Manhattan (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
January 31, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Manhattan” is a romantic comedy and Woody Allen masterpiece that is a timeless classic! Featuring wonderful cinematography, music, witty dialogue and memorable one-liners and a true Woody Allen classic worth owning on Blu-ray!
TITLE: Manhattan
FILM RELEASE: 1979
DURATION: 96 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: Black and White, Widescreen 2:35:1, English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono, French Mono, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
COMPANY:MGM/20th Century fox
RATED: Not Rated
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2012
Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
Produced by Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins
Executive Producer: Robert Greenhut
Cinematography by Gordon Willis
Edited by Susan E. Morse
Casting by Juliet Taylor
Production Design by Mel Bourne
Set Decoration by Robert Drumheller
Costume Design by Albert Wolsky
Starring:
Woody Allen as Isaac
Diane Keaton as Mary
Michael Murphy as Yale
Mariel Hemingway as Tracy
Meryl Streep as Jill
Anne Byrne Hoffman as Emily
Karen Ludwig as Connie
Michael O’Donoghue as DenniNominated for two Academy Awards * in 1979 and considered “one of Allen’s most enduring accomplishments” (Boxoffice), Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of modern relationships against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously photographed in black and white (Allen’s first film in that format) and accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score, Woody Allen’s aesthetic triumph is a “prismatic portrait of a time and a place that may be studied decades hence” (Time). 42-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), he doesn’t love and a lesbian ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who’s writing a tell-all book about their marriage and whom he’d like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend’s sexy intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginning of Isaac’s quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake and the gateway to true love is a revolving door. *Supporting Actress (Hemingway); Original Screenplay
With the success of Woody Allen’s first drama in 1978 with “Interiors”, Woody Allen returned to the romantic comedy the following year with “Manhattan”.
Always a filmmaker who is willing to give different cinematic techniques a try, Woody Allen and cinematographer Gordon Willis decided to why not shoot a black and white film and also shoot in anamorphic widescreen.
The film would feature a wonderful cast which would include Allen, Diane Keaton (“Annie Hall”, “Interiors”, “The Godfather” films) Michael Murphy (“Batman Returns”, “X-Men: The Last Stand”, “Magnolia”), Mariel Hemingway (“Star 80″, “The Sex Monster”) and Meryl Streep (“The Devil Wears Prada”, “Doubt”, “Adaptation”, “Out of Africa”).
The film was an amazing success earning $39.9 million in the box office, the 17th highest-grossing picture of 1979, was lauded by film critics and was voted for a plethora of awards, featured at #46 in the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Laughs” and in 2001, selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress who deemed the film as “culturally significant”.
And what is most amazing about the film’s success is that after completion of the film, Woody Allen was so unhappy and disappointed with the film that he asked United Artists not to release the film. In fact, Allen offered to make a movie for free if they would throw the film away.
In this case, it worked for the benefit of the studio to go with the film and whether or not Woody Allen agrees, many consider it among his top masterpiece within his long list of films in his oeuvre.
“Manhattan” begins with the music of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and we are introduced to writer Isaac Davis (played by Wood Allen) who has been wanting to write about his love for New York City.
Davis is a 42-years-old, a television writer who has been divorced twice and and not enjoying his life. But he is dating a beautiful young 17-year-old named Tracy (played by Mariel Hemingway).
But Davis’ friends are also not in the happiest times of their marriages.
His friend Yale (played by Michael Murphy) who is married to Emily (played by Anne Byrne) but is having an affair with Mary Wilkie (played by Diane Keaton), also a divorcee. Meanwhile, Isaac’s ex-wife Jill (played by Meryl Streep) is planning to write a book about their marriage and how she came out of the closet as a lesbian and is currently living with her partner Connie (played by Karen Ludwig).
When Isaac hooks up with his friend Yale and is introduced to Mary, needless to say, he finds her to be a snob and is turned off. During an Equal Rights Amendment fundraising event at the Museum of Modern Art, the two share a cab together and begin talking throughout the night and early morning.
Isaac begins to realize that he is falling for Mary, but yet is dating Tracy. Feeling that dating a younger woman will not work, he encourages to pursue to study acting in London. When Isaac finds out Yale has broken up with Mary, immediately he decides to go for Mary and breakup with Tracy. But what happens when Yale decides to end his marriage with Emily and continue his relationship with Mary? What about Isaac? Did he make the wrong decision by dumping Tracy for Mary?
VIDEO:
“Manhattan” is presented in 1080p High Definition, black and white (widescreen 2:35:1). Having owned the previous DVD release of the film, I’m proud to say that Woody Allen’s classic looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray!
While not 100% pristine as there are some white specks that can be seen, still…the picture quality looks clean, contrast levels are fantastic, black levels are nice and deep, white and gray levels are also well-done and very sharp. There is also a fine layer of grain.
But possibly the biggest difference that previous DVD owner’s will notice with this Blu-ray release is the amount of detail that is evident. You can see the details on the clothing, the detail on the character’s faces. I was pretty surprised of how good the picture quality of this film was in HD. Absolutely fantastic!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Manhattan” is presented in English mono DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish mono and French mono. With that being said, this lossless soundtrack is primarily dialogue driven and while there is music featured in the film (and the music sounds very good), this is pretty much a front channel 2.0 monaural soundtrack. I didn’t hear any hiss, crackling or any problems with the soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES
For those not familiar with Woody Allen films, aside from the recent “Midnight in Paris” Blu-ray release, none of his films on DVD or Blu-ray contain special features aside from the theatrical trailer.
Captivating, witty and definitely a Woody Allen masterpiece!
Whether or not what Allen may think, considering he did all he can to have this film shelved. But while I’ve read many interviews of what made him feel that way, I would probably have to say it was probably director’s exhaustion of working on a project for too long and also being a perfectionist and feeling it wasn’t good enough.
But similar to how I felt about “Annie Hall”, “Manhattan” is a film that I absolute love for its witty banter, its characters and one-liners that Woody Allen that still make me laugh each time I watch this movie (the “Van-Gah” and Fellini one-liner continues to make me laugh out loud to this day).
An apart from the performances and writing,”Manhattan” to me, is a romantic comedy that captures the romantic side of New York City through its wonderful wide shots and composition. Add the music of Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic with beautiful pieces such as “Oh, Lady Be Good”, “‘S Wonderful”, “Love is Here to Stay” and Gary Graffman’s memorable score of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” to name a few.
Bare in mind, this is in the 1970′s and from films such as “Taxi Driver” to “Saturday Night Fever” had always captured the more rugged side of the city. From focusing on a variety of locations and shooting in black and white, “Manhattan” looks romantic and beautiful. And this is where we see Woody Allen, the director at his best. Choreographed scenes that are carefully planned and pulled off with amazing efficacy.
In some ways, this film does getter with time. And I mean that by saying how I seem to enjoy this film the older I get. From watching this film for the first time in my late teens and now at the age of 40, there is always something new that I pick up with this film and find myself understanding the character of Isaac (played by Woody Allen) much more. Even a little bit of the character of Yale. And I think this film helps people reflect on past decisions, specifically poor ones that come back to bite you in the ass.
