TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Blu-ray Review

Based on John le Carré’s 1974 spy novel of the same name, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was released in 2011 to much acclaim, eventually earning three Academy Award nominations. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the film weaves a tangled web of intrigue, deceit, dirty dealing, treachery, smoke and mirrors and a variety of other similar words and phrases we looked up in our thesaurus. In the end, it all adds up to a scintillating espionage thriller featuring an incredible cast of characters and performances.

During the height of the Cold War, a British Intelligence agent is sent to Hungary on a mission to obtain valuable information. The operation is blown and in the ensuing international incident, Control (the head of British Intelligence) and his right-hand man, George Smiley (Gary Oldman) are removed from power. Control dies shortly thereafter, but not before revealing his belief that a mole exists within the highest echelons of the organization, appropriately known as “the Circus”. When his hunch is corroborated by another agent, Smiley is brought out of retirement to investigate. Smiley is forced into what the back of the Blu-ray package refers to as “the ultimate international spy game where everyone’s motives are in question.” I’m certainly no expert on spy games, but having watched the film I have to admit that it did seem pretty ultimate.

You can find the rest of my review on Cinema Sentries

Mr. Popper's Penguins - Blu-Ray Review

Penguins are all the rage these days, so it was only a matter of time before Richard and Florence Atwater’s classic children’s novel about a man and his penguins was adapted for the big screen. Now, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is available for viewing on your small(er) screen and with the holiday season upon us, it’s only a matter of time before your local discount retailer is offering you copies of this film on DVD or Blu-Ray (or perhaps a DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack). Is it worth buying? That’s what we’re here to discuss.

Diverging quite a bit from the original novel (which admittedly, I have never read, but did look up on Wikipedia before writing this), the film features Jim Carrey as a cutthroat realtor who tends to be a bit too focused on his job and not focused nearly enough on his life. You know the type, as you’ve undoubtedly seen it in so many movies before: obsessed with work to the point that he leaps out of bed on a Monday morning, glad that the weekend is over, connected to his smart phone and hyper-organized to the point that it’s driven a wedge between him and his kids (and ex-wife, played by Carla Gugino). It’s not that Thomas Popper is a bad guy; he’s just lacking in people skills. No doubt this is due to the fact that his father was always off on one globe-trotting adventure after another, rarely home to spend any quality time with his son.

Shortly after Popper’s father passes away, a crate arrives at his doorstep containing a troublemaking penguin. A miscommunication leads to another crate, and five more penguins, arriving to stir up more trouble. You can probably guess where it goes from here: Popper wants to donate the flightless avians to the local zoo, but his kids fall in love with the lovable little guys and before you know it, the kids start to fall in love with their dad again too. As the penguins begin to lay eggs, Mr. Popper begins to relearn what’s truly important in life and in the process, begins to see how much he takes for granted – including his ex-wife, and the two begin to reconcile.Now, there’s more, but I won’t get too into it for fear of spoiling - - actually, you know what? It’s impossible to spoil anything in this movie. You already know exactly what happens next, don’t you?

Read the rest of my review on Cinema Sentries ...

The Three Musketeers Blu-ray Review

Have you ever watched a film that was obviously intended to be seen in 3D on your regular old 2D television? Maybe it’s just a scene or two that stands out, but sooner or later you’re bound to notice a shot in which the actor appears to be painted into the scenery or perhaps stands poised to jump out of your screen but ultimately does nothing of the sort. Something just seems to be… missing. It doesn’t look terrible, but it’s quite clear that something is out of place. It isn’t horribly fake looking, but you are well aware that something in that scene is lacking. You know full well that you’re missing out on something that was supposed to be there but just isn’t.

That wasn’t simply a description of director Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2011 adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ timeless classic The Three Musketeers, released in theaters in 3D format; it’s also my sly attempt at using metaphor to describe a film that is both surprisingly entertaining and predictably lacking.

Find the rest of my review on cinemasentries.com

The A-Team Blu-Ray review

“It is what it is.” There exists no phrase, which more aptly describes both the A-Team film that was released in the summer of 2010 and the 1980s television series upon which it is based. It simply is what it is (how could it be anything different?) and you’re either onboard the train or you remain hopelessly tied to the tracks, waiting to be run over by a locomotive of awesomeness.

