Review: The Green Hornet – Not so lean, mean and green

By markdavison

19th January 2011 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Seth Rogen may well be the luckiest guy in Hollywood. That’s not to say that he isn’t a likeable screen presence, but considering his not particularly versatile acting style and fairly average looks, not to mention the fact that his biggest hit was largely sold on its writer-director rather than him, it’s somewhat mind boggling that the still twenty-something star has been given the opportunity to not only star, but co-write this latest attempt to launch a new action franchise. To be fair, The Green Hornet is not one of the more beloved of pulp characters – it’s hard to imagine Rogen being let lose on more enduring characters of the same vintage like Batman (the comparison to the Dark Knight being a telling one as this version of playboy vigilante Britt Reid has also been provided with an origin story very similar to that of Bruce Wayne, presumably to remind the audience of the more-beloved hero while, thankfully, skirting the dark tone of that franchise). Yet, while it looked like Rogen’s luck may well have been about to run out, what with The Green Hornet’s difficult conception, peppered with numerous stories of delays and reshoots, he may well have just scraped by yet again (especially when taking the respectable box office figures for the film’s opening into account).

Like Rogen’s other writing credits, The Green Hornet isn’t exactly a ‘good’ film, but it does have a sort of scruffy charm about it. The extremely loose, meandering writing style of Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg is visible all over the film (an impressive feat for a film subject to so much studio interference), which may make for a rather limp and unexciting action flick (although the action scenes aren’t too bad – Rogen’s well publicised pre-filming fitness regime may not have visibly slimmed him too much, but does mean that he can pull off a few fight sequences), but results in moments of pleasantly Apatow-esque bromance between Reid and his valet/sidekick/brains behind the operation Kato.

The non-Rogen parts of The Green Hornet are a lot more frustrating. It was a wise move on Sony’s part to partner him with seasoned, distinctive talents, but sadly none are really given a chance to shine. Tom Wilkinson turns up in essentially an extended cameo as a fairly standard tyrannical father-figure, while Cameron Diaz’s secretary/love-interest is a role that she could turn in in her sleep – its sometimes hard to remember what a great comedic actress she can be, and she’s barely given any opportunities here to remind us of that (not that surprising as like all women in the bromance genre she’s more of an afterthought than a character in her own right, with a fairly paltry amount of screen time). The foreign-language speakers imported by the studio also have somewhat mixed fortunes. Taiwanese pop singer Jay Chou may clearly not be an actor, or even someone who understands much English, but he does have a physical gift for both comedy and action. Inglorious Bastards’ breakout star Christoph Waltz has proved in the past to be both an unnerving and amusing actor and he manages to bring both qualities to his scenes here, but sadly he’s barely in the film. Possibly most hard done by is director Michel Gondry who is reduced from mad genius to anonymous hand for hire. Although the few moments where he tries to put his distinctive visual style on proceedings feel forced, his technical skills are put to use in less obvious areas – for one the film’s soundtrack is well chosen, taking in Johnny Cash and The White Stripes amongst others, and the film’s 3D is surprisingly effective, considering it was converted in post-production rather than shot in the format. The 3D is of course, still rather unnecessary – the film’s goofy tone would suit candy-coloured and bright visuals rather than the gloom bestowed on it by the dark glasses – but the effects are at least noticeable.

While there are many things wrong with The Green Hornet, the things that are right about it just about manage to keep the interest throughout the lengthy running time. Although should the film prove successful enough to warrant a sequel, hopefully the studio will choose to invest more in script editing.

Piranha 3D: Meet The Mummy

By Leo Owen

6th January 2011 | 2 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director/ Producer: Alexandre Aja
Writer: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg
DVD and Blu-ray release date: December 27 2010
Studio: Entertainment In Video
Number of discs: 2
Price: From £9.99-£14.93
Running Time: 89 mins
Certificate: 18
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Eli Roth, Jerry O’Connell, Ving Rhames, Kelly Brook

Favouring the horror genre and previously dabbling in remakes (Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes), the Director of Switchblade Romance and the less successful, Mirrors, brings us Piranha 3D.

