Innocent Bystander

X-Men Trilogy on Blu-ray...

Twentieth Century Fox has just released all 3 X-Men films on Blu-ray. The best way to enjoy them is the spiffy boxed set (you can get your own here, but only if you have a Blu-ray player; otherwise you may want to use them as coasters), and I watched all 3 films (X-Men, X-2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand) over the past few days.

Fox tends to make the crappiest of superhero films--witness both Fantastic 4 films, Daredevil, Elektra, and the very sad League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), mainly, I think, because they're such a cheap-ass studio. I really think the first 2 X-Men films were made by the sheer force of will of director Bryan Singer. The first one is good, the second one wonderful. Singer left the third one to go do the blah Superman Returns, but I think it has its moments, even though Mr. Rush Hour, Brett Ratner, directed it.

A lot of things work in the X-Men films, a lot of things don't. Hugh Jackman nails Wolverine from the first moment we see him. Anna Paquin as Rogue, not so much. Sir Ian McKellen is excellent as Magneto, and Patrick Stewart is obvious dream casting as Professor X. I'm indifferent to James Marsden and Famke Janssen as Cyclops and Jean Grey (although the latter is much better in the third film). And then, of course, there's Halle Berry, who went into the second film coming off a Best Actress Oscar for Monsters Ball. Berry had very little to do as Storm in the first film, and her role enlarged in the second and third. But the movie version of Storm is incredibly unimpressive. When Storm's powers come into play, Berry's eyes glaze over and she gets this vacuous, blank look on her face. In other words, her normal acting style. She also occasionally levitates.

But Jackman is the real star of all 3 films, and it was a star-making turn for him, something he readily acknowledged at Comic-Con last year. I'm a bit on the fence about X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which debuts this Friday. It looks exceedingly lame, like once again a movie studio has crammed 10 pounds of horse manure into a 5-pound sack, what with all the other mutants hanging out in the previews alone. Still, Jackman is always worth watching (even in the forgettable Swordfish, the film in which Ms. Berry augmented her usual acting style by flashing her breasts for an extra $500,000; for the record, they were blank, but not so vacuous). I suppose I'll go see Wolverine--the unofficial fourth X-Men film--next weekend, but I'm just going out of respect for Jackman. Let's just say I might be doing him a Hugh-ge favor.

Max Fleischer's Superman 1941–1942...

Warner Bros.' new--but old--collection of the classic 1940s Superman cartoons is certainly worthy of your attention. These ground-breaking shorts, made in the character's infancy, helped define the hero as we know him today. Beyond that distinction, they're absolutely gorgeous-looking cartoons, beautiful in their simplicty of design and their breath-taking backgrounds.

This is a 2-disc set, utilizing the same remastered cartoons that were included in that big metal Superman box, which came out in 2006 and featured all the Christopher Reeve films, plus Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Still, this standalone set is a perfect companion for WB's excellent Popeye series, also by Fleischer. The title of this set is a bit incorrect, though. Fleischer did the first 9 cartoons (the first disc); the remaining 8 were finished by Famous Studios after Paramount took over the Fleischer's studio in Florida. While the non-Fleischer cartoons are still something to behold, there is a slight loss of quality between the 2 discs. (Superman, for example, suddenly goes sans belt.) Some of the latter cartoons are beautiful, though, especially "Jungle Drums" and "Underground World," which features a race of hawkmen. The latter films also deal more with World War II propaganda, but that might have been something that even Max Fleischer couldn't fight. (Note that there's a small error on the menu for the second disc; "Destruction, Inc." was released in 1942, not 1943. The cartoons are presented in the order in which they were released.)

I grew up on these cartoons and can remember being absolutely thrilled every time one appeared on TV. I watched Captain Jack McCarthy's Popeye show on Channel 11, WPIX, out of New York City each afternoon, and occasionally Capt. Jack--or the great Chuck McCann on Sunday's "Let's Have Fun" show--would throw one of these in. With our brand new color TV (purchased in 1962 solely so we could watch Bonanza and baseball in glorious "living color"), I can vividly remember seeing these later on in the 60s for the first time in color, and being blown away again by them.

