Page 62 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Movies, DVDs
www.MelbourneObserver.com.au
With Jim Sherlock and Aaron Rourke
What’s Hot and What’s Not in Blu-Rays and DVDs
● Eddie Marsan is a standout in the bittersweet and haunting Still Life. FILM: STILL LIFE: Genre: Comedy/Drama. Cast: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Dury. Year: 2013. Rating: TBA. Length: 92 Minutes Format: DVD. Stars: **** Verdict: The poignant and moving tale of a quiet and selfless council worker who finds fulfilment in helping everyone but himself, as is charged with finding the next of kin of those who have died alone, and when his department is downsized, he must increase his efforts on his final case. Beautifully paced and laced with gentle and touching humour, Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes) gives a profoundly restrained and humble performance that will grip the heart with sensitivity and humanity. This is a small British movie with a big heart, a nicely structured, respectfully humorous and superbly realized journey of life and liberation. This is not still life, but a film of moving intelligence and compassion. FILM: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2: Genre: Animated/Action/Adventure. Cast: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill. Year: 2012. Rating: PG. Length: 102 Minutes. Format: DVD and BLU-RAY. Stars: *** Verdict: It's been five years since the young Viking Hiccup and his dragon Toothless successfully united dragons and Vikings on the island of Berk in the 2010 hit How To Train Your Dragon, and now our heroes Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, and the two friends find themselves at the centre of a battle to protect the peace. Filled with colourful and highly engaging characters, rich dialogue, well balanced pathos and humour, eye-popping animation and breathtaking action, this is a fun filled adventure ride that expands on the original, but be warned, the action may be too intense for children of too young an age. FILM: SEX TAPE: Genre: Comedy. Cast: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry, Rob Lowe. Year: 2014. Rating: MA15+. Running Time: 94 Minutes. Format: DVD and BLU-RAY. Stars: ** Verdict: Excruciatingly unfunny romp of a married couple who wake up to discover that the sex tape they made the evening before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts. Woefully written and directed, there's nothing here to redeem this humourless, dull and stilted train wreck which comes across more like a painfully bad 30 minute sitcom episode stretched to a feature length. Never has an attractive woman (Cameron Diaz) disrobing been so boring and lifeless. With plenty of scope for riotously funny humour and comic situations the idea should have worked, especially with a cast traditionally cemented in comedy with great success, but here are just going through the motions, making this misfire with no spark whatsoever and a climax that will leave you limp with disbelief. FILM: TRANSFORMERS - AGE OF EXTINCTION: Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor. Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi. Year: 2014. Rating: PG13. Running Time: 165 Minutes. Format: DVD, BLU-RAY and BLU-RAY 3D. Stars: ** Verdict: As the story goes, a mechanic and his family, Mark Wahlberg and co, join the Autobots as they are targeted by a bounty hunter from another world. Blockbuster action director Michael Bay returns with another epic Transformers extravaganza and this time it's still dumb, loud and illogical. Acting honours are smashed to a pulp as this ear bashing, headache inducing and bum numbing CGI popcorn potboiler takes you on an onslaught of a visual special and banal dialogue. Clocking in at near staggering three hours in length, there is little to think about here. This is the latest edition to the billion dollar Transformers franchise, not Shakespeare, so you know exactly what to expect before it even starts, so don't complain when it's over.
Nightbreed
Top 10 Lists THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE TOP TEN: 1. INTERSTELLAR. 2. GONE GIRL. 3. FURY SONY. 4. JOHN WICK. 5. LOVE, ROSIE. 6. PRIDE. 7. THE BEST OF ME. 8. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. 9. THE VATICAN MUSEUMS 3D. 10. CHAAR SAHIBZAAD. NEW RELEASES AND COMING SOON TO CINEMAS AROUND AUSTRALIA: NOVEMBER 13: LET'S BE COPS, MY OLD LADY, THE DROP, WINTER SLEEP, DAVID BOWIE IS. NOVEMBER 20: MAPS TO THE STARS, ROCK THE CASBAH, THE DARK HORSE, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1.
● Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg on the set of Nightbreed. ■ Director's Cut. 120 minutes. Avail- Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer)and club able now on Region A Blu-Ray and singer Lori Winston (Anne Bobby), Region 1 DVD. a young couple who are experiencing In 1990, author-turned-film-maker problems due to Boone suffering from Clive Barker released his latest di- horrific nightmares, visions where he rectorial effort, Nightbreed. is pursued by monsters at a mysteriAfter the critical and commercial ous location known as Midian. success of his 1987 feature film deBoone has been seeing psychiabut Hellraiser (which unfortunately trist Philip K Decker (David spawned way too many sequels), Cronenberg), who thinks he might Barker wanted to adapt his novella actually be the person committing a Cabal for the big screen, and to give series of brutal murders in the area, audiences an unusual mix of fantasy, an accusation which has Boone doubtromance, and action. ing his sanity. There would be some horror eleIt doesn't take long to discover who ments, but Nightbreed was not in- the real killer is, leading Boone on jourtended to be a horror film. ney where he will discover that During production, problems arose Midian and the monsters he has between the studio and Barker. dreamt of are real, and he will play a The former were becoming un- major part in their destiny. comfortable with the latter's epic apThanks to Barker's version, proach, which was focusing more on Nightbreed now comes across as a the main protagonists' love story, as more complete picture blessed with a well as presenting its monster char- distinctive identity, allowing a large acters as misunderstood good guys. gallery of characters to have more The producers wanted a more trato breathe, giving the story a true ditional horror flick of the stalk-and- time sense of weight and purpose. slash variety, one they could easily The of Midian is a fascinatmarket to a specific demographic. ing one,world full of bizarre wonders, but This lead to rewrites, re-shoots, and there is also a greater feeling of comeventually, a complete re-edit (via munity, one that has been persecuted accomplished editor Mark Goldblatt, brought in during post-production), and oppressed over the centuries by turning Nightbreed from an expansive institutions who are afraid of the un2½-hour fantasy experience into a known. The extras produced for this longfast-paced horror/thriller, running a awaited release are outstanding, with scant 102 minutes. The version released in cinemas audio commentaries, an in-depth 72 received largely negative reviews, as minute documentary about the film's critics were expecting a horror movie extensive production problems, as in the vein of Hellraiser, not the con- well as other featurettes, deleted voluted remnants of a much different scenes, and more that dedicated fans will most certainly enjoy. feature. A limited three-disc edition (which I remember seeing Nightbreed in an almost-empty theatre, and despite is apparently already hard to get) conthe numerous changes and chopped- tains more goodies and the 1990 thedown story, proved entertaining due atrical cut. After more than two decades, Clive to Barker's still-evident imagination and David Cronenberg's eerie per- Barker's intended vision of Nightbreed can finally be seen by a formance. Now, after nearly 25 years of fanbase that has grown considerably searching, and negotiating with mul- over the years, beautifully restored tiple studios who owned the rights in and complimented with a vast array various ways, we can finally see Clive of bonus features, and is one of the Barker's cut of Nightbreed, culled most impressive blu-ray releases of from vast amounts of footage thought the year. The wait was definitely lost, lovingly restored and presented worth it. in a glorious special edition. RATING - ****½ The plot centres around mechanic - Aaron Rourke
THE DVD TOP RENTAL & SELLERS: 1. THE EXPENDABLES 3 [Action/ Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford]. 2. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 [Animated/Adventure/ Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler]. 3. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS [Romance/Drama/Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort]. 4. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST [Sci-Fi/Drama/Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence]. 5. EDGE OF TOMORROW [Sci-Fi/ Action/Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton]. 6. LOCKE [Drama/Tom Hardy]. 7. MALEFICENT [Fantasy/Adventure/Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning]. 8. TINKER BELL AND THE PIRATE FAIRY [Animated/Adventure/ Pamela Adlon]. 9. 22 JUMP STREET [Action/Comedy/Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill]. 10. GODZILLA [Aaron TaylorJohnson, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe]. Also: VENUS IN FUR, THE MULE, CALVARY, BLENDED, TWO FACES OF JANUARY, THE ROVER, GRACE OF MONACO, THE TRIP TO ITALY, BAD NEIGHBORS, CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier. NEW RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS ON DVD THIS WEEK: DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [Action/Sci-Fi/Drama/Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman]. POSTMAN PAT: The Movie [Animated/Family/Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint]. MRS. BROWNS BOYS D'MOVIE [Comedy/Brendan O'Carroll, Jennifer Gibney]. CHARLIE'S COUNTRY [Drama/ David Gulpilil, Luke Ford]. WAY OF THE WICKED [Thriller/ Christian Slater, Vinnie Jones]. GIMME SHELTER [2013/Drama/ Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser]. NEW & RE-RELEASE CLASSICS ON DVD HIGHLIGHTS: None Listed for This Week. NEW RELEASE TELEVISION, DOCUMENTARY AND MUSIC DVD HIGHLIGHTS: DOCTOR WHO: Season 8. FARSCAPE: Season 3. MITCHELL JOHNSON SPECIAL. MONSTER JAM: SYDNEY 2013. MONSTER JAM: WORLD 14. WINNER TAKES IT ALL: Season 1. Turn To Page 71