Fox who has wanted to play this type of role.

But "Jennifer's Body" for the most part is not a great film nor is it the worst film ever made. I suppose it all comes down to the viewer and what they were expecting. Looking for a slasher/gory type of film, well "Jennifer's Body" has scenes that look quite disgusting but for the most part, it's not a scary film. In a way, "Jennifer's Body" plays more like a "Lost Boys" style of film with the music, dark groups of students in town where bad things happening. Also, the film manages to incorporate dark humor to the violence, teenage life and relationships.

But everything comes full circle at the end of the film and I really dig how "Jennifer's Body" ends so rock n' roll but with tragedy. A possible sequel in the future? Who knows.

Megan Fox did a fine job, this may not be the role that utilizes her in a non-sex kitten serious role but for Amanda Seyfried, she really shined in "Jennifer's Body" portraying a variety of emotions from anger, fear, sadness, you name it. It was really good to see her play the character of Needy since her previous films tend to showcase her in a more ditsy type of role. So, it was good to see her utilized in the film emotionally in a variety of ways.

If you enjoyed the film "Jennifer's Body: Unrated" comes with a good amount of special features and you get both the theatrical and extended versions of the film and a digital copy. But I really enjoyed how the Blu-ray release also gives us a much more in-depth glimpse of the writer Diablo Cody and her involvement in film. You don't get to see her shown all that much, so it was really cool to see several features with her.

Personally, for "Jennifer's Body: Unrated", it all comes down to the viewer. If you are a guy who wants to see Megan Fox, you'll dig the film. If you are a big Diablo Cody fan, you'll dig this Blu-ray release. If you're wanting to see the film for a scare, well... "Jennifer's Body" is not exactly that scary. But if you are wanting a popcorn flick that has elements of your favorite teen film and horror elements, you may find the extended version included on this Blu-ray release of "Jennifer's Body: Unrated" more to your liking.

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The author of Juno, the star of Mamma Mia and the movie world's frequently voted sexiest woman, all rolled up into one movie, and about the supernatural. What could be more zeitgeist..? And yet, alas, this is a pretty woeful mixture of a movie.. told with polish in places, perhaps, but still a mess.

Jennifer (Megan Fox) is the most popular girl in town, her best friend is the geek (and hehehe... she's called Needy gettit? What a laugh..). Jennifer is not shy hormonally driven, one might say, and known to exploit her looks. However, she bites off more than she can chew when she falls fowl of Adam Brody's rock band, who turn out to be minor students of witchcraft. She ends up possessed, and needs human flesh to keep her looks. Can Needy handle the situation and bring an end to the series of deaths in town..?

The tone clearly wants to be this decades Heathers [Blu-ray], but fails miserably in nailing the subtle black humour of that movie. Here, the language, which likes to dwell on descriptions of body parts and functions, in a way that is normally best left unspoken and for good reason, sits uneasy with the attempt at some sinister and almost Gothic goings on in the town of Devil's Kettle. The visuals are not bad, admittedly, in places.. but it can't save a lurching storyline with poorly drawn characters, and soundtrack which strives for smooth and hip but only manages jarring and out of place.

Overall, interesting idea, which could have been a quirky and trendy teen Gothic horror with black comedy overtones.. but only manages to raise laughs for the wrong reasons, with the only horror the discovery that Juno really must have been a one off for Diablo Cody's writing talents. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried have done nothing to further their career by being in this unholy mess.

Read Best Reviews of Jennifer's Body (2009) Here

While FOX promotes all the other movies on its roster, the movie at the bottom of their agenda, may have been the one that should have been at the top. Don't get me wrong, it was a bad year for FOX, but JENNIFER'S BODY, while it may not be intellecual or have top known actors in it, it is, for all intensive purposes, sheer fun and constantly interesting.

Dismally promoted, JENNIFER'S BODY was shrugged off by its studio as a disappointment, but in the end, JENNIFER'S BODY will probably be one of the movies where, in a few years, or a few months, people will still be watching it. People will still have to get it off the shelf and check it out again and again, because its fun. It isn't all that scary, although it has some scary stuff in it. It's more along the line of 80s movies like NIGHT OF THE CREEPS. It's fun. It's eye candy. It's plain and simple, entertaining.

Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox are two of the hottest actresses in hollywood right now, and I don't mean HOT as in HAAATTT! I mean HOT as in, getting jobs and getting good jobs and continuing to deliver time after time. Especially Seyfried who is fast becoming one of my favorite actresses. She preys on the audiences natural reaction to find her adorable and cute and then does things either sexy or shocking and it works in JENNIFER'S BODY like a charm. She plays Needy, a nerdy girl who everybody thinks is a lesbo, except for her, who watches the world around her, including her friend Jennifer, become stranger and stranger as dead bodies keep popping up. Is she crazy? or is she just a gulible friend?

JENNIFER'S BODY has everything it needs and more to be a movie that will stand the test of time, despite the poor promotion it received from its studio. Unlike most movies that are forgotten as soon as the credits hit, BODY is a repeat viewer and a fun trip with two actresses who will be around for a long long time.

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So I will admit I bought this movie just for Megan Fox eye candy plus it was like $12 bucks, and it sat unopened on my bluray collection for about 3 months until I had nothing else to watch and I was in the mood for a thinkless horror movie but I must say I was rather pleasantly surprised at the movie as a whole, I actually laughed out loud a couple of times and enjoyed the story but just when I started to get a little bored the Megan Fox/Amanda Seyfried Kiss (OMG!!!) this is the best reason to buy this movie on BluRay and watch on your HDTV, it is pure movie magic.

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Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: Remastered Edition (1964)

It's the kookiest Christmas ever when Santa Claus is kidnapped by Martians in this "you have to see it to believe it" Christmas "classic." Maybe you've seen this movie hilariously skewered on Mystery Science Theater 3000, but you have to watch it on its own to truly appreciate it. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is just so bad that I can't help but love it, and that explains why I am giving this deservedly one-star movie four stars. The Martian get-ups are more ridiculous than Marvin the Martian's normal attire, the sets redefine the very definition of cheap, the acting is over-the-top and generally horrible, and Santa is well, he's just a little bit weird, if you ask me. Every time the guy starts in with his distinctive laughing (usually for no apparent reason), I am reminded of the fact that Satan is spelled with the same letters as Santa.

Things aren't going so well on Mars. It's bad enough that the Martians are all colored a ridiculous shade of green, dress like rejected superheroes, and wear ridiculous antenna-spouting helmets on their heads at all times, but now the children of Mars are all acting depressed and withdrawn; all they want to do is sit and watch Earth TV. Kimar (Leonard Hicks), the leader of Mars, seeks the advice of the planet's 800-year old wise man and is told that he must bring Santa Claus to Mars so that the children can actually have fun and be children for a little while. Voldar (Vincent Beck) opposes the plan every step of the way, arguing that Kimar's plan will soon result in a whole planet full of lily-livered, mush-brained nincompoops. Kimar wins out and sets off for Earth in the most pathetic spaceship of all time to catch Santa and bring him back to Mars along with two Earthling children. Well, Santa starts up a new workshop on Mars, hoping he'll be allowed to return home in time for Christmas, but Voldar is as tenacious as he is ridiculous-looking and is determined to kill Santa and stomp out all signs of Christmas spirit on the red planet.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians features a young Pia Zadora as a little Martian girl, but perhaps the movie's most unforgettable feature is the swinging theme song, Hooray for Santa Claus. If you watch the movie, you'll have this silly song in your head for days. Dropo (Bill McCutcheon) gives a memorable performance as Mars' resident screw-up with a heart of gold, but my thoughts always remain with John Call and his disturbingly weird portrayal of Santa Claus. I can pretty much guarantee that this movie will make you laugh with its unashamed ineptness, and bad movie lovers are ineligible for their very first merit badge until they have watched Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and lived to tell about it.

This DVD from Intermedia (Woodhaven), is the best version on DVD. The print quality used is much better that that used on other DVD's.