Instantly more brutal than its 1978 predecessor, Piranha 3D’s opening underwater sequence shot through a red lens is somewhat misleading in that what follows is far more tongue-in-cheek than is at first suggested.

Thousands of scantily clad hotties and ogling youths annually hit the 25 miles of beach along Lake Victoria for Spring Break with their party motto “Dying to get wet”, wet t-shirt competitions and bikini dancers. But in “cowboy country” a quake has caused a rift under the lake unearthing a subterranean lake full of two million year-old Piranha. Evolving into cannibals to survive, these flesh hungry Piranha hunt in packs.

Jake, the son of the town’s Sheriff, is sick of having to babysit every Spring Break so instead bribes his younger sister, Lola, and brother, Jake, to occupy themselves while he takes a trip out on the “Wild Girls” soft porn boat. Unfortunately for Jake, the Piranhas are out in force and his siblings have their own ideas, venturing out to Sand Island where they end up stranded. Rescue is up to kick-arse mum, Julie (Elisabeth Shue), who can more than hold her own, tasering Piranhas and warning partygoers: “You boys take one more step, you’ll be pissing lightning bolts all year.”

Picking up on Piranha’s original B movie reputation, everything about Piranha 3D, is drenched in smuttiness. What Piranha 3D lacks in script it makes up for in large-breasted women and inventive gore with boob slashing and head squashing scenes; a parasailing corpse; gruesome underwater camera shots and the piece de resistance – a penis fight.

With the odd cliched hardened line (“Chow on this motherfucker”), girl-on-girl action, Bible bashers trying to convert partygoers, Piranha cam and skinny dipping, Piranha 3D has an 80s feel and is a less effective Lake Placid in its character creation. All set for a sequel, “Piranha: Meet The Parents” , Piranha 3D’s carnage scenes and ridiculous special effects are suitably bloody to at least satisfy goresters.

**

Special Features:

3D Edition DVD

• Filmmaker commentary
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes

Blu-ray 3D Edition

• Filmmaker commentary
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes
• 2D version of the film

Blu-ray – 2D Edition

• Filmmaker commentary
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary
• Deleted storyboard sequences
• 10 Behind-the-scenes featurettes
• Storyboard gallery
• Trailer & TV spots

Review: Scott Pilgrim Conquers The World

By Leo Owen

4th January 2011 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Edgar Wright
Writer: Edgar Wright, Michael Bacall, Bryan Lee O’Malley
DVD and Blu-ray release date: December 27 2010
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Number of discs: Available on double disc DVD/Blu-ray, solo Blu-ray
Price: From £9.99-£16.99
Running Time: 112 mins
Certificate: 12
Starring: Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kenricks, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aubrey Plaza

Previous Edgar Wright projects give a good indication of what to expect from comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and fans won’t be disappointed – our jobless bumbling 23 year-old hero rarely gets a haircut, doesn’t drink, plays computer games, is guitarist in Sex Bob Bomb and lives in a “secret lair” opposite the house he grew up in.

After meeting a girl from a dream at a party, Scott embarks on the quest to re-find Ramona Flowers but is hindered by Knives Chou, his 17-year-old Chinese “fake high school” girlfriend. In order to go out with Ramona, Scott must shed Knives and battle Ramona’s seven evil exes who all have their own touch of the ridiculous: there’s seventh grade ex- Matthew Patel and his bollywood back-ups; the skate-boarding movie star, Lucas Lee, complete with a stunt double team; the evil Vegan Todd; half Ninja Roxanne; the Japanese Katayanagi twins – expert roboticists and ringleader Gideon.

Steeped in popular culture, as might be expected Wright pays homage to the world of manga, video games and comic books. When asked what instrument he plays, Young Neil instinctively replies “Tetrus”, character stat boxes are displayed, opponents are reduced to a spray of coins when defeated, there are plenty of smack down moves and best of all a depleting pee bar.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is a neon all-out assault on the senses, with onomatopoeic words wafting across the screen, dingy venues and clubs aglow with technicolour, a Seinfeld tribute complete with studio audience laughter, a kick-arse soundtrack, including a Frank Black and The Catholics favourite and plenty of witty repartee.

