Aisle Seat Holiday Edition

by Andy Dursin
www.andyfilm.com
dursin.blogspot.com

I'm not sure if it's an indication of our struggling economy, or perhaps a sign of movies that audiences simply aren't that interested in, but home video sales have been lagging over the last few months of the year. DVD sales basically flatlined during the third quarter, while Blu-Ray sales enjoyed some growth but have yet to experience the massive leaps and bounds some experts predicted (it'll be quite interesting to see how analysts project the format did over the holiday season, once numbers start coming in during the new year). Compared to a year ago, this has resulted in not nearly as many "Special Edition" DVD re-issues of catalog offerings, and with the exception of "The Dark Knight," nowhere near the amount of hot-selling "must have" new titles as well.

While we take a look at the final discs of 2008 below, I sincerely hope that things turn around in 2009 for viewers, consumers and merchants alike -- that we get more specially-packaged DVD editions of past classics (like last December's outstanding "Blade Runner" release from Warner), and Blu-Ray releases that go beyond some of the routine title offerings we've seen thus far. Titles like Paramount's "The Godfather Trilogy" and Fox's "Omen" and "Planet of the Apes" Blu-Ray sets were outstanding, yet there should've been more of them -- and with a format that desperately needs to generate consumer interest and growth, time is of the essence.

And finally, before we close out this past year, I'd also like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year -- and don't forget to save us a cup of your best eggnog at the Aisle Seat!

THE MUMMY - TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (**, 112 mins., 2008, PG-13; Universal): Mediocre third go-around for the Universal fantasy-adventure franchise finds a new director (Rob Cohen) and writers ("Smallville"'s Alfred Gough and Miles Millar) at the helm, yet not a whole lot of energy on-hand.

Brendan Fraser returns as Rick O'Connell, again having to battle mummies -- this time of an Asian persuasion after his son (the terribly uncharismatic Luke Ford) unearths the tomb of China's legendary, nefarious Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). Maria Bello subs for Rachel Weisz here, but it might've been better just to write the character off as she serves little purpose accompanying her husband and brother (John Hannah once again) through the Himalayas where the group enlists the help of some Yetis, an Army of the Undead, and an immortal Michelle Yeoh to take down Li.

Despite a few effective action sequences and a playful, disarming tone, "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" feels awkward, from Bello's stilted accent to the complete waste of Li in a role that's often CGI'd. Why even cast the international martial arts star if he only appears for a few minutes at a time in the first place? Ford, meanwhile, is just awful and Randy Edelman's score never finds a strong central theme for listeners to grasp onto. It's still watchable and passable entertainment for younger viewers (who helped the film gross over $100 million domestically in spite of tepid reviews), but for fans of its predecessors it feels like the franchise's rendition of "Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold."

Universal's Blu-Ray edition of "The Mummy 3" is a gem, at least: the AVC encoded transfer and DTS Master Audio soundtrack are both reference quality. Ample extras include picture-in-picture "U-Control" segments, deleted and extended scenes, visual commentary with Rob Cohen, numerous Making Of featurettes, interactive games and BD-Live extras.

Of course, "Mamma Mia!"'s source material wasn't anything exceptional to begin with: a musical entirely based on Abba songs has "novelty" written all over it, and the stage version's flimsy story hasn't been fleshed out any further, really, in this Tom Hanks co-produced big- screen version. Meryl Streep stars as a former hippie living the good life on a Greek island where her daughter (Amanda Seyfried) is about to be married. Seyfried, though, still wonders about her father's identity, and invites three of her mother's former lovers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard) to the wedding, hoping to find out who papa really is.