This set also features two previously released documentaries: the way too short "First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series," which features Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, among others, talking about the far-reaching influence of this series, and the tedious and boring "The Man, the Myth, Superman," another in a series of DC/WB documentaries which includes long, drawn-out commentaries by doctors, philosophers, and authors about myth, supermen, and all things yada-yada-yada. I sincerely wish WB would get off this track and just present documentaries which dealt with the history of the characters in comics, movies, TV, etc. I'd much rather see a fun doc on licensed products than watch some boring professor trot out cave drawings and Greek mythology once again.

Many video companies have released these Superman cartoons over the years, claiming they're in public domain. I ordered my copy from Amazon, because the local Best Buy didn't seem to carry it. I can't say I blame them; these things sometimes go for $4.99 at WalMart, so a new collection at the suggested price of $26.99 doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but trust me: it's worth it. These are beautiful cartoons in the best presentation you'll ever see. If you're a fan of these--no matter how many times you've seen them--you owe yourself the small luxury of buying them again in this spiffy--and "absolute"--new edition.

Does anyone know where The Pixar Story documentary is on the Wall E Blu-ray DVD?

Okay...I've just spent close to an hour--in HOLIDAY TIME, to boot!--looking for The Pixar Story documentary on both discs of the Wall E Blu-ray set, and searching for info on the Internet about where it may be located. Does anyone know where the damn thing is? It's listed on the box, but it comes up on none of the menus--at least that I can find--on either disc. Does it actually exist on the 2-disc Blu-ray edition, and if so, WHERE THE HELL IS IT?

I'm also in possession of the Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, another 2-disc set with a plethora of bonus features. All the features are clearly marked on both the backs of the slipcase and the DVD case. Neither of them tell you which disc they're on, though. Whatever happened to the little inserts each studio included with their DVDs, which listed the contents of each disc? Are the studios that tight with money these days that they can't offer a simple, helpful ammenity like this to those of us who are buying these things? Jesus...raise the price a $1.00 and make 98 cents off the cost of doing a simple 1-page, 2-sided card that's a table of contents for the product you're selling!

My sincere thanks if you can help me figure out The Pixar Story conundrum.

WALL • E on Blu-ray

The high mark for me of seeing any movie in a theater these days is whether or not I want to buy it when it comes out on DVD a few months later. There's never any doubt in my mind when it comes to a Pixar film, and WALL • E is no exception. It's out as of today on DVD, and you really haven't seen it until you've seen it on an HDTV in Blu-ray.

I have a slightly inferior set-up at home, mainly due to the fact that I bought a cheaper HDTV about 3 years ago and I don't have a true HDMI connection, but even on my set, WALL • E was incredible. Vivid colors, crisp, precise textures, the grain of the dirt on earth, the twinkle of the stars in space: it's all amazing on Blu-ray. If you're smart and brave the store wars on Black Friday next week, I'm sure you'll find some great deals on Blu-ray players and HDTVs. Do yourself a favor--providing you're not heavily invested in the stock market, and still gainfully employed--and invest in a Blu-ray player and a new HDTV. After all, all broadcast TV and cable networks must start sending out a digital signal as of February, so you might as well beat the rush now. And if you do so, do yourself a bonus move and make that first Blu-ray DVD a Pixar one. In addition to WALL • E, you can also get Cars, Ratatouille, or the Pixar Short Film Collection. Don't worry...everything else by them will be available in the years ahead, as this still-new format is perfected. In addition to the original film, you also get the great short Presto, which was with the movie in its original theatrical release, plus a brand new short, BURN • E. A second disc features the documentary The Pixar Story.

You can read my original review of WALL • E by clicking here. Nothing has changed in my assessment of this wonderful, beautiful, and touching film, one of Pixar's best (and when they're all Grade A movies, that's saying a lot), except to add it's even better at home.

30 Rock Season 2

I just finished watching the abbreviated second season of 30 Rock, Tina Fey's Emmy Award-winning comedy about a Saturday Night Live TV show. It was abbreviated to only 15 episodes due to the Writers' Strike.

While I love The Office, I think 30 Rock has become my favorite show on network TV, which isn't really saying a lot, because I don't watch a lot of network TV these days. Let's see, there's 30 Rock, The Office, Fringe, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, and Heroes (which is on the bubble again for me) and 24 and Lost (when they come back in January). So I guess I watch more than I think I do. But I fast forward through most of the commercials, so I cut 60 minutes down to about 45. That's a bonus, right?

But I digress. Watching these shows on DVD is a real kick, because you get to see them sans commercials (without wearing out your finger pressing that remote fast forward button) and then there's the extras. 30 Rock isn't like The Office, sadly, in that respect. There's not a lot of deleted scenes. Since The Office utilizes improv a lot more, there's a lot of leftovers.

There are some great extras on this set though, including the strike benefit Fey and company produced at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. The actors and writers banded together to present a live performance of episode 8 of season 2, to benefit the production assistants who were laid off by NBC during the strike. While a little hard to hear at times, and very badly shot on home video, it's still a hoot to see an episode performed live, like a play. (The UCB theater evidently seats about a 100 people, and 30 Rock has a big cast and crew.) There's also a live table reading of the last episode ("Cooter") of the season, and excerpts from the cast appearing at "An Evening with 30 Rock" for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, hosted by NBC news anchor Brian Williams, who is woefully miscast. (A personal note to Brian: let the funny people be funny; just read the questions. You're giving the nautical impression of what an anchor does in this case.)

While Alec Baldwin regularly steals the show on 30 Rock, Tina Fey is the star, make no doubt about it. Fey is in charge both on the screen and behind the scenes, and is such an appealing star. Maybe it's the glasses, maybe it's those soft brown eyes and that nerd-like wit that remind me so much of someone far away. Maybe it's the realization that you probably wouldn't have given this woman a second look in high school, and then one day a friend happens across your yearbook and opens it up and immediately comes to her photo and says "WHO IS THAT?!" and you realize, in a head-hitting moment, I could have totally dated her, and you tell your friend that she was the smart, funny, shy one that no one paid attention to. Whatever it is--and it certainly has increased with her on-point imitation of the pointless Sarah Palin--I heart Tina Fey. Her Liz Lemon is funny, sexy, nerdy, and just a little sad at times. (Oh, and I also heart Jane Krasinksi, especially when she sings.)

Season 3 debuts on NBC on October 30. Blurg.

At last...a new edition of L. A. Confidential!

One of my favorite movies is coming back all spruced up in a new 2-disc set, and on Blu-Ray to boot. L. A. Confidential is up there (along with To Kill A Mockingbird) as one of the best book-to-screen adaptations ever. In fact, like The Godfather and a very select other few films, it actually improves upon James Ellroy's novel. Part of that is necessity: LAC is part 3 of Ellroy's "L. A. Quartet" of interrelated novels, which feature some common characters (like boss cop Dudley Smith) throughout the narrative. LAC, the movie, also has inspired "newcomer" performances by Aussie actors Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, a great "comeback"--and Oscar-winning, for Best Supporting Actress--turn by Kim Basinger, and good performances from Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell. Watch the extras (I'm hoping the original DVD's release bonus features are included) to find out how (and where) director Curtis Hanson pitched the movie to Spacey, and the fascinating interactive map of Los Angeles. And if you don't have Blu-Ray yet, don't worry...there's a special 2-disc "regular" DVD edition just for you.

Available to own on DVD or hi-def Blu-ray...

I just saw a commercial for a new movie coming out on DVD, and the title of this post was the tag-line. Pretty familiar, huh? These days--and for quite some time now--movie studios are urging you to buy their movies and own them outright.