You know the story, right? An elite team of Army Rangers is convicted by a military court for a crime they did not commit and they promptly escape to become soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, blah, blah, blah. The film version of the A-Team updates the story to the Gulf War and actually shows us not only how the team was formed, but that ill-fated black ops mission that led to their dishonorable discharges. The characters are familiar, the tone is tongue-in-cheek and the action is so over the top, they actually had to construct a new top, which was subsequently obliterated during filming. Seriously, folks… they barrel roll a helicopter.

As a child of the ‘80s, I find myself unable to avoid comparisons to the television series upon which the film is based. Like many of you, I am of a generation that grew up obsessed with the A-Team and like many of you, I have found the show to be somewhat lacking upon revisitation. It’s formulaic, it’s cliché and oftentimes, it’s downright stupid. But damn if it isn’t badass! The movie follows a similar path but manages to “turn it up to eleven”, as they say… or at least, it "tries" to, but it ends up blowing the speakers out and has to find an alternate power source. It’s just that awesome.

Here’s the thing: this is a movie that doesn’t just feature one-dimensional, cliché characters and situations; it revels in them. It fully embraces the fun of the television series and amps it up to big screen proportions. Face (Bradley Cooper) is the ultimate smooth-talking ladies man. Murdock (Sharlto Copley) is certifiably insane and played for laughs in a manner quite similar to the original series. B.A. Baracus (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) is beyond badass and Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) is the man with the plan and damn if he doesn’t love it when that plan comes together. These guys are proficient in all manner of weaponry, subterfuge and building tanks out of stuff they found in a scrap yard. They’re the baddest of the bad and they even make rottweilers whimper and cry.


Adding to the excitement is the fact that the characters in the movie seem just as thrilled to be taking part in the escapades as I was to watch them. Whenever something amazing happens, such as the aforementioned helicopter barrel roll or attempting to steer a tank as it plummets from the wreckage of an airplane blown up mid-flight by repeatedly firing the cannon, someone onscreen will actually take time to howl and make reference to how incredibly ridiculous and utterly, unbelievably amazing the situation is. It exists in a very comic book reality where the laws of physics and logic are thrown out the window and everyone speaks with witty banter and continually spout hackneyed (though often inspiring) adages. In short, if you take yourself too seriously, don’t bother. If you like having fun and you enjoyed the old A-Team, why not give the new one a try? I had a smile on my face from the first frame to the last.

The downfalls? Well, Liam Neeson doesn’t seem quite capable of mastering an American accent and the love story between Face and former flame DCIS Captain Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel) is a bit stale. There are a few lousy jokes that’ll make you cringe. But what can you do? It’s a Hollywood flick and it’s gonna have it’s Hollywood moments. The good news is that they’re few and far between and the good more than outweighs the bad in this one. And overall, who really cares? It’s the A-Team. Did you watch the TV series? It ain’t Shakespeare, folks. But it is fun. What’s one really bad joke in a sea of mostly bad jokes?

Oddly enough, the film it reminded me of the most was 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. Like that film, The A-Team found a way to pay loving homage to the series, which inspired it while gently poking fun at it at the same time. This movie acknowledges its roots and knows exactly what it is and exactly whom it’s aiming at. As the Harley Davidson t-shirt says, “If I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand.”

The Blu-Ray features a healthy dose of extras including an extended cut, which I didn’t bother watching. Sorry, I was so excited that I felt the need to sit down and write this review as quickly as possible as a way to relive the glory of the film. Anyway, the extended cut has about 30 minutes of extra footage that I assume isn’t necessarily any more violent or risque, but was simply cut for time constraints. It’s a two-hour movie – it really didn’t need to be any longer. I promise I’ll watch it tomorrow and besides, if you’ve read this far, you’re probably going to buy it anyway.

