| Video Roundup March 2009
Blu-ray Update
The best movies on Blu-ray for March 2009.
Changeling (Universal) ****
 Clint Eastwood’s Changeling
has some things in common with David Fincher’s Zodiac. Both are based on
actual events, each is studiously long and thorough, and both feature a crusader who
won’t give up. In the case of Changeling, it’s Christine Collins, played
with determination by Angelina Jolie. Collins, a single mom and resident of Los Angeles in
the 1920s, returned home one day from her job as a telephone operator to find her son
missing. The police searched for months, and finally came up with a boy who claimed to be
her son. Collins informed everyone that he wasn’t, and that a substitution had been
made. Her pursuit of the truth eventually brought about a major reform of the Los Angeles
police department and uncovered a heinous serial killer. Eastwood doesn’t miss a
detail in the story’s evolution, nor does this state-of-the-art Blu-ray transfer.
Panoramic scenes reveal copious detail in backgrounds as well as foregrounds, and interior
close-ups reveal every nuance of performance. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is close
to ideal: Every element is heard with clarity and in correct balance. The standalone
extras are lean, being limited to two featurettes, but Universal’s U Control
picture-in-picture experience offers a vast amount of archival information. BD Live
supposedly offers a way to build video clips that you can share with friends, but I
couldn’t get it to work.
 Death Race (Universal)
***
In a future era when the economy has gone to hell in a
handcart (sound familiar?), the penal systems have been taken over by for-profit
corporations (sound more familiar?) that compete for the largest share of television
viewers by sponsoring bigger and badder racing contests. The prison depicted in Death
Race sponsors a race in which only the winner will be left alive. Jason Statham stars
as Jensen Ames, a former race-car driver falsely accused of murder who is thrown into the
arena to compete with other drivers for his life. The film isn’t long on dialogue or
continuity, but it does have style, the action sequences are tightly coordinated, and
Statham is a good lead. The Blu-ray edition has a picture that’s very close to
perfect, and sound that could scarcely be bettered. Extras include Universal’s
picture-in-picture U Control, and a neat BD Live feature with which you can record your
own commentary for the film, then share it via the BD Live network.
Friday the 13th Uncut (1980, Paramount)
***1/2
 In one of the extras included on this
Blu-ray Disc, it’s said that director and producer Sean S. Cunningham declared up
front that he wanted to rip off Halloween and make a lot of money. He got both his
wishes. Cunningham’s movie followed the formula concocted by the creators of Halloween:
First, set up a gruesome event that took place in the past. Second, mix into the brew a
bunch of randy teens. Third, kill them off by numbers in grisly and imaginative ways.
Fourth, leave the ending just high enough in the air to support a sequel. Friday the
13th (1980) itself had no fewer than ten sequels, and has even inspired a
recent remake. All of this based on a movie that looks like a drive-in flick made on the
cheap with one good actress (Betsy Palmer) and a group of unknowns (even if one of them is
a young Kevin Bacon). Perhaps one reason the film scored in its day was the amount of
blood and gore. Given what’s been splashed on the screen in recent years, it seems
tame now, but back then it was shocking. The Blu-ray Disc looks better than any previous
incarnation. The contrast has been increased, and the grain along with it. A bit of life
has been sucked out of the outdoor color palette, but overall the picture is quite
enjoyable. The sound has been remixed to 5.1-channel, which means the music in front is
stereo, while the surround channels sometimes reproduce the sound of crickets or wind. It
all still sounds a little shrill, with a noticeable lack of bass. For purists, the
original 1.0 soundtrack is included. There are lots of extras, reminiscences, and humorous
stories about the filming, most of these extras in HD. These give the release a "fun
factor" rating that ups the overall assessment.
 A History of Violence
(New Line) ****
A masterpiece from director David Cronenberg that has it
all: action, suspense, thrills, romance, sex, all packed into an economical 96 minutes.
The plot has so many clever reversals that I don’t want to give away too much.
Suffice it to say that Viggo Mortensen is Tom Stall, the owner of a small-town family
restaurant who kills two dangerous men who come to rob him. He’s promoted as the town
hero, but bit by bit one begins to wonder if Stall is really who he says he is. The SD DVD
had quite good transfers, but the Blu-ray leaves it in the dust. The picture is chock-full
of detail and gorgeous color, and dark scenes are just as well rendered as bright sunlit
ones in this close-to-perfect transfer. The sound is far more transparent and subtle than
on the DVD, and the approach seems to suit the film 100%. All of the extras have been
ported over from the DVD edition. The making-of featurette is interesting in clearly
showing us how one director works with actors, and there’s a deleted scene that adds
to the movie. A History of Violence should go on the purchase list for most
readers, but everyone should at least rent it.
 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks)
****
Much of your enjoyment of Escape 2 Africa will
depend on how well you liked the characters in the original Madagascar. I like
these goofy animals just fine, and found their further adventures in this upbeat sequel
often side-splittingly hilarious and seldom less than chuckle-worthy. All four stars from
the first film are back, voiced by the same actors: Alex, a lion and King of New York (Ben
Stiller); the zebra Marty (Chris Rock); Melman, a neurotic, hypochondriac giraffe (David
Schwimmer); and hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith). The commando-style penguins, having
actually become the center of attention for many audience members, are back as well. In
fact, they’re featured in a new series from Nickelodeon, two episodes from which are
included as extras on this Blu-ray edition. Other extras include a video game and some
appealing featurettes, including one about the Bronx Zoo’s actual Madagascar exhibit,
where you can see real lemurs and other jungle dwellers. If all that doesn’t interest
you, consider the fact that Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is this month’s
best-looking Blu-ray. As CGI, it has the advantage of a direct digital transfer, but even
taking that into account, the definition, depth, and color saturation are eye-popping. The
clean, well-planned soundtrack perfectly complements the images from beginning to end.
This is one time I can honestly say of a sequel that I hope there’s yet another one
in the (Dream)works.
 Ping Pong Playa (Image
Entertainment) ***
Though this movie once again tells the familiar story of a
sports winner, it’s refreshingly about a sport not yet done to death. In short,
it’s not about football, baseball, or basketball. Jimmy Tsai plays Christopher
"C Dub" Wang, a 20-something Chinese-American slacker who fantasizes about being
a basketball pro. However, as he never tires of pointing out, racism and genetic
limitations of height won’t permit a Chinese to play the sport. To enforce his
limitations, Wang talks like a stereotypical gangsta, seeming unable to utter a sentence
that doesn’t include "dog" or "homey." His best friend is a young
African-American guy who has learned Chinese. Talk about standing stereotypes on their
heads while sending them up. C Dub’s family owns a Ping-Pong franchise, and the young
man is suddenly thrown into a match to save the family name and business. He trains à la
Rocky Balboa, with some help from a cutesy group of archetypical misfit kids he’s
met, used, bested, and ultimately befriended while playing hoops at the local playground.
The cast is thoroughly charming (Mad TV grad Stephnie Weir has a small role as a
tournament referee), with cowriter Tsai a standout in his first film role (he’s
mainly been a producer). The Blu-ray is colorful and well focused, retaining the
"good" visual attributes of an indie production. The surround sound is clean and
lively. Extras include two spoof reels of backstage material, a trailer, and a sharp and
observant commentary from Tsai and Academy Award-winning cowriter-director Jessica Yu, who
before Ping Pong Playa had filmed only documentaries (Breathing Lessons: The
Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, Sour Death Balls) and TV episodes (ER,
West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy, etc.).
. . . Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
