Be Cool (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

The sequel to “Get Shorty”, “Be Cool” comes nowhere near the quality of the first film.  But for a popcorn comedy film, “Be Cool” has plenty of stars, plenty of music and for the most part, ends up being a fun film.  If you are looking for a comedy on Blu-ray, don’t hesitate in giving “Be Cool” a try.

Images courtesy of ©2005 Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Be Cool

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2005

DURATION: 120 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround, French 5.1 DTS, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French

RATED: PG-13 (Violence, Sensuality and Language Including Sexual References)

COMPANY: Jersey Films/Twentieth Century Fox/MGM

RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2011

Directed by F. Gary

Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard

Screenplay by Peter Steinfeld

Produced by Danny De Vito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher

Executive Producer: F. Gary Gray, Elmore Leonard, Michael Siegel

Associate Producer: Anson Downes

Music by John Powell

Cinematography by Jeffrey L. Kimball

Edited by Sheldon Kahn

Casting by Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken

Production Design by Michael Corenblith

Art Direction by Lauren E. Polizzi, Dan Webster

Set Decoration by Denise Pizzini

Costume Design by Mark Bridges, Betsy Heimann

Starring:

John Travolta as Chili Palmer

Uma Thurman as Edie Athens

Vince Vaughn as Raji

Cedric the Entertainer as Sin LaSalle

Andre Benjamin as Dabu

Steven Tyler as Himself

Robert Pastorelli as Joe Loop

Christina Milian as Linda Moon

Paul Adelstein as Hy Gordon

Debi Mazar as Maria

Gergory Alan Williams as Darryl

Harvey Keitel as Nick Carr

Dwayne Johnson as Elliot Wilhelm

Danny De vito as Martin Weir

James Woods as Tommy Athens

Wyclef Jean asHimself

Fred Durst as Himself

Sergio Mendes as Himself

Gene Simmons as Hismself

RZA as Himself

Joe Perry as Himself

Anna Nicole Smith as Herself

Be Cool is the wildly hilarious tale about a gangster turned music mogul and what it takes to be number one with a bullet. When Chili Palmer (Travolta) decides to try his hand in the music industry, he romances thesultry widow (Thurman) of a recently whacked music exec, poaches a hot young singer (Christina Milian) from a rival label and discovers that the record industry is packin’ a whole lot more than a tune!

With the success of the 1990 Elmore Leonard novel and the 1995 film “Get Shorty”, there was no doubt that Leonard’s sequel would be made.

With many of Leonard’s stories being made to films from “3:10 to Yuma” and “The Tall T” and the TV series “Justified”, the gangster film “Get Shorty” was a box office success and also received nominations in the American Film Institute’s “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs” but also “AFI’s  10 Top 10″.

To preface a little about what “Get Shorty” was all about, the film focused on a Miami Loan Shark named Chili Palmer (played by John Travolta) who clashes with another mobster. In the film, Palmer meets with an actor named Martin Weir (played by Danny DeVito) to star in his life story.    In the film, Palmer is supposed to collect a lot of money but because of his movie ambitions, people want their money back and end up pursuing each other.

This now leads to “Be Cool”, a comedy film produced by Danny De Vito and directed by F. Gary Gray (“The Italian Job”, “Law Abiding Citizen”, “The Negotiator”, “Friday”) and a loosely based screenplay adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel by Peter Steinfeld (“21″, “Analyze That”, “Drowning Mona”).

In “Be Cool”, Chili Palmer (Travolta) has become a successful producer in Hollywood while Weir (DeVito) has become a popular actor.  Seeing how Weir has become a star has made Chili a bit disenchanted with Hollywood and talks about how he may want to return to the loanshark lifestyle.

Meanwhile his friend, music producer, Tommy Athens (played by James Woods) asks if Chili can produce a film about his life of resurrecting a record company through a wonderful talented younger singer named Linda Moon (played by Christina Milian).

Chili feels that before he can even consider a film, he needs to know more about the details.  So, when Palmer goes to the bathroom for a brief moment, someone drives by Athens, comes out of the car and guns him down.

When Chili goes to check out who did it, he sees a man with a toupee.  The man tries to kill Chili, because saw the man’s face but he runs out of bullets and escapes.

Tommy Athens murder leads to a few related storylines.

Chili goes to check out this Linda Moon at a club and learns that she can sing!  When he talks to her, he learns that she signed with Nick Carr (played by Harvey Keitel) and  that her naivety of being a star led her signing a contract and now she is forced to sing in dumps by Carr’s employee Roger “Raji” Lowenthall (played by Vince Vaughn), a white man who talks like a Black man and his muscular gay bodyguard Elliot Wilhelm who desperately wants to be an actor (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).