The script has a similar style to Diablo Cody’s (Juno, Jennifer’s Body) writing with plenty of new blend creations, such as “hasbian”, nods to popular culture (“Nega-Scott”) and inventive fast talking: “He punched the highlights out of her hair.” Scott’s gay housemate, Wallace, masterfully played by Kieran Culkin gets most of the funny lines, alongside Scott’s nemesis, Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman pulling off his usual quirky performance): “You made me swallow my gum – it’s going to be in my digestive tract for seven years.”

Experimental and daring throughout, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World occasionally feels like it is trying too hard to be cool but cool it is, nonetheless. Roxanne’s knee fetish, the Vegan police, passwords for Gideon’s exclusive venue, montage fight scenes and the bass battle are all ingenious – the latter surely a nod to the equally surreal and colourful, Japanese oddity Electric Dragon 80,000 V.

Lead Michael Cera plays his usual geeky typecast but manages to pull off fight scenes but it’s Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona) and Ellen Wong (Knives) who really steal the show, aptly realising Wright’s exquisite direction.

Certainly a film for the ADHD generation, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World plays out like multi-media pop art, paying homage to South Park’s on-going Canadian-American feud gag. Amid all the colour and clever one-liners, Scott Pilgrim is a coming of age flick, harbouring a serious message – accepting responsibility for one’s actions. After all his arse-kicking Scott realises “If you want something bad you have to fight for it” and admits “I feel like I learned something.”

****

Special Features

DVD

• Deleted and alternative scenes with commentary from director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Bloopers
• Feature commentaries: Feature Commentary with director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer, Michael Bacall and Author Bryan Lee O’Malley; Technical Commentary with director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright and director of photography Bill Pope; Cast commentary with Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and Brandon Routh and Cast commentary with Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin and Mark Webber
• Behind the scenes photo gallery, including Edgar Wright’s photo blog
• Trivia pack
• Galleries: Production photos, art galleries and marketing concepts.

Blu-Ray

• Insider Documentaries: Making of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Music Featurette and You Too Can Be Sex Bob-Omb
• Alternate footage: A special look at alternative edits to the film.
• Pre-production: A look inside the film’s pre-production process including storyboards, pre-visualizations, animatics, motion capture tests, rehearsal footage, casting tapes, hair/make-up tests and more!
• The music of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: This feature includes four complete music videos and video remixes from legendary DJ Osymyso.
• Visual Effects: This feature takes a second look at the movie’s inventive visual effects.
• Sound Work: A mini documentary about the creation of the film’s super-powered sonic landscape.
• Trailers & TV Spots from the theatrical release of the film
• Adult Swim™: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation
• Scott Pilgrim Vs The Censors: TV safe version
• Behind-the-scenes Production Blogs from the set of Scott Pilgrim vs.the World by director /producer/co-writer Edgar Wright.
• Free Bonus Movie For a Limited Time Only: Blu-ray Combo Pack consumers will have instant access to stream action hits Tremors or Pitch Black via BD-Live, Smartphone or computer
• U-Control: Universal’s exclusive signature feature allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie.
• Storyboard picture-in-picture
• Digital copy of the film: Blu-ray™ consumers can download a digital version of the movie to their Mac® and or Windows® PC for a limited time only.
• BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Centre through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more.

Iron Man 2 Review: Surprisingly Sassy Sequel

By Leo Owen

3rd November 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director/ Producer: Jon Favreau

Writer: Justin Theroux

DVD and Blu-ray release date: October 25 2010

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment

Number of discs: Available on solo DVD, double disc DVD and three disc combo DVD/Blu-ray

Price: From £9-£15.93

Running Time: 119/124 mins

Certificate: 12

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Kate Mara, Leslie Bibb, Garry Shandling, Christiane Amanpour

The super hero genre is still going strong and quite rightly with releases like Favreau’s sequel to his first surprisingly entertaining Iron Man Stan Lee comic book adaptation. Full of the same tongue-in-cheek gags and fun-filled action that kept audiences chuckling the first time around, Iron Man 2 follows a disillusioned Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) who’s publicly recognised as Iron Man and is having to fight to keep possession of his suits – the only things keeping him alive while also rather paradoxically gradually killing him.

