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

July 28, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

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.

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.

Filed Under: Blu-ray Reviews

Taxi Driver (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

March 27, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Taxi Driver” is a ferociously powerful film that continues to capture us and will continue to do so for many generations to come. Featuring a 4K restoration on video and a restored lossless soundtrack and special features galore… This Blu-ray release earns our highest rating…5 stars!

TITLE: Taxi Driver

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1976

DURATION: 114 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai

COMPANY: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: R

RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2011

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by Paul Schrader

Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips

Associate Producer: Phillip M. Goldfarb

Music by Bernard Hermann

Cinematography by Michael Chapman

Edited by Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro

Casting by Juliet Taylor

Art Direction by Charles Rosen

Set Decoration by Herbert F. Mulligan

Costume Design by Ruth Morley

Starring:

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle

Jodie Foster as Iris

Albert Brooks as Tom

Leonard Harris as Charles Palantine

Peter Boyle as Wizard

Cybill Shepherd as Betsy

Harvey Jeitel as Sport

Harry Northup as Doughboy

4 Academy Award(r) nominations including Best Picture! (1976) Special Collector’s Edition is digitally remastered and includes a never-before-seen making-of documentary featuring interviews with the creators and stars of the film. Robert De Niro stars with Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, and Albert Brooks in the all-too-real story of a psychotic New York cabby who is driven to violence in an attempt to rescue a teenage prostitute.

In 1976, the film “Taxi Driver” would take America by storm.

The film is directed by Martin Scorsese (“Mean Streets”, “New York, New York”, “Raging Bull”, “Goodfellas”), written by Paul Schrader (“Raging Bull”, “American Gigolo”, “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”, “The Last Temptation of Christ”), music by Bernard Herrman (“Citizen Kane”, “Psycho”) and cinematography by Michael Chapman (“Raging Bull”, “The Fuguitive”, “Primal Fear”).

Created with a budget of $1.3 million, the film would garner nearly all positive reviews from film critics and would earn $28 million in the box office.

“Taxi Driver” would also win the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and would be nominated for four Academy Awards including “Best Picture”, “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Robert De Niro), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jodie Foster) and “Best Music, Original Score” (Bernard Herrmann).

35-years later and “Taxi Driver” is ranked as #52 on America Film Institute’s “The Greatest American Film Ever Made”, including AFI’s “Top 50 Movie Villians of All Time” in which character Travis Bickle was #30. The film would also be in Time Magazine’s “100 Best Films of All Time” and was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

“Taxi Driver” revolves around Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro), a lonely and depressed Vietnam veteran living in Manhattan.

He lies to his parents that he is doing well and works as a government employee but the truth is that he is an insomniac and works 12-hour shifts as a taxi driver in New York City. He spends his free time watching porn in theaters and writes in his diary (which we hear him talking of what he is writing).

Travis suddenly becomes attracted to Betsy (played by Cybil Shepherd), a campaign volunteer for Senator Charles Palantine (played by Leonard Harris) who runs on a platform for “dramatic social change” and now Travis starts watching Betsey through the campaign office. Bickle ends up trying to become a volunteer for Senator Palantine but he uses it as a pretext in order to get close to Betsy.

Travis eventually gets Betsy to join him for coffee and pie and even a date to a movie but the movie he ends up taking her to is a Swedish sex education film and she is offended. Travis does all he can to reconcile with Betsy, constantly calling her and sending her flowers but to no avail. With the lack of communication, Travis snaps and visits her and gives her a chilling message that she is like everyone else and will die just like everyone else.

While driving his taxi one night, he picks up a 12-year-old prostitute named Iris (played by Jodie Foster) who is accompanied by her pimp “Sport” (played by Harvey Keitel) and the pimp manages to get her out of the taxi and Sport throws him crumpled money. He sees how this pimp bosses this girl around and he is disgusted by it.

He suddenly develops radical views on life and tries to communicate with fellow taxi driver “Wizard” (played by Peter Boyle) but Wizard passes it off as seeing a lot of scum on the streets in New York City. That he will get over it.

But one day, while driving a man (played by Martin Scorsese) who is planning to murder his wife who is having an affair with a Black man (which you can sense, Travis doesn’t care much for Black people), he changes. He buys firearms from an illegal dealer named “Easy Andy” (played by Steven Prince) and starts to become interested in the public appearances of Senator Palantine and also starts an intense training regiment.