Buy Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: Remastered Edition (1964) Now

Yeah, "It's a Wonderful Life" is a pretty good movie. However, the movie I joyfully watch every Christmas is about martians who, lacking a Santa Claus to bring joy to martian kids, kidnap Santa from Earth, along with two children. "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" is almost sublime in its badness, and with painted-green martials in skintight suits, a Santa with a lewd chuckle instead of a "Ho Ho Ho," incredible wooden acting by the cast (one of whom is Pia Zadora), unspeakable special effects, and a horrible theme song, it is a masterpiece of the so-bad-it's-good school of film. Just TRY getting the theme song out of your head.

The DVD from Laserlight looks exactly as one would expect it awful. The supersaturated colour scheme has not aged well, and looks very grainy. There are many scratches, but that only adds to the film's strange charm. Unfortunately, the first fifteen seconds or so of the film's opening credits are not on this DVD, depriving loyal fans of seeing EVERY BIT of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." Unsurprisingly, there are no extras, although the menus are pretty good.

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You've got to be in a silly or giddy mood to truly appreciate this '60's classic. From suspense formulation to character development, SCCM tosses convention aside and disobeys all film making rules. In fact, it is so poorly done, it is downright enjoyable! Enjoy it with your friends for a good laugh. Be enchanted with lovely Pia Zadora's film debut (I think) as the cute little Martian girl. Be inspired as Carl Don's character, the 800+ year old Martian wiseman, proclaims, "We Need A Santa Claus on Mars!" Get downright geocentric as the Earth's Christmas Holiday spirit prevails over the Red Planet's system of overbearing logic and Grinch-esque gloom.

Most importantly, jam to the film's wonderful jingle, "Hooray For Santa Claus", which I truly think is the best thing to come out of this movie. I believe this theme song is the most underrated Christmas carol of all time.

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You can get it for a dollar at Target. And, for only a dollar, it is the best value-to-price ratio ever. You and your friends will spend hours laughing at the silly quirks this movie is made up of. Voldar, Droppo, the whole gang are going to entertain your socks off.

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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Close on the heels of his ADAPTATION, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman scores again with CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, based on the (fictional?) autobiography of the same title by Chuck Barris. It's also George Clooney's initial outing as Director.

At the very beginning when the audience sees a bearded and naked Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) standing as if in a trance while a frumpy housekeeper vacuums around him, the viewer suspects that the film will be something special, outrageous, or both. This is the starting point for an extended flashback as Barris recalls his young adulthood, when it seemed everybody but him was having sex, to his successful career as a TV game show creator and low-brow polluter of the American airwaves ("The Dating Game", "The Newlywed Game", "The Gong Show"). Pretty standard stuff except that along the way Barris is seduced by a penchant for violence into a double life as a CIA contract killer, and the schizophrenia brought on by his double life almost proves his undoing.

Rockwell is superb in the leading role, as is Director Clooney, who plays his square-jawed, no-nonsense CIA recruiter and control, Jim Byrd. (Byrd to Barris: "Listen, you're thirty-two years old and you've achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead and alive again by thirty-three. Better get cracking.") Drew Barrymore does a swell job as Penny, the on-again, off-again love of Chuck's life, but she's deliciously upstaged by Julia Roberts in a new sort of character for her, that of the seductive and deadly femme fatale spy, Patricia. ("Prove how much you love me, baby. Kill for me. Then I'm all yours".) Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have hilarious two-second cameos on stools. And there's one scene where a Federal official lectures The Dating Game contestants on the dire repercussions of introducing risqué material into their game show appearance that alone is worth the price of admission. I don't know who that actor was, but he deserves an Oscar for a one-minute speech.

This is a movie that perhaps has to be seen twice to be fully appreciated for the deft and clever use of camera perspective, scene and timing changes, and almost-overexposed color, all of which keeps the audience on its toes wondering what's coming next. And the Big Question: who's The Mole?

This is one of the best dark comedies that I've seen in a long while. It's one of the must-see films of 2002/2003. Bravo, bravo!