It wasn't always like this. When movies first started appearing for home video--in the days of the first great format war, VHS vs. Beta (before Stalin turned the war around in the winter of '43 and battered the Beta-troops back to Berlin), the studios were notoriously hinky about ownership. Movies were sold at exorbitant prices and geared towards a rental-only marketplace. Video stores were expected to buy them at a high rate and earn their money back through repeated rentals. The first movie I ever bought on VHS--Annie Hall--cost $89.95. Now it's $7.49 on DVD on Amazon. In those days, the prospect of owning even a miniscule movie collection on VHS seemed dismal.

Then Paramount took the first big step and released Flashdance and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at $39.95 each and that opened the flood gates. Prices crept down. A new collectors' mentality was fostered and encouraged, culminating--or so we thought--with the Laserdisc format, one designed specifically for collectors. That in turn brought us DVD, much smaller and cuter, and the studios realized that each one of us, in one way or another, is a collector, and film is the perfect medium to bring that trait out. Everyone has that ONE movie they want to own. Special features, deleted scenes, blooper reels, and commentaries became the norm. DVD fostered the rise of home video for collectors, hard- and soft-core, and at a price point we could all agree upon.

Now it's all poised to go away. You can tell me Blu-ray is the wave of the future. You can slim down the packaging and put that cute little clear-blue topper on the case; you can add even more special features and appeal to the film fanatic in me. But lurking down the road is what the studios wanted all along, the one thing that they've longed for, pined for, dreamed about: complete and utter ownership of their movies.

Anyone with an ounce of brain power knows that Netflix and Blockbuster will soon become download only services. The studios will LEND you their movies, lease them to you, let you watch them, but I'm convinced that the days of owning a movie are over. You can watch but you can't touch. You can't hold it, can't caress it, can't own it. You'll download a movie--in a high-definition format--be able to watch it for a few days, a few weeks, maybe even a month, for a fee...and then it will disappear. And the next time you want to watch it, you'll have to rent it again.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the studios will relent and let us own movies, but owning them as a download that exists solely on your computer (or some extra added high-capacity hard drive that comes as part of a service) isn't the same as that array of DVD boxes that sits across from me, looking so warm and inviting. It's soulless and utilitarian at best. Those three filled-to-the-brim shelf units--designed specifically for DVDs, I'll have you know--mean I never have to say I have nothing to watch. Perhaps a hard drive full of choices will speak the same language, but I doubt it. Computers are fragile pieces of equipment, prone to crashes and debilitating data losses. And once the whole Skynet™ thing kicks in, they'll be our enemies anyway.

You laugh (I hope), but I think the Skynet paradigm isn't that far off from the studios' ultimate endgame: complete and total subjugation of the movie-watching public. There will be added perks, of course. Someday our prince will come in the form of on-demand movies for download the same day they premiere in theaters. But that's a lame trade-off. Just as people will always want to go out for a night at the movies, sharing the communal aspect of film-viewing that has been a hallmark of the industry since the days of nickelodeons, people will also want to OWN their favorite films. We might be building a generation of downloaders, rippers and burners, but right now, my peers, my peeps, well, we want to own these films that speak to us. We want the cute little boxes, the nice packaging, the great graphics, the bonus features, the ability to walk over to a shelf, pull out a favorite film, pop it in and sit back and relax. The studios are so enamored with technology they forget who we are: we're a nation of collectors, for better or worse, a country filled with people invested in the pride of ownership. A film on a hard drive becomes software. A movie on DVD--regular or high-octane Blu-ray--becomes a treasured favorite. But the cold hard hearts of studio execs will never be able to appreciate that fine point.

Bourne again...

I spent my birthday evening last night watching all 3 Bourne films--The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--back to back to back. I've seen them pretty much countless times before, and I don't quite know what possessed me to do this, other than the fact that I'm severely under the weather with some kind of upper respiratory thing that is making me cough a lot and wreaking havoc with my throat (in fact, today I feel feverish). So extended couch time was warranted for once.