Action packed from the outset, the film opens with Tony free-falling and then blasting off into a cheesy American flag clad expo, featuring scantily “dressed” dancers in US colours to complement his dramatic entrance. Tony is full of the same feigned arrogance seen first time around, cockily claiming: “I have successfully privatized world peace” but as his blood toxicity levels fluctuate, his behavior becomes more erratic, seen by his hedonistic late grand prix entry, his sudden promotion of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to CEO of the Stark family business and characteristic flippant remarks, such as “I want one”, referring to Ms Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).

While he worries about his life, in true comic book style an ex-colleague of his father’s and his nemesis, comes back from the grave through his son seeking revenge. Keen to bring down Iron Man, Mickey Rourke stars as the unrelenting ex-con scientific mastermind – a Jaw’s like villain with predominantly silver teeth.

Other new characters come in the shape of a kick-arse Johansson, complete with black lycra cat suit and swift leg work, taking out an entire corridor of guards in the time it takes Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to floor one. With her double identity, mysterious personality and quick-witted boss (Samuel L. Jackson), she’s set to either win Tony’s heart or bring him down.

Iron Man 2’s lengthy running time passes unnoticed in action packed sequences and cheeky humour. Although Samuel L Jackson’s character is underdeveloped and explained, Downey Jr’s repeat charismatic performance, the endearing chemistry between Stark and Pepper Potts and scenes like Starks’s party and the dumb-bell fight more than make up for it.

***

Special Features:

DVD

• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Jon Favreau -

Alternate Opening

Coulson at the Senate

Natalie Wears the Gauntlet

Element Rediscovered (extended)

• Featurettes -

Creating Stark Expo

Practical Meets Digital

Music Video: AC/DC “Shoot To Thrill”

• Digital Copy

Blu-ray

• Feature film with optional commentary by Jon Favreau (HD)

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Data Vault (HD) — Extend your knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with high-level clearance into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s digital data vault. Interact with select scenes from the movie that include new layers of graphics and insider information. View case files, dossiers, S.H.I.E.L.D. training films, tech details and more.

• Previsualization and Animatics (HD)

• Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of Iron Man 2 (HD) – including Rebuilding the Suit, A Return to Action, Expanding the Universe and Building a Legacy.

• Featurettes (HD), including Creating Stark Expo, Practical Meets Digital, Illustrated Origin: Nick Fury, Illustrated Origin: Black Widow, Illustrated Origin: War Machine and Working with DJ AM.

• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Jon Favreau (HD), including Alternate Opening, Coulson at the Senate, The Sub-Orbital Jet, Tony’s Workshop (extended), Natalie Wears the Gauntlet, Flying Party Girl, Mark II Security and Element Rediscovered (extended).

• Concept Art Gallery

• Theatrical Trailers (HD)

• Music Video: AC/DC “Shoot To Thrill”

Review: Despicable Me – Predictable You

By markdavison

19th October 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Half term must be coming up soon as here’s the first of the inevitable deluge of CGI animations released to keep the kids happy over the holidays. Telling the story of supervillain Gru and the three orphans he adopts as part of a convoluted scheme (no prizes for guessing what happens to them all at the end).

Despicable Me is the work of the screenwriters behind such unremarkable family films as Horton Hears a Who and The Santa Clause 2 and the directorial debut of a storyboard artist from the last two Ice Age films. That’s not to say that the film doesn’t have an interesting group of people behind it as it also boasts a mostly French team of animators, which results in the pleasantly unusual combination of the Hollywood trappings of celebrity voice casts and product placement mixed with the crude, angular style and faintly anti-American sentiments (best demonstrated in the opening scene where an obnoxious bunch of tourists visit the pyramids) that commonly feature in French cartoons.