A movie that combines "Ocean's Eleven" stars and a core storyline from "A Beautiful Mind" with the TV progenitor of Simon Cowell? It seems unlikely, as does much of the book this film's script was based on, yet it all comes together well in a very weird, but hilarious piece of entertainment.

Sam Rockwell is dead-on as game show producer Chuck Barris, who created not only two staples of American television mediocrity (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game), but also the "American Idol" of the 1970s -The Gong Show. The only differences between Barris' production and today's "Idol" are that Barris featured ONLY bad wanna-bes, so there were no recording contracts and such offered, and his judges were a lot funnier, as was he. Of course, viewers were different back then, too, in that they didn't know what to make of a show on which struggling "talent" were verbally abused. Today, that's half of Idol's viewership. In any case, Rockwell's portrayal of him is perfect.

Equally good are Drew Barrymore, as Barris' on-again, off-again, on-again love interest, George Clooney as Barris' supposed CIA handler, and fellow assassin Julia Roberts. In fact, Barrymore is considerably better here than in most of her roles. The appearance of Rutger Hauer also made me laugh, especially given the tough guy roles he used to play. And cameos by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are priceless.

As for the "A Beautiful Mind" reference, Barris' assertion that he served as a CIA assassin during that period is so absurd that it immediately made me think of the Russell Crowe/Jennifer Connelly film's delusional spy sequences. It's also fitting considering that the central message of Barris' book is that it is immensely painful to have a brilliant mind in early life, yet end up wasting it on developing cheap fodder like "The Dating Game." (Pretty much the story of American televison in general.)

Don't get me wrong -this is NOT a movie classic. Still, Barris is such a weird yet bright man that the film is fun throughout. And its depiction of this period of TV-making in America is funny, believable, and all too insightful as to how we ended up with the flood of "reality" and game shows that pollute our TV screens today. The film blames Barris, because he did himself, but it's the networks that pushed and paid for this dreck, and still do.

If you have an absurdist bone in your body, you'll at least get several laughs out of this. Enjoy.

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George Clooney is a fine actor and he has done excellent work in the past. However, when I heard that Clooney was going to direct, I was a bit apprehensive. There are actors who have done great work as directors (Orson Welles, Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood), yet George Clooney did not strike me as one who would excel as a director. Then along comes Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to convince me otherwise. Working from a screenplay by the always-great Charlie Kaufman (scribe of Adaptation), Clooney has constructed a fabulous film that succeeds in just about every way.

Clooney has the benefit of an intriguing story, based on the book by Gong Show host Chuck Barris, a great script and a fantastic cast. Sam Rockwell is a fine actor, and Confessions is probably his best work to date. Rockwell carries the movie; A daunting task, but he succeeds admirably. He brings humanity and sadness to his character and even makes him somewhat sympathetic. Hopefully he will be getting better and better parts after this one. Drew Barrymore is great as Barris' sort-of girlfriend, Clooney himself appears as the CIA recruiter who's interested in Barris, and Julia Roberts shows up as a fellow operative. George Clooney has learned much from his friend Steven Soderbergh and brings an astute sense of visual style to the film. Clooney really deserves credit for an exceptional filmmaking job.

Whether or not Barris' story is true is really not of concern to me. Even if it's all fiction, then it made for a remarkable story anyway. It will give viewers something to debate after seeing the film. The real Chuck Barris shows up for a cameo at the end, in a very touching and sad moment. Indeed there's a strong element of sadness to the story as Barris realizes what he has been and what he could have been. "I'm doomed to hell" he writes. And not just for being the one responsible for The Gong Show.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was overlooked at the box office when it opened back in January. Perhaps it was the fact that George Clooney and Julia Roberts were only in small parts that kept people away. Or perhaps people were scared away by Charlie Kaufman's name, knowing it would likely be "weird". It's a shame though, because those people missed one of most unique and enjoyable films of the year. It's perhaps not for all tastes, but for those who enjoy quirky films beyond the usual Hollywood dreck, Confessions will be highly enjoyable.

Hopefully with the upcoming DVD release, this wonderful film will find its audience and will be appreciated for years to come.