Tired of seeing how Raji treats Linda, Chili tells him immediately that she is no longer with Nick Carr and that she is now being managed by him.  When Elliot tries to fight, Chili tells him that he can help him get an audition and in the process, Chili pretends he knocks out Elliot (which Elliot acts as if one punch to the necks puts him out).  But with Elliot, now he is expecting Chili to hook him up and get an audition.

Due to the change of circumstances of his life, Chili has now decided to get into music.  Chili goes to visit his friend’s widow Edie Athens (played by Uma Thurman), part owner of NTL Records and talks to her about working together and making this singer, which Tommy believed in, a star.

While talking about Linda Moon and what is needed to make her a star, Edie talks about her tattoo of Aerosmith and how at one time she knew the band, especially Steven Tyler.  This gives Chili an idea of possibly getting Aerosmith to help them out.

Meanwhile, as Chili and Edie work on making Linda Moon a star, another storyline develops with gangster/producer Sin LaSalle (played by Cedric the Entertainer).  It appears that Athens owed LaSalle $300,000 and with him dead, he is intent in collecting the money from Edie and NTL Records.  LaSalle and his boys go to NTL Records to collect their money (which Edie has found out, there is no more money) but with quick thinking, Chili tells them that he will get them their money by the end of the week.

In another storyline, Nick Carr (Keitel) is upset that Chili has assumed that he can take Linda Moon away from him and so, they hire an assassin to kill Chili.  Unfortunately, the assassin ends up killing is a Russian mafia member who was planning to kill Chili and now the Russian mafia wants revenge.

With all that’s going on with Chili Palmer’s life, will he and Edie make Linda Moon a star?  And will he be able to get the money and save NTL Records, but most importantly, with people wanting to kill him, will he live by the end of the day?

VIDEO:

“Be Cool” is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1).  Picture quality for the film is absolutely vibrant.  There are plenty of colors seen through the film but also detail galore.  Skin tones are natural, black levels are nice and deep.  I didn’t notice any blemishes, artifacting or any problems with the film whatsoever.  The film looks great on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Be Cool” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround and French 5.1 DTS HD.  While the film is dialogue-driven, it’s also musically driven and from scenes with Linda Moon singing, to ambiance of hip-hop playing in Dabu and friend’s Humvee’s, Aerosmith playing live in concert to the Black Eyed Peas playing at club, music is what envelops the soundscape and utilizes the surround channels.

There are action sequences with gun shots or an aluminum bat coming into play and other ambiance as Chili and Edie going to a Lakers games but the film will be recognized for its music soundtrack and there is plenty of music being played throughout the film.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Be Cool” comes with the following special features:

• Be Cool, Very Cool Making-Of Documentary – (21:36) Making of the film and cast talking about the various characters in the film and how cool Chili Palmer is throughout the film.
• Deleted Scenes – (17:31) A total of 14 deleted and extended scenes.
• Gag Reel – (7:20) Outtakes from “Be Cool”.
• Music Video” The Rock as Elliot Wilhelm, “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man” - (4:07) As Director F. Gary Gray would say, things that one would not want to do in music video.
  
• John and Uma’s Dance Sequence – (3:35) The making of the dance sequence of Chili and Edie.
• Close Up: The Rock – (6:01) Director F. Gary Gray talks about casting The Rock as the gay Elliot Wilhelm.
• Close Up: Andre 3000 – (4:24) Director F. Gary Gray talks about casting Andre 3000 Benjamin (from the hip hop duo Outkast) and giving him a role in the film.
• Close Up: Cedric the Entertainer – (5:26) Director F. Gary Gray talks about how he wanted Cedric to play a bad, comedy man.
• Close Up: Christina Milian – (5:26) Director F. Gary Gray talks about how the role of Linda Moon was the most difficult to cast and how Christina Milian got the part.
• Theatrical Trailer – (2:03) The theatrical trailer for “Be Cool”.

When “Be Cool” came out in theaters back  in 2005, I figured that it would be the 10th anniversary of “Get Shorty” and it would be a pretty dark, comedy about Chili Palmer and the world he lives in.

“Be Cool” turned out to be a comedy which features plenty of stars, many cameos and a storyline that is fun but nowhere near the quality of its predecessor.

If there is one thing that the film does right, it’s the fact that Chili Palmer retains his cool from beginning to end, he is unfazed.  But then the film tries to incorporate so many stars that it tries to capture the Hollywood and Los Angeles lifestyle and like many other films which tries to incorporate a plethora of stars, it becomes the film’s focus and sure, it may work for some people but for those who are familiar with “Get Shorty”, especially those who are familiar with Elmore Leonard’s novel of “Be Cool”, the film becomes less about Chili Palmer and more about everyone else.

