Priest: Unrated (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Based on the Korean graphic novel, “Priest: Unrated” is a straight-up popcorn action film that relies heavily on the action  and visual effects versus a strong plot.  I will say that if you enjoyed the film, you’ll definitely enjoy “Priest: Unrated” on Blu-ray!

Images courtesy of © 2011 Screen Gems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Priest: Unrated

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 87 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English, French , Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English – Audio Descriptive Track, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French and Spanish

RATED: UNRATED

COMPANY: Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: August 16, 2011

Directed by Scott Charles Stewart

Written by Cory Goodman

Based on the graphic novel series “Priest” by Min-Woo Hyung

Produced by Michael De Luca, Joshua Donen, Mitchell Peck, Shareena Carlson

Co-Producer: Nicolas Stern

Executive Producer: Josh Bratman, Glenn S. Gainor, Steve Galloway, Stuart J. Levy

Music by Christopher Young

Cinematography by Don Burgess

Edited by Lisa Zeno Churgin, Rebecca Weigold

Casting by Rick Montgomery

Production Design by Richard Bridgland

Art Direction by Andrew Max Cahn, A. Todd Holland, Christa Munro

Set Decoration by Robert Greenfield

Costume Design by Ha Nguyen

Starring:

Paul Bettany as Priest

Karl Urban as Black Hat

Cam Gigandet as Hicks

Maggie Q as Priestess

Lily Collins as Lucy Pace

Brad Dourif as Salesman

Stephen Moyer as Owen Pace

Christopher Plummer as Monsignor Orelas

Alan Dale as Monsignor Chamberlain

Madchen Amick as Shannon Pace

In a post-apocalyptic world, a savage war between man and vampire raged for centuries. A warrior priest (Paul Bettany) receives word of fresh attacks but now it`s personal, his niece has been kidnapped by a new hive of merciless vampires. To save her, he must break his vow of peace and hunt down the hive before it’s too late. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel and packed with bloodthirsty action, this full throttle crusade takes you on the hunt for a deadly new breed of killer.

Back in 1998, a manhwa  (Korean comic book) titled “Priest” was created by Hyung Min-woo and was released in the United States.  The comic book was inspired by the PC video game “Blood” and in 2005,  a loosely-based adaptation by Cory Goodman (“Apollo 18″) was bought by Screen Gems in 2005.

In 2009, the film was directed by Scott Stewart (known for his visual effects work), “Sin City”and would star Paul Bettany (“The Da Vinci Code”, “Iron Man”, “A Beautiful Mind”), both men previously worked on the film “Legion”.

With the film set for release for 2010, because the film was being converted to 3D, “Priest” would receive its theatrical debut in North America in May 2011 and now, “Priest: Unrated” is set for release in August 2011 on Blu-ray and DVD.

“Priest” revolves around a time where humanity and vampires were at constant war with each other.  Because of the war, the world has been devastated and with humanity nearly killed off by the vampires, an elite spiritual warrior organization known as the Priests who had the special ability to slay the vampires, manage to kill most of them.

Those who were alive were kept in reservations and for the humans that were still alive, the Church created heavily guarded cities for humans to live in.  But those who live in the guarded cities, must live and obey the Church’s law.  Going against their rules, is going against the Church.  So, those who are tired of the rules, some have decided to live outside of the cities to live a free life away from the Church.

And as for the Priests, the Church truly believes that the Priests are no longer needed, so they disbanded the organization.

Meanwhile, Priest (played by Paul Bettany) has been having nightmares of his fellow priests being killed by vampires.  He tries to communicate with Monsignor Orelas (played by Christopher Plummer) about his dreams, but is told that its probably evil thoughts and to pay it no mind.

That same day, a sheriff named Hicks (played by Cam Gigandet) tells Priest that his brother Owen (played by Stephen Moyer) and his sister-in-law Shannon (played by Madchen Amick) were killed by vampires and that his niece named Lucy (played by Lily Collins) was killed.

Hicks wants to find Lucy but needs Priest’s help but the problem is that if he does so, it goes against the rules of Monsignor Orelas and the Church.  Stuck in a hard place, he is able to get support from one of the Monsignor, Monsignor Chamberlain (played by Alan Dale) who warns Priest of the ramifications but for Priest, its important for him to save Lucy.

So, as the soldiers of the church try to stop Priest, Priest breaks the rule and leaves the city to find Lucy and Monsignor Orelas sends out four other priests lead by Priestess (played by Maggie Q) to capture him, dead or alive.

Meanwhile, we learn that Lucy is still alive and a mysterious person with a black hat is using Lucy as bait for Priest to come.

And as Priest and Hicks go to find Lucy, they realize that they must not only deal with an infestation of vampires but that they are up to something.  With the vampires and the priests going after both Priest and Hicks, will the two be able to successfully save Lucy?

 

VIDEO:

“Priest is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1) and this dark and gritty vampire-killing film that looks fanastic on Blu-ray.  Blacks are nice and deep, detail for the film is fantastic as we can see various objects, landscapes with clarity.  Closeups of the detail on the skin of the character’s faces is quite clear and there is also a layer of grain included as well.

I didn’t notice any problems with artifacts, edge enhancement and for the most part, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has constantly given Blu-ray fans awesome picture quality and it is no different for “Priest: Unrated”.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Priest: Unrated” is presented in English, French, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA and English – Audio Description Track.   I have to give high marks to “Priest” for its lossless audio.  Audiophiles will love how effectively the sounds were mixed for various directions.    There is good amount of LFE, dialogue is crystal clear and also good use for ambiance through the front and surround channels.  Especially weather elements of wind and rain but also just that eerie vibe that you get from the look and feel of the film and just hearing the music and the various sounds, the sound editor did a great job on the soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Priest: Unrated” comes with the following special features:

I’m probably much more accepting to “Priest” than the film critics were because I read a lot of graphic novels, especially from Asia and I’m also into alternate universe in a steampunkish way and the fact that introduces vampires that are not pretty boys and are just downright fugly and ferocious, I was digging it!

I have to say that I was quite skeptical at first because the last time I watched a film with Scott Stewart and Paul Bettany together, it was “Legend” and it was all visual effects with a bad story.

Not to say that “Priest” is great when it comes to storytelling but I enjoyed this film much more than “Legion” and the concept of the priests and vampires at war and the fact that the overall look of the film managed to look gritty and dark but the use of blues and warm colors to separate the church cities and what was taking place outside with the vampires and humans, for me it was quite intriguing.

It’s a short film at 87-minutes and I’m going to be truthful, outside of the main storyline between Priest and him breaking the rules of the church, I felt the whole movie was a bit of a blur and I was focusing more on the visual effects and action.  Suffice to say, seeing Maggie Q with Paul Bettany was a pretty cool collaboration and because I watched “Legion” and was expecting something along the lines of visual eye-candy with no substance ala “Legion”, I came in expecting somewhat the worst and so, I was pretty surprised that I enjoyed this film much better than what I was expecting.

As for the film, I can’t tell you what difference there is between the unrated and normal version of the film.  I think that for me, the lack of including both films on the Blu-ray release was a bummer!

For the Blu-ray release, I was impressed by the picture and audio quality and that there were a good number of special features and that they got the talent involved for the audio commentary.  But what about the film?  The film was good in a popcorn action kind of way.  When it comes to vampire films, in this day and age, it’s been overdone and you just want to see something different.  So,  I did like the fact that “Priest: Unrated” made the vampires really ugly and ferocious.

I will say that for an “unrated” release, I was expecting more violence or even blood or more dismemberment.  I thought this was going to showcase something disgusting along the lines of horror and it never happened in this film.    If anything, we see families getting thrashed by the vampires but instead of showcasing any of those scenes, we hear it instead of see it.

Overall, “Priest: Unrated” was an enjoyable film that was not necessarily great but comparing it to Stewart and Bettany’s last work together on “Legion”, “Priest: Unrated” was much more enjoyable and if it was visual eye-candy, I preferred “Priest” over “Legion”.

If you are the type who likes action films with a lot of fighting and a lot of visual effects and doesn’t have a strong plot, you can’t go wrong with “Priest: Unrated”.  Otherwise, if you are looking for a deeper film and plot is much more important than visual effects and action, then “Priest: Unrated” is definitely not for you.

Soul Surfer (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Soul Surfer” is an inspiring, touching and an entertaining film based on the true story of professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, who survived a shark attack.   Featuring an awesome performance by AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, to name a few, I was deeply touched and inspired by this film.  Definitely a family film worth watching!

Images courtesy of © 2011 Enticing Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Soul Surfer

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 106 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English, French , Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English – Audio Descriptive Track, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese

RATED: PG (For an Intense Accident Sequence and Some Thematic Material)

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2011

Based on the Book “Soul Surfer” byBethan Hamilton, Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh

Directed by Sean McNamara

Screenplay by Sean McNamara, Debora Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz and Michael Berk

Producer as David Brookwell, Dutch Hofstetter, Sean McNamara, Douglas Schwartz, David Zelon

Co-Producer: Ronald Bass, Becky Hamilton, Noah Hamilton, Joey Paul Jensen, Corey Schwartz, Susie Singer Carter, Jennifer Smolka, Shelley Trotter

Co-Executive Producer: Ricard S. Galindez, Roy Tjioe

Associate Producer: Rob Deege, Tiffany Hofstetter, Laurie Koris

Music by Marco Beltrami

Cinematography by John R. Leonetti

Edited by Jeff Canavan

Casting by Joey Paul Jensen, Niner Parikh

Production Design by Rusty Smith

Art Direction by Rosario Provenza

Set Decoration by Julie Smith

Costume Design by Kathe James

Starring:

AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany Hamilton

Dennis Quaid as Tom Hamilton

Helen Hunt as Cheri Hamilton

Carrie Underwood as Sarah Hill

Ross Thomas as Noah Hamilton

Lorrain Nicholson as Holt Blanchard

Kevin Sorbo as Holt Blanchard

Cody Gomes as Keoki

Sonya Balmores as Malina Birch

SOUL SURFER is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith. The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid. In the wake of this life-changing event that took her arm and nearly her life, Bethany’s feisty determination and steadfast beliefs spur her toward an adventurous comeback that gives her the grit to turn her loss into a gift for others.

“Soul Surfer” is an inspiring film based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, an American professional surfer who’s life was changed after a shark attack in which she lost her left her arm.

Without her arm and media coverage from all over the world, many witnessed Bethany Hamilton return to surfing but also to compete professionally not long after her accident.  And as simple as the story may seem, many things happened during those darker days of her life of whether or not she can function without an arm, if she can ever surf again but most importantly, what made her survive the entire ordeal.

“Soul Surfer” is a film adaptation directed by Sean McNamara (producer and director of teen TV series “Beyond the Break” and “That’s So Raven”) of Bethany Hamilton’s book about her life, what happened during the day of the accident and what happened afterward.

The film begins in Kauai, Hawaii where Bethany (played by Anna SophiaRobb, “Bridge of Terabithia”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Jumper”) is a normal teenage girl who loves to surf.  She hangs out with her best friend, fellow professional surfer Alana Blanchard (played by Lorraine Nicholson, “Click, “Something’s Gotta Give”, “World’s Greatest Dad”) and for both teenagers, their dream is to become professional surfers.

But Bethany, her life is all about surfing…every day and every minute that she free time, she’s surfing.

Bethany lives with her surfing family which includes her father Tom (played by Dennis Quaid), her mother Cheri (played by Helen Hunt) and her brothers Noah (played by Ross Thomas) and Tim (played by Chris Brochu).  The family is Christian and Bethany is also active with her church youth group headed by Sarah Hill (played by Carrie Underwood).

For Bethany, life is going very well and with a good showing at a competition, both she and Alana are sponsored by Rip Curl and both are looking forward to competing at the Regionals.