As for the Blu-ray release, having owned this film on DVD, you can’t help but notice the clarity and detail of “Manhattan” in HD. The picture is absolutely fantastic and despite the Blu-ray not having any special features (as nearly all Woody Allen films do not have except the recently released “Midnight In Paris”), this Blu-ray release is definitely worth the upgrade.
Overall, “Manhattan” is a romantic comedy and Woody Allen masterpiece that is a timeless classic! Featuring wonderful cinematography, music, witty dialogue and memorable one-liners and a true Woody Allen classic worth owning on Blu-ray!
Highly recommended!
Silkwood (as part of the “Cher: The Film Collection”) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
November 13, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Although more of a film that showcases Meryl Streep, “Silkwood” was the new beginning for Cher the actress. Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher give an awesome performance in this 1983 film and definitely a worth inclusion to the “Cher: The Film Collection” DVD Box set.
© 2010 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Silkwood (as part of the “Cher: The Film Collection)
YEAR OF FILM RELEASE: 1983
DURATION: 131 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Widescreen (1:85:1), Audio: English Mono, Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
COMPANY: MGM/20th Century Fox
RATED: R
RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2010
Directed by Michael Nichols
Written by Nora Ephron, Alice Arlen
Producer: Michael Hausman, Mike Nichols
Executive Producer: Larry Cano, Buzz Hirsch
Associate Producer: Tom Stovall, Joel Tuber
Music by Georges Delerue
Cinematography by Miroslav Ondricek
Edited by Sam O’Steen
Casting by Mary Goldberg
Production Design by Patrizia von Brandenstein
Art Direction by Richard D. James
Set Decoration by Derek R. Hill, Dennis W. Peeples
Costume Design by Ann Roth
Starring:
Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood
Kurt Russell as Drew Stephens
Cher as Dolly Pelliker
Craig T. Nelson as Winston
Fred Ward as Morgan
Diana Scarwid as Angela
Ron Silver as Paul Stone
Charles Hallahan as Earl Lapin
Josef Sommer as Max Richter
A free-spirited worker at nuclear power plant risks everything to expose the truth in this provocative drama that was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Cher).
We have seen a good number of films in which employees or citizens have went up against major corporations and to change policies. From “The Insider” to “Erin Brokovich”, one such film that was based on a tragic story was the 1983 film “Silkwood” directed by Mike Nichols (“The Graduate”, “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Closer”) and the first feature film screenplay by Nora Ephron (“When Harry Met Sally”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “Julie & Julia”) and Alice Arlen (“Then She Found Me”, “The Weight of Water”).
The screenplay is based on the true story of chemical technician Karen Silkwood, who was an American labor union activist working at a plant that makes plutonium pellets for nuclear reactors. Because of the lack of safety concerns and the company not taking nuclear contamination seriously, Silkwood worries about her health and how its endangering her co-workers, so she tries to work with her union against her own company. But when she reportedly had major evidence that she was going to give to a New York Times journalist, tragedy took place on November 13, 1974. Was it an accident or was it murder?
“Silkwood” received positive reviews and eventually made over $35 million in the box office and would further establish the careers of Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher. And for Cher, it would be her first film in 14years and a film that would earn Meryl Streep a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and Cher a Best Supporting Actress nomination. And because of her performance, the film is a welcome addition to the “Cher: The Film Collection” DVD box set.
The screenplay based on Karen Gay Silkwood is based on Silkwood’s activism. Karen Silkwood (played by Meryl Streep, “Kramer vs. Kramer”, “Doubt, “Julie & Julia”, “Mamma Mia!”) is an employee of Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication site. She works long hours making plutonium fuel rods for nuclear reactors and because of lax safe efforts (the bosses falsify reports and cut corners), the employees are in constant threat of exposure to radiation. Unfortunately, when one is exposed to radiation, the company passes it off as nothing extreme but like a sunburn.
Meanwhile, Karen’s personal life is difficult as she wants to establish a relationship with her children but her former common law husband won’t allow it and it doesn’t help that she has to work long overtime hours at the factory. Karen also shares a home with her boyfriend Drew Stephens (played by Kurt Russell, “Big Trouble in Little China”, “Tombstone”, “Backdraft) and her lesbian roommate Dolly Pelliker (played by Cher, “Moonstruck”, “Mermaids”, “The Witches of Eastwick”).
Karen starts to notice things happening at her work, from seeing a truck being worked on, to being blamed for a recent contamination and then seeing one of her co-workers being scrubbed after contamination and just seeing her skin all red. Karen gets a feeling that things are not right and sure enough after doing some cleaning at the plant, she gets contaminated and needs to be scrubbed and like others who have been contaminated, they tell her it’s no big deal.
Concerned by the practices at her job, she talks to her union representatives and because of that, she gets deeper involved as she tries to lobby for more safeguards in the workplace. But as she works hard in trying to work with the union and lobbying in Washington, D.C. the union seems to enjoy the press that they are getting from Karen Silkwood. But the fact is that if they are going to make anything happen, they need Karen to find documentation.
So, Karen Silkwood starts to do her own investigating to document the falsification of records. But while putting everything on the line, will her co-workers, her boyfriend and her roommate Dolly support her? Or will she lose everything in the process?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Silkwood” is presented in Widescreen (1:85:1) and in English mono. PQ was fine for a DVD release. The film does looks good on DVD but has that look of digital noise reduction implemented. But again, it’s fine for DVD.
Subtitles are in English, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Silkwood” comes with the following special feature:
- Theatrical Trailer – (2:17) The original theatrical trailer for “Silkwood”.
Back in the 1980′s, “Silkwood” was a film that heightened American fears towards those working or living near nuclear power plants or anything to do with plutonium and nuclear-related manufacturing.
Just a few years prior to the film’s theatrical debut in 1983, back in 1979, people had a taste of fear towards these plants with the disaster film “The China Syndrome” folllowed by the “Three Mile Island Accident” just two weeks after “The China Syndrome” which literally put America in quite a scare.
People had a distrust towards nuclear power plants and activists definitely had more firepower to show that these companies were probably not caring about the safety of the people who live within the vicinity let alone its employees. And one of the hero’s that people still look up to in standing up against these companies was Karen Silkwood.
So, back in 1983, the film “Silkwood” was good timing as all that we heard at that time on the news, television, movies was the nuclear arms race between America and Russia, what would happen if America was invaded or attacked by a nuclear bomb by Russia, what if there was a nuclear disaster like “The China Syndrome” (which took place three years later in Russia in Chernobyl) and as more and more people felt a more distrust towards anything nuclear, this film was a good reminder that people should be weary about these plants and most of all, that there should be testing done on these companies to ensure the safety of their employees and the people living in surrounding areas.
For the real Karen Silkwood, although at the time back in the ’70s when people rarely went against their companies and unions, or perhaps the union that she was involved in, was not as strong back then, in some ways, its a shame to watch how much she had to endure and to see so many people who worked at the factory, were lied to and probably had a good amount plutonium in them from inhalation. But while everyone in middle America were trying to make a living, she was not exactly in the best financial shape, but she was an activist who fought for betterment of her colleagues and for safer practices at her working environment.
Hailed as a hero now, back then, you can only wonder how problematic the factory, let alone the US government who depended on these nuclear facilities have felt about her. And I wouldn’t be surprised if many her friends and colleagues felt that she was getting herself in trouble. But she did perservere and although her story ended tragically, her activism and possibly thanks to this film definitely had precedence in her estate wining the lawsuit against the company she worked for.
