|
| January 2005 »
Sex and Lucía
[Posted 06:51 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Sex and Lucía
Spain: Julio Medem, 2001
*****/*****
It occurs to me that a great number of my favourite films of all time were released in 2001. Obviously this shows just how few films I've seen, but I still think that 2001 was a great year for cinema (it was also the year in which I first got into DVDs in a big way). But I digress... Sex and Lucía, or Lucía y el Sexo, to give it its proper title, is a beautiful, mesmerising, lyrical piece of storytelling and I'm glad I got the DVD before the year was out because it's in the running for my favourite new film that I saw this year. The performances are perfect, the whole thing is wonderfully shot and paced, and the story should appeal to anyone who enjoyed Mulholland Dr. (How bout that! Another 2001 film and another of my favourites!) and its ilk. Seriously, I can't recommend this movie strongly enough. See it.
Full review coming soon at DVD Times.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
House of Flying Daggers
[Posted 01:06 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Some miscellaneous news about Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers:
Both the UK and US versions have been censored, although I assume in different ways. The US version loses 10 seconds of violence and has had blood digitally erased, while the UK version has lost 18 seconds of material due to animal cruelty laws. The British Board of Film Censors says:
To obtain this category cuts of 0m 18s were required. The cuts were Compulsory.
Cuts required to three instances of real animal cruelty (horses made to fall using techniques likely to result in serious injury). Cuts made in accordance with the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.
Source: BBFC
It is, of course, entirely possible that the UK versions also suffers from the US cuts in addition to its own, but I don't have any further details on that.
The good news is that you won't have to buy either of these shitty screwed-up versions because Edko Films (Hong Kong) have re-released the film, adding some bonus features and correcting the over-blown contrasts that were present in their first release. See here for more details.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Review round-up
[Posted 01:03 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Here are some brief reviews of the latest movies I've been caught watching:
Murder on the Orient Express
UK: Sidney Lumet, 1974
****1/2/*****
Marvelously written, expertly photographed Agatha Christie mystery and in my opinion the best of the dramatized Poirot stories. The cast is what dreams are made of: Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and more besides. All manner of actors strut their stuff, but the spotlight is undoubtedly on Albert Finney, whose portrayal of Poirot is completely unlike that of Peter Ustinov or David Suchet. Some have criticized his portrayal for straying too far from Christie's original intentions, but personally I found his eccentric, almost violent performance perfect. He chews the scenery with the best of them, and since this is very much an "actors' film", this is no bad thing. Even when you know every plot twist and turn, it's still a joy to watch them unravel. The ending, too, is quite remarkable, and a surprisingly brave one. Finally, the opening prologue, dealing with the abduction of a child, is one of the most stylishly edited and disconcertingly-shot set-piece in any Poirot film.
Moulin Rouge!
Australia/USA: Baz Luhrmann, 2001
*****/*****
Baz Luhrmann's colourful musical extravaganza seems to have its fair share of detractors, but personally I thought this was a wonderful piece of work and what cinema is all about. The film can't claim to have any deep meaning or particularly insightful message, but that suits it just fine given what it is: an overblown audio-visual celebration. Much like the most extravagant gateau, it can't claim do have the nutrition of a balanced meal, but it sure as hell tastes good. While I wasn't particularly enamoured by Ewan McGregor or his singing voice, the film was all about Nicole Kidman, with John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent and Richard Roxburgh turning in thoroughly entertaining performances.
Princess Mononoke
Japan: Hayao Miyazaki, 1997
****/*****
Majestic, well-told animated tale from Japan's master of animation, Mr. Miyazaki. The film isn't as good as his later effort, Spirited Away, due mainly to the fact that it feels overlong and many of what could have been more exciting moments take too long to unfold, but when all said and done this is an outstanding achievement. I must confess that I watched the dubbed version, with features the likes of Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver and Billy Bob Thornton giving some of the most embarrassing voice-overs I have heard in a long time, so it's quite possible that seeing it in Japanese will improve my opinion of it.
