DVD Buys New Releases & Reviews

After hard years in exile for a crime he didn’t commit, Benjamin Barker now Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of the evil Judge Turpin. In his anger, Sweeney goes on a murderous rampage on all London, with the help of Mrs. Lovett, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims in with a charming smile before casually ending their life with a flick of his razor across their neck. But not one man killed, nor ten thousands men can satisfy Sweeney’s lust for revenge on those who’ve caused his years of pain.

In the 1890s, Daniel Plainview, a struggling silver miner, finds his true wealth in petroleum extraction while taking the orphaned child, H.W., as his own for a valuable family man image. In 1911, Plainview gets a tip on a valuable supply on the struggling Sunday family ranch in the impoverished Little Boston, California. In his quest to acquire the property, Plainview meets the sanctimonious Eli Sunday, the young reverend of the local church with his own ambitions for his diocese and the profit from the oil. As the oil wells begin, an escalating conflict arises between exploiters of many kinds while Plainview’s canny ruthlessness gradually sinks into a slowly mounting malevolent madness. In doing so, it begins to drive every emotional bond away that all the wealth he gains can never replace.

Michael Clayton is an in-house fixer at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen’s dirtiest work at the behest of the firm’s co-founder, Marty Bach. Though burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer, his divorce, a failed business venture, and mounting debt have left Clayton inextricably tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class-action suit that Clayton’s firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. But when Kenner Bach’s brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.

Sixteen year-old Juno MacGuff is the type of girl that beats to her own drummer, and doesn’t really care what others may think of her. She learns that she’s pregnant from a one-time sexual encounter with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker. Juno and Paulie like each other, but don’t consider themselves to be exclusive boyfriend/girlfriend let alone be ready to be a family complete with child. Although she would rather not be pregnant, Juno is fairly pragmatic about her situation. Although there, Paulie really leaves all the decisions about the baby to Juno. Initially she decides that she will have an abortion, but that’s something that she ultimately cannot go through with. So she decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. But first she has to tell her father, Mac, and stepmother, Bren, that she is pregnant. Although they would have preferred if Juno was on hard drugs or expelled from school, Mac and Bren too are pragmatic about Juno’s situation. The next step is to find prospective parents for the yet unborn child. In the Pennysaver ad section, Juno finds Mark and Vanessa Loring, a yuppie couple living in the suburbs. Juno likes the Lorings, and in some respects has found who looks to be a kindred spirit in Mark, with whom she shares a love of grunge music and horror films. Vanessa is a little more uptight and is the one in the relationship seemingly most eager to have a baby. On her own choosing, Juno enters into a closed rather than open adoption contract with the Lorings - meaning she will have no contact with the baby after she gives it up. During the second and third trimesters of Juno’s pregnancy which she treats with care but detachment, Juno’s relationships with her family, with Paulie, and with the Lorings develop, the latter whose on the surface perfect life masks some hidden problems.

A British romance that spans several decades. Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit.

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

“Meet the Robinsons”

A boy genius embarks on a time-travelling adventure to save the world in this sturdy animated hit. With a voice cast that includes Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck and Laurie Metcalf, the movie follows the exploits of a young inventor whisked into the future, where he teams up with a family of oddballs to take on a villain in a bowler hat, whose voice was provided by director Stephen J. Anderson. Among the extras on the DVD and Blu-ray high-definition disc are a handful of deleted scenes, a segment on how the film was developed from the work of children’s author William Joyce, and a featurette on Walt Disney and other visionaries whose advances changed the world. The disc also has commentary from Anderson and two music videos. (Disney)

“Mr. Brooks”

If you’re a serial killer, what better cover than to be a civic booster and the local business community’s man of the year? Kevin Costner plays seemingly upright citizen Mr. Brooks, whose cozy family life and position as a bland but likable businessman belie his avocation: committing an unsolvable string of mass murders and taunting police by leaving behind his victims’ thumbprints. William Hurt co-stars as Brooks’ Jekyll-and-Hyde evil alter ego, with Demi Moore playing a cop on the killer’s trail and Dane Cook playing a witness who wants a taste of the perpetrator’s bloody glory. The DVD has deleted footage, three making-of featurettes and commentary with director Bruce A. Evans and his co-writer, Raynold Gideon. (MGM)

