SWING VOTE (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
January 4, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“A fun and enjoyable comedy poking fun at the political process. Kevin Costner and Madeline Carroll’s performance were fantastic. The picture quality of the film on Blu-ray is wonderful! If you are looking for a fun comedy on Blu-ray, definitely give ‘Swing Vote’ a try!”
Images courtesy of © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: SWING VOTE
DURATION: 120 minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Color, 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 khz/24-bit), Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English SDH and Spanish subtitles
COMPANY: Touchstone Home Entertainment/Buena Vista Home Entertainment
RATED: PG-13 (For Language)
Released Date: January 13, 2009
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
Screenplay by Jason Richman and Joshua Michael Stern
Produced by Jim Wilson and Kevin Costner
Executive Producers: Robin Jonas, Ted Field, Terry Douglas, Paris Kasookostaslatsis
Director of Photography: Shane Hurlbut ASC
Edited by Jeff McEvoy
Costume Designer: Lisa Jensen
Music By John Debney
Starring:
Kevin Costner (as Bud Johnson)
Madeline Carroll (as Molly Johnson)
Paula Patton (as Kate Madison)
Kelsey Grammer (as President Andrew Boone)
Dennis Hopper (as Donald Greenleaf)
Nathan Lane (as Art Crumb)
Stanley Tucci (as Martin Fox)
George Lopez (as John Sweeney)
Judge Reinhold (as Walter)
Charles Esten (as Lewis)
Bud Johnson’s an ordinary drifting through life, caring about nothing except his overachieving daughter Molly. Trying to encourage him to get involved, Molly accidentally sets off a chain of events on Election Day that ends with the presidential race coming down to one vote – Bud’s. Comedic chaos ensues as Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and George Lopez give all-star support in a witty and uplifting film that’s “charming, funny, smart, touching and profound!” (Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood) -especially in brilliant Blu-ray High Definition.
Your vote matters!
We have heard that all before and in 2000, the US had it’s closest election which came down to one state. The invulnerability of the election process was well documented and “SWING VOTE” takes things one step further, what if one man had to decide the outcome of the US Presidency. All to one vote?
“SWING VOTE” takes place in the small town of Texico, New Mexico. A small town where unemployment is high, people are losing their jobs due to insourcing (in this case, Mexican workers replacing American workers in the factory jobs) and focusing on a single father named Bud (Costner) and his daughter Molly (Carroll).
Bud has lived his life carefree and always drinking beer and in a mess. His daughter is the opposite. She’s smart, she’s has kept up with current affairs in the world and she tries to take care of her father. They live in a trailer park home and Bud, he just likes to fish and drink and be with his daughter. Molly is featured on television after a news crew visits her school to film the children giving their speeches on the importance of voting.
Molly who is aware of her father and her county’s social low income situation wants her dad to vote for a candidate that best represents the poor. With the elections coming up that day, she has her father promise to vote in the elections. Bud agrees. But with Bud losing his job at an egg processing plant due to being late at work and drinking on the job, he goes to a bar and gets in a drunk stupor and hits his head in a “Vote today” sign and passes out inside his truck. He essentially breaks his promise to Molly.
Molly who is disappointed with her father sneaks into a voting poll station where one of the vets is dead asleep. She forges his signature in the registered voters booklet and puts her voting application in the digital machine and while she is about to vote for the presidency for her father, the cleaning lady accidentally disconnects the plug to the voting area. Quickly feeling that she may get caught, Molly tears the stub and goes to her father.
All of a sudden, news starts to swirl about the close election between Republican President Andrew Boone (Grammer) and Democrat Donald Greeneleaf (Hopper). They both are tied and whoever wins the state of New Mexico will get the electoral votes needed to win the election. The state government’s election officer and State Attorney comes to Bud Johnson’s home questioning him if he voted and knowing that his daughter did something, he goes along with it. The machine that he voted in, did not count his vote and thus he needs to recast the vote. He is told to keep quiet about it.
A local reporter named Kate Madison (Patton) who followed the government officials knows something is up with the close elections and the residents of the trailer park. Kate reports back to her boss John Sweeney (George Lopez) at the news station that she has figured out what has gone on with the elections and that the single vote that can determine the president is Bud. Both individuals feel that this story can elevate their careers nationally and thus, Kate becomes the head anchor at the news and responsible for getting the exclusives with Bud.
