Full Article Text
DVD: Doctor Who Stumbles
DOCTOR WHO SEASON SEVEN
PART ONE ($24.98 DVD; BBC) -- Ever
since Russell T. Davies brilliantly
rebooted Doctor Who with a deadly
serious Christopher Eccleston, we've been
spoiled. Eccleston boltedunceremoniously (and unfortunately)
after just one season. But he was replaced
by David Tennant, who was widely and
immediately (and correctly) hailed as "thebest Doctor ever!" A decent budget didn't
in fact spoil the show and the series was
cool and smart and fun. God help the
person who has to follow Tennant, I
thought, only to have Matt Smith step in
and be widely and immediately (and
pretty much correctly) hailed as "the best Doctor ever!" All praise due to Tennant butSmith has built on what Tennant created and the show went from strength to strength. Itreached a new peak in season six with a long arc that was rich in drama and portent.Some episodes were stand-alone (and weaker for it) but almost all of them pushed themajor story forward with relentless energy to a thrilling finale. So here we are halfwaythrough season seven and everyone seems exhausted. The writers clearly weren't up foranother major storyline and settled into one-off episodes. But after the ambition andcomplexity of season six, that simply won't do anymore. It doesn't help that the one-offepisodes have been rather weak overall and that the climax of Part One was very badlyhandled -- both too obvious, too dragged out and unsatisfying in about eight differentways. (Sure, I teared up, but what of it?) The show needs to take a long break after thisseason, recharge its batteries and pick up the gauntlet it tossed down. When the show canbe that great, good isn't good enough and so-so (which is exactly what most of these fiveepisodes and the tepid Christmas special -- not included here -- amount to) isunacceptable. The Doctor deserves much better.
THE EXPENDABLES 2 ($39.99
BluRay combo; Lionsgate)LAWLESS ($39.99 BluRay combo;
Anchor Bay)MEN IN BLACK 3 ($55.99 BluRay 3D
combo; Columbia Pictures)PARANORMAN ($ BluRay 3D combo;
Focus Features) -- These are exactly thesort of movies people skip when they'replaying at the local cineplex. But becausethey know the stars and have just seen
April 29, 2014
This is the print preview:
Back to normal view »
Posted: 11/28/2012 6:55 pm
the trailers and advertising, they rent
them rather than checking out one of thegenuine classics from 20 or 30 or 60years ago that line the shelves and offergenuine greatness. Of course, sometimesyou do find a gem among recent releases,but one out of four is not a great average.The Expendables 2 was more of the same
with even more retro action stars thrownin. It made more than the first onearound the world so you can bet therewill be an Expendables 3 . Lawless is a by
the numbers period drama aboutbootleggers (the good guys) and theruthless lawmen (the bad guys) trying toshut them down. A very good cast is thelure here. The lure of MIB3 (which comesout November 3) has always escaped mefrom the first film of the franchise. Thistime around they spice up the formula bygoing back in time. There's no formula inParaNorman , a stop-motion animated
film that deserves a wider audience and
will hopefully find it now on BluRay and
DVD. John Goodman is in a lot of filmsthis year, but this contains his best work.
Perfect for the kids in the family who feel
left out because they're too young to
watch The Walking Dead .
TARANTINO XX ($119.99 BluRay;
Lionsgate) -- Director Quentin Tarantino
is celebrating the 20th anniversary of hisfeature film debut with a new movie intheaters ( Django Unchained ) and a boxed
set containing every movie he's directed
so far as well asTrue Romance ,
a key scriptfrom Tarantinothat was a peakfor the latedirector TonyScott. You getfive hours ofnew features
and complete BluRay editions ofReservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie
Brown, Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2, Death Proof
and Inglorious Basterds, as well as
Scott's True Romance. (Nitpickers will
wish his segment from Four Rooms as well as the films Natural Born Killers and From
Dusk Til Dawn were here to make this complete. But if they were here, still others would
say, what about the episodes he directed for CSI and ER and what about his early shorts?
