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Director Terence Young was once asked what the three main ingredients to Dr. No’s success were. The British filmmaker didn’t hesitate: “Sean Connery, Sean Connery, Sean Connery.”
When I think of Star Trek: The Next Generation, now spruced up on Blu-ray, my thoughts are much the same. “Patrick Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Patrick Stewart.” Just when you begin to be distracted by the claustrophic sets, soap-opera acting, and sometimes trite moralizing, on comes Patrick Stewart, and you remember what makes the series so great.
Like several other British actors of his generation (most notably Anthony Hopkins), he is able to combine the emotional authenticity and immediacy of a Hoffman or De Niro with the crisp diction and mechanics of an Olivier. The stage-bred Yorkshireman was not an intuitive choice for the French captain Jean-Luc Picard, but he makes the role his own. Dispensing with any attempt at a Gallic accent, Stewart plays it straight, and is convincing even when the dialogue he must spout is less than scintillating. At every turn, he projects a humanity, intelligence, charm and class that makes the character one of the very finest in the Trek universe.
But perhaps I am not giving the show its proper due in focusing on its one strongest element only. In fact, there is much to enjoy. The show is always concerned with thought-provoking ideas, from the nature of the human experience to the puzzles of language (sometimes clumsily explored; the immensely imaginative creator Gene Roddenberry was never well-versed in subtlety). Moreover, Brent Spiner’s android character Data is paradoxically one of the show’s most relatable characters, seeking with each episode to understand and become more like his human crewmates. The recurring villains are well-developed and suitably threatening in unique ways – John De Lancie’s Q is playful, impish and often quite funny even as he menaces the Enterprise; the Borg are relentless, mechanistic and frightening in their threat to eliminate individuality. Even Roddenberry’s decision to re-use the Star Trek: The Motion Picture theme, with its strident, perfectly pitched evocation of a starship reaching warp speed, enhances the atmosphere wonderfully.
These elements tend to overshadow the occasional black-hole of an episode (“Shades of Gray”, anyone?) and the inherent corniness of some of Trek‘s signature conceits (the Dust Buster ray guns, pajama uniforms, et cetera).
Some of the effects are dated by today’s standards, and the show has never had the same bright visual dazzle that the TNG films had. Paramount has sought to rectify this by rebuilding each episode from the original film elements (transferred to video for original broadcast) and adding all-new computer effects.
The new Blu-ray sampler, an appetizer for the complete sets that Paramount plans to release, contains four episodes: the two-part pilot “Encounter at Farpoint”; the emotionally-tinged, moving “Inner Light”; and the Worf-centric “Sins of the Father.”
Isn’t it nice when a movie surprises you? I will admit straightaway that my initial reason for going to the theater to see Fright Night was the one and only 10th Doctor, David Tennant. Remakes are not usually the most stellar examples of cinema, with horror entries in particular leaving a bad taste in my mouth given some especially disappointing recent titles. I thought that, at best, Fright Night would be a relatively painless 106 minutes to be endured in exchange for the chance to see my favorite actor on the big screen. Instead, what I experienced was one of the most enjoyable times at the theater in recent memory. Not only was Tennant remarkable to watch in the role of Peter Vincent, but I was also struck by the fantastic performance of Colin Farrell as Jerry. The talent of these two actors alone would be enough to save even the most potentially disastrous of films. A perfect mix of tense horror and slick humor, Fright Night is one of my favorite films of the year. If my fawning alone is not enough to convince you, check out this clip below from one of the movie’s best scenes.
Holiday 
films fall into two categories: those with at least a hint of magic and the supernatural (The Santa Clause, It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol) and those that leave the mystical behind and focus on family gatherings (dysfunctional or otherwise). National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation falls into the latter category, and it’s arguably the best of the subgenre: classic comic timing from Chevy Chase in his best role; hilarious comedy setpieces; zingy, fun dialogue from John Hughes; and just the right dose of Yuletide heart.
If you’re like me, you notice subtle little gags every time you watch the movie. Here are a few that I picked up only after repeat viewings:
Clumsy Cousin Eddie: When Clark and Cousin Eddie are shopping at the supermarket, watch Clark repeatedly attempt to put delicate objects like light bulbs into the cart, only to have them smashed when Eddie plops big bags of dog food on top of them.
