Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Good, the Bad, the Weird [Blu-ray]

Hatchet (Unrated Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

  • HATCHET BLU-RAY (BLU-RAY DISC)
MARYBETH RETURNS TO THE LOUSIANA SWAMPS ALONG WITH AN ARMY OF HUNTERS TO RECOVER THE BODIES OF HER FAMILY AND EXACT HER REVENGE AGAINST VICTOR CROWLEYThere's probably no better visceral creep-out than a close-up eye gouging (just ask Luis Buñuel). Director Adam Green learned this well by using the old thumb-in-socket shot as the climax of his 2006 cult hit Hatchet, and he repeats it as the opener of Hatchet II. This micro-budget sequel picks up just as the original ends, with the aforementioned eye still belonging to the deformed swamp monster Victor Crowley (again played by ace stuntman and Friday the 13th alumni Kane Hodder). The thumb belongs to demure Marybeth (Danielle Harris), who turns out to be the sole survivor of the first film's tour-boat cruise through Louisiana's most disgusting swamp. She escapes Crowley's one-eyed clutches an! d finds her way back to New Orleans and the lair of voodoo conman Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd, of Candyman fame), where a posse of redneck morons is quickly assembled to return to the swamp and squash the innards and legend of Victor Crowley for good.

All this Victor Crowley and innards-squashing business will be familiar to fans of Hatchet, of which there are legions. Indeed, it feels as though Green has made Hatchet II as a love letter to them, raising the bloody-disgusting body count and creative means of murder--outboard motor, super-size chainsaw, belt sander--strictly to satisfy an urge felt only by the supremely devoted. Billed as an unrated director's cut, the DVD version will surely send them swooning with even more latex guts and buckets of Kool-Aid-colored blood than they might remember from midnight theatrical shows. Even the commentary tracks and making-of documentary are filled with backslaps dedicated to the exclusive Hatchet g! roupie club. Green is intentionally riffing on slasher films n! ot only with the comic dialogue and dopey characters, but also by employing icons of the genre as actors. In addition to Hodder and Todd, Tom Holland, director of fanboy favorites Fright Night and Child's Play, turns up in another key role. Unfortunately, Green's sense of insider humor and commitment to a limited demographic seems to have clouded what could have been a more interesting movie. But you're probably not watching Hatchet II to see an interesting movie. You're watching to see a giddy homage to the glory days of practical gore effects and enjoy the goofy fun of howling at senseless characters that lose their heads and countless other body parts in ever more creative ways. --Ted FryStudio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 02/01/2011 Rating: NrThere's probably no better visceral creep-out than a close-up eye gouging (just ask Luis Buñuel). Director Adam Green learned this well by using the old thumb-in-socket shot as the climax of his 2006 cult hit! Hatchet, and he repeats it as the opener of Hatchet II. This micro-budget sequel picks up just as the original ends, with the aforementioned eye still belonging to the deformed swamp monster Victor Crowley (again played by ace stuntman and Friday the 13th alumni Kane Hodder). The thumb belongs to demure Marybeth (Danielle Harris), who turns out to be the sole survivor of the first film's tour-boat cruise through Louisiana's most disgusting swamp. She escapes Crowley's one-eyed clutches and finds her way back to New Orleans and the lair of voodoo conman Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd, of Candyman fame), where a posse of redneck morons is quickly assembled to return to the swamp and squash the innards and legend of Victor Crowley for good.