From there, it's an endless parade of Abba tunes shoehorned into the lightweight premise, though what's surprising about "Mamma Mia!" isn't just its embarrassing staging and pedestrian choreography -- if you go to the trouble of shooting in the Mediterranean, couldn't you actually film all of it there, and not partially on phony CGI-enhanced backdrops? While director Phylinda Lloyd and writer Catherine Johnson can only do so much to enhance the movie's clunky stage origins, "Mamma Mia!" is still a chore to sit through at every turn. Unless you're an Abba addict who can overlook the relentless mugging from the cast and tepid story, it's best to avoid this modern equivalent of "Can't Stop the Music," which at least had Steve Guttenberg, Bruce Jenner and a particularly buoyant Valerie Perrine going for it!

Universal's Blu-Ray disc looks crisp enough with its 1080p transfer (though the artificial backdrops still look painfully obvious) and powerful DTS Master Audio soundtrack, while numerous extras include deleted songs, excised scenes, outtakes, Making Of featurettes, commentary with the director, U-Control picture-in-picture extras, and a digital copy for portable media players.

GHOST TOWN (***, 102 mins., 2008, PG-13; Dreamworks/Paramount): Unfortunate box- office misfire from director David Koepp, who turns in a better script here (with co-writer John Kamps) than most of the huge blockbuster movies he's authored that people have, in fact, seen.

Ricky Gervais stars as a depressed NYC dentist who gains the ability to see dead people all around town, including the recently-deceased husband (Greg Kinnear) of a woman (Tea Leoni) who lives in his apartment building. Though it's a bit surprising that Koepp opted to utilize the exact same concept here as the Jennifer Love Hewitt TV series "The Ghost Whisperer," "Ghost Town" is low-key and endearing, playing off Gervais' timing and offering a great deal of heart at its core. This is one of those movies that deserved to find a larger audience, even if it does play out as predictably as it sounds.

The DVD includes a highly satisfying 16:9 (1.85) transfer with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, while both platters include commentary from Koepp and Gervais and three Making Of featurettes.

Director D.J. Caruso infuses this big-budget action effort with a few nifty set pieces but the story (credited to four different writers) doesn't hold up as the movie barrels towards a particularly silly conclusion. That said, action fans found enough entertainment here to turn "Eagle Eye" into a box-office hit, and Paramount's 2-disc DVD edition includes plenty of extras: deleted scenes, alternate endings, a gag reel, the trailer, multiple Making Of featurettes and a photo gallery as well. The 16:9 (2.35) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack are both excellent. A single-disc DVD is also available.

Saul Dibb's movie -- an adaptation of an Amanda Foreman book by writers Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen and the director à offers all the requisite aesthetic trappings one would expect from a quality British period production, from Rachel Portman's score to Gyula Pados' cinematography. The film may not stand out particularly from other films in this genre, yet it's solid for what it is and the performances of Knightley, Fiennes and Dominic Cooper are all superb.

Paramount's DVD looks as satisfying as one would anticipate with its 16:9 (2.35) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Slim extras include two Making Of featurettes and a "costume diary." (NOTE: Blu Ray versions of all three titles will be covered at www.theaisleseat.com)

There are good movies, and there are bad movies. Then there are bad movies which end up as great Blu-Ray discs.

Paramount's high-def Blu-Ray edition of EVENT HORIZON (**, 1997, 95 mins., R) follows on the heels of its prior 2006 Special Edition package, which ranked as one of the studio's more accomplished DVD releases. That the movie itself remains a big-budget turkey on a number of levels doesn't detract from the superb extras and polished presentation Paramount gave to a film that was more or less universally dismissed by critics and most audiences when first released in
1997.

It's not as if the movie is unwatchable or doesn't have some positive aspects: Paul Anderson's film was a major British production, augmented by American studio money, and offers both impressive cinematography by the late Adrian Biddle and evocative production design by Joseph Bennett. The cast is also terrific: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs and Sean Pertwee manage to create one of the more impressive ensembles you'll see in any sci-fi/horror genre piece.