As important as “Silkwood” was, watching the film now, it is definitely a product of the early 80′s. Where today’s films intend to make a statement and possibly engage in the polemics of past American controversies, “Silkwood” tries to find a fine balance of the fear of these big corporations but also trying to find a medium with Hollywood melodrama and showing Karen Silkwood as a woman who had her own personal challenges.
Meryl Streep was absolutely magnificent in the role but watching it today in 2010, we can only think how this film could have had much more impact possibly if it was made several years later, after more revelations were found through the autopsy of Silkwood, what we learned in the court hearings and what took place during the lawsuit between her estate and the corporation that she worked for. I have no doubt that possibly the film would have been much more satisfying as we see how her work had inspired others. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy “Silkwood” because I did but the ending played things too safely for my tastes but once again, this film was a product of the early ’80s, so it literally was a film of its time.
With so much of my discussion on Karen Silkwood and the performance of Meryl Streep, because this a film that part of “Cher: The Film Collection”", many may wonder…what about Cher?
Now as for Cher’s involvement (as this film is part of the “Cher: The Film Collection” DVD Box Set), although Cher does play a minor role which netted her an Academy Award nomination for “Best Supporting Actress”, by no means is this her best film. If anything, this film is literally all Meryl Streep with the benefit of having both Kurt Russell and Cher in supporting roles. But the inclusion of this film in the DVD box set is important for the fact that Cher made her theatrical debut since her 1969 flop “Chastity” and no longer was this a woman having to sport the makeup and the look of the late ’60s, nor was she tied to Sonny Bono.
When you watch this film, this is not Cher the singer, this is the more mature, serious Cher. This is the beginning of Cher, the actress playing a character in middle America and part of that working class and by watching her, you easily forget “Sonny & Cher”, you forget the two kitschy films that she had made earlier and most of all, distancing from that stereotypical “groovy” role that she exhibited in film and television back then. This was the beginning of many films that would showcase Cher the actress and what better company than to make your return to movies by working alongside Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell.
Overall, “Silkwood” is a good film for its time but not as deep as one would expect in today’s moviemaking. But still, a film featuring solid performance by Streep, Russell and Cher and a worthy inclusion for the “Cher: The Film Collection” DVD box set.
Mamma Mia! The Movie (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
May 22, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
If you enjoyed the music of ABBA and want to have an enjoyable time with a vibrant, enjoyable movie musical, look no further as “Mamma Mia! The Movie” is delightful on Blu-ray.
Images courtesy of © 2008 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Mamma Mia! The Movie
DURATION: 1 Hr., 49 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English, 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Espanol and Francais DTS 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, Espanol, Francais
COMPANY: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: PG-13 (Some Sex-Related Comments)
RELEASE DATE: December 16, 2008
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Screenplay and musical book by Catherine Johnson
Executive Producer: Benny Anderson, Tom Hanks, Mark Huffam, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Rita Wilson
Producer: Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman
Music by Benny Anderson
Cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos
Edited by Lesley walker
Casting by Priscilla John, Ellen Lewis
Production Design by Maria Djurkovic
Art Direction by Dean Clegg, Rebecca Holmes, Nick Palmer
Set Decoration by Barbara Herman- Skelding
Costume Design by Ann Roth
Starring:
Amanda Seyfried as Sophie
Stellan Skarsgard as Bill
Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan
Pierce Brosnan as Sam
Colin Firth as Harry
Rachel McDowall as Lisa
Ashley Lilley as Ali
Julie Walters as Rosie
Christine Baranski as Tanya
Dominic Cooper as Sky
Sophie has just one wish to make her wedding perfect: to have her father walk her down the aisle. Now she just has to find out who he is. Join the music, laughter and fun of the irresistibly charming Mamma Mia! The Movie. Academy Award winner Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast, including Pierece Brosnan and Colin Firth -as well as up-and-comers Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, in this musical celebration of mothers, daughters and fathers, and true loves lost and new ones found. Based on the Broadway smash-hit and filled with the Abba songs you know and love, it’s the feel-good experience that will have you singing and dancing over and over again!
“Mamma Mia! The Movie”, the film adaptation from the jukebox musical by British playwright Catherine Johnson and featuring the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (both the male members of the group). In 1999, the musical has brought in over $2.0 billion in earnings (becoming the highest grossing musical of all time)and what better than to have a film adaptation a decade later.
With Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson producing the film, “Mamma Mia! The Movie” would be directed by British director Phyllida Lloyd and a screenplay by Catherine Johnson. The film adaptation would feature an all-star cast starring Meryl Streep (“Kramer vs. Kramer”, “Adaptation”, “The Devil Wears Prada”), Pierce Brosnan (James Bond 007 films, “The Thomas Crown Affair”), Colin Firth (“The English Patient”, “Pride and Prejudice”, “Shakespeare in Love”), Stellan Skarsgard (“Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End”, “Beowulf and Grendel”, “Dogville), Julie Walters (Harry Potter films, “Becoming Jane”, “Billy Elliot) and Christine Baranski (“Happy Family”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Chicago”) and a film that would jumpstart the careers of Amanda Seyfried (“Mean Girls”, “Veronica Mars”) and Dominic Cooper (“The Duchess”).
The film which cost $52 million would earn over $609 million worldwide in the box office making the film one of the top 50 highest grossing films of all time and the distinction of the highest grossing movie musical in the world.
The film revolves around Sophie Sheridan (played by Amanda Seyfried), a bride-to-be, living on the Greek island of Kalokairi and ready to wed Sky (Dominic Cooper). As her mother Donna Sheridan (played by Meryl Streep) reunites with her old Donna and the Dynamos bandmates Tanya (played by Christine Baranski) and author Rosie (played by Julie Walters) for her daughter’s wedding, Sophie has one wish that she wants to make true for her wedding and that is for her father to walk her down the aisle.
Problem is…her mother Donna was with three different men at the time. The headbanging rockster turned banker Harry Bright (played by Colin Firth), the hippie turned adventurer Bill Anderson (played by Stellan Skarsgard) and a man named Sam (played by Pierce Brosnan). As Sophie has read her mother’s diary and tells her two friends Ali & Lisa that she invited the three men to her wedding without her mother’s knowledge.
So, when the three men arrive, Sophie tries her best to hide them from her mother. That is until Donna accidentally finds the three men and all hell breaks loose.
“Mamma Mia! The Movie” showcases the music of ABBA and features all main talent taking part in singing of the songs. Included are:
1. “I Have A Dream” – Sophie
2. “Honey, Honey” – Sophie, Ali, and Lisa
3. “Money, Money, Money” – Donna, Tanya, Rosie, and Greek Chorus
4. “Mamma Mia” – Donna, Sophie, Ali, Lisa, and Greek Chorus
5. “Chiquitita” – Rosie, Tanya, and Donna
6. “Dancing Queen” – Tanya, Rosie, Donna, Greek Chorus, and Company
7. “Our Last Summer” – Harry, Bill, Sam, Sophie, and Donna
8. “Lay All Your Love on Me” – Sky, Sophie, Sky’s Bachelor party friends.