Gee, you can't please some people.) Taken as a whole, it's actually more impressive andmore solid than I would have expected. Tarantino seemed out of gas until IngloriousBasterds revived his flair. In context, Death Proof feels very much of a piece with his
other work (no one would accuse Tarantino of thematic inconsistency in the genres heexplores) though I would still like to see a shorter cut (like 55 minutes) rather than alonger one and we should still be able to see the original theatrical presentation ofGrindhouse. Jackie Brown plays stronger, Reservoir Dogs holds up and with so much
more to make his case as a talent, the many flaws of the dazzlingly structured Pulp Fictionseem less important. Chances are you own them already if you're a fan. But if you're newto BluRay, this is a very strong set.
PIER PAOLO PASOLINI'S TRILOGYOF LIFE ($79.95 BluRay; Criterion)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN ($34.95 BluRay;
Kino)ZORRO ($24.98 BluRay; Sommerville
House)THE DAVID O. SELZNICK
COLLECTION ($99.95 BluRay; Kino) --
Like any movie lover, there are certain
major directors I just don't get. Their
sensibility, their aesthetic, the stories thatinterest them and how they tell them --whatever the reason, our tastes are out ofsync. So it is with Pier Paolo Pasolini, thefamed director who has never made amovie I've really liked much other thanhis very early work Mama Roma. But
Criterion keeps pushing me. Like a goodfriend or a great film teacher, they keepbringing his work back before me. Takeanother look, they say. This is important.Here we have three of his late films, anearthy trilogy that tackles the famed talesof The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales
and The Thousand and One Nights. These
new editions look very good given theirsource material and the copious extrasput Pasolini and his work in perspective.I need no prodding to check out one of
DW Griffith's few talkies. His biopic of
Lincoln can boast a very good Walter
Huston (Daniel Day Lewis ain't the onlyone who can play Abe) and little else.Griffith never quite made the transition tosound but it's a worthy curio. Zorro hasbeen captured on film many, many timesand personally, there's no version I'mover the moon about. Still, this versionfrom the 1970s is a fun twist, resettingthe tale in South America and lettingAlain Delon have revenge and not justlove of the peasants as his driving force.And that's one heck of a sword fight atthe end -- it actually might be the longestin movie history. Many producers in theheyday of Hollywood deserve a boxed setof their works. So this collection of someof David O. Selznick's best movies fromthe 1930s before he hit the jackpot in1939 makes perfect sense. You get BluRayeditions of a wide range of movies linkedonly by their intelligence and audienceappeal: A Farewell To Arms, Bird Of
Paradise, Little Lord Fauntleroy,Nothing Sacred and A Star Is Born. You
could easily create another two boxed setswith each containing another five equally
distinctive movies from Selznick's career
and not even raise a sweat. If there's a
classic movie buff on your gift list,problem solved.
GAME OF THRONES FIRST
SEASON COLLECTOR'S EDITION($99.97 BluRay; HBO) -- Here's acompletely lavish and unnecessary boxedset, making it perfect for the fantasycrazed member of your family thisholiday. You get the entire first season ofGame Of Thrones on BluRay, DVD and
digitally, all encased in a cushiony box fitfor a king -- not something you'd actuallywant to be in a world where being kingmeans sitting around with a target onyour back, but you get the idea. My
favorite give-away is the bonus of an
actual dragon's egg. It makes a wonderful
paperweight and if you throw it into a hot
enough fire, a wonderful pet as well.
THE DUST BOWL ($29.99 BluRay;
PBS)
PARADISE LOST TRILOGY ($49.95
DVD; Docurama)THE ISLAND PRESIDENT ($27.95
DVD; First Run Features)
OBJECTIFIED ($34.95 BluRay; New
Video)
BOOKER'S PLACE ($26.95 DVD; New
Video) -- Do we take Ken Burns forgranted? Do we mock his style which hasbecome so familiar it breeds contempt?Do we forget the sea change he wroughtin documentary films and how popularthey can be? Yes, yes, and yes. And yes tothe final question as to whether The DustBowl is worth your time. Of course it is.