“Hostel: Part II”

Lightning failed to strike twice for director Eli Roth’s horror franchise, whose grisly second chapter proved a box-office dud. The sequel terrorizes three American women studying in Europe as they meet up with an art-class model who baits them into a murder-for-pleasure den. The movie comes to DVD and Blu-ray disc in an unrated version with deleted scenes, commentary from Roth and collaborators including executive producer Quentin Tarantino, and featurettes on gory effects and production design. Also debuting in a two-disc DVD set and single-disc Blu-ray edition is Roth’s director’s cut of the original “Hostel,” with an alternate ending, four commentary tracks and a full disc of interviews and background featurettes. (Sony)

“Stanley Kubrick”

Five Kubrick films get fresh boxed-set treatment and enter the high-definition age with HD DVD and Blu-ray releases. The 10-DVD set has remastered two-disc versions of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Shining” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” plus a single-disc release of “Full Metal Jacket” and a disc with the documentary “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.” Stars of the films including Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Malcolm McDowell and R. Lee Ermey provide commentary, and each movie is accompanied by interviews and featurettes, among them a segment on unfinished Kubrick films. The two-disc DVD sets also are available separately, though the new release of “Full Metal Jacket” comes only in the boxed set. (Warner Bros.)

“Battleship Potemkin”

Nipped and tucked repeatedly over the decades, Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent masterpiece is restored to what the overseers of this marvellous two-disc set say is the closest to the director’s original version since its premiere. Set in 1905, the film chronicles a naval mutiny that was a step on the road to communism as a ship’s crew rises up against its oppressive commanders and the popular rebellion is beaten down by thugs of the czar. The set features a 42-minute documentary examining the restoration of the film, which included new title cards both in Russian and English. The film is accompanied by a 55-piece orchestra’s rendition of a 1926 score authorized by Eisenstein. (Kino)

Criterion releases:

“Days of Heaven” - Terrence Malick’s gloriously photographed 1978 film gets grand treatment from the cinephile DVD maestros at Criterion. Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard star in the strange love triangle that develops among a farmhand, his girlfriend and a rich, ailing farmer. The DVD has interviews with Gere and Shepard, commentary with collaborators of the reclusive Malick and a chapter from cinematographer Nestor Almendros’ autobiography. (Criterion)

“Breathless” - Venturing into a loose, formless film style that broke with many stiff screen conventions, Jean-Luc Godard signalled the arrival of the French New Wave with his 1960 tale of a petty thief turned killer (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and the object of his romantic dalliance (Jean Seberg). This two-disc release has archival interviews with the director and stars, a 1959 short film by Godard with Belmondo and a making-of documentary. (Criterion)

“Under the Volcano” - John Huston’s 1984 adaptation of Malcolm Lowry’s novel stars Albert Finney as a drunken British diplomat stumbling through his last tortuous day of life in a small Mexican town as the Second World War approaches. The two-disc set has a 1984 interview with Huston, a new interview with co-star Jacqueline Bisset, a documentary about Lowry and commentary with the director’s son, Danny Huston, and others. (Criterion)

TV on DVD:

“The Sopranos: Season Six, Part II” - The final nine episodes of one of television’s most-acclaimed series ever arrive in a four-disc set, with James Gandolfini’s mob boss beset by fresh rivalries and taking shocking action to quell potential betrayal within his own ranks. The set has commentary on four episodes with supporting-cast members, a segment with series creator David Chase and others discussing their music choices, and a clever mock featurette about the show’s horror film made with mob money. (HBO)