9. “Super Trouper” – Donna, Tanya, and Rosie
10. “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” – Sophie, Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Ali, Lisa and Greek Chorus
11. “The Name of the Game” – Sophie (deleted scene)
12. “Voulez-Vous ” – Donna, Sam, Tanya, Rosie, Harry, Bill, Sky, Ali, Lisa, and Pepper
13. “SOS” – Sam, Donna, and Greek Chorus
14. “Does Your Mother Know” – Tanya, Pepper, Guys, and Girls
15. “Slipping Through My Fingers” – Donna and Sophie
16. “The Winner Takes It All” – Donna
17. “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” – Sam, Donna, and Company
18. “When All Is Said and Done” – Sam, Donna, and Company
19. “Take a Chance on Me” – Rosie, Bill, Tanya, Pepper, and Harry
20. “Mamma Mia!” (Reprise) – Company
21. “I Have A Dream” (Reprise) – Sophie, Westlife and Company
22. “Dancing Queen” (Reprise) – Donna, Rosie, and Tanya
23. “Waterloo” – Donna, Rosie, Tanya, Sam, Bill, Harry, Sky, and Sophie
24. “Thank You for the Music” – Sophie
VIDEO:
“Mamma Mia! The Movie” is presented in 1080p High-Definition (Widescreen 2:40:1). “Mama Mia! The Movie” is quite interesting presentation. For one, the film is shot in Greece and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. But there is also an artistic element that cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos brought to the film (Director Phyllida Lloyd goes more into wanting a dramatical effect for the film through experimental shooting during day and night). From scenes overlooking the ocean at night with the beautiful black and blues, to the shots of the wedding as lights are seen going up to the church area. Absolute beautiful!
But it’s also important to note that Zambarloukos went with colors that are high in contrast at times and colors that may seem a bit oversaturated at times but for the most part, it added to the vibrancy of the film and looks incredible on Blu-ray.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Mamma Mia! The Movie” is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1. Dialogue is clear and understandable and comes clear from the front and center channels but the film is obviously going to be musically driven and one is not going to hear an aggressive soundtrack. Music sounds good but not great as the lossless soundtrack is not as immersive as I would have wanted it to be. I didn’t notice the surround or rear channels being utilized throughout the film. So, it would have been great if the mix would have incorporated those channels.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Mamma Mia! The Movie” comes with the following special features:
-
- The Making of Mamma Mia! - (24:05) Featuring three features on the making of the film: Birthing Mamma Mia!, The Filmmaking and The Cast.
- Deleted Musical Number – “The Name of the Game” – (2:57) The deleted musical scene featuring Amanda Seyfried and Stellan Skarsgard’s character.
- Anatomy of a Musical Number – “Lay All Your Love On Me” – (5:42) The making of “Lay All Your Love On Me” and Dominic Cooper who is not a singer talks about his experience recording the song and shooting the scene near the beach.
- Becoming a Singer – (10:55) Benny Anderson (of ABBA) talks about wanting to bring the musicians together in making the music for the film. Anderson and Ulvaeus talk about working with the talent and the talents talk about their experience working with the ABBA stars for the film and footage of the recordings of the music at the studio. The male talent who are not known for singing talk about being worried in recording the music.
- A Look Inside Mamma Mia! The Movie – (2:39) The cast talk about Abba’s music and a look at the musical and the film adaptation.
- Sing-Along – While watching “Mamma Mia! The Movie”, you can watch it with a sing-along.
- Deleted Scenes – (8:06) The deleted scenes from the film.
- Outtakes – (1:33) The outtakes from the film.
- “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” Music Video – (3:49) The music video of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme” sung by Amanda Seyfried.
- Bjorn Ulvaeus Cameo – (1:35) ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus cameo in the film.
- Feature Commentary with Director Phyllida Lloyd – Director Phyllida Lloyd talks about working on the film, bringing the musical to film (Lloyd was responsible for directing the stage version), working with the talent, shooting in Greece, experimenting with day and night shooting and creating the dramatical effect of the film and more.
I don’t think I have enjoyed a movie musical like “Mamma Mia! The Movie” since “Grease”. I absolutely felt that Amanda Seyfried shined throughout this film. Seyfried is absolutely radiant in this fim and since the theatrical release of “Mamma Mia! The Movie”, I have been quite impressed by her work. She’s an amazing actress with so much depth and she shows what she is capable of in “Mamma Mia!”, definitely far from what we have seen of her in “Mean Girls” and “Veronica Mars”.
And Meryl Streep, what a brilliant performance. It’s one thing for Streep to be known as a wonderful award winning actress but somehow there was this synergy that went through the cast and but especially for Meryl Streep, she was electrifying and had so much energy, I was impressed.
The cast was absolutely fun to watch and although some of the talent (specifically the male talent) are not known for singing, I suppose the film brought this naturalness to its characters.
But it all comes down to the music of ABBA, especially if you enjoyed their music in the past. For me, it was nostalgic as I grew up during the ’70s and my parents were part of those disco years and part of my younger life was at home with plenty of people taking part in these disco parties. So, the music of ABBA didn’t bother me and in some ways, some songs really got me interested in how the original music sounds compared to the movie musical and songs such as “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” surprised me because I thought the music was first created for Madonna’s 2005 song “Hung Up”.
But there is so many things that came together for this film that I absolutely enjoyed. The location was absolutely beautiful, the editing that helped enhance the musical numbers were well-done and as mentioned, the talents were just enjoyable to watch. This was an enjoyable film that didn’t require any seriousness or surrealistic plot, this was a straight-forward fun, vibrant film with an enjoyable cast.
As for the Blu-ray, there are people who enjoy musicals and I know the music of ABBA and disco may be a bit much for some people expecting something along a similar path of movie musicals such as “Moulin Rouge”, “Chicago” or “Nine” but “Mamma Mia! The Movie” is a film about having fun and being in love, and I suppose once can say that ABBA’s music embodies that. This is a gorgeous movie on Blu-ray and some may feel the film was too oversaturated for their taste but I felt that there was a sense of artistry in terms of cinematography.
Overall, “Mamma Mia! The Movie” is a wonderful musical on Blu-ray and if you are into musicals, especially the music of ABBA and want something more lively and fun, definitely give this Blu-ray release a try! Recommended!
Fantastic Mr. Fox (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
March 21, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is absolutely fantastic and you’ll definitely enjoy every scene and detail of this stop-animation film in high definition on Blu-ray! Definitely recommended!
© 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Fantastic Mr. Fox
DURATION: 87 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen: 1:85: 1, AVC @ 22MBPS, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish, French, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin
COMPANY: Twentieth Century Fox
RATED: PG (Action, Smoking and Slang Humor)
RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2010
Based on the novel by Roald Dahl
Directed by Wes Anderson
Screenplay by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
Executive Producer: Armon Milchan, Sten M. Rales
Producer: Allison Abbate, Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Scott Rudin
Co-Producer: Molly Cooper
Line Producer: Simon Quinn
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by Tristan Oliver
Edited by Andrew Weisblum
Production Design by Nelson Lowry
Art Direction by Francesca Berlingieri Maxwell
Featuring the voices of:
George Clooney as Mr. Fox
Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox
Jason Schwartzman as Ash
Eric Chase Anderson as Kristofferson Silverfox
Bill Murray as Badger
Wilem Dafoe as Rat
Owen Wilson as Coach Skip
Adrien Brody as Rickity the Field Mouse
Wallace Wolodarksy as Kylie
Academy Award-winning Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney (Up In The Air) and Meryl Streep (It’s Complicated) lend their voices to the hilarious, heartwarming and dazzling stop-motion animated adventure from visionary director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenebaums) Fantastic Mr. Fox, arriving as a Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack and on DVD March 23 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. In there-imagined classic family tale, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep) live a happy home life with their eccentric son Ash (Jason Schwartzman: The Darjeeling Limited) and visiting nephew Kristopherson. That is until Mr. Fox slips into his sneaky, old ways and plots the greatest heist the animal world has ever seen. When mean old farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean join forces to surround Mr. Fox and his family, they don’t realize they are not dealing with any old fox – it’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and he has a fantastic master plan to save the day!