We have Vince Vaughn playing a white guy who talks Black, the Rock playing a gay bodyguard who is sensitive of people calling him a queer and yet singing in a silk cowboy outfit “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man”, you have the Black Eyed Peas in the film to provide Chili and Edie’s dance theme (which does not achieve the same or similar efficacy as their dance scene in “Pulp Fiction”) and characters after characters that are thrown in to the mix to make the film more appealing and cool to different audiences but in the long run, it just doesn’t work.

And now the good news…what I mentioned above, could also be the positive for many viewers.  Forget “Get Shorty” and look at this film as a popcorn comedy film with a lot of talent and stars.  Heck, there is so much music being played in the film, the filmmakers even manage to pull of filming scenes during an actual Los Angeles Lakers game.

And for me, compared to other films that try to throw in a lot of stars like “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” or “Valentine’s Day” that were not that great, “Be Cool” is a much more entertaining film.

When you think about it, you Travolta playing a cool character, Uma Thurman looking fantastic, Cedric the Entertainer as bad boy, The Rock as a gay man and Vince Vaughn trying to be Black, that makes for a fun comedy.  Not a great film but a good popcorn comedy film.

And its important to note that anyone who hasn’t seen “Get Shorty” can easily get into this film.  Watching the original film is not essential but if you do, you’ll see how the original is much better than this sequel.

As for the Blu-ray release, picture and audio quality were pretty solid for this catalog release and the film has a good number of special features as well.

Overall, “Be Cool” comes nowhere close to the efficacy of “Get Shorty” but it does manage to feature plenty of stars, plenty of music and in the end, makes for a fun popcorn comedy film on Blu-ray.

UPCOMING GUESTS ON “THE LATE LATE SHOW with CRAIG FERGUSON” ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK (Oct. 21-Nov. 8)

(Monday through Friday, 12:37-1:37 AM, ET/PT,

Following Broadcasts of the “Late Show with David Letterman”

*Denotes changes and/or additions to previous schedule, (n) Denotes new)

Thursday, Oct. 21                   Comedian Don Rickles; actress Ellie Kemper

Friday, Oct. 22                       The cast of the CBS comedy series “The Big Bang Theory”

Monday, Oct. 25                     Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann (n)

Tuesday, Oct. 26                     Actor Danny DeVito; actress Brie Larson; comedian Henry Cho (n)

Wednesday, Oct. 27                Actress Marg Helgenberger from the CBS drama series “CSI”; talk and performance with Donald Glover (n)

Thursday, Oct. 28                   Actor Michael Caine (n)

Friday, Oct. 29                        Actor Jason Segel from the CBS comedy series “How I Met Your Mother”; actress Alison Brie; comedian Adam Hills (n)

Monday, Nov. 1                      Actor Tyler Perry; actress Sophia Bush (n)

Tuesday, Nov. 2                      Comedian Lewis Black; singer Bettye LaVette (n)

Wednesday, Nov. 3                 Actor Stephen Fry; music by Dr. Dog (n)

Thursday, Nov. 4                    Actress Cheryl Hines; philosopher/author Cornel West (n)

*Friday, Nov. 5                      Actress Kerry Washington

*Monday, Nov. 8                   Actress Rosie Perez

On the Web: www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/

RATING:  TV-14-D (Rating may change on day of broadcast due to specific subject matter.)

When in Rome (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Kristin Bell and Josh Duham do quite well when onscreen together but with the various amount of goofball characters stealing screentime from these two characters, “When in Rome” is a lackadaisical romantic comedy at best.

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: When in Rome

DURATION: 91 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

COMPANY: Touchstone Home Entertainment

RATED: PG-13 (Some material may be inappropriate to children under 13 for some suggestive content)

RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2010

Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Written by David Diamond and David Weissman

Producer: Rikki Lea Bestall, Gary Foster, Mark Steven Johnson, Andrew Panay, Ezra Swerdlow

Co-Producer: Enzo Sisti, Kim H. Winther

Associate Producer: Joseph E. Iberti

Music by Christopher Young

Cinematography by John Bailey

Edited by Ryan Folsey, Andrew Marcus

Casting by Kathleen Chopin

Production Design by Kirk M. Petrucelli

Art Direction by John Kasarda, Stefano Maria Ortolani

Set Decoration by Diane Lederman

Costume Design by Sarah Edwards

Starring:

Kristin Bell as Beth

Joshn Duhamel as Nick

Anjelica Huston as Celeste

Wil Arnett as Antonio

Jon Heder as Lance

Dax Shepard as Gale

Alexis Dziena as Joan

Kate Micucci as Stacy

Peggy Lipton as Priscilla

Danny DeVito as Al

Don Johnson as Beth’s Dad

Luca Calvani as Umberto

Keir O’Donnell as Priest

Bobby Moynihan as Puck

Kristen Schaal as Ilona

Judith Malina as Umberto’s Grandma

An ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of those who threw them in: a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a street magician (John Heder), an adoring painter (Will Arnet) and a self-admiring model (Dax Shepard). But
when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing?