The voice cast boasts such familiar names to comedy fans as Steve Carrell, Jason Segal (both graduates of the Judd Apatow school) and Kristen Wiig – all likeable screen presences, although they do use the opportunity presented here to overact to an occasionally annoying degree. Surprisingly the best performances are provided by British cast members Julie Andrews (as Gru’s overbearing mother) and Russell Brand – who is more convincing as an doddering old scientist than you would expect.

Unfortunately, although the script is amusing, it does prove to be the film’s weakest link. There are numerous periods where the jokes are weak or fairly non-existant, and (even though it’s somewhat redundant pointing this out in reference to children’s films) the plot is unsurprising. This lack of originality also applies to the film’s design which often invokes memories of other, better films – for example, the backdrop which mixes the gothic with the suburban is lifted right of Lemony Snicket (as is the orphan plot), and the film’s main strength, Gru’s army of cute, amusing minions look very similar to Toy Story’s aliens (although to be fair their characterisation is borrowed more from the Rabbids that originated in the Rayman series of videogames – also a French invention – and can now be seen advertising cars). Consequently although it’ll keep the kids (and plenty of adults) entertained, it’s unlikely that the film will prove memorable after audiences have left the cinema.

Wild Target: Zany Unlikely Bonding

By Leo Owen

12th October 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Jonathan Lynn,
Writer: Lucinda Coxon
Certificate: 12
Running time: 98 minutes
Studio: Entertainment in Video
No of discs: 1
Region: 2
Price: From £9.98-£13.99
Release Date: October 11 2010
Starring: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett, Martin Freeman, Eileen Atkins

The latest British comedy offering from Jonathan Lynn, the Director of The Whole Nine Yards, My Cousin Vinny and Nuns On The Run, is a remake of a 90s’ French flick and stars some of our favourite Brits to combine madcap farce with unexpected romance.

Victor Maynard (Bill Nighy) is a 54 year-old professional killer, reared for the job, as a baby with a kitsch wooden gun mobile hanging above his cot and given a Beretta for his 7th Birthday, “the pistol of princes”. As an adult with a dodgy moustache he lives so safely “it’s dangerous”, choosing a solitary life where he eats banquet meals alone surrounded by vacuum packed furniture. His proud mother (Eileen Atkins) gives him an album of cuttings of all of his jobs and is concerned no-one will keep up the family business.

Queue free-spirited, thief and con-artist, Rose (Emily Blunt), Victor’s next assignment, a Wild Target. After a scam involving a ridiculous blonde wig, Rupert Everett and a Rembrandt painting backfires, Rose has several contracts out on her life. The best in his trade, Victor jeopardises his whole way of life after becoming completely enchanted by her bohemian blasé existence when tailing her.

Complete opposites, Victor and Rose form an unlikely bond based on their differences. Rose charms Victor into protecting her from the other hired assassins with her eccentricities and flattery – the fact she has one tooth too many , “What do you weigh” being her pulling line and her comparing him to “a mighty ancient oak”. Equally, Victor’s own peculiarities slowly begin to affect Rose – his acupuncture qualification and watch with a garotte cheese wire pull-out.

As their relationship blossoms, Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) makes an appearance as bumbling natural killer, Tony, looking less ginger: “I didn’t mean to hurt you – it was just good luck.” Present at the first “shoot-out”, Tony joins the duo to form a trio of bickering children and lands a six week hit-man apprenticeship, including a travel card for the Greater London area.

Baddie, Ferguson (Rupert Everett), protects himself with money, hiring others to do his dirty work – he wants to turn his assistant’s life support machine off but won’t because he’s paying him until the end of the month. Martin Freeman is an unmemorable Dixon, Victor’s nemesis and short-lived rival.

Wild Target is a zany comedy that occasionally successfully pokes fun at traditional hit-man gangster heist movies – its literal interpretation of “half now, half later” and the comic timing of the music accompanying Victor’s first appearance interspersed with the amusing addition of a vocal parrot and French language tape. Character relationships are as convincing as the gags but with its heart in the right place and a fair dollop of English charm, Wild Target raises enough laughs.