While driving his taxi, he sees young Iris with another prostitute and starts following her while in his cab. Both girls are spooked and try to avoid him. He ends up meeting Iris once again and pays to be with her but not for sex but for her time. Travis tries to persuade her to quite prostitution and next thing you know, Travis becomes obsessed in trying to help Iris leave her pimp and will do all it takes to make it happen.

One day when he goes to a grocery store, he sees a man trying to rob the store and Travis ends up shooting the man in the neck and killing him. Seeing how easy it was, the violence ignites Travis Bickle and the once calm Taxi Driver will never be the same again.

VIDEO:

“Taxi Driver” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). Before I begin with my review on picture quality, I want to remind everyone that film stock during the mid-70′s really sucked. A lot of movie companies were suffering economically and they cut corners. With that being said, “Taxi Driver” on Blu-ray is the best this film has ever looked.

Sure, the opening logo from Columbia Pictures scared me at the beginning because it looked aged and terrible but once the movie starts, you can see how things have improved with the 4K restoration (note: This is the third 4K restoration that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has worked on. The previous titles were “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai”).

In fact, SPHE gave “Taxi Driver” a special treatment by giving director Martin Scorsese and Director of Photography Michael Chapman the opportunity to be part of the restoration process. And for Scorsese, his main goal was to make sure that the film looked like “a product of the time and place in which it was made”. That is no modernizing or color enhancements.

What we are seeing on Blu-ray is how Scorsese wanted…what people would see in a 1976 release and what videophiles have wanted. Exact film reproduction of what one would see on screen but now seeing it in their own home theater setup. And the detail of the seedy New York City, the vibrant colors, seeing the bumps and stubble on Travis’ face to even seeing the skin of Betsy with detail is amazing. Clothing is also fully detailed and personally, this is one of the best Blu-ray releases I have seen (and makes me wish that all fantastic classics would have received the 4K restoration).

For what this Blu-ray has accomplished, I would not be surprised if this Blu-ray release receives top honors of Blu-ray of the year.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Taxi Driver” is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. While the original film had utilized an original mono magnetic master with split dialogue, effects and music, a 4-track stereo recording of the score on audio tape was found and incorporated to this Blu-ray release. Scorsese had his own audio experts create a 5.1 track from the restored elements.

With that being said, this is the best audio that any fan of “Taxi Driver” will ever hear. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA lossless soundtrack not only enhances the clarity of the audio but also Bernard Hermann’s music. The jazz music comes alive and there is also sounds of New York city ambiance and crowd ambiance that can be heard. And of course, the gun shots also come alive in this soundtrack. But it’s the dialogue and the music that sounds incredible and seriously, if you watched this film on DVD, LD and VHS, none of those formats accomplish the way this movie sounds on Blu-ray. Such an incredible improvement!

Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Taxi Driver” comes with the following special features presented in standard and high definition, English Stereo and subtitles in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai:

