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Observer Showbiz DVD & Blu-Ray Recommendations
FILM: THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE: Cast: Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley. Genre: Drama/Adventure. Year: 1972. Rating: PG. Running Time: 112 Minutes. Format: DVD and Blu-Ray. Stars: **** Verdict: Big budget, big everything, all-star cast epic of a group of passengers who struggle to survive and escape when the ocean liner they are on completely capsizes at sea on New Year's Eve. A landmark disaster blockbuster of capsized ship S.S. Poseidon is the one that reinvented the disaster genre, tagging Oscar winning producer Irwin Allen as "The Master of Disaster" as a result, and it still holds up four decades later. No CGI effects here, it's all handmade, real sets, raging fire and tons upon tons of water. The standout cast, headed by Gene Hackman, who would win the Academy award that year for his performance in The French Connection, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley and Stella Stevens all give superb performances under veteran director Ronal Neame [The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Man Who Never Was, The Odessa File and many others], and under extraordinary conditions, they certainly deserved their pay on this one. The Poseidon Adventure is a top notch 'corn-on-the-cob' adventure-thrill ride, nominated for nine Oscars and winning two along the way, it has been remade twice and spawned a host on imitations, but this is still the champ by a long shot. FILM: CAPRICE: Cast: Doris Day, Richard Harris. Genre: Comedy. Year: 1967. Rating: G. Running Time: 95 Minutes. Format: DVD. Stars: *1/2 Verdict: One of the many '60's spy romps that once graced our screens as a result of the James Bond 007 spy boom, and not one of the best. Doris Day and Richard Harris are plunged into a world of espionage, but sadly it's more miss than hit along the way. What should have been a delightfully quirky adventure-comedy-thriller filled with tantalizing romance turns out to be an overly dated and stilted affair, but Doris Day fans will no doubt get a kick out of it, and she does try her best, as does Richard Harris, but overall, it rarely hits the mark due to poor script, poor direction, one dimensional lighting, set and production design, and as far away in thrills, fun, excitement and style of many other '60's spy comedies or parodies on offer. For the more entertaining, tongue-incheek and less taxing offerings from the spy comedy genre try The Glass Bottom Boat, also starring Doris Day (aka: The Spy in Lace Panties), The Liquidator, Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, Charade, Hot Enough for June, Carry On Spying, Casino Royale (1967) and The Spy With the Cold Nose, to name a few. FILM: COMPULSION: Genre: Crime/Drama. Cast: Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, Orson Welles. Year: 1959. Rating: M. Running Time: 103 Minutes. Format: DVD. Stars: **** Verdict: Compelling film of the infamous Leopold/Loeb kicks-for-thrill kidnapping and murder case in 1924 Chicago that shocked the world when two teenagers conspired to commit the perfect crime to show their intellectual superiority. Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman are a standout as the two friends and law students who set out to commit the brutal crime, as is the great Orson Welles as the defence lawyer, based on the legendary Clarence Darrow, the attorney in the actual case. Intelligent, incisive, engrossing, masterfully scripted and directed by Richard Fleischer, who earlier achieved great critical acclaim with the classic must-see Film Noir crime dramas Violent Saturday and Narrow Margin, and would later go on to direct with equal results the searing and unforgettable The Boston Strangler and 10 Rillington Place. Alfred Hitchcock made a more fictionalized version of the Leopold/Loeb story with the excellent Rope in 1948, and more recent films on the story include Swoon in 1992 and Murder by Numbers in 2002, however, Compulsion remains the supior and most captivating depiction. Highly recommended!
Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - Page 43
Movies, DVDs
With James Sherlock
Reviews by Aaron Rourke
THE AVENGERS ■ (M). 142 minutes. Opens in cinemas everywhere today. One of the most anticipated films of 2012, The Avengers arrives with high expectations, and both comic book and action fans will be pleased to know that this mega-budget extravaganza delivers the goods, and should send audiences out with a big smile on their faces. After actively trying to recruit these heroes, S.H.I.E.L.D chief Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) finally brings together Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) under the Avengers Initiative. The first villain they must face is Loki (Tom Hiddleston), outcast brother of Thor, who wants to conquer the Earth and have every single person kneel before their new allpowerful ruler. To do this he needs to acquire the Tesseract, a powerful cube that can harnass incredible amounts of energy from outer space. The Avengers feels like an elaborate finale to a series rather than a stand-alone movie, which isn't surprising as the foundation for these comic book characters (as well as a number of the supporting characters) were laid down in six previous movies. Beginning in 2003 with Hulk (***½), directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee (Lust, Caution / Brokeback Mountain / The Ice Storm), we have been given origin stories for every hero except Hawkeye. These include The Incredible Hulk (2008) (*) directed by Louis Leterrier (Unleashed / Transporter 2), Iron Man (2008) (**) and Iron Man 2 (2010) (**), both directed by Jon Favreau (Made / Zathura / Cowboys And Aliens), Thor (2011) (****) directed by Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet / Much Ado About Nothing / Dead Again), and Captain America (2011) directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer / Honey I Shrunk The Kids / Jumanji / Hidalgo). Supporting characters like Nick Fury, agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), villain Loki, Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), and even scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) were all established throughout these movies, so a lot of what goes on here will not make much sense to those who haven't seen these precursors (especially Thor). Writer/director Joss Whedon doesn't give any leeway for newcomers (you either watch the other six films first or you just go with the action-packed flow). Therefore any movie goer who wants to go straight into this film will find every single character underwrit-
ten and rather one-note, as they will be unaware of character references, back stories, and relationships put forthin the previous entries. However, the fact that other screenwriters have created these characters also proves a blessing in regards to Whedon's treatment of them. Whedon, who created the TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and directed the Firefly film Serenity, has always had trouble defining his characters (a perfect example being his god-awful script for Alien : Resurrection), who all seem the same and all crack the same one-liners. Like Woody Allen's recent Midnight In Paris, which also had characters that weren't specifically created by its film-maker, Whedon benefits from having the work done for him, allowing each character to actually feel different from one another, and that the humour expressed belongs to that particular individual. Whedon does improve as a director (it does help when you're given a budget of nearly a quarter-of-a-billion dollars), and he has been clearly influenced by a number of other films and film-makers (James Cameron, Roland Emmerich, Mamoru Oshii, Hayao Miyazaki, Star Wars, and believe it or not, Howard The Duck). Given the cast have already built up their roles, performances are all strong, displaying a sense of fun that these films need to hit the bullseye (the tone is closest to the immensely entertaining Thor). Downey Jnr (Chaplin / Sherlock Holmes) stands out as Iron Man, and delivers some of the film's best lines. Evans (Cellular / Sunshine) is convincingly stoic as Captain America, Hemsworth scores well again as Thor, Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right / Collateral) and Renner (The Hurt Locker / The Town) fit into the roles of Hulk and Hawkeye confidently, and Johansson (Ghost World / The Man Who Wasn't There) proves very sexy once more as Black Widow. Hiddleston (War Horse / The Deep Blue Sea) makes for a lively villain, and there are a number of clever cameos. The action is exciting and exceedingly well-staged, and Whedon does use the 3D format to outstanding effect, immersing us in the plentiful scenes of superhero mayhem (particularly the finale). It's amazing what a difference it makes when this often abused format is used properly and purposefully. The Avengers is a big, slam-bang action blockbuster that actually gives its audience a genuine buzz, entertaining them in a way people thought Hollywood had forgotten. RATING : **** - Aaron Rourke
Melbourne
Observer
Top 10 Lists THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE TOP TEN: 1. BATTLESHIP. 2. AMERICAN PIE: REUNION. 3. DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX. 4. THE HUNGER GAMES. 5. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL. 6. TITANIC 3D. 7. PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS. 8. MIRROR MIRROR. 9. 21 JUMP STREET. 10. SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN. NEW RELEASES AND COMING SOON TO CINEMAS AROUND AUSTRALIA: APRIL 19: FOOTNOTE, ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS, SPUD, STREETDANCE 2, THE LADY, THE LUCKY ONE. APRIL 25: CAFE DE FLORE, IRVINE WELSH'S ECSTASY, THE AVENGERS, THE WAY, WISH YOU WERE HERE, FERRARI KI SAWAARI. THE DVD TOP SELLERS: 1. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL [Action/Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner]. 2. PUSS IN BOOTS [Animated/ Family/Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayek]. 3. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - Part One [Drama/ Fantasy/Robert Pattinson]. 4. MACHINE GUN PREACHER [Action/Drama/Gerard Butler, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker]. 5. ATTACK THE BLOCK [Comedy/ Sci-Fi/Action/Jodie Whittaker, Nick Frost]. 6. MONEYBALL [Drama/Sport/ Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman]. 7. THE IDES OF MARCH [Drama/ George Clooney, Ryan Gosling]. 8. REAL STEEL [Action/Drama/ Hugh Jackman, Hope Davis, Kevin Durand]. 9. DRIVE [Action/Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks]. 10. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS [Romance/Comedy/Drama/Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams]. Also: MELANCHOLIA, NEW YEAR'S EVE, THE HELP, WARRIOR, THE DEBT, SHARK NIGHT, RED STATE, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, CONTAGION, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3. NEW RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS ON DVD THIS WEEK: THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN [Family/Animated/Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig]. THE IRON LADY [Drama/Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent]. TOWER HEIST [Action/Comedy/ Matthew Broderick, Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda]. THE EYE OF THE STORM [Drama/ Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Charlotte Rampling]. HAPPY FEET TWO [Family/Animated/Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt]. DOLPHIN TALE [Family/Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr]. FORTRESS [War/Sean McGowan, Donnie Jeffcoat, Bug Hall]. NEW & RE-RELEASE CLASSICS ON DVD HIGHLIGHTS: MEN IN BLACK [Action/Comedy/ Science Fiction/Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith]. To Page 51