There’s also a nifty feature called “The Devil’s In the Details” which allows you to watch the film with commentary from director Joe Carnahan detailing the weaponry used by the team as well as behind-the-scenes info on how the special effects were created. There are little character bios and a gag reel and even montage of highlights from the film set to the original A-Team theme song. It’s like watching the opening credits to the TV show you wish actually existed. Now that’s pretty awesome!

It was apparent watching this film that Joe Carnahan had a plan to capture the true spirit and essence of the A-Team series. To make a movie that wasn’t simply a film version of an old TV show, but a chronicle of your childhood memories of the A-Team. It’s got all the explosions, the tank building, the camaraderie and the humor of the original series and then some. Joe Carnahan had a plan, and I love the fact that his plan came together.

Okay… so that was a little forced, but can you blame me? I had to work it in there somewhere.

Article first published as Blu-Ray Review: The A-Team on Blogcritics.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE - Blu-Ray Review

Based on the experiences of Laurens van der Post, chronicled in his novels “The Seed and the Sower” (1963) and “The Night of the New Moon” (1970), Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) tells the story of British soldiers interned by the Japanese as prisoners of war during World War II and the culture clash which ensues. The film focuses on four men: on the Japanese side of things, we have Captain Yonoi and Sergent Hara. The British gentlemen in question are new prisoner Jack Celliers (known for being a “soldier’s soldier”) and Lieutenant Colonel John Lawrence. Yonoi is the camp comandant who develops a peculiar fascination with the rebellious Celliers while friendship develops between the seemingly brutal Hara and Mr. Lawrence, due in large part to Lawrence’s ability to speak fluent Japanese and attempts to understand their culture.

The main focus of the film is on the startling differences between the Japanese and British view of honor, discipline, loyalty and glory. The strict code that the Japanese adhere to has Yonoi and Hara viewing the British soldiers as cowards – honor demands that they kill themselves rather than submit to the enemy. An incident of sexual abuse involving a Dutch prisoner and a Korean guard sets off an ethical debate between Hara and Lawrence which continues throughout the film, just as Lawrence is put at odds with the stubborn British camp captain, who sees Lawrence as a traitor for his attempts to understand and explain the Japanese way of life. Meanwhile, Yonoi’s interest in the rebellious Jack Celliers deepens into an almost erotic obsession. It’s a love/hate relationship between all four men in this very layered and brutally intense tale.

The film was directed by Nagisa Oshima, who apparently is a big deal in Japan. I’ve never heard of the guy, but watching the film, along with the hours and hours of extras that are included in this Criterion Collection Blu-Ray, I understand why he is so revered. The man doesn’t shy away from tough subject matter; rather, he shines a rather intense spotlight on it. The film itself is unflinching and raw while leaving enough to the imagination to inspire hours of discussion and debate about its themes. Especially helpful are the previously mentioned extras. “The Oshima Gang” is a 1983 making-of featurette and “Hasten Slowly” is an hour-long documentary about Laurens van der Post, whose autobiographical novels supplied the basis of the film. Brand new interviews with the screenwriter, producer and stars shed new light on what went on behind the scenes. Basically, it provides exactly what you’d expect a Criterion Blu-Ray to provide – exhaustingly indepth insight. If you’re a fan of Nagisa Oshima… well, you’ve probably already picked it up for its high definition restoration alone. But anyone interested in film, from casual film buff to analytical student, will be delighted by not only the film but the extras as well.

I suppose I can’t write a review without mentioning David Bowie. He’s one of the stars and though I heard a few sour reviews regarding his performance, I didn’t find any problem with it save for the fact that judging by his haircut, he must’ve stepped directly from the set of the “Let’s Dance” video to the film shoot. It was a little out of place. Nevertheless, I felt he was perfectly cast as Jack Celliers, as was his opposite, Japanese mucisian Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yonoi) who also provided the haunting score. Hell, everybody in this movie was perfectly cast, right down to the last POW and their guards. The movie wasn’t exactly a Saturday night popcorn flick, but if you’re looking for something thought-provoking and unsettling, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” is your film.

The Blu-Ray also contains the original theatrical trailer and a 120-page booklet packed with essays and interviews on the film. It’s been restored and remastered and is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which means nothing to me as a layman, but ought to be important to film buffs.