The Son of No One (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
February 15, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Filmmaker/screenwriter Dito Montiel reunites with actor Channing Tatum in a crime thriller. Featuring a solid cast and great cinematography, “The Son of No One” will appeal to Channing Tatum fans and those who enjoy popcorn crime thrillers.
TITLE: The Son of No One
FILM RELEASE: 2011
DURATION: 94 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish Mono, Subtitles: Spanish
COMPANY: Anchor Bay Films
RATED: R (Violence, Pervasive Language and Brief Disturbing Sexual Content)
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2012
Directed by Dito Montiel
Written by Dito Montiel
Executive Producer: Boaz Davidson, Danny Dimbort, Patricia Eberle, Cassian Elwes, Alex Francis, Joy Gorman, Avi Lerner, Jake Pushinksy, Richard Rionda Del Castro, Trevor Short, Trudie Styler
Producer: Avi Lerner, Dito Montiel, John Thompson, Holly Wiersma
Line Producer: Brian Bell
Music by Jonathan Elias, David Wittman
Cinematography by Benoit Delhomme
Editing by Jake Pushinsky
Casting by Kerry Barden, Karen E. Etcoff, Paul Schnee
Production Design by Beth ickle
Art Diretion by Michael Ahern
Set Decoration by Carrie Stewart
Costume Design by Sandra Hernandez
Starring:
Al Pacino as Detective Charles Stanford
Channing Tatum as Jonathan White
James Ransone as Officer Thomas Prudenti
Ray Liotta as Captain Marion Mathers
Katie Holmes as Kerry White
Ursula Parker as Charolette “Charlie” White
Jake Cherry as Jonathan Milk” White
Brian Gilbert as Young Vinnie
Tracy Morgan as Vincent Carter
In this searing police thriller, Jonathan (Channing Tatum) is a second-generation cop who gets in over his head when he’s assigned to re-open a double homicide cold case in his Queens neighborhood. An anonymous source feeding new information on the long-unsolved murders to a local reporter (Juliette Binoche) leads to evidence suggesting a possible cover-up by the former lead detective (Al Pacino) who was on the investigation. As Jonathan digs deeper into the assignment, a dark secret about the case emerges, which threatens to destroy his life and his family. Written and directed by Dito Montiel, Son Of No One also stars Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta and Jake Cherry. Music by David Wittman and Jonathan Elias.
Former punk punk musician and Versace model Dito Montiel has come a long way in his life and career. In 1989, Montiel and his band Gutterboy received notoriety when their band signed a $1 million record deal with Geffen Records and after cashing in with a big recording contract, the band was dropped by the label.
The experience would lead Montiel to writing a best-selling book titled “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” and would follow with a film adaptation which he wrote and direct.
In that film, Montiel worked with actor Channing Tatum (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Dear John”, “Step Up”) for the very first time and worked together in the 2009 film “Fighting”.
In 2011, Montiel would write and direct his third film “The Son of No One” and would reunite with Channing and the independent film would also feature talents Al Pacino (“The Godfather”, “Scarface”), Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas”, “Smokin’ Aces”), Katie Holmes (“Batman Begins”, “Go”, “Dawson’s Creek”) and Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”, “Blue”, “Dan in Real Life”).
The film was selected to close the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and now, “The Son of No One” would receive a Blu-ray and DVD release courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment.
“The Son of No One” is a film that focuses on police officer Jonathan White (played by Channing Tatum). He is a married to Kerry (played by Katie Holmes) and has a young, ailing daughter who has seizures. So, both parents are often concerned of the well-being of their daughter. But for Kerry, she is quite concerned that Jonathan has been transferred to an area two hours from Staten Island (a not so great area) and is now constantly working late hours and is never home for the family.
But their sanctity and Jonathan’s piece-of-mind is shattered when a journalist named Lauren Bridges (played by Juliette Binoche) has printed letters of a possible coverup in 1986 and it is hurting the precinct’s image, especially for Captain Marion Mathers (played by Ray Liotta) who is running for re-election.
These letters startle Jonathan as the letters is anonymously targeted towards him.
Through occasional flashbacks, we are taken back to 1986. Jonathan who was known as “Milk”, lived in the projects and he and his best friend Vinnie had tough lives. There were drug dealers, pedophiles and creepy people living in his building and the two were always the target of these individuals.
That year, a young Milk killed two people and we are told through flashbacks in 1986 of why he killed them and how he and his friends have kept the murders secret.
But one detective knows that Milk was responsible, Detective Stanford (played by Al Pacino) also was Milk’s father and swept the murders under the rug and covered everything up.
But someone from Jonathan’s past is trying to expose the cover-up and also expose Jonathan’s involvement by sending letters to a journalist hoping to air the NYPD’s dirty laundry.
Captain Marion Mathers is concerned about the press that Lauren is getting for publishing the anonymous letters and wants Jonathan to look into it. Especially since it may destroy his and the precinct’s reputation.
As Jonathan becomes paranoid of who would release the information and try to hurt him, could it be his old friends from the projects? Or is someone else responsible?
VIDEO:
“The Son of No One” is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:35:1). The picture quality is fantastic as there is great clarity, detail and good use of cool and warm colors. Black levels are deep, skin tones are natural and possibly the best part of this Blu-ray release is its visual presentation.