The problem with "Event Horizon" then and now remains the story: a ship, deep in space, attempts to uncover what happened to the vessel Event Horizon, which was presumed lost until it turned up in the far reaches of the galaxy, minus any signs of actual life. On the case are captain Fishburne, crew Quinlan, Richardson, Isaacs and Pertwee, and mysterious doctor Sam Neill, who may know more than he's saying about the secretive mission.

Philip Eisner's original story had to do with an alien force inhabiting the deserted ship but Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt opted to alter the premise to suit a "haunted house in space" plot. The monsters were excised but the visions of hell itself remained -- along with a messy script that rips off "The Shining," "Dead Calm," "Hellraiser," "Alien," "Aliens," "2010" and "Lifeforce," to name just a few. The movie's premise is similar to Michael Crichton's novel "Sphere" (which opened a short time after "Event Horizon" in its own, ill-fated film adaptation), which wouldn't have been so much of a problem had the movie not developed its own characters and dramatic situations uniquely.

Instead, despite its visuals, the picture becomes increasingly ridiculous as it goes along, ultimately succumbing to unintentional laughs and one of the worst fade-out endings in recent genre history. Thinly-drawn characters make all the usual mistakes of running down dim corridors and succumbing to their own private demons, while horror fans will have to weigh the decent quotient of gore on-hand (and there was even more in Anderson's original cut) with ample doses of cringe-inducing dialogue (like Neill's "we don't need eyes where we're going!" and the cliched, "ethnic" comic relief supplied by Richard T. Jones, with the immortal "something hot and black inside you" line about drinking coffee!).

I suppose hard-core horror fans can overlook those shortcomings and find sufficient entertainment in "Event Horizon," but other viewers are likely to marvel at the movie's look while being puzzled by its basic, under-nourished screenplay. My friend Paul MacLean and I had a memorable experience watching the film on the big-screen back in '97, noting at times that the chair Fishburne sat in didn't seem quite big enough to support the tall actor -- and then laughing hysterically when the same chair blows up and flies into the camera near the end! Add in the ridiculous "Funky S--t" end title techno track (featuring samples from Barry Devorzon's "SWAT" theme song!) and we pretty much lost it altogether walking out of the theater, while distraught movie-goers in back of us had a more hostile reaction to the picture's flaws.

Though still viewed today as a missed opportunity, "Event Horizon" makes for a superb Blu-Ray edition, courtesy of a stellar new HD transfer and bass-pounding Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

Anderson talked for years about restoring his grizzly "hell" footage and offering a longer cut of the movie, which he lamented didn't happen back in '97 due to a lack of post-production time. That being said, Anderson did willingly trim his two-plus hour version down for the eventual 97-minute theatrical release, noting the first cut was too long...but then realizing now that the theatrical cut isn't long enough.

Unfortunately, Anderson couldn't locate all the elements needed to restore the movie, so what we have here is a high-def presentation of "Event Horizon"'s released version with commentary from Anderson and Bolt (who admit to not having seen the movie in a long while, which results in infrequent moments of silence), along with a bounty of extras offering what remains of the deleted sequences.

The highlight of the extras is a fascinating, thorough documentary running over 100 minutes, featuring new interviews with Anderson, Bolt, Jason Isaacs and even the two fellows who comprise "Orbital" (who added techno elements to Michael Kamen's orchestra, resulting in a loud, pulsating score) talking about the movie. It's a bit dry and could have used some editing -- some of the speakers repeat the same information a few times over the course of its duration -- but it's nevertheless essential for "Event Horizon" fans. An additional documentary, "The Point of No Return," includes more technically-oriented featurettes, primarily devoted to the filming and effects.

Even more revealing are the tantalizing deleted sequences, including an alternate climax (albeit without dialogue but rather commentary from Anderson), other unfinished scenes (one of which was written by "Seven" and "Sleepy Hollow" scribe Andrew Kevin Walker), and an unused prologue in storyboard form. Some of the material had to be culled off surviving videotaped footage, though all of it points to an even more graphic and bloody movie than the still-violent final cut that was eventually released.