Anyway, sickness notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed all three movies again. There's something about these smart, exciting, post-9-11 thrillers that caught everyone by surprise. As a trilogy, they make a neat little book-ended story. But to be honest, as a trilogy, they pretty much ran their course. If Bourne returns, it's going to have to be different than the "memory of the month club" the first three films seemed to feature. By that I mean the slow realization of Bourne's past actor Matt Damon deals with, as his previous life unfolds before him and us, the viewer.

While I remembered the fact that the Bourne films begin and end in water, I never realized how much a role water plays in all three films. It's especially important to note Bourne's rebirth in all three films, which take place in large bodies of water. In the first, he's discovered--almost dead and not remembering who he is--in the ocean by some fisherman. In the second film, he literally becomes Bourne again (pun sort of intended), when he and Marie (Franke Potente) are plunged into a river in India. As Marie dies before his eyes, and slowly floats away from him (one of the most haunting scenes I've ever seen in any film), he becomes Jason Bourne again to avenge her. And in the final film, he plunges into the East River in New York City, seemingly dead, only to be born again (definitely intended this time). That's where we leave him. For good? Only Universal and Matt Damon know for sure. The Bourne books continued after author Robert Ludlum's death. Who knows if any of them will be adapted to bring Jason Bourne back again. Damon himself has said he wouldn't be against it, but he'd like an amount of real time to pass--like 10 years or so--before he comes back, so we see how Bourne (nee David Webb) has changed.

I'd like to see more Bourne films. You can argue the fact that having Jason Bourne in the world's movie theaters greatly affected that other guy with the J. B. initials: the James Bond of Casino Royale owes as much to the Bourne films--maybe even more--as it does to every other 007 film that came before it. For once, a Hollywood-driven series that resulted in a tent-pole franchise resulted in a smartening up of movies. Go figure.

City Slickers (1991)

City Slickers, the great buddy movie starring Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, Daniel Stern, and the late Jack Palance, is out on DVD this week in a brand new "collector's edition." While the film has existed on DVD for a while now, this new edition includes a number of special documentaries created just for this version, and it's well worth your while to check it out.

Included are two longish docs, "Back in the Saddle: City Slickers Revisited," and "Bringing in the Script: Writing City Slickers." The former features Crystal, along with director Ron Underwood, and stars Daniel Slater, Patricia Wettick, David Paymer, and Helen Slater, along with writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who also figure prominently in the latter doc. Both features are wonderful (although Ganz and Mandel come off like they've not only been joined at the hip far too long, but also like they play the Catskills every summer). In addition, there's two mini-features, one on Norman the calf, and another on "Real-life City Slickers."

I was talking about this DVD the other day with some workmates at a meeting and my one friend--a woman--said, "I didn't like that movie." It didn't surprise me. City Slickers is the male equivalent of a chick flick and there aren't that many of them. Most movies made for guys include things blowing up and lots of guns. City Slickers is one of those mid-life crisis/journey of men movies that are emotional, sentimental, and warm and fuzzy, an oddity in filmdom. (The only other popular movie that immediately springs to mind that's on the same level--albeit a more serious one--is Field of Dreams.) City Slickers explores a lot of male issues, including the mid-life crisis, friendship, career dissatisfaction, older men chasing younger women, male fantasy vacations (seriously: these guys go off and play cowboy for two weeks), and finding that one thing that makes your life complete...no matter what it might be. Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and touching and dramatic, City Slickers functions on a lot of different levels, and that's why it still resonates today, 17 years later. It's great script and wonderful music score--equal parts classic western and Marlboro commercial soundtrack--help a great deal, too.

My City Slicker-hating friend was one of those gussied-up women with their cosmo-swilling friends in tow downtown last Friday to see Sex and the City on its opening day, I don't think she realizes that Mitch, Ed, and Phil are the male equivalent of Carrie, Samantha, and the other two whose names blissfully escape me. As such, their male bonds of friendship are just as strong as that foursome from TV, and their film adventure is no less fulfilling and personal to us guys as Sex is to the women.