Kate eventually gets the exclusive interview with Bud and outs him to the world that his vote will determine the presidency. All of a sudden, ever news outlet is in Texico, New Mexico parked in front of his mobile home. The President and the Democrat nominee for President start doing their research and make Texico their home for the next 10 days for their campaign and doing all they can do to win Bud’s vote.
Bud doesn’t know anything about politics or what’s happening in the world but his daughter tries her best to help him. Each time a show interviews him and shows what he may be interested in, may it be fishing, insourcing or not caring about gay rights, both campaigns adjusts itself to win Bud’s vote.
But throughout the process, both politicians are looking incredibly stupid in switching their political views for one man with the conservative President Boone now campaigning for liberal rights such as protecting the lake that Bud fishes in for environmental reasons, supporting gay rights, etc. and for liberal Democrat Greenleaf, his campaigns now switching to conservative trying to prevent illegal aliens in order to get the swing vote.
President Boone’s campaign advisor Martin Fox (Tucci) goes so far by having NASCAR Richard Petty go to the home of the Johnson’s and entice him to drive his car to Air Force One for a meeting. While Greenleaf’s campaign advisor Art Crumb (Lane) has a party with all of Bud’s favorite food and even had a major commercial with Willie Nelson (Bud’s favorite performer) asking Bud to support his friend Greenleaf.
“SWING VOTE” pokes fun at the Presidential elections and how far a candidate would go to win. The film is in essence a comedy but there are serious moments when Bud realizes that he just likes the attention he’s getting and ignoring the issues that people care about. In fact, Molly has been so busy trying to make her father look good, she’s been answering those who have written to her father and noticing that her father hardly has time for her and that he’s becoming something that she doesn’t approve of.
Meanwhile, the President and Greenleaf can’t believe how they have strayed from their own political views and have let down the people who have supported them. What makes “SWING VOTE” truly work is Costner able to fit into the role of Bud so perfectly. The mannerisms and the style, Costner does a great job. But the star who shined is the young Madeline Carroll as Molly Johnson. For her first film, she hits a home run with her performance. From the comedy to the tearful, emotional scenes…she was perfect.
And the same goes to Kelsey Grammer as President Boone and Hopper as Greenleaf and a lot of talent in this film. But to make things even more realistic, was the fact that the key figures that we have watched in the news or on television reporting on the elections such as Campbell Brown, Tucker Carlson, James Carville, Ariana Huffington, Aaron Brown, Larry King, Bill Maher and even Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart and many more took part in this film to make the whole political atmosphere seem realistic. But most of all, the many people who came out for the live debates or those who participated in the film (as the budget couldn’t afford thousands of people to bein the film, thus the director and Kevin Costner had contests and Costner performed live in order for people to come out and they got thousands of participants) and made the film much more realistic.
I was quite pleased with the film and even moreso, on Blu-ray!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“SWING VOTE” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1). The colors are vibrant and the location of being in New Mexico, with the hills, the clouds and everything seemed to work in capturing the beauty of that state. The Blu-ray brought out the characters and of course, for those Blu-ray fans who go crazy over skin pores and wrinkles and such, this film really captures it well. I was very pleased with the cinematography and the overall quality in Blu-ray. Absolutely beautiful to watch!
As for the audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS (48 khz/24-bit) and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. I can tell you that from the opening menu and throughout the film, music plays a big role in the film and really comes alive on your front speakers. Of course, the film is a dialogue-based film but you do get a sense of surround with crowd noises and such.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“SWING VOTE” comes with several special features:
- Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production is a 13-minute featurette that goes into how certain scenes were made and working with the talent on the film. Interviews with the talent.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (with optional Director’s Commentary) features certain scenes that were cut due to pacing. Overall good choices on the cuts.
- Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Jason Richman is a very informative commentary about working with the cast especially in key moments such as Molly’s emotional scenes and how it wasn’t difficult to direct her. They asked her what they need and she delivered which was very rare for a child actor. Also, during the Presidential debates of how they were able to get thousands of people who were willing to be part of the film (they didn’t have the budget to pay thousands of people) by having contests and Kevin Costner performing live (note: Costner and his band Modern West performs live on this film). Also, how they found certain areas to film and how sometimes there were freak storms that had to be fixed in post production or reshot.
“SWING VOTE” is definitely a comedy that I enjoyed from beginning to end. There are so much talent in this film, especially for the news talent who cover politics to be involved in this film made things a bit more realistic. Costner as Bud Johnson is literally a guy that some look at as a guy who wasted his life, always drunk and he fit the role perfectly. Madeline Carroll, is definitely a young actress who truly shined and Kelsey Grammer does a remarkable job. I know for some, Dennis Hopper as a good guy, Democrat may feel it’s a bit unusual due to his villain roles in the past but he does well.
