New Release Tuesday
Written
on 22/4/08
Time for another New Tuesday! Like last week, today, April 22nd, is just stacked with new releases. So what do you need or should you spend your dollar on? Let’s get started…
Charlie Wilson’s War
While I did miss this in the theatres, I will be checking it out. Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers another knockout performance, in his brief but Oscar-nominated role. The film never gathered too much attention, probably a victim in the war-tired audience, but this takes place during the 1980s prior to Russia’s war with Afghanistan. Charlie Wilson helps the Afghans with financial support, but the film is a dramatic-comedy, with some big laughs from Hoffman. I think this is at least worth a rental.
Extras:
-Making of “Charlie Wilson’s War
-feature: “Who is Charlie Wilson?”
Cloverfield
This movie split audience’s down the middle: you either liked it or hated it. Not to piss off our beloved editor here at Killer Film, but I liked it. Some people took the hype and believed it was some second coming or something, but it is a monster film, and a good one at that. I think it had flaws, especially with the characters, but it was a neat little monster film. The stuff I thought worked were the slow build up to the revealing shots of the monster and them subliminal images that remind us of the terror of September 11th. I also think this will play better at home, due to its use of DV camera; sometimes films like this alienate theatre-going audiences for its quality, but at home it plays fine. The extras appear to be must-watches too, hopefully revealing some of the creature’s mysteries.
Extras:
-audio commentary with director Matt Reeves
-deleted scenes
-easter eggs
-making of “Cloverfield”
-Cloverfield Visual FX
-“I saw it! It’s Alive! It’s Huge” feature
-Clover Fun featurette
Eclipse Series 10: Silent Ozu
*DVD PICK OF THE WEEK* If you don’t know much about the Eclipse line, well, they are essential bare bones Criterion titles, packaged together in theme or by a certain point in a director’s career, for a low priced box set. I have a few of these sets and let me tell you there are wonderful. Here we have the Japanese master Ozu and three of his silent films. Ozu had always intimidated me for some reason, maybe it’s all the talk of how masterful his direction films are, and “Tokyo Story” is considered one of cinema’s best. I’ve been meaning to study him and here might be a good starting point. Early on in the series they had Late Ozu, so Ozu has been blessed with two separate box sets. That’s what is neat about the Eclipse line; you can get a section of a directors career, most of them help you appreciation of the director of learn on how these films form the master he’d become. I can’t recommend these Eclipse titles enough so go to Criterion’s website and look at the other releases. While they don’t have any extras, these films are Criterion-level content, good transfers, and do offer liner notes, helping you out with the historical importance of the film.
One Missed Call
This film did little at the box office, horror fans claimed it will be the worst of the genre this year, and well, how can you remake a Takashi Miike film anyway? J-Horror remakes haven’t done well lately and it’s no surprise actually. You remake a ton of these, you get saturation, audience’s get bored, and there all PG-13-gag! I think the biggest problem is that these American films lose that unique cultural aspect of the film they’re remaking. Either way rent the original and leave this to collect dust at Best Buy. Also on Blu Ray.
Extras:
-none!
The Orphanage
The marketing I heard did a disservice to the film, proudly showing del Toro’s name above the title (he only helped produce) and relating it to “Pan’s Labyrinth”. It’s neither, although it plays like “Devils Backbone”, it’s really the director’s film and it’s unique. It’s almost bloodless but its terror comes from suspense, something most modern horror films lack. It had a limited theatrical run, despite positive reviews, and should find a wider audience on DVD. This is a solid film worth a look, maybe a blind buy if you know what you’re getting into. Also on Blu Ray.
Extras:
- 4 featurettes covering make-up, making of, rehearsal, and about the filmmakers
- Still gallery
The Savages
Another Philip Seymour Hoffman film? Heck yeah! His third film in two weeks, he was a busy man in 2007, and it’s another winner. He plays John Savage and his sister is played by Oscar-nominated Laura Linney, are trying to figure out what to do with their dad who is showing signs of dementia. It’s sad and realistic, but has some laughs in it too. Alexander Payne helped produce this and it did get positive reviews during its brief release. It’s a good film, despite its subject matter, and is worth a look if you’re tired of mainstream affair.
Extras:
-deleted scenes
-making of “The Savages”
While there are some TV sets and some children films, this is it for the week. Hope it helps! Next week is probably the biggest release week in April with Red Balloon, All Monsters Attack (reviewed here already!), Terror of Mechagodzilla (reviewed early here!), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Nanking, King Corn, and plenty more, so stop back next Tuesday for New Release Tuesday!