The Eagle Has Landed
UK: John Sturges, 1976
***1/2/*****
Well-made but uneventful World War 2 thriller about a group of German paratroopers who land in England with the intention of kidnapping Winston Churchill. At 135 minutes it seems unusually long and unfortunately there isn't much substance to back up the length, with a little too long spent on scenes that are of little importance with regard to the main plot. Still, Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland (doing an abominable Oirish accent) acquit themselves reasonably well, and the "shades of grey" approach taken to depicting characters who would, in most other WW2 films, be passed off as rowdy rotten rascals (I love alliteration), is to be commended, and ** SPOILER ** there's something quite satisfying about the fact that the turncoat mercenary played by Sutherland gets off scot-free.
Oh, and I missed The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on TV last night. Damn!
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
DVD Debacle
[Posted 08:31 PM GMT by Whiggles]
 
Two DVDs showed up today: the giallo Death Walks at Midnight (R2 UK), which fellow DVD Times reviewer Anthony Nield sent me for free, and Lost in Translation (R2 Netherlands).
You may remember that I ordered the latter due to promises of its vastly improved colour and contrast balance in comparison with the UK, American and Australian releases. Well what do you know! Turns out the Dutch version has exactly the same transfer. Oh well, that's 20 Euros down the drain for no good reason. I wonder how much money I'll be able to make back selling it on eBay? Speaking of eBay, my Angel Season 4 R2 UK set is currently available, with 3 days to go before bidding ends.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Delivery debacle
[Posted 11:28 PM GMT by Whiggles]
 
Today was the first day of mail delivery in this part of the world since December 24th (because Christmas Day fell on a Saturday this year, the mailmen also got Monday and Tuesday off so that one of their holiday days wasn't Sunday, which they would have had off anyway). I received two deliveries that have been in the post since before Christmas: Sex and Lucia (R1 USA unrated version, from DVD Pacific) and the score to Monster (from Amazon.com). I haven't watched Sex and Lucia yet -- been too busy devouring Alias -- so I'll cover Monster first.
This is an interesting affair, in that it is actually a 2-disc set, with the partial score included on CD and the full-length version, approximately 2 hours long, on a DTS-encoded audio DVD. Since I have no way of playing this in my portable CD player, the situation is hardly ideal, but I'll probably rip it and re-encode it in MP3 form at some point. At the end of the day this is actually a great idea, because there would have been no way of fitting the entire score on to one CD, but I can't help thinking that it would have been a good idea to have included two CDs instead. As far as I can tell, the DTS version's biggest bonus is that it is in 5.1 surround whereas the CD is regular stereo; however, the fact that DTS is a lossy format means that the CD is going to have the purest sound at the end of the day. Still, the DTS audio DVD is a nice idea and one that it would be cool to see more often.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
DVD debacle extravaganza special
[Posted 04:59 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Yesterday I went into Braehead to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales, and I came back majorly satisfied, with five reduced-price releases to add to my collection:
Romeo + Juliet
Moulin Rouge
Chocolat
Princess Mononoke
Alias: Season 1
Out of these, I've never seen Moulin Rouge or Alias before, but I got started on the latter last night and have so far watched the first two episodes. Great show: nicely paced and stylishly shot, although I get the impression that its "character drama" elements don't really mesh properly with the "spy thriller" aspect. I'm also not sure why so many young males are stricken by Jennifer Garner, as she strikes me as being severely malnourished and with a very masculine face. Oh well, if she can carry the show then who's complaining?
On a side note, this now means that I've passed the 300 DVDs mark!
>> Post a comment (2 replies)
|
New DVD image comparison
[Posted 04:50 PM GMT by Whiggles]
 
I've added a comparison for Angel: Season 4 (R1 US vs. R2 UK).