Of course, with a satire on the political process, there has to be missteps with “SWING VOTE” right? There are a few things that may raise some eyebrows, not necessarily in a good way. There are a lot of corporate branding in this film. Those who despite any corporate product placement or name dropping in a film, may have problems with that on this film.
Another is the hilarious commercials that are targeted to Bud. Of course, some may wonder why would a candidate waste millions of dollars on their campaigns on television ads just for Bud? Perhaps this takes the political satire too far for some.
And of course, for a lighthearted comedy, you get a serious moment in the film in which Molly who is disenchanted with her father visits her mother that she has never seen but she’s all drugged out and wants nothing to do with her. A really good performance by Mare Winningham and a serious scene but for some, it may seem out of place for a comedy. [note: the Director's commentary goes into why the scene was included].
But there are some key moments that I was touched. This small town of Texico and seeing how others in Molly’s class were not fortunate as well, many have parents unemployed and really hurting financially. As smart and intelligent Molly may be, the strain that she takes on because her father’s inability to take control of his life and all of America’s eyes are on this family becomes to hard for her to bare. There are a good number of touching moments throughout the film and you hope that Bud and even the politicians will find some redemption.
But all in all, the fact is that films that revolve around politics, especially in today’s depressing economic times can really put people off. When this film was released in the theaters, America’s presidential elections were so in-your-face, televised and covered/parodied to the extreme and there were those who were so serious minded about the candidates and those who were just put off of hearing about politics all the time, I don’t even know if this film had a chance in such circumstances.
Fast forward to a new year and now we have the film out on Blu-ray. All I can say is that “SWING VOTE” is one of those films that depends on one’s state of mind. If you are disenchanted by the political system and want to stray far away from it, then this film is not going to win you over. Personally, I was really impressed by Costner and Carroll who really delivered in their roles and supported by a cast that also did a great job. I was entertained and enjoyed the film from beginning to end and sure, the film was a bit contrived especially on how it pokes fun at major political issues and such but the tensions I personally had of the US Presidential elections before November, at the time when this film came out in theaters, and now watching it months after the elections is now gone. It was great to watch this film and not think of what kind of important message it would have or if it would influence America. I just enjoyed the film for what it is, laughed and had a good time.
“SWING VOTE” may not be for everyone but if you are looking for a comedy that is enjoyable and possibly inspiring for some, definitely give it a try!
CHUNGKING EXPRESS – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #453 (a J!-ENT Blu-Ray Disc Review)
January 1, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Criterion again comes through with this 1994 Wong Kar-wai classic. Probably the best video and audio we will get from the original source material. Overall, a solid release that Criterion handled with care for those who cherish the film! This Blu-ray is the definitive ‘Chungking Express’ to own!”
TITLE: CHUNGKING EXPRESS – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #453
DURATION: 102 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Color, Stereo in Cantonese and Mandarin with Optional English Subtitles, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio
COMPANY: THE CRITERION COLLECTION
RATED: PG
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Screenplay: Wong Kar-wai
Executive Producer: Wong Kar-Wai
Producer: Chan Yi-kan
Production Supervisor: Jacky Pang
Director of Photography: Christopher Doyle
Production Designer: William Chang
Editors: William Chang, Hai Kit-Wai, Kwong Chi-Leung
Starring:
Brigitte Lin (woman with blonde wig)
Takeshi Kaneshiro (as Cop 223)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai (as Cop 663)
Faye Wong (as Faye)
Valerie Chow (as the Air Hostess)
Chen Jinquan (as manager of “Midnight Express”)
I really love this film.
“CHUNGKING EXPRESS” is the ultimate pop art film that won a lot hearts when it was first released and continues to this day. And not only has the film jumpstarted the film careers of Wong Kar-wai, Christopher Doyle, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Faye Wong (despite having an awesome music career), “CHUNGKING EXPRESS” is one of those non-action Asian films that has continued to become a fan favorite for fans all over the world.
