DVD: Cloverfield

This movie is basically Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla.

Notes--
If you get motion sickness easily, you will probably have to look away from the screen a few times throughout the film.

The larger and louder the movie is when you view it, the better the experience is.

It is easier to enjoy the "horror" of it if you turn off your brain. If you start to ask why this happens or how they did see something, you are going to find too much wrong with the scenario to get into it.

There is a huge Internet viral campaign for Cloverfield, and it is worth it to look into it before AND after seeing the movie.

The DVD is packed full of interesting stuff. its about a 7 out of 10 as far as the extras are concerned.

Verdict: Exciting film. Very unique to the genre of "Giant Monster" movies. Worth seeing at least once, and perhaps more than once if it's you type of thing.

Cloverfield - definitely check out the external links at the bottom of the wiki.

DVD: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

This is a review I have been really trying to avoid writing. I have nothing good to say at all, but if I don't tell you, who will?

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a film with an unreasonably long title. Perhaps you've noticed that already. Anyway, moving on.

The movie stars Jason Statham, an actor with the worst agent in the world, unless of course any of his horrible movies make any money. Now, don't get me wrong, I actually do like him, and his career must be doing well considering his is making a Transporter 3 and Crank 2. Seriously though, are these movies better than Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch? No.

I could go on and on about him, but unfortunately I can't in this blog because so many people were screwed by this film.

So, who else was in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale? Buckle your seat belts:

*Leelee Sobieski- Apparently, trying to come off of that career-high role in Wicker Man.
*John Rhys-Davies- I enjoy him. He was in the Lord of the Rings films, and one of my favorite cheesy sci-fi shows, Sliders. You also may have seen him in every made for TV movie ever made. He also does lots of voice over work for toons and games.
*Ron Perlman- He is other guy that does lots and lots of voice overs. He is mostly known as Hellboy though.
*Matthew Lillard- I don't expect much from him, because he must have the same agent as Statham. He went from Hackers and Scream to Scooby Doo and Without a Paddle.
*Burt Reynolds- I can't say anything directly bad about him. He was born in 1936, been acting since 1959, and still looks like a million bucks.

and the final person worth pointing out is.....

*Ray Liotta- He was in Goodfellas and also Wild Hogs. You be the judge.

Now, you may be saying to your computer screen, "Hey Mr. "I'll Try That!" Blogger, I think that cast sounds great! Why are you bashing them?"
Well, this movie was terrible, but not necessarily at the fault of the actors.

The first thing I will point out, is the horrific musical score. Imagine watching an action movie to a kid's movie soundtrack, and you'll get it. The dialogue was unreal. Not WOW!, more like OW! There is a part where two characters fall from a rope 100 feet into a shallow river, and their lines were: "WwwwwwHhhhOooAaa!" Ugh. The only thing that tops that line, is all of Ray Liotta's. The directing and editing are epic... epic failures.

~~I just want to note that I usually would edit the links so they would open in a new window, however the amount of links in this entry is more than usual, so you're all going to have to either right click to open in a new window, or navigate back and forth. Sorry!~~

(This is the top left picture in "Guess What I Tried!"2)

Pros:
The best thing about this DVD is..... *just picture me spitting on the screen here*

Cons:
It's my vote for the worst movie ever made.
Bad Dialogue.
Bad musical score.
Bad Editing.
BAD BAD BAD!!!

Verdict:
If I ever heard somewhere down the line that they made this movie on a dare, or everyone involved was caught at some big Hollywood coke party and this screenplay was written by the judge that ruled on the cases; letting them go if they agreed to make it... I would totally believe it. The only reason I would tell someone to watch this movie is if they honestly don't believe how bad it is. Just having to think about the movie while writing this has made me feel a little sick.

DVD: Firefly: The Complete Series

Firefly is one of the best, if not the best, most interesting and captivating, science-fiction television series of all time. Yet, it only managed to air 11 episodes before being cancelled. This lead to the production of an excellent movie based on the series called, Serenity.

Firefly is, as I said, a science fiction series but it comes with a twist of old westerns. The series seamlessly combines interplanetary space travel with cowboy antics such as, saloon brawls, gunslingers, smuggling and good ole fashion thievery.