It's by Ken Burns. The Paradise Losttrilogy is truly a journey down the rabbithole with the frightening tale of the WestMemphis Three a crazy, unnerving ridefrom start to finish. Messy and passionateand life-changing work for the innocentsinvolved. Mohamed Nasheed may be acontroversial former President of theMaldives but he's also a canny promoterwho knows how to get attention for hiscountry, which may soon disappear ifnothing is done about global warming.Actually, even if we do make an historicpush worldwide to tackle the problem,the Maldives are probably lost anyway.But The Island President is still a good
wake-up call. Director Gary Hustwitfollows his clever documentary about thefont helvetica with this equally intriguingand offbeat look at manufactured goodsthat are so ever-present we ignore them.
Finally, in the year I was born a black
man in Mississippi dared to take part in aTV documentary about racism. It ended
with his brutal murder. Booker's Place by
the son of that original documentary's
director returns with Booker Wright's
granddaughter to visit again that time
and the impact Mr. Wright had by simplytelling his story.
FRANK SINATRA PRIMETIME
($17.98 DVD; Shout)
LES MISERABLES IN CONCERT
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY ($34.98
DVD; BBC)
COLOR ME OBSESSED: A FILM
ABOUT THE REPLACEMENTS
($19.95 DVD; MVD)
STEP UP REVOLUTION 3D ($39.99
BluRay combo; Summit)IKE AND TINA ON THE ROAD 1971-72 ($19.95 DVD; MVD)
SPARKLE ($35.99 BluRay combo; Sony)
-- Frank Sinatra did a lot of hammy stuffon variety shows and with the Rat Pack.But he also filmed a lot of TV specials andwhenever he just sat there and sang, theresults could be magical. Primetime gives
you three Sinatra specials, including twofrom the late 1960s and one from 1977. Ifyou've got a couple hours, we can discusshis vocals on every performance andcompare them to bootlegs, live renditions,Reprise, Capitol and Columbia recordingsand so on. But even a casual fan willenjoy a look back at Ole Blue Eyes in theSeptember of his years. If you're pantingfor the film version of Les Miserables(which didn't wow me and I love theshow), then you're the audience for thisre-release of a tenth anniversary concertthat's been remastered and gussied upwith new audio so the revolution can takeplace all around you. Color Me Obsessedmay be unique: it's a documentary filmabout the late, great Minneapolis rockband that focuses on their fans. You won'tfind a single photo or video or live footageor even a scrap of music from the banditself. That sounds like a recipe fordisaster but it's weirdly compelling and
makes it almost impossible to watch
without diving for your old albums the
moment it's over. Is the dance move StepUp Revolution stupid? Do you care? Did
I mention it's in 3-D? Oy. Ike and TinaOn The Road is strictly for hardcore fans
happy with any scrap of footage featuringthese two in their heyday. It's a pity theirfiery act was never captured in full (to thebest of my knowledge). Finally, I believein Jordin Sparks. The movie Sparkle was
overshadowed by the death of WhitneyHouston but Sparks is a real talent fromAmerican Idol and continues to deliver
some great singles while gingerly steppinginto the role of actress. This isn't a slamdunk for her (even though obviously shewas destined to star in a remake of
Sparkle with a name like that) but on-
the-job training has a long history in
Hollywpod. Look at Whitney's own
acting, which certainly improved after her
stiff debut in The Bodyguard. This may
remain a footnote but even if only as a
singer, I think Sparks will be around for
years to come.
*****
Most titles listed here will be available in
multiple formats and in multiplecombinations, including DVD, BluRay,digital download, video on demand,streaming and the like. The format listedis the format provided for review, not allthe formats available. It is often the mostexpensive version with the most extras.Do check individual titles for availabilityin all their various guises and pricepoints.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the
co-host of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly
pop culture podcast that reveals theindustry take on entertainment news ofthe day and features top journalists and
opinion makers as guests. It's available
for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at
his website and his daily blog . Download
his podcast of celebrity interviews andhis radio show, also called Popsurfingand also available for free on iTunes.