All this Victor Crowley and innards-squashing business will be familiar to fans of Hatchet, of which there are legions. Indeed, it feels as though Green has made Hatchet II as a love letter to the! m, raising the bloody-disgusting body count and creative means! of murd er--outboard motor, super-size chainsaw, belt sander--strictly to satisfy an urge felt only by the supremely devoted. Billed as an unrated director's cut, the DVD version will surely send them swooning with even more latex guts and buckets of Kool-Aid-colored blood than they might remember from midnight theatrical shows. Even the commentary tracks and making-of documentary are filled with backslaps dedicated to the exclusive Hatchet groupie club. Green is intentionally riffing on slasher films not only with the comic dialogue and dopey characters, but also by employing icons of the genre as actors. In addition to Hodder and Todd, Tom Holland, director of fanboy favorites Fright Night and Child's Play, turns up in another key role. Unfortunately, Green's sense of insider humor and commitment to a limited demographic seems to have clouded what could have been a more interesting movie. But you're probably not watching Hatchet II to see an interesting! movie. You're watching to see a giddy homage to the glory days of practical gore effects and enjoy the goofy fun of howling at senseless characters that lose their heads and countless other body parts in ever more creative ways. --Ted FryGet ready for one of the most talked-about, red- blooded American horror movies of the past 20 years: When a group of New Orleans tourists take a cheesy haunted swamp tour, they slam face-first into the local legend of deformed madman Victor Crowley. What follows is a psycho spree of seat-jumping scares, eye- popping nudity, skull-splitting mayhem and beyond. Joel David Moore (DODGEBALL), Deon Richmond (SCREAM 3) and Mercedes McNab (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) star â€" along with horror icons Tony ‘Candyman’ Todd, Robert ‘Freddy Krueger’ Englund and Kane ‘Jason’ Hodder â€" in this screamingly funny carnage classic that Fangoria hails as “a no-hold-barred homage to the days when slasher films were at their reddest and wet! test!”Adam Green's Hatchet is a goofy, gory gas that ! pays tri bute to the slasher boom of the 1980s by placing more hapless teens in the path of an indestructible maniac. Said killer is Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder, Jason in many of the later Friday the 13th entries), a deformed Louisiana swamp dweller who returns from an apparent fiery death to lay waste to a mixed bag of tourists and Mardi Gras revelers who've wandered into his turf on a "haunted swamp" tour. Hatchet doesn't exactly surpass the movies it's spoofing; Green's characters are dopey ciphers, and Crowley's indiscriminate killing spree negates his sympathetic origins. But the dialogue is glib and the performances funny (especially Parry Shen as the tour's unlikely guide and Joel David Moore as the lovelorn hero), and '80s horror aficionados will appreciate John Carl Buechler's outrageously gross effects (which get more screen time in this unrated cut). There are also cameos by genre vets Robert Englund and Tony Todd, as well as Joshua Leonard from The Blair ! Witch Project. The widescreen DVD includes commentary by Green and several of his players, as well as featurettes on the making of the film, its villain and his elaborate makeup, and a scene breakdown of one of the film's most jaw-dropping effects. A gag reel and a conversation between Green and Twisted Sister frontman and horror fan Dee Snider rounds out the commentary. -- Paul GaitaStudio: Tcfhe/anchor Bay/starz Release Date: 09/07/2010 Run time: 84 minutes Rating: NrAdam Green's Hatchet is a goofy, gory gas that pays tribute to the slasher boom of the 1980s by placing more hapless teens in the path of an indestructible maniac. Said killer is Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder, Jason in many of the later Friday the 13th entries), a deformed Louisiana swamp dweller who returns from an apparent fiery death to lay waste to a mixed bag of tourists and Mardi Gras revelers who've wandered into his turf on a "haunted swamp" tour. Hatchet doesn't exact! ly surpass the movies it's spoofing; Green's characters are do! pey ciph ers, and Crowley's indiscriminate killing spree negates his sympathetic origins. But the dialogue is glib and the performances funny (especially Parry Shen as the tour's unlikely guide and Joel David Moore as the lovelorn hero), and '80s horror aficionados will appreciate John Carl Buechler's outrageously gross effects (which get more screen time in this unrated cut). There are also cameos by genre vets Robert Englund and Tony Todd, as well as Joshua Leonard from The Blair Witch Project. The widescreen DVD includes commentary by Green and several of his players, as well as featurettes on the making of the film, its villain and his elaborate makeup, and a scene breakdown of one of the film's most jaw-dropping effects. A gag reel and a conversation between Green and Twisted Sister frontman and horror fan Dee Snider rounds out the commentary. -- Paul Gaita

Becoming Jane [Blu-ray]

  • Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Run Time: 120 minutes
  • Actors: Guy Carleton, Philip Culhane, Joe Anderson (VI), Michael James Ford, Jessica Ashworth
Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries) gives a radiant performance as a young, love-struck Jane Austen in the witty and engaging romantic comedy Becoming Jane from Miramax Films. It s the untold romance that inspired the novels of one of the world s most celebrated authors. When the dashing Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy, The Last King Of Scotland), a reckless and penniless lawyer-to-be, enters Jane s life, he offends the emerging writer s sense and sensibility. Soon their clashing egos set off sparks that ignite a passionate romance and fuel ! Jane s dream of doing the unthinkable marrying for love. Becoming Jane, also starring the acclaimed Maggie Smith, James Cromwell and Julie Walters, is an enchanting and imaginative film you ll fall head over heels forLike Molière, which was released in theaters around the same time, Becoming Jane isn't a conventional biopic. Instead, Julian Jarrold (White Teeth) expands on events from Jane Austen's life that may have shaped her fiction. To his credit, he doesn't stray too far from the facts. In 1795, 20-year-old Jane (Anne Hathaway with believable British accent) is an aspiring author. Her parents (Julie Walters and James Cromwell) married for love, and money is tight. They hope to see their youngest daughter make a more lucrative match, and there's a besotted local, Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox, son of actor James Fox), who would be happy to oblige. Unfortunately, Jane isn't interested. Then, she meets brash law student Tom (The Last King of Scotland's! James McAvoy), while he's staying with relatives in rural! Hampshi re. As in many Austen novels, it isn't love at first sight--but rather irritation. Just as affection begins to bloom, Tom has to return to London, and Wisley, whose financial prospects are superior, proposes. To complicate matters, Tom's uncle (Ian Richardson in his final performance) disapproves of the outspoken young lady just as much as Wisley's aunt (Maggie Smith, lending the proceedings some subtle humor). Had Austen penned the script, Tom and Wisley would be combined into one person, but life doesn't work that way--and nor does Becoming Jane. Though Jarrold's effort may not be as swoon-worthy as Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, it remains true to the spirit of the author's work. --Kathleen C. FennessyAnne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs) gives a radiant performance as a young, love-struck Jane Austen in the witty and engaging romantic comedy Becoming Jane. It s the untold romance that inspired the novels of one of the world's most cel! ebrated authors. When the dashing Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy, Atonement), a reckless and penniless lawyer-to-be, enters Jane's life, he offends the emerging writer's sense and sensibility. Soon their clashing egos set off sparks that ignite a passionate romance and fuel Jane's dream of doing the unthinkable--marrying for love. Becoming Jane, also starring the acclaimed Maggie Smith, James Cromwell and Julie Walters, is an enchanting and imaginative film you'll fall head over heels for.Like Molière, which was released in theaters around the same time, Becoming Jane isn't a conventional biopic. Instead, Julian Jarrold (White Teeth) expands on events from Jane Austen's life that may have shaped her fiction. To his credit, he doesn't stray too far from the facts. In 1795, 20-year-old Jane (Anne Hathaway with believable British accent) is an aspiring author. Her parents (Julie Walters and James Cromwell) married for love, and money! is tight. They hope to see their youngest daughter make a mor! e lucrat ive match, and there's a besotted local, Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox, son of actor James Fox), who would be happy to oblige. Unfortunately, Jane isn't interested. Then, she meets brash law student Tom (The Last King of Scotland's James McAvoy), while he's staying with relatives in rural Hampshire. As in many Austen novels, it isn't love at first sight--but rather irritation. Just as affection begins to bloom, Tom has to return to London, and Wisley, whose financial prospects are superior, proposes. To complicate matters, Tom's uncle (Ian Richardson in his final performance) disapproves of the outspoken young lady just as much as Wisley's aunt (Maggie Smith, lending the proceedings some subtle humor). Had Austen penned the script, Tom and Wisley would be combined into one person, but life doesn't work that way--and nor does Becoming Jane. Though Jarrold's effort may not be as swoon-worthy as Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, it remains true to the spirit of ! the author's work. --Kathleen C. FennessyAnne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries) gives a radiant performance as a young, love-struck Jane Austen in the witty and engaging romantic comedy Becoming Jane from Miramax Films. It s the untold romance that inspired the novels of one of the world s most celebrated authors. When the dashing Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy, The Last King Of Scotland), a reckless and penniless lawyer-to-be, enters Jane s life, he offends the emerging writer s sense and sensibility. Soon their clashing egos set off sparks that ignite a passionate romance and fuel Jane s dream of doing the unthinkable marrying for love. Becoming Jane, also starring the acclaimed Maggie Smith, James Cromwell and Julie Walters, is an enchanting and imaginative film you ll fall head over heels forLike Molière, which was released in theaters around the same time, Becoming Jane isn't a conventional biopic. Instead, Julian Jarrold (White ! Teeth) expands on events from Jane Austen's life that may ! have sha ped her fiction. To his credit, he doesn't stray too far from the facts. In 1795, 20-year-old Jane (Anne Hathaway with believable British accent) is an aspiring author. Her parents (Julie Walters and James Cromwell) married for love, and money is tight. They hope to see their youngest daughter make a more lucrative match, and there's a besotted local, Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox, son of actor James Fox), who would be happy to oblige. Unfortunately, Jane isn't interested. Then, she meets brash law student Tom (The Last King of Scotland's James McAvoy), while he's staying with relatives in rural Hampshire. As in many Austen novels, it isn't love at first sight--but rather irritation. Just as affection begins to bloom, Tom has to return to London, and Wisley, whose financial prospects are superior, proposes. To complicate matters, Tom's uncle (Ian Richardson in his final performance) disapproves of the outspoken young lady just as much as Wisley's aunt (Maggie Smith, lendin! g the proceedings some subtle humor). Had Austen penned the script, Tom and Wisley would be combined into one person, but life doesn't work that way--and nor does Becoming Jane. Though Jarrold's effort may not be as swoon-worthy as Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, it remains true to the spirit of the author's work. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Fled : Widescreen Edition