But one day, Bethany went out to do some morning surfing with Alana, her father Holt (played by Kevin Sorbo) and Alana’s younger brother at Tunnels Beach and while out the ocean and talking with Alana while lying on her surfboard, a tiger shark attacks Bethany, ripping out her left arm.

Having lost 60% of her blood and thanks to the quick thinking of the Holt family and the medical services, Bethany was saved but her life would never be the same after the loss of her left arm.

The film would focus on the difficulties that Bethany would have with one arm but also her desire to surf once again.  But most importantly, how her faith in God and the support that she has received from family, friends and those who were inspired by her story to surf again, made her stronger and made her continue to compete as a professional surfer.

VIDEO:

“Soul Surfer” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio).  And once again, “Soul Surfer” is another film shot in Hawaii that continues my validation of how films shot at the island have looked vibrant and beautiful on Blu-ray.

The film features a good layer of grain but its the colors that are so striking.  There is a good amount of detail, the cinematography in and out of the waves are just beautiful to watch and skin tones are natural and overall look of the film is warm.

Personally, I felt that “Soul Surfer” looked fantastic on Blu-ray.  I didn’t see any artifacts, nor did I see any banding, especially since this film is full of color.  Black levels are nice and deep and for the most part, PQ is absolutely pleasing and wonderful on Blu!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Soul Surfer” is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and comes with an English audio descriptive track.  The lossless audio for “Soul Surfer” is primarily dialogue and music-driven.  Dialogue is crystal clear and although there are not many action sequences, aside from Bethany’s parents trying to escape from the media or hearing the waves crashing (which do sound very good), the film is not the type of film to expect immersive audio but for this type of film, the lossless soundtrack works wonderfully.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Soul Surfer” comes with the following special features:

Bethany Hamilton is a hero.

She inspires people with her life as a professional surfer despite having one arm, she inspires people because of her calmness and her resolve to helping others because of her faith in God and how her determination to compete with other professional surfers and not willing to be treated any differently.

Hamilton’s story has been featured in the news, she won the “Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award, the “Courage Award” at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards and eventually in her career, taking first place in the 2005 National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) National Championships, competing full-time on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) and also for the WQS (World Qualifying Series).

As a surfer and also a person who has followed Bethany Hamilton’s progress since the accident, I couldn’t wait to watch “Soul Surfer”.  Sure, we know of how inspirational her story is from various news segments and interviews done with Bethany Hamilton and of course, there is also her book that she wrote.

But sometimes, it helps people to see things visually on how Bethany was able to overcome a lot of the things in her life and that is because of her faith in God.

For me, watching “Soul Surfer” was pretty cool in the fact that the filmmakers wanted to make a film that was authentic.  Part of the problems that many people dislike about surfing films is their unrealistic portrayal of them and seeing a body double that looks nothing like the character.  The other is shoddy acting.

First, lets talk about the acting.

With “Soul Surfer”, you have a talented actress with AnnaSophia Robb, granted, in real life, she is much shorter than Bethany but onscreen, viewers will probably not even care. Her performance was well-done!

But possibly one of the best things about this film is the casting.  You have two star talents with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt playing the parents of Bethany and also, you have Carrie Underwood also playing an acting role.  Granted, she a newbie in the field of acting but the fact that this film was able to secure these three talents is pretty awesome.

But the next thing that made the film so much enjoyable is the fact that the filmmakers knew the criticism of surfing films and so they wanted to make sure the talent knew how to surf and they were filmed surfing.  So, AnnaSophia Robb, under the tutelage of Bethany’s coach, learned to surf for a month, picked up quickly and started surfing each time she had a chance.

As for Bethany’s parents who love to surf, Helen Hunt knows how to surf but Dennis Quaid also went through training and enjoyed surfing as well.

There is some awesome cinematography featured in the film and as mentioned, the acting is very well-done.

But I know that for some people who have criticized this film, it’s about how the film showcases Bethany’s faith in God.

It its important to note that for Bethany and her family, their faith is a big part of them as individuals and how they live their lives.  It was also instrumental in what brought them together during those darker moments but most importantly what made Bethany a stronger individual.   And a big reason of why she was able to surf again.

And while the film does focus on faith, the filmmakers know that there must be a compromise of how they can also reach a mass audience and not to deluge non-religious viewers by not overly focusing on the religious topics.

So, with that being said, the most you are going to see of any religion on film is when the film goes into Bethany attending her youth group or going to church (which are very short scenes) and when she goes to Thailand with her youth group to help those who were devastated by the tsunami.  But even those scenes, they are not preachy nor forcing religion in anyone’s throats.

If anything, the more discussion of faith especially Bethany’s faith in God is mostly featured on the special features in the Blu-ray release.

As for the Blu-ray release, the picture quality is fantastic!  I’ve been on the record of saying how outdoor shots, especially in Hawaii have looked fantastic on Blu-ray and that goes the same for “Soul Surfer”. This is a beautiful film on Blu-ray and colors are vibrant.  The lossless audio is primarily dialogue and musically driven but there are good moments of hearing constant wave crashing that sounds very good on Blu-ray.  Granted, it would have been even better to give the wave crashing sounds a more immersive soundscape through all channels but for the most part, the soundtrack is appropriate for this film.  And of course, there are a good number of special features included on the Blu-ray.

Overall, there is really nothing negative to say about this film.  It’s a straightforward film about Bethany, her darker days and her return to surfing and competing and as a person who has been inspired by Bethany Hamilton’s story and now watching that story on film, I was pretty impressed by the film.  Inspiring, entertaining and yes, even brought me to tears a few times during the film.

“Soul Surfer” is definitely recommended!

You Got Served: Beat the World (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“You Got Served: Beat the World” features wonderful choreography but unfortunately the plot based on the “relationship” doesn’t come out that well.  Still, if you love street dancing, it’s a film definitely worth trying and the Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic!

Images courtesy of © 2011 BTW Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved

TITLE: You Got Served: Beat the World

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 91 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:35:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish and French

RATED: PG-13 (For Some Sexual Content and Language)

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2011

Written and Directed by Robert Adetuyi

Produced by Amos Adetuyi

Producer (Brazil) – Deborah Calla

Executive Produced by Alfons Adetuyi, Robert Adetuyi, Rob Aft, Mary Barroll, Benedict Carver, Daniel Diamond, Hartley Gorenstein, Sanjeev Kaila

Line Producer: Hartley Gorenstein

Music by Andrew Lockington

Cinematography by Hubert Taczanowski

Edited by Mike Lee, Ronald Sanders

Casting by Twinkie Byrd, Sorrel Athina Jardine, Sara Kay, Jenny Lewis

Production Design by Mark Gabriel

Art Direction by Michelle Lannon

Set Decoration by Peter Wilde

Costume Design by Stephanie Collie

Starring:

Tyrone Brown – Yuson

Mishael Morgan as Maya

Nikki Grant as Cherry

Ray Johnson as Easy

Chase Armitage as Justin

Kristy Flores as Olivia

Shane Pollard as Carlos

Christian Loclair as Eric

Stephanie Nguyen as Nina

Christopher Toler as Deray

Davinia Lorenzo as Rachel

Jesse Catibog as Kato

Amanda Angel as Maria

Marcio Da Silva as Miguel

Ofilio Portillo as Juan

Luis Lobianco as Bartneder

Thelmo Fernandes as George

Ralph Kretschmar as Martin

Vartan Bassil as Karl

Gengis Ademoski as Arturo

Sebastian Jager as Otto

Benny Kimoto as Werner

From the writer of Stomp the Yard comes this fast-moving film about hopes and dreams set within the high-energy world of hip-hop. As three crews put their futures on the line as they battle their way to the finals at the International Beat the World competition in Detroit, off-stage pressures force them to realize there may be more at stake than just being crowned the best. Powered by the innovative dance routines of Germany’s Flying Steps, Brazil’s Pink Ladies Crew and a world-class cast of performers, YOU GOT SERVED: BEAT THE WORLD is a jaw-dropping showcase of hot flow, cool beats, crazy parkour and the freshest moves on earth!

Cool choreography and a blend of b-boy and parkour, “You Got Served: Beat the World” continues the goal of bringing street dance competition to the mainstream through film!

In the last decade, we have seen the success of films such as “Stomp the Yard” and “Step Up” but in 2004, “You Got Served” made its debut on Super Bowl weekend and brought in $48 million worldwide.  Similar to “Stomp the Yard”, for its sequel, “You Got Served: Beat the World”, we get a straight-to-video release.

For the sequel, the film focuses on three crews from around the world who will be competing at the “Beat the World” competition in Detroit.

In America, team “Fusion” is working hard and trying to find a way to defeat last year’s champions, Germany’s “Flying Steps” which includes the cocky, three-time solo champion Eric (played by Christian Loclair).

For team leader Yuson (played by Tyrone Brown), it means everything to him that Fusion wins this year’s “Beat the World”.  He’s worked so hard and dedicated his life around dancing.  If he wins this competition, it can lead to big things, including becoming a dancer for Jay-Z.

But because he focuses so much on his dancing and winning, sometimes it makes him look self-centered around his crew and even to his girlfriend, Maya (played by Mishael Morgan).  Yuson loves Maya but because his focus is on winning the competition, Maya is actually doing wonderful at school and has been admitted to a very good college that is far from home.  And thus causing some friction between Yuson and Maya.

Meanwhile, the Fusion team wants to make their dance better by incorporating parkour/free step to their routine in order to beat Germany’s Flying Steps.  But will it be enough to win the competition?

In Brazil, the Pink Ladies crew are the best of the country but they depend on Carlos to watch over their money in order to compete at the Beat the World competition.  The only problem is that Carlos has a bad habit of gambling and losing money and when he bets his crew’s money in a soccer game between USA vs. Brazil, expecting Brazil to win, he loses it.  So, the only way he is able to get his crew over to the US is by telling the people that he owes money to, that once they win the competition, they will be paid back plus extra.  Once again, Carlos is betting on his crew to win the competition.

For Germany, the team is starting to lose its unity due to its cocky dancer Eric.  Eric seems more interested in using his fame of having sex with women and its causing friction between team leader Nina (played by Stephanie Nguyen).  But when Eric finds out that the team rather have Nina as their leader instead of him, Eric starts to threaten his teammates that how will they win without him in the team?  Does Germany, the current champs, even have a chance of winning the competition?

VIDEO:

“You Got Served: Beat the World” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1).  The transfer is absolutely vibrant and there is a lot of detail that can be seen from the surfaces, the brick walls and even at the club or during the competition where red, green and blue lights are on the faces of the characters, not a hint of banding during those scenes. Make no assumption that because this is a direct-to-video film that PQ would suffer, this film looks absolutely wonderful and vibrant on Blu-ray!

Detail is fantastic, black levels are wonderful and deep, skin tones are natural and I saw no artifacts, edge enhancement or problems.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“You Got Served: Beat the World” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and as one would expect from a dancing film, that is a lot of music, a lot of bass pumping music and don’t be surprised if the audio quality of this film is driven by its musical soundtrack.  Music plays a big part in this film and even when it’s not, there is a good amount of crowd ambiance, distant noises and overall environment-based ambiance coming through the surround channels.  Dialogue is absolutely crystal clear and once again, if you love bass, the soundtrack specifically the music, definitely delivers!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“You Got Served: Beat the World” comes with the following special features in HD:

• The Making of You Got Served: Beat the World – (8:21) The cast and crew talk about the film, the inclusion of parkour and free step to the choreography of the film and the talent, especially the actors learning the moves for this film and more.
• 3RUN: The Team Behind the Film – (6:59) 3RUN crew talks about how they became popular through YouTube, the training they go through and how they created their own films and how it led to them working on “You Got Served: Beat the World”.