My UK set will probably go up on eBay later tonight.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Review rampage
[Posted 11:25 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Chocolat
UK/USA: Lasse Hallström, 2000
***/*****
I saw Chocolat on TV on Christmas Eve. It's a straightforward, cheery, light romantic comedy. A bit like a box of Cadbury's assorted chocolates, there is a little of everything and most of it tastes nice, but once you've finished the box, you wonder why you bothered. It's all about watching a number of great actors strutting their stuff -- including Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp -- and their performances make up for the fact that the script is neither particularly imaginative nor particularly clever. Very nice score by Rachel Portman and some nice photography courtesy of Roger Pratt, but ultimately recommended for those with a sweet tooth only.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Extended Edition
New Zealand: Peter Jackson, 2003/2004
***1/2/*****
The extended cut of ROTK has two main added scenes: the confrontation with Saruman at the start and the Mouth of Sauron towards the climax. Both of these add significantly to the film and should have been included in the theatrical cut, but they do not improve the film enough to boost my overall rating; nor do the other scenes add anything particularly worthwhile. In terms of Extended Editions, this is definitely the one that adds least to the plot in the grand scheme of things. Indeed, more often than not they make an already bloated mess of a film even more bloated, and a couple of the new scenes feature dialogue that would make Joe Eszterhas cringe ("You and what army?" "This one!" Oh, god...). Listening to the audio commentary with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, I was surprised by how honest they were about the film's flaws -- most of which, as usual, seem to stem from the fact that the script was being made up as they went along.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Christmas chronicle
[Posted 11:50 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Just checking in to reflect on this day of gift-giving and pie-eating, before the clock strikes twelve. I hope everyone had a good day.
Myself, I've had quite a good haul. I got the five DVDs I was expecting:
A Woman is a Woman (R1 USA, Criterion)
Angel: Season 4 (R1 USA)
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 (R1 USA)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Extended Edition (R1 USA)
Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946 (R1 USA, Criterion)
I also got a number of the newly re-released Asterix books, as well as something I wasn't expecting: the book Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, The History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI, edited by Jerry Beck.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
White Christmas
[Posted 01:03 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Looks like we're getting a white Christmas after all.
  
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Top DVDs of 2004
[Posted 11:05 AM GMT by Whiggles]
I'll be doing a full "Best and Worst Of" feature for Whiggles.tk at some point (which will allow me to consider every title I've bought this year, not just those that were released in 2004), probably in early January, but in the meantime I've done a round-up at DVD Times for my Top DVDs of 2004. I even managed to work in a slating of Gigli, despite the fact that it was released in 2003 and I have never owned it on DVD. So what are you waiting for?
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
New giallo
[Posted 10:53 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Source: Dark Discussion
Looks like there's an interesting new giallo in the making: Occhi di Cristallo (Eyes of Crystal). Directed by Eros Puglielli, this Italian/Spanish/UK co-production looks a like a glossy and gory affair, a throwback to the genre's golden age of the 1970s. You can download the trailer here (QuickTime) and view its IMDB profile here.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Sikh Nutters Alert
[Posted 04:50 PM GMT by Whiggles]
I've never done a Sikh Nutters Alert before. Sikhism, after all, is supposed to be a religion of peace (yeah, yeah, aren't they all), but feel the need to vent my anger about the events that took place a few days ago in Birmingham. The full story can be found at Melon Farmers and BBC News, but basically a group of Sikhs decided to protest against a play being held in a local theatre that depicted sex and murder happening in a Sikh Temple. Irony of ironies, it turned ugly and the crowd decided to show how much they were against this depiction of violence by injuring five police officers, smashing windows and attempting to storm the building. The theatre managers decided to pull the play from the schedule after they were told by the police and the local Sikh community that further demonstrations were likely and that nothing could be done about them.
In effect, mob rule has prevailed and the authorities have been shown to be ineffectual and limp-wristed in the face of a blatant attempt to supress the right of free speech. This sets an extremely bad precident and it's something that I sincerely hope is dealt with as quickly as possible.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
World on Fire music video
[Posted 03:42 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Sarah McLachlan has produced a music video for "World on Fire", one of the songs from her recent Afterglow CD. It cost $150,000, but there's something "wrong" with it. Watch it yourself to see what I mean.
In all seriousness, I think this was a superb idea and it gives me a great deal of respect for her. It's something I'd like to think more performers will do in the future.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Corpse Bride pic
[Posted 02:37 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Arrow in the Head has a great pic from Tim Burton's upcoming stop-motion animation project The Corpse Bride, co-directed by Burton and Mike Johnson and featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson and Christopher Lee, up for display.
