Category: DVD/Video Reviews

Fred Won’t Move Out

MPAA Rated – Not Rated
It’s 1:15 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Fred Won’t Move Out
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Elliott Gould, Judith Roberts, Mfoniso Udofia, Fred Melamed, Stephanie Roth Haberle
MPAA Rated: Not Rated
Released By: Virgil Films
Released On: June 11, 2013
Kiddie Movie: It’s about parents getting old and dying. Put the kids to bed.
Date Movie: Put her to bed, too.
Gratuitous Sex: Nope.
Gratuitous Violence: Nope.
Action: Nope.
Laughs: Some attempts at a “pussy” joke. And, oh yea, the line by my “assistant.”
Memorable Scene: None.
Memorable Quote: From my assistant at the end of the movie: “What, did they run out of money?”
Directed By: Richard Ledes
Cool things abou the DVD: Nothing.

The press release stated “Told with both humor and wistfulness,” and the DVD packaging “With levity and sadness.” These were descriptions for the movie “Fred Won’t Move Out” upon which I sold viewing the movie to my assistant reviewer on a Saturday night. “Sure, Honey,” I said, “It’s probably got some sad and depressing moments, what with the movie being about an older couple, dad Fred struggling to walk and mom Susan having Alzheimer’s, but it’s supposed to have some humor and levity, too.” That and the fact that I told her if the movie was that bad, it was only an hour and fifteen minutes, so it won’t last that long.

And so we watched “Fred Won’t Move Out,” I kept wondering where the levity was, the best humor was a line by my assistant at the end of the movie, “What, did they run out of money?”, and although some rather fine acting by Elliott Gould and Judith Roberts was throughout the film I couldn’t help but be happy the movie was only an hour and fifteen minutes.

“Fred Won’t Move Out,” as somewhat stated earlier,” works to tell the story of a family, brother Bob (Fred Melamed) and sister Carol (Stephanie Roth Haberle), dealing with their elderly parents Fred and Susan. It’s a small snapshot of a few weeks towards the end of the parent’s lives when it’s time for Susan to definitely be put in an assisted living facility as her Alzheimer’s is reaching the advanced stages, Fred really needs more help as his walking ability is fading fast and he is becoming senile, and the work is becoming too much for the live-in caregiver, Victoria (Mfoniso Udofia) to handle. It’s up to Bob and Carol to convince Fred that it’s time to face the reality of getting older, and that although he doesn’t want to leave the house he has lived in for years with Susan, that it’s really for the best, and it’s really time to accept Susan’s condition, as well as his own.

The movie spotlights many of the internal struggles the family is dealing with, as well as Bob trying to deal with his own failings as a filmmaker. There are a lot of mentally tough scenes to deal with as a viewer, especially of Susan showing many of the ravages of Alzheimer’s, and Elliot Gould is fantastic as the elder husband not really understanding what is going on sometimes, especially with his wife, and her inability to function as he remembers. There is one especially touching scene when a second Bob (Robert Miller), a music therapist, comes to sing some songs to bring comfort to Susan, and the family is together, singing songs, and for a few minutes it’s like things are back to normal.

Don’t get me wrong, the acting by Elliott Gould and Judith Roberts is fantastic, and yes, it’s a tough story to try to tell, but truthfully, at least for me, don’t watch this movie for any levity nor humor as the couple of attempts might bring a chuckle or grin, but this is truly a serious look at a brother and sister dealing with their elderly parents.

And then there is the ending.

Yes, the movie is only an hour and fifteen minutes, but as the movie ended, and I won’t ruin it for you, my wife, I mean assistant, blurted out “What, did they run out of money?” Why? Because I’m sure there was some deep-seeded meaning to the ending scene, and maybe I missed part of conversation that took place earlier in the film that would explain it, but with Fred, Bob, Carol, and Victoria out on the back patio of the house, calling out towards the woods, the movie ended. No real closure, no real answer, and no real ending.

“Fred Won’t Move Out” is an indie-style film, filmed in the childhood home of the writer-director Richard Ledes, and the movie really looks like it. There are a lot of shaky camera movements, a lot of “trying to be artsy” camera shots, and a lot of scenes that could do better by a soundstage, but thankfully the acting of Elliott and Judith carry the film otherwise I would have been shooting for a rating of 1/2 star. Instead I’ll give the movie 2 stars out of 5. I suppose it should be 1 ½ star with the ending it gave me, but I’ll stick with the 2 stars. No real humor, no real levity, but if you do want to laugh just think of what my wife said as the credits started, “What, did they run out of money?”

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

23:59

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:18 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

23:59
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Ted Chan, Stella Chung, Philip Hersh, Henley Hill, Susan Leong
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Released On: June 4, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Nope, it’s horror-ish.
Date Movie: Only if she wants to be bored for an hour, and then finally creeped out.
Gratuitous Sex: Nope, it’s not your American horror film.
Gratuitous Violence: Some gross scenes mostly, and leftover people hanging.
Action: It tries to be creepy.
Laughs: The fight scene between the recruits.
Memorable Scene: I did like when we finally see the deformed child.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stands out.
Directed By: Gilbert Chan
Cool Things About the DVD: Nothing special but it does have a “Making of” featurette.

Sometimes I should read an entire press release before getting a movie to review, and at first when I started watching “23:59” I thought I would be frustrated because the movie started with subtitles while the folks on the screen were speaking in Mandarin, and I was not in the mood to “read” a movie. Then, I read the release and low and behold, “23:59” features an English dub, along with original Mandarin, English, and Spanish subtitles.” Sweet, watching a movie just like the old “Godzilla” films! A setting change here, and I was set for some creepy, horror, goodness.

Or so I thought.

Let’s start with the basics of the movie…

“23:59” says it’s based on a true story, and maybe some of the aspects of it are true, but really it’s based upon any story of people at any camp, whether it be a camp for kids, a day camp sleepover, camping in the wilderness, or in this case, a group of army recruits at military camp on a “haunted” island. Why based on any story at camp, do I say? Because every camp has a creepy story, a legend if you will, that is intended to scare the campers to be wary of falling asleep and wonder if that bump you hear in the night is the ghost of the creepy lady who wants to kill you.

This movie, however, expands on the story aspect and makes the legend true, with the legend based around a deformed child, a demented old woman, and a recruit being found dead at, yup, 23:59 (that’s one minute before midnight for you non-military time people). Then weirder things start happening like possessed recruits, creepy noises, mysterious scratches, and seeming scariness, only it isn’t really that scary as the acting is pretty lousy and ruins a lot of the horror aspect (I reference a scene with some of the worst “fighting” between recruits, and sure, some of the anger may have been lost in the English translation, but the swings being thrown were closer to a cat-fight between girls rather than military dudes trying to beat the crap out of each other).

As the movie plods along you get the proverbial scene of the military officers knowing what might be going on, then the non-proverbial scene of calling in a medium to find out if the dead are possessing the living, the recruits going on a hike during the middle of the night even though the officers know this might not be a good idea, what with creepy woman being around, and a recruit whose father used to “talk” to the dead.

So, yea, what I’m saying is that as I’m watching the movie I’m pretty bored, actually chuckle at times, and was all set to give the movie one, maybe one and half stars, for being a pretty bad horror movie.

Then, finally, the story came together, and uber-creepiness, actually sending some chills up my spine, came around when we finally were introduced to the deformed child, and some enhanced demented old woman goodness. I don’t know why I was actually creeped out, but it would have helped, I suppose, by focusing the movie a little more on the deformed child story, rather than the generic, “horror” things happening at camp aspect.

The movie was a lot of set-up and bad horror flicking until the climactic scene, which for me is the only thing that saved it, so as hard as it might be to stick with the first hour of the movie, stick around for the last 18 minutes (Yup, it’s only 78 minutes long), and you might find the creepiness you were hoping for. With that, I’ll add one star to my original thought of a rating and give “23:59” 2 ½ stars out of 5. Laugh at the bad acting, and maybe get some spine-tingly goodness at the end.

On the DVD there is a “Making Of” feature that is okay, and is a nice look at how the movie came together, but in the end it just goes along with the rest of my thought of the movie missing out on the main aspect of the film – the creepy woman and the deformed kid.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Just Like Being There

MPAA Rated – Not Rated
It’s 1:23 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Just Like Being There
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Daniel Danger, Jay Ryan, Kevin Tong
MPAA Rated: Not Rated
Released By: Virgil Films
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Only if they want to learn a little something about art and concert posters. There’s also some bad words better left for when they’re older or on the playground with their friends.
Date Movie: Ditto.
Gratuitous Sex: Um, no.
Gratuitous Violence: Um, no.
Action: Um, no.
Laughs: Some of the people are kind of quirky.
Memorable Scene: I was fascinated at the look at the artists who still did nearly all of their work by hand.
Memorable Quote: “I tried to paint and I’m shit at it”“The history books will tell what happened, but the art will tell them how we felt about it.”
Directed By: Scout Shannon
Cool things about the DVD: Actually some of the deleted scenes were interesting, and the expanded band interviews were pretty cool.

And here I always thought they were some kind of ground, marketing campaign by a record company to advertise a show, and in my head a weird type of marketing campaign only to be seen by a select few who might be driving near a concert venue. I’m talking about concert posters, or “gig” posters as they are sometimes called, and they are those posters, usually with some giant text and cool artwork, that if you live in the small city have probably only seen in the movies, but if you live in any larger city, near a concert venue, will see them used almost like wallpaper along a wall, usually plastered on construction barriers and such, whenever a “cooler” kind of band comes to town. Little did I know that most of the time those posters are made by local artists, saluting bands they love or bands that inspire them, and the documentary “Just Like Being There” well, documents those people’s stories.

Little else did I know that most of these artists mostly do this for love, but a lot of them do it for love and money, as the gig poster world has become a haven for collectibles at times, with some works commanding thousands of dollars.

Who knew?

“Just Like Being There” gives a fascinating look at the world of the gig poster and follows a variety of poster artists, with names most people won’t know like Daniel Danger and Jay Ryan. The documentary follows them through their days, through their creative process, and in the span of the 83 minutes of the film, I learned more about screen-printing than I’ve ever known. We see what inspires the artists, we see how some of them are old-school about their craft still doing a lot of the work by hand, while others have entered the digital age, and there is also the interaction with the bands, many of whom don’t really know what artwork is awaiting them until their arrival in a city, which at times is almost a “Welcome” mat for the band.

We also learn that many of these artists are kind of quirky, with personalities nearly as interesting as the artwork they create, there is a look at the collectability of many of the artists with gallery shows highlighting the much varied artwork that goes into the poster world, and how, many times, there is so much more involved rather than just a colorful poster with some big lettering. There is a passion in many of the artists, and a nice development of how their work does a great job at trying to tell a complete story of a band, of a time in history, all on one poster.

The documentary also includes a lot of cool music, with bands like Archers of Loaf, Spoon, Nada Surf, and Tokyo Police Club highlighted, and the interviews with the bands are sometimes just as interesting as the spotlight of the artists.

As a music lover, and a person who has sometimes wondered who was actually putting up “gig” posters, I was pleasantly surprised at the work put into “Just Like Being There.” It’s a complete documentary, giving a great, inside look at the art world of the poster and their place in the music industry, a wonderful view of those who have become household “gig” poster names, and a love for those who are really in the world with a passion for something they love.

It’s 4 stars out of 5 for “Just Like Being There,” and if you have ever wondered where those concert posters come from, this documentary has many of the answers and will give you a greater appreciated for the work, and quirkiness, that goes into their creation.

As far as the DVD, it pretty much is what it is, but there are some extras including some deleted scenes, a greater look at the work of Daniel Danger, and more clips of band interviews that are always fun to watch. The DVD really is a solid, and seeming complete look, at the world of concert poster art.

Dark Skies

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:37 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Dark Skies
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kaden Rockett, J.K. Simmons
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Anchor Bay Entertainment & Dimension Films
Blu-ray Release Date: May 28, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Only if you want them to have creepy nightmares about aliens.
Date Movie: She might get scared and snuggly, or give you someone to hold.
Gratuitous Sex: There’s a boob grab and some getting it on, but actually I found it unnecessary.
Gratuitous Violence: Just some fighting, but oddly enough the alien anal probing wasn’t really needed.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: Nope.
Memorable Scene: The end goal of the aliens was a nice twist.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stood out.
Directed By: Scott Stewart
Cool Things about the Blu-ray: Nothing much. Standard commentary and deleted scenes, but the alternate ending was a interesting.

As I was getting ready to watch the Blu-ray of “Dark Skies,” I don’t know why but I quickly checked what it was rated. I assumed it would be rated R, it being a scary kind of movie, but alas there it was, the PG-13 rating. Sadly I was instantly disappointed as this meant no quality kills, no gratuitous nudity, not much swearing, and I sunk in my seat for what I figured would be a movie that I might find okay, but would feel it lost a thing or two by not going that extra, rated R step. By the end of the movie, however, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie actually didn’t need that extra adultness, in fact the one thing that seemed oddly out of place for me was Jesse (Dakota Goyo), and his friend, watching some teacher porn (don’t worry, they don’t show much), and then Jesse’s later boob grabbing. Maybe I am getting old, but it seemed contrived and an unnecessary “grab a boob for PG-13 boob’s sake.”

Okay, enough movie ratings analysis, let’s get to the film…

“Dark Skies” gives us a nice suburban family led by Laci (Keri Russell in a role of “How did she end up in this movie, but oddly enough it actually works for this film?”) and Daniel (Josh Hamilton also in a role of “How did he end up in this movie, but oddly enough it actually works for this film?”). They are having money problems with Daniel out of work and Laci struggling selling real estate. They have two boys, the aforementioned Jesse and Sam (Kaden Rockett), the youngest. Things seem pretty normal for the family except for a rash behind Daniel’s ear and Sam having an imaginary friend, but then strange things start happening around the house. There is a mystical stacking of goods, a night when all of the pictures disappear from their frames, and an alarm system that doesn’t seem to work when needed and goes off for no apparent reason. Now I do have to say that as strange things seemed afoot in the Barratt household all I could think about was the Eddie Murphy stand-up skit about haunted houses and families staying in house with unexplained happenings, and some parallels with “Poltergeist” happening, but then the movie started taking odder and odder twists. Weird symbols started showing up on the kid’s bodies, all of the family members started having their own episodes, and in doing some Internet searching Laci discovers that their family might have visitors in the house, namely the alien kind. Yup, it’s creepy, weird, and right up my alley, and a movie that was doing it right by not actually going all of the way with alien ray-guns and spaceships.

So what is a family to do? Well, they search out a trusty, old soul, namely Edwin (J.K. Simmons), who seems to know a thing or two about alien invasions and abductions, and warns the family about what is coming. The family hunkers down to save themselves, only to find they, well, I’ll leave that alone for the ending.

And so, “Dark Skies” gives us a movie that is part “Poltergeist,” part “Signs,” and all kinds of creepy. It does a great job at keeping the suspense, the talent of Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton are needed for the roles of showing a family that is starting to fall apart due to money problems, yet their love is still holding them together. Heck, even without the alien abduction creepiness, Keri and Josh portrayed a movie that could have stood out on its own as a family in turmoil kind of film. Like I mentioned before, however, and I understand the need for showing Jesse’s insecurity in growing up in the movie, but the teacher porn and boob grab really seemed like a lazy and gratuitous way of doing it. Yes, I know teenage boys look at porn, but it just seemed cheesy.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by “Dark Skies” with all of its alien creepiness and the fact that they actually didn’t take the movie to the R-rated level. The movie-folks kept the aliens mysterious, even to the end, and kept the focus of the movie on the family which is what I think helped it not end up just being a dorky, alien abduction film.

Good acting, a nice look at a family with growing pains, and alien creepiness to boot. It’s 4 stars out of 5 for “Dark Skies” from me, and if I ever get a rash behind my ear I’m going to question things a little more.

In regards to the extras on the Blu-ray, there isn’t that much, mostly just the standard commentary track and some deleted scenes that were fine being deleted. The alternate ending was a nice touch, though, and seeing how things progress to how they eventually ended the film.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams

MPAA Rated – Unrated
It’s 1:42 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Stevie Nicks, Dave Stewart, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Reese Witherspoon
MPAA Rated: Unrated
Released By: Virgil Films
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Only if they are a super-serious musician and wonder how a song gets made.
Date Movie: If she’s a Stevie Nicks’ fan.
Gratuitous Sex: Um, no.
Gratuitous Violence: Um, no.
Action: Um, no.
Laughs: There’s a couple of chuckles.
Memorable Scene: I really liked the video from Italy.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stands out.
Directed By: Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart
Produced By: Paul Boyd, Dave Stewart

Back in 2011 Stevie Nicks released an album called “In Your Dreams.” I guess I should have been paying a little more attention to Ms. Nicks because, with the online release of the documentary “Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams” available exclusively on iTunes, I was introduced to a batch of music that was awesome to listen to, and now that I know a lot more about the history of all of the songs, a lot more meaningful.

In any case, it seems that when Stevie Nicks was making “In Your Dreams” in collaboration with Dave Stewart, yes, that Dave Stewart also known by most people as “That guy in the Eurythmics,” they decided to film a documentary about the creation of the record, as Dave Stewart is also an established documentarian. It was Stevie’s first studio album in about ten years, and it’s obvious from the onset that Dave and Stevie have great chemistry in putting music together, but the addition of the movie footage adds to an insight into the creative process of both of them, and the fun that can be had in putting an album together.

The film pretty much goes through the tracks on the album with a little storytelling of how the songs came to be, mostly through Stevie’s poetry writing and the growth of those poems into music, and the inspiration of many of the songs as they came to her. Along the way there is reflective insight into her past with Fleetwood Mac, some looks at Dave Stewart looking back a bit on his history in Eurythmics, and we also get a glimpse into the personalities in Stevie’s life as various other folks fill the world of song creating, namely the likes of Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham, producer Glen Ballard, and Reese Witherspoon who offers Stevie and Dave a place to stay.

“Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams” doesn’t seem to try to do anything out of the ordinary other than tell the simple tale of how Stevie makes a record, and for that it achieves exactly what it is shooting for. If you are a Stevie Nicks fan I would say that this is a definite must watch, and for anyone curious how songs transition from a blurb on a piece of paper to finished product, the film is a case study in music creation and the various driving forces in crafting a finished song. There is a touching look at Stevie’s visit to injured Veterans, her look at the destruction in New Orleans, and just a lot of Stevie Nicks returning to classic Stevie Nicks mode that her fans know and love.

For doing exactly what this documentary is trying to accomplish, and doing it in a way that is entertaining and will keep a casual fan interested throughout, I’m giving “Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams” 4 stars out of 5. A must for the uber Stevie fan, and a nice watch for anyone who loves songwriting.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Pawn

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:28 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Pawn
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, Sean Faris, Michael Chiklis, Common
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released On: April 23, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Send them to bed.
Date Movie: It’s suspenseful and sometimes violent. She might snuggle.
Gratuitous Sex: Not really.
Gratuitous Violence: Some pretty good quality kills.
Action: It’s pretty much all set in the diner. No major chase scenes here.
Laughs: Nah.
Memorable Scene: You could tell amiss was everywhere when Will went to the bathroom.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stood out.
Directed By: David Armstrong
Cool Things about the Blu-ray: Nothing really – just a “behind the scenes” featurette.

I really wanted to like “Pawn” a lot more than I did, I mean it had Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Michael Chiklis, and even Common did a good job in his role, but sometimes a movie goes for too many twists and turns, and I think this is where “Pawn” kind of loses it a bit.

First, let’s get to the story…

We get a dude being interrogated in a hospital bed, and we get a scene with Will (Whitaker) entering a diner. Will is also a police office. It’s obvious something is amiss in the diner as Will seems like a regular, and Charlie (Stephen Lang) behind the bar sends off signals that there is a robbery in progress. As the movie would have it things are really amiss in this diner, people are not who they seem, and we are supposed to be led on an hour and a half suspense ride of “who really are the bad guys,” but instead we have Nick (Sean Faris), fresh out of jail, and being set up as the real bad guy, the pawn as it would be, and we are supposed to wonder if Common will be able to figure out that Nick isn’t bad, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is he really the bad guy?

I’m not going to go too much more into this movie so as not to spoil it should you rent or buy it, but I will say that I find it odd that the mob ends up looking like a complete bunch of boobs in this movie, and although sometimes they get portrayed that way, I’m thinking Ray Liotta’s character, simply credited as “Man in a Suit,” would never be a part of the mistake going on there.

The acting is good, I was surprised to find as many big names in the movie as there are, but I think the movie would have been better served with one less twist or turn, and just let the movie play out where the cops thought Nick was the bad guy, and go from there.

A decent enough thriller, some quality kills, but a story that tries too hard leaves “Pawn” as a 3 star out of 5 from me. A lot of potential lost in a lot of muck.

In terms of the extras on the Blu-ray, well, you aren’t getting this one for the extras because there is just a basic, behind-the-scenes kind of featurette where pretty much we get young actors saying how awesome it was, yet slightly intimidating, to work alongside some legends.  Good enough.

That’s it for this one! I’m the Dude on the Right! L8R!!!

Lincoln

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 2:30 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Lincoln
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Dreamworks Studios
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Kiddie Movie: A lot of talking. Probably boring for most kids.
Date Movie: More if she likes politics.
Gratuitous Sex: Nah.
Gratuitous Violence: There is some war violence.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: Abraham Lincoln has some great stories.
Memorable Scene: The scene in the theater when Lincoln gets shot.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stands out.
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Cool things on the Blu-ray: One of the better feature packages with the “Making of,” a nice look at the authenticity, and all of them about the right length without dragging out the uselessness.

First, an admission. When I heard there was going to be a movie called “Lincoln,” I have to admit that I thought it was going to be a biopic, kind of giving us a look into the entire life of Abraham Lincoln. I also admit that I didn’t pay too much attention to the movie, or press, when it was in the theaters, other than hearing it was a really good film, and that Daniel Day-Lewis was incredible in it. Then I watched the Blu-ray, and I finally understand what all of the hubbub was about.

Let’s get to the film.

Now, my first assumption about the movie was wrong – “Lincoln” is not a biopic, but rather a snapshot of a period of Abraham Lincoln’s life, concentrating on the end of his life, and his determination to get the 13th Amendment passed before the end of the Civil War would occur. This was important due to the reasoning for the war and the Emancipation Proclamation, and Lincoln’s fear that should the war end, any slaves that were free might have to go back to being slaves. It’s also not so much about Lincoln, but rather about the politics at the time, with the President being the focal point. Sure, there is some insight into his life, his relationship with Mary Todd (Sally Field), and his two sons, Tad (Gulliver McGrath) and Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), but if you are a fan of political theater, this movie portrays it in all of its grandeur and bickering.

Yes, there is infighting and distrust among Lincoln’s cabinet; Yes, there is a real look at how blacks were pictured in the world at the time; Yes, politics hasn’t changed much in all of these years. And yes, “Lincoln” is a great film, with some of the best performances by all actors, and the brilliant thing Steven Spielberg did with the movie was keep the movie buttoned to the end period in Lincoln’s life so that the movie could stay focused and not lead the viewer in a variety of directions throughout Lincoln’s life that might confuse the end result.

The other brilliant thing – The scene in the theater when Lincoln gets shot. I’ll leave it at that.

If you are looking for an action-packed Civil War movie, this isn’t it, but if you are looking for acting at its finest (Tommy Lee Jones was also incredible), a sad look that politics hasn’t changed in all of this time, and a movie that deserves its accolades, “Lincoln” is it. I will warn you, however, that it is a movie about two and half hours long and there is a lot of talking, so just sit back and enjoy the goodness. It’s 4 ½ stars out of 5.

For a rental or purchase, if you are a fan of the movie, as I was, there is a good chance you will actually get sucked into the extras as part of the Blu-ray, especially on the combo pack. The extra features are nicely done, concise, and cover most everything you would want from how Steven Spielberg came about to making the movie, a well-done but not too technical look at how they kept things authentic, and as a fan of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, it was also a nice, little insight into the mastery of John Williams.

Of many of the Blu-ray packages I have seen, “Lincoln” is one of the best mostly because it doesn’t bog things down with deleted scenes that were best deleted, bad “outtakes” we don’t care about, or filler. A great film, well done extras, and oh hell, I’ll add the half a star and give the Blu-ray combo pack 5 stars out of 5.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

John Dies at the End

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:39 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

John Dies at the End
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, Paul Giamatti
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Released On: April 2, 2013
Kiddie Movie: Oh no, put them to bed.
Date Movie: If she is a fan of the b-movie genre.
Gratuitous Sex: Just a lot of boobs.
Gratuitous Violence: Over-the-top and gratuitous.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: In the over-the-top gore/goofiness kind of way.
Memorable Scene: The monster made out of meat products.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stood out.
Directed By: Don Coscarelli
Cool things on the DVD: Nothing stands out but the “Creature Corps” feature is a nice look at making creepy creatures.

“John Dies at the End.” Now, please stop it with the “You should have said, ‘Spoiler alert,’” because that’s the title of the movie, and not my synopsis. The movie could also easily be called “John and Dave Save the World,” which I guess is also a spoiler, but before any more direct spoiling or synopsising, let’s get to the story.

Okay, this is going to be goofy. We are introduced to Dave (Chase Williamson), discussing an axe and the death, or seeming death, of a strange being. An interesting take if one version of the axe that chopped of the head of said being is the same axe after it has been rebuilt over time. Re-enter Dave, now talking with Arnie (Paul Giamatti) in a Chinese restaurant, trying to tell Arnie his story so that Arnie may tell the world, and the story of the “soy sauce.”  It seems the world is being attacked by beings from an alternate universe, and somehow John and Dave take it upon themselves to save us all. In the meantime, there is this “soy sauce” that gives people strange powers and offers lots of hallucinations, and also gives a glimpse of the strangeness of the invasion. In the meantime, during Dave’s storytelling, we find his story of his buddy John, his meeting up with a monster made out of meat parts, his finding a dog that helps, well, helps them a lot, and also how there are these bugs that try to infest humans on the way to domination. We also find a hot dog that works like a cell phone, a girl with no hand who can open a “ghost” door, a magician who can help kill the invaders, and an alternate universe where girls walk around without tops so as not to scare John and Dave.

Does that sound a little confusing? Well, I will admit that “John Dies at the End” is a tad confusing, what with not really knowing if parts of the story are bits and pieces of hallucinations or actually happening in the real world, but through it all it is totally entertaining, in a B-Horror, B-Comedy, B-I would totally watch on late night cable, B-movie kind of way.

There is goofiness, there is lots of over-the-goofiness gore, there are some creative goofy monsters, and although at times confusing, it is confusing fun. The acting isn’t anything to write home about, well, except for the always-awesome Paul Giamatti, but I don’t think this is a movie made for Oscar-style performances. Instead it does exactly what you want it to do, if you are a fan of the B-movie kind of film – entertain.

All movies aren’t supposed to be spectacles, some just entertain, and “John Dies at the End” entertained me. It may not be your cup of tea, I admit, but it was mine and I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Extra-wise the Blu-ray doesn’t have that much except some nice interviews and some normal “Making of” stuff, at least on the entertaining side. I didn’t care for the deleted scenes, but so be it.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Enchanted

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:47 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Enchanted
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Dempsey
MPAA Rated: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: 2007
Kiddie Movie: Maybe not 9 year old boys, but definitely the girls.
Date Movie: Even if you don’t have kids it’s a fun movie. Not too long and with a happy ending.
Gratuitous Sex: It’s from Disney. What do you think?
Gratuitous Violence: In a cartoonish kind of way.
Action: There’s some suspense more than action.
Laughs: Lots of them!
Memorable Scene: I liked when Giselle became “big citied” when she order the hot dogs with Prince Edward.
Memorable Quote: Nothing stood out.
Directed By: Kevin Lima

DVD Review:
When the movie “Enchanted” made its way to movie theaters I sort of balked at seeing it, as, well, I’m a 40 year old dude with no kids. Then I started hearing reports of how good it was, for both kids and adults, and then I did want to see it. But then as my Thanksgiving weekend kind of got turned upside down, I didn’t see any movies, but during our “Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, Stu Gotz mentioned that he really enjoyed seeing the flick. As such I added to my Netflix queue, and you know what, the movie was fantastic.

The story goes as the trailer shows – Giselle (Amy Adams) is a Princess in the animated world, and she is set to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden). The evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), working to put the kibosh on the upcoming nuptials, dispatches Giselle to our real world in New York City. But Prince Edward is in love so he transports himself to New York City as well, and suddenly you have two lovable people from a Disney animated movie trying to survive life in the big city. The thing is that all is not simple for Prince Edward, as in the time period between Giselle and the good Prince’s arrival, Giselle has met single dad, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), and his adorable daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey). Now sort of indoctrinated into our world, and able to round up what would be the grossest of critters to us, namely roaches and rats and pigeons, to clean Robert’s apartment, when Prince Edward does arrive Giselle begins to think some things might have to change because now she’s looking for a life after her “happily ever after” happens.

Yes, of course, you can see that Robert will fall in love with Giselle (and who wouldn’t?), there’s a foreshadowing that the good Prince might not actually end up with Giselle, and to bring the movie full circle, Queen Narissa shows up to finally put an end to Giselle, and in Disney fashion, she fails.

The movie is fascinating as Disney takes the rules of the Princess story in the animated world and translates them to the grit and grime of New York City, but what totally brings this movie into a fantastic realm is that Amy Adams is able to pull off playing an animated Princess in real life, and she deserves even more accolades than she received for her role.

If you’ve got kids you’ve probably already seen “Enchanted” in the theater, or via DVD, or probably both, but if you haven’t, I will say this is not one of those children’s movie with nothing for the adults, in fact it is just the opposite, and might even melt the hearts of the dudes who only like movies where a lot of stuff blows up. With that I’m giving “Enchanted” 5 stars out of 5.

As far as the DVD I was disappointed in the blooper reel, because those clips are usually my favorite, and once again we see why deleted scenes make their way to the deleted scenes extra. What was fascinating, at least for me, were the “making of” portions of the bonus material, especially how they filmed the cleaning of the apartment scene. The thing I didn’t need on the DVD bonus features was the section telling me that I suck because I don’t have a Blu-ray DVD player yet, as the Blu-ray version has a few more extras.

A super-solid rental if you’re just looking for a nice movie to snuggle with your honey on the couch, and if you’ve got kids, especially little girls who love Disney movies, you’ll probably have to buy it.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Eagle Eye

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:57 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Eagle Eye
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Chiklis, Billy Bob Thornton
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: 2008
Kiddie Movie: It might make them never use their cell phone again.
Date Movie: She might cuddle with you for comfort or just roll her eyes.
Gratuitous Sex: Nah.
Gratuitous Violence: There’s a lot of people who die, but you don’t see it.
Action: There’s a lot of people who die, but you don’t see it.
Laughs: Only for the absurdity of some of the scenes.
Memorable Scene: Who knew Morse Code could save the world.
Memorable Quote: “We’re already in mid-shitstorm.”
Directed By: D.J. Caruso

While watching “Eagle Eye” I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a day, a few years ago, when a group of friends were getting liquored up, watching a bunch of movies, namely “I, Robot,” “War Games,” “The Italian Job,” and maybe even “Enemy of the State,” and said to each other, in an altered state, “Dudes, we could make a movie combining all of these,” and then, you know what, they did. I would toss in “Live Free or Die Hard,” only I believe that movie was probably already in development by the time “Eagle Eye” was being drafted, but hey, you can’t say that the “Eagle Eye” tunnel scene isn’t reminiscent of the “Live Free or Die Hard” tunnel scene, just substitute a helicopter for a military drone aircraft?

Okay, maybe the premise for the story of “Eagle Eye” wasn’t developed in my fictional universe, but it does takes a lot of premises from a bunch of different movies, with the end result that computers really only do what they are programmed to do. “I, Robot” had the three rules for robots; “Eagle Eye” has the Preamble and Constitution. In the end computers just want to be our friends, and look out for us.

In terms of story, for this one you get Jerry (Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel (Michelle Monaghan). They are ordinary people, in fairly ordinary lives, and then, somehow, their lives become intertwined by the voice of a woman who seems to need them to carry out some dastardly deed. The voice dictates to Jerry instructions that get him in a jam with the FBI and then helps him escape from the FBI, while the voice also turns Rachel into a distraught mother with the fear of her son being killed, thus dictating her actions. And as the movie goes along, Jerry and Rachel can’t seem to figure out how this voice seems to be able to control just about every technological part of their lives, from subway trains to street lights, from junkyard robots to power grids, and in the middle of it all, we start to see a plot developing, which we must suppose is some dastardly terrorist plot, but, ahh, other things are at work here.

And you know what, I’m not going to directly give away what is directly at work here, although I sort of already hinted at it, only to say that most every aspect of this movie is unbelievable in our world, yet somehow believable if the “ringleader” of this story turns out to be who she is.

So, here we go. If you want to totally escape reality, “Eagle Eye” should take you there, or maybe freak you out as to what might be possible in a few years. The weird thing is that I kind of liked it, in the same way I liked the movie “I, Robot,” and loved Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) as the FBI guy who is flustered by technology. There are a lot of things blowing up, you might wonder if someone can really change stoplights at will, who knew that the baggage handling of an area could be so much fun if you aren’t being shot at, and if you live near some electric towers, you might think about moving.

As a Chicago person, in a little aside for this review, in the theater I was unsure if I saw it, but thanks to the DVD and slow-motion, at the beginning of the movie there is a helicopter shot of the Chicago El, St. James Catholic Church in Chicago (where I used to go to mass sometimes when I was in college), and Keating Hall, the “sports center” where I used to do a killer can-opener of the high-dive board in the pool at Illinois Institute of Technology, where, yes, I went to college, and also where all of this reviewing stuff began for me. I know it’s dorky, but for me it’s always cool to see things I am totally familiar with in a movie.

Anyway, “Eagle Eye” is an action-filled movie with tons of seemingly implausible scenarios, but get the DVD realizing this and you should have a good time on your couch, and sure, you might laugh when some things happen, but hey, that’s what movies are sometimes about. And as hard as this might be hard to believe, I was almost ready to give this movie a 4 star rating, until, in Hollywood fashion, the poignant ending I envisioned was changed into a feel-good ending, so I’m dropping it ½ star to 3 ½ stars out of 5 because someone else in this movie should be dead. With that, I was hoping, when watching the DVD, that the alternate ending it contained would be the one I was hoping for, but all it really did was sort of set up a sequel. Blah.

And speaking of the DVD, for the movie-geek crowd, the 2-disc version does have quite a few extras that are interesting if you love seeing how movies are made, especially mixing in seeing behind-the-scene things on location, a nicely detailed “Making of…” features, and a feature with the Director of Eagle Eye, D.J. Caruso, having a discussion with John Badham, the director of “War Games,” with how the movies are similar, yet different. I always love a fun gag-reel and the 2-disc version has it, and as usual, we can see (and be happy) that some scenes were deleted. You also get commentary stuff, if you want it, more scary stuff about your cell phone, and I’m just sad they didn’t have an “On Location…” for Chicago. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to like looking at my old church from above.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!