When it comes to dancing films, I know that there are film critics who just can’t get into them.  But for me, I absolutely enjoy watching the choreography of these films and seeing how far they can take it to the next level.

For me, dance films such as “You Got Served”, “Step Up” and “Stomp the Yard” films are known for their choreography and the plots are typically hit or miss with the viewer.  For “You Got Served: Beat the World”, unfortunately the plot falters with corny dialogue and pacing that shifts from relationship to competition and everything feels sort of forced.

For example, when one is preparing for a competition, the last thing you expect is your teammate to go out and take care of personal problems with his girl minutes and try to get back in time for the competition. No one knows when your time is coming up to perform at a real street dancing event and I just felt the writers were trying to work this relationship angle around the competition.

For “Stomp the Yard” and its sequel and even “Step Up”, the choreography and dancing is important but they worked around the relationship angle as opposed to working the relationship around the competition.  And I know that the goal was to bring that realism of street competition to the big screen but personally, this is an instance where I felt the whole relationship angle just didn’t work all that perfectly. The dialogue seemed forced, contrived and effete.

But I will say that although the relationship portion of the film didn’t go so well, the choreography is awesome!   The dancing of this film is phenomenal and for those who are passionate about dancing, I wouldn’t be surprised if they rewind and play various scenes over and over and be in awe by it.

The Blu-ray release has pretty awesome PQ and the music is more of the dominant factor for audio, while dialogue and music is crystal clear, there is some usage of the surround and rear surround channels.  But it’s the music that dominates the soundspace.  Also, there are good number of special features that feature more dancing scenes and dancers that were cut out of the film due to pacing and making the scenes flow.

Overall, I know that dance films are not for everyone.  But for those who love street dancing, “You Got Served: Beat the World″ does do a good job in showcasing the choreography.  While this film is not as good as the first film, anyone who is into street dancing can surely appreciate the choreography and find this sequel worth trying!

Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Das Boot” is one of the best war films in cinema history.  And with its brilliant presentation on Blu-ray, with its awesome PQ and AQ and informative special features that bypasses the original and awesome DVD version.  I’m quite confident that you will also find this release to be one of the best war films on Blu-ray!  “Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” is highly recommended and deserving of 5 stars.

Images courtesy of © 1981 Radiant Film. All Rights Reserved

TITLE: Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1981

DURATION: 149 minutes (Original Theatrical Version)/208 Minutes (Director’s Cut)

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1), German and English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, English SDH, Finnish, French, Hindi, Norwegian, Swedish

RATED: R (For Some War Violence and Brief Language)

COMPANY: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Twentieth Century Fox

RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2011

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Based on the novel by Lothar G. Buchheim

Written by Wolfgang Petersen

Produced by Gunter Rohrbach, Ortwin Freyermuth

Executive Producer: Mark Damon, John W. Hyde, Edward R. Pressman

Co-Produced by Michael Bittins

Assistant Executive Producer: Edward Summer

Music by Klaus Doldinger

Cinematography by Jost Vacano

Edited by Hannes Nikel

Casting by Willy Schlenter

Production Design by Rolf Zehetbauer

Art Direction by Gotz Weidner

Set Decoration by Gotz Weidner, Rolf Zehetbauer

Costume Design by Monika Bauert

Starring:

Jurgen Prochnow as Capt. Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock – Der Alte

Herbert Gronemeyer as Lt. Werner – Correspondent

Klaus Wennemann as Chief Engineer Fritz Grade – Der Leitende- Der Li

Hubertus Bengsh as 1st Lt. – Number One – 1WO

Martin Semmelrogge as 2nd Lt. – 2WO

Bernd Tauber as Kriechbaum – Chief Quartermaster-Navigator

Erwin Leder as Johann

Martin May as Ullman

Heinz Hoenig as Hinrich

Uwe Ochsenknecht as Chief Bosun

Claude-Oliver Rudolph as Ario

Jan Fedder as Pilgrim

Ralf Richter as Frenssen

Joachim Bernhard as Preacher

Oliver Stritzel as Schwalle

Konrad Becker as Bockstiegel

Lutz Schnell as Dufte

Martin Hemme as Bruckenwilli

Rita Cadillac as Monique

Otto Sander as Phillip Thomsen

Gunter Lamprecht as Captain of the “Weser”

At the height of WWII, a young submarine crew heads out to sea on a top-secret mission that all but ensures most will never make it home alive. Ordered to patrol the Atlantic and destroy an allied armada bringing supplies to Britain, these raw recruits must band together, bracing themselves against a depth-charge assault from an unseen enemy. Petersen’s epic adventure deftly explores tension as pressure builds to an explosive climax, packing a visceral punch few movies can match.

In 1981, German filmmaker and screenwriter Wolfgang Petersen began their work on the film adaptation of Lothar-Gunther Buchheim’s 1973 German world war II novel.

Buckheim who was an officer in the German Navy was a war correspondent who drew and took photographs and in 1941, joined the U-96 on their seventh patrol during the Battle of the Atlantic and with his experience, he wrote “Die Eichenlaubfahrt” (The Oak-Leaves Patrol) and later on writing a novel based on his experienced in “Das Boot” (the Boat) which would feature him as a fictionalized autobiographical character known as Lt. Werner.

As Wolfgang Petersen took on the directorial reigns of “Das Boot”, not only would the film become the most expensive German film at that time, it would be the most daunting and challenging film that the filmmaker has ever worked on and though the film was not a financial success, it was critically acclaimed, a big hit in the United States and other countries, winner of two of the six Academy Awards that the film was nominated for and also would eventually lead Petersen to an International career which would lead to him directing Hollywood films “In the Line of Fire”, “Outbreak”, “Air Force One”, “The Perfect Storm” and “Poseidon”.

It is important to note that “Das Boot” was released in 1981 as a 150-minute film.  The longer version that many people watched was a three 100-minute episode series aired on television in 1984 (followed by six 50-minute episodes in 1988).

Seeing the power of how the longer TV series was compared to the original theatrical film, producer Ortwin Freyermuth who worked with Petersen on his 1991 film “Shattered” asked the filmmaker about the possibility of taking the longer footage from the TV series and creating a longer version of the film.  Petersen was open to it but only if Freyermuth can raise the financing to make it happen.

And sure enough, Ortwin Freyermuth made it happen! And it’s due to the emerging DVD technology at the time as studios wanted to release films for a generation who cared about the quality of film and audio.

But it was not that easy as the original negatives for the film was submerged underwater due to a flood and while many of the reels were rescued, the audio portion was damaged to the point where existing sound would have to be baked and captured digitally.  Fortunately, both video and audio were rescued and the painstaking effort of editing by Hannes Nikel, getting copies of the original soundtrack from Klaus Doldigner and working with a company to bring the film with new immersive surround sound and also re-recording the English dubbing for the film.

In the end, “Das Boot – The Director’s Cut” was released on DVD and became a best selling DVD and for many DVD fans, is a must-own release!

Fast forward to 2011 and here we are with “Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” improving on the wonderful DVD version with 1080p High Definition and as for that soundtrack that everyone loved, now it is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA.

The 2011 release comes with both the Director’s Cut and the original theatrical version plus newer special features including an exclusive new documentary and more!

“Das Boot” begins with the story of how Hitler wanted to use U-Boats (submarines) as a way of crippling the British military/navy but in essence, it worked against them.  With over 40,000 soldiers of the German Navy sent on U-boats, 30,000 soldiers lost their lives (many sent to battle were inexperienced young men).

The story of “Das Boot” focuses on the viewpoint of Lt. Werner (played by Herberg Gronemeyer) who has been assigned as a war correspondent on the German submarine, the U-96 and working closely with Captain Henrich Lehmann Willenbrock (played by Jurgen Prochnow).

The Captain is anti-Nazi but he is a sea veteran that will do his duty and watch over this crew of young serviceman.  Many of the young crew mock Lt. Werner because of his lack of experience but for Werner, it’s a good chance for him to meet the various people inside the submarine.  Those who miss their love ones terribly, those who are there for the job and many who have no idea what kind of challenges they are facing.

Lt. Werner also takes notice of the various ideological differences between the crew members and the veterans.  The Captain who is cynical about the war, some who are religious, others who are not.  But as they ride the seas and notice nothing really happening, the U-boat spot an enemy convoy along with a British destroyer.

As the U-boat send out several torpedoes towards the enemy, the British destroyer sends out depth charges and the crew are bombarded. The crew get a taste of battle and learn first-hand of the danger.

But in the ocean, as the crew prepare for the enemy, they soon learn how mother nature is also unkind when a storm starts to injure other crew members.  Once the storm ends, the crew encounter a British convoy and immediately the crew shoot four torpedoes.  As they are caught by a British Destroyer, the submarine submerges and bare through various depth-charge attacks.

Some crew members begin to panic and fear for their lives.  When they rise back up, they realize the extent of their four torpedoes as they noticed the British convoys blazing in fire.  One is still burning slowly, so the Captain sends out one more torpedo but what the crew sees is horror as the Captain thought that the men on the enemy vessel were rescued but instead, are now screaming for their life for rescue and a few on fire.  The British enemy now in the ocean beg for the U-boat to save them but they know they can’t and leave them to die.

It’s a sight that no one applauds, some are deeply bothered of seeing lives lost and many experience firsthand how war, everyone suffers in someway.

The longer they stay in the ocean, not only is the U-96 coming short on fuel, food and supplies but they realize that war is not going to get any easier, in fact, the way things are going and the longer they stay out there, the more troubles that they will face and the Captain becomes more concerned about his crew and their survival.  For Lt. Werner, he begins to wonder if he will survive the longer he stays inside the U-96.

VIDEO:

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1). It’s important to note that this film was released back in 1981 and also that this film is 30-years-old.   This movie was created before CG and a lot of the scenes were created with technology that was used back then, including the use of miniature models. It’s also important to note that the version that the worked on is the longer director’s cut version.

So, with that being said, let’s begin with the “Das Boot: The Director’s Cut”.  This version of the film looks fantastic and much better than its DVD counterpart.  You can actually see the skin pores, the various age marks on the skin of the Captain, the hair follicles, the detail of clothing to the detail of wounds.

The colors that you see from the red and blue lighting (amber colors come alive during the British convoy on fire) is colorful and vibrant and while skin colors are natural and black levels are deep, there is a good amount of grain that can be seen but also the actual film seems to come alive.  I was very impressed by the picture quality of the film.

But it’s not 100% perfect.  There is some banding during certain scenes that really showcase the lights and of course, certain shots of the submarine (shorter scenes), you can see a lot of noise which probably is more enhanced in HD than it was on DVD.  By no means is the banding or the noise affecting your viewing pleasure of the film because those scenes are rather short and miniscule to the more positive PQ scenes throughout the film.

“Das Boot” on Blu-ray makes a world of difference compared to its DVD counterpart and PQ-wise, this film looks magnificent on Blu-ray!

As for the original theatrical version, while presented in a higher bit-rate, it doesn’t have that sharpness, contrast and detail of the longer Director’s Cut version.  In fact, some parts, you can tell that the look of the film, looks its age.  But there’s no comparison to the PQ of the shorter film versus the Director’s Cut.

Also, while most people may be intrigued to see the original theatrical version and see what newer scenes were added to the Director’s Cut, if anyone is to watch “Das Boot” for the first time, one must watch it via the Director’s Cut version.  It’s the best way to watch the film and it does make a difference.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” is presented in German and English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and French 5.1 Dolby Digital.  And clearly, the lossless soundtrack is phenomenal.  If you have the proper audio setup, “Das Boot” is magnificent.  You can each droplet of water and is it lands, hear every bubble from the outside of the submarine, hear the steel of the submarine compress and expand, hear the ambiance inside the submarine from the men who are working during the most silent of times to the most alarming of times during battle.