Which reminds me, I really should rewatch The Nightmare Before Christmas again. 'Tis the season, after all.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
DVD debacle
[Posted 11:46 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Yesterday's deliveries:
The Simpsons Season 5 (R1 USA) and Spider (R1 USA)
 
Today's delivery (keeping for Christmas):
Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946 (R1 USA Criterion)
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Profondo Rosso
[Posted 12:45 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Source: Dark Dreams
Dario Argento's Profondo Rosso (a.k.a. Deep Red) has been released in Italy by Medusa. I'm considering buying it, since the US release by Anchor Bay features an annoying freeze frame at the very end while the credits roll, despite the fact that action is supposed to continue behind the text, and I'm under the impression that this DVD will feature the correct version. However, I'm led to believe that, as is the case with their recent release of The Card Player, there are no English subtitles or audio options. This is a real shame if you ask me, because Medusa used to be one of the best sources for Argento movies.
Nice cover, though.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Whiggles.tk returns
[Posted 12:06 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Sorry for the downtime over the past three or four hours. If you got my message yesterday (posted briefly on the site before it went belly-up), Lyris decided that we should switch hosts to a provider that offered better support, bandwidth and space. Unfortunately moving a Movable Type news system from one server to another is a pain in the anal regions (kind of makes the name of the system seem ironic, doesn't it?), so after much pondering I decided just to start a new one. All the old posts are still there, in the archive, although I'll have to clean them up a bit as most of the links probably don't work. You also won't be able to post any comments to any of the old posts, but that's life. To keep things current, I've re-entered the last couple of days' posts so they appear on the main news page instead of disappearing into oblivion, since I'm not convinced anyone except me uses the archives.
While I was waiting, I completed the Empire (human) campaign of Armies of Exigo -- the first of three. The final mission took me a total of three attempts, adding up to a grand total of 7-8 hours' gameplay. I would probably have been able to finish it more quickly if the unit AI wasn't so terrible. Weak ranged units have a habit of running headlong into enemy units or based while the tougher melee units just stand about twiddling their thumbs. Many's the attack that's been bungled by stupid archers running into the enemy base and alerting them while I'm trying to stage a surprise siege attack.
Until next time, stay safe, kids!
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Mass DVD spending spree spectacle
[Posted 07:35 PM GMT by Whiggles]
In the run-up to Christmas, I've been racking my brains trying to decide what I should get, and today I found the perfect gift, on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6350607398&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:UK:6
That's right, I paid over £200 for Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946, Criterion's now-OOP Alfred Hitchcock omnibus... or rather, various relatives will be paying for it. Let this be a lesson to anyone who's interested in a Criterion release and decides to hold off purchasing it immediately: once they go out of print, boy do they get expensive. At one point, only a year or so ago, this went for around £60 at Movietyme.com. Now, well, let's just say it's only for those who are serious about the films in question.
Earlier during the week, I also ordered the unrated version of Sex and Lucia (R1 USA) and the Dutch version of Lost in Translation. Why? Well, most versions of Lost in Translation feature a transfer with severely murky colours when compared to the theatrical release and the trailer on the disc. The Dutch version by A-Film, however, has the proper colour values and looks much less grey. Expect a full comparison before I eBay my UK copy.
By the way, this is the most updates I've done in a single day in a long time. Can you tell I'm on holiday? :D
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Tartan in good DVD shocker
[Posted 05:49 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Today my copy of A Tale of Two Sisters (R2 UK), which I ordered a couple of days ago from Play.com, arrived. I've not really taken much time to look at it (I've been two busy watching the documentary Dial H for Hitchcock, followed by The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps, on TV), but I am pleasantly surprised by just how good the DVD looks. This is a Tartan release, and they are notorious for their poor quality releases, and for the fact that most of the films they release which come from NTSC territories feature NTSC-to-PAL standards conversions. A Tale of Two Sisters is a proper PAL transfer and as such is, I'm told, Tartan's first ever Asian release that is not a standards conversion. Hopefully this is a sign of more good things to come from a company that has been much maligned in the past (although deservedly so).
The score for The Incredibles also arrived this morning from Play.com, although judging by the condition the jewel case is in, I would surmise that they either stole it off the back of a lorry or else were using it to wipe their arses.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Lyris12
[Posted 12:42 PM GMT by Whiggles]
Lyris has put up an unfinished copy of the latest re-design of his site. It doesn't work properly in Internet Explorer - something I sincerely hope Microsoft fix for the next version of their shambolic browser.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Is The Incredibles Jesus-spiel?