Trailer

Actress Kristin Bell has had her fair share of comedy roles on film.  From films such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Fanboys” and “Get Him to the Greek”, Bell plays the lead role in the Touchstone Pictures film “When In Rome”.

The film is directed by Mark Steven Johnson (“Ghost Rider”, “Daredevil”, “Simon Birch”) and a screenplay by writing duo David Diamond and David Weissman (“Old Dogs”, “Minutemen”, “The Family Man”).  Cinematography is by John Bailey (“He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Mad Money”, “The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants”) and music by Steven Young (“The Saboteur”, “The Informers”, “Spider-Man 3″, “Ghost Rider”).

Although the film received lackluster reviews from the film critics, the film did pull in over $37 million in the box office.

The film revolves around NY-based, Guggenheim art curator Beth Martin (played by Kristin Bell), her love life is not going so well and each man she falls for, they find love elsewhere.   Her job at the museum is becoming stressful as her boss Celeste (played by Anjelica Huston, “The Addams Family” films, “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “The Grifters”) is expecting her to bring in an important item to her upcoming exhibit and it’s a project that the museum is expecting a big return.

So, stressed out about her job and her love life, Beth receives news from her younger sister Joan that she is getting married in Rome to an Italian man she has only known for two weeks and wants her sister to be there for her at the wedding.  Facing a major deadline, a warning from her boss that she is replaceable and having to trust her bumbling assistant Stacy (played by Kate Micucci, “Nick and Norah’s Infinity Playlist”), Beth leaves to Rome for two days in order to be there for her sister.

While at the wedding, she meets the groom’s best man Nick (played by Josh Duhamel, “Las Vegas”, “Transformers” films), both seem to hit off very well and Beth finds herself attracted to him.  But when she sees a woman kissing him, Beth feels that she has lost another guy that she’s attracted to.  Upset, and now drunk, Beth heads to the “Fountain of Love” in which she cries out her lack of success in finding love and how she doesn’t believe in the fountain in finding love for people.  She then goes to pick up coins inside the fountain and immediately we see a transformation for several men which include sausage magnate (played by Danny DeVito, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Taxi”), a street magician (played by Jon Heder, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Mama’s Boy”, “Blades of Glory”), a painter (played by Will Arnett, “Arrested Development”, “30 Rock”) and a wannabe model (played by Dax Shepard, “Parenthood”).

Meanwhile, when Beth returns back home in New York, life seems to have changed as she notices that Nick wants to go out on a date with her but all of a sudden these four other men are all vying for her attention in a unique number of ways. The sausage magnate Al is trying to sponsor her event, magician Lance finds ways to break into her apartment to impress her with his magic, Antonio painting nude murals of Beth and model Gale taking off his clothes in order to use his body and tries get her attention.

Freaked out by all this, she explains to her sister what is happening and her sister and her husband tell Beth that by taking the coins from the “Fountain of Love”, she has now created a spell in which these men have fallen for her and the only way she can break the spell is by returning the coins back to the Fountain of Love.

But because she has this deadline at work, she is unable to go to Rome and now must deal with these men stalking her.  To make things worse, she finds herself falling in love with Nick but while at her place, she finds a poker chip that resembles the same chip she took from the Fountain of Love and is convinced that Nick only loves her because he’s hooked on a spell.

Will Beth be able to break the spell and will she ever find true love?

VIDEO:

“When in Rome” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1).  The picture quality is quite vibrant in this film.  Colors tend to showcase earthtones and blues but for the most part, the film looks gorgeous especially during Beth’s trip to Rome.  The only thing is that during closeups, I was expecting to see more detail but overall, the picture quality is very good for this film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“When In Rome” is featured in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.  Although the film is dialogue and music driven, there is a good use of surround sound for crowd ambiance and especially near the end when the thunderstorms hit New York City.  But for the most part, dialogue is clear from the center channels and music from the front channels are dynamic and definitely sounds great via lossless.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“When in Rome” comes with the following special features presented in 1080p High Definition, English 2.0 or 5.1 and subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.  Include are the following:

• Alternate Opening & Ending – (7:17) The alternate opening and ending which really would have made this film drag.  I’m glad these two were not used.
• Crazy Casanovas: Mischief From The Set – (12:28) We meet our hilarious cast and crew that brought this film to life.  The director and cast talk about filming with other staff members, the making of the “Fountain of Love” and more.
• Extended Scenes: Pain With the Suitors – (2:39) Featuring extended scenes for: A Torture Artist, A Total Shock, A Force of Nature.  Featuring the suitors (artist, magician and model) being introduced at the Guggenheim.  More like deleted scenes than extended scenes.
• Kerplunk! Bloopers From Rome – (3:07) See the cast’s bloopers & blunders on the set of the film.
• Deleted Scenes – (7:45) A total of eight deleted scenes.
• Music Video:  “Starstrukk” by 3OH3! Featuring Katy Perry
  
• Music Video: “Stupid Love Letter” by Friday Night Boys
  

EASTER EGG:

On the main menu, click on Bonus Features and you will see a poker chip at the bottom of the screen. Scroll all the way down with your remote and click on the poker chip.   You will access the easter egg “The craziest thing you did for love” in which the guys of the film talk about the craziest things they did for love. (Duration: 1:11)

EXTRAS:

“When in Rome” comes with a cardboard slip cover.