“The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume One” - The buildup to next year’s fourth “Indiana Jones” film continues with the first of three boxed sets gathering all of the adventurer’s early exploits from the early 1990s TV show. With 12 discs, this first collection begins at the beginning, reorganizing the episodes into seven feature-length instalments that trace Indy’s roots chronologically as boy Indy (Corey Carrier) and teen Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery) encounter such figures as Teddy Roosevelt, Sigmund Freud, Pablo Picasso and Franz Kafka. Creator George Lucas has overseen 38 documentary segments to accompany these first episodes, with top filmmakers, military leaders and statesmen offering insights on the history lessons the show provides. (Paramount)

Other new TV releases:

“The L Word: The Complete Fourth Season,” (Showtime)

“Veronica Mars: The Complete Third Season,” (Warner Bros.)

“NCIS: The Fourth Season,” (Paramount)

“Mind of Mencia: Season 3,” (Paramount)

Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars (who are also known for the strong political beliefs) are teaming up to film a political thriller.  George Clooney is slated to direct the film which Leonardo Dicaprio will star in, and it will loosely be based on the upcoming Broadway play (to be directed by Mike Nichols) on Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidental election campaign.

Yahoo News Gives Us This:

Named after the Washington Metro station located near many lobbyists’ offices, the play follows a young, idealistic communications director who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate. During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicos who thrive on poisonous partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing.

This is odd. Filming an adaptation to a play that hasn’t even opened yet?  Although, when you have George Clooney directing (and most likely putting himself in the film like he usually does in his films) and having Leonardo Dicaprio headlining the film, this film is pretty much already guaranteed to be nominated for Golden Globes and Oscars….(The “politics” of Hollywood. :P)

It would seem that this Warner Bros story that has been going on now for a couple of days just won’t go away and some new development have transpired in the last 24 hours.

As most of you know, LA Weekly journalist Nikki Finke reported that she was told by 3 separate Producers that Warner Bros. President of production Jeff Robinov said he would no longer read or consider scripts that have females as a lead character. This set off something of a shit storm.

I tried to get a hold of Warner Bros all day to get a statement from them, only to be ignored until I let them know CBS News had requested an interview with me to talk about the situation… 20 minutes later a rep from Warner Bros corporate communications contacted me to flatly deny that Robinov said those things… that Finke reported that story without giving WB the opportunity to respond first, and that they are firmly committed to doing films with women as the lead characters.

I’ve gone on record to say that I don’t believe WB’s denial for one minute. They had DAYS to respond to Kinke’s article but stayed silent. Now it seems we know why.

Nikki Finke has posted a response to WB’s denials. I quote it here at length with my commentary inlined. You should really read this… it’s way better drama than anything WB has put out in ages:

Warner president of production Jeff Robinov had many opportunities to deny my Friday posting that he’d articulated a new decree to three different producers that “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead”, that a male has to be the lead of every pic made, and that he doesn’t even want to see a script with a woman in the primary position. I stand by my story, Warner’s Robinov Bitchslaps Film Women.

Now here’s what happened behind the scenes. I heard nothing from anyone at Warner Bros on Friday, Saturday or Sunday despite my emails because the studio, I later heard, decided on a strategy of no comment regarding my posting (JOHN: So much for WB telling me Finke never gave them a chance to respond. They were hoping it would quietly go away.). Early Monday AM, I was awakened by a phoner from a studio head telling me he’d received a call from Robinov asking for advice on “how to have a better relationship with Nikki Finke”. (The studio head, who works for a rival to Warner Bros, advised: “Don’t lie to her.”)

The mogul said Robinov wanted a go-between to find out whether I would be willing to talk to him off the record. I was puzzled by this, since Hollywood people just pick up the phone and talk to me directly, but I said of course. I phoned Robinov’s office. Since our conversation was off the record, I cannot divulge what Robinov said to me except to characterize our entire exchange as extremely cordial. I did ask over and over whether he wanted to comment publicly on my posting.

Around noon, I received an email from Robinov. I treat emails sent to me as private, so I won’t divulge its contents except to characterize it as charming.