Link to him on Netflix and gain access to
thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free
copies of DVDs and Blu-Rays with the
understanding that he would beconsidering them for review. Generally,he does not guarantee to review and hereceives far more titles than he cancover.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
DOCTOR WHO SEASON SEVEN
PART ONE ($24.98 DVD; BBC) -- Ever
since Russell T. Davies brilliantly
rebooted Doctor Who with a deadly
serious Christopher Eccleston, we've been
spoiled. Eccleston boltedunceremoniously (and unfortunately)
after just one season. But he was replaced
by David Tennant, who was widely and
immediately (and correctly) hailed as "thebest Doctor ever!" A decent budget didn't
in fact spoil the show and the series was
cool and smart and fun. God help the
person who has to follow Tennant, I
thought, only to have Matt Smith step in
and be widely and immediately (and
pretty much correctly) hailed as "the best Doctor ever!" All praise due to Tennant butSmith has built on what Tennant created and the show went from strength to strength. Itreached a new peak in season six with a long arc that was rich in drama and portent.Some episodes were stand-alone (and weaker for it) but almost all of them pushed themajor story forward with relentless energy to a thrilling finale. So here we are halfwaythrough season seven and everyone seems exhausted. The writers clearly weren't up foranother major storyline and settled into one-off episodes. But after the ambition andcomplexity of season six, that simply won't do anymore. It doesn't help that the one-offepisodes have been rather weak overall and that the climax of Part One was very badlyhandled -- both too obvious, too dragged out and unsatisfying in about eight differentways. (Sure, I teared up, but what of it?) The show needs to take a long break after thisseason, recharge its batteries and pick up the gauntlet it tossed down. When the show canbe that great, good isn't good enough and so-so (which is exactly what most of these fiveepisodes and the tepid Christmas special -- not included here -- amount to) isunacceptable. The Doctor deserves much better.
THE EXPENDABLES 2 ($39.99
BluRay combo; Lionsgate)LAWLESS ($39.99 BluRay combo;
Anchor Bay)MEN IN BLACK 3 ($55.99 BluRay 3D
combo; Columbia Pictures)PARANORMAN ($ BluRay 3D combo;
Focus Features) -- These are exactly thesort of movies people skip when they'replaying at the local cineplex. But becausethey know the stars and have just seen
April 29, 2014
This is the print preview:
Back to normal view »
Posted: 11/28/2012 6:55 pm
the trailers and advertising, they rent
them rather than checking out one of thegenuine classics from 20 or 30 or 60years ago that line the shelves and offergenuine greatness. Of course, sometimesyou do find a gem among recent releases,but one out of four is not a great average.The Expendables 2 was more of the same
with even more retro action stars thrownin. It made more than the first onearound the world so you can bet therewill be an Expendables 3 . Lawless is a by
the numbers period drama aboutbootleggers (the good guys) and theruthless lawmen (the bad guys) trying toshut them down. A very good cast is thelure here. The lure of MIB3 (which comesout November 3) has always escaped mefrom the first film of the franchise. Thistime around they spice up the formula bygoing back in time. There's no formula inParaNorman , a stop-motion animated
film that deserves a wider audience and
will hopefully find it now on BluRay and
DVD. John Goodman is in a lot of filmsthis year, but this contains his best work.
Perfect for the kids in the family who feel
left out because they're too young to
watch The Walking Dead .
TARANTINO XX ($119.99 BluRay;
Lionsgate) -- Director Quentin Tarantino
is celebrating the 20th anniversary of hisfeature film debut with a new movie intheaters ( Django Unchained ) and a boxed
set containing every movie he's directed
so far as well asTrue Romance ,
a key scriptfrom Tarantinothat was a peakfor the latedirector TonyScott. You getfive hours ofnew features
and complete BluRay editions ofReservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie
Brown, Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2, Death Proof
and Inglorious Basterds, as well as
Scott's True Romance. (Nitpickers will
wish his segment from Four Rooms as well as the films Natural Born Killers and From
Dusk Til Dawn were here to make this complete. But if they were here, still others would
say, what about the episodes he directed for CSI and ER and what about his early shorts?