Ambiance of one walking on the metal flooring, the twisting of a valve, a call from the distance, a scream from the distance, the radio playing at a distance, the torpedo hitting its targets to a depth charge hitting the U-boat, “Das Boot” is immersive!

Even outside of the submarine, the swishes of ocean water from left to right and right to left and while you are in the middle watching and feeling you are right there!    You hear everything and as much as the DVD version was wonderful in terms of its soundtrack back then, one must watch “Das Boot” in HD to truly see how the lossless audio soundtrack enhances one’s appreciation for this film!  I was amazed to hear the sounds this much clearly and this much immersive compared to when I did watch this film on DVD.

It’s also important to note that the music by Klaus Doldinger and hearing it in lossless is also wonderful!

While it was my preference to watch this film with its original German dialogue in 5.1 DTS-HD MA, there is a English dub included.  Bare in mind, the voice acting is British (and in some way, it felt weird to watch German’s speak British, since the enemy on the water was the British) and because the original German film wanted to showcase the various dialects, the same can be said with the British voice acting and some of the dialogue is hard to understand and I felt I needed the subtitles on just for that.   But you do have a choice between the Germana and English lossless soundtrack!

It’s one of the few films where audio and also silence makes a big difference in a film and I can tell you right now, this is a brilliant lossless soundtrack!

Subtitles are Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, English SDH, Finnish, French, Hindi, Norwegian and Swedish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” comes with the following special features:

DISC 1:

• Filmmakers Commentary – Featuring a new audio commentary by Wolfgang Petersen revisiting the director’s cut version of the movie along with Ortwin Freyermuth.

DISC 2:

• The Perfect Boat – The Director’s Cut – (13:02) The process of “Das Boot”, the theatrical movie, the TV series and the making of the longer version of the film and the challenges to make the longer version in 1996.
• Maria’s Take - (9:16) Maria Petersen (assistant director) reflects with husband/director Wolfgang Petersen on working on the set of “Das Boot”.
• Historical Material – Featuring the original “Behind-the-Scenes” 1981 featurette (1:00:20) and “The Battle of the Atlantic” (1983) featurette (40:18) which is a German documentary with interviews with former WW2 veterans from both the German and British side.
• Captain’s Tour – Inside the Boat – (8:12) Actor Jurgen Prochnow gives us a tour of a submarine – Rooms Overview, Entry Conning Tower, Torpedo Room and Crew Quarters, Captain’s and Officer Rooms, The Control Room, Petty Officers Room & Gallery and Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms.
• Wolfgang Petersen – Back to the Boat – (44:48) Wolfgang Petersen, Jurgen Prochnow, Director’s Cut Producer Ortwin Freyermuth visit the original location of where “Das Boot” was shot and visiting the submarine and reflecting on memories from the past.

EXTRAS:

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” comes with a slipcover case.

“Das Boot” is one of the best war films of all time!  It’s also the definitive masterpiece for filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen.

While I do know that the original author of the “Das Boot” novel had issues with Wolfgang Petersen’s film and how certain situations depicted in the film (such as the crew partying in their quarters to have fun and make time fly by quickly), the fact is that this film is brilliant in many levels.

Not only does Wolfgang Petersen capture the loneliness of men being inside a submarine and capturing the various emotions that the men inside the submarine had, may it be out of boredom, fear or being in survival mode, the truth of the matter is that war is ugly and there are wide range of emotions that can take place in war and Petersen manages to get this crew of unknown talent, many who have never acted before, to make the film feel true and authentic.

Bare in mind, this was not a easy film to shoot.  Not only were smaller-sized models and life-sized models of the submarine were created but the crew would shoot during the worst of conditions and risk their lives in order to make these shots work.  Even production delays took place as the worst things that one can imagine happening during filming, did happen.

According to Petersen, the crew and talent were extremely exhausted and tired (as it required a long time to shoot the film, unexpected delays as well as a grueling schedule to get things right) and those scenes with the crew submerged in water, apparently one even caught pneumonia.  Even the submarine that took one year to build was damaged during the storms and while the crew and film were able to get back to land safely, Petersen awoke to a urgent call that the submarine has disappeared.

Not only had it disappeared, parts of it were in the middle of the ocean and later hitting ocean shore.  Plagued with even more problems, the crew manage to take the salvaged parts and make it happen.  With careful cinematography and editing, you can’t tell by watching the film that the submarine was not in the best of shape.  And there are so many of these little tidbits of factoids that we learn through the audio commentary and also featurettes.

And once you are done with the film and are familiar with the curmudgeonly remarks made by the creator of the original novel, if you want to learn about the actual war in the ocean during World War 2, you are also provided an 40+ minute documentary on the subject.

There was true commitment in making this film work and when one goes through the special features and learns of how much went into creating this film, one would be surprised.  It was not easy and with everyone’s hard work, all of this has added to the efficacy of “Das Boot”.

Herbert Gronemeyer  does a wonderful job in playing Lt. Werner and his expressions gives us the idea of how fearful he was during those moments when you think you may die or are going to die.

Klaus Wennemann plays a Chief Engineer who longs for his sick wife and you know that deep inside, he should be with her but at the same time, know that his experience is what is needed because there is not many others who are alive that can save a submarine if all goes wrong.

But the person who rises to the occasion of establishing decorum on the submarine is Capt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock played by Jurgen Prochnow.  He is the man who holds his emotions in check for the crew, trying to remain calm and not let anyone know of his emotional well-being, especially when it looks very bleak for the submarine and the entire crew.

I may not be the Word War 2 aesthete but I do know when I watch a good film, not only technically through its direction, editing, cinematography but also a film’s storytelling and performance.

This film, “Das Boot” was not an easy film for Wolfgang Petersen.  It’s never easy when you create a film based on Nazi Germany and focus on the Nazi’s.  The fact is that many people on the boat were young people who probably didn’t care or know the extreme about political ideals.  The captain was cynical towards war and his role for the Nazi’s and you have young people being young people on a submarine, not discussing the Nazi extremes or politics or even Hitler.  These people were hired to do a job and follow their captain.

By no means does this film glorify the Nazi’s because by film’s beginning and by film’s end, and of course knowing the history of the U-Boats, you know that things don’t go well for the Germans.  The question is who lives? Who dies?  And what are the situations that will clearly affect the crew.  I can tell you right now, when I first watched “Das Boot”, it was an ending I was not expecting and by the film’s end, I was pretty content with how Petersen ended the film.

“Das Boot” does not contain the banality of WW2 films but it should set the criterion of what can be accomplished with no-name talent and dedication from the talent all the way up to Wolfgang Petersen. This film is a true masterpiece!  And I know that word is often over-used but in this case, there is nothing like this film.

And you have to give credit to Wolfgang Petersen and Ortwin Freyermuth for even attempting to create a director’s cut of the film.  But I’m glad that Freyermuth persisted and following his gut feeling that what he saw on television (the “Das Boot” mini-series) and taking all those additional scenes and creating a longer film.  Petersen gives a lot of credit due to the director’s cut version’s success to his editor Hannes Nikel who worked on making this longer version a reality during a time when Petersen was busy working on “Air Force One”.

And as complicated it was to get all the reels of film, getting all the sound digitized and all the painstaking work in making this director’s cut a reality, it was met with great success and while my original review of the DVD was very favorable, this Blu-ray release defied my expectations.

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” is magnificent!

And I’ll say this again.. “Das Boot” is one of the best war films in cinema.  And with its brilliant presentation on Blu-ray, with its awesome PQ and AQ and informative special features that bypasses the original and awesome DVD version.  I’m quite confident that you will also find this release to be one of the best war films on Blu-ray!

“Das Boot: 2-Disc Collector’s Set” is highly recommended and deserving of 5 stars.

Hair (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

While “Hair” may not be the true film adaptation that the original musical creators have wanted, 40-years-later, I think there are many people today who will think that this film was indeed a product of the times.  While the storyline is very different from the musical, on its own, for those today who appreciate ’70s films or hippie culture, may find “Hair” to be an enjoyable film.

Images courtesy of © 1979 Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved

TITLE: Hair

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1979

DURATION: 121 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish and French Mono, Subtitles: English, Spanish and French

RATED: PG

COMPANY: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Twentieth Century Fox

RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2011

Directed by Milos Forman

Loosely based on the Musical Book by Gerome Ragni, James Rado

Written by Michael Weller

Produced by Michael Butler, Lester Persky

Associate Producer: Robert Greenhut

Cinematographer: Miroslav Ondricek

Edited by Alan Heim, Stanley Warnow

Casting by Howard Feuer, Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by Stuart Wurtzel

Set Decoration by George DeTitta Sr.

Costume Design by Ann Roth

Starring:

John Savage as Claude Hooper Bukowski

Treat Williams as George Berger

Beverly D’Angelo as Sheila Franklin

Annie Golden as Jeannie Ryan

Dorsey Wright as Lafayette aka Hud

Don Dacus as Woof

Cheryl Barnes as Hud’s Fiancee

Richard Bright as Fenton

Nicholas Ray as The General

Charlotte Rae as Lady in Pink

Miles Chapin as Steve Frankling

Claude leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly indoctrinated into the youth subculture and subsequently drafted.

In 1967, James Rado and Gerome Ragni along with Galt MacDermot created a rock musical known as “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”, which was a product of the era which was about anti-Vietnam war, the hippie culture and sexual revolution.

The musical had success on Broadway and Off-Broadway and even the Broadway cast recording was a million seller and songs becoming top 10 hits.

Over a decade later, the rock musical received its film adaptation courtesy of director Milos Forman (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Amadeus”, “Man on the Moon”) and written by Michael Weller (“Ragtime”, “In Spite of Love” and “Los Angels”) and unfortunately, the original creators James Rado and Gerome Ragni were unhappy with the film and to this day, both original creators insist that a true adaptation of their musical has not been created.  But despite Rado and Ragni’s unhappiness, the film did receive positive reviews from the film critics, especially many who have not watched the original rock musical.

It’s important to note that the rock musical and the 1979 film adaptation differ greatly.

“Hair” is a musical about a farm boy named Claude Hooper Bukowski (played by John Savage) who is from Oklohama.  Claude heads to New York City in which he will enjoy the sights of the city before he enters the Army and serve in the Vietnam War.

But when he arrives to New York City, the first things he sees are hippies singing music and wealthy women riding their horses through the park.  The hippies are led by George Berger (played by Treat Williams) and a group of people which include Woof Daschund (played by Don Dacus), a pregnant Jeannie Ryan (played by Annie Golden) who doesn’t know who the father of her child is and LaFayette “Hud” Johnson (played by Dorsey Wright).

The hippies are curious about the horses and try to get the women to let them ride them but the women avoid them and ride quickly to get away from them.

When the hippies ask for money from Claude, he doesn’t know why the hippies are asking money from him but he does give them a quarter.

The hippies then use the quarter to break into a public pay phone and use the money to rent horses to ride and eventually one breaks loose and George manages to get the horse and ride it and eventually he becomes smitten with the wealthy debutante Sheila Franklin (played by Beverly D’Angelo).

Because he has helped the hippies, George Berger and friends talk to Claude and learn from him that he is planning to join the military and wants to see New York the best he can.  Because he doesn’t know his way around, George and friends want to help him and the first thing they do is get him stoned and hear the music and other hippies dance to it.

As Claude says goodbye to his new hippie friends, while George is taking a leak, he sees a newspaper article with Sheila’s photo and tells Claude that if he likes her, he should go to the party that is being held for her.   At first Claude is hesitant, since he feels that one must be invited to a party but his hippie friends tell him that they can go.

So, once they go to the party, it happens to be a black tie event and the hippies start making their presence known at the party.  During dinner, Sheila’s father tries to tell George and his friends to leave but George tells everyone that Claude should be respected because he is joining the US Army to fight for them and that he likes Sheila and wants five minutes for him to see her.  And of course, because the hippies defied Sheila’s father to leave, the hippies including Claude are busted and sent to jail.