Fashion Sense: Take a look at Cousin Eddie’s outfit when he and Clark are chatting in front of the Christmas tree shortly after Eddie’s arrival. True to his clueless, country bumpkin form, Eddie is not only wearing a far-too-tight white sweater, he’s also combined it with a painfully obvious black mock turtleneck.
Great Minds Think Alike: When Clark enters boss Mr. Shirley’s (Brian Doyle-Murray, brother to Bill Murray) office to give him a Christmas present, take a look at the gifts on the table from the other employees… they’re all exactly the same shape.
“It’s just a little dry”: The dinner table scene is full of subtle bits of physical comedy that are easy to miss if you don’t happen to be looking at the right part of the scene. Some highlights: Ellen surreptiously flicks the inedible turkey from her fork, Clark accidentally wipes his mouth on his holiday tie, and Cousin Eddie amuses himself by playing the old “here is the church; here is the steeple” game.
Only in France: Next time you watch, flick on the French subtitles. In France, the film is known by the rather bawdy title of Le Sapin A Des Boules. Translation? The Fir Tree Has Balls. Hmmmm.
Halloween II turns 30 this year and was recently given the Blu-ray treatment. Team Video discussed this film briefly in our horror sequels podcast, but in honor of Halloween, I thought I would tip my hat (mask?) to this unusually strong horror follow-up (*spoiler alert herein for certain key plot points*).
It picks up precisely where the John Carpenter-directed part one left off, giving us another 90 minutes of Michael Myers’s killing spree in Haddonfield, Illinois. In this sense, the film is a classic “more of the same” sequel – it doesn’t attempt to veer off in a different direction, but instead offers what amounts to a “second helping” of the first. To that end, Halloween II, directed by Rick Rosenthal, has the same pared-down, evocative simplicity of the original.
The film plays in the same visual key as its predecessor, thanks in part to Dean Cundey’s atmospheric cinematography, and is filled with plenty of pleasing rhymes to the 1978 Carpenter installment. Night Of The Living Dead makes a cameo appearance, just as The Thing From Another World occasionally popped up on the TV set in Halloween. Alan Howarth effectively tweaks Carpenter’s original musical themes with synth textures, retaining the same urgency of the iconic piano material while infusing it with a fresh feel. Nick Castle does not return to play Michael Myers, but stuntman Dick Warlock nicely recaptures Myers’s bizarre manner of moving – catlike at times, stilted at others. There is something of the uncanny valley here . . . his motion is recognizably human, but with certain ineffable qualities that aren’t quite right. Particularly unsettling is Myers’s final assault on the hospital entrance – Myers simply walks straight through the door, breaking glass and metal but slowing down only slightly.
One of the most striking sequences is the final pursuit through the hospital, as Myers chases last-woman-standing Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) into an elevator. We can all recall moments when we impatiently fidgeted with elevator buttons, waiting for the doors to finally close. We can only squirm with a perverse delight to imagine a scenario where our very life depends on the speed of those doors closing! The editing and music here is perfectly calibrated to keep the tension on a slow agonizing rise.
Not everyone is as lucky as Laurie. Halloween II features some of the most grimly disturbing slayings in the entire series. Sure, there are spectacular send-offs, such as the grisly boiling of Nurse Karen during an ill-timed hot tub tryst. But it’s the less over-the-top sequences that linger in the memory: ambulance driver Jimmy’s slow death by apparent brain injury, or Mrs. Alves’ Dr. Phibes-esque drip, drip, drip blood-draining demise. Both conceptually and in their execution, these deaths are disorienting, unpleasant and surprisingly subtle.
The film is not without its problems. Having hero Laurie immobilized and stuck in a hospital makes the beginning of the movie somewhat slack. (This is a puzzling decision. Although Laurie was stabbed at the end of Halloween, stalker-film heroes have soldiered on through far worse wounds than this. Perhaps this was merely screenwriter Carpenter’s way of getting the story into the hospital, an admittedly strong environment for horror goings-on.) Plus, the twist of making Laurie the long-lost sister of Michael Myers seems like a dim appropriation of the ending of The Empire Strikes Back.
Nevertheless, Halloween II is a worthy successor to the original Halloween, rich in atmosphere and matching the first film’s beautiful evocation of the Halloween season. Plus, The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” will never seem quite the same ever again . . .
We all have movies that we were a little obsessed with as children, right? That is one of the finer qualities in children: the tendency to completely geek out over the things that they like, often to the dismay of parents forced to see/hear the same DVD (or VHS, in my day) over and over and over… Admittedly, I had many such cinematic obsessions (some more embarrassing than others, in retrospect) but one movie I think a lot of us can (or should) still stand behind is The Lion King. I think my young self may have had just about every piece of Lion King merchandise in existence (remember that awesome Sega game?), and if it is possible to have a crush on an animated character, I did. (Full disclosure: It was Scar, but really who can resist the combination of pure evil and Jeremy Irons‘ voice? I never said I was a normal kid.) Needless to say, I am delighted that this gem will finally be hitting the shelves on Blu-ray next week. As I haven’t seen the film since childhood, I am especially looking forward to the nostalgia of it all. It doesn’t hurt that instead of watching it on my old 20″ TV/VCR combo, I will finally be enjoying it in high definition on a television of respectable size and most likely with a bottle of cider to commemorate this fine autumn season. Hakuna Matata!
Unlike the frayed, shopworn look of its dimestore novel-inspired poster art, Pulp Fiction is a film that retains an entertaining, fast-paced excitement even after 17 years. Sure, the movie is old enough now to go to R-rated movies without a parent (one of Jean-Luc Godard’s early works, perhaps?), but that doesn’t mean you won’t still gasp slightly when the hypodermic needle plunges, or listen with rapt attention to the staccato rhythms of Christopher Walken’s story about the gold watch. Much more cohesive than Quentin Tarantino’s later works, Pulp Fiction is and probably always will be the director’s signature creation.
Jackie Brown, Tarantino’s much-anticipated follow-up, may lack some of the obvious sizzle of Pulp Fiction, but it arguably maintains a greater freshness 14 years later than its better-known older brother. If you owned an old-school revival movie house, getting a pristine print of these two ‘90s benchmarks would make a double bill worthy of the “Elvis man” in all of us. Don’t have the deed to a repertory cinema? Pick up copies of the upcoming new Blu-ray editions, which give Tarantino’s duo the 1080p razzle-dazzle that is the next best thing to seeing them in the theater.
I’m gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun!” This line kick-starts the ’80s classic Top Gun (which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week with an updated Blu-ray release).Watching the film as a youngster, I knew that line meant we were gonna finally get to the exciting stuff. And it’s uttered by . . . that bald guy!You know, the one who’s in all the ‘80s movies!
Yeah, him! He’s an actor few people could cite by name but almost everyone would recognize. If you needed a hard-nosed, tough-talking authority figure in the Reagan/Bush I era, James Tolkan was always at the ready.Let’s salute the reliable character actor by counting down some of his most familiar (and not-so-familiar) roles.
Masters Of The Universe – This sorry live-action adaptation of the ’80s favorite has little to recommend other than a few spirited performances. The effects are shoddy, the story wafer thin, and the music must have morphed John Williams’ lawyer’s eyes into a pair of dollar signs. Tolkan and villain Frank Langella, clearly enjoying himself in one of his few popcorn roles, are the lone stand-outs.Tolkan doesn’t have to reach much as a rough-and-ready detective with little patience for those Eternia punks, but you’ll welcome his familiar gruffness as you await Langella’s next bit of scenery-chewing.
Dick Tracy
- This is the “Oh, that was James Tolkan?Really?” entry in the list.Playing against type for once, Tolkan is almost unrecognizable as an accountant with hair, mustache, and milquetoast manner counter to all his best-known roles.A rather sympathetic “desk” villain, Tolkan gets a bit lost amidst the vamping of Al Pacino, William Forsythe, Paul Sorvino, et cetera.Perhaps he has a more substantial role in the original, longer cut of the film?One hopes so, because it’s one of the few roles where Tolkan is able to demonstrate his range.
Back To The Future Trilogy – Were I ever somehow to run into Tolkan on the street, I suspect the word “slacker” would pop out of my mouth randomly in the middle of a sentence, as if by some Pavlovian conditioning. No-nonsense Principal Strickland, nemesis to Marty McFly, is undoubtedly Tolkan’s signature role.He plays it broadly but effectively, projecting the remembered meanness of everyone’s principal (real or imagined). (The original script included a moment where Stickland cruelly crushes Marty’s Walkman with a vise . . . of all people, Strickland would have a vise sitting around in his office, wouldn’t he?) Strickland continued to have fun and interesting things to do in the sequels, including a tour of duty as Marshall of 1880s Hill Valley in Part III.
Tolkan pops up briefly as a coroner in the original Amityville Horror, plays Strickland-esque characters in Problem Child 2 and WarGames, and has guest shots on popular shows like The Wonder Years and The Equalizer. His most recent film to receive theatrical release was the race relations drama Heavens Fall in 2006.
Tolkan has been largely absent from the screen for the last decade or so, but IMDB reports he’ll make an appearance in an upcoming David Mamet telefilm about Phil Spector.I’ll be tuning in . . . after all, when it comes to James Tolkan, slacking is never a good idea.
Each single layer Blu-ray Discs has a storage capacity of 25GB, compared to a standard single layer DVD’s capacity of 4.7GB, which enables the disc to store upwards of 8 hours of High Definition video. Plus, not only are Blu-ray Discs the same size and feel as current DVDs, but they also offer new hard-coating finish that makes them more resistant to scratches and the effects of fingerprints. Blu-ray discs: Anamorphic or Not? Blu-ray Resolution New Audio Formats: Blu-ray Discs also offer Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio which are the next generation audio formats for lossless transfer from the studio’s master sound track. Dolby TrueHD offers a high definition audio experience with up to eight full range channels and an 18 Mbps bit rate transfer, while DTS-HD Master Audio offers a high definition audio experience with up to eight full range channels and a 24.5 Mbps bit rate transfer. Learn more about Dolby TrueHD on Dolby’s website and DTS-HD Master Audioat the DTS website. Will a Blu-ray Disc work in my current DVD player? What’s the difference between HD-DVDs and Blu-ray Discs? Click here to learn more about the differences between Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVDs.
Learn More about Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVDs
Blu-ray Discs are the next generation optical discs that enable the recording, rewriting, and playback of high definition video as well as the storage of large amounts of data. Blu-ray Discs derive their name from the use of a blue or ultraviolet laser eye which has a shorter wavelength than the standard red laser used in CD and DVD players. This shorter wavelength allows the eye to be concentrated on a finer point on the disc and gives Blu-ray Discs their extra storage capacity. Since the ultraviolet laser eye’s shorter wavelength can be focused on a smaller area, the data can be compressed as well.
While Blu-ray discs are not listed on our site as Anamorphic, Blu-ray discs do display in a 16×9 screen ratio and no enhancement is necessary for the picture to display properly when viewing a Blu-ray disc on a widescreen TV.
Most current Blu-ray releases have their feature presentations transferred into 1080p, which is the highest resolution available on current HDTV television sets. Don’t worry though, even if you don’t yet own a TV capable of 1080p resolution, Blu-rays will still output at the current highest resolution of your HDTV set, whether that be 1080i or 720p. Customers should note that the majority of Blu-ray bonus features so far are not being transferred into HD (they are only at standard 480p or 480i resolution), so always check the specs of any Blu-ray you are purchasing to know exactly which parts, if any, of the bonus features are presented in HD.
Blu-ray discs also offer new incredible surround sound mixes along with their superior High Definition video. Uncompressed PCM (Pulse-code modulation) offers no loss in quality while delivering 7.1 channels (and beyond).
No they will not. Since Blu-ray Discs utilize an ultraviolet beam to read the data on a disc, your unit must be Blu-ray capable. A Blu-ray Disc will only work in your current DVD player if it contains the Blu-ray Disc logo or says that it is Blu-ray compatible.
While both formats utilize an ultraviolet laser eye to read the data stored on the discs, Blu-Ray discs offer up to 50GB of storage on a dual-layer disc, while a dual-layer HD-DVD only offers 30GB of storage. Also, with Toshiba’s February 2008 announcement that they would be ceasing production of all HD-DVD players, virtually all of HD-DVDs supporting studios have halted production of any future HD-DVD releases. The future is Blu.
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark
Saw V: 2 Disc Unrated Director’s Cut
Horror Express
House Of 1000 Corpses
Underworld: Awakening