"Event Horizon" is a movie that looks good, sounds good, and is fairly well acted, but ultimately fails to provide a coherent and suspenseful story to match its creepy tone and atmosphere. Regardless of how you fall on the movie, though, there's no question Paramount's Blu-Ray is one of the year's better catalog releases to date, offering ample extras and an excellent HD transfer for fans to savor.

In the years following the release of Peter Weir's superlative film, "reality TV" has very nearly turned into what Niccol saw: an all-knowing media, and specifically an entertainment industry, that could possibly lower itself to the level of fabricating a "life" for an unknowing participant in its ruse...all for the sake of ratings.

As for the movie itself, director Weir's delicious fantasy is a constant visual treat, and Jim Carrey's manic persona was modulated just enough to make him the perfect embodiment of a naive, literally sheltered man whose entire life has been fabricated for the purposes of producing a television program. Weir's direction and Carrey's performance were justifiably praised (in spite of the fact that some audiences thought the film, at least initially, was just another Carrey comedy), but equally worth mentioning are Niccol's screenplay and several strong supporting performances.

Niccol -- who wrote and directed the terrific "Gattaca" around the same time (a fascinating companion piece to "Truman" due to its complimentary theme of a technological governing body controlling society) -- penned a witty, thought-provoking script that works best as a quirky fantasy centering on a man escaping from what he perceives as his reality, with satirical overtones touching upon the ever-growing media and its involvement in our own lives. At what point does the medium become the message, and where does the audience take into account the consequences of their own voyeurism? Themes like these, touched upon in Niccol's script, are what make "The Truman Show" such a relevant and interesting piece.

"The Truman Show" remains a superb, inventive picture with more on its mind than virtually all of the films released in 2008 combined...a film that will undoubtedly be viewed years from now as one of the best films of the 1990s.

The Blu-Ray edition of "The Truman Show" sports another superb HD transfer from Paramount along with a fine Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

Supplements are culled from the 2005 Special Edition DVD of the movie, and are highlighted by an excellent documentary on the picture's somewhat turbulent production. Featuring new interviews with Weir, producer Edward S. Feldman, co-stars Laura Linney, Ed Harris and Noah Emmerich, this is a candid and fascinating examination of how the film was produced, as well as its growing legacy. Weir and Feldman even discuss Dennis Hopper's departure from the film (Hopper was the original Christof before being "fired"), though they don't reference Hopper by name. Nearly 15 minutes of interesting deleted/extended sequences are shown in workprint form, while there's a look at the visual FX in "Faux Finishing." A photo gallery and several trailers and TV spots round out the disc. The latter shows the curious hole the studio was in at the time, trying to sell the film to Carrey's young core audience but remain truthful about the story's premise simultaneously. As one can see, only the later trailers give an accurate read as to what type of film "The Truman Show" is, even though they also reveal too much of the film's plot.

Zucker's film makes the most of Bruce Joel Rubin's sometimes weepy script and never becomes as pretentious as it sometimes threatens to. Only Maurice Jarre's unremarkable score and the constant use of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" wear out their welcome here, though the song WAS one of the movie's top draws for some viewers!

Paramount's Blu-Ray disc offers a strong, though not always eye-popping, new 1080p transfer with Dolby TrueHD audio that's often fairly restrained. Extras include several retrospective featurettes, plus commentary from Zucker and Rubin and the theatrical trailer in HD.

Luke Wilson plays a normal, everyday guy whose old college pals (Vince Vaughn, SNL's Will Ferrell) opt to start a "fraternity" for their friend after his girl is caught cheating with not one but two different accomplices. Yup, it's the ol' collegiate life lived all over again -- crazy initiation ceremonies, huge parties with endless brew, silly pranks and big-time hangovers -- but this time with the added benefit of its characters being older and even more irresponsible than before.