The first story focuses on the woman with the blonde wig (Brigitte Lin, in her final film before retiring from the entertainment business) and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Cop 223. With the woman in the blonde wig, she sports a tan trench coat, sunglasses and a blonde wig while constantly smoking her cigarette elegantly. But this woman is involved in drug trafficking, as she works with the Indian smugglers and pays them to traffic heroin. And not only is she being betrayed by her Caucasian boyfriend (messing around with his employee) but now being betrayed by the smugglers who are helping her traffic the drugs (by stealing the drugs) and now she is a target.
Meanwhile, Cop 223 is an undercover cop that feels empty and incomplete after his former girlfriend May leaves him on April 1st. Thinking it may be an April Fool’s Joke, Cop 223 refuses to accept that May has left him but to make him believe it’s over, he has to eat 30 cans of pineapple that will expire on May 1, 1994, the day of his 25th Birthday.
After each day at work as he waits for May’s call, he frequents the nearby take-out food store Midnight Express which the owner keeps trying to set him up with his employees. But Cop 223 is not interested, he still has faith that May will call him. So, within the 30 days of his breakup, Cop 223 frequents convenience stores and has gathered 30 cans to signify each day that she hasn’t contacted him, thus he has to eat all 30 cans to make him feel some sort of closure. Because it’s almost time for his birthday and she hasn’t called, Cop 223 eats all the pineapple and feels sick to his stomach from eating all the pineapple. He starts calling up all his lady friends from as far back in grade school to see if he can meet a new woman but to no avail.
Feeling queasy, he feels he needs to drink alcohol at a nearby bar to make him feel better band he eventually meets the woman with the blonde wig. What happens when these two individuals meet each other? To bridge the next story, Cop 223 returns back to the Midnight Express and the owner tells him that he would like to set her up with his new employee Faye (Faye Wong) but Faye has her eyes set on another guy which leads to the second story. In this story, Cop 663 (Leung Chiu Wai) dates an airline stewardess.
But there is something lacking in their relationship and she leaves him. She leaves a note with the owner of the Midnight Express to give to Cop 663 but he doesn’t want to read it. Meanwhile, Faye (Faye Wong) who constantly blasts her Mamas and Papas “California Dreamin’” starts to fall for Cop 663.
Since he won’t read the note that his ex left her, she reads it and notices that she leaves his apartment keys in the letter. She senses that 663 is out of it… almost sleep walking in his life. In fact, the only things he talks to is a bar of soap, a wet towel and his stuff animal. He’s such in a daze that Faye takes matters in her own hand and thus his apartment keys from the letter his ex left for him and starts to go through his apartment and see what kind of life he has lived.
Seeing how he is in a daze and keeps thinking of his ex, Faye does the unthinkable by changing things in his apartment each day. From changing the labels to his sardine stash, changing his slippers, changing stickers on his mirror, changing the stuff animal, soap and towel that he talks to, filling up his empty aquarium with fish and for 663, being so out of it, he doesn’t even realize the changes at first but slowly discovers it and thus help him recover from his breakup. All is good and Faye’s plan seems to be working, that is until he discovers her in his apartment.
What will happen between these two individuals? What will happen when Cop 663 sees his ex-girlfriend again?
What is it about this storyline that makes it so different from any other relationship/breakup/finding love again type of film? The difference are the little cuts in between that make the film so avant garde. We learn in the commentary that Wong Kar-wai was a graphic designer and design and art has influenced him. “CHUNGKING EXPRESS” is a work of art, from it’s storytelling and it’s cinematography. Wong and Christopher Doyle are a tag team that when combined, good things happen.
There are moments in the film such as when Faye Wong starts rummaging through Cop 663′s room and even at one time with a microscope, looking for hair particles on the bed and just going crazy. Part of that quirkyness comes from Faye Wong, a pop diva in Asia that has won many hearts with her artistic presentation and her music but at the time, although not an established actress at this time Wong Kar-wai found something special about her movements, and that sheer expression and quirkiness really took the film to new heights.
Now that I think about it, I think it’s the mysteriousness that also captivates me. The woman with the blonde wig. The police officers known by their numbers, the use of expiration dates, Cop 223 asking a woman if she likes pineapple or trying to eat all these pineapple and doing whatever he can to make it taste different and of course the constant playing of “California Dreamin’” while Faye dances at the “Midnight Express”. There are so many little things that you remember from the film and never forget. And that’s why this film is so special? Everyone who watches it is like a person viewing art and coming away with something different.
