Clash Of The Titans: Macho Action Porn

By Leo Owen

29th July 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Louis Leterrier

Writer: Travis Beacham and Phil Hay

DVD and Blu-ray release date: July 26 2010

Studio: Warner Home Video

No of discs: 1

Region: 2

Price: From £9.99-£15.93

Running Time: 102/106 mins (DVD/Blu-ray)

Certificate: 12

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Flemyng, Izabella Miko, Nicholas Hoult

Desmond Davis’ 1981 film, Clash of the Titans, is fondly remembered, mostly for Ray Harryhausen’s inventive use of detailed models to create cutting-edge special effects for its day. Sure, today it looks dated and is often drenched in affectionate nostalgia but despite this, it still manages to kick the butt of Louis Leterrier’s 3D remake.

Contemporary Titans has little in common with its predecessor, aside from an all star cast, some plot similarities, a continuous string of action sequences and the brief token appearance of Bubo, the mechanical owl. In Leterrier’s reprise, it is “the era of man” – humans have become restless, rising up against the gods. After soldiers from Argos declare war destroying a statue, Zeus’ (Liam Neeson) brother, Hades of the underworld (Ralph Fiennes), threatens to unleash a deadly beast, the Kraken, in 10 days unless the Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) is sacrificed.

Orphaned fisherman, Perseus (Sam Worthington), becomes involved when his adopted family are killed by Zeus in retaliation for the statues’ destruction. Discovering he is a demi-god born as Zeus’ bastard son destined to kill the Kraken in order to save Argos and weaken Hades, Perseus sets off with a band of warriors to find the witches who can tell him how to win the day.

Gemma Arterton stars as Lo, the punished eternal beauty who refused advances from a god and was doomed to live a life of agelessness. Her main function is to act as storyteller revealing the history of the gods and their complex relationships as she accompanies the motley crew on their adventure while also acting as Perseus’ champion. Liam Neeson is a fierce and menacing Zeus, perfectly complimented by the merciless ghost-like rasping Hades, forming a ruthless villain duo. Sam Worthington appears in yet another all important save the world scenario while personal favourite, Mads Mikkelsen’s, talents are seriously underused as one of the brave warriors.

Their adventure is a roller-coaster ride of non-stop kick-ass macho action porn. Where Leterrier’s plot and script lack, his use of special effects compensates – sure the giant scorpions look fake but they still look cool while Medusa’s giant serpent body slithers around and the witches are a nod to Pans Labyrinth and Macbeth in their alien looking appearances and hands with eyeball palms. Other smaller details are a nice touch, like the boat to the underworld being dragged through the misty water by two corpses pulling ropes and the religious fanatics warning that man has starved the gods of their prayers and that “Man cannot rule man – defy the gods and you will be punished.”

Unfortunately other elements of Leterrier’s vision are less successful, like the grating use of slow motion fight segments, the Djinn (sand demons with magical powers) seemingly comprised of a combination of electronic parts and tree bark and the disappointing appearance of the Kraken – a giant sea serpent with the face of a ferocious tortoise who is never seen in entirety but is instead just a mass of flailing limbs.

The script is riddled with irritating clichés from start (“The oldest stories ever told are written in the stars”) to finish, overflowing with macho bravado in laughable staff stamping and warrior group bonding: “We live, we fight and we die for each other.” If Perseus isn’t spouting cheesy testimonials to the strength of his companions (“I’ve known one great man in my life, now I know four and a woman and whatever the hell you are.”) then testosterone fuelled banter fills screen time: “It’s death that should be afraid of us.”

Clash of the Titans is certainly no masterpiece and is frequently laughable in its melodrama, cliché and utterly ridiculous happenings but if belief is suspended and the film is taken at face value as nothing more than a high adrenaline action romp attempting to cram as much fighting into the running time as possible, then an enjoyable time may be had.