Charlie Wilson’s War
While I did miss this in the theatres, I will be checking it out. Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers another knockout performance, in his brief but Oscar-nominated role. The film never gathered too much attention, probably a victim in the war-tired audience, but this takes place during the 1980s prior to Russia’s war with Afghanistan. Charlie Wilson helps the Afghans with financial support, but the film is a dramatic-comedy, with some big laughs from Hoffman. I think this is at least worth a rental.
Extras:
-Making of “Charlie Wilson’s War
-feature: “Who is Charlie Wilson?”
Cloverfield
This movie split audience’s down the middle: you either liked it or hated it. Not to piss off our beloved editor here at Killer Film, but I liked it. Some people took the hype and believed it was some second coming or something, but it is a monster film, and a good one at that. I think it had flaws, especially with the characters, but it was a neat little monster film. The stuff I thought worked were the slow build up to the revealing shots of the monster and them subliminal images that remind us of the terror of September 11th. I also think this will play better at home, due to its use of DV camera; sometimes films like this alienate theatre-going audiences for its quality, but at home it plays fine. The extras appear to be must-watches too, hopefully revealing some of the creature’s mysteries.
Extras:
-audio commentary with director Matt Reeves
-deleted scenes
-easter eggs
-making of “Cloverfield”
-Cloverfield Visual FX
-“I saw it! It’s Alive! It’s Huge” feature
-Clover Fun featurette
Eclipse Series 10: Silent Ozu
*DVD PICK OF THE WEEK* If you don’t know much about the Eclipse line, well, they are essential bare bones Criterion titles, packaged together in theme or by a certain point in a director’s career, for a low priced box set. I have a few of these sets and let me tell you there are wonderful. Here we have the Japanese master Ozu and three of his silent films. Ozu had always intimidated me for some reason, maybe it’s all the talk of how masterful his direction films are, and “Tokyo Story” is considered one of cinema’s best. I’ve been meaning to study him and here might be a good starting point. Early on in the series they had Late Ozu, so Ozu has been blessed with two separate box sets. That’s what is neat about the Eclipse line; you can get a section of a directors career, most of them help you appreciation of the director of learn on how these films form the master he’d become. I can’t recommend these Eclipse titles enough so go to Criterion’s website and look at the other releases. While they don’t have any extras, these films are Criterion-level content, good transfers, and do offer liner notes, helping you out with the historical importance of the film.
One Missed Call
This film did little at the box office, horror fans claimed it will be the worst of the genre this year, and well, how can you remake a Takashi Miike film anyway? J-Horror remakes haven’t done well lately and it’s no surprise actually. You remake a ton of these, you get saturation, audience’s get bored, and there all PG-13-gag! I think the biggest problem is that these American films lose that unique cultural aspect of the film they’re remaking. Either way rent the original and leave this to collect dust at Best Buy. Also on Blu Ray.
Extras:
-none!
The Orphanage
The marketing I heard did a disservice to the film, proudly showing del Toro’s name above the title (he only helped produce) and relating it to “Pan’s Labyrinth”. It’s neither, although it plays like “Devils Backbone”, it’s really the director’s film and it’s unique. It’s almost bloodless but its terror comes from suspense, something most modern horror films lack. It had a limited theatrical run, despite positive reviews, and should find a wider audience on DVD. This is a solid film worth a look, maybe a blind buy if you know what you’re getting into. Also on Blu Ray.
Extras:
- 4 featurettes covering make-up, making of, rehearsal, and about the filmmakers
- Still gallery
The Savages
Another Philip Seymour Hoffman film? Heck yeah! His third film in two weeks, he was a busy man in 2007, and it’s another winner. He plays John Savage and his sister is played by Oscar-nominated Laura Linney, are trying to figure out what to do with their dad who is showing signs of dementia. It’s sad and realistic, but has some laughs in it too. Alexander Payne helped produce this and it did get positive reviews during its brief release. It’s a good film, despite its subject matter, and is worth a look if you’re tired of mainstream affair.
Extras:
-deleted scenes
-making of “The Savages”
While there are some TV sets and some children films, this is it for the week. Hope it helps! Next week is probably the biggest release week in April with Red Balloon, All Monsters Attack (reviewed here already!), Terror of Mechagodzilla (reviewed early here!), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Nanking, King Corn, and plenty more, so stop back next Tuesday for New Release Tuesday!