Gee, you can't please some people.) Taken as a whole, it's actually more impressive andmore solid than I would have expected. Tarantino seemed out of gas until IngloriousBasterds revived his flair. In context, Death Proof feels very much of a piece with his
other work (no one would accuse Tarantino of thematic inconsistency in the genres heexplores) though I would still like to see a shorter cut (like 55 minutes) rather than alonger one and we should still be able to see the original theatrical presentation ofGrindhouse. Jackie Brown plays stronger, Reservoir Dogs holds up and with so much
more to make his case as a talent, the many flaws of the dazzlingly structured Pulp Fictionseem less important. Chances are you own them already if you're a fan. But if you're newto BluRay, this is a very strong set.
PIER PAOLO PASOLINI'S TRILOGYOF LIFE ($79.95 BluRay; Criterion)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN ($34.95 BluRay;
Kino)ZORRO ($24.98 BluRay; Sommerville
House)THE DAVID O. SELZNICK
COLLECTION ($99.95 BluRay; Kino) --
Like any movie lover, there are certain
major directors I just don't get. Their
sensibility, their aesthetic, the stories thatinterest them and how they tell them --whatever the reason, our tastes are out ofsync. So it is with Pier Paolo Pasolini, thefamed director who has never made amovie I've really liked much other thanhis very early work Mama Roma. But
Criterion keeps pushing me. Like a goodfriend or a great film teacher, they keepbringing his work back before me. Takeanother look, they say. This is important.Here we have three of his late films, anearthy trilogy that tackles the famed talesof The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales
and The Thousand and One Nights. These
new editions look very good given theirsource material and the copious extrasput Pasolini and his work in perspective.I need no prodding to check out one of
DW Griffith's few talkies. His biopic of
Lincoln can boast a very good Walter
Huston (Daniel Day Lewis ain't the onlyone who can play Abe) and little else.Griffith never quite made the transition tosound but it's a worthy curio. Zorro hasbeen captured on film many, many timesand personally, there's no version I'mover the moon about. Still, this versionfrom the 1970s is a fun twist, resettingthe tale in South America and lettingAlain Delon have revenge and not justlove of the peasants as his driving force.And that's one heck of a sword fight atthe end -- it actually might be the longestin movie history. Many producers in theheyday of Hollywood deserve a boxed setof their works. So this collection of someof David O. Selznick's best movies fromthe 1930s before he hit the jackpot in1939 makes perfect sense. You get BluRayeditions of a wide range of movies linkedonly by their intelligence and audienceappeal: A Farewell To Arms, Bird Of
Paradise, Little Lord Fauntleroy,Nothing Sacred and A Star Is Born. You
could easily create another two boxed setswith each containing another five equally
distinctive movies from Selznick's career
and not even raise a sweat. If there's a
classic movie buff on your gift list,problem solved.
GAME OF THRONES FIRST
SEASON COLLECTOR'S EDITION($99.97 BluRay; HBO) -- Here's acompletely lavish and unnecessary boxedset, making it perfect for the fantasycrazed member of your family thisholiday. You get the entire first season ofGame Of Thrones on BluRay, DVD and
digitally, all encased in a cushiony box fitfor a king -- not something you'd actuallywant to be in a world where being kingmeans sitting around with a target onyour back, but you get the idea. My
favorite give-away is the bonus of an
actual dragon's egg. It makes a wonderful
paperweight and if you throw it into a hot
enough fire, a wonderful pet as well.
THE DUST BOWL ($29.99 BluRay;
PBS)
PARADISE LOST TRILOGY ($49.95
DVD; Docurama)THE ISLAND PRESIDENT ($27.95
DVD; First Run Features)
OBJECTIFIED ($34.95 BluRay; New
Video)
BOOKER'S PLACE ($26.95 DVD; New
Video) -- Do we take Ken Burns forgranted? Do we mock his style which hasbecome so familiar it breeds contempt?Do we forget the sea change he wroughtin documentary films and how popularthey can be? Yes, yes, and yes. And yes tothe final question as to whether The DustBowl is worth your time. Of course it is.