***

Special Features:

1 Disc DVD:

• Deleted Scenes

2 Disc DVD:

• Deleted Scenes
• Maximum Movie Mode includes feature length picture-in-picture plus the following focus points: 
Clash of the Titans TV Special, Sam Worthington is Perseus
Creating Medusa, The Kraken, Calibos, Zeus, Tenerife: A Continent on an Island,
 Scorpioch, Actors and Their Stunts, Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape 
and Hades.

Blu-ray:

As above with the additional features:

• Sam Worthington: An Action Hero For the Ages
• Alternate Ending

The Girl Who Has More Than Just A Dragon Tattoo

By Leo Owen

21st July 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Writer: Nikolaj Arcel,Rasmus Heisterberg
DVD and Blu-ray release date: July 19 2010
Studio: Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment
No of discs: 1
Region: 2
Price: From £10.99-£16.99
Running Time: 147/153 mins (DVD/Blu-ray)
Certificate: 18
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber, Lena Endre, Ewa Fröling

Swedish director, Niels Arden Oplev’s adaptation of the first novel in Stieg Larsson’s trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is a mind blowing entrancing mystery thriller, paving the way for an already highly anticipated sequel.

Middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), loses a libel case brought against him by corrupt industrialist, Hans-Erik Wennerström and faces a three month prison sentence. Impressed by his reputation for thorough investigation, wealthy businessman, Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), employs Blomkvist to solve the mystery of his 16-year-old niece’s disappearance some forty years ago. Racing against time, Blomkvist must solve the mystery before his sentence begins. Teaming up with Lisbeth Salander, a troubled punk and professional computer hacker who was hired to research Blomkvist, the Vanger family’s dark and bloody past is uncovered.

The unlikely duo make an efficient team and as the spark between them grows so does the threat to their lives. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth makes a fantastic female lead, fiercely independent, ruthless, impulsive, unpredictable and vulnerable. Having been dealt a painful hand in life, Lisbeth tries to forget her scars, remember to “never fall in love” and survive however she can. As an ex-young offender, now 24, she must regularly report to her guardian, a “sadist pig and rapist” who creepily asks how many partners she has had and what her sexual preferences are before blackmailing and threatening her into performing oral sex in order to access her money.

Fascinated by the rarity of wholesome squeaky-clean Blomkvist and what he is researching, Lisbeth continues to monitor his computer activity, eventually sacrificing her anonymity in order to make contact: “I presume you are up-to-date as we seem to be file sharing?” Unrelenting Blomkvist will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, being warned by the previous detective who covered the case: “Give it up before you become obsessed yourself.”

The slow unravelling of the mystery, simmering sexual tension and mutual curiosity between the two leads, coupled with their good humoured banter, makes for a whirlwind two and a half hours.

*****

Special Features:

• The Girl Who Played With Fire sneak peek
• Interviews
• Photo gallery
• The Vanger Family Tree

The Crazies: Stubborn Determination -V- Dead Town

By Leo Owen

21st July 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Breck Eisner

Writer: Scott Kosar, Ray Wright

DVD and Blu-ray release date: July 19 2010

Studio: Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment

No of discs: 1

Region: 2

Price: From £10.99-£17.99

Running Time: 97/101 mins (DVD/Blu-ray)

Certificate: 15

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Larry Cedar, Brett Rickaby

Breck Eisner’s fairly faithful remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 film of the same name entertains from start to finish as the protagonists overcome an unrelenting succession of bad luck.

The small township of Ogden Marsh is completely obliterated within two days after its residents rapidly go from gradually losing their marbles to all out mass insanity.

Conveniently two of the town’s most important members, David, the Sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) and Judy, the doctor (Radha Mitchell), are not only married but also playing to be survivors, alongside Russell, the Sheriff’s deputy (Joe Anderson).

After not much investigation David finds the source of all the madness but is too late and the army come in to take control of the situation by mass extermination. The trio are left fighting the savage townsfolk who were once friends, whilst trying to conceal themselves from the merciless all-annihilating army.

As a re-make and part of a well-explored genre, The Crazies doesn’t do anything new but what it does do, it does well. The cause of the outbreak is revealed early on in the film so the remaining focus is on whether the leads will survive and if so, how. All three are likeable and convincing, leaving the viewer rooting for them throughout the onslaught of continuous attacks they fight.