Roald Dahl, a British novelist who introduced us to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “James and the Giant Peach”, “Matilda”, “The Witches” and “The BFG” and many other books that have entertained generations. And in 1970, Dahl wrote the children’s novel “Fantastic Mr. Fox” which would receive an adaptation into a feature animated film co-written and directed by Wes Anderson (“Rushmore”, “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “The Darjeeling Limited”) and co-writer Noah Baumbach (“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, “Margot at the Wedding”, “Kicking and Screaming”).
The development for “Fantastic Mr. Fox” began in 2004 and was released in theaters in 2009. What made the film quite unique is that it’s a Wes Anderson animated film and also a film that utilizes stop-motion animation and a first for 20th Century Fox.
The film was released in October 2009 and made over $41 million in the box office and nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Animated Feature” and “Best Original Score”. And now, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” will receive its first Blu-ray and DVD release. The Blu-ray release will include a DVD and also a digital copy of the film.
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a film that begins with Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his girlfriend Felicity killing and stealing squab. Due to his girlfriend being pregnant and the fact that the two were caught stealing, Fox made a promise that if they were to survive their ordeal, he would quit and find a safer job.
Fast forward two years later, Mr. Fox and Mrs. Fox (voiced by Meryl Streep) have a son named Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman). Mr. Fox is now a newspaper columnist and unhappy about his current lifestyle and living in a hole. He wants a better home but Mrs. Fox has no problem where they are living at. As for Mr. Fox’s son, Ash is a son who is not as gifted as his father and can be seen as a little weird as he likes to sport unusual clothing including a cape.
One day, Mr. Fox decides to purchase a home inside a tree, despite warning from his lawyer, Badger (voiced by Bill Murray). Part of the reason why Fox wanted the home is that he could be close to large corporate facilities owned by farmers Walter Boggis (owns a chicken/squaw farm), Nathan Bunce (owns a duck and geese farm) and Franklin Bean (owns a turkey, apples and cider farm).
The whole family packs up and moves to their new home while Mrs. Fox’s nephew Kristofferson (voiced by Eric Chase Anderson) comes to live with them because of his father’s illness. But immediately, Mr. Fox sees how Kristofferson is gifted with athletic ability like himself (and unlike his son) and also Kristofferson becomes quite popular at the school. This causes Ash to become very jealous of his cousin because he does not have the same athletic skills but most importantly, his father seems to have more interest in Kristofferson than him. Thus Ash treats his cousin quite badly.
Meanwhile, we learn of Mr. Fox’s main motivation of moving to the tree and near the corporations. He is missing his old self and the ability to infiltrate, kill his food and steal. Thus immediately, Mr. Fox and his friend Kylie (voiced by Wallace Wolodarsky) along with an unwilling Kristofferson begin infiltrating and stealing from the farms successfully. But each of the farmers have had enough and will now do anything it takes to capture or kill Mr. Fox.
What became a fun getaway from Mr. Fox can now lead to the demise of his family and friends. How will the fantastic Mr. Fox get out of this predicament?
VIDEO:
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is presented in 1080p (widescreen 1:85:1). One thing that is important to emphasize that this is a stop-motion animated film. So, for those who are wondering why the animation is not as fluid as a Pixar film, that is because this whole film is based on miniature models and an unthinkable amount of photographic images to create an animated film.
With that being said, I have to say that I was blown away by how beautiful this film is. I didn’t realize how much went into this film until I saw the special features because I knew it was stop animation but for something to look this good, I figured there was plenty of CGI-animation incorporated. But learning that every furnishing, every scenery was handmade and painted, each of the characters were about two feet miniatures and highly detailed was absolutely amazing. Great cinematography by Tristan Oliver (who has worked in several “Wallace & Gromit” films).
The Blu-ray brings out the detail of the work of the staff as the fur of the characters come out in such glorious detail, the eyes of the characters/puppets to the detail of the ground and the tree. Absolutely fantastic work and very much appreciated through HD as detail is clear and reds, oranges and browns and various earthtone colors really showcase the vibrancy of the film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish, French and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital. Although the majority of the film is dialogue and musically driven, there are sequences that begin midway from the film that begins to incorporate more action sequences and sound effects. Dialogue is crystal clear and understandable, music also comes out quite nicely through the front channels and then the moments of destruction from the humans towards Mr. Fox’s home and living areas are well demonstrated throughout the surround channels and even utilizing LFE.
Lossless audio is very well done and although not an aggressive soundtrack, a still a solid lossless audio presentation for the film. And also, what an an interesting but fun music soundtrack with The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Burl Ives and other artists featured in the film and wonderful music by Alexandre Desplat (who did a wonderful job with “Julie & Julia”, “Cheri”, “Coco Avant Chanel”, etc).
Subtitles are presented in English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese and Mandarin.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” comes with the following special features:
- Making Mr. Fox Fantastic – A fantastic documentary on the making of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” which you can play all or watch the following featurettes separately: The Look of Fantastic Mr. Fox (8:12), From Script to Screen (7:00), The Puppet Makers (8:19), Still Life (Puppet Animation) (7:23), Cast (6:32), Bill and His Badger (7:37). I loved the featurettes included in this segment and how it shows the crew creating wonderful miniatures of Dahl’s work from furnishings to even the silverware and animating the puppets.
- A Beginner’s Guide to Whack Bat – (1:12) A brief guide to the sport of Whack Bat.
- Fantastic Mr. Fox – The World of Roald Dahl - (2:58) A short featurette about using the Dahl house as an inspiration of ideas in creating the miniature sets for the film. Mrs. Dahl talks about how the filmmakers did a wonderful job in capturing Roald’s ideas for “Fantastic Mr. Fox”.
- Theatrical Trailer - (2:25) The original theatrical trailer
EXTRAS:
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” includes a DVD of the film presented in Widescreen (1:85:1), audio in English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround and Subtitles in English SDH, Spanish and French. Also, included is a digital copy of the film.
I really enjoyed “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and after watching this Blu-ray release, just in awe of how much hard work, creativity and detail went into creating this film. As mentioned, I thought there was a lot of CGI implemented in this film but to find out everything was literally handcrafted was amazing.
Wes Anderson is a wonderful director and the fact that you have major talent involved in this film from George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and many others along with a talented crew to create this stop-animation film and make it come to life is quite impressive. The characters and the world of Mr. Fox just comes alive in this film and you can’t help but grin because the colors and the detail is just so striking on HD. This film really looks fantastic on Blu-ray!