On top of the action, the character dialogue even has a wild west twang to it. Now, on the topic of dialogue, I have problems with shows that put people in insane predicaments and situations and have the characters say "Gosh!", or "Holy heck!". It's not the 4-letter words used by actual people, and it reminds you how not real a TV show is. Well, Firefly has somehow figured out the perfect solution. They blurt out phrases in Chinese. I have no idea what they are saying, but it sounds like "Oh sh*t." to me. Besides that, it is blended so well into the conversations that you really believe this is how they talk.

The acting is superb, and the characters are so well developed that you are instantly brought into their world, caring about their relationships, causes, and general well-being. If you care to know more about the characters, I strongly suggest reading the bios in one of the links above.

This DVD set is four discs, featuring 14 episodes, commentary on some, Behind the scenes featurettes, four deleted scenes, gag reel, and a few other little things. Worth every penny.

Pros:
Fresh scifi TV show, that uses subtle special effects to enhance the stories, not make them.
Movie based on the series (Serenity).
Packed DVD. Even includes the 3 unaired episodes.
Yes, that's the guy who played Steve the Pirate, in Dodgeball.

Cons:
Series has been cancelled for years now.
Not only is it cancelled, but there is only one season of it.

Verdict:
- This is very easy, watch the movie, Serenity. If you like it, you will love Firefly. If you are not 100% won by the film, you could still very easily like the series.
- This is for scifi fans, or even people that like the Robin Hood theme of 'taking from the rich and giving to the poor'.
- It's just so unique and innovative that I can't say for sure who might like it. It is definitely worth your time.

DVD: Beowulf Director's Cut

I recently picked up the Director's Cut of Beowulf on DVD.

First off, I hadn't been totally sure that this film was completely animated. From previews I had seen, I always assumed digital effects were used, as in other epics like 300 or Troy, just not as effectively blended with live action. This distracted me as I started watching but I get to that.

The DVD menu is pretty standard quality for this type of film, showing clips in a designated area while you navigate the options. I always check the setup options first, to make sure the commentary and subtitles are off, and to make sure the sound is set to English. I know the one time I don't do this, the movie will start dubbed in Spanish with French subtitles, so its a habit I am happy to have.

The movie starts, and as I said, its animated. The easiest comparison to make is with the Shrek franchise. This isn't a bad thing, since Shrek is a very well animated series of films.

As opening progresses, it quickly becomes apparent this is not going to be like Shrek. Blood and violence is the forefront of this tale, and I was happy to see it wasn't dulled down. (I don't want to spoil any of the movie so I'll keep out the details.)

The film goes on telling a story that could easily be stretched to the length of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The action scenes are generally smaller than I hoped, and the story progression is kinda jumpy, which leaves you not caring much about some of the vital characters. So when the movie ends, I was looking for more.

Now, I go in search of the deleted scenes. Maybe they will contain the bits of the story I remembered from my 9th grade reading assignments? To be blunt, no. They didn't. The deleted scenes are recorded dialogue played over the very basic polygon renderings of the unfinished characters and scenery. Very disappointing.

Then, I browsed the "Art of Beowulf" and watched the featurettes (one on the making of, and another on designing the creatures). Altogether, they were a adequate at best.

Pros:

The DVD is organized nicely, making it easy to find what you are looking for.

The movie is very well animated.

Nude, but nippleless, animated version of Angelina Jolie.

Cons:

Deleted scenes would have been fine as audio only.

The movie was too short and choppy (Imagine Jaws going from the first attack to the final battle with no indication of what was going on in between).

Nippleless, animated version of a nude Angelina Jolie.

Verdict:

-The average DVD buying person can probably skip this one. Rent it, if you really want to see it.

-DVD aficionados should skip this one too, since a super extended Collectors Edition will probably come out eventually.

-Fans of epics, or Beowulf in general, might want to try renting the 2005 movie Beowulf & Grendel. I haven't seen it, but it's live action, looks much more promising, and Gerard Butler (who starred in 300 the following year) plays Beowulf.