But Claude has his emergency money to get himself out of jail and join the Army but George tells him that he knows no one in New York and if he wants to get around, he should use the money to get George out and then George will get the money to let everyone free.

And George manages to do so and tries to flirt with Sheila in order to get money and also tries to get money from his parents as well.  But in the end, George pulls through and manages to free his friends including Claude.

But as their friendship grows, one thing remains… Claude is still going through joining the Army and George and his friends are against it.  Claude tells them that he is fighting for their rights, the hippies tell him that they don’t believe in the war and they don’t want him to fight for him. In fact, they would rather have him stay home and be with Sheila but Claude is determined to join the Army and fight in Vietnam causing a little friction between him and George.

Who is right?  Who is wrong?  “Hair” shows us the counter-culture between the young men like Claude who feel they are fighting for America by fighting the Vietnam War and the hippies who are against the war.

But in this film adaptation of the rock musical, there is a twist ending that will shock viewers.

VIDEO:

“Hair” is presented in 1080p High Definition (Widescreen 1:85:1) AVC @ 37 MBPS.  While the opening scene with Claude leaving Oklahoma looks like it has aged, is full of noise and white speckles, once the story shifts to Claude’s arrival in NYC, fortunately, the picture quality gets better.

While this 1979 film probably looks much better than its DVD counterpart, I can tell you that “Hair” does look good but not great.  There are whit speckles and there are moments where colors are vibrant but also times where I found the colors a bit muted and saturated.  But for the most part, you do see detail from the hair, to the ’70s outfits and there is a good amount of grain throughout the film and at times, the black levels look nice and deep.

While I can’t personally comment on how much better it is from the DVD release, “Hair” does look very good on Blu-ray but I have seen other films from the late ’70s look a lot better.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Hair” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish and French mono.  The film is primarily dialogue and musically driven, so center and front channels are what you hear the most throughout this film.  There are times when instruments such as electric guitar are utilized and carefully balanced through the surround channels but it’s not an immersive track and possibly the music could have used the surround channels a bit better.  But for the most part, the lossless track is good, just not great!

Subtitles are English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Hair” comes with the following special feature:

• Theatrical Trailer – The original theatrical trailer for “Hair”.

If there is one thing that can be said with “Hair”, it is a late ’70s film that feels authentically real, it feels that it was shot in the late ’60s and if anything, while a bit farfetched, the crazy actions of the characters does help the ending.

I point this out because I know that both James Rado and Gerome Ragni, creators of the original “Hair” musical did not like how the film was changed.  The musical is about Claude, a leader of the Tribe hippie group, a group of bohemians who choose to live the life that they want but yet, when the men receive their draft cards, Claude makes the decision to not burn them like the other guys and ends up joining the military.  While the musical maintains its psychedelic nature and was a product of those times, the movie made in 1979 was almost a farce.

Where the musical’s theme was the hippie movement and the creators focused on what was wrong with America at the time, may it be racism, environmental destruction, poverty, sexism and sexual racism, the musical also showed the prevailing belief of the unpopular Vietnam War.   The music and its lyrics took on those topics and those topics were featured in the musical.

In the movie, the situations have changed as Claude is not originally but a farm boy from Oklahoma who has traveled to NYC and the situation between he and and the character of Sheila are much different in the play.  In the play, Sheila is with Berger and of course, you get a surprise ending.

And while there are those who debate of which story is better, I can easily say that if you have never watched the musical before and more than likely many people living today that are interested in this film and are more in touch with the current and last generation will enjoy the film.

Part of the success of “Hair”, aside from its music and story was that it was a product of that time.  Many people felt like these characters, they lived like these character depicted in the musical and with their “love one another” bohemian mentality, it showed.

And for those who are watching it today for the first time that were not part of that generation, one may watch and think this is how the hippie movement was.  This is how people behaved and in truth, I’ve watched enough hippie films to know that there was much more nudity in these gatherings, much more drug use than was depicted in the film.  Granted, there was so much you can do back in 1979 but still, the movie downplayed the psychedelic nature of Claude who had taken the narcotic.

But for those not familiar with those times and began watching the movie today and are open to hippie culture, I can see some of them probably enjoying this film and seeing that twist in the end.  “Hair” is unlike many musicals that are released on film today and even back in 1979, a year after “Grease”, it was a film that carried that psychedelic feel, a depiction of what took place a decade earlier.

But although I was a child who grew up in the ’70s, I know full well that by that time, the hippie movement was over for many years and by then, times were near the closing of the disco era, so I don’t know if the efficacy of this film was strong enough as the musical that made sense as it was a product of that time. I’m sure many people that were part of the hippie movement probably looked at the film as unappealing and a dishonor to both Rado and Ragni but this film is 40-years-old now and I wouldn’t be surprised if this film is seen by people today and assumed as if it was a product of the time.

“Hair” looks and feels of a film released back in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

As for the Blu-ray release, while I don’t know how much better the Blu-ray is from the DVD, like many Blu-rays on DVD, I could imagine that the contrast and detail of “Hair” on Blu-ray is much better.   But still, this is a catalog title that has been given a barebones release and its unfortunate that there are no special features included at all.  It would have been nice to revisit some of the talent, even for a reunion.  Even a featurette on the making of the film, the differences or an audio commentary would have been nice.

Overall, “Hair” was an intriguing film because I thought it was made earlier than 1979.  I personally enjoyed the twist at the end and how different this musical film is compared to many musical films that have been released in the last 40-years.  There really is nothing like it and although it may not be the true adaptation that James Rado and Gerome Ragni would have wanted, I do feel that people of today can still enjoy the film if they are open to ’70s style culture.

“Hair” is worth checking out but is it worth owning as a barebone Blu-ray release?  I’ll leave that up to you.

Battle: Los Angeles – Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Battle: Los Angeles” has jumped on my list as one of the best audio-driven films on Blu-ray for 2011.  The film makes you feel you’re right there and feeling every rumbling, hearing all shots and explosions all around you, close-up, from a distance… The audio is that awesome!  Granted, the film is not a deep, serious action film… in fact, it’s your straight-up popcorn action film! If you are craving for an alien invasion/war film that’s all about the action, then “Battle: Los Angeles” is for you!

Images courtesy of © 2011 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and Beverly Blvd LLC. All Rights Reserved

TITLE: Battle: Los Angeles – Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 116 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English and French5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English – Audio Description Track Dolby Surround

RATED: PG-13 (Sustained and Intense Sequences of War Violence and Destruction and for Language)

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2011

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman

Written by Christopher Bertolini

Produced by Jeffrey Chernov, Ori Marmur, Neal H. Moritz

Executive Producer: David Greenblat

Associate Producer: Lisa Rodgers

Production Executive: Samuel Dickerman

Music by Brian Tyler

Cinematography by Lukas Ettlin

Edited by Christian Wagner

Casting by Debra Zane

Production design by Peter Wenham

Art Direction by Andrew Neskoromny, Chris L. Spellman, Thomas Valentine

Set Decoration by Bob Kensinger

Costume Design by Sanja Milkovic Hays

Starring:

Aaron Eckhart as Sgt. Michael Nantz

Ramon Rodriguez as 2nd Lt. William Martinez

Will Rothhaar as Cpl. Lee Imlay

Cory Hardrict as Cpl. Jason Lockett

Jim Parrack as Lcpl. Peter Kerns

Gino Athnoy Pesi as Cpl. Nick Stavrou

Ne-Yo as Cpl. Kevin Harris

Michelle Rodriguez as Tsgt. Elena Santos

James Hiroyuki Liao as Lcpl. Steven Mottola

Noel Fisher as Pfc. Shaun Lenihan

Bridget Moynahan as Michele

Adetokumboh M’Cormack as Corpsman Jibril Adukwu

Bryce Cass as Hector Rincon

Michael Pena as Joe Rincon

Joey King as Kirsten

Neil Brown Jr. as Lcpl. Richard Guerrero

Taylor Handley as Lcpl. Corey Simmons

Lucas Till as Cpl. Scott Grayston

Kenneth Brown Jr. Cpl. Richard Oswald

Jadin gould as Amy

Joe Chrest as 1st Sgt. John Roy

E. Roger Mitchell as Company Captain

Rus Blackwell as Lt. Col. K.N. Ritchie

Susie Abromeit as Amanda

Witness the end of civilization unfold as hostile alien invaders attack the planet. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. Now it’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered in this epic sci-fi action film.

A film with much more realistic “in your face” battles compared to “Independence Day”, more thrilling than “War of the Worlds” and yes, its another alien invasion film being released but “Battle: Los Angeles” was definitely one hell of a Blu-ray to watch!

In 2011, director Jonathan Liebesman (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Darkness Falls”) and writer Christopher Bertolini (“The General’s Daughter”, “Madso’s War”) were responsible for the military/alien invasion sci-fi film starring Aaron Eckhart (“The Dark Knight Returns”, “Thank You For Smoking”, “Rabbit Hole”), Michelle Rodriguez (“Avatar”, “Resident Evil”, “Fast & Furious”), Ne-Yo (“Stomp the Yard”, “Precious”) and Bridget Moynahan (“I, Robot”, “Lord of War”, “Serendepity”).

Although known for his horror films, Liebesman wanted to make a realistic depiction of an alien invasion ala war film and drew inspiration from the marines fighting in Fallujah in creating the film.  But also inspired by the actual “Battle of Los Angeles” false alarm that took place in Los Angeles back in 1942 when there was fear that the Japanese were going to attack the city and anti-aircraft artillery was shot over the city causing damage and even a few casualties.

So, taking these inspirations and wanting that documentary-like feel, despite many films being released in 3D, this movie was not as Liebesman wanted a documentary style of filmmaking and thus the use of handheld cameras.  He wanted authenticity and thus the actors went through three weeks of boot camp to learn how to operate as a military platoon, while lead actor trained with the Marines for months in weapons training and drills.

The film revolves around SSgt. Michael Nantz (played by Aaron Eckhart), who is a 20-year veteran that is harboring the emotions of a loss of his squad in Iraq and is retiring.  Meanwhile, members of the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines are living their daily routine.

But on that day, news reports of meteorites hitting various areas of the planet are being shown on television.

Because of this, the military are being gathered and are asked to evacuate civilians who are trying to escape the coastline from a possible tsunami generated from the meteor.  Nantz’ retirement is postponed and he is asked to replace a platoon sergeant from “E” Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines.  But Nantz arrival is not good news as one of the marines had a brother who died under Nantz command in Iraq and because Nantz was the only one who lived, the others think that perhaps Nantz deserted his platoon.

Upon arriving, Nantz is told that he would report under 2nd Lt. William Martinez (played by Ramon Rodriguez), who is fresh from The Basic School and the platoon would be attending a briefing at Santa Monica Airport which has now been converted to a Forward Operating Base.

Quickly, the soldiers learn that the meteors that have landed are not meteors but are aliens who are now threatening to colonize the planet and are after the water in the planet.

While many soldiers are sent to fight against the invading aliens, Martinez’ platoon are sent to rescue civilians inside an LAPD station and get them out before the USAF commences saturation bombing of Santa Monica.

As the platoon advance towards the LAPD station, they are ambushed by the aliens and a few soldiers are killed or injured.   Nantz realizes that Martinez may not be ready to lead but the best he can do is to get Martinez thinking straight in order to issue out orders.

While advancing to the LAPD station, they team up with surviving members of the U.S  Army National Guard (40th Infantry Division) and Air Force Intelligence Technical Sergeant Elena Santos (played by Michelle Rodriguez) and together they advance to the LAPD station to help rescue the civilians.

Can the platoon rescue these civilians and escape before the bombardment of Santa Monica?  And with the alien ambush, will they survive?