As for parents who wonder if they can show this film to their children, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is rated PG and with FOX’s being wild animals, they steal and kill their prey. Granted, there is no blood shown but those are things that some parents may be concerned about. There is one scene where a rat pulls out a knife and tries to kill Mr. Fox and continues again further in the story where he goes after Ash. So, there are darker moments in the film. So, definitely parental guidance is suggested.
There is nothing that I can really complain about the film. I absolutely loved it! You get a good amount of special features on the making of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and on top of the solid picture and audio quality, you also get a DVD and digital copy of the film.
Overall, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a wonderful animated film that may be more appreciated by teenagers and adults than children but this Blu-ray is most definitely recommended!
Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock accept their Best Actress Award at the 15th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with a kiss
January 15, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Actresses Meryl Sctreep (L) and Sandra Bullock accept the Best Actress award onstage during the 15th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards held at the Hollywood Palladium on January 15, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for VH1). Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
Julie & Julia (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
December 6, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Adorable, entertaining and delightful! Featuring a wonderful performance from Meryl Streep and Amy Adams and a Blu-ray release featuring plenty of special features (not available on the DVD version). Definitely recommended!
Images courtesy of
TITLE: Julie & Julia
DURATION: 123 Minutes
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French, English – Audio Description Track 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
RATED: PG-13 (For Brief Strong Language and Some Sensuality)
COMPANY: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2009
Based on the book “Julie & Julia” by Julie Powell
Based on the book “My Life in France” by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme
Directed by Nora Ephron
Screenplay by Nora Ephron
Executive Producer: Donald J. Lee, Jr., Scott Rudin, Dana Stevens
Produced by Nora Ephron, Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson and Eric Steel
Co-Producer: Dianne Dreyer
Line-Producer: John Bernard
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt
Edited by Richard Marks
Casting by Kathy Driscoll, Francine Maisler
Production Design by Mark Ricker
Art Direction by Ben Barraud
Set Decoration by Susan Bode
Costume Design by Ann Roth
Starring:
Meryl Streep as Julia Child
Amy Adams as Julie Powell
Stanley Tucci as Paul Child
Chris Messina as Eric Powell
Linda Emond as Simone Beck
Helen Carey as Louisette Bertholle
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Sarah
Jane Lynch as Dorothy McWilliams
Joan Juliet Buck as Madame Brassart
Crystal Noelle as Ernestine
George Bartenieff as Chef Max Bugnard
In August 25, 2002, a woman named Julie Powell began her blog on salon.com titled “The Julie/Julia Project”. A government employee by day and wife by night, she wanted to do something challenging in her life.
As a fan of Julia Child and remembering the dishes her mother would cook from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Louisette Berthole, Simone Beck and Julia Child, Powell made the decision to blog about her one year experiment which was to create as many as 536 recipes from the book and document it on her blog. We see in the film the challenges that Julie faces in trying to recreate the recipes, especially when the media start contacting her and how much stress she puts herself through and how it starts to affect her, her relationship with her husband and her day job.
To say the least, the blog was popular and gaining Julie Powell recognition in various newspapers and publications for her dedication. Powell then wrote a book about her experience.
Meanwhile in 2006, the book “My Life in France” was published and is by Julia Child and her nephew Alex Prud’homme. The book was written during the last eight months of Julia Child’s life before her death in Aug. 2004. What many people were not aware of was Julia Child’s personal life and the book would feature the love shared by husband and wife Paul and Julia, would feature letters that Julia wrote to her penpal and letters that Paul Childs wrote to his brother, photographs and most importantly, their time living in France.
The book would detail Julia and Paul moving to Paris, Paul’s job with the USIA and how the two explored restaurants in Paris. To avoid boredom, how Julia would join the Le Cordon Bleu program and her wanting to teach cooking of French cuisine to Americans and how she became a member of the club The Gourmettes which she would meet Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle (the three would write “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”) and how Julia Childs went on to get a book published.
Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron (“When Harry Met Sally”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “You’ve Got Mail”) began working on an adaptation on both books to a film and is essentially two films in one. The adaptation of both stories are featured but showing how Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams, “Doubt”, “Enchanted”, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) shared a similar passion of food through Julia Childs (played by Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”, “Doubt”, “Kramer vs. Kramer”) and eventually how making the recipes helped her with her life.
Similar to Child’s life in France where cooking is what made a difference in her life and also showing how Julie’s husband Eric (played by Chris Messina, “Vicky Christina Barcelona”, “Made of Honor”, “Six Feet Under”) and Julia’s husband Paul (played by Stanley Tucci, “ER”, “Lucky Number Slevin”, “Shall We Dance”) were instrumental in giving support to their wives.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Julie & Julia” is featured in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1) and features beautiful cinematography from Stephen Goldblatt (“Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Rent”, “Conspiracy”, “Angels in America”). For Julia Child’s story, we see the shots in Paris, late 40′s and early 1950′s. Set design and costume design were well done but it was important for Goldblatt to capture that feel of Paris but most importantly the decoir of that time. It’s important to note that in the special features, it is mentioned several times that the look of Julia’s life in the past, is how Julie Powell imagined Julia’s life, so it’s a characterization of Julia and Paul Child.
For Julie’s story, this is a couple who lives atop a pizzeria and for the most part, are not making a whole lot of money. The timing of Julie’s storyline is months after 9/11 and but where Julia Child’s features the somewhat upper middle-class living, Julie’s life in a 900 sq. ft. room, small kitchen and just the surroundings of Julie and Eric’s life is captured well.
Detail of both lifestyles are well-captured in film, shots of the food are colorful, blacks are nice and deep, skin tones are natural but it’s the various shots that stay in your mind. From Julie and friends sitting above the rooftops overlooking the NYC skyline and Julia and friends eating at a cafe or restaurant. But both different timelines are well-captured and presented amazing well in the film.
As for audio, “Julie & Julia” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (And French and English – audio description track 5.1 Dolby Digital). The film is primarily dialogue driven and is front and center channel driven where you will hear music being played Audio description is pretty much just that, a female voice describes what is happening during each scene while the normal audio of the film is playing.
Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Portuguese.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Julie & Julia” comes with the following special features in Standard and High Definition and in English Stereo. Included are:
- Audio Commentary by Director Nora Ephron – Featuring a detailed, informative commentary by Nora Ephron. Ephron explains the differences between Powell’s real life and what was featured on screen to Julia Child’s home in Paris and how the set is an almost an absolute exact replication. To how Ephron had problems working with the cat in the film and more. But also interesting is the commentary in regards to Julia Child’s impression of Julie Powell’s blog.
- Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia - (27:43) A featurette about how the film and adaptation came about. Interviews with Nora Ephron, Julie Powell and more. Norah talks about her passion of food and her appreciation of Julia Child and what she wanted to accomplish with the film which includes making sure the food eaten by the talent were wonderful. Interviews with the talent of the film of working with each other (Streep and Tucci, Adams and Messina) and more.
- Family & Friends Remember Julia Child – (47:39A very entertaining featurette from family and friends talking about Julia Child’s the person on television and offscreen and how wonderful a person she is. From her and Paul Child’s love for each other and friends and family confirming how passionate she was about life. We also learn about the final day of her life and most of all, what she has meant to the people’s lives that she has touched.