“When in Rome” is a romantic comedy that has its times of beauty and fun but its underachieving plot and cliche-filled, farfetched storyline makes the film more silly than enjoyable.

If there is one thing we learned from Kristin Bell films, she has appeared in comedies but here characters are are not known to deliver the comedy. For “When in Rome”, Bell does a great job alongside Duhamel.

The problem is that their characters are not utilized as much into the screenplay as one would hope and the story keeps shifting to all these other characters that the comedy becomes fine for the first half but then becomes overly lame for its second half.

One scene features both Beth and Nick on their first date going to a restaurant that is pitch black with only the employees sporting night vision goggles.  What could have been an enlightening dinner, becomes a mess.  Who in their right mind, would want to go to a restaurant with no lighting.  I’m sure the writers could have come up with something much better.

As for the comedy, bringing the comedy are Josh Duhamel who tries to bring some of that vaudeville style of comedy as a former football athlete who was struck by lightning and now a journalist.  For a guy so suave and reserved, it’s hard to believe he is very clumsy.  Granted, Duhamel shows he can do comedy but for most of the film, the writers tease the viewer to thinking he has a chance, he doesn’t have a chance and keeps switching back and forth.  As mentioned, it would have been great if the film had focus on the two major characters but instead, we have to watch Beth deal with four goofballs.

As for the suitors (the goofballs), I expected to see a bit more perversion from Danny DeVito (who shows us that he can do so much more on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Dax Shephard who typically plays comedy-based roles without a name, gets to play the wannabe model who’s only major ad campaign was for gas relief.  Catching your attention is Jon Heder as the creepy magician as the “Napoleon Dynamite” star is reunited with Efren Ramirez who plays his videographer Juan and literally a character similar to his “Napoleon Dynamite” character Pedro.  And then there is Will Arnett as the Italian artist who keeps painting or drawing nudes of Beth.  Once again, the laughs are good but with Kristin Bell playing the character of “Sarah Marshall” in two films and you see comedy being pushed to another level, I suppose I was expecting to see DeVito strip down (like the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” special) or to see something far out and unexpected.  Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

Interesting enough, aside from Efren Ramirez having a guest role, we also see Don Johnson playing Beth’s father, Shaquille O’Neal and Lawrence Taylor in the film.  Fortunately, O’Neal and Taylor’s role were quite limited.

If anything, I felt that aside from the beautiful location shots, “When In Rome” suffers from too many characters with a script that doesn’t utilize them effectively.  Personally, “When in Rome” could have easily been a much more interesting film without the suitors and focused on “fate” between Beth and Nick.

Sure, it’s contrived and cliche but it could have been better than what we are given in this screenplay.  And if you watched the alternative opening and ending, you won’t believe what else the writers had planned for this film.   In fact, if anything, I felt that there was more vitality at the music number used for the credits than what we see in the entire film.

Overall, “When in Rome” is an OK romantic comedy if one wanted to watch a film with a significant other to pass time.  The  Blu-ray does have a good amount of special features but in the end, the film was lackadaisical romantic comedy at best.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Possibly the darkest, crudest, hilarious and violent Christmas episode you will ever see from a television series,  “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” takes viewers where the television episode can’t.  Absolutely insane but definitely fun!

Images courtesy of © 2009 Bluebush Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas

DURATION: 43 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p Upconvert (1:78:1), Englisy 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, AVC@18 or higher MBPS, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

RATED: 13 and Up

COMPANY: FX/Twentieth Century Fox

RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2009

Created by Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day

Directed by Fred Savage

Produced by Fred Savage

Co-Produced by Jeff Luini

Music by Cormac Bluestone

Casting by Wendy O’Brien

Starring:

Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly

Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds

Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds

Rob McElhenney as Mac

Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds

Ho, ho, heyooo! Christmas is nearly here and the Paddy’s gang has got the spirit. Well, not really. For them, the holidays have always been a time of trickery, backstabbing, and disappointment. But this year things are going to be different as they are determined to rediscover the joy in Christmas. Join Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee and Frank as they embark on a holiday adventure filled with stolen toys, childhood videos, naked elves and a bloody run in with Santa Claus that is guaranteed to blast Christmas spirit all over!

Possibly the darkest comedy Christmas special I have ever seen in my life.  And I would expect nothing less from the popular FX television series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.