David is all set to bail out before the epidemic gets any worse, but as the town doctor, pregnant Judy feels a responsibility to the community. By the end of the film, she is broken: “This town is dead and it’s never coming back”. It’s David’s stubborn determination to survive at all costs as a future father that drives them on.

The Crazies is full of big explosions, plenty of action and even touching moments between the devoted husband and wife and the long-serving deputy and his boss: “A deputy does what his Sheriff says.” Thankfully, the one thing the film lacks, to its credit, is slow-moving zombie-like figures; although almost all humanity is drained from “the crazies”, they are certainly not zombies.

A somewhat predictable end reminds us the film isn’t taking itself too seriously, which is what makes it such entertaining easy viewing.

***

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary
• The Romero Template featurette
• Paranormal Pandemics featurette
• Behind-the-Scenes featurette
• Rob Hall Makeup featurette
• Stills gallery

A Prophet: Rehabilitation With A Difference

By Leo Owen

7th June 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writers: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain

DVD and Blu-ray release date: June 7 2010

Studio: Optimum

Number of discs: 1

Price: From £10.99

Running Time: 149 mins

Certificate: 18

Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi

Repeat offender 19 year-old Malik previously used his age as a safety net and now has no-one to turn to. Careless one time too many and branded an adult, he finds himself with a six year sentence. A Prophet follows his journey into adulthood from his first days in prison to the day he leaves.

Being an “Arab” has its advantages and disadvantages. All Arabs are housed in B block, drawing the Corsican gang who rule the prison to Malik. Fellow prisoner, Reyeb, is soon to testify in a trial and the Corsicans want him dead, enlisting the help of Malik who has attracted Reyeb’s attentions in the shower room.

After lessons on how to best perform the deed without being caught and store a razor blade between teeth and gums, Malik is welcomed into the gang as their “Dirty Arab” servant. Haunted by the other man’s image, Malik spends the rest of his sentence sharing his cell with a ghost – a man who did nothing but offer him kindness before having his life cut short.

Unable to shake the attentions of the Corsican gang’s leader, Cesar, Malik soon learns a few brutal life lessons and starts to exploit the corrupt prison system he is being forced to play.

A Prophet is drenched in irony as both Malik and his lovable rogue friend, Ryad, both claim “I am being rehabilitated”. Aside from life lessons and skills, prison in the film teaches a fundamentally good but misguided Malik how to be a murderer and hardened criminal, against his own will. Parole and leave days are used to commit heinous crimes in the outside world and the fruit of these crimes allow Malik to buy the only real possessions he has ever truly owned.

Broken up into chapters, introducing key characters or moments like “1 year”, “Eyes and Ears” and “40 Days. 40 Nights”, A Prophet has a slightly overly-long running time. After investing two and a half hours of energy watching Malik grow as a person and survive at all costs, he becomes an anti-hero, the murderer with a conscience you are routing for, even as the tension grows and adrenaline pumps before he is about to murder three men.

Director and screenplay writer, Jacques Audiard, succeeds in creating characters so real you are forced to care about, however vile their actions are. The power-play between Malik and Cesar is exquisite as Malik asks: “You still need me?” and Cesar ever stubbornly replies: “No, you need me.” Even after everything Cesar has put Malik through it’s impossible not to feel both satisfaction for Malik and sympathy for Cesar when he is alone and kicked to the ground in the prison yard – the place he once ruled.

Despite the hard-hitting subject matter, A Prophet boasts moments of dry humour, like when Malik is given his belongings back on leaving prison and told to make sure they are all there referring to a near empty box or when he is searched getting on a plane and opens his mouth as he is accustomed to doing during prison strip searches.

Despite some of the things Malik has been forced to do, prison has been good for him – he has made friends; has finally earned the respect of the “Arab” community; has learnt how to read and has prospects in the outside world, all of which he didn’t have when he went in.

A Prophet is a thoroughly compelling journey through Malik’s awakening to adult life and although rather lengthy, is beautifully filmed and scripted.