The movie's central "story" -- of Wilson rediscovering his zest for life and love again -- doesn't work at all, and feels like strict filler for the "funny parts." Thankfully, there are enough of them to warrant a viewing, particularly with the manic Ferrell on-hand to single-handedly provide the majority of the script's guffaws. Playing a Party Animal repressed by his recent marriage, Ferrell believably essays an ex-Bluto who's able to find himself again by guzzling mass quantities of beer -- a quest decidedly more entertaining than anything else in the film. So even if the picture is an uneven romp, Ferrell and some uproarious scenes make "Old School"worth enrolling in.

Dreamworks' belated Blu-Ray disc includes a satisfying 1080p transfer (seemingly the same encode used for the HD-DVD) plus a rollicking Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. Excellent supplements include a 20-minute "Inside the Actors Studio" spoof, offering a perfect replication of James Lipton's pretentious Bravo chatfest, with Ferrell reprising his SNL impersonation for a conversation with the cast and crew (including himself). Deleted scenes, bloopers, and more traditional Making Of featurettes round out the package, which also includes an amusing group commentary.

JINGLE ALL THE WAY: Family Fun Edition [Director's Cut] (**1/2, 94 mins. [Extended] and 89 mins. [Theatrical], 1996, PG; Fox): I'm not entirely sure if viewers have been clamoring for a Blu-Ray HD version of this passable 1996 holiday comedy, which at one point was supposed to pit Arnold Schwarzenegger (starring in his last comedic leading role) and Joe Pesci, although this Chris Columbus production ended up with comedian Sinbad in Pesci's role instead. It's still an enjoyable enough lark, with Phil Hartman, Jim Belushi and Robert Conrad offering decent support and a spirited soundtrack boasting Brian Setzer Orchestra yuletide favorites (including "So They Say It's Christmas" with vocalist Lou Rawls) a fine David Newman score. Fox's AVC encoded transfer transfer is superb, as is the DTS Master Audio sound, and additional extras include set-top games and three featurettes. Both the original 89-minute theatrical version and a 94-minute extended cut are available on the BD disc.

"Legally Blonde" writers Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz have recycled the same formula from their earlier Reese Witherspoon hit for this seldom-amusing comedy, co-produced by Adam Sandler's gang. The end result is only intermittently funny and never comes together, while Faris, surprisingly, seems like she can't get a handle on her character: is she a dumb sex kitten, a sexy and somewhat intelligent klutz, or all of the above? Ultimately her character isn't endearing enough for you to care about, leaving only Emma Stone (from "Superbad") a few fleeting opportunities to carry the picture as the smart but gawky leader of her fraternity.

Sony's Blu-Ray disc of "The House Bunny" includes a sunny AVC-encoded transfer with Dolby TrueHD audio, deleted scenes, Making Of featurettes and a music video on the supplemental side.

Despite the high-def presentation, however, the movie still exhibits the somewhat drab look of a low-budget New World Pictures production (which it is, after all). The Dolby Digital TrueHD remixed sound is somewhat more accomplished, featuring David Newman's eccentric score and several songs from the period.

Supplements include a half-hour Making Of retrospective and the 2001-produced "Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads," which does offer conversations (many of them then-new) with Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, director Michael Lehmann, writer Daniel Waters, and producer Denise DiNovi among others. It's a nice bonus that looks back on the picture from a fondly nostalgic angle, with some fun behind-the-scenes stories shared as well.

The theatrical trailer (with its SO annoying rendition of "Three Blind Mice") is also on-hand, along with a chatty and informative commentary track with Lehmann, DiNovi, and Waters that was incorporated from Lumivision's laserdisc release, meaning it was recorded about a decade ago at this point.

The movie itself has held up pretty well, though its pitch-black, acid tone and sometimes heavy- handed preaching make the movie hard to consider a "classic," even of the black comic kind. Still, Waters' dialogue is often very funny, the performances are appealing, and the movie a nostalgic blast for '80s high school fans.