Cinematographer Benoit Delhomme (“1408″, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, “The Proposition”) did a wonderful job and great choices on the film’s lighting and Benoit’s cinematography looks fantastic on Blu-ray!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Son of No One” is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Mono. The film is primarily a dialogue-driven film but there are moments such as Jonathan’s car being rammed or a scene with multiple gun shots that does utilize the surround channels. But it’s dialogue and surround environments and its ambiance that plays the biggest role in the lossless soundtrack.
Subtitles are in Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Son of No One” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Featuring an in-depth audio commentary by writer/director Dito Montiel and executive producer/editor Jake Pushinsky. Although this is one commentary that I wish was fluid, as there are some momentary gaps.
- Extended Scenes – (6:27) Featuring extended scenes from “The Son of No One”.
- Trailer – (2:29) The original theatrical trailer for “The Son of No One”.
If there is one major positive I can say about Dito Montiel films, it’s the fact that he is able to bring together an impressive cast for his films.
From his working relationship with Channing Tatum for three films, while “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” featured impressive casting, “The Son of No One” is quite intriguing that you have Al Pacino and Juliette Binoche starring in this indie crime thriller.
With that being said, it’s great to see Channing Tatum taking on a different type of role that he is cast in. Usually, he is cast in younger roles or military roles but this time around, he’s a family man with a wife and kid and one mysterious past. It’s a role that doesn’t require too much emotion and if anything, the character role suits Tatum very well!
As a cop, who along with a few others are keeping a secret that the main protagonist, Jonathan, murdered two junkies when he was young and living in the projects. While the film had potential, the pacing was interrupted by constant flashbacks and uninspired acting. And for a solid cast, you would think these talents would be better utilized. Especially if you have Al Pacino in your film.
I wish I could say that Al Pacino was magnificent but he was barely utilized in the film. Sure, his character plays a pivotal role but I wish his character had much more going on, than these few short scenes.
Casting Tracy Morgan for a crime thriller, may seem a bit odd. But Tracy Morgan was much easier to take-in as there are no in-your-face jokes or outrageous behavior. If anything, he does a fine job of playing a restrained character who is emotionally messed up! No wisecracking at all. This is probably the most serious role I have seen him star in and while he wasn’t utilized all that much, during his scenes…he did a good job playing a serious role.
Ray Liotta in a film is a giveaway. If you seen his films, you know what kind of character he will be. And that’s all I have to say about Liotta, without giving too much away.
And last, we have Katie Holmes. She plays the sweet, caring wife but there is unexplored areas that I found a bit frustrating because as a wife who is concerned about your husband, somehow her role was shut down after a major emotional scene. It’s unfortunate because her role could have been explored much more, but she seems to have disappeared during the last leg of the film’s storyline.
Once again, this is the problem I have with “The Son of No One”. Character utilization was poor, seemed rushed and while the plot had potential, this back-and-forth between present-time and flashbacks seem to hurt the pacing of the film. If anything, would rather have less focus on the young actors, more focus on the major talents of this film.
With that being said, “The Son of No One” is not a terribly bad film. In fact, the film featured awesome cinematography from Benoit Delhomme and an intriguing crime thriller that kept you interested. It’s an intriguing film but when it comes down to it, the screenplay does feel as if it was rushed. For a film with a strong cast, I also wish that there was better utilization of the characters during the present-time storyline.
As for the Blu-ray release, the picture quality is fantastic and as for special features, the audio commentary was quite interesting, despite the momentary commentary gaps.
Overall, “The Son of No One” may appeal to Channing Tatum fans or anyone that enjoys popcorn crime thriller.
Tracy Morgan makes an apology
June 10, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Tracy Morgan upset a lot of people during his comedy routine in which he talked about his feelings about homosexuals and how it is a choice and he doesn’t believe that gays are born that way and Morgan didn’t stop there.
Needless to say many people were offended, including Kevin Rogers who posted last week on Facebook about why he no longer likes Tracy Morgan.
Entertainment Weekly posted the following apology on their website, EW.com, “”I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
TNT apologizes to viewers after Tracy Morgan’s Sarah Palin masturbation comment during NBA Pre-Game
January 28, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
You know that Tracy Morgan can get crazy at times but this time, TNT is not laughing after a masturbation comment in regards to Sarah Palin.
TNT issued the following statement:
“It’s unfortunate Mr. Morgan showed a lack of judgment on our air with his inappropriate comments. We apologize for any embarrassment or offense it may have caused.”
Tracy Morgan and Tanisha Hall at Comedy Centrals Night of Too Many Stars event in NYC
October 3, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Actor Tracy Morgan and Tanisha Hall attend Comedy Central’s Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education at the Beacon Theatre on October 2, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images). Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
[Photo Gallery] Celebrities arriving at the red carpet for the 62nd Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards in Los Angeles (August 29, 2010)
August 29, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
The following photo gallery are the celebs arriving at the red carpet for the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California, August 29, 2010. Photos by REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni, Newscom, UPI/Lori Shepler, Byron Purvis/AdMedia
Death at a Funeral (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
August 4, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
A gut-bursting, embarrassing, laugh-out loud comedy! If you are in the mood for a fun and entertaining film on Blu-ray, definitely check out “Death at a Funeral”!