****

Special Features:

Commentary with Director Jacques Audiard, Actor Tahar Rahim and Co-Writer Thomas Bidegain.

Deleted Scenes.

Tahar Rahim Screen Tests.

Tahar Rahim & Gilles Cohen Rehearsal Footage #1.

Tahar Rahim & Gilles Cohen Rehearsal Footage #2.

Wolfman: Keeping The Legacy Alive

By Leo Owen

7th June 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Joe Johnston

Writers: David Self, Andrew Kevin Walker

DVD and Blu-ray release date: June 7 2010

Studio: Universal Pictures UK

Number of discs: 1

Price: Extended cut from £12.71

Running Time: 98/102 mins

Certificate: 15

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving

In the foggy depth of Talbot Hall’s grounds lies a monster more brutal than any previously known. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family home after his brother’s fiance, Emily (Emily Blunt), pleads with him to help find his missing brother, Ben.

After Lawrence’s mother was brutally killed and he was sectioned as a young boy, successful actor Lawrence fled his family, making a life for himself in America. Returning to the sleepy hamlet of Blackmoor, Lawrence’s estranged father (Anthony Hopkins) gives him a warm welcome, breaking the news that Ben’s body has been discovered.

On seeing Ben’s horrifically mutilated corpse, Lawrence is determined to find out what happened to his brother. Investigating the discovery of a gypsy coin on his brother’s corpse leads to the same beast ravaging him.

After a miraculously speedy recovery, Lawrence’s body begins to alter and after a full moon, to his despair he realises he has become one of the same brutal killers that slay his brother. A lynch mob of “backward and foolish” villagers armed with mass produced silver bullets and Scotland Yard Inspector Abberline (Hugo Weaving) come for Lawrence but his father ensures he is locked up once again in Lambeth Asylum.

As Sir John Talbot calmly tells his son, “You have done terrible things Lawrence,” having allowed his son to escape into the woods the night before and carry out these brutalities, it is clear his character has an alternative agenda.

Forcing Lawrence into freezing water tied to a duck chair and a series of other experiments aim to prove he is disillusioned in believing that the full moon turns him into a savage beast. When he is used as part of a demonstration, the scientists and psychiatrists soon realise they were mistaken, running for their lives.

Lawrence realises a killer’s life is not one he wishes to lead and knows to stop the mass killings he must kill his father. Emily has grown to love Lawrence and recognising the humanity inside him refuses to admit death is the only answer: “It is said there is no sin in killing a beast – only a man but where does one begin and the other end?”

A remake of the 1940s classic, remaining faithful to the original plot, Wolfman, brings nothing new to the gothic genre, aside from much advanced slick special effects. Del Toro convincingly portrays the pain of a man forced into a destiny he has no desire to follow, while Hopkins brings nice small touches to his character, like the beast’s gentlemanly removal of his shirt for final battle.

***

Special Features:

Deleted and Extended Scenes.

Includes Unrated Director’s Cut and Theatrical Version of the Film.

Exclusive to Blu-ray:

Includes 2 alternate endings..

Return of the Wolfman: See how Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and director Joe Johnston tapped into the tragic roots of the legend and cinematic lore to unleash a new terror.

The Beast Maker: A detailed look at how legendary make-up wizard Rick Baker transformed a classic monster into a modern nightmare.

Transformation Secrets: Whether transforming werewolves, producing hallucinogenic nightmares or recreating the fog-covered streets of Victorian London, we’ll see how the visual effects team created a haunting world of moonlit monsters and unsettling thrills.

The Wolfman Unleashed: The team behind the stunt and action units shares with us the physical challenges of bringing The Wolfman to life, including the climatic werewolf battle at Talbot Hall.

Digital Copy of the film for a limited time only (expires 6/30/11).

U-Control: Access bonus materials without leaving the movie:

Take Control: Special Makeup Artist Rick Baker, Visual Effects Producer Karen Murphy-Mundel and Director of Photography Shelly Johnson ASC take control of the viewing experience by stepping inside the film to reveal details of the filmmaking process.