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I am so surprised there are not more customer reviews for this DVD. It is a great little film! Funny, but very dark at times. It has everything, including great directing (George Clooney), a great cast, and a very quirky story line. I was a bachelor on the original "Dating Game" in 1971. I don't remember Chuck Barris being on the set for our taping. Perhaps he was acting as chaperone to another swinging couple in an exotic locale like Berlin. It was great rewatching this after seeing "The Ides of March." George Clooney's work has only gotten better.

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Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) spent every conscious moment since puberty chasing women -with little success. Then he discovered the newly emerging world of television. This was something he could do. He could put on a show. He understood the public's tastes. And there were available women galore. Barris started out giving tours at a television network, and worked upward from there. He met a free-spirited woman named Penny (Drew Barrymore), whom he later married, through a one-night stand with her roommate. Penny believed in Chuck, encouraged him, and gave him all the independence he could want. Chuck rose to prominence at ABC when his "Newlywed Game" became a hit. He went on to produce "The Dating Game" and "The Gong Show", in which he also starred. But Chuck Barris led a double life. Shortly after his success with "The Dating Game", he claims to have been approached by a recruiter for the CIA (George Clooney), who told Chuck that he perfectly fit the "profile" to do contract work for the agency and that his country needed him in its battle against Communism. Chuck agreed to the job. And the CIA trained him as an assassin who would use the cover of escorting "The Dating Game"'s winning couples around the world to carry out his murderous assignments. Or was it all a fiction from the mind of this consummate entertainer?

"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is based on Chuck Barris' autobiography of the same name, public records, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews. The film was directed by George Clooney in what is one of the most impressive directorial debuts ever by an actor. Charlie Kaufman, who has made a name for himself writing non-linear films, wrote the screenplay. The constraints imposed by the mostly linear nature of this film bring out the best of Kaufman's abilities, though, and result in his best screenplay yet. Chuck Barris' game shows were precursors to modern reality television and "trash tv". Sam Rockwell brilliantly conveys Barris' simultaneous inferiority and superiority complexes. He made me wonder if some of today's trash tv moguls don't suffer from the same neuroses. George Clooney employs a combination of traditional and heavily stylized techniques to bring Chuck Barris' story to the screen. The film's style gets heavy-handed as the story nears its end, but this seems an appropriate expression of Barris' eventual unraveling. The question that "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" elicits but never answers is: Is it true? Was Chuck Barris really an assassin for the CIA? The idea that we cannot know how much of this story is true and how much is fiction is probably part of the film's appeal. I am inclined to think that Barris' claims are a result of his peculiar combination of intense self-importance and acute self-loathing. But the man always knew how to entertain, and George Clooney has brought Chuck Barris' strange story to the screen with skill and ingenuity.

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Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (2013)

Ace Ventura When Nature Calls VHSHilarious Movie, Just as funny but NOT funnier than the First. Chi-ca-ca! Chicago! Outrageous moments, making you want to Laugh hard, Jim Doesn't Disappoint. This movie along with Part 1 are Great Classics. I can watch them All the time. They are that funny!

Good Movie. NOT GREAT. the first one is way better. still worth some laughs. The monopoly Man! Guano! Interesting and cool monster truck scene.

Worth a couple laughs.Could have been better.

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If there was to be just one pop-culture character with 'franchise' written all over it, it would be Ace Ventura. After the sleeper hit that was the original, Ace is shipped off to Africa, via Tibet, to find the missing sacred animal of the peaceful Wachati tribe. It is supposed to be a wedding gift to the savage Wachutu tribe, marking the congregation of their people.

Ace is the best there is (the only there is) surely sending him to find the sacred bat (his most hated creature) is the 'right' thing to do. No matter how crazy he is. And how crazy indeed! This time around Jim Carrey goes completely wild as Ace. Any trace of an actual human that we saw before is surrendered to complete insanity. You can tell that Carrey is having the time of his life just ad-libbing and winging it. You can almost hear director Steve Oedekerk struggle to contain his laughter off-camera. There are even a few moments when Carrey himself almost cracks-up.