During Monday, I received calls from radio and TV wanting to interview me on the air about my Robinov posting. I was feeling ill, so I declined. This is after my posting had been carried all weekend by many high-profile websites and blogs.

Around 5 pm Monday, I received a phone call from Robinov. He said he wanted me to post this on the record statement from him: “I never said it. I don’t believe that you shouldn’t put women as the leads in movies. It’s not a philosophy I hold.” I asked him if he’d received any phone calls during the day about the posting. He said, “None.” (JOHN: Lie, since I was one of the people calling) I said, “Really, not from anyone? Because I’ve been receiving phone calls.” He repeated that no one had called him on it. I also asked if he was giving this denial to any other media outlet. He said no and told me, “I made a promise to you that since you had posted the story, I would only go to you to comment on it publicly.”

Immediately after his call, I phoned a Warner Bros PR rep to check with Robinov one last time to make sure he wanted to go public. The flack asked me to wait to post, then reached Robinov and phoned me back before 7 pm saying, “Look, he’s thought about it, and he doesn’t want to issue any statement. So let’s just forget about it.” (JOHN: Once again, so much for the WB rep telling me no one gave them an opportunity to respond)

On Tuesday, I was ill and unable to take any phone calls or read emails. No one official from Warner Bros phoned or emailed, but several insiders did tell me that the studio had been flooded with calls regarding Robinov and women (JOHN: Clearly true, not only was I calling them, but if CBS is contacting me, you now a lot of other agencies were inquiring about this too). At 7:30 pm that day, a brief article posted online at Variety.com, saying, “Contrary to recent reports in the blogosphere, Warner Bros is still committed to women. Despite the failure of three femme-centered actioners produced by Joel Silver — Jodie Foster starrer The Brave One; The Reaping, with Hilary Swank; and the remake The Invasion, starring Nicole Kidman, Warner production prexy Jeff Robinov insists he is moving forward with several movies with women in the lead. Indeed, he is offended by rumors of his cinematic misogyny.”

Sources inside Warner’s tell me that, 1) Robinov doesn’t believe there’s an actress who can carry a movie worldwide since Julia Roberts, 2) Robinov has now gone so far as admitting to his studio colleagues that the decree I reported was made when he was “in the room”, 2) Robinov is acknowledging that the studio is reassessing the strategy of making action pictures starring women, 3) Robinov was inundated with calls on Monday and Tuesday from media and Hollywood types asking him about my posting, 4) Robinov has three pics currently in production and six in pre-production and not one stars a women as the main lead of the film, and 5) he’s nixed Wonder Woman as a stand-alone film, downgrading her to just one of four superhero characters in the proposed Justice League. Again, I stand by my story. (JOHN: Nikki has removed a statement in her post where she mentioned that a WB rep called and “implored” her not to respond to Robinov’s denial asking her “don’t you want a good relationship with Jeff?”) Why Nikki removed that part I don’t know).

To add to that, I was talking to someone I know at WB this morning (It was like 6am their time) who wouldn’t tell me much, but did say: “You have no idea the shit storm that is going on around here”.

I’ve got a feeling this thing isn’t over by a long shot and before it’s done some heads are going to roll. This was a major PR gaff of Biblical proportions on Robinov’s part

Recently, Will Smith has agreed to star in a new drama directed by Michael Mann, called ‘Empire.’ 

Movieweb gives us this:

While key plot points are being kept under wraps, it is known that the film will be about a wealthy media mogul who plans to control the world. This will be the first time Mann and Smith have worked together since Ali.

This project sounds promising, but I gotta tell you I was NOT a fan of ‘Ali.’ Call me crazy, but the movie in my opinion was dry and boring and I have yet to still watch the entire film.  To be quite honest, the last Michael Mann film I really liked was ‘Collateral.’ (Wasn’t a fan of ‘Miami Vice’ either)

Although if plot points are being kept under wraps then it must be something exciting…right?

The film doesn’t have a start date yet, but it will most likely go into production early 2008 to be the upcoming and inevitable strike.