***

Summery Feel-Good Fluff: Letters To Juliet

By Leo Owen

4th October 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Gary Winick
Writer: Jose Rivera, Tim Sullivan
DVD and Blu-ray release date: October 4 2010
Studio: E1 Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Price: From £10.99-£14.93
Running Time: 105 mins
Certificate: PG
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Gael García Bernal, Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan

The trailers and poster virtually tell you all you need to know about this film, including its conclusion so why rent or buy it? Letters to Juliet is unlikely to attract film geeks, a male audience or more discerning film goers but that said, hardcore romcom fans won’t be disappointed.

Young engaged couple, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Victor (Gael García Bernal), go to Italy, combining pleasure with business as Victor plans to meet potential suppliers for his soon-to-open restaurant. While sightseeing in Verona, Sophie discovers “Juliet’s secretaries”, so-called because this group of sensitive souls answer love-struck letters left by locals and tourists under Juliet’s balcony.

Helping the loved-up ladies, Sophie discovers a fifty year-old letter from Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) concealed and decides to answer it. Swiftly after sending her reply, Sophie meets Claire and her pompous grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan), who have come to track down Claire’s first love. Recognising a good story and at a loose end, Sophie tags along, helping their search.

Letters To Juliet stars two equally overbearing and frustrating male lead characters but one couldn’t care less while the other cares too much. Sophie’s fiance, Victor, is more interested in food than her, rarely paying attention to anything she says. He’s more interested in travelling “120 miles to see a mushroom” than sightseeing, something Sophie can’t understand. Eventually they agree to a “win, win” plan, splitting off so Sophie can explore and Victor can visit vineyards, olive oil factories, wine auctions and cheese makers.

Charlie is rude from the outset but is in fact a man with a heart – a lawyer who takes pro-bono cases defending the defenseless and churns out romantic drivel: “You must feel like you’re about to find your long-lost soul mate.” Looking like something from Beverly Hills 90210 and sounding like a toff with his ridiculously over-the-top British accent, Charlie actually hails from Summer Bay, having starred in Home and Away for many years. At times he acts like a petulant child and at others he spouts some of the best lines of the film, describing Claire as “Churchill in a dress” and his feelings about ending his trip: “like a school boy on Sunday”.

Letters To Juliet is nothing new, frankly downright predictable and packed with stinky cliched stilton. Winick actually manages to incorporate a hero riding in at the last moment on a white horse and satisfies viewers with the obligatory balcony scene, Charlie rather obviously hints at earlier in the film. Lines like “Love is never too late” and “I went for a ride an old man but I came back a young man”, are sure to trigger tears of happiness from sentimental hankie-hugging viewers.

The tumultuous relationship between Charlie and Sophie is supposed to be the source of all humour from their opening brisk purposeful strides set to slapstick music – in reality funnier moments stem from the name Lorenzo as Claire bewitches elderly Italian men all over Tuscany. One gentlemen recalls in horror the women he wooed the night Claire met her true love: “I curse her moustache”, while an old dude in speedos sporting a tied up Hawaiian shirt is enough to make Claire contemplate abandoning her mission.

Letters To Juliet is no masterpiece and the ease with which Sophie gets work published in the New Yorker is unrealistic and frustrating but as far as breezy light-hearted summer feel-good films go, it does the job.

***

Special Features:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• The Making of Letters to Juliet
• Commentary With The Director And Cast
• Widescreen
• Featurette: A Courtyard in Verona

Death At A Funeral: Inappropriately Funny

By Leo Owen

27th September 2010 | 1 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Neil LaBute
Writer: Dean Craig
DVD and blu-ray release date: September 27 2010
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Price: From £11.99-£14.98
Running Time: 92 mins
Certificate: 15
Starring: Danny Glover, James Marsden, Chris Rock, Peter Dinklage, Zoe Saldana, Luke Wilson, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Ron Glass, Regina Hall, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan

The opening coffin sequence is a good indication of what to expect of the rest of this black infused American remake of the 2007 British comedy, Death At A Funeral.

A motley crew of relatives reunite for an ill-fated funeral each bringing with them their own baggage. Whispered bickering starts an already doomed service as brotherly rivalry and a mother’s favouritism makes for a sour reunion.