The dark comedy is from the minds of Rob McElhenney (who plays the character of Mac, “Lost”), Glenn Howerton (who plays the character Dennis Reynolds, “That 80′s Show”, “The Cleveland Show”) and Charlie Day (who plays the character of Charlie Kelly, “Third Watch”, “Luis”), all three who star as the main characters of the show.

The series is based on a group of misanthropes who run Paddy’s Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.

The following are the main characters of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”:

Dennis Reynolds – Dennis runs the pub with his twin sister Deandra.  He has a superiority complex in which he demeans all his friends including his sister and will always bring up their flaws and past failures.  He’s critical of everyone’s appearance and is somewhat hated by people.

Deandra “Dee” Reynolds -”Dee” (played by Kaitlin Olson, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “The Riches”, “The Drew Carey Show”) is the twin sister of Dennis and is the bartender at Paddy’s Pub.  Her dream is to become an actress but she lacks talent.  Often ignored by the guys and belittled, Dee is selfish and greedy.

Charlie Kelly – Co-owner of Paddy’s and grew up with Dennis and Mac.  Quite possibly the friend who gets into trouble and has a bad habit of inhaling glue and spray paint.   And he’s quite disgusting and dumb.  He is the roommate of Frank Reynolds (played by Danny DeVito, “Taxi”), the father of Dennis and Dee.

Mac – A co-owner of Paddy’s Pub and sees himself as superior to his friends but somewhat idolizes Frank Reynolds and is jealous of other people’s success.  He comes from a broken home and is always seeking acceptance which leads to people thinking he’s a bit of a jerk.

Frank Reynolds – The father of Dennis and Dee (and possibly Charlie).  Frank has literally worked in various illegal businesses.  He tends to exploit his children and is egotistical and maniacal.  Also, a compulsive gambler.

“A Very Sunny Christmas” was the final episode of the fifth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and in order to get past the FCC, it was released direct-to-DVD  (note: this episode was longer than a standard episode and features more profanity and violence) and takes place before Christmas time.

It’s Christmas time and Mac and Charlie are decorating the pub with holiday glee but when Dennis and Dee arrive to the pub, they don’t want to celebrate Christmas at all.

When they receive a call from Frank that he has a Christmas present, both Dennis and Dee are worried about what he bought himself this time.  Frank has upset his children once again when she shows up with a new sports car and carrying around an expensive Italian bag and again, the children are upset that their father is spending the money he stole from his former business partner and enjoying life as if he did nothing wrong.

Upset with their father (who disappoints them during the holiday season continuously), Dennis and Dee decide to contact Frank’s former business partner (the person he stole money from) and possibly Mr. Hamilton would get some payback.  As for Frank, he thinks his former partner is dead and thus, he lives his life with no worries.

So, Dennis and Dee pay a visit to Mr. Hamilton to see if he wants revenge but the thing is that Mr. Hamilton is a big Christian and said he has forgiven Frank.   So, Dennis and Dee come up with an idea that perhaps Mr. Hamilton can teach Frank how to be a Christian since he doesn’t believe in God and thus, Mr. Hamilton who figures he can help Frank decides to help Dennis and Dee.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Mac try to celebrate Christmas and share their Christmas traditions but realizing that perhaps Christmas for them was not what they thought it was.

For Mac, he finds a Christmas video in which his family celebrates Christmas by going to someone’s home and stealing their presents.  Mac, who is naive, thinks it’s a Christmas tradition of going to people’s home and taking their gifts, while people go to their homes and take their gifts (thus why there was never gifts at his home) and says its a holiday tradition.  But Charlie informs him there is no such holiday tradition and he and his family were actually stealing.

As for Charlie, he thinks its tradition when a Santa would come in and bring him a present and then each Santa that would come would spend time with his mother and give her money.  He asks if Mac celebrates that Christmas tradition but Mac explains to him that his mother was probably a prostitute and was having sex with the Santa’s that would come to his home.

So, while Charlie and Mac try to find out how to celebrate the Christmas holiday, Dennis and Dee brings Mr. Hamilton to Frank’s apartment (Frank thinks he’s still dead) and Frank freaks out and thinks he’s a ghost.  But both Dennis and Dee decided to show a video of how Frank destroyed Christmas for them forever.

But the night of Christmas is about each character discovering Christmas their own way and the gang trying to show Mr. Hamilton of how much Frank is an a-hole and shouldn’t be forgiven and that his business partner should demand payback.

Definitely, a very sunny Christmas for the gang!

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas is presented in widescreen (1:78:1) with AVC@18 or higher MBPS.  It’s important to note that on the Blu-ray edition, there is a “Producer’s Blu-ray Introduction” (:48) in which Rob McElhenny and the producer read a note from Fox that the Christmas special was not shot in HD but in standard definition because it was a creative choice.  Also, explaining that the video was upconverted.