Werewolf Legacy, Legend and Lore: Take a virtual tour through over seventy years of Universal’s Wolf Man films and a thousand years of Werewolf mythology.

BD Live™: Access bonus content, trailers and more through an internet-connected player:

The Wolf Man (1941): Watch the first ever online streaming of the original 1941 The Wolf Man for a limited time only.

My Scenes Sharing: Share your favorite scenes with your friends.

My Chat: Chat with friends while you watch The Wolfman and participate in live events.

My Movie Commentary: Create your own text and video commentaries.

Pocket BLU™: Experience Blu-ray™ in an exciting new way with the app for smartphones:

Virtual Remote and Keyboard: Control Blu-ray™ features and communicate with ease.

Mobile-To-Go: Add exclusive bonus features to your device to enjoy anywhere, anytime social BLU™: Connect with friends on your favourite social networks to talk about The Wolfman.

A Single Man In A Defining Role

By Leo Owen

7th June 2010 | 1 comments | 1 person likes this

Director/ Producer: Tom Ford

Writer: Tom Ford

DVD and Blu-ray release date: June 7 2010

Studio: Icon Home Entertainment

Number of discs: 1

Price: From £10.99

Running Time: 97/101 mins

Certificate: 12

Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode

American fashion designer, Tom Ford, a name synonymous with Gucci makes his highly anticipated film debut with A Single Man, based upon Christopher Isherwood’s novel.

English college professor George finds life difficult after his lover of 19 years, Jim (Matthew Goode), is killed in a car crash. The fact Jim’s parents still refuse to admit their dead son’s sexuality and fail to invite George to the funeral adds insult to injury. He only discovers his lover has died when one of Jim’s cousins “sees fit” to phone him.

Unable to move on with his life and forget the domestic bliss he shared with Jim, A Single Man is full of the pain of flashbacked memories, showing the couple at the beach or at home amused by their neighbour’s precocious son being urinated on by the family dog.

Set in Los Angeles in the 1960s, George is acutely aware that his sexuality remains misunderstood and viewed as a “hidden threat”. Even his best-friend, Charley is unable to accept or understand, still hankering for his love and comparing her husband of nine years leaving her and her no longer dependent child flying the coop to his ordeal.

Views of family scenes in George’s next-door neighbour’s garden, remind him of what he will never have and Charley, of what she has already had. Unable to foresee any future without Jim, A Single Man follows the events in one day eight months after his death as George prepares to commit suicide.

While A Single Man is full of overly indulgent lingering shots, Ford’s exploration of grief subtly injects humour through George’s obsession with tidiness, shown in his very considered suicide plan – George lays out all his important documents for whoever finds him, undergoes a series of comical trial-runs and fails to shoot himself inside a sleeping bag, in order to avoid blood splatters.

What should be an unhappy ending is strangely uplifting as after a self-confessed epiphany, George finally makes peace with his grief and a decision – the only socially acceptable one – but still unexpectedly gets what he had yearned for.

A rather flaky-looking Julianne Moore gives a sympathetic performance playing drama queen Charley, trapped by her own unacceptance and desperately in love with the unobtainable while Colin Firth finally moves away from his typecast lovable charmer roles to shine as George.

Nicholas Hoult (Skins, About a Boy) plays one of George’s students, Kenny, a squeaky clean all-American wonder-boy having serious doubts about his existence, while viewers may be experiencing similar feelings about his accent. Through Kenny and fellow student, Maria, Ford suggests history is to repeat itself in the doomed but addictive relationship of Charley and George.

More about suffering and loss, A Single Man is not a “gay film” but a captivating and highly moving piece of art.

***

Special Features:

• Commentary with Producer/Director Tom Ford
• The Making of A Single Man
• MovieIQ +sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie! (Blu-ray only)

Brothers: It’s A Family Affair

By Leo Owen

7th June 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Jim Sheridan
Writers: David Benioff, Susanne Bier
DVD and Blu-ray release date: June 7 2010
Studio: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Price: From £10.99
Running Time: 101 mins
Certificate: 15
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Mare Winningham, Sam Shepard

Irish Director Jim Sheridan has a history of tackling difficult and harrowing subjects with The Boxer, In America, In The Name of The Father and My Left Foot, Brothers is no exception. A re-make of a Swedish film, Brothers examines the impact of war on the family unit.