[Posted 12:39 PM GMT by Whiggles]
I found this article about The Incredibles linked to at alt.animation.spumco. It discusses Brad Bird's The Incredibles and puts forward the hypothesis that it is either most Christian or most anti-Christian film of the year. In his bio, the writer identifies himself as an orthodox Christian, so it's quite possible that he is completely full of crap and is simply applying his own beliefs to a film that (in my opinion) is purely secular. That said, the comments are interesting and a response to his article points out that Brad Bird's previous film, The Iron Giant, has some very strong Christ-like imagery (the Giant sacrificing himself to save humanity, for one)... the only difference, of course, being that the story of a giant metal man with a soul being a heck of a lot more believable than that of a mad rabbi who was killed for making a nuisance of himself and then came back to life. Pffff.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
ROTK Extended
[Posted 11:10 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Yesterday my copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition (R1 USA) arrived. I've decided to keep it for Christmas. I was going to put Fritz Lang's M (Criterion re-release) in the Christmas pile, but since I'm doing a "Top DVDs of 2004" round-up for DVD Times that's going up on or around Christmas Eve, I've decided I want to get M ASAP, as it stands a very strong chance of taking home top prize for both Image Quality and Extras.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
PowerDVD 6 Deluxe
[Posted 11:07 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Yesterday I received a free review copy of PowerDVD 6 Deluxe from DVD Times. For the past week or so I have been running a DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE! copy of the program, and I must say I've been very impressed by it. They've fixed a couple of problems that persisted in PowerDVD 5 (the one I paid for last Summer), and while there are a few niggles, some old and some new, it's a very good piece of software.
Read my complete review here.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Free copy of NOTLD
[Posted 03:00 PM GMT by Whiggles]
In conjunction with DVD Times, Benson's World is offering free copies of Oracle Home Entertainment's release of George A. Romero's seminal Night of the Living Dead. Given that the title is public domain and that a number of the many DVD releases are complete crap, I can't vouch for the quality of this release, but given that it's free there's nothing to lose. Go here and follow the link to claim your free copy.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Onibaba
[Posted 11:27 AM GMT by Whiggles]
Onibaba (R1 Criterion) arrived this morning. I have to say I'm disappointed by the transfer. For most studios it would be considered good, but by Criterion's standards it seems slack. It looks quite soft at times, and there is noticeable edge enhancement. In fact, it looks quite a lot like the kind of transfer New Line could do. Annoyingly, the theatrical trailer included on the disc looks a lot better, showing how the film could have looked. I might pick up the superior Japanese release at some point -- I'm not sure.
Having said all this, the film itself is very good. Made in 1964, it is a fascinating study of human sexuality and the difference (or lack of difference, as the case may be) between good and evil. Although somewhat tame by today's standards, by all accounts it was well ahead of its time both in terms of its display of sexuality and its condemnation of religion. The three main actors are all very good, and the atmosphere is superb thanks in no small way to the audio design and use of black and white photography. There's a lot going on with this film and I can tell that it will take a number of viewings for me to get to grips with it, but the new interview with writer/director Kaneto Shindo that is included on the disc is very informative, as are Criterion's typically solid liner notes.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
DVD Debacle
[Posted 10:48 PM GMT by Whiggles]
House of Flying Daggers (R3 Hong Kong) arrived today. Great film, rubbish transfer. I'm glad I bought it -- while the image quality is a 4 or 5 out of 10, the film turned out to be very enjoyable. In some ways I liked this one MORE than Hero, especially in terms of the relationship between Mei (Zhang Ziyi) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), which was a lot more complex than I was expecting. The bright colours at times gave me a bit of a headache, although I suspect that they're not meant to look so saturated: the trailer on the disc looked much more natural, and the blown-out whites in the film's transfer suggest some serious contrast boosting. PAL-to-NTSC transfer too. I would have waited for the US DVD, but considering that it's cut I'm not going to bother with that.
>> Post a comment (0 replies)
|
Page last modified:
|