On first glance, that sentence seems a little mixed up, but I think you know what I mean.

Blu state...

About 4 months ago--right around the time Warner Bros. announced they were going to go exclusive with Blu-Ray--I bought a Blu-Ray player. I had a dinky little $99 DVD player/recorder, that was fine, but 3 years old and starting to act a little wonky at times (those scratched up Netflix discs don't help--seriously, I thought the DVD format was supposed to be "indestructible"--should I NOT be using them as coasters?). So I took the plunge. The dive in was helped by the Best Buy guys, two of which said "BLU-RAY" decidedly and in unison when I asked which is better Blu or HD.

The player I bought, the Sharp Acquos BD-HP20 was on sale, AND it came with 10 (ten!) free DVDs. I immediately got the films I knew I wanted to replace from standard DVD: 3 Pixar movies (Cars, Ratatouille, and the Pixar Short Film Collection), Casino Royale, and--new at that time--3:30 to Yuma, which I hadn't owned. Since then I've been very choosy of what I buy on Blu-Ray, and what I replace. Like today, I had a 40% off DVD coupon for Borders and got the new to Blu-Ray V For Vendetta for $18.00. I'll buy Batman Begins next month when it comes out on Blu-Ray, too.

A female friend of mine swears the whole HD/Blu-Ray thing is "a guy thing," and I agree: the oohing and ahhing over the technical specs most certainly is. But you'd have to be a blind person to not see the difference (I see a major difference on my HD TV from standard broadcast to HD broadcast with the local stations, even). The Pixar films look absolutely amazing, but the recent release of Bonnie and Clyde on Blu-Ray left me a bit cold.

The other bonus is the player "upscales" my regular DVDs, so they look better than ever. I have one drawback though: my HD TV is an older model and doesn't have an HDMI connection port, but I do have an HDVI port, which SEEMS to work the same. (Some of you techies will write in and tell me what I'm doing is akin to drawing with an Etch-a-Sketch instead of using Illustrator, no doubt.)

But the big thing is this is probably all just a temporary thing anyway. While the whole country has to go to digital TV next year (and don't even get me started on the conspiracy theories that abound in my sad little mind about the government and electronic companies making this happen, due to the low cost of non-digital standard TVs up until recently), it doesn't have to go Blu-Ray. And we're only a few years away from downloading any and all video we want to see. Screw buying the stuff in a store, or renting it in the mail; kiss network TV good-bye, too, at least the way we're used to seeing it. Those days are numbered. Your computer will become your media center, and we'll all be coerced into buying new laptops or desktops with faster video cards and download rates and some kind of box that will beam them to our TV sets (Apple already has this with their "Apple TV").

America (and the world, I reckon) embraced DVD like no other format before it. It's sad that the warring electronics companies couldn't agree on a standard format for HD DVDs out of the gate. The Blu-Ray selection is just now starting to get moving, since HD-DVD died back in January. One thing missing--and again, I think there's a studio-based conspiracy involved--is those jazzy, souped-up menus that appeared on standard DVD. Menu-design became an artform in and of itself, but it seems like the Blu-Ray companies have opted for--for now--a simple one page, static menu. (I'm told the HD-DVD discs had better looking menus.) Maybe this will change, now that a format has been settled upon, but I miss the old menus, with animation, music and little bits of their own. Sometimes, especially on Netflix rentals, they were the high point of the film.

Am I satisfied with my purchase, you ask? Yes and no. The player is a little hinky at times, and I have to reset it about it once every couple weeks. Blu-Ray moves a lot slower than DVD, at least function-wise, and they warned me about that in the store when I bought it. Menus work slower (possibly another reason why the menus are so simple, I suppose). But boy...you should see a Pixar film on it. The colors, the resolution, how crisp and brilliant everything looks. Yeah, when I'm watching a Pixar film, then I'm happy with my purchase. But how could you not be happy with everything in the world when you're watching a Pixar film?