Images courtesy of © 2010 Screen Gems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Death at a Funeral
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010
DURATION: 92 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English, French (Double au Quebec) and Portuguest 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish and English (Description Track) 5.1 Dolby Digital
COMPANY: Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Language, Drug Content and Some Sexual Humor)
RELEASE DATE: August 10, 2010
Directed by Neil LaBute
Written by Dean Craig
Executive Producer: Dean Craig, Glenn S. Gainor, Jim Tauber
Producer: William Horberg, Sidney Kimmel, Laurence Malkin, Chris Rock, Share Stallings
Co-Producer: Josh Kesselman, Nicolas Stern
Associate Producer: Trae Ireland
Music by Christophe Beck
Cinematography by Rogier Stoffers
Edited by Tracey Wadmore-Smith
Casting by Victoria Thomas
Production Design by Jon Gary Steele
Art Direction by Chris Cornwell
Set Decoration by Dena Roth
Costume Design by Maya Lieberman
Starring:
Chris Rock as Aaron
Martin Lawrence as Ryan
Tracy Morgan as Norman
Regina Hall as Michelle
Luke Wilson as Derek
Zoe Saldana as Elaine
Columbus Short as Jeff
Kevin Hart as Brian
James Marsden as Oscar
Danny Glover as Uncle Russell
Keith David as Reverend Davis
Loretta Devine as Cynthia
Peter Dinklage as Frank
Ron Glass as Duncan
Regine Nehy as Martina
Bob Minor as Edward
Death at a Funeral is a hilarious day in the life of an American family come together to put a beloved husband and father to rest. As mourners gather at the family home, shocking revelations, festering resentments, ugly threats, blackmail and a misdirected corpse unleash lethal and riotous mayhem.
A gut-bursting, laugh-out loud comedy. If you are in the mood for a fun and entertaining film, definitely check out “Death at a Funeral”!
In 2007, director Frank Oz and screenwriter Dean Craig were responsible for the critically acclaimed British black comedy film “Death at a Funeral”.
In 2009, producer/actor/comedian Chris Rock along with director Neil LaBute (“The Wicker Man”, “Nurse Betty”, “Lakeview Terrace”) and original screenwriter for the British comedy Dean Craig went to work on an American adaptation of the film. And in 2010, the film was released in theaters and made over $48 million in the box office.
The film revolves around the Barnes family, especially on the eldest son Aaron (played by Chris Rock) who must prepare for his father’s eulogy. As the family are coming to pay their respects at Aaron’s fathers funeral, things do not go exactly as planned and trouble breaks loose at the funeral.
The film features various storylines which include:
Aaron Barnes (played by Chris Rock) and Michelle Barnes (played by Regina Hall) – Michelle really wants a baby and will do all it takes to get pregnant. Even if that means trying to get some sex from Aaron on the day of her father-in-law’s funeral. Aaron is a writer who tries to maintain order at the house and was taking care of things and now he must find a way to deal with the challenges that are taking place at the funeral.
Ryan Barnes (played by Martin Lawrence) – Ryan is the younger brother of Aaron and is a successful writer who is known for his work and gets all the attention from everyone. But behind-the-scenes, he is a man that has lot a lot of money and is broke. So, when he makes his return to the funeral and Aaron is expecting Ryan to take care of the funeral costs, Ryan is expecting his older brother to shoulder the financial responsibility. He also has his eyes on a teenager a the funeral.
Cynthia Barnes (played by Loretta Devine) – The family matriarch who is emotional because of her husband’s death and the only way she can be happy is if she has a grandchild and repeatedly emphasizes this to her daughter-in-law Michelle.
Elaine Barnes (played by Zoe Saldana), Oscar (played by James Marsden) and Jeff Barnes (played by Columbus Short) – Elaine is a cousin of Aaron and is dating Oscar, a man that her father dislikes. Oscar wants to make a great impression on Elaine’s father but is stressed out. So, Elaine gives him some Valium pills that her brother Jeff had in his apartment. But what Elaine doesn’t know is that the pill is actually a hallucinogenic concoction he created at pharmacy school and now Oscar will be literally drugged out for the next eight hours. Elaine and her younger brother Jeff try to make sure Oscar doesn’t mess things up in front of her father and also makings sure he doesn’t mess up the funeral.
Duncan (played by Ron Glass) – The strict father of Elaine and Jeff who is there for his brother’s funeral. He does not like Elaine’s current boyfriend Oscar and wishes that she be with her ex-boyfriend Derek.
Norman (played by Tracy Morgan) and Derek (played by Luke Wilson) – Norman is the odd family friend who is worried about the splotchiness that has shown up on his hands and arm and is worried he has a major disease. His friend Derek had a past relationship with Elaine Barnes and is showing up to the funeral under the request of Elaine’s father in order to get back with her. The two are responsible in making sure Uncle Russell gets to the funeral.
Uncle Russell (played by Danny Glover) – The crotchety uncle who does nothing but talk smack about the family members.
Frank Lovett (played by Peter Dinklage) – A little person who had a secret sexual relationship with Aaron’s father. Because Aaron promised to take care of him, now Frank wants $30,000 and is demanding Aaron to pay him or else he will reveal his sexual photos with his father to Aaron’s mother.