movieIQ – If your Blu-ray player is connected to the Internet, you can access information about the film while watching the movie.
Original 1986 Commentary with Director Martin Scorsese and Writer Paul Schrader recorded by The Criterion Collection – The awesome 1986 commentary from the original Criterion Collection LD release featuring Scorsese and Schrader is included in this Blu-ray release.
Interactive Script to Screen – While watching this film, you can see the script at the same time.
Feature Length Commentary by Writer Paul Schrader – Writer Paul Schrader talks about his inspiration in writing this film and how things were changed during the course of filming via improvisation, the cast performances and more. Note: Unlike the 1986 commentary, there are times when you don’t hear anything from Schrader.
Feature Length Commentary by Professor Robert Kolker – A very in-depth audio commentary who dissects the film and is highly recommended listening!
Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver – (16:52) Director Martin Scorsese talks about how he got involved with the film and his take on working with crew and the talent.
God’s Lonely Man – (21:40) A featurette on the isolation of the character. Writer Paul Schrader talks about the character’s isolation and how the film was influenced by “Psycho” and “The Searchers”.
Producing Taxi Driver – (9:42) Producer Michael Phillips talks about producing the film and how he and Julia Phillips wanted to give new, younger filmmakers a try to direct a film.
Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute – (18:30) Filmmakers, talent and professionals in the industry talk about what makes Martin Scorses so unique as a filmmaker.
Taxi Driver Stories – (22:23) Real life taxi drivers from the ’70s talk about how New York was a different time back then and how the streets were so seedy and full of scum and the dangers they faced.
Making Taxi Driver – (1:10:55) A wonderful in-depth special feature on the making of “Taxi Driver”. From Paul Schrader’s experience, improvisation used in the film, how the talent brought things to Scorsese who added to the film, making of Travis Bickle’s hair, the creation of the violence scenes and various talent talk about working with Scorsese and De Niro and more.
Travis’ New York – (6:16) Michael Chapman (Director of Photography) and Edward Koch talk bout how New York was back in the ’70s.
Travis’ New York Locations – (4:49) A comparison of the locations of where “Taxi Driver” was shot featuring 1975 New York and 2006 New York.
Storyboard to Film Comparisons with Martin Scorsese – (4:32) Martin Scorsese talks about how he utilizes storyboards and how it has helped him for many of the films he has created.
Animated Photo Galleries – Featuring video-based galleries (with music): Bernard Horrman Score (2:23), On Location (2:51), Publicity Materials (1:44) and Scorsese at Work (2:47).

EXTRAS:

“Taxi Driver” is presented in a hardbound digibook and comes with 12 postcards.

“Taxi Driver” is one of those intriguing films for cinema fans. You can go on a forum, you can have conversations about this film and each person can give you their interpretation of what “Taxi Driver” mean to them.

I didn’t grow up in New York City during the ’70s but I did grow up during that time to know that the city had some major problems and was overtaken by prostitutes, adult theaters and it was pretty much a seedy area unlike today’s New York City which has been cleaned up considerably since the making of this film.

But for me and many Americans, Travis Bickle, despite being one of the most vile villains in cinema history, he is also an anti-hero that many people can identify with. This is a man who is lonely, isolated and really wants to fit into society but he can’t. He wants to be with women he can save, but they don’t want to be saved.

When Travis meets Betsy, he talks about the look on her face of not being happy of where she works and you have this sense that he really wants to help her get away from what he sees as scum of the city and brings her into his world. But his world is even seedier as he spends most of his life driving a taxi and watching porn and the only thing he can think of as a first date is taking her out to a movie…an adult movie.

And it’s this uneasiness of this character that attracts the viewer because we’ve all felt that loneliness that Travis has felt, but we deal with it. For him, he sinks into the darkness of isolation and this version of Sir Lancelot has been corrupted by the city.

But what makes “Taxi Driver” work effectively is director Martin Scorsese and his relationship with Robert De Niro. Both men developed a tremendous working relationship since the 1973 film “Mean Streets” and with De Niro being a fantastic method actor, Scorsese allows De Niro to own the scene and those actors who are around him, to feed off this character. In interviews which you will see on this Blu-ray release, when actress Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster or actors Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle or Harvey Keitel were around De Niro, what they got was Travis Bickle. Shepherd used the word “frightening” during her scenes with De Niro, Foster talked about how she didn’t understand until later in life of why De Niro had this intense style of acting and Brooks would talk about how he never even talked to De Niro because De Niro during the shooting of the film was Travis Bickle.

Scorsese and De Niro utilized improvisation to make the film seem real. Foster talked about how they would continually rehearse their scenes and once she felt that they got it down, he would do something different and throw something that was not on the script and it’s that magic that De Niro was able to get from the talent he worked with. Another fantastic sign of that working relationship between De Niro and Scorsese is the taxi scene in which both men are improvising their scene but for Travis Bickle’s character, he remains quiet, looking at his rear-view mirror and watching the silhouette of the man’s wife from a window at an apartment. You can tell that Travis Bickle’s ticking time-bomb is about to go off. It’s that creepy quietness by Bickle that makes that scene so effective. It may not have been written that way but it’s what De Niro felt was right for Travis Bickle and it’s what we got on the film.