Sam Cahill is the apple of his father’s eye, Hank (Sam Shepard), after following in his military footsteps. Sam was the high school football star who married his cheerleading high school sweetheart. His brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), on the other hand, strayed, spending time in prison for armed robbery – something his father is ready to remind him of.

Called up for service in Afghanistan, Sam’s helicopter is shot down with some of the men jumping to relative safety. Sam is presumed dead and a funeral is held. As the months pass, Grace (Natalie Portman) and Tommy help each other through their grief, forming a bond. Hank’s constant criticism of Tommy subsides as he helps Grace with the house and is able to confront the woman he held a gun to, finally apologising to her.

Just as they are starting to rebuild their lives, Sam is found and everything changes. Severely traumatised and weighed down by the guilt of forced actions, Sam is no longer the man he once was.

Portman is outstanding as Grace, desperately trying to hold her family together but falling apart herself. She repeatedly rings Sam’s mobile just to hear his answer machine and paws over the letter he wrote for her to read after his death.

Toby Maguire sensitively plays model marine, Sam, mentally strong throughout his time as prisoner, rescuing a friend from the lake they crash into and spurring him on while in captivity. When Sam is given the choice to kill his friend or be killed himself, he becomes the shell of the man he once was. Returning to the family home, he no longer understands jokes, jumps when he hears a dog barking at night, nervously clutches a gun and tries to regain control of his life by obsessively re-arranging his kitchen.

The affects of his torture are wide-ranging – unable to connect with his wife as Tommy does, Sam is paranoid that they are “fucking”; his daughters prefer Tommy to him and are afraid of how unpredictable he has become, seen sobbing at the sight of their changed father.

Everything comes to a head at a family Birthday dinner – Sam must decide if he can share his experiences with his wife and try to live the life he fought so desperately to regain: “I have seen the end of war – the question is will I live again?”

Captivating convincing performances from the entire cast and exploration of a topical issue, make Brothers a thought-provoking watch.

****

Special Features:

• Feature Audio Commentary by Director Jim Sheridan

• “Remade in the USA: How Brodre Became Brothers”

- A story America Needed To See

• “Jim Sheridan: Film and Family” – The Unique Vision of Jim Sheridan

Daybreakers: Breaking Away From A Genre Stereotype

By Leo Owen

2nd June 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Writers: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Certificate: 18
Running time: 94 minutes
DVD and Blu-ray release date: May 31 2010
Studio: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Price: From £9.99
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan

The vampire genre has been considerably well-worn in the last year, yet new vamp flick Daybreakers manages to adopt a fresh angle with vampires who have taken over the world facing extinction themselves as human blood supplies diminish.

The opening scene of a little girl vampire committing suicide by sitting outside at sunrise sets the tone for the whole film as the vampire genre is almost turned up on its head. A world where vampires rule is convincingly created through attention to detail: a homeless man walks with a sign around his neck reading “Starving: blood needed”, cafe signs say “Still serving 20% blood”, news bulletins announce “Blood shortages cripple the Third World”, propaganda posters order pedestrians to “Join us now! Vampire army. Capture humans”, adverts show a new “Sub-walk” to connect areas of the city for vampires in daylight hours and all cars have a day driving black-out mode.

After humans have reportedly refused the chance to assimilate, they have become an endangered species with the remaining five percent of the population labelled as enemies of the state. Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, Chief Hematologist at a company trying to develop a human blood substitute, who also have a large storage room where humans are suspended naked and farmed for their blood.

Edward is a reluctant vampire who refuses to drink human blood after being unwittingly turned by his brother, a member of the vampire army who couldn’t face seeing his brother die. Edward’s boss, Sam Neill, fought cancer before the outbreak 10 years before so welcomed his new vampire life, unlike his teenage daughter who went renegade. His character represents the dilemma many faced when humans realised if they did not turn, they would die and the appeal of vampire immortality.