I prefer the sequel to the first for a few reasons. First of all the production design is far superior and the faux-African jungle (actually South Carolina) and tribal village colors really come alive. The widescreen photography gives the film a more expansive look than Tom Shadyac's original. Plus, it has a lot more animals, which I think is cool. You gotta love the 'alrighty then' meditation scene too.

Beside's the animated show (a few episodes are featured on this DVD set), there's been no more of Ace Ventura since. But don't rule him out. Carrey may be sick of being regarded as the guy who once made his anus talk, but I can only hope he'll do a third one day.

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This Is a great movie and very funny. jim carrey certain a great actor.

i have watch this one many times and would highy recomend it.

this is one movie you wont regret buying

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Ah, Ace Ventura. . . Jim Carey was never better! Too bad he doesn't do more of these. I'd even say that he only went downhill from here!

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That's What I Am

Andrew Nichol narrates this story about his younger self (Chase Ellison) being a 12 year old student who was is pared with Stanley a.k.a. "Big G" (Alexander Walters) for a school project by his teacher Mr. Simon (Ed Harris) to do a short story on tolerance. Stanley is the school's biggest outcast due to his size including one incident where he was sprayed with a water gun to make it look like he wet his pants & always hung out at a section of the school called "Geek Corner" with the other outcast of the school. Despite Stanley always keep his self-respect, Andrew didn't understand why he let people pick on him while Stanley's best friend Norman (Daniel Yelsky) would always get mad at him for doing things he felt that would just get them picked on more. Along with having to do the assignment with Stanley, Andrew is also dealing with his father who is constantly on his case for not being able to do anything correct by his standards while develops a crush on Mary Clear (Mia Rose Frampton) who had her best friend tell him that she likes him as well. That didn't set well with Mary's last boyfriend in Ricky Brown (Jordan Reynolds) who's the school bully & keeps threatening Andrew to stay away from Mary. While all of this is going on, Mr. Simon is the most popular teacher in the school & even won the California Teacher Of The Year as he's very loved by his students but after an incident involving a student named Jason (Camille Bourgeois) that caused him to get suspended, he started spreading a rumor about Mr. Simon being a homosexual causing Jason's father (played by WWE superstar Randy Orton) to bring allegations against him with Mr. Simon refusing to comment stating that his teaching should stand on it's own.

This was definitely a different type of film that we've gotten from WWE in the past as they put their own superstars in the background (Randy Orton only appeared in for maybe 10 mins. total) & did a family drama that focused on real issues as bullying, tolerance, and acceptance. Ed Harris was top notch like always while all the children performed really well so this is a movie that I would go out of your way to see.

This was just one of those wonderful stories and certainly a "should see" if you have teenagers in school. No big budget or special effects just a great story with great acting!

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It's a feel good movie. A touch of reality. I agree with the other reviewer, the acting was just that, kids acting most of the parts. All in all, it was a wonderful family movie. Taking a stand for others isn't very popular these days. I hope that this movie will entice children and adults to stick up for each other and not allow bullies to do their thing.

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This movie was great fo teaching kids that bullying and making up stories is not acceptable in todays world. I used it to teach a group of scouts about what not to do and also what to do when facing a bully

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This is a well written, well acted powerful story about a boy coming of age. I think it's an excellent movie to watch with your pre-teens and teenagers. It is set in 1965 when things were a lot different than today but the message doesn't change. Human Dignity + Compassion = Peace. I watched it and after doing so it took me back to that time in my life and it made me do some soul searching of my own. I asked myself how many times I may have hurt someone's feelings maybe without even realizing it.

Someone mentioned that the teacher Mr. Simon addressed the rumours of his being homosexual by simply quitting. There's so much more than that. He realized that if he didn't quit or deny the allegations it wouldn't just be him he'd be affecting it would be his dear friend the principal who was trying to keep her job as the first female principal and trying to put two boys through college. He took the high road and decided to save her job by leaving his.

I think everyone should watch this film and if I was a teacher I'd actually show it to my class. It carries a powerful message.

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