- Julia’s Kitchen: Take a tour of Julia Child’s kitchen -(22:31) Exclusive to Blu-ray, this featurette is about Julia Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian. Featuring interviews with Paula Johnson (Curator, Smithsonian Institution), Rayna Green (Project Director and Curator, Smithsonian Institution) and Nanci Edwards (Project Manager, Smithsonian Institution). How Julia’s kitchen became part of the Smithsonian Institution. Friends and family talk about the importance of Julia’s kitchen.
- Cooking Lessons: Featuring Julia Child and other world renowned chefs including Jacques Pépin, Suzanne Goin and more - An exclusive to Blu-ray. Featuring “Poaching Eggs with Julia Child & Jacques Pépin” (4:14), “Making Hollandaise Sauce with Julia Child & Jacques Pépin” (2:38), “Mark Peel prepares Scrambled Eggs” (4:50), “Suzanne Goin prepares Braised Beef Short Ribs” (5:43), “Steven Lewandowski & Drew Nieporent prepare Butter Poached Maine Lobster” (5:26).
- movieIQ with Julia Child’s original recipes – BD-Live includes collecting and e-mail your favorite Julia Child recipes while watching the film! You will need a Blu-ray profile 2.0 player (that can connect to the Internet) for this feature.
- Previews – Trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases.
Adorable, entertaining and delightful! “Julia & Julie” once again shows us once again why Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are wonderful actresses.
Although not working together like they were in the film “Doubt”, both actresses were both wonderful in their roles. Meryl Streep as Julia Child is very convincing but what I found quite wonderful is seeing a side of Julia Child that I was not even familiar with. One thing in my household is that my wife enjoys watching her old programs on PBS, so we watched this film together and she was quite impressed. For me, I was more impressed about the relationship between her and husband Paul and seeing how she became passionate about food and even treated badly when she entered Le Corden Bleu. Stanley Tucci brings that side of Paul Child that many people are not familiar with and it was great to learn from friends and family of how well he played the part.
I was surprised because I thought after seeing her in PBS for all these years, I thought she was a chef previous to hosting her own cooking show. So, it was great to know this personal side of Julia Child and if anything, watching this part of the film encourages me to purchase the book “My Life in France”.
As for Julie Powell storyline, Amy Adams does a wonderful job playing this wife who works at a job and is just not feeling her life is all that exciting (when compared to her other friends) and thus setting a goal for herself by cooking all the recipes from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blogging about it.
I suppose for today’s social media crowd, a film about blogging and use of Paypal is something that today’s viewers can definitely connect with. As with Nora Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail” using the Internet technology of e-mail for her romantic film, it was great to see Ephron doing a film about blogging.
What I found was quite amusing is seeing how many people have responded to Powell’s blog. After watching the movie, I definitely had to check this blog out and after reading the comments written (around the time she made her first post), I realized that Powell touched and inspired hundreds of people to do something similar. I’ve known so many people who have blogged about cooking and even I have blogged about the food and recipes that I’ve cooked over the years. So, the fact that Powell was able to write a book about her blog and an adaptation made for film is wonderful (note: The last time I have seen this happen was for the Korean film “My Sassy Girl”).
As for the Blu-ray release, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment really went all out in making sure the release contains plenty of special features. In fact, the commentary and “Secret Ingredients” feature is on the DVD release but everything else is exclusive only for the Blu-ray release. Definitely a good way to drive people to upgrade to Blu-ray.
Overall, “Julie & Julia” is an entertaining and heartwarming film featuring strong performances from its talent, also well done cinematography. “Julie & Julia” may be a film about two different stories but it was great learning about Julia and Paul Child’s personal life in France and what led to Julia Child being the International star. And of course, watching how a blogger would inspire man people through her action of cooking every recipe from Julia Child’s book.
A wonderful Blu-ray release and may you be Julia Child or Julie Powell fans, bloggers, people who love to cook or you are wanting an entertaining movie, “Julie & Julia” is definitely recommended!
DOUBT (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
April 5, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“ ‘DOUBT’ is a powerful and thought provoking film that features amazing performances from Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis.”
© BVHE. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: DOUBT
DURATION: 103 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit), French 5.1 Dolby Digital, English SDH and Spanish subtitles
RATED: PG-13 (for Thematic Material)
COMPANY: Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2009
Directed and Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley
Based on an original play by John Patrick Shanley
Produced by Mark Roybal, Scott Rudin
Executive Produced by Celia D. Costas
Associate Produced by Nora Skinner
Original Music by Howard Shore
Director of Photography: Rogear Deakins
Film Editing by Dane Collier, Ricardo Gonzalez, Dylan Tichenor
Production Design by David Gropman
Set Decoration by Ellen Christiansen
Costume Design by Ann Roth
Cast:
Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Brendan Flynn
Amy Adams as Sister James
Viola Davis as Mrs. Miller
Alice Drummond as Sister Veronica
Audrie J. Neenan as Sister Raymond
Susan Blommaert as Mrs. Carson
Joseph Foster as Donald Miller
Mike Roukis as William London
Sister Aloysius (Streep), the rigid and fear-inspiring principal of the Saint Nicholas Church School, suffers an extreme dislike for the progressive and popular parish priest Father Flynn (Hoffman). Looking for the wrongdoing in every corner, Sister Aloysius believes she’s uncovered the ultimate sin when she hears Father Flynn has taken a special interest in a troubled boy. But without proof, the only thing that certain is doubt. An in Blu-ray High Definition, with a picture as clear as Sister’s rules, and sound as sharp as her tongue, this film will stay with you long after the credits have ended.
Amazing performances from Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Davis. ‘DOUBT’ is a thought provoking film that leaves you feeling a bit unsettled at the film’s end.
“DOUBT” is a film based on the Tony Award winning play “Doubt: A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley. The play was so successful would take the popular play and bring it to the big screen and Shanley would be the screen writer and director.
Eventually, the film struck a chord with critics as “DOUBT” received five Academy Award nominations for Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Best Supporting Actress Amy Adams and Viola Davis and Best Adapted Screenplay (John Patrick Shanley). And after watching the film, you realize that this film is definitely deserving of each of those nominations.
The story of “DOUBT” takes place in 1964, several months since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy at St. Nicholas Church school in the Bronx. Enter the following characters:
Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) – The new, young priest of the parish. Popular with the parents and the kids because of his progressive views. Very close to the children and helps coach their basketball team. Believes the school should be more accessible for the parish and thinking that people should be thought of as “members of the family”. Also, a few changes such as introducing a secular song into the Christmas song lineup. Things that Sister Aloysius is definitely against.
Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) – A very conservative nun who dislikes seeing the changes in today’s society and is also the principal of the school. Ruling with an iron fist, all the other sisters at the school are scared of her and her style of handling the children are quite strict. No ballpoint pins and an expectancy for the children to perform well in school without having to be coddled. Very good at using intimidation and fear to keep the students and her fellow sisters at the school in line.
Sister James (Amy Adams) – An inexperienced nun and teacher at the school. Very fearful of Sister Aloysius but has to work with her in reporting back to her in terms of the behavior of Father Flynn after she is suspicious of him being around the school’s first and only Black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), a bit too much, especially when the two are alone with each other.
One day at school, Donald Miller was called to meet with Father Flynn. Then she catches the Father putting a shirt into Miller’s locker. But what was more disconcerting was when Donald returned back from his meeting with Father Flynn. Looking very fearful and even smelling liquor in his breath. So, Sister James suspects something may be wrong and Sister Aloysius is convinced that Father Flynn is doing something inappropriate to the children.