Aaron (Chris Rock) is the oldest brother and an author whose unpublished book no-one has read. His successful writer brother, Ryan (Martin Lawrence), is the favourite – a rich arsehole who brags about travelling first class and tries to usurp Aaron’s right to read the eulogy, suggesting he is an incompetent writer: “Daddy’s only going to die once”.

Other relatives are equally unsupportive of Aaron’s writing talent, telling him: “We can all write cheques”. Add to this, his mother, Cynthia’s (Loretta Devine) constant cruel jibes at his wife, Michelle’s (Regina Hall) inability to get pregnant and it’s no wonder Aaron is highly strung: “You can’t understand death until you have given life”.

Aaron is not the only preoccupied family member – Norman (Tracy Morgan) is worried he has a pigment mutation and family friend, Derek (Luke Wilson), still loves Elaine (Zoe Saldana) while her fiancé Oscar (James Marsden), takes what appears to be valium but ends up naked on the roof flapping open his knees.

While all this family-orientated drama goes on, mystery guest dwarf, Frank is angered he wasn’t left anything in the will and feels like a “cheap piece of arse” so wants the $30,000 he deserves, threatening to show Cynthia sex pictures to prove he was her husband’s lover.

Death At A Funeral is full of obviously comical slapstick actions, including a dancing tripping midget and a whole host of made-for-laughs gags, like family friend “Little Martina” being described as “in 12th Grade but her arse in grad school”, the Frank situation summarized as “Our father was having sex with a guy that could fit in his pocket” and a drugged up Oscar’s assessment of the funeral: “I want our wedding to be like this”.

By far the biggest joke of the film is an almost unrecognisable Danny Glover as the famously moody Uncle Russell – a wheelchair-bound bitter old guy constantly jabbing people with his walking stick and making inappropriate remarks like “Let’s just burn him and get it over with”, to the point where a fellow relative threatens: “You better stop this or you’re going to be in the box next”.

Afro-Caribbean Death At A funeral does nothing new but a strong cast and appropriately apt timing results in a continuous onslaught of comical episodes happily keeping viewers chuckling hard throughout.

****

Special Features:

• Commentary with Director Neil LaBute and Chris Rock.
• Deleted Scenes.
• Outtakes.
• Death at a Funeral: Last Rites, Dark Secrets Featurette.
• Family Album Featurette.
• Death For Real Featurette.

Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Material

• movieIQ™+sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie.

THE OTHER GUYS: A BIT OF A COP OUT

By Stephen Bain

22nd September 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Comedy is certainly a hidden talent in Mark Wahlberg, as he demonstrated wonderfully in the Scorsese cop drama “The Departed”. This much less serious police story “The Other Guys” gives him the opportunity to show his comedic abilities alongside Will Ferrell, in the latest from Anchorman director Adam McKay. The two play office bound policemen (well… Ferrell is technically an accountant) who get their chance on the big mean streets when legendary super-cops Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock) and Samuel L Jackson (each on gloriously over-the-top form) both make a sudden, abrupt exit.

Ferrell and Wahlberg then assume the role of streetwise cops with the script throwing in several unlikely scenarios. One particular highlight is Ferrell’s apparent obliviousness that his wife (played by Eva Mendes) is a stunner.

This ironically is also part of the problem. Whilst the film certainly provides some humorous moments, The Other Guys nonetheless feels like one long “frat pack” style preview (in fact some of the funniest moments are in the official trailer). Each situation becomes increasingly episodic and serves primarily as a vehicle for the Ferrell and Wahlberg double-act. It does not help that the plot itself is entirely forgettable. Likewise the villain of the piece (Steve Coogan in Alan Partridge mode) is wasted and leaves no lasting impression on the audience.

During the final forty minutes, The Other Guys gradually turns into a replica of Bad Boys. Guns are fired in slow motion, cars crash and buildings explode – there is even a funny comment on Hollywood’s portrayal of explosions. The end result however is something relatively routine, despite the strong Ferrell/Wahlberg double-act. Those who have seen the trailer have pretty much seen the film.

***