VIDEO:

“Battle: Los Angeles” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1).  Director Jonathan Liebesman wanted the film to have a documentary-style and did not want to use the best digital cameras as he wanted a certain look for his film.  Cinematographer Lukas Ettlin made sure to deliver with the handheld camera and its shakiness.  And yes Liebesman wants to make people feel that and possibly even feel dizzy with motion sickness but for those who are able to keep up, the film is not like that throughout.

Also, the film tries to capture a feel that you are in a destroyed area of Los Angeles where smoke and destruction litter the area.  Vibrancy can be seen in the colors of explosions but the overall colors are muted, smoky and a bit drab.  That was the intent and for me, it worked.  There is plenty of detail as you can see the grime and scarring on the faces of the soldiers, wounds, rocky debris, you name it…detail is a high point with this film.  Black levels are nice and deep and I detected no blemishes, artifacting, edge enhancement.  This is a pretty solid PQ for “Battle: Los Angeles”.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

And this is where “Battle: Los Angeles” shines!  This has got to be one of the best lossless soundtracks I have heard all year and possibly one of the best in capturing the action and destruction of war.  This is a film that showcases immersive sound, your soundscape is filled with guns shooting, lasers blastic, mecha devices bursting, blowing up things, grenades exploding, explosions and gun fire galore, this is what you expect from a war film and the way the surround channels are utilized, you can’t help but feel excited of what was accomplished by the sound editors because this movie sound awesome!

There is no doubt that audiophiles are going to love the lossless soundtrack to “Battle: Los Angeles”, it’s one of the most immersive soundtracks I have heard and this is not just a few scenes, there are plenty of scenes with artillery fire, explosions, ambiance and more.  May it be up-close or from the distance, “Battle: Los Angeles” as of right now, is on top of our list for best AQ for a film in 2011.

Subtitles for “Battle: Los Angeles” is in English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Battle: Los Angeles” comes with the following special features:

• Command Control - While watching “Battle: Los Angeles”, you can watch this film with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the cast and crew, the making of the film and more.   Note: Fortunately, for the featurettes titles Battle Points, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has allowed for these special features to be watched separately.  Mini featurettes in HD include: (22:23) Staff Sergeant Nantz, Marine Behind the Scenes, Aliens Ambush the Marines, Battling Unknown Forces, Technical Sergeant Santos, Alien Autopsy, Gas Station Explosion, Visual FX on the Freeway, Do You Believe in Aliens? and Alien Command & Control.
• Behind the Battle – (6:44) The cast and crew talk about the movie and how the film would focus on Jonathan Liebesman’s vision to shoot in documentary style.
• Aliens in L.A. – (4:39) Presented in HD, in this featurette, we get to see the making of the aliens and their design.
• Preparing for Battle – (5:15) Presented in HD, learn how the talent prepared for their role.
• Boot Camp – (5:15) This featurette in HD show us how the talent had to undergo three weeks of military boot camp training to prepare for the film.
• Creating L.A. in L.A. – (5:45) While “Battle: Los Angeles” was filmed in Louisiana, this featurette which was presented in HD, shows us how the filmmakers captured the look and feel of Los Angeles.
• Directing the Battle - (6:33) A featurette presented in HD of how Director Jonathan Liebesman’s presentations won him the job to direct “Battle: Los Angeles”.
• The Freeway Battle – (5:18) The cast and crew of “Battle: Los Angeles” give us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the freeway battle scene.

EXTRAS:

“Battle: Los Angeles – Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack” comes with a Blu-ray slip cover case and also a DVD version of the film.  Also, a PS3 theme is included as well.

“Battle: Los Angeles” is your straight-up popcorn action film but in my opinion, it was the better one.  Forget about any deep storyline, the goal of this movie was not trying to accomplish anything deep like Oliver Stone’s “Platoon”, Stanley Kubrik’s “Fullmetal Jacket” or Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”.  Nor was it trying to be artistic or dark like Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”.

This film is like a mashup of “Black Hawk Down” and “War of the Worlds” with a little “Independence Day” smacked in there.  Pretty much a war film about a platoon that has to save civilians but literally on a suicide mission where aliens are just awaiting for them to slaughter.

You know already that a lot of these men are not going to survive, even before the film starts.  You know that in this day and age, you’re going to have a lot of special effects and on Blu-ray, you’re going to expect an action film such as “Battle: Los Angeles” to deliver when it comes to picture and audio quality.

And for the most part, this film is literally about soldiers just trying to stay alive.  There is no defining conclusion (which can lead to a possible sequel since this film made so much money) and the storyline is quite simple, soldiers must save civilians and all have to get away as far as they can from the blast radius before the Air Force drops annihilates Santa Monica.

Of course, there is much more to this story but it’s the constant action that keeps you on your seat, it’s an adrenaline-pumping sci-fi film.  Fortunately, the one actor that definitely keeps the film going along is Aaron Eckhart as Ssgt. Michael Nantz, a soldier that literally wants to get out of the military because his conscious of losing his own platoon and being the only man alive has haunted him.  He knows that others think low of him for being the only man that survived and thinking that he let his crew die and thus, no one feels good around him.

As a viewer, you expect some John Wayne bravado on his part but granted, this character is not the talkative type.  He’s a man of action and he goes by the mission and accomplishing those goals.

The film also stars other talent such as Ne-Yo, Bridget Moynahan and Michelle Rodriguez.  Rodriguez, you sort of expect her in this kind of role as she has played in “Avatar”, “Lost” and “Resident Evil”, those roles of a no-nonsense woman that you know can kick some serious ass!  Bridget Moynahan wasn’t really explored, she is just a civilian, a vet who tries to watch over the children.  And as for Ne-Yo, like all the other soldiers, he’s there to play the part of a soldier, fight or die fighting.

Now, the weakness of “Battle: Los Angeles” is the fact that the storyline doesn’t strive to have a deep storyline, nor is there a conclusion.  If anything, it’s a straighout-action war film and there are those who will live and those who will die and you just keep going.  Director Jonathan Liebesman was inspired by marine films on YouTube, this is a film showcasing marines and their bravado of fighting and defending America, nothing more and nothing less.

For me, I was just happy that there were no scenes that made me bored.  Each scene, there was something happening and the action kept building and building and that was fine for me.  I accepted acting that was so-so, I accepted the fact that there were a lot of chaotic scenery.  I never expected anything deep and if anything, I took this film primarily as a action popcorn film and it’s what I was expecting and it’s what I got.

And for me, probably which enhanced my viewing of this Blu-ray release was how awesome this film sounds!  Granted, there are many films that are bad with awesome AQ but in the case of “Battle: Los Angeles”, the sound was a big part of making you feel that you were part of the war, you were right there and you can hear all those gunshots, those explosions and everything else close up or in a distance through your center, front and surround channels, including the LFE from your subwoofer.

Also, there is a good number of special features on the Blu-ray that will show you how much the filmmakers wanted to capture the feeling of war by having its talent undergo boot camp.  Granted, I’m not a Marine but the fact that they consulted with the military to make the film’s soldiers seem authentic, that was pretty cool!

Overall, “Battle: Los Angeles” is your adrenaline pumping, popcorn action film.  If you are into those type of films, then you’ll love this Blu-ray release!  Otherwise, if you are looking for something deep and a storyline that is in-depth, then this movie is not going to excite you one bit.

As for the Blu-ray release, I will say that for the first half of 2011 so far, this has to be one of the best audio-driven films I have seen this year.  If you are an audiophile and have the setup to essentially enjoy immersive lossless soundtracks, then definitely check “Battle: Los Angeles” out on Blu-ray!

Cross (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

Created in a comic book style and featuring talent who were popular in the ’80s and ’90s, “Cross” is an indie popcorn action film that is hampered by its writing and acting.  But for those who are into mindless action and gunfights, then “Cross” is a film that you may want to check out!

Images courtesy of © 2011 Cross Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Cross

DURATION: 105 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 1:85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

COMPANY: Sony Home Entertainment

RATED: R (For Violence and Some Language)

RELEASE DATE: May 31, 2011

Directed by Patrick Durham

Written by Patrick Durham, Jonathan Sachar, Tanner Wiley

Produced by Jonathan Sachar, Judy Durham, Patrick Durham

Executive Produced: Rocky Scapellati, Tanner Wiley, Stuart Cameron, Stu higton, Constantin Brancov, Robert Lamey, Anne O’Shea, Robbin Wood

Music by Peter Carl Ganderup, Sean Schafer Hennessy

Cinematography by Massimo Zeri

Edited by Justin Zev Rose, Paul G. Volk

Production Design by Jeffrey Givens

Art Direction by Nicholas Leitling

Costume Design by Kerri Kordowski

Starring:

Michael Clarke Duncan as Erlik

Vinnie Jones as Gunnar

C. Thomas Howell as Jake

Brian Austin Green as Callan

Tom Sizemore as Detective

Jake Busey as Backfire

Robert Carradine as Greek

William Zabka as Saw

Susie Abromeit as Sunshine

Lori Heuring as Lucia

Bart Johnson as LAndon

Samantha Mumba as Ishka

Lew Temple as Detective

Patrick Durham as War

Gianni Capaldi as English

Camille as Langfield as Pain

Michael Masini as Rook

Tim Abell as Riot

Stephanie Drapeau as Juliane

James Logan as Trench

Fernando Lara as Mario

Kari Nissena as Glare

Jessica Chobot as Abbey

David Mattey as Kong

Jonathan Sachar as Shark

Andre Gordon as Ranger

Aurelia Scheppers as Brianna

When beautiful, young women start disappearing from the streets of L.A., it’s time for good guy Callan (a.k.a. Cross) and his crew of weapons experts to kick into high gear and take out the trash. Granted incredible power by his ancient Celtic cross, Callan must fight to stop an immortal Viking from destroying mankind with his doomsday device. Also starring: Tom Sizemore, Jake Busey and Lori Heuring.

Film Clip – Hand to Hand

Film Clip – Loading Out

Film Clip – Necklace Swipe

Film Clip – Pool Hall

Trailer – Coming Soon

Known for his independent low-budget horror films such as “HOBOKEN HOLLOW”,  “TOOTH AND NAIL” and “THE KILLING JAR” and the comedy “THE PENTHOUSE”, writer and filmmaker Patrick Durham returns with his new film “CROSS”, an action film which is created to look like a live action comic book.

The film stars Brian Austin Green as the main character Callan, who has been given the Celtic Power to protect the innocent.

Born from warrior families chosen by gods to protect mankind from the darkest of enemies, when Callan was younger, he was given an ancient Celtic Cross which gives him the power of invulnerability, important when he and his team which include weapons expert Riot (played by Tim Abell), Backfire (played by Jake Busey), War (played by Patrick Durham), Lucia (played by Lori Heuring) and Shark (played by Jonathan Sachar) as they take on the evil empire led by Erlik (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) in Los Angeles.

When an ancient Viking named Gunnar (played by Vinnie Jones) comes to Los Angeles to join forces with Erlik, an evil doctor (played by Robert Carradine) are kidnapping women for their blood, blood that Gunnar wants to use to destroy the world.

Meanwhile, detective Nitti (played by Tom Sizemore) is doing all he can to stop Calland and his team as he sick of them doing his job for him.

But as odds still look about even between both Callan and Erlik, things change drastically when Gunnar steals Callan’s Celtic Cross and now making both him and his team vulnerable to attacks from Erlik and his gang.

Can Callan and crew stop Erlik but most of all, stop Gallan before he destroys the world?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Cross” is presented in 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is presented in English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Picture quality is very good for DVD but perhaps the best part of the film is its use of audio.  Awesome use of the surround channels for the gun shots and LFE for explosions.  The film does feature a good amount of action and use of audio, so that’s definitely a positive for the film!