But alongside Scorsese and De Niro, you have to give writer Paul Schrader a major nod for creating this Bressonian script with so much efficacy. Written during a time when Schrader had broken up with his girlfriend, he became isolated and also found himself a different person after that breakup, which helped develop the character of Travis Bickle. He knew that loneliness and it’s that same loneliness that many people go through during a major change in their personal life. It’s how you get out of it and live life to its fullest that matters but for very few, they are slowly get stuck in that darkness. Travis Bickle is a man who is unable to be part of that normal society.

You can discuss this character with a lot of people. Was it the Vietnam War that changed him for the worse? Was it the continual inundation of that New York’s seediness and that he has to be with these people 12 hours a day? Does it even matter? We just know that Travis Bickle is one fucked up man and in many ways, is a perfect example of what happens when one gets lost in their own loneliness and may it be the people like Bickle or John Hinckley, Jr., there is so much pain in the world that some people just don’t know how to deal with it. And the fact that people got to see a taste of this anti-hero was absolutely surprising but at the same time, intriguing and entertaining. There is little doubt that Martin Scorsese has created a masterpiece.

As for this Blu-ray release, this film deserved special treatment and SPHE did so by giving it the 4K restoration. This is the best looking version of the film to date. This is the best sounding version of the film to date. And you get every special feature from its previous DVD release to the 1986 Criterion Collection audio commentary as well. “Taxi Driver” is absolutely a must-buy for cinema fans! And I can’t emphasize this enough. Definitely a front-runner for “Best Blu-ray Release of 2011″!

Overall, whether you loved this film or hated it, 35-years-later and we are still talking about “Taxi Driver”. Hollywood can continue trying to make an anti-hero film with guns ablazing, violence galore but those films are popcorn films that are meant to be bloody or adrenaline-pumping and are literally films that come and go.

“Taxi Driver” is a ferociously powerful film that continues to capture us and will continue to do so for many generations to come. This Blu-ray release is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Blu-ray Reviews, GALLERY

Taxi Driver Arrives on Blu-ray Disc for the First Time on April 5th

February 14, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

35th Anniversary Edition of Four-Time Academy Award®-Nominated Cinema Classic Arrives on Blu-ray Disc™ for the First Time on April 5th

Culver City, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2011) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Oscar winner® Martin Scorsese’s (Best Director, The Departed, 2006) classic of modern cinema, Taxi Driver, on April 5, 2011–for the first time on Blu-ray Disc–in celebration of the landmark film’s 35th anniversary. This powerful, angst-ridden urban drama was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Score (1976) and features Oscar-favorites Robert De Niro (Raging Bull, Goodfellas) and Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs, The Accused) in career-defining performances.

De Niro plays the legendary Travis Bickle, a traumatized Vietnam War veteran who takes a job as a night-time Taxi Driver in New York City. When he encounters a 12-year-old prostitute named Iris, played by then-13-year-old Foster, Travis sets forth to rescue her from an exploitive pimp, played by Oscar-nominee Harvey Keitel (Best Supporting Actor, Bugsy, 1991). The film also features Cybill Shepherd (The Last Picture Show, Moonlighting).
The Taxi Driver 35th Anniversary Edition has been newly remastered following an extensive 4K digital restoration from the original camera negative, approved by cinematographer Michael Chapman and director Martin Scorsese. The film arrives on Blu-ray packed with bonus material, including an all-new interactive “Script to Screen” feature, MovieIQ+Sync, and Martin Scorsese’s original 1986 commentary with Paul Schrader, as well as documentaries and animated photo galleries. The Taxi Driver 35th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.95.