For Sister Aloysius, she has had this problem before with another priest at a previous school and was eventually stopped but with St. Nicholas being ran by men, she feels that if they went to Monsignor Benedict about Father Flynn, they would not be treated with respect and possibly be transferred for subordination.
So, Sister Aloysius believes the only way they can work this out is if both of them confront Father Flynn in regards to Donald.
Of course, Father Flynn denies any wrong-doing but is severely disappointed with both sisters. He tells them if he wants to find the truth, then she should talk to him or the mother. And thus, Sister Aloysius decides to do just that. She meets with Donald’s mother (Viola Davis).
We learn from Mrs. Miller that Donald has been moved to different schools. Being the sole Black child at these schools, he has taken a lot of bullying, been harassed and has not made any friends. And when things are not going well in school, things are not looking good at home as he is physically abused by his father. When Sister Aloysius tells Mrs. Davis about her suspicions, Mrs. Davis doesn’t care. Because her son has found a person that truly cares about him and is willing to protect him. If her son is put in the center of this controversy in public, she has no doubt that her husband will beat her son to death.
Mrs. Miller pleads with the sister to please keep Donald out of this for his sake. All he needs is a few months and he will go to high school and he will be fine. And if she needs to do something, then get Father Flynn removed but to please keep Donald out of it. Mrs. Miller also drops a bombshell to Sister Aloysius about her son, which helps corroborate the Sister’s feelings about Father Flynn’s guilt.
Meanwhile, Sister Jane feels that perhaps Sister Aloysius doesn’t like Father Flynn and without proof she is going after him. Sister Aloysius tells her that she knows that Father Flynn has committed something terrible but Sister Jane feels that without proof, in her mind, Father Flynn is innocent and he was just trying to protect Donald.
But Sister Jane starts to have her doubts when she sees Father Flynn try to help Donald (who has his belongings knocked down by a student) but then give him this passionate hug that eventually makes her start to doubt.
This sets up a major confrontation between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn. How far will Sister Aloysius go to have Father Flynn removed from her school (and possibly losing his job) and will Father Flynn continue to deny any wrongdoing or is there something else going on? Does the sister really believe that Father Flynn is truly guilty or is she going after him due to her intolerance of wanting to change the school?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“DOUBT” is featured in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ration of 1:85:1. The picture quality is very good as you can see the pores on the skin of Philip Seymour Hoffman, so it is done quite well. But the film is mostly shot indoors. The colors are not so vibrant as the sisters and Father Flynn are typically wearing black and white. The school is featured in shades of brown and when shots are done outdoors, skies are gray and definitely not scenes that showcase much colors. In a way, there is a sort of darkness when watching the film, even though it is a film that takes place in a Catholic school.
Cinematography courtesy of the talent Director of Photography Roger Deakins (“No Country for Old Men”, “Shawshank Redemption”, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and many more), Deakins knows how to capture a mood and since he is one of my favorite DP’s, he manages to capture light and dark moods of the film.
As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-Bit) and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. One thing that really came out quite well through my system in hearing the various soundtrack in DTS-HD is the music. From the choir to the score, it comes out quite clear during the film. For the most part, the film is dialogue-based. Dialogue is clear but this is not a film to expect major usage of your rear channels.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“DOUBT” comes with several informative special features:
- From Stage to Screen—(19:06) An intimate discussion with playwright, screenwriter and director John Patrick Shanley about the history of “Doubt”, including his inspirations for the story, the acclaim the play’s Broadway run received, the Pulitzer Prize and the process of adapting it for the screen. Joining the conversation are Meryl Streep and Sister Margaret McEntee (a consultant on the film and Shanley’s former teacher).
- Scoring Doubt—(4:37) Renowned composer Howard Shore discusses his inspiration for the music in the film and his collaboration with both John Patrick Shanley and producer Scott Rudin.
- The Sisters of Charity—(6:28) In an insightful and lively dialogue, Meryl Streep and John Patrick Shanley discuss the interviews that Shanley did before shooting with real nuns to discuss their lives and make sure they would be accurately portrayed in the film.
- Feature Commentary with John Patrick Shanley - (103 minutes) For the commentary, we get a bit of insight of John Patrick Shanley’s experience of going to a Catholic school in the Bronx and trying to utilize what he remembers and making it come to life on film. Shanley talks about the various talent, various scenes and how certain shots came about.
- The Cast of Doubt— (13:30) Ew.com’s discussion with actors Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. A fun and insightful conversation with the talent and their feeling about the film and if the critics would get it.
“DOUBT” is a thought provoking film. Taking what we have seen in the last decade with certain pastors accused and having gotten away for child molestation, “DOUBT” tries to show viewers that even back in 1964, a perspective of how this was happening and despite some people having doubts about a priest and a few of those individuals with a close relationship with the younger altar boys, what makes this film much more entertaining is watching Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman really going off each other and both delivering powerful performances.
Meryl Streep’s transformation to Sister Aloysius is just impressive and her ability to project intimidation to even the viewer showcases her multiple-award winning talent. Philip Seymour Hoffman is just a man who is well liked but to Sister Aloysius, it’s about how far she will go to use her intimidation against him. But as intimidating as she is to the Father. The truth is that the system and hierarchy of how things are handled in the church reside in the leadership of men, not so much towards the women. So, Hoffman then engages in intimidation towards Sister Aloysius. Needless to say, the exchange between both individuals is quite powerful. Which one of these individuals engages in their own perfidy?
The other impressive performances go to Amy Adams as Sister Jane. She exhibits innocence, purity and someone trying to comprehend why Sister Aloysius is the way she is and if she can possibly bring something new to the school with her warmer style. Unfortunately, this style is similar to Father Flynn’s and a style that Sister Aloysius is against. So, to see the fear and intimidation that the Sister Jane is feeling is well projected by Adams.
And Viola Davis as Mrs. Miller. Despite having only several minutes on screen, her performance as a mother who has seen her son tormented and defeated, beaten and made to feel as an outcast, is willing to let him allegedly be in the companionship of the father, because he is the only person that has been there to protect him. Twisted logic it may be, but considering the time this film takes place and that he was the sole Black person being integrated into the school, you feel sympathy for Mrs. Douglas but at the same time feel a bit disgusted. Nevertheless, Viola Davis really did a great job portraying the mother in this film.
“DOUBT” is indeed a powerful and though provoking film. The final minutes leave you feeling a bit unsettled. But the film is indeed a pleasure to watch because of the power of the performances by the four key talents of the film.
They made their characters so believable and because of that, “DOUBT” was able to flourish into this intriguing and gripping film. By the end of the film, you have no doubt in your mind that Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Davis were definitely deserving of their Academy Award nominations. Highly recommended!
Meryl Streep and Viola Davis arriving for the New York premiere of ‘Doubt’
December 8, 2008 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
PicApp: Meryl Streep and Viola Davis arriving for the New York premiere of ‘Doubt’ on a bitterly cold evening in Manhattan, held at The Paris Theatre, New York City. Pictured: Meryl Streep and Viola Davis Picture by: Johns PkI/ Splash News. Content © 2008 Splash News . All rights reserved.