  • Widescreen
Two dangerously mismatched convicts are thrown into a wild race to outwit, outrun and outgun vicious enemies on both sides of the law in this high-impact thriller bristling with high-speed adventure,mind-blowing stunts and nonstop action! After escaping from a prison chain gang, Piper (Laurence Fishburne) and Dodge (Stephen Baldwin) find themselves handcuffed togetherand at each others' throats! Relentlessly hunted through the Georgia wilderness, the reluctant allies fight their way into the underground of Atlanta, battling the authoritiesand each otherall the way. But when Dodge'sconnection to $25 million in stolen loot attracts mob assassins and corrupt government officials, the action is propelled into a deadly new dimension. With no place to hide, and everything to lose, Piper and Dodge embark on a blazing, take-no-prisoners quest to secure the key to their survival: a compute! r disk that could blow the lid off of a high-level scam.In the road-movie-reluctant-pals genre, Fled goes down a road well-taken and still manages to get lost. Defiant ones Piper (Laurence Fishburne) and Dodge (Stephen Baldwin) escape from their chain gang when a prison break/shootout begins. Evading rednecks and faceless policemen they make it to Atlanta where "smart-ass" Dodge (who delivers one-liners that do a disservice to smart-asses everywhere) has to recover a computer disk. They are aided and abetted by Cora (Salma Hayek--this time using a funny hat, instead of her breasts, for character development), who takes the convicts in as if she were picking up college buddies from the airport. Maybe she realizes what great guys these prison-garbed buffoons are. They donate money to charity. They save dying rednecks. They rescue little boys from oncoming cars. Unfortunately, they can't save any of Dodge's old associates, like his stripper-with-an-apartment-of-gold gir! lfriend or his fellow computer hacker, from getting shot up by! Cuban M afia thugs that want that disk! Laurence Fishburne is the main reason to see the film, but that's a stretch, and Stephen Baldwin seems nothing like the same searing actor seen in The Usual Suspects. --Keith Simanton In the road-movie-reluctant-pals genre, Fled goes down a road well-taken and still manages to get lost. Defiant ones Piper (Laurence Fishburne) and Dodge (Stephen Baldwin) escape from their chain gang when a prison break/shootout begins. Evading rednecks and faceless policemen they make it to Atlanta where "smart-ass" Dodge (who delivers one-liners that do a disservice to smart-asses everywhere) has to recover a computer disk. They are aided and abetted by Cora (Salma Hayek--this time using a funny hat, instead of her breasts, for character development), who takes the convicts in as if she were picking up college buddies from the airport. Maybe she realizes what great guys these prison-garbed buffoons are. They donate money to charity.! They save dying rednecks. They rescue little boys from oncoming cars. Unfortunately, they can't save any of Dodge's old associates, like his stripper-with-an-apartment-of-gold girlfriend or his fellow computer hacker, from getting shot up by Cuban Mafia thugs that want that disk! Laurence Fishburne is the main reason to see the film, but that's a stretch, and Stephen Baldwin seems nothing like the same searing actor seen in The Usual Suspects. --Keith Simanton DVD

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