BLU-RAY FEATURES INCLUDE:
Interactive “Script to Screen” feature, exclusive to Blu-ray. Explore the Taxi Driver script like never before in this interactive experience. The script will automatically scroll as the film plays so you can read along and discover the stage direction notes along with differences from the original script to the finished film.
Original 1986 Commentary with Director Martin Scorsese and Writer Paul Schrader recored by The Criterion Collection
“Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver” featurette
“Producing Taxi Driver,” a behind-the-scenes featurette
“Influence and Appreciation” – Robert De Niro, Oliver Stone, Roger Corman and others pay tribute to Scorsese and the film in this video homage
“God’s Lonely Man” – a documentary featuring screenwriter Paul Schrader and Professor Robert Kolker discussing the loneliness themes as seen in the film. Schrader also talks about what circumstances lead to writing the screenplay
“Travis’ New York Locations” – a contemporary, video visit to the film’s famous locations in New York City, comparing them to the same locations used in 1975
Video bonus: “Storyboard to Film Comparisons,” with a Martin Scorsese Introduction
Commentaries by writer Paul Schrader and professor Robert Kolker, discussing the film scene-by-scene
“Taxi Driver Stories” featurette—taxi tales as told by real life New York city cab drivers
“Making Of Taxi Driver” Documentary
Animated Photo Galleries that include photo montages featuring the film’s music score, location shots taken during filming and Martin Scorsese at work
The Taxi Driver 35th anniversary edition also features movieIQ+sync, which gives you the full movieIQ experience on your computer or iPhone by linking to your Blu-ray Disc. Once connected, movieIQ+sync will display all of the great information movieIQ offers on your computer screen or iPhone instead of onscreen, all while staying synchronized to the movie!
Trailers

Synopsis: Taxi Driver
At 26, Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle (De Niro) is slipping slowly into isolation and violence on the streets of New York City. Trying to solve his insomnia by driving a yellow cab on the night shift, he grows increasingly disgusted by the people who hang out at night: “Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets.” His touching attempts to woo Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a Senator’s campaign worker, turn sour when he takes her to a porn movie on their first date. He even fails in his attempt to persuade child prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) to desert her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel), and return to her parents and school. Driven to the edge by powerlessness, he buys four handguns and sets out to assassinate the Senator, heading for the infamy of a “lone crazed gunman.”

Filed Under: Blu-ray & DVD News

Life on Mars – The Complete Series (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

September 20, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Highly Entertaining, an enjoyable and delightful series that ended way too early. ‘Life on Mars – The Complete Series’ is a solid DVD release and fans of the series may like what the creators and producers have to say for their plans for the series and also how their original plans for the season finale was supposed to be. Overall, this was one of my favorite drama series that aired between 2008-2009. Great cast, costume and set design, popular 70′s music in the background and more. Definitely recommended!”

DVD TITLE: Life on Mars – The Complete Series

DURATION: 17 episodes (731 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French and Spanish Subtitles, Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions

COMPANY: abc studios

RATED: TV 14 DLSV

RELEASE DATE: September 22, 2009

Based on the BBC series

Directed by Michael Katleman, Darnell Martin, Alex Zakrzewski

Written by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Mathew Graham, Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharaoh, Meredith Averill, Adele Lim, Tracy McMillan, Bryan Oh, Sonny Postiglione, Phil M. Rosenberg, David Wilcox

Executive Producer: Josh Appelbaum, Jane Featherstone, Stephen Garrett

Co-Executive Producer: Michael Katleman, David Wilcox

Producer: Jane Raab

Consulting Producer: Becky Hartman-Edwards

Supervising Producer: Adele Lim

Associate Producer: Paul Rabwin

Music by Peter Nashel

Cinematography by Frank Prinzi, Craig DiBona

Edited by Regis Kimble, Lawrence A. Maddox, Kevin D. Ross

Casting by Bonnie Finnegan, Steven Jacobs

Production Design by Stephen Hendrickson

Art Direction by Darrell K. Keister, Alison Ford

Set Decoration by Alexandra Mazur

Costume Design by Wallace G. Lane Jr., Abigail Murray

Starring:

Jason O’Mara as Detective Sam Tyler

Michael Imperioli as Detective Ray Carling

Gretchen Mol as Annie Norris

Jonathan Murphy as Director Chris Skelton

Harvey Keitel as Lieutenant Gene Hunt

Lisa Bonet as Detective Maya Daniels

Jennifer Ferrin as Rose Tyler

Tanya Fischer as Windy

Caleb Wallace as Young Sammy

Matthew Cowles as Cowboy Dan

After a hit-and-run accident in modern-day New York City mysteriously transports police detective Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) back to 1973, Sam finds himself in the cultural hotbed of New York City in
the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women’s lib and the civil and gay rights movements – without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player — suddenly hurtled back in time
when he’s ripped from 2008 after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal.