As blood supplies diminish, prices soar, riots abound, more and more vampires are becoming Class 4 Blood Deprived beasts from drinking their own blood and vampire army brutality rules. When Edward has a car crash, he meets a group of humans who change his existence and offer hope for the future of the world. One of the humans, Audrey Bennet (Claudia Karvan) tells Edward that blood substitution is not the answer. Intrigued, Edward goes to meet Lionel Cormac (Willem Dafoe) and so his life as a fugitive begins.

Full of corny but satisfying lines like “Being human in a world of vampires is about as safe as bare-backing a five dollar whore” and “Life’s a bitch and then you don’t die”, Daybreakers is packed with ingenious details, likeable characters, a satisfying plot twist and an uplifting blood bath ending.

Special Features:

Audio commentary with the directors, Michael and Peter Spierig, and special effects creator Steve Boyle
Making-of Daybreakers featurette (DVD only)
Feature-length version of the Making-of Daybreakers (Blu-ray exclusive)
“The Big Picture” short film (Blu-ray exclusive)
Bonus view storyboard and animatics film comparison (Blu-ray exclusive)
Poster gallery (Blu-ray exclusive)
Digital copy (Blu-ray exclusive)
Trailer

Review: Throwing The Book At Eli

By Leo Owen

2nd June 2010 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Writers: Gary Whitta

DVD and Blu-ray release date: May 31 2010

Studio: Entertainment in Video

Number of discs: 1

Price: From £9.99

Running Time: 114 mins

Certificate: 15

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals

Living in a post-apocalyptic world Eli (Denzel Washington) is a man on a mission. After the war tore a hole in the sky and the sun came down, burning everybody, he heard a voice that led him to a bible and told him to take it west to a place where it would be protected.

Thirty winters since the flash and Eli is still walking through a barren wasteland “by faith, not by sight” with his trusty MP3 player. The sky is a dismal grey and dust storms wrack the land but he loyally pursues his destiny.

Mad Max style “Road Crews” terrorise loan travellers; cats are hunted for sustenance; the remaining population seek refuge behind masks and sunglasses; desperate souls have become quivering cannibals; people clutch on to what may be the last shampoo on the planet; whole communities live in the rubble of once great cities and the small takes on new meaning as Eli is able to barter with KFC wipes.

Eli’s journey comes to a halt when he has a run in with one of the Road Crews and their leader, Carnegie (Gary Oldman), takes an interest in him. Tough man Carnegie is obsessed with getting a copy of the bible – he knows its power, that the book has the right words to help people and should be shared and spread. Carnegie believes that if he has the book, he will rule the town and people will come from all over to hear its words.

When Carnegie discovers Eli has a copy of the book he has spent years searching for, sending out illiterate Road Crews to find, he realises he has met his match. Washington is a road weary kick-arse violent lead, single-handedly fighting off gangs with just a knife: “Put this hand on me again and you won’t get it back”.

After Eli escapes Carnegie, The Book of Eli becomes a road movie as Carnegie takes chase. Carnegie ultimately sacrifices his power and rule of his dustbowl kingdom for nothing. Although he holds “the book” it means nothing to him and Eli is still the winner.

Oldman as always, convincingly plays the bad guy but still fails to make The Book of Eli a film worth investing nearly two hours of life in. Unless you care about the book as much as Carnegie it is unlikely you will care for this film.

**

DVD AND BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

Standard Edition:

Wide Screen version of the film

Additional scenes

Lost Tales: Chapter 1 (Carnegie’s Story)

Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack:

Blu-ray version of the film

SD version of the film

Digital Copy of the film on Disc

Additional scenes

Lost Tales: Chapter 1 (Carnegie’s Story)

Starting Over – Featurette

Soundtrack Featurette

Eli’s Journey – Featurette

Maximum Movie Mode – 40 minutes of PIP commentary with Denzel Washington and the Hughes Brothers, and 10 Focus Points