Audio is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and for the most part is a front and center-channel driven episode.  Music sounds much, much louder and cleaner but definitely not an episode where one should expect any surround or subwoofer usage.

Subtitles are featured in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” comes with the following special features:

• “Young Charlie & Young Mac: Deleted Scenes: (2:47) Dad, Dogs, Bird – Three hilarious scenes featuring young Charlie and Young Mac talk about their personal life.  Mac talking about his dad going to prison, Mac explaining to Charlie of where he came from when he was a baby and the final deleted scene about Charlie depressed about how he is growing hair in his armpits and his bird.
• Behind the Scenes/Making Of featurette – (7:22) The cast and crew talk about doing the Christmas special but also thinking back on their favorite Christmas moments as a child.
• Sunny Sing-A-Long – (3:12) Featuring the cast of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” singing Christmas songs.  Featuring the gang having fun with each other while video effects show the characters with weird heads and some twisted footage.

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” is the darkest, crudest comedy Christmas special I have ever seen.  But in a way, I found it kind of twisted and fun to see a special so unlike any Christmas specials which tend to be happy and cheerful.  “A Very Sunny Christmas” is the total opposite of what you would expect to see for a Christmas special and I for one, never expected to see Danny DeVito nude, nor did I expect to see a Santa being mauled during the Christmas children’s line at the shopping center.  So, expect to see some hilarious but also…”wow, I can’t believe they did that on this episode” type of scenes.

For those familiar with the show, the Christmas episode works well with the characters as they are misanthropes who have lived somewhat messed up lives and now trying to make it as adults.   It’s like watching a Christmas special of “Scrooge” but the story works in reverse as the children of Frank really want to see their father get lambasted for his holiday misdeeds.  It was quite interesting to see what kind of storyline they would have for the gang when they were kids and suffice to say, it works.  It’s absolutely wild and crazy but it works.

If you are trying to choose if you should go for the Blu-ray over the DVD version, the main difference is that the Blu-ray is in HD and actually brings up the graininess of the series (which is explained in a special feature) and is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio which brings out the music of the show.  If anything, those who are audiophiles will probably go for the lossless soundtrack version but for the most part, there is no exclusive content for Blu-ray over its DVD counterpart and the feature is upconverted.  Personally, I think the video and audio is marginally better than the DVD but by a small fraction.  So, don’t expect awesome PQ and AQ with this Blu-ray release.

Overall, this holiday adventure for the gang of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” definitely shows us how far the cast and crew will go when they don’t have to bend over for the FCC.   It’s twisted, crazy and fun and definitely great for those who could care less for the usual Christmas specials.  Many fans have come to love “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” because of its writing and the fact that the main talent who are acting are the creators and writers of the show seems to help because they really have done a great job with the series thus far.  So, for those who are interested in the Blu-ray or DVD release, if you are sick of the cheerful, happy holidays style of specials all over television, then you will definitely want to give “A Very Sunny Christmas” a try.

Dark humor and crude, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” is definitely for you!

GET SHORTY (A J!-ENT DVD Review)

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MOVIE COMPANY: METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES
CAST: Starring John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Harvey Keitel, Penny Marshall and more.
DIRECTED BY: Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
PRODUCED BY: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
RATING: Rated R
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0113161
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action, Comedy, Drama
DURATION: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Drug smuggling, Racketeering, Loan Sharking.  Welcome to Hollywood!  Golden Globe winner John Travolta leads an all-star cast in “the most flat-out enjoyable movie of the year” (NY Newsday) – a hysterical comedy that insists it doesn’t take much to make it in the movies…just a background with the mob.  Loanshark Chili Palmer (Travolta) has done his time as a gangster.  So when “business” takes him to L.A. to collect a debt from a down-and-out filmmaker (Gene Hackman), Chili jumps headfirst into the Hollywood scene: he schmoozes film star (Danny DeVito), romances a “B” movie queen (Rene Russo) and even gets reservations at the hottest restaurants in town.  In fact, all would be smooth for this cool new producer, if it weren’t for the drug smugglers and an angry mobster who won’t leave him alone.  But hey, this Hollywood and no one said it would be easy!

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• 8-page booklet featuring trivia, production notes and a revealing look at the making of the movie
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I could find.

DVD REVIEW:

A movie about a gangster who leaves the business to get into another business similar to his previous job….show business.

The movie is very interesting and entertaining.  Also, very smart to see how the Loanshark Chili Palmer evolves in the movie business. Quite a few celebrities appear in this film which helps make this movie entertaining.

The video is colorful and the audio is strictly dialogue, so don’t expect much in terms of major explosions or audio effects in your living room.  The only thing that this movie falls short is in the special features department.  This movie’s release on DVD has audio commentary and much more.  In the DVD version, it’s just the trailer and an 8-page booklet.  So, either they will release a special edition of this movie, something that fans of this movie are awaiting for.