Stuck in 1973 and working out of the rough and tumble 125th Precinct in Manhattan, Sam has to
contend with the urban wilderness of New York, complete with a hard-living bully of a boss (Harvey Keitel) and colleagues who never met a rule they wouldn’t break to catch a bad guy. The good copbad
cop culture of the ‘70s put this 21st century hero on high alert, but before he can change the world, he has to learn to survive in it.

Highly entertaining but ended way too early! “Life on Mars – The Complete Series” is definitely recommended!

“Life on Mars” made its debut in the US on October 2008 and was completed in April 2009. The series is loosely based on the BAFTA-award winning series shown on BBC back in 2006-2007.

The series revolves around a NYC homicide detective named Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Men In Trees” and “In Justice”) who is engaged to Detective Maya Daniels (Lisa Bonet, “The Cosby Show”, “A Different World”). Both are planning to marry but first, they are on the pursuit of a man who is wanted for killing several women by torturing them within the 30 hours they are kidnapped and then killed.

Unfortunately, due to circumstance, the person wanted is released but May suspects that he still is the person they are looking for and tails him. It is realized later that the man they had in custody was the correct person (who has a twin brother) and when Sam goes to find Maya, all he finds is her shirt which has blood all over it.

This leads Sam to pursuing the perpetrator but while going back to his car to get his radio, he is accidentally run over. Next thing you know, Sam wakes up but he is in the wrong time period, waking up in 1973. During this time, he’s a police detective who has transferred to New York’s 125th Detective Squad as a Detective Second Grade. Before computers and modern technology, things are handled much differently during this time and it freaks Sam out, not knowing if he’s dead or alive, if he’s dreaming or going mad. What is known is that cases that he is handling now, has to relate to his work in 2008 but most of all, things that deal personally with his life.

But it’s about Sam getting used to 1973 and his surroundings. For Sam, being a part of the politically correct and modern technology-based era, preservation of suspects rights and forensic evidence is a priority. Despite everyone are quite OK with how business is done at the 1-2-5, Sam believes in going by the book and being a respectable police officer and thus putting him at odds with the other detectives while winning the respect of the only person who will listen to him, Annie Norris.

Joining Sam at the 1-2-5 squad in 1973 are:

Lt. Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel, “Pulp Fiction”, “Bugsy”, “Reservoir Dogs”) - The Commander of the 125th Detective Squad. Brash, works with mobsters to get information, beats up the people they capture to get a confession and literally a corrupt cop but is dedicated to protecting the city. He is often at odds with Sam’s by-the-book attitude and ends up beating Sam up (or getting into fights with him).

Detective Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli, “Law & Order”, “The Sopranos”) – A blunt detective who despises Sam for taking the position he wanted. Short-tempered and arrogant.

Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol, “3:10 to Yuma”, “Girls Club”, “The Thirteenth Floor”) – A policewoman who has an undergraduate in psychology and a member of the Police Women’s Bureau. Since 1973 was during a time that female’s weren’t treated in the same capacity as men, she hopes that one day that female police officers will be as equals to men and that she will be a detective one day. Often treated as someone with a lower status by the male detectives at 1-2-5, she listens to Sam (who babbles about being from the future) but respects him for having an open-mind, even though she doesn’t quite believe his story.

Detective Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy, “October Road”, “Wild Fire”) – The young detective trying to learn the ropes around the office.

Throughout the series, Sam wonders if he is ever going to back to his time period, especially as he gradually starts to see some changes in the 1973 time line and trying to figure out if what is happening is real or unreal. He realizes certain cases relate to his cases that he handled back in his time period. But also throwing him for the loop is being around the time his mother was raising his younger version of himself and seeing his father and realizing more about his parents and their life back in 1974.