Besson's "La Femme Nikita" is one of the French filmmaker's strongest efforts, profiling the transformation of street-savvy Nikita (Anne Parillaud) from downtrodden gang member to government assassin in a sleek, sexy 1990 French thriller. Jean Reno, Tcheky Karyo, Jean- Hugues Anglade and Jeanne Moreau lend strong support to this stylish Besson effort, which Sony has mastered on Blu-Ray in an excellent AVC encoded transfer with both French and English DolbyTrueHD soundtracks and optional English subtitles.

"The Messenger," meanwhile, was Besson's expensive 1999 chronicle of Joan of Arc, starring a miscast Milla Jovovich as Joan and an international array of stars including John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Tchéky Karyo, and Vincent Cassel -- all resulting in a mishmash of accents, loads of melodrama and questionable historical accuracy. That said, Besson's movie is wacky and usually quite watchable, especially here in its AVC encoded transfer and pounding Dolby TrueHD audio soundtrack. Sony has included the movie's 158- minute international version for the BD release (with the on-screen title "Joan of Arc"), though in the process, has sadly dropped all extras from its prior DVD package, including Eric Serra's isolated score and a few Making Of featurettes.

Filmmaker Wes Anderson's debut feature, the 1996 comedy BOTTLE ROCKET (91 mins., R), joins the Criterion Collection this month.

Along with "Rushmore," "Bottle Rocket" still ranks as one of the eclectic filmmaker's finest works, chronicling three pals in a small Southwestern town (Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and Robert Musgrave) who go on the lam, seeking advice from local thief "Mr. Henry" (James Caan) along the way.

Offbeat and yet endearing in a way some of Anderson's more recent films haven't been, "Bottle Rocket" boasts a solid quotient of laughs and strong visuals from the director, making it an ideal title for Criterion, who have already released deluxe versions of the filmmaker's "Rushmore," "The Life Aquatic" and "The Royal Tenenbaums."

Extra features include a commentary with Anderson and Owen Wilson (who co-wrote the film with the director) plus a new 16:9 (1.85) transfer supervised by Anderson; a Making Of documentary from filmmaker Barry Braverman, recounting the film's history; Anderson's original black-and-white "Bottle Rocket" short from 1992; nearly a dozen deleted scenes; and copious booklet notes sporting an appreciation from Martin Scorsese and producer James Brooks.

PASSWORD: Best of the CBS Years, 1962-67 (BCI Eclipse): Highly satisfying four-disc DVD set from BCI includes over 30 episodes of the classic game show as hosted by Allen Ludden. All the episodes are presented from their best-surviving B&W/color sources and feature a cavalcade of stars, from Johnny Carson to Carol Burnett, Gary Moore, Jimmy Stewart, Laurence Harvey, Betty White (Mrs. Ludden), Dick Van Dyke, Jack Benny, Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball and others. These episodes provide great, nostalgic fun for game show buffs -- and what's particularly enjoyable about the show is not only Ludden's on-the-mark hosting, but also the general enthusiasm and fun most of the celebrities seem to have participating in the game.

BCI's DVD set is straightforward in its presentation and ranks as a fine addition to their growing roster of game show DVDs (including their prior "Price is Right" and "Match Game" sets). Here's hoping another set of "Password" shows follows, including the one where a pre-"Late Night" David Letterman guest stars.

Hampton tries to be more "cutting edge" and "topical" here than she was with the mostly wholesome "Seventh Heaven," but "Secret Life" is so weirdly similar that you almost expect Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks to come walking onto the set any second (it even has the same musical background and visual appearance). The show's "adult themes" are ridiculously explored on a strictly superficial level, while unintentional yucks come fast and furious, such as when one of the main character's brothers, who has Down's Syndrome, orders a hooker over the internet. It's so bad you can't help but watch it.

Buena Vista's DVD box-set precedes the show's upcoming second season and offers fine 16:9 (1.78) transfers with 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks. One brief set visit comprises the meager supplemental section.