When I first saw it back in 1994, I bought the VCD version, then the VHS version, then the DVD version and now here we are with the Blu-ray release, but not your regular Blu-ray release where you would expected 1080P video and true HD. This film is now part of the Criterion Collection and when Criterion’s name is on a film release, you know that you’re going to get a quality release. So, what did Criterion do for this release?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
Criterion is known to making their final masters to what the director’s had in mind. In this case, presenting the director’s requested aspect ratio of 1:66:1.
The new high definition transfer according to Criterion was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a 35 mm internegative and a 35 mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System and Pixel Farm’s PF Clean. For a film that is nearly 15 years old, the goal for Criterion was not to give a crisp and clear picture but to make sure that the requested aspect ratio was successful and removing all the dirt and scratches that have plagued previous releases of the film.
Oh, and I just have to say that things that were cut out of the US VHS/DVD release are intact in this Blu-ray version. But as far as video quality goes, you will find the colors noticeable especially at the bar when you see the CD’s in the jukebox spin and see the vibrant colors.
I have caught a few instances of color pulsing (due to the older print) and there were no artifacting. As for the audio, the original soundtrack was remastered by Tuu Duu-chih at 3H Sound Studios in Taipei under the supervision of Wong Kar-wai. According to Criterion, the audio restoration tools have been used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.
The audio is what I loved about this release. While watching the film and knowing that the majority of the film is dialogue-driven and as expected during the music scenes, to hear the music really become prominent but what I didn’t expect to hear, which put a smile to my face is the rear surround and hearing the people talking, the cars beeping and while the front speakers were busy with scenes such as the lady in the blonde wig with the Indian smugglers, you hear the whole life of the city come alive through the rear surround.
Suffice to say, I was quite happy to hear the audio channels used effectively in this dialogue-driven film by taking the city’s ambiance and having it come alive. Well done! And for those passionate about the film, hearing the tunes of “Baroque”, “California Dreamin’” and Faye Wong’s cover of the popular Cranberries song ala “Dreams” is just so fun and how music, even a few songs really made this pop art film truly shine.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
In the past release, we had Quentin Tarentino’s introduction to CHUNGKING EXPRESS”, this time around with the Criterion release, we have the following:
- An audio commentary featuring Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns who has talked to Wong Kar-wai in regards to certain scenes and also, we learn about how Chinese culture influenced certain situations such as the use of dates and certain phrases in the film. Also, the reason why certain music was used and pretty much how commercials really influenced Wong Kar-wai for this film. A very informative commentary.
- A 1996 episode of the British television series Moving Pictures featuring interview swith Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle – This segment was made in 1996 thus the quality despite being in HD, is not too great. But nevertheless, it was very fun to watch this 15-minute segment and watching these interviews with Wong and Christopher. Really awesome details as the two walk into the places where the Midnight Express was shot and also the apartment actually was Doyle’s apartment. Very informative.
- Then the US Theatrical trailer which was loved by American critics but unfortunately the film company didn’t know how to market the film, thus it didn’t do to well in America.
- A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin – For those familiar with Amy Taubin’s work on “Sight & Sound”, Taubin really gets into the film and definitely writes about the film and its characters in a unique way. Definitely an entertaing read for those who watched the movie. Do not read this booklet first if you haven’t seen the film.
The Blu-ray is presented in a digibook type of case with a slip cover.
I’ve owned so many variations of this film already that I can’t help but smile throughout the film and just seeing how beautiful it looks on Blu-ray and how good the sound quality was and hearing so many things all around me.
For those who were expecting a digital remastered version that will have a pristine, crisp and vibrant look as some older Blu-rays have managed to have, the Criterion Edition is beautiful but not spectacularly gorgeous but for those watching a Criterion release, the goal is not to change the film and change the colors.
Their goal was to present the film with the supervision of Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle and how they wanted the film to be. If you watched the original DVD version or previous versions, this film has aged but with the Criterion edition, the video looks beautiful without the scratches and all the dust and looks cleaned up. Personally, I don’t know if we’ll see the film any better than this presentation. It’s truly an awesome release on Blu-ray and absolutely love it!
I really hope that Criterion possibly considers releasing the third story via the film “Fallen Angels”on Blu-ray. Wong kar-wai created the third story for CHUNGKING EXPRESS” but because it would make the film to lengthy, he cut it out and carried it over to his next film, “Fallen Angels”. So, knock on wood, I hope that Criterion considers it because the treatment they gave for “CHUNGKING EXPRESS” was well done and definitely enhanced the whole experience for me, I found it quite beautiful.
Perhaps I’m a bit biased because I enjoyed this film so much but overall, this release is solid and definitely recommended!