“Life on Mars – The Complete Series” features 17 episodes on three discs. Included are (spoiler-less summaries):

DISC: 1

EPISODE 1 – Out Here in the Fields – Meeting Sam in 2008 and then seeing how Sam gets used to being in 1973 and working on a case similar to the case he was working on 35 years later.
EPISODE 2 – The Real Adventures of The Unreal Sam Tyler – Sam and the 1-2-5 investigate the homicides at check-cashing stores.
EPISODE 3 – My Maharishi is Bigger Than Your Maharishi – When a Vietnam vet is murdered, and when a vet is killed, it becomes a priority for the 1-2-5.
EPISODE 4 – Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In the Shadows – Sam rescues a woman from a gangster but he realizes that the woman is his mother.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 5 - Things to Do in New York When You Think You’re Dead – Sam meets an officer named Fletcher Bellow, a man he wanted as his mentor in 2008.
EPISODE 6 – Tuesday’s Dead – Sam and the 1-2-5 get caught in a life-and-death hostage situation.
EPISODE 7 – The Man Who Sold the World – Sam learns that his father may be involved with a major kidnapping and learns why his father may have left him.
EPISODE 8 – The Dark Side of the Mook – Sam receives a call from a mysterious person directing him to a headless body.
EPISODE 9 – Take A Look at the Lawmen – The 1-2-5 competes with the 144th Detective squad.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 10 – Let All the Children Boogie – Sam and Chris have to help out a rock star named Sebastian Grace who is receiving death threats.
EPISODE 11 – Home Is Where You Hang Your Holster – A tense day at the office when Hunt has to lock down the precinct. Meanwhile, an NYC councilman gives Sam some information.
EPISODE 12 – The Simple Secret of the Note In Us All – Sam realizes that a homicide case he handled in 2009 may have happened backn in 1993.
EPISODE 13 – Revenge of Broken Jaw – With the death of the leader of the Weather Underground, Lt. Hunt must deal with threats that may implicate him.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 14 – Coffee, Tea or Annie – The 1-2-5 goes undercover to investigate a murder of a flight attendant.
EPISODE 15 – All the Young Dudes - Sam and the 1-2-5 goes undercover to investigate truck hijackings.
EPISODE 16 – Everyone Knows It’s Windy – Ray and Chris are shot by truck hijackers (who Sam is working with via undercover) but with a suspect dead, Sam is suspected in killing the man.
EPISODE 17 – Life is a Rock – Sam receives a call that if he performs three tasks, he can go back to 2008.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Life on Mars” is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions. While the first episode and flashbacks feature natural colors, it’s when we see the 1973 scenes, a filter is used and the colors of the series become more amber with a yellow/orange/brown tinge and is purposely made to look different from the present-time scenes. But by no means does the colors seem distracting.

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. For the most part, the series is front and center channel driven with the dialogue and 70′s music coming in nice and clear. Dialogue is understandable and there are sounds that utilize the surround channels.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Life on Mars – The Complete Series” includes the following special features:

DISC 1:

Audio Commentary for “Out Here in the Fields” with Executive Producers Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec

DISC 2:

Audio Commentary for “Things to Do in New York When You Think You’re Dead” with Jason O’Mara, Executive Producer Scott Rosenberg and Director/Co-Executive Producer Michael Katleman.
Audio Commentary for “The Man Who Sold the World” with Executive Producers Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum

DISC 4:

Audio Commentary for “Life is a Rock” with Jason O’Mara, Executive Producers Josh Applebaum, Scott Rosenberg and Director/Co-Executive Producer Michael Katleman.
To Mars and Back – (15:35) Viewers journey to “Mars” with Sam Tyler the cast and producers to see where the “Mars” concept originated and if viewers can figure out where it’s headed. Interviews with the cast and crew and differences and similarities from the BBC version.
Sunrise to Sunset with Jason O’Mara – (9:34) An exhilarating and exhausting day experiencing Jason O’Mara’s Life on Mars. A typical day in the life of O’Mara.
Flashback: Lee Majors Goes to Mars – (7:54) Popular 70′s actor Lee Majors steps back in the past on the Life on Mars set and taken on a tour courtesy of Jason O’Mara.
Spaced Out: Bloopers from the Set – (2:43) Bloopers from “Life on Mars”.
Deleted Scenes – A total of ten deleted scenes.

For the most part, “Life on Mars” is a very entertaining, suspenseful and cool drama series.

“Life on Mars” (the US version) definitely differs from its BBC counterpart in some ways. For the US version, the primary similarity is that Sam Tyler uses his 21st Century investigation skills in handling homicide cases and is a bit more politically correct than his 1-2-5 counterparts and his boss Gene Hunt is a crooked cop (although respectful to protecting the people of his city).