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Cross” comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary - Featuring audio commentary by director Patrick Durham.  Patrick talks about how they came up with the ideas from the film and working with the cast and challenges they had when making the film and also reshooting certain scenes.
• Alternate Ending – (:34) The alternate ending for “Cross”.
• Deleted Scenes – (8:32) Featuring seven deleted scenes.
• Alternate Opening Animatic – (1:01) Featuring music and sketches of the alternate opening animatic.

I remember when I first watched the old “Captain America” low-budget film, remember watching “The Flash” on TV and just remember the major comic book companies attempt making movies.

This is before the blockbuster movies that we see today, which cost millions to make.  Back then, they were low-budget and didn’t star any major talent.  And for many of us who were comic book fans, we would try to stay optimistic when these films were released, despite knowing they were low-budget independent films based on major comic book.

And there have been good independent films based on comic book properties, one of my favorites when I was younger was “Firearm” based on a character from the Ultraverse (which many people probably never watched before) and I even supported live comic book drama CD’s from Image and Malibu back in the ’90s.

In some sort of geeked out way, to see these character receive a movie or a audio drama CD was quite unique at the time.

And although I have stopped comic book collecting since the late ’90s, I would assume that these are still going on today.  And for this direct-to-video release for “Cross”, this kind of reminds me of those times back then of watching those indie comic films.

“Cross” is developed with the comic book style of presentation especially the way it was written.  It’s important to note, while this film does star many talent who were very popular in the ’80s and ’90s, one should not look at “Cross” as a blockbuster film, nor should it be seen as a film that will attract the masses because it won’t.

In some way, you can call the film a popcorn action film with cheesy lines and bad acting.  In fact, I often wondered if writer/director Patrick Durham is a video game fan because seriously, I can picture his storyline being used in a video game.  In fact, the way the film was created, there is so much gunfighting that many first-person shooters and action-based video games were coming into my head.  In fact, while watching the film, I just felt like pausing and wanting to play some “Call of Duty” or partake in a paintball competition with friends.

But there are just some moronic situations that you see in this film that was reminiscent of ’70s drive-in movies.  Those scenes where people know there is danger but they don’t run, escape…they just stay and get killed.  Well, “Cross” has a few of those instances.  In one scene, two thugs are arguing and warn the security guard meter man who has written a ticket to get away. Of course, the security guard keeps writing the ticket and plans to give the ticket to the thugs who repeatedly warned him that if he doesn’t leave, he will get killed.    And guess what happens, he gets shot and killed by the thugs.

I will say that when I first read that Brian Austin Green was the main protagonist, I was a bit surprised but once I was able to let go of any memories of his character from “90210″, he actually did a pretty good job playing the part of Callan, Jake Busy did a good job at playing the mouthy Backfire and Michael Clarke Duncan, well….he does a good job playing the bad guy period.

But I just felt that Tom Sizemore’s role as Detective Nitti was rarely used, underdeveloped and you would have hoped his character had more of a purpose in the film.  And aside from Sizemore, heck, I was hoping to see more of Lori Heuring in action!

The film also stars C. Thomas Howell, Robert Carradine and William Zabka, if anything, for ’80s movie fans who loved “Soul Man”, “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Karate Kid” will definitely have a blast seeing these guys again.

And of course, what film with violence would not be complete without a cameo by Danny Trejo!  But I wish there was more Danny Trejo!

But in the end, while that geek side of me wants to say I enjoyed the film, while understanding what Durham was trying to accomplish, it didn’t succeed.  Bad writing, bad character development, bad acting hurts this film.   But at the same time, I know there are people who appreciate these kind of films.

As for the DVD, you do get an insightful audio commentary by director Patrick Durham and deleted scenes, an alternate ending and alternate opening animatic.  I will say the best part of the film for me was seeing how the audio was utilized.  The sound editor did a good job of utilizing the surround channels and LFE for the action-sequences and the biggest surprise for me about the whole film was its use of audio.

Overall, “Cross” is a popcorn action film that was created in a comic-book style.  Unfortunately, the writing, the acting may not be the best but the fact is, there are a good number of people who appreciate Patrick Durham’s writing and filmmaking style.

So, if you are a fan of Durham’s work or if you are wanting, craving mindless action and a lot of gun fights, cute girls and seeing a few stars who were popular in the ’80s and ’90s, then definitely give “Cross” a chance!

Exporting Raymond available on Blu-ray and DVD on August 2nd

Culver City, Calif., (May 31, 2011) – Truth is funnier than fiction in the real life comedy, Exporting Raymond, arriving on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on August 2nd. Viewers will laugh out loud when “fish out of water” Phil Rosenthal, the Emmy® Award-winning creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” takes us on a journey halfway around the world to detail his struggle to make one of America’s most beloved sitcoms a successful Russian TV series.

Exporting Raymond has received major recognition at multiple film festivals. The film’s awards include Audience Award Winner at the 2010 Austin Film Festival, Winner of Best Comedy at the 2011 Sedona Film Festival, Official Selection at the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival and Audience Award Winner at the 2010 Hatch Festival.

Rosenthal’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” won 11 Emmys over nine seasons and captured more than 33 million viewers in its series finale. Rosenthal wrote and directed Exporting Raymond which he produced with Jim Czarnecki (Bowling for Columbine) and executive produced with John Woldenberg (Smart People).

The Blu-ray™ and DVD contain special features that include the first two episodes of both
“Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Everybody Loves Kostya,” a commentary with Rosenthal, hysterical deleted scenes and more. Exporting Raymond will be available on DVD for $30.99 SRP and on Blu-ray™ for $35.99 SRP.

Visit us on Facebook and also watch the trailer here!

The Hit List (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

The creepiest and most villainous role ever played by Cuba Gooding Jr.!  Despite the barebones Blu-ray release, “The Hit List” was a pretty exciting popcorn action film and audiophiles will definitely enjoy how this film sounds on Blu-ray!

Images courtesy of © 2011 Worldwide SPE Acquisitions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Hit List

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 90 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English, French 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: R (For Violence and Language)

RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2011

Directed by William Kaufman

Written by Chad Law, Evan Law

Produced by Freddy Braidy, Richard Salvatore

Executive Producer: Rui Costa Reis, Rich Cowan, Eliad Josephson, Johnny Martin, David E. Ornston

Supervising Producer: Juan A. Mas

Music by Deane Ogden

Cinematography by Mark Rutledge

Edited by Patrick McMahon, Jason A. Payne

Casting by Nike Imoru, Lisa London, Catherine Stroud

Production Design by Vincent DeFelice

Set Decoration by Dan Beyer

Costume Design by Lisa Caryl

Starring:

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Jonas Arbor

Cole Hauser as Allan Campbell

Jonathan LaPaglia as Detective Neil McKay

Ginny Weirick as Sydney Campbell

Drew Waters as Mike Dodd

Sean Cook as Brian Felzner

Michael Papajohn as Special Agent Drake Ford

J.P. O’Shaughnessy as Lt. Ben Harp

David Andriole as Det. Ray Lowery

Brandon O’Neill as Dom Estacado

Daniel Brockley as Drew McAllister

Ever wish you had the chance to get back at the boss who undermined you…the spouse who cheated on you…or the friend who deceived you? One night, a down-on-his-luck businessman, Allan Campbell (Cole Hauser), meets a mysterious stranger, Jonas Arbor (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who claims to be a professional hit man. Jonas offers to take out five targets, free of charge. Thinking it’s a bad joke, Allan jots down his own private hit list. The next day, the people he named start turning up dead, and all the evidence points to Allan. Hunted by the police and haunted by guilt, Allan races against time to stop the murders he set in motion. In this world, vengeance always has a price.

Film Clip – Five Names

Film Clip – Feeling Guilty

Trailer

From the brothers who wrote “Hero Wanted”, Chad and Evan Law are back with another film titled “The Hit List”, their second film collaboration with actor Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”, “Pearl Harbor”, “Men of Honor”) and directed by William Kaufman (“The Prodigy”, “Sinners and Saints” and “The Hit List”).

With a budget of $6 million, this psychological direct-to-video action film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in May 2011.

“The Hit List” revolves around Allan Campbell (played by Cole Hauser, “Good Will Hunting”, “Pitch Black”, “2 Fast 2 Furious”), a corporate employee who has worked hard for his promotion.  Sporting a black eye because he has not paid a person he owes money too, he receives a call about the money and reminds the person that once he gets the promotion, he will take care of it.

But unfortunately, the promotion went to his rival Brian Felzner (played by Sean Cook), someone who took Allan’s ideas.

Upset about losing the promotion, Allan heads home to his wife Sydney (played by Ginny Weirick).  But what he doesn’t know is that Sydney and his best friend Mike (played by Drew Waters) are having an affair and on his bed, about to make love.

When Allan gets back home, he sees his wife upset with him and then he sees Mike coming out of the bedroom buttoning his shirt and then leaving.

Sydney tells Allan that ever since he became focused on his work, he has been distant and has literally left her behind and purposely wanted him to see her and Mike together.

Hurt by what has happened at home and the workplace, Allan goes to the bar to get drunk.  On television, at the bar, is news about a controversial talk show host who was gunned down.  Allan tries to make small talk to the only guy at the bar, a man named Jonas (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.).

Allan explains all the bad things that has come to his life and Jonas tries to put it in perspective that it’s because Allan is weak, people take advantage of him.  And that he needs a friend who will tell him the truth.  Jonas tells Allan that he is a friend and then tells him that he’s the guy who shot the talk show host.

When Allan hears this, he doesn’t believe it.  Jonas then tells him about his job as hit man and so Allan plays along, thinking Jonas is messing around.  Jonas tells him to write five names on the piece of paper of the people he wants dead.

Allan still thinks Jonas is joking around so he writes his boss as #5, his work rival Felzner at #4, the man who gave him a black eye because Allan hasn’t paid him his money at #3, his best friend Mike Dodd (for having an affair with his wife) at #2 and his wife Sydney at #1 (for having an affair).

Jonas tells him that he will kill the person starting at #5 and work his way up the list.  Allan still thinks he’s joking and when he goes to the bathroom, upon returning back to the table, Jonas is gone.

We then see Jonas at the home of Allan’s boss and Jonas shooting several rounds at him and killing him.

The next morning, Allan wakes up after sleeping in his car after getting drunk at the bar.  Late for work, when he arrives, Allan is told that their boss has been killed.  Immediately Allan starts thinking about the hit list he wrote down and gave to Jonas.  Could this guy be real?  If it is, that means Brian Felzner is next.

Allan rushes out to prevent Brian Felzner from getting killed and when Allan gets to his car, waiting for him is Jonas.  Allan tells Jonas that he has to stop and that he thought all this time, what Jonas was saying was a joke.  But Jonas tells him that its not a joke and that as a friend, he is helping Allan out.  And he can’t stop the hit list at all.  The only way it can be stopped is if Allan stops him (kills him) but Allan is not a killer.

Jonas leaves and goes after Brian Felzner, as does Allan who tries to prevent it from happening.

With four names left on the hit list, can Allan stop Jonas from killing them?

VIDEO:

“The Hit List” is presented 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 aspect ratio).  The good news is that “The Hit List” was shot digitally and it’s a very clean print with no speckles or spotting.  The detail is clear as you can see the various threading on Jonas’ gray suit, you can see the skin textures quite clearly especially the skin detail.  Colors are natural and blacks are nice and deep.  I did notice some banding but for the most part, I felt “The Hit Man” looked good.

Picture quality is clean and natural!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Hit List” is treated with an English and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA lossless soundtrack.  And I can tell you right now that the lossless soundtrack for “The Hit List” is awesome!  For one, there is a chase scene, several explosive scenes and a lot of gunfire.  There is good use of the surround channels for the exchange of gun fire, the bending of metal during the car accidents but most of all, you can expect to hear some nice, groundshaking LFE as there is some deep moments where the audio surprised me.