Reverend Davis (played by Keith David) – The Reverend who is trying to get the funeral started and is growing frustrated as it keeps getting delayed.
VIDEO:
“Death at a Funeral” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1). Another excellent HD release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. There is a lot of detail in this film, some details…some people may feel it’s a bit too detailed (ie. the poop scene). But there is a lot of detail in this Blu-ray release, from the skin pigments on the actors, the detail on the coffin and overall surroundings, the vibrant colors with the reds/browns indoors to the colors outdoors, blacks are nice and deep, there is a good amount of grain that can be seen in the film and I saw no DNR or compression artifacts.
Picture quality is absolutely solid for this release!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Death at a Funeral” is featured in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish/English (Audio Description Track) Dolby Digital 5.1. Aside from the music shown at the opening and ending credits, “Death at a Funeral” is a dialogue-driven film that is mostly front and center channel driven. There really wasn’t anything that stood out, audio-wise especially for the surround channels. If anything, it’s all about the dialogue and the dialogue on the lossless soundtrack is crystal clear. I detected no hiss or any audio problems while watching the film.
Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Death at a Funeral” comes with the following special features (in standard and high definition, English stereo and with English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles):
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- movieIQ™+sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie!
- Commentary with Director Neil LaBute and Chris Rock – Very informative commentary by Director Neil LaBute and producer/actor Chris Rock. LaBute and Rock break down the scene and gives us detail on the making of the film, working with various talent, Michael Jackson references and more.
- Deleted Scenes – (7:13) Featuring eight deleted scenes from the film.
- Gag Reel - (2:37) The outtakes from the film.
- Death at a Funeral: Last Rites, Dark Secrets – (20:11) The cast and the producers talk about remaking the popular British comedy for an American audience. The cast talk about working with other cast members and working with director Nick LaBute.
- Family Album – (10:59) The cast talk about their characters and their relation to other characters in the film.
- Death For Real – (5:55) The cast of the film talk about funerals and death.
Typically, when a popular foreign film receives its adaptation for the US, there are drastic changes. So, bad are the changes, most of the time we ask why these films bother being remade. But with “Death of a Funeral”, it’s a remake that works and for some, it may prove to be much better than the original.
Aside from the obvious difference of the film spotlighting a Black family in mourning, the film still manages to capture the essence of the original but also making the humor much more accessible for American audiences. For its main storyline, both director LaBute and Chris Rock has said that they kept true to the original without many storyline changes.
With that being said, it’s understandable if people are wondering why there was a remake of a perfectly well-done British film for the US. And the answer is that although there are a good number of us who will seek out films from the UK and also from other countries, the majority of Americans will not. I can easily remember the same argument being made when BBC America’s “Coupling” and “The Office” was going to receive its US adaptation and many felt these remakes were pointless. And we are seeing it today with fans wondering why there will be an American remake of the show “The Vicar of Dibley”. It’s understandable why these passionate fans of the British comedies were crying foul of why the US needed to do in their words “another pointless remake”. While the American version of “The Coupling” fizzled, the American version of “The Office” evolved into something different from the original British series and became a highly-rated television hit.
So, here we are with a 2010 remake of the popular 2007 film and yes…the original version is a fantastic film but I’ve gone past the “Why do we need a remake?” phase after seeing what has happened with American adaptations of Japanese and Korean horror or dramatic films. And I’ve read enough message postings by fans of the original “Death at the Funeral” panning this American version. But keeping an opening mind and watching this film, I can easily say that I found the 2010 version of “Death at a Funeral” to be a film that is capable of gut-bursting, laugh-out loud moments.
I remember reading Roger Ebert’s review of the film and saying that he laughed all the way through the film (and he also enjoyed the original) and I have to agree. I came in to this film with low expectations because I enjoyed the original but while watching the film, I couldn’t stop laughing and I had the feeling the American humor and the crazy antics that take place in the film would go well with the audience.
The fact is that many of us have experienced funerals and how tense they are. But when things go wrong, it’s like a trainwreck that you just can’t keep your eyes off of it. In this case, seeing this family having to go through crazy and embarrassing situations from the moment Aaron (Chris Rock) opens the casket to find a deceased Asian man, you can’t help but laugh and know that you are in for a wild ride. But as much as I love Chris Rock’s comedy, his character was the most subdued as he is the man who must stay in control. It’s the other supporting talent around him who shine on screen and this cast did a pretty good job.
From Aaron’s wife Michelle wanting to have sex quickly in order to get pregnant an hour or so before the actual funeral, Aaron’s brother Ryan trying to be suave and cool despite having problems in his personal life but then you have the extended family with Elaine and her new boyfriend Oscar. Personally, this is one role in which I never expected James Marsden to play (as the accidentally drugged out boyfriend), let alone be naked in front of so many people (according to Marsden, he was gullible and forgot to ask for a closed set and thus, he was nude in front of hundreds of people during the shooting of his nude scene) and you know when you see Oscar show up onscreen, you know that nothing but trouble will be happening. It’s one thing to know that you will be getting laughs from Rock, Lawrence and Morgan but I wasn’t expecting to laugh so much during Marsden’s appearances in the film.