But part of the problem was that “Life on Mars” was a series envisioned to lasting more than one season. In fact, despite the series being critically acclaimed at the beginning, the series unfortunately had lower viewership. It didn’t help that “Lost”, it’s lead-in show was also battling with the loss of viewership as well. So, major differences is that the character of Annie Hunt is portrayed much differently in the BBC version than the US. Most importantly, the way the series ends for the BBC and US version differ greatly. And part of the reason of how the season ended is due to the fact that the creators had such a short time of deciding how the series would end.

In fact, fans of the series will probably enjoy the audio commentary for the final episode as we learn what the original finale was supposed to be but also the reason why they made the final minutes of the final episode as is. But its also important to note that like the BBC version, the final second before the credits run in that final episode carries that same ambiguous feeling that perhaps things are not as they should be.

With that being said, the series finale had an ending that is surely going to either be a love or hate moment for viewers. I can’t really spoil anything but needless to say, even the creators say in the commentary that the response was either love or hate, nothing in between.

As for the series, I felt the writing was well done and the main talent such as Jason O’Mara, Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Jonathan Murphy were a solid group. O’Mara and Mol have great chemistry, Keitel is always a talented actor in playing the tough man role and Imperioli did a great job of playing the disgruntled detective. Each of the talent did well in their roles and even for the short role of actress Lisa Bonet, it was great to see her again on television.

The costume design is top notch. The hairstyles, the clothing… I was quite surprised because there are a lot of extras featured in this series. Since the shows take place in New York and Sam is wandering throughout the city, there are a lot of people in 70′s outfits. And it’s not just the clothing but also the vehicles and the CG (as the Twin Towers are featured) to make the setting seem realistic.

Also, another positive that I enjoyed about the series is the soundtrack used for each episode. “Life on Mars” would feature popular, classic rock or classic 70′s music and for those who enjoy 70′s music, would probably get a kick out of episodes where there is a police chase and then Mott the Hoople would be playing in the background.

As for the DVD, we get four audio commentary tracks and a good number of special features. A good number of content and for the most part, “Life on Mars – The Complete Series” is a solid DVD release.

Overall, “Life on Mars” was a series that was just so fun and enjoyable but it’s so unfortunate that the series was canceled. There was great potential in this series and the finale managed to end the series in an interesting note but it would have been interesting to see how the writers would have carried things off if they had that second season, more time and a few more episodes.

Nevertheless, I felt that this was one of the more entertaining drama series on television and for those curious about the series or missed the series the first time around, “Life on Mars – The Complete Series” is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray

PULP FICTION (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

October 1, 2002 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

BUY THIS DVD

CAST: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arqueete, Harvey Keitel, Ving Rhames and a lot more.
DIRECTED BY: Quentin Tarentino
WRITTEN BY: Quentin Tarentino and Roger Avary
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0110912
TYPE OF MOVIE: Thriller, Crime, Action
DURATION: 154 minutes

The film initiates with two small-time thieves, Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, who spontaneously decide to hold up a restaurant. The film then shifts to the story of Jules and Vincent, who hit men for the well known and feared Marsellus Wallace, who is caught up in a deal gone wrong with struggling boxer Butch Coolidge. (IMDB)

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, HiFi Sound, Surround Sound
• Widescreen letterbox format

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

DVD REVIEW:

The movie is absolutely marvelous and quite violent. A slight warning that even though this movie is in many listings as a top movie of all time, if you can’t take watching violence, then pass on this movie.

The screenplay is superb and the movie is just awesome! You probably heard about this movie mentioned many times, so I’ll cut to the chase and talk about the DVD.

Unfortunately, this must be an earlier DVD release (when DVD’s first came out) because there is nothing in terms of special features. No audio selection but there are English subtitles. With a special edition VHS version out with deleted scenes and more, I don’t know why they skimped out in this DVD release. Even for an earlier release, I have seen trailers and other things added, therefore I can’t give the overall DVD a great rating until we get the special edition DVD. Colors are vibrant, audio is good but this DVD deserves a better release.

If you want to see the movie and don’t care about special features, buy this DVD. It’s very good!! But if you are a DVD fanatic, then hopefully you can wait for the special edition.

THE MOVIE: A
THE DVD EXTRAS: F
THE DVD OVERALL: C

Filed Under: DVD Reviews