I was quite impressed by the lossless soundtrack and how much gunfire was in this film.  For a direct-to-video film, the lossless soundtrack for “The Hit List” really shines for this Blu-ray release!

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

In possibly a blow to this Blu-ray release is the lack of any special features.  It’s BD-Live enabled but this film could have had audio commentary, featurettes on Gooding Jr. playing a villain, the firearms of the film and more.  But there are no special features and I found that to be disappointing!

What a surprise!  “The Hit List” was an exciting film and this is probably one of the best roles I have seen Cuba Gooding Jr. play in a long time.  Gooding Jr. as the villain and creepy Jonas was quite intriguing but what was the most surprising is how much action, firearms, explosions were incorporated into this film.  Other similar direct-to-video films tend to find cost-cutting areas for these independently funded films and you lose things in the process.

So, I was quite pleased with the amount of action there was in this film.  And if there was one thing that came to my mind when watching “The Hit List” was the original “The Terminator” film when a whole police precinct becomes a battleground.  And in this case, the number of law enforcement casualties in this film was surprising.

But there is no doubt that “The Hit List” is a psychological popcorn action film.  There are going to be a lot of dead people and the film tries to show the viewer of how bad ass the character Jonas Arbor truly is.  And Cuba Gooding Jr. does a fantastic job bringing this killer onscreen.

Cole Hauser also does a good job of playing Allan, in his words, “the human punching-bag”.  Hauser and Gooding Jr. do a good job playing off from one another and for the most part, the Law Brothers did a good job in capturing the verbal and emotional exchange between both characters.

Once again, I emphasize that this is a popcorn action film.  One man taking on a whole police force in a gun battle, it worked well with “The Terminator” because the robot was nearly invincible, as opposed to Jonas who happened to have every major firearm and weapon at his disposal.  It is farfetched but I suppose that a lot of popcorn action films are and what people tend to care about these days are high body counts and a lot of action.

As for the Blu-ray release, the lossless audio is the Blu-ray’s high-point.  But as a barebones release, it’s hard to recommend a Blu-ray that really doesn’t come with much of anything.  Even compared to other direct-to-video films that were released in the last six months from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, they came with special features…this one doesn’t.  And that was a bit disappointing.

But for anyone wanting to watch a pretty intense and entertaining popcorn action film, “The Hit List” is one of the better ones of 2001.  It’s barebones release may not make this a priority must-get Blu-ray release but it is worth the rental and worth checking out.

Sniper: Reloaded (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

The fourth in the “Sniper” film series is actually a pretty good direct-to-video sequel.  This time around, the film focuses on the latest Thomas Beckett’s son Sgt. Brandon Beckett and also features Billy Zane reprising his role as Richard Miller.  A decent popcorn action film that will definitely entertain fans looking for sniper action and nothing to deep!

Images courtesy of © 2010 Film Afrika Worldwide (Pty) Ltd. and ApolloMovie Beteiligungs GmbH. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Sniper: Reloaded

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 91 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen (1:85:1), English and French 5.1 Surround DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: R (For Bloody Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality)

RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2011

Directed by Claudio Fah

Screenplay by John Fasano

Story by Ross Helford, John Fasano

Characters by Michael Frost Beckner, Crash Leyland

Produced by Claudio Fah, David Wicht

Co-Produced by Vlokkie Gordon, Jorg Westerkamp

Line Producer: Nina Heyns

Creative Executive: Peter Nelson

Music by Mark Sayfritz, Marcus Trumpp

Cinematography by Lorenzo Senatore

Edited by William Flicker

Casting by Christa Schamberger

Production Design by Shane Bunce

Costume Design by Maria Hofmeyer

Starring:

Billy Zane as Richard Miller

Chad Michael Collins as Sgt. Brandon Beckett

Annabel Wright as Lt. Ellen Abramowitz

Richard Sammel as Col. Hans Jaeger

Kayla Privett as Kelli Van Brunt

Patrick Lyster as Martin Chandler

Ian Van Der Heyden as Patrick Mundy

Conrad Kemp as Dustin Nelson

Rob Fruithof as Jean Van Brunt

While working with the UN Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marine Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins), son of renowned sniper Thomas Beckett, receives orders to rescue a European farmer trapped in the middle of hostile rebel territory. When he and his men arrive at the farm, a mysterious sniper ambushes them, wounding Beckett and killing everyone else. With the help of his father’s former protégé, sniper instructor Richard Miller (Billy Zane), Beckett must learn to think like a sniper to track down the assassin before the sniper returns to finish the job.

Film Clip – Confined To Base

Film Clip – My Father

Film Clip – Take You Home

Trailer – What’s in Store

Film Clip – Trailer

In 1993, the first “Sniper” action film was released in theaters.  Starring Tom Berenger as the Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett and Billy Zane as the civilian Richard Miller taking on a Panamanian Drug Lord, the film debuted at No. 2 in the box office and would spin off two more sequels, a TV film and a direct-to-video film featuring Berenger reprising his role as Thomas Beckett.

Eighteen years later, another film continuing the “Sniper” film series has been released but this time, Thomas Beckett is deceased and the film focuses on his son, Brandon Beckett (played by Chad Michael Collins), a marine.

The film begins with an inquiry on Brandon Beckett and a situation that took place while assisting the UN Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Beckett is facing a major charge which can lead to a court martial but first, he must discuss what happened in Congo which left several US Marines of his platoon dead.

Brandon talks about how he and his group were training Congo soldiers but then received direct orders by Col. Hans Jaeger (played by Richard Sammel) to rescue an important European farmer trapped in a hostile rebel territory.  So, both US Marines and Congo soldiers sent by the UN go to get the farmer and at first, he is unwilling to leave the property that his father his family built and where his late wife is buried but Brandon and his commanding officer received a direct order that the farmer must leave his property.

So, as they are about to escort him in a UN vehicle, Brandon, a trained sniper, realizes they are about to be ambushed.  The sniper kills many of the Congo soldiers and US Marines including the farmer.  Now it is a matter of survival and when Brandon and his commanding officer try to escape, but while running, Brandon is shot by the sniper and accidentally falls into a pit.  When his commanding officer goes to help him, he is killed by the sniper and the body falls on top of Brandon (also knocking him out unconscious).  When the sniper comes to check on them, he believes that he has killed all the soldiers.

Hours later, Brandon wakes up and he is in the home of Martin Chandler (played by Patrick Lyster), a friend of the farmer who runs an orphanage and preventing the Congo soldiers from kidnapping them and making them soldiers.  Martin tells Brandon that his wound is deep and he needs to get to the hospital but Brandon will not hear of it.  He wants to go back to the farm and check on his men.  Martin agrees to take back to the farm area.

When they return, the farm looks as if looters have come and destroyed the place.  Meanwhile, a young teen, the daughter of the farmer holds a rifle on both men.  When she realizes that they are not enemies, the daughter gives them information that the people who came and looted the place were not Congo soldiers or rebels but they were speaking in English.

When they return back to Martin’s home, they see the Congo soldiers kidnapping the children at the orphanage. Brandon still intends to complete his mission, even though the farmer he was sent to rescue, is dead, he will do what he can to bring his daughter to safety.  Meanwhile, Martin will do what he can to save the children that were kidnapped.

Brandon and the young teen travel and try to find a UN base but when he arrives near another town, his wound gets worse and he collapses.  Fortunately, he is rescued by the Congo soldiers and both he and the girl are brought to a UN base.

When Brandon wakes up, a man is sitting there with him.  It’s Richard Miller (played by Billy Zane), a friend of Brandon’s father, a man who trained Richard to become a sniper and is there to check on Brandon and bring him back home.  But Brandon will not hear anything of it and wants to reclaim the bodies of his men to bring that back home for a proper burial.  But what good will he be if is weakened by his injuries?

Brandon goes to report to Col. Jaeger of what happened and he and Lt. Ellen Abramowitz (played by Annabel Wright)  believe the person who ambushed Beckett and his platoon was a lone sniper and the bullet found in Brandon’s shoulder was an American bullet shot from a Russian sniper.  This leads both individuals believing an American soldier may have gunned them down.  Brandon wants to go back out there but unfortunately Jaeger confines him to the UN base.

While confined, Richard convinces Brandon that if he is going to take on a sniper, he has to be a sniper and thus, Brandon goes through training and makes a decision that in order to catch the sniper, he will have to disobey command.

It’s sniper vs. sniper in the fourth film of the “Sniper” series, “Sniper: Reloaded”.

VIDEO:

“Sniper: Reloaded” is presented in 1080p High Definition (aspect ratio 1:85:1).  In some ways, the picture quality is quite surprising as it is a bit inconsistent.  In the beginning of the film, we see a closeup of an ant on a sniper’s face.  There is really good detail of this closeup.  But then about forty minutes into the film, there are white speckles showing up throughout the film.  There is also an instance of vertical lines showing up in the print.  And this is a bit surprising because this is a 2011 film, not some film from the ’70s or ’80s.  So, while you have these PQ issues, at times, since the film is shot outdoors, you have vibrant images which look very good.

Overall, the picture quality has its good moments and its bad moments.  It is definitely inconsistent and for the most part of the film, the good news is that the PQ is mostly good at times but why the many white speckles and the vertical lines showing up in a new film, I have no idea.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

While “Sniper: Reloaded” has issues with its video, fortunately it’s English and French DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack fairs much better.  As one would expect, the sniper sounds are excellent.  There are a good number of scenes with gunfire and you can hear the bullets zinging, hitting metal and even at times a major boom.  There is good directional audio used during these action sequences and a good use of the soundstage.

Dialogue is crisp and clear and for the most part, the shining feature of this Blu-ray release will be its lossless audio soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Sniper: Reloaded” comes with no special features but it is BD-Live enabled.

First and foremost, the Sniper films are popcorn action films at best.  If you want an excellent and deep sniper film, there is the 2001 film “Enemy at the Gates” or the 1973 film “The Day of the Jackal”, but the Sniper films, these are films that require intense dramatic elements, it’s all about the action and for many fans, the original “Sniper” film was enjoyable and sure enough, two sequels were released.

But here we are with “Sniper: Reloaded”, the fourth film in the series and a film that will reboot the series featuring the young Sgt. Brandon Beckett (played by Chad Michael Collins), son of the late renown sniper Thomas Beckett (played by Tom Berenger).

And with direct-to-video sequels, while most are stinkers, earlier this year, I was surprised by “S.W.A.T. Firefight”, so I figured, “Sniper: Reloaded” could be good film as well and now after watching, I will say that I enjoyed “Sniper: Reloaded”.

Yes, it has a lot of sniper action and the addition of Billy Zane reprising his role as Richard Miller (from the original film) was a good transfer of the torch for the new character that will possibly highlight future “Sniper” films.   It’s a straightforward movie that is easily accessible and for those who enjoyed the previous “Sniper” films or those who enjoy popcorn action films, “Sniper: Reloaded” worked out rather nicely.  Action, violence and yes, you even have the addition of the banal one night stand love scene ala “Top Gun” style, in this case, a marine and his superior, thrown into the film as well.

As for the Blu-ray release, this is a barebones release.  No special features whatsoever.  The picture quality was a bit on the downside considering it was a film made in 2011, there should not be as many of those white speckles throughout the film.  But the lossless audio soundtrack is solid!

Overall, “Sniper: Reloaded” will probably be the beginning of more direct-to-video sequels possibly featuring more of Sgt. Brandon Beckett and maybe even Richard Miller but if you have been a loyal fan of this film series, fortunately this fourth film does a good job of honoring the original film, especially remembering the character of Thomas Beckett and doing what it does best, being a popcorn action film that will entertain people from beginning to end.

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