And then there is Tracy Morgan who improvised a lot of his scenes and the things that come out of his mouth is just crazy and hilarious. Yes, he comes up with crazy, yet stupid dialogue but it works with the character quite effectively. Especially the interaction between Morgan’s character Norman and the crotchety Uncle Russell, which Danny Glover does a great job playing that role. And the bathroom scene is just a gross but crazy scene that got me laughing and feeling gross about the scene all at once.
And then you have the appearance of Frank (the gay lover of Aaron’s father), played by Peter Dinklage who was in the original film. Who is definitely much more hilarious this time around. Overall, you have a solid cast in the 2010 version of “Death at a Funeral”. Everyone played their parts exceptionally well and you can’t help but laugh!
One thing where Ebert hit it right square on the nail in his review was his comment, “British actors are rightly known for their skill, and there were some good ones in the 2007 version of the same Dean Craig screenplay. But playing proper upper-crust characters tends to restrain them. The family in “Death at Funeral” is obviously wealthy, but loose–more human. Their emotions are closer to the surface, and these actors work together like a stock company.”
I happen to agree. With American audiences, people relate to characters like them and in this case, these are not upper-class characters. You have Aaron worrying about the financial situation of paying for the funeral (which many American families have to face) and each of these talents work quite well with each other and as Chris Rock has mentioned in one of the featurettes, it was important for him to hire a director that he could trust for the film and director Nick Labute did a good job in making a film for the American audience. And the fact that you had the original writer for the British film, Dean Craig, involved is a major plus.
As for the Blu-ray release, “Death at a Funeral” has a pretty solid commentary by director LaBute and Chris Rock and also a good number of short featurettes interviewing the cast about their characters and working with each other. Also, this Blu-ray release is consistent with a lot of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases of awesome PQ, solid blacks and no video anomalies. This is a solid film featuring wonderful picture quality, the film is not exactly the kind of film you would be hearing major utilization of the surround channels but dialogue is absolutely clear and understandable.
Overall, “Death at a Funeral” is one of those films that you love for its embarrassing and crude humor but also I can understand if fans of the original have a hard time accepting this new film because of how different it is and the feeling that there is no reason for a audiences to watch a remake. But having said I enjoyed the original a lot, having watched “Death at a Funeral” (201o) was such a fun and entertaining experience, I felt that I was laughing out loud throughout the film and that’s a good thing.
A gut-bursting, embarrassing, laugh-out loud comedy. If you are in the mood for a fun and entertaining film, definitely check out “Death at a Funeral”!
Ashley Greene and Tracy Morgan onstage at the 2010 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles
July 14, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Actress Ashley Greene and comedian Tracy Morgan speak onstage during the 2010 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 14, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images). Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
30 ROCK – Season 3 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
September 17, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Absolutely fantastic! Fans of ’30 Rock’, the third season is another witty, hilarious and highly entertaining season. And to make things even more better, the third season of ’30 ROCK’ on DVD is full of special features including seven audio commentary and many special features. A solid release that is highly recommended!”
© 2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: 30 ROCK – SEASON 3
DURATION: 8 hrs. and 6 minutes (22 episodes on 3 Discs)
DVD INFORMATION: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English SDH, Anamorphic Widescreen 1:78:1
COMPANY: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: NOT RATED
RELEASE DATE: September 22, 2009
Created by Tina Fey
Directed by Don Scardino, Gail Mancuso, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Scott Ellis
Written by Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Jack Burditt, John Riggi, Matt Hubbard, Kay Cannon, Ron Weiner, Jon Pollack, Tami Sagher, Donald Glover
Executive Producer: Tina Fey, Jerry Kupfer, Matt Hubbard, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock, Marci Klein, John Riggi
Producer: Don Scardino, Alec Baldwin
Co-Producer: Irene Burns, Diana Schmidt
Associate Prodcuer: Shannon Fogarty
Consulting Producer: Jon Pollack
Music by Jeff Richmond
Cinematography by Matthew Clark
Edited by Ken Eluto and Meg Reticker
Casting by Jennifer McNamara
Production Design by Keith Raywood, Teresa Mastropierro
Art Direction by Peter Baran
Set Decoration by Jennifer Greenberg
Costume Design by Tom Broecker
Starring:
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan
Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney
Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell
Scott Adsit as Pet Hornbeger
Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy
Katrina Bowden as Cerie
Keith Powell as Toofer
Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan
Kevin Brown as Dot Com
Grizz Chapman as Grizz
Lonny Ross as Josh Girard
John Lutz as Lutz
Alan Alda as Milton Green
Nancy O’Dell as herself
Paula Pell as Paula Hornberger
Donald Glover as Gay Kid
Tracie Jules as Gerhardt’s Friend
Bobbb’e J. Thompson as Tracy Jr.