It's by Ken Burns. The Paradise Losttrilogy is truly a journey down the rabbithole with the frightening tale of the WestMemphis Three a crazy, unnerving ridefrom start to finish. Messy and passionateand life-changing work for the innocentsinvolved. Mohamed Nasheed may be acontroversial former President of theMaldives but he's also a canny promoterwho knows how to get attention for hiscountry, which may soon disappear ifnothing is done about global warming.Actually, even if we do make an historicpush worldwide to tackle the problem,the Maldives are probably lost anyway.But The Island President is still a good
wake-up call. Director Gary Hustwitfollows his clever documentary about thefont helvetica with this equally intriguingand offbeat look at manufactured goodsthat are so ever-present we ignore them.
Finally, in the year I was born a black
man in Mississippi dared to take part in aTV documentary about racism. It ended
with his brutal murder. Booker's Place by
the son of that original documentary's
director returns with Booker Wright's
granddaughter to visit again that time
and the impact Mr. Wright had by simplytelling his story.
FRANK SINATRA PRIMETIME
($17.98 DVD; Shout)
LES MISERABLES IN CONCERT
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY ($34.98
DVD; BBC)
COLOR ME OBSESSED: A FILM
ABOUT THE REPLACEMENTS
($19.95 DVD; MVD)
STEP UP REVOLUTION 3D ($39.99
BluRay combo; Summit)IKE AND TINA ON THE ROAD 1971-72 ($19.95 DVD; MVD)
SPARKLE ($35.99 BluRay combo; Sony)
-- Frank Sinatra did a lot of hammy stuffon variety shows and with the Rat Pack.But he also filmed a lot of TV specials andwhenever he just sat there and sang, theresults could be magical. Primetime gives
you three Sinatra specials, including twofrom the late 1960s and one from 1977. Ifyou've got a couple hours, we can discusshis vocals on every performance andcompare them to bootlegs, live renditions,Reprise, Capitol and Columbia recordingsand so on. But even a casual fan willenjoy a look back at Ole Blue Eyes in theSeptember of his years. If you're pantingfor the film version of Les Miserables(which didn't wow me and I love theshow), then you're the audience for thisre-release of a tenth anniversary concertthat's been remastered and gussied upwith new audio so the revolution can takeplace all around you. Color Me Obsessedmay be unique: it's a documentary filmabout the late, great Minneapolis rockband that focuses on their fans. You won'tfind a single photo or video or live footageor even a scrap of music from the banditself. That sounds like a recipe fordisaster but it's weirdly compelling and
makes it almost impossible to watch
without diving for your old albums the
moment it's over. Is the dance move StepUp Revolution stupid? Do you care? Did
I mention it's in 3-D? Oy. Ike and TinaOn The Road is strictly for hardcore fans
happy with any scrap of footage featuringthese two in their heyday. It's a pity theirfiery act was never captured in full (to thebest of my knowledge). Finally, I believein Jordin Sparks. The movie Sparkle was
overshadowed by the death of WhitneyHouston but Sparks is a real talent fromAmerican Idol and continues to deliver
some great singles while gingerly steppinginto the role of actress. This isn't a slamdunk for her (even though obviously shewas destined to star in a remake of
Sparkle with a name like that) but on-
the-job training has a long history in
Hollywpod. Look at Whitney's own
acting, which certainly improved after her
stiff debut in The Bodyguard. This may
remain a footnote but even if only as a
singer, I think Sparks will be around for
years to come.
*****
Most titles listed here will be available in
multiple formats and in multiplecombinations, including DVD, BluRay,digital download, video on demand,streaming and the like. The format listedis the format provided for review, not allthe formats available. It is often the mostexpensive version with the most extras.Do check individual titles for availabilityin all their various guises and pricepoints.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the
co-host of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly
pop culture podcast that reveals theindustry take on entertainment news ofthe day and features top journalists and
opinion makers as guests. It's available
for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at
his website and his daily blog . Download
his podcast of celebrity interviews andhis radio show, also called Popsurfingand also available for free on iTunes.
Link to him on Netflix and gain access to
thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free
copies of DVDs and Blu-Rays with the
understanding that he would beconsidering them for review. Generally,he does not guarantee to review and hereceives far more titles than he cancover.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz