One challenge I anticipated with High Anxiety is that certain subjects like murder and suspense do not work well in comedy (like in Have you Heard About the Morgans).  Truly, the only way to make a thriller work with humour is to go way, way, way over the top, much like in the Police Squad series of movies.

However, my pleasant surprise at the quality of To Be Or Not To Be left me with some anticipation that this movie may also surprise me with its wit and charm.

Film

To catch the Hitchcock references, I watched the film with the trivia track on.  And early in the move, it is stated that Mr. Brooks wanted this movie to appeal to all viewers, not just those who were fans of Mr. Hitchcock.  Although this is a noble sentiment, I found the material to be quite uneven; hilarious at times, boring at times, and likely way more interesting if you are a Hitchcock-phile.

The premise of the movie is that Nobel-prize winning psychiatrist Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (played by Mel Brooks) has been recruited to run the “The Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous” in Los Angeles.  As we discover early in the film, the previous head psychiatrist passed away under very suspicious cicumstances, apparently related to “big changes” he wanted to make. 

Upon arrival at the Institute, we meet Dr. Montague (played extremely well by Harvey Korman), and the intimidating Nurse Diesel (played well by Cloris Leachman), with both appearing to be up to no good.  Dr. Thorndyke and Dr. Wentworth (Dick Van Patten) represent a threat to what they are doing at the hospital, leading us into the main action of the movie. 

Other characters who appear are Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn) who feels her father is being held against his will at the institute, and Professor Lilloman, a past teacher of Dr. Thorndyke’s.  Ron Carey does a turn as Brophy. Dr. Thorndyke’s chauffer, sidekick, and comedy relief.

As mentioned above, the humor in this film was quite uneven.  Some scenes, like one in the limousine when Dr. Thorndyke arrives is hilarious.  I also laughed so hard my stomach hurt when Drs. Montague and Thorndyke were visiting with a patient that appeared to have been cured of his neck pains and dreams of werewolves. 

However, much of Mel Brooks’ own material fell flat, and I found his line reading to be almost mechanical; this is his worst performance I have seen as an actor.  And although Nurse Diesel was to be played as comic relief, Ms. Leachman does too good a job with her weirdness, making her less funny and more creepy than a comedy would support.  In the featurette included on the Blu-ray, Rudy DeLuca (co-writer and the killer “Braces” in the film) states that Mel’s Sinatra-esque performance of “High Anxiety” was the high point of the movie for many.  For me, this was a low-point, and served as a good divider between the funny set-ups in the first half of the film, and the less funny suspense-tinged latter half of the film.

Harvey Korman’s performance as Dr. Montague deserves plaudits.  In many scenes, he provides the comic relief for the film, and his chemistry with Cloris Leachman is phenomenal.  Korman’s gift for physical comedy makes some average scenes much funnier than they deserved to be.

As a spoof on Hitchcock, the movie was good, with attention to detail in framing shots, shoot locations, and background music.  Unfortunately, to simply spoof others is no way to make a quality movie (see any of the [insert genre here] Movie series), and I believe this adds to the somewhat disjointed feel of the film.  That the suspense did not feel real, and the movie was conflicted between being a comedy and a thriller in its latter half made this movie less entertaining than it could have been.

Video

There has been a real appeal to the visuals in this box set of movies, and High Anxiety meets this high standard.  Appropriately grainy, with a true 70’s look and feel, this movie was watchable, pleasing, and authentic.

Although the picture could be a little soft at times, it was still an excellent presentation, and much better than one normally sees in a 33 year-old movie.  Again, the wizards at Fox have done an excellent job cleaning up a print while retaining its authenticity. 

Audio

In these older films, we expect a lack of dynamic range, a strong front-loading, little LFE information, and muffled dialog.  No surprise, this description fits High Anxiety perfectly.

Surprisingly so, this move seemed even poorer than other movies from this box set.  I cannot recall hearing any use of the surround channels, nor do I remember any rumbles from the LFE channel.  Worst of all, even the score suffers in this presentation, with a shrillness and forwardness in the high midrange that made it very unpleasant.  Generally a poor presentation, and worse that of the similar era Silent Movie.

Special Features

Unlike Silent Movie and To Be or Not to Be, High Anxiety did receive a solo Blu-ray release.  Surprisingly, we find a small feature set on this disc, similar to those released as collection-only releases.  Included are a trivia pop-up track (good for highlighting the Hitchcock parallels), an isolated score track, a medium-length HD featurette on Brooks and Hitchcock, an interactive “anxiety test” to do while the movie is playing, plus trailers for this film and other Mel Brooks films.

Although the main HD featurette is entertaining, I found Mr. Brooks to be less charming in this one than in those included on other discs.  However, it does contain some great shots from classic Hitchcock movies, as well as good anecdotes for a number of actors regarding the production.  The rest is fairly pedestrian fare.

Final Thoughts

I cannot describe myself as a Hitchcock fan; although I enjoyed his movies, they are not something I go out of my way to watch.  This shouldn’t have been an issue for this film, as Mr. Brooks wanted High Anxiety to be enjoyed by non-Hitchcock fans as well.

Unfortunately, despite a very nice video presentation, High Anxiety was simply not consistently funny enough.  Combined with substandard audio and a small batch of special features, this movie deserves only a rent, as the funny scenes (which are really good) will likely not stand up under repeated watchings.  I imagine that a student of Hitchcock would enjoy this film much, much more than the layperson.

Film 

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans has a rather interesting subject matter, namely a rogue New Orleans Lieutenant Terence McDonagh (Nicholas Cage) who has a drug and gambling addiction. While he is able to perform his function as a lieutenant quite well assigned to the homicide beat, he spends just as much time stealing drugs from suspects as he does solving the crimes. He knows what the right thing is to do and at times, does it but far too often throws caution to the wind, risking his life and those of her loved ones and cohorts and at times, is a truly despicable character to be sure.

Nicholas Cage turns in a fine performance and plays Terence with an edge and a sense of utter despair and desperation looking at every arrest, search and investigation as an opportunity to score or steal some drugs, with cocaine his drug of choice. He even goes so far as corrupting other cops by asking them to steal drugs from the evidence locker to keep him going in exchange for some sort of favor.

My problem with the film is the overall pacing of the narrative. It is just too slow and tedious. As I sat there viewing the film, I kept hoping that it would move quicker, looking at my watch and wondering when the film would pick up. The action is just too slow and plodding. With a tighter script and better pacing, we really would have had a fine film here.. While I can recommend the film, I can do so only on the basis of a rental.

Video 

Overall, I was quite happy with the video presentation on this release. I was not able to detect any encoding issues such as the application of digital noise reduction or edge enhancement or any issues wit the condition of the print itself. While I didn’t see this release in the theater so I have no point of reference to compare the encode to, it would appear that the encode here is faithful to the original print.

The film features a color palette that can change a bit from scene to scene depending on the surrounding locale. However, most of the film has a rather cool bluish look. Black levels are good but not of reference quality. For the most part, detail and shadow detail are good with good overall clarity, the only exception being some general softness in some dimly lit interior scenes, which is hardly surprising. Overall, this is a solid transfer and is one that appears to be faithful to the print from which the encode was made.

Audio 

As anyone who has read my reviews will know, I am a stickler for overall fidelity, even more so than sound design. I will give a release a high audio score if the fidelity of the sound is top notch, even if I had wished the audio design to more immersive. Such is the case with Bad Lieutenant. The overall fidelity is simply amazing, with a smooth and open sound with excellent transparency and imaging. The audio score on this release is as fine sounding as I have yet heard on Blu-ray, with spaciousness and dynamics to die for. The dialogue track is beautifully recorded and well placed in the mix which is a good thing as Nicholas Cage mumbles through too much of the dialogue.

The only downside to the audio is the sound design, which is way too front heavy for my tastes. The surrounds, when engaged, are engaged very effectively. The problem is that they aren’t engaged all that often and far too subtly, lacking the sense of immersion that can make home theater such a wonderful experience. However, the fidelity of the audio is so good, that it overcomes the shortcomings of the sound design.

Special Features 

To say that I was unimpressed with the extras on this release would be an understatement. The extras include a set of on set photographs by Lena Herzog who I can only presume is the wife(?) of director Werner Herzog. The extras include a very unusual behind the scenes featurette which is nothing more than a film crew shooting segments behind the action. I am not sure I have ever seen a behind the scenes featurette that was presented like this before. Most are filled with interviews and narration. Not this one. If you ever wanted to see what it would be like to walk around a set with a camcorder at a film location, I guess you would enjoy this featurette. I didn’t. The featurette is not presented in HD. The only other extra is a trailer for the film. That’s it. The release is not BD-LIve enabled and does not include a digital copy.

Final Thoughts 

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is far from a bad film. It is simply not the type of film that you will want to see more than once. It features a few interesting performances and some unusual subject matter and is worth a look, but as a rental only.

Film 

I will go out on a limb here and speculate that I will be the only on line reviewer to rate this films as anything other than a 5 star film. After all, given the boffo box office receipts, it has to be a great film, doesn’t it. Well….. not exactly. Don’t get me wrong, the film has stunning visuals and reference audio as noted below. However, the story is another matter. I have seen this story before and have seen it done better. The best way I can think to describe the film is that it is Dances With Wolves meets Aliens meets Greenpeace.

I am sure that all of you know the plot. The film takes place on Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus (think of a blue Jupiter) in the Alpha Centauri, which is a 6 year journey from Earth. Humans have arrived at Pandora to mine a mysterious mineral named Unobtanium (couldn’t Mr. Cameron have come up with another name?) which seems to have antigravity properties and is worth a boatload of cash. The only problem is that Pandora is inhabited by the Na’Vi, a race of blue tall and thin humanoids, who will not leave their home, a giant tree (and I mean a giant tree) which happens to sit on a massive deposit of Unobtanium.

In order to try to convince the Na’Vi to move and to gather intelligence on their society and defenses, the humans or Sky People as the Na’Vi call them, the humans create human-Na’Vi clones known as Avatars are created which humans can inhabit via some sort of wireless mind link while placed in a pod on their base. The Avatars are created using a combination of human and Na’Vi DNA and as such are tailored to a particular person. However, one of the men for whom an Avatar was created as murdered on Earth and was replaced with his brother, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a marine who lost the use of his legs in battle. However, his DNA is so similar to that of his brother that he was “inhabit” his brother’s Avatar.

As Jake enters the Na’Vi community, he earns their respect and love all the while collecting intelligence on their defenses which is relayed to the military on base. When it is clear that the Na”Vi will not move, the military goes in to move them out, with extreme force, which causes Jake to have to make a choice between his new found “family” and the Sky People.

While the film has its moments, it has a very heavy political message and contains a story that has been the subject of quite few movies. Even some of the contraptions and creatures in the film look very familiar to those in other films including Aliens and even The Incredibles (take a gander at those helicopters). The film is very predictable and way too long at 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Did I enjoy the film? Sure, but not to the extent to give it more than 3 stars out of 5. All the incredible CGI aside, the script itself is just not all that great. Despite my issues with the plot, I still have to give this release a must buy recommendation as the video and audio quality is so spectacular, that it belongs in the collection of every film fan and home theater geek. Avatar is a must buy.

Video 

I must say that I am hesitant to give the video a 5 stars rating as it deserves an even higher rating. In fact, the video on Avatar is in a league of its own, being the best looking film I have yet to experience at home. On scale of 5, it is fully worthy of a 6 star rating. It is simply spectacular and is reference from star to finish. The bright colors, the deep blacks and spectacular level of detail and clarity is amazing and must be seen to be believed. The level of depth and three dimensionality here is the best I have ever seen. One can clearly see the added depth that was included for 3D as it is clearly visible in 2D. The video on Avatar is perfect in every way. Yes, I said perfect. Need I really say more?

Audio 

The audio on Avatar is every bit as good as the video and is also of reference quality from the start of the film to the very end. The sound is smooth, full, detailed, effortless and natural sounding and transports you from your home to Pandora. I can’t think of a film that I have seen at home that sounds this good. The sound design on Avatar is as good as it gets. I just keep coming back to the word effortless. No matter how loud you crank up with volume the film sounds great. Unlike many films, the higher the volume, the better this film sounds.

Dynamics are off the charts with deep and natural sounding bass that doesn’t have even a hint of bloat. The highs are smooth and open with reference levels of transparency, imaging and detail, from the softest sound to the loudest, all clearly audible and all well placed in the sound field. The surrounds are active throughout the film creating a sense of total immersion. It is the sense of immersion that really caught me by surprise as the surrounds, while actively and aggressively deployed, never call attention to themselves, sounding as true to real life that I have ever heard at home. The audio here is reference in all respects and is, dare I say it again, perfect!

Special Features

This was an easy category to score as there are now extras whatsoever. The folks at Fox have advised that there are no extras because they maxed out the bit rate for the audio and video and there was no space available for extras. They could have included extras on a second Blu-ray disc but chose instead to include a second disc that is contains a DVD edition of the film. This is probably a good move as it will no doubt greatly increase the sales for the Blu-ray version of the disc, as you can get both formats for the price of a DVD. Still, for such an anticipated release, one would have expected many extras and all in HD. I will hazard to bet that the extras will be included on the 3D later in the year. The lack of any extras is the only flaw that I can point to regarding this release.

Final Thoughts 

Avatar is in a league of its own when it comes to its video and audio presentations, both of which are the best I have yet to experience at home. Avatar on Blu-ray is a must buy for all film fans and home theater geeks like me. If you want to show off your system to friends and family, Avatar is the only film that you will need. It is that good.

This led me to two important questions I hope to answer in my review.  Firstly, if subsequent movies have taken advantage of a once-new filmmaking technique, does this make the originating movies any less relevant?  And secondly, can entertainment value survive in what is considered “experimental” cinema?  Although films can have artistic merits on their own, they must still be accessible to the common movie viewer.   

Film 

The theme of realism runs strongly through this film; this is really the best way to understand Contempt.  It is a story within a movie about a story, all of which are based on how things are, not how we want them to be.  There is also a reminder that no movie can ever portray reality, as it is impossible due to the inherent unreality of the medium.

Our main protagonist, Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) has been approached by a repellant American producer, Jeremy Prokosh (the superb Jack Palance) to do rewrites on a movie adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey.  Prokosh is unhappy with the current direction of the film, which is being directed as an “art movie” by Fritz Lang (legendary director of Metropolis, played by himself).  Although Paul does not seem overly enamored with Prokosh or the project, he is enamored with his wife, and accepts the job to be able to help pay off their flat.  As Prokosh says to Paul, “You have a pretty wife; you need the money”

However, from the first meeting between Paul’s wife, Camille (the ever-lovely Brigitte Bardot) and Prokosh, things go bad.  Although on the surface there appears to have been little to cause trouble, small actions of Paul’s drive an irreparable wedge between he and Camille.

It has been said that Bardot was more of a celebrity than an actor, mainly due to her beauty, grace, and willingness to undress for the camera.  However, she displays the most “realistic” portrayal of a woman I have ever seen in a film.  Maddening yet seductive, passive yet aggressive, her impenetrable expression, mercurial temper and emotional committal is a work of art.  Her ability to use emotion to dissect Paul, to expose his insecurities, and to drive him into a rage is superb and believable.  And as per Godard’s theme, their relationship resembles reality, not a “Hollywood” relationship.

Piccoli is also superb as Paul.  He combines the tormented artist with an everyman sensibility; there is a problem with his relationship with Camille, and he’d like to fix it, but she won’t let him know how to.  He continually makes things worse through his words and actions, and does not have the sensitivity to understand when Camille feels threatened and needs protection.

The story within the movie is that of Homer’s Odyssey, with parallels drawn between our main characters and the novel.  Paul is sometimes compared to Odysseus, while Prokosh is compared to both Poseidon and the Suitors.  Camille is Penelope.  In making their movie, questions are asked of Odysseus’ motivations (Why did he take so long to return to Ithaca?  Did he really not want to get back to Penelope?), and we see the parallels with our main characters (Is Paul pushing Camille on Prokosh to advance his career?).  Paul and Lang discuss the relationship between Odysseus, Penelope, and the Suitors, without seeing how it relates back to Paul’s relationship with Camille.

It is often said about Jean-Luc Godard that he liked to remind his viewers that they were watching a movie.  Of Contempt this is certainly true – we see jump cuts that mix exposures and film colors, and have background singers stop in mid action so that dialog between the main characters can be heard.  Meanwhile, the repetitive, often overly loud score is interjected with regularity, oftentimes jarring the viewer into wondering “What is Godard doing?”  I would venture that he would state “Exactly what I wanted to – reminding you that you are watching a movie”.  It would be grossly unfair for Godard to make a realistic movie about the unreality of cinema without pointing out even a realistic movie is unreal.

I could understand how a movie such as this may have been very challenging in 1963, yet seem very un-revolutionary in 2010 after many directors have subsequently used Godard’s techniques for their own.  Has the movie lost its relevancy?  I think the previous sentence answers this – when we can still see Godard’s fingerprints on movies made today, his work, including this movie is still very relevant.

As entertainment, this is not a 2012 kind of “blow stuff up while running around madly brainless SFX extravaganza”.  This movie is very internal; anyone who has loved someone else, has felt contempt from another, or has been struck with the eternal struggle between our dreams and reality will fully appreciate this movie.  Although the movie is accessible and has a linear and comprehensible storyline, it is demanding.  It asks the viewer to understand and reflect on what they’ve seen, and leaves them the richer for it.  

Video 

Unfortunately, we know that Blu-ray and 1080p displays are merciless in highlighting any faults in source material.  That Contempt is considered one of the ten best films of all time by a number of academics likely meant that the Blu-ray transfer was as original as possible, with very little post-production.

It pains me to score this Blu-ray as low as I did, but it is fair and accurate.  The era in which the film was shot is revealed in all its glory on Blu-ray, including excessive “swimming” grain, which caused pronounced softness except in the brightest of shots.  Sunlight shots bloom with color, but interior shots vary between dull and washed, or cold and sterile.

There is a certain beauty to these older films – in a world where CGI further blurs the line between reality and imagination, it is almost uncomfortable to view a movie that has so much “human-ness” to it.  These were movies that were “made” not recorded, and the quality of the craft is evident.  Unfortunately, there is very little in the image that suited it to a high-def treatment.

Audio 

As expected, the original soundtrack suffers under the same recording limitations any early 1960’s mono track would have.  Besides being a solely front-loaded presentation, the DTS-MA 2.0 dual mono soundtrack is very harsh and forward in the mids, and is lacking both upper and lower dynamics.  One can almost hear the hiss of the original analog tape masters as sounds are reproduced, mainly due to the overall presentation of the sound.  The subwoofer is obviously unnecessary for this type of track.

As a side note, I did watch the movie in its original form (French, German, and English with English subtitles).  Not only is this true to Godard’s original, one has truly not been told they are contemptible unless they’ve been told so by a cold, angry French woman.

Although Studio Canal put an obvious amount of work into the soundtrack, it cannot escape its period limitations.

Special Features 

This is challenging for me to rate, as the features on this disc were different than seen on virtually any other disc I’ve seen.  Firstly, it comes with an 18-page booklet (yes, a real paper booklet) containing an essay on Contempt by Film Studies Professor Ginette Vincendeau.  This alone is one of the highlights of the package for me, though it can be a bit esoteric.

Video special features are mixed between period features (“The Dinosaur and the Baby” and “Conversation with Fritz Lang”) and more modern features in 16 x 9 (“Once Upon a Time There Was Contempt”, “Introduction by Colin McCabe”, and “Contempt…Tenderly”).

Combined, these features offer almost three hours of film-study quality documentary.  For a movie of this age, a feature level like this is unheard of.  And unlike most BRDs, I anticipate returning to this disc on subsequent occasions, simply to glean additional levels of film knowledge out of these features.  

Final Thoughts

Contempt has been cited as Godard’s most accessible movie, and I can wholeheartedly agree that this is no elitist art house movie.  Instead, we are treated to a perfectly enjoyable, superbly cast film with levels of subtext that demand our attention.  Although there are audio and video limitations due to the age of the movie, it is difficult to imagine any truly “classic” movies that will not have these issues. 

This movie will appeal to those who wish to understand Godard’s lasting influence in cinema today, and also those who look for more out of movies other than mindless entertainment.  Like any good movie, I have found myself reevaluating the film and its characters for days after its viewing. 

I can also see how this movie would not appeal to all.  The official wife of this reviewer spent a few minutes watching the movie, and was not engaged in any way, nor was even enticed to sit down and ask “So what’s going on?”.  There are those who do not wished to be challenged by movies; I believe they will find little to enjoy in Contempt.

Films

When I was younger I used to love these films, so I’ll say in advance this could be a little bias. The films are yet another quarreling neighbor story; however the gimmick is that the neighbors in Grumpy Old Men are just that… Grumpy old men.

Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau are bickering elderly neighbors who, in Grumpy Old Men, are both interested in the woman who moves in across the street. We see these two duke it out as they try and woo her while playing tricks and pranks on each other as their fifty year rivalry rages on.

Within Grumpier Old Men, the characters return to find their favorite bait shop is being turned into an Italian restaurant by a town newcomer, who may just happen to be another possible love interest.

The plots sound cheesy and overdone, but it’s the execution that makes these films great. The films do have a bit of air and slow pace that when compared to recent films’ tight editing really doesn’t help the film’s aging, but the hilarity that ensues really makes up for it. Grumpy Old Men is extremely well written and had this great way of uniting a heart-warming story of aging with slapstick comedy that is very seamless.

Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon are obviously the best parts of these films; their performances really shine and play on the same styles of role that made their chemistry in the Odd Couple so great. Jack Lemmon’s performance is really 3 dimensional, balancing the weight of the comedy with this great layer underneath that contains all the bad things his character is going through such as the IRA being after him and his health condition. The two continue the great chemistry in Grumpier Old Men where they join forces to hassle the restaurant owners… Although the sequel wasn’t as good as the first, it was nice to see the two join forces, if only for a short while as they schemed.

Another great character from these films is Burgess Meredith’s Grandpa. He has so many great quotes that even to this day leaves in stitches.

These films are definitely not for everyone, but I’d say that they’re definitely a rental to anyone who wants a laughter filled movie night!

Video

The films are represented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and look really good. The autumn colours of the tranquil wooded areas that are often shown in the fishing scenes look beautiful and warm whereas the freezing winter scenes are full of dark blacks and blues that really pop.

The film is clear and although Grumpy Old Men has a slightly grainier transfer compared to “Grumpier”, both films definitely are a step up from the previous DVD releases.

The films are pretty much artifact free and the camera motion is smooth even projected on a 100” screen. I did find the night shots to have slightly more grain, but it’s expected and definitely understandable.

Audio

Grumpy/Grumpier Old Men’s audio comes at us in English DTS-HD 5.1 and Spanish and French Dolby Digital 2.0. As far as sound goes, both films are pretty much on even par and that being said the audio is pretty good. The films are both dialogue driven so the mix is not very dynamic; everything is mostly coming from the center speaker so overall it’s hard to critique the audio when the film itself is not expected to exceed expectations.

That being said, the dialogue is crisp and clear and all the music and score comes through clearly as well. I’ve definitely seen better mixes with subtle eccentricities that make them unique, but these films get a good mix for their blu-ray release.

Special Features

There are no special features.

Final Thoughts

The films hold a special place in many of our hearts and it’s nice to see a decent transfer of two classic comedic titans duking it out in High Def, however the lack of special features really hurt the overall rating, making this a great rental for fans only, but an unnecessary purchase.

However, 1985′s European Vacation was such a huge disappointment that I never bothered watching Christmas Vacation when it showed up four years later.  Although the official wife of this reviewer loves the movie, I had never really had any incentive to watch the movie until I was asked to review it.

Oddly enough, watching this movie reminded me of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  If you’re old enough, do you remember that looooong four years between Star Wars and its sequel?  Remember how that wait was rewarded with a great movie that exceeded anything you could expect.

Well, Christmas Vacation was like that, except completely the opposite.  It took the producers four years to come up with a completely abysmal sequel, one that you wish you could erase from your brain immediately after watching.  Unfunny, puerile, boring, clichéd, and pathetic are the words that pop into mind after suffering through this.

Film  

Think of the worst episode of Saturday Night Live you’ve ever seen.  Remember how there were three funny jokes mixed into 90 minutes of bad physical humor, flat punch lines, bad acting, and boring drudgery?  Yep, that’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!

So our hapless hero Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) mistakenly decides that he should have both his and his wife’s parents stay over for Christmas.  Although Ellen (the ever-lovely Beverly D’Angelo) warns him about what will happen, and how he’s setting himself up for disappointment, he insists.  Let the hijinks begin.

Wow, Clark fell off the roof hooking up thousands of lights.  Never saw that coming.  Wow, Clark went into the attic and was locked in.  Never saw that coming either.  Turkey overcooked?  Big dog knocks down all the dishes and a sideboard?  Crazy Aunt shows up?  Tree catches fire? Yup, yup, yup, and yup.

As a movie-goer, when I see a comedy, I’d like to laugh, be entertained, and occasionally be surprised by little twists and turns the screenwriter and director put in.  In Christmas Vacation, there is none of this – it is so formulatic, I can picture the screenwriter using a book like “Screenwriting for Dummies” when making the script.  Although the cast is talented (including a young Juliette Lewis), the material is badder than bad.  Even the “happy ending” is so over the top and forced that it feels artificial.

Truly, the blame for this movie lies at the feet of John Hughes.  A talented and humorous writer who effectively tapped into the bitter irony that life sometimes is (The Breakfast Club, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Pretty in Pink), his writing skills began deteriorating in 1987.  This is evident when one looks at the list of forgettably bad commercial comedies he wrote from 1988 on (including Christmas Vacation).

The only thing that keeps this movie from getting a 0 is Randy Quaid, who reprises his role as Cousin Eddie.  Until he appears in his ramshackle motor home, the movie is completely lifeless.  Only he adds the necessary humor and unpredictability the movie so desperately needs.  Even though his character is a complete caricature, he is the only person that can elicit any sort of reaction from the viewer.

Video 

Do you own this on DVD?  If so, don’t bother with the Blu-ray.

The film is clearly period correct, and has an appropriate amount of grain and texture for a 1989 movie.  However, some older movies are cleaned up and sharpened in a way that the viewer can enjoy enhanced definition without destroying the character of the film (like The Princess Bride).

In the case of Christmas Vacation, it appears to have been straight transferred to Blu-ray without any post-production clean up.  Net result, you end up with a movie that has no discernible improvement over an upscaled DVD.  I could almost imagine the upscaled DVD looks even better as it would be less likely to over highlight the grain of the original film stock like the Blu-ray does.

Audio 

The movie is in period-correct Dolby Digital 2.0, and is reasonably well-mixed; as the film is so dialog-heavy, 2-channel is not a distraction.

Not unexpectedly, there is some harshness to the DD dialog, as well as an expected lack of dynamics on explosions, crashes, and exploding cats.

Generally, the sound is adequate, though nothing special for a movie of its age.  To me, it felt like Warner Brothers just mailed this one in, especially when we compare it to the greatly enhanced 5.1 HD audio mixes we’ve seen on movies from the same period.

Special Features

Although one expects a smaller special feature set in a 20 year-old movie, this Blu-ray’s features are poorer than poor.

It comes with a commentary (which is more humorous than the movie itself, mainly due to Randy Quaid), and the original theatrical trailer in 480p.  That’s it.

Being a “20^th Anniversary Edition”, you’d think there’d be some behind the scenes footage, or even a “looking back” interview with the cast and crew.  Even a reunion would have been nice (even just Chevy and Beverly!).  However, we get……a trailer.  Boooo.

Not only is this (by far) the worst set of special features I’ve seen on a Blu-ray, this wouldn’t even be adequate for a DVD.

Final Thoughts 

When I make the time investment in watching a movie, I do not have a lot of expectations.  However, there are two “golden rules” no movie should not violate: don’t bore me, and don’t insult me.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation managed to do both.

The worst part is that even for fans of the movie (my official wife is one of them), there is little to give them incentive to track down this movie on Blu-ray.  The print is not cleaned up for hi-def, the sound is not enhanced, and the special features are non-existent.  Overall, I believe this is the worst offering I have yet to see from Warner Brothers on Blu-ray.

Rent or buy at your own risk.

Film 

This film has had some buzz here on Why So Blu, specifically last month.  Those that saw it seemed pretty high on the film so when it came out on Blu-ray January 12^th, I jumped in head first and got the steelbook packaged version on a blind buy.  I’m not entirely sure why I did that.  My track record on blind buys isn’t the best and I was going on other people’s hype.  Heck, I’m the guy who got shoes thrown at me for loving Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (sue me!).  If I’m in that much disagreement with most others on here, what makes me think I’d like this movie?  Good news.  I loved it. 

You want nail-biting tension?  Here’s your title.  The Hurt Locker runs 130 minutes and consistently keeps the story’s fire burning.  We follow three soldiers, team leader Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Spc. Owen Eldgridge (Brian Geraghty).  They comprise the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team that goes out and defuses the roadside bombs and IED’s we hear about so often on the nightly news.  

James enters the fray after the team recently lost their previous leader.  His ‘too cool’ attitude and casualness doesn’t gel well with Sanborn and the allied friction begins.  If you want a front row seat to “What do I cut?  The red wire?  The blue one?” then add The Hurt Locker to your viewing list.  The camera views are simply gripping as the third-person shots leave you wondering if you are just watching from another point of view or if you are witnessing the EOD’s actions through a possible sniper’s eyes.  Combine that with the first-person views of approaching a buried explosive device from inside a bomb-blast suit and you will find out exactly what a rough day at work means.  

Director Kathryn Bigelow struck gold with this production.  The tenacity of the characters and the situations they find themselves in grabs you by the wrist and pulls you in for the experience.  Quite likely, a great deal of this realism is due in part to Screenwriter/Producer Mark Boal spending time in Iraq with a real EOD team.  You want to learn how sharks live?  You jump in the water with them.  You want to know what a day at the office is like for an EOD team?  You ride with one and watch as they disarm and dissect the fireworks of all those wacko extremists.  How do I keep going without giving too much away while still trying to relay my exuberance of this film?  I don’t.  Buy it.  Rent it.  Either way, experience this very under-publicized film on Blu-ray and prepare to have your heart skip a beat.

Video 

The Hurt Locker is viewed in a 1.77:1 aspect ratio with an AVC encode in 1080p.  The clarity only adds to the realism brought to us with convincing brilliance by the actors.  The earth-tone palette is as vibrant as tan and beige can be in the desert environment and if you are a pore whore, you’re in luck here.  I’m not going to say it has the clarity of Crank throughout, but it does look good.  There are  scenes that do have a bit of flickering grain, though it’s not enough to pose a distraction.  There is, however, a short night sequence that is as rough as an old country road.  We’re talking enough grain to feed all the Somali pirates and their bastard kids.  Unfortunately, it was more than enough to draw my attention away from the dialogue for the brief moment that it played.  I guess it’s to be expected in the high def, low light shoot.  Still, this was a big enough to drop the score a bit.  Night shots can be done without the visual noise. 

Audio 

Wow.  If I was given one syllable and three letters to describe the film’s audio, well, there you have it.  There is one scene in particular where a helicopter’s rotor blades kick in and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was at that base right under that bird as it was about to take off.  The explosions in the film bring your sub-woofer to life and the raining descent of sand and pebbles is beautifully experienced through the front and rear channels.  Even the hurried scamper of people on the run is captured with audible realism through the back speakers as a shaken Iraqi makes their exit out of the camera’s view.  The only thing that kept this attribute from achieving a perfect score was the fact that some scenes, though just a few, could have benefited more from that same realism.  Basically it was a matter of, “Well if you made sound great from left to right in that scene, why didn’t you do it this one too?”  Yes, I’m digging deep for a flaw on this one. 

Special Features 

As the Guinness guys say, “Brilliant!”  Finally!  Do you realize how long it’s been since watched a film on Blu-ray that had its extras in high def?  Me neither but my point is The Hurt Locker delivers.  There isn’t a huge arsenal of goodies to go around here but I enjoyed what the disc offered and they didn’t flood the extras landscape with weak content.  Good work to the team who put this one together! 

• Audio Commentary
• The Hurt Locker: Behind the Scenes – At just over 7 minutes, you’ll find some brief but interesting discussions with some of the cast, writer/producer Mark Boal, and director Kathryn Bigelow (7:12). 
• Image Gallery – This extra should have an asterisk next to it as it’s actually a double-dip. There are several stills that can be viewed here taken during production.  Some are candid shots of the actors or film crew while others are of the Jordanian locals where the movie was shot.  The feature within the feature is…
• Q & A Session – …the question and answer session with Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art (23:30).   

Final Thoughts 

This film didn’t just live up to the hype it’s been getting, it surpassed it.  This movie should have been off the charts with American moviegoers, not off their radar.  It certainly wasn’t some cheap budget film, and if it were, the production team got a lot of bang for their buck…literally and figuratively.  The cast had chemistry and talent.  The story had substance and that’s actually the understatement of the week.  As I’m watching this movie and thinking about these soldiers’ jobs, I’m wondering, “Who the hell can do this day in and day out???”  My life’s a cakewalk and since I’ve seen what an EOD team goes through, I would kiss the ground they walk on (right after they said it’s clear).  We’ve got a lot of thanking to give to our troops and The Hurt Locker does a phenomenal job of bringing their duties, stress and accomplishments to light. 

Being packaged within BCC’s High Definition Collection may cause some, including myself, to compare it with Planet Earth (another documentary within the collection) and as I started watching I found myself waiting to see if it was as good as the remarkable accomplishment that is Planet Earth.

Film

Watching Galapagos really reminds us how amazing nature can be, showing off some of its wildest spectacles and varied types of denizen that occupy this planet with us. It’s definitely a sight to be seen and with Blu-ray format, we get to witness it in all its high def glory.

The documentary focuses on Darwin’s interest with the islands, specifically his theory of evolution being based on what he witnesses through the series of islands. Galapagos was guilty of one thing I despise… Using historical re-enactments. When referring to Darwin’s time there are few uses of props and actors portraying characters. I always preferred going an opposite way, due to the fact I find historical re-enactments to be quite cheesy… However they were well done and actually helped add to the telling of Darwin’s story.

Galapagos sits upon a volcanic hotspot that is constantly erupting and as the magma collects, new islands are formed almost linearly. As the islands form they begin to, overtime, go from being a desolate rock to a blooming ecosystem. It demonstrates the birth of life in such a way that you can see the chronology right in front of you.

Galapagos is a very interesting demonstration in nature, and it has to be seen to be appreciated for what it is. The documentary does it justice, however I am putting this down as a place I need to visit.

Video

Presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and using the VC-1 codec, from the start the video quality really stood out, even at 1080i the motion was very smooth and the image was sharp. The colours were quite vivid and weren’t too over saturated. At times it seems that a high speed or other type of camera is used during certain aerial shots of the ocean and the difference of quality is apparent in the handful of shots, but those are few and far between.

The editing in the first half is a little jarring at times, in attempt to get the pace up, it works to their detriment, however again this wasn’t common in the documentary, but every now and again I found myself pulled away saying “Really? I couldn’t see that for a few extra frames?”

Audio

The audio is quite clear, sometimes I begin to wonder if the animal sounds are foley due to the fact that the camera is so far away they must’ve used some amazing microphones to reach that far. Overall the sound was very organic and felt authentic. Listening through 7.1 I found the surround speakers were used mainly for background ambience which did help with the depth however due to the fact the source audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track (448 kbps) you do lose the potential depth and quality that people have come to expect within the HD format.

The score is powerful and, as it’s supposed to, it boosts the emotion of the scenes and really helps the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

The narration is done by Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading), she’s a natural narrator and was clear and precise during the entire documentary. That being said the narration didn’t go outside of the box and like most others was quite monotone and I found myself drifting away from the narration and focusing on the stunning visuals.

Special Features

Unfortunately Galapagos is a bare bones Blu-ray, there are no special features.

Final Thoughts

The documentary itself is quite interesting and using very impressive cinematography it definitely represents the facts in an appealing way… If only today’s educational system could take page out of these documentarian’s book.

As I said before, I did compare Planet Earth to Galapagos, without nearly as big a production time, crew or budget it does stand up well. Sometimes it was repetitive, but even Planet Earth repeated itself a bit.

Despite the few minor issues I did think Galapagos was a well-made documentary and utilized beautiful cinematography and a powerful score to create a very appealing experience. However due to the lack of extras Galapagos may be a better rental than a purchase to those who appreciate the special features.

Film 

Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, and Fred Astaire are just a few of the big actors to speak of in this film.  The characters and roles vary in the adventure and escape of a super-skyscraper and the fire that consumes it on its opening night. The characters range from the architect that designed the structure, the seedy contractor who installs its faulty wiring, various inhabitants of the building and the fire chief that helps pursue the blaze. Others play supporting roles to make the story more complex, with personal dramas and relationships adding smaller stories within the main.

A lot of careful planning, advanced special effects, an incredible cast of so many talented stars, great writing and a superb producer all made this an explosive hit in its time.

So just how does it all stack up on the Blu-ray format?  Does it all burn down?  I know.  Bad joke!  Let’s roll the proverbial dice of fortune and find out!

Video 

The visual aspect of the film, as recreated for the Blu-ray, is extremely crisp and sharp.  For the time-period of the filming, pops of super-strong colors are expected to keep it more visually stimulating.  However, the transfer to Blu-ray rendered spectacular coloring outside what I think may have been intended in the original.  Most colors are especially saturated, and the high contrast between all colors leaves quite a nice effect.  Reds are almost too red, even skin tones seem more colorized than real-life. There are a few scenes, however, especially during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the building, where I think the editing falls short.  Throughout the movie, we don’t see marks and dust as you would in the original film, but I caught a severe difference in contrast between certain angles (as in, where the black is quite rich and colors bright, a different angle of the same objects were quite dull and gray-ish in comparison).  This did not happen much, but was quite noticeable when it did take place.  A great job, overall, restoring this film’s video, and is especially appreciated when compared to the unrestored deleted and extended scenes of the special features.

Audio 

Audio set-up gives you many options, from the simpler Dolby and 4.0 surrounds, to 5.1 DTS HD and even the option of using D-Box Motion Code, if you should be lucky enough to have a Motion Code Platform.  I am not so lucky to own this, but I am intrigued as to how they could tie it into this particular movie, given its age.  Another option in the audio setup is a very interesting commentary by film historian F.X. Feeney, who provides a slew of knowledge of both historical facts pertaining to the film, as well as insightful views as to why certain things were done in the movie to create a desired effect.  This was very interesting to listen to while the movie was playing, and allowed me to appreciate a whole new level of the movie.  There were also many scene-specific commentaries from a present special effects director, Mike Vezina, and a present stunt-coordinator, Branko Racki, who both give insight into how certain action scenes would have been made.

Overall, the movie’s audio was as expected from the period, not as much dimension as more current films, but did have great detail, especially in small things, such as the rustling of clothing.  I could even hear someone scratch his or her head at one point during a dialogue scene.  Now that’s Blu-ray!

Special Features 

There are many features on this disc to keep you busy for a while. The featurettes are the most interesting, ranging from interviews with stars years later, to a History Channel-esque featurette on towers and skyscrapers, to inside looks on the producer or the writer of The Towering Inferno.  An AMC backstory, storyboards, trailers, interviews, and still gallery are just a few of the things you can look forward to watching, as all are quite informative and definitely not as boring as one might think. For the extensive reach of the variety of special features to keep your attention, I recommend devoting some time here.

Final Thoughts 

Overall, I can safely say that any movie buff who enjoys such classic actors and ground-breaking ideas in movies from the past would love this movie to be apart of their collection. And if they want to really enjoy what this movie can offer, owning the Blu-ray is a must, for the mastering and special features alone make it easy to appreciate all that went into making this film, and its role in paving the way to disaster movies of the present.

Film

My Cousin Vinny is set in a small town in rural Alabama. Bill and Stan (Ralph Macchio and Michael Whitfield) two boys from New York, are driving through the South on their way to attend college in California, when they pull into a convenience store, the Sack of Suds, to pick up some food. After they drive away, Bill realizes that he didn’t pay for a can of tuna he had stuffed in a jacket pocket. When they see a police car come up behind them with its lights flashing, they assumed they were being stopped for shoplifting. Little did they know it was for first degree murder as the shop keeper had been murdered shortly after they left the Sack of Suds.

Placed in jail and without any money for a lawyer, Bill calls home to ma who tells him that his cousin Vinny Gambini is a lawyer and would come down and handle his case for free. It is when Vinny makes it down to Alabam with his think Brooklyn accent that the real comedy ensues. Vinny, played by Joe Pesci, is like a fish out of water in rural Alabama, along with his fiance, Lisa (Marisa Tomei), a wise cracking hairdresser/auto mechanic, from New York.

Vinny’s leather coat, boots and relaxed courtroom demeanor don’t exactly go over too well in the courtroom of Judge Haller (Fred Gwyne), who is presiding over the trial of Bill and Stan and who is a stickler for detail and procedure as well as courtroom decorum. Not only does Vinny have the save the two boys from a certain appointment with a malfunctioning electric chair, but he needs to also learn how to actually try a case and deal with the court room etiquette of Judge Haller. Does he succeed? You will have to watch the film to find out.

My Cousin Vinny is filled with many memorable lines and scenes, too numerous to mention here. One of my favorites though occurs early in the film when Vinny and Lisa stop into a small diner for some breakfast. They have quite a menu there, with the selections listed simply as breakfast, lunch and dinner. The look on Vinny’s face when he gets his first look at grits is priceless. This scene really brings back memories for me as I had a similar experience myself on my first trip into the deep South in the 1970′s in a joint much like the one in the film. I didn’t like grits then and still don’t. if you are looking for a wonderful comedy with some excellent comedic performances (Marisa Tomei won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film) by all means, check out My Cousin Vinny. I am sure that you will be glad you did. Highly recommended.

Video

I will admit that I was really disappointed with the look of My Cousin Vinny on Blu-ray. The word that come to mind immediately when I think of the video presentation is mediocre. Virtually every aspect of the visuals here is mediocre, from the black level, to the color saturation levels, to the detail and clarity, All are mediocre if not downright sub par. The black levels are more gray than black and certainly far from deep and inky. The color is washed out and undersaturated. The result is a film that looks far older than one released in 1991. Given the mediocre blacks and washed out color, the image lacks much in the way of depth or three dimensionality, looking rather flat. Detail as well is mediocre, especially facial detail which is rather underwhelming. Simply stared, the film lacks the clarity, detail, depth and pop that one would normally expect from a film of this vintage on Blu-ray and is not all that much of an improvement over the DVD, at least on a 60″ screen. I was expecting more.

Audio

While I was disappointed in the video, I was quite pleased with the overall quality of the audio even considering the overall sound design. I was not expecting an immersive sound experience given that this was a comedy and as such, was not disappointed. This is a front heavy sound mix with modest use of the surrounds. While they were really not used very aggressively, the surrounds did come roaring to life during a number of scenes in the film, from a heavy rain storm with thunder and lighting, a rumbling train and the dimming of lights in the jail during the electrocution of one of the inmates. The fidelity of the sound was overall quite good, sounding smooth and rich with good bass response and decent dynamics. I was not able to detect even a hint of shrillness or hardness to the sound. The dialogue track, in particular, was well recorded and well placed in the mix. Again, while far from a dynamic and immersive sound experience, the audio here is presented very well with excellent overall fidelity, easily besting the DVD release by a large margin.

Special Features

Frankly, I was a bit shocked by the extras, or should I say lack of extras included with this release. The only extras include an audio commentary track with the director, Jonathan Lynn, two original theatrical trailers and TV spots. There are no making of featurettes, cast interviews, deleted scenes or gag reel. Perhaps the fact that the film is presented on a a 25 GB singe layer disc rather than a 50 GB dual layer disc has something to do with this. Regardless, I expected more in the way of extras, much more. Needless to say, this release is not BD-Live enable and does not contain a digital copy of the film.

Final Thoughts

While I was underwhelmed with the video on this release, My Cousin Vinny is such a wonderful comedy that I can nonetheless recommend that you check out this release.