Kay Cannon as Human Table
Brian Stack as Howard Jorgensen
Steve Buscemi as Lenny Wosniak
Todd Buonopane as Jeffrey Weinerslav
Jon Hamm as Dr. Drew Baird
Sue Galloway as Sue
Sherri Shepherd as Angie Jordan
Rip Torn as Don Geiss
Chris Parnell as Dr. Leo Spacerman
Dean Winters as Dennis Duffy
Salma Hayek as Elisa
Elaine Stritch as Colleen Donaghy
Meredith Vieira as Herself
Jennifer Aniston as Claire Harper
Re-enjoy the complete third season of the Primetime Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning comedy 30 Rock, hailed by The New York Times as “its third season” and by The Sun as a “comedy… shown on NBC… [which is a] network.” Primetime Emmy®, Golden Globe® and SAG® Award winner (and show creator) Tina Fey and Primetime Emmy®, Golden Globe® and SAG® Award winner Alec Baldwin star as corporate executive Jack Donaghy and TV writer Liz Lemon (reverse respectively). Together, Jack and Liz manage the workplace chaos with no help from Liz’s loose-cannon stars Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski) and hapless NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer). The end result is topless break-dancing, professional tetherball, geriatric kidnapping, bird murder, sexual espionage, Appalachian witchcraft, patricide, gay lion tattoos and important life lessons learned from Sasquatches. Join in the behind-the-scenes fun with lots of exclusive content and all 22 episodes of the acclaimed third season of 30 Rock from executive producer Lorne Michaels (Hot Rod).
“30 Rock”, the NBC sitcom that has the most Emmy Awards (22) for a single year for a comedy series. An award-winning series that is critically acclaimed series that in its first and second year, despite being a series that critics raved about, the series has had its challenge due to its low viewership.
Fortunately, NBC has supported this series and greenlighted a fourth season because “30 ROCK” is unique and one of those rare delights that is on network television. Humorous, entertaining but literally, just a fantastic comedy that has solid writing and a talented cast.
30 Rock is the shortened address of where NBC Studios is located in New York City, ala 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The show revolves around the crew and the cast of the live sketch comedy “The Girlie Show” which is written by head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey, “Saturday Night Live”, “Baby Mama”, “Mean Girls”) and stars actress Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski, “Ally McBeal”). But Liz’s boss, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, “Knots Landing”, “Beetlejuice”, “Pearl Harbor”) decides to add comedian Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan, “Saturday Night Live”, “Scare Tactics”) to spice up the show and rename it “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.
The show focuses on what goes behind-the-scenes of the creation of the show and what is going on in the personal lives of several of the main characters (primarily focusing on the lives of Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy) and focuses on relationships and the unique friendship that Jack and Liz tend to develop, while the two deal with their own love life but also their interaction with the writers of TGS and the NBC Page Kenneth Parcell (Jack MacBrayer, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Arrested Development”).
“30 ROCK – Season 3″ features 22 episodes on three discs. Included are (spoilerless summaries):
DISC: 1
- EPISODE 37 – DO-OVER – Liz wants to adopt but must must please the adoption evaluator (guest star Megan Mullally, “Will & Grace”). Meanwhile, Jack returns and wants his job back.
- EPISODE 38 – BELIEVE IN THE STARS – During a flight back from Chicago, Liz tells her life to Oprah Winfrey. Meanwhile, Tracy and Jenna try to outdo each other on who has the worst life.
- EPISODE 39 – THE ONE WITH THE CAST OF NIGHT COURT – Liz and Jenna’s friend Claire (guest star Jennifer Aniston, “Friends”, “Marley & Me”, “Office Space”) comes to visit and falls for Jack. Meanwhile, Kenneth is depressed and Tracy tries to make him happy by reuniting the cast of “Night Court” (guest star Harry Anderson, Charles Robinson and Markie Post).
- EPISODE 40 – GAVIN VOLURE – Businessman Gavin Volure (Steve Martin) falls for Liz. But Gavin has a big secret.
- EPISODE 41 – REUNION – Liz is convinced by Jack to go to her high school reunion and realizes how her fellow high school mates really feel about her.
- EPISODE 42 – CHRISTMAS SPECIAL – Liz takes pat in a charity to help underprivileged kids. Meanwhile, Jack’s mother (Elaine Stritch) comes to visit and it stresses him out.
- EPISODE 43 – SENORA MACHO SOLO – Liz wants a child so bad that she mistakes a little person (Peter Dinklage) as a young boy. Meanwhile, Jack starts to fall for his mother’s nurse Elisha (guest star Salma Hayek, “Ugly Betty”, “Traffic”, “Fools Rush In”).
- EPISODE 44 – FLU SHOT – Liz fights for the TGS staff to get flu shots but only a few shots are available. Who will get them? Meanwhile, Jack and Elisha want to spend more time with each other.
DISC 2:
- EPISODE 45 – Retreat to Move Forward - With the corporate retreat coming up, Jack makes Liz accompany him.
- EPISODE 46 – Generalissimo – Jack wants to get closer to Elisha but her mother despises him because a Spanish soap opera villain named Generalissimo looks exactly like him.
- EPISODE 47 – St. Valentine’s Day – Liz goes on a date with Drew and Jack goes to church with Elisha.
- EPISODE 48 – Larry King – Tracy has an interview on “Larry King Live” and gives out bad financial advise to viewers.
- EPISODE 49 – Goodbye, My Friend – Liz becomes friends with a pregnant teenager working at the donut shop.
- EPISODE 50 – The Fun Cooker – Liz has to go to jury duty and without her to lead, the TGS staff goes nuts without her.
- EPISODE 51 – The Bubble – Liz starts to learn that her boyfriend Drew is living in a bubble and not familiar with reality.
- EPISODE 52 – Apollo, Apollo – Liz’s ex-boyfriend Dennis returns and Jack plans his perfect 50th birthday.
DISC 3:
- EPISODE 53 – Cutbacks – With corporate budget cuts, the TGS crew worry about who will get fired.
- EPISODE 54 – Jackie Jormp-Jomp – With what happened in the last episode, Liz must learn to live her new life without TGS.
- EPISODE 55 – The Ones – With Jack thinking of taking the next step with Elisha, he goes to Tracy to learn about married life.
- EPISODE 56 – The Natural Order – Tracy and Liz experience something unique. Meanwhile, Jenna adopts a pet Gibbon.
- EPISODE 57 – Mamma Mia – Liz and Tracy convince Jack to search for his real father. Meanwhile, Tracy finds out that he may have an illegitimate child.
- EPISODE 58 – Kidney Now! – Jack’s father (Alan Alda) is going through major health problems, meanwhile Liz starts to get fame as a relationship expert.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“30 ROCK – SEASON 3″ is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1:78:1. The television series is shot via single camera and has that drama series style of quality. But for the most part, the show is anamorphic widescreen and picture quality is satisfactory for what you would expect from television on DVD.
As for audio, audio is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1. For home theater owners with a receiver, the audio is front and channel driven with the dialogue being clear and understandable and the opening theme song coming quite lively. But for the most part, the audio is satisfactory for a comedy. Personally, I had my receiver set at stereo on all channels as my primary selection and preference in hearing the series.
Subtitles are presented in English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“30 ROCK – Season 3″ includes quite a number of special features:
DISC 1:
- Flu Shot Episode Commentary with Tina Fey & Jeff Richmond
DISC 2:
- Goodbye, My Friend Commentary with Judah Friedlander & John Lutz
- The Bubble Commentary with Jon Hamm & Jack McBrayer
- Apollo, Apollo Commentary with Jack Burditt & Robert Carlock
DISC 3:
- The Ones Commentary with Jane Krakowski & Jack McBrayer
- Mamma Mia Commentary with Alan Alda
- Kidney Now! Commentary with Tina Fey & Jeff Richmond
- Behind-the-Scenes with the Muppets- (3:10) Tina Fey gives commentary about the Muppets being used on the show and designed after the cast. Behind-the-scenes footage of how the Muppets are being used.
- 1-900-OKFace – (1:09) The embarrassing commercial of Liz Lemon’s first and only acting role as Bijou.
- Kidney Now! Table Read – (31:26) The table read for the show with video on the top of the cast going through their scripts and the actual script being shown on the bottom.
- Making of “He Needs a Kidney” - (12:23) The Making of Kidney! Now. A featurette about the final episode of Season 3 which shows how music would become instrumental in this episode.
- Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery – (2:06) A photo montage of the crew and cast of “30 Rock”.
- Alec Baldwin’s SNL Monologue – (4:50) The opening monologue for Alec Baldwin’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live” with Jack McBrayer.
- Tracy Jordan’s Rant – (2:08) Tracy Jordan going off on the camera operator.
- Award Acceptance Speeches – Featuring award acceptance speeches for “Emmy’s – Outstanding Lead Actress – Comedy Series” (1:19), “Emmy’s – Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series” (1:05) and “Golden Globes – Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy” (1:18).
I absolutely love “30 ROCK”. The third season showed no signs of slowdown and every episode, you just want to laugh because the characters are hilarious but most of all, the writing is just top notch. And all 22 episodes in the third season does not disappoint at all.
With the second season DVD release from last year, the show was really facing major challenges as the Writers Guild Strike really cut down on the episodes and no one knew if NBC was going to cancel the show but they gave it some time and next thing you know, the show won many awards. The fact that the show has been nominated for 22 awards in 2009 alone is a testament of how people respect the show’s writing and its talent. As mentioned earlier in my review, “30 ROCK” is one of those rare and unique shows on television and everything manages to work perfectly.
I’ve watched Season 3 on television and I couldn’t wait to watch the episodes again, that’s how much I really enjoy this series. It’s witty, fun and comedy that is highly entertaining! In fact, as for favorite episodes, there is just so many. From finding out who Liz Lemon was talking to on the plane ride in the episode “Believe in the Stars”, to see the reuniting of the “Night Court” characters and also see Jennifer Aniston’s “Claire” getting into mischief in “The One with the Cast of Night Court”, Kenneth going on a date with a blind staffer with Tracy’s help in “St. Valentine’s Day”, Jack seeing a duplicate of himself on the Spanish soap opera in “Generalissimo” or Liz and Jack visiting Liz’s high school reunion in the episode titled “Reunion”. There are just too many fantastic episodes from this third season, that I can’t see any fan being disappointed.
As for the DVD release of “30 ROCK – Season 3″, this DVD is literally a solid release. Not only do you get all 22 episodes, 7 audio commentary (and the good news is that they give a variety of talent, even guest stars a chance to take part in the audio commentary) but you also get a good number of other special features that really round out this wonderful DVD release. Overall, the show is wonderful and the only thing I can hope for is that Universal considers releasing “30 Rock” on Blu-ray via High Definition.
But there is nothing negative I can say about this release. It’s a solid release and fans of the series will definitely get their money’s worth! “30 ROCK – Season 3″ is highly recommended.
SUPERHERO MOVIE (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“When you see the ‘from the guys who brought you SCARY MOVIE and THE NAKED GUN, you pretty much know what kind of film you’re going to get. So, it’s all about watching these movies with an open mind. Fortunately, among the similar-related movies by these creators, ‘SUPERHERO MOVIE’ is probably the most entertaining of the lot.”
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FILM: SUPERHERO MOVIE
COMPANY: DIMENSION HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
RATED: PG 13
DURATION: 82 minutes
PRODUCED BY Robert K. Weiss, David Zucker, Craig Mazin
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Craig Mazin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and Mathew Stein
STARRING: Drake Bell, Christopher McDonald, Sara Paxton, Kevin Hart, Brent Spiner, Jeffrey Tambor, Robert Joy, Reginal Hall, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Tracy Morgan and Marion Ross.
THE TRAILER:
Spider-Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four will never be the same after this outrageously funny spoof of your favorite comic book movies! Drake Bell (Drake & Josh) stars as a nerdy high school student bitten by a genetically-altered dragonfly. He stumbles hilariously through the process of becoming a crime-fighter and as his new powers grow, so do the laughs. Sara Paxton (Aquamarine) and Christopher McDonald (Spy Kids 2) costar as the clueless damsel in distress and the comically intense super villain, along with Pamela Anderson and Leslie Nielsen. Going from superzero to superhero has never been this much fun!
For the week of Halloween 2008, I decided that there will be no horror movie marathon. This week, I will watch the various comedy films that typically feature on the front of the DVD “from the guys who brought you SCARY MOVIE and the NAKED GUN”.
I pretty much know what I’m getting into with these films and know you have to have an open mind because although many scenes will have its funny moments, you can expect your share of really idiotic moments as well.
I know people who can just laugh and know what to expect with these films but some who have never seen these type of films and just feel the wasted their time watching it. So, with that being said, enjoyment of this film depends on your take of these type of movies.
“SUPERHERO MOVIE” is a film that parodies the first “Spider-Man” film, “Fantastic Four”, “X-Men” and “Batman”.
The film revolves around Rick Riker, a nerdy high school teenager who loves his classmate but bullied quite a bit in his school. Things go from bad at worse at a school trip when he accidentally spills a chemical which attracts animals to him and somehow he ends up being bit by a radioactive dragonfly.
Riker develops special powers and next thing you know, the Dragonfly is born.
Marion Ross and Leslie Nielsen play the aunt and uncle of Rick Riker. In true Leslie Nielsen fashion, if you watched the “Naked Gun” films, you know what to expect for his role. Marion Ross of “Happy Days” fame was quite interesting as the aunt who has a major flatulence problem and just can’t stop farting.
Tracy Morgan plays a Professor X type of role, trying to help Riker learn his new powers and show him the school of teens who have powers. Pamela Anderson plays the role of Invisible Woman who has been caught messing around with Professor X by Mrs. Professor X.
One of the highlight scenes is when Riker and the girl of his dreams, Jill Johnson are about to share a kiss but his aunt Lucille (Marion Ross) sleeping right next to them leashes continuous farts that just sound so horrible. Fart jokes can be funny and the manage to include a hilarious gassy scenes in which Jill who really wants to kiss Riker, uses her tampons to put up her nose to avoid smelling the fart. Fart jokes are gross but when done well, you can’t hep but laugh.
Of course, probably the coldest jokes are the ones on physicist Stephen Hawking. The gags on his character featured getting his head accidentally stuck in a beehive and not able to get out of it because of his disability. And of course, using his vocoder device to simulate Hawking screaming profanities. For a film to really make fun of his disability to get some cheap laughs is just very cold.
There are so many gags in this film with those type of gags, some quite funny and some that are just idiotic but I found this film more to the funny side fortunately. But with jokes such as the Stephen Hawking (which there are numerous scenes with this character), I can see many finding it tasteless and some to find it so funny knowing it’s so wrong.
AUDIO & VIDEO:
Truthfully, I wasn’t paying too much attention towards the quality of the film and as for the audio, the film is strictly dialogue. Not much need for special audio effects.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The extended version features the alternate ending, deleted scenes, two featurettes and a theatrical trailer plus a commentary. The regular version only features the alternate ending (which was so dumb, I’m glad they didn’t use it), deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.
There are three versions of this film on DVD in the US. The regular version which is only 74 minutes long and has only the alternate ending, deleted scenes and theatrical trailer, while the extended version which is 82 minutes long and has the additional commentary track and featurettes. The third version is a Blockbuster exclusive which features additional deleted scenes.
So, far of the movies within this genre and created by the same creators of “SCARY MOVIE” and “NAKED GUN”, of the more recent films, “SUPERHERO MOVIE” was probably the funniest compared to the others. Again, this is comparing to the other related films by the same creators.
There is a lot of funny jokes throughout the film but there are also a good number of idiotic jokes as well.
I enjoyed the superhero film parodies on this film and although there are a few well-known talent who made cameos on this film, I’m just glad many of their segments were quite short. In fact, I’m glad that the film was quite short.
In the end, I definitely didn’t find myself disliking it. I suppose it’s because I enjoyed the superhero parodies on the film and I haven’t seen a film go so far to do a parody based on superhero films in this magnitude.
All in all, a fun film if you come watching with an open mind.
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