So, check out a cool movie, with a cool storyline featuring many of today’s top actors and actresses.

THE MOVIE:  B+
THE DVD EXTRAS:  D
THE DVD OVERALL:  C-

LIVING OUT LOUD (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

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CAST: Starring Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah and more.
DIRECTED BY: Richard LaGravanese
PRODUCED BY:
RATING: Rated R
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120722
TYPE OF MOVIE: Drama, Romance, Comedy
DURATION: 103 minutes

Judith (Hunter) ending a 20-year relationship with her husband in a restaurant. We see from the beginning that this character is flawed, that she doesn’t really have a life–she eats in, sings to herself in her apartment, goes out alone, etc. Until she meets Pat (DeVito), a man who’s life is in real shambles. He too has been recently divorced plus on top of that his daughter has just died. The circumstances that these two emotionally-disconnected people come together is astounding, which is also why they become such great friends.

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Commentary by director Richard LaGravenese
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Reading of Anton Chekhov’s short story “Misery” by writer Stephen Schiff
• Reading of Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Kiss” by actress Claudia Shear
• Five deleted scenes including a full performance of the song “Lush Life” by Queen Latifah (Letterbox 2.35 : 1, Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Widescreen anamorphic format

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):  None that I know of

DVD REVIEW:

A very good movie with great performances from Hunter, DeVito and Queen Latifah.  Very good music and a story that shows to a person, no matter what may have happened in the past or how bad your life was then, don’t be depressed.  Do something about it!  That’s what this movie is about for each character.  Doing something about one’s life.

Many feel that this movie is underrated.  That it shouldn’t have been snubbed by the Oscars.  Some feel that each person’s story was great watching but putting it all together as one movie didn’t work well.

The video is very good and the music is excellent.  The special features include deleted scenes which may have benefited the movie.  Also, readings of short stories and more.

My feeling is that the movie is beautifully done and give it a try.

THE MOVIE:  A-
THE DVD EXTRAS:  A-
THE DVD OVERALL: A-

MAN ON THE MOON (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

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MOVIE COMPANY: Universal Pictures
CAST: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti
DIRECTED BY:  Milos Forman
PRODUCED BY:  Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0125664
TYPE OF MOVIE: Comedy and Drama
DURATION:  119 minutes

Based on a true story, Jim Carrey stunningly portrays the late Andy Kaufman-considered the most innovative, eccentric and enigmatic comic of his time-in Man on the Moon.  “Jim Carrey is extraordinary,” says the New York Post.  “Jim Carrey may be a better Andy Kaufman than Andy Kaufman” writes Newsweek.  Also starring Danny DeVito as Kaufman’s manager, Courtney Love as the woman Andy falls in love with and Paul Giamatti as his best friend.  You’ll stand up and cheer for Carrey in one of the year’s most entertaining movies.

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, DTS Stereo, Widescreen, AC-3
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Documentary: Andy: The Andy Kaufman Story
• Spotlight on Location: Behind-the-Scenes Footage and Interviews
• Deleted Scenes
• Music Videos By R.E.M.: Man on the Moon and The Great Beyond
• Special DVD-ROM Features & Parental Lock
• Widescreen anamorphic format

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S):  Extra clips:
Select the “Bonus Materials” option at the main menu. Select Andy Kaufman’s biography and advance through the screens. Press Up to highlight the small picture of Andy Kaufman that appears on the various screens. Press Enter to play short clips of him performing.

DVD REVIEW:

I grew up watching “Taxi” and my memories of Andy Kaufman is not so clear though. I recall a comedy special of his being heckled on one special on cable way back when and now I wonder if that was a true heckler or his partner? After watching this movie and getting to see how Andy Kaufman really is…all I can say is…whoah! The dude was intense! There is more about him on the spotlight section, so make sure you watch that after the movie. The comments from Danny DeVito is very interesting. Cheese and onions…gag!

Jim Carrey is absolutely stunning in this movie.  My gosh, he could be Andy’s twin brother.  Even Andy’s closest friends say that he acted exactly like Andy and that shows his talent as an actor.

The movie is very entertaining and the colors are very nice, so no problems with video and no artifact problems.  Now as for the audio, I give “Man on the Moon” an A+ because Universal did fans a service by including the DTS version of the audio track with this movie.  Most companies have a separate DTS version sold with hardly any extras and Universal continues what they did with “Bowfinger” and made this DVD with a DTS and Dolby Digital version on the same DVD.   Also, they put a number of good extras such as the spotlight on location, deleted scenes and the two R.E.M. music videos and more.

This movie is very entertaining and it’s one of the best Jim Carrey well-acted movies out there.  This  DVD is highly recommended.

THE MOVIE: A
THE DVD EXTRAS: A+
THE DVD OVERALL:  A