The Company Men: Blu Ray Review

The Company Men: Blu Ray Review

The Company Men
Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

An impressive ensemble cast come together in this film about downsizing and the effects it has on a man's psyche.

Ben Affleck plays ambitious Bobby Walker who has it all - a lavish house, a sports car and everything money could buy. But his world changes when he loses his job at the GTX Corporation during a downsizing, he's forced to re-evaluate his life.

However, he's not alone; Chris Cooper plays Phil Woodward, a middle manager at the same company who also finds himself in the same position but faces different hurdles because of his age.

At the top of the corporate chain is Tommy Lee Jones' Gene McClary who helped found the company along - eventually he finds himself in the same position as those further down the ladder.

The Company Men is a well acted, if occasionally slow look at the effects of the recession on three walks of life; granted, it's a little hard to sympathise at times with Affleck's Walker as he initially continues to live in the grand house and drive the swish car while the hard times hit. But you can understand how pride is the biggest hurdle during recessionary times.

However, this drama from the writer of ER is really about how people are forced to re-evaluate their lives and outlooks; it's perhaps telling that this happens in slower ways than you'd expect - Walker explodes during an interview for a position he's overqualified for - and because of that is a little more effective.

By putting three different faces on the downsizing impact, Wells crafts a good story and gets to the psyche of what's continuing to effect many both in America and worldwide. Every single one of the cast delivers a strong performance and together, they show what a truly impressive ensemble can achieve.

Extras: Commentary, alternate ending, deleted scenes and a making of

Rating: 7/10 

Barney's Version: DVD Review

Barney's Version: DVD Review

Barney's Version
Released by Hopscotch Ent

Based on Mordecai Richler's prize-winning comic novel, Barney's Version stars the ever wonderful Paul Giamatti as Barney Panofsky, a TV show producer who's in the twilight of his life.

He's the kind of guy who tells it like it is in places and doesn't suffer fools gladly - but he's prone to making errors in his life - as his numerous marriages display.
But as well as the multitude of highs, he reflects back on his lows too - including the death of his friend Boogie (Scott Speedman) who mysteriously disappeared after an alcohol fuelled row with Barney and whose disappearance saw Barney pursued by the cops for murder.

Over four decades and three wives, we follow Barney and his relationships with lovers, children and occasionally work colleagues. The first ended in tragedy; the second ended when he fell in love with another woman on his wedding night and the third falls apart because of his own fallability.

Barney's Version is an odd sort of film; it meanders as Barney recalls parts of his life as he battles with a fatal illness towards the end. Perhaps that's some of the point of this film that it moves around and is told by an unreliable narrator; but it's an oddly cold kind of film which doesn't really engage on an emotional level.

Granted, there are some wonderfully comic touches and deft moments; and at the centre of it all, there's a ferocious tour de force from Giamatti himself; every emotion is etched on this sad sack's face and his on screen presence demands you watch. With great supporting performances from the likes of Hoffman as his Jewish dad and Rosamund Pike as the love of his life, it's a solid affair

Rating: 7/10 

Hoodwinked 2 : Blu Ray Review

Hoodwinked 2 : Blu Ray Review

Hoodwinked 2
Released by Roadshow
Rating: G

When Red Riding Hood's grandma (Glenn Close) is kidnapped while investigating the disappearance of Hansel and Gretel, (Saturday Night Live alums Hader and Poehler) Red (Panettiere) is called in to try and rescue her.

But this mission sees her team up once again with the brilliant Patrick Warburton's Wolf - despite their objections.

Can they put aside petty differences and save the day?

The sequel to Hoodwinked is a curious thing.

Without Anne Hathaway in the lead as Red Riding Hood, Hayden Panettiere steps in and it just doesn't seem to be the same film in many ways.

The animation looks a little crooked in some ways and is more redolent of a computer game than a computer animated film.
And the script is flat in many ways - there's far too few throwaway one liners to give it the oomph that it needs and Warburton's Wolf is by far the best thing in this with his trademark laconic and deadpan delivery, it's not enough to deliver.

There are a few nods to other films - Star Wars and Silence of the Lambs being the most obvious, but there's little for the adults in the audience to appreciate here. It's probably more one for the kids to be put on while the school holidays continue.

Extras: Storyboard sequences, behind the voices

Rating: 5/10 

Burke and Hare: DVD Review

Burke and Hare: DVD Review

Burke and Hare
Rating:M
Released by Universal Home Ent

A comic retelling of the 1820s Westport murders, Burke and Hare is an odd kind of film.

The ever brilliant Simon Pegg stars as William Burke and Andy Serkis is William Hare, a pair of conmen who're trying to make ends meet in Edinburgh.
When they overhear that corpses can fetch a pretty penny from the medical industry, they decide to supply Dr Knox (Tom Wilkinson) with corpses to make some cash. Trouble is, people aren't dying too quickly from natural causes - and that's where things take a murderous turn.

However, when the cash they earn pushes them in to the upper echelons of society, Burke falls hard for travelling actress Ginny (Isla Fisher) and starts to suffer from conscience&

And with the militia (headed up by Ronnie Corbett) onto the murders, it looks like the noose is tightening around their necks&

A queasy mix of murder and comedy, Burke and Hare seems to fail on both levels because it can't decide whether the dark tale needs to be told seriously or with a tongue firmly in its cheek. The main duo are hapless and it does play against the truth of the murders but the guest cast is stunning - a veritable who's who of the UK comedy scene.
Burke and Hare is a curio and probably one for fans of Ealing comedies more than anything - it's a botched attempt at a mixing of genres and the resultant mess is a frustrating disappointment.

Extras: Deleted scenes and outtakes

Rating: 4/10 

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: Movie Review

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: Movie Review

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Werner Herzog, a select camera crew, cave paintings, bear skulls and stalactites
Director: Werner Herzog
Shot in 3D, this doco sees German director Herzog, along with a select camera crew, heading to France to document the marvels held by a French cave discovered in 1994.
The Chauvet Cave in the south of France is one of anthropological wonder given that inside it's decorated with wall paintings and carvings from some 30,000 years ago.
Herzog was given exclusive access to document the innermost sanctum of the cave by the French government.
Essentially this 3D film really thrives when it's inside the cave and the camera simply lingers on the shots of the paintings and the full enormity of what's within explodes within your mind.
Skulls of animals long since dead and footprints from creatures 30,000 years old litter the pictures and are simply mind blowing. The 3D gives the depth to the paintings and reveals just how astounding they are.
But then Herzog's dry voiceover takes over and pompous statements like "It's like a frozen flash in a moment of time" give this an air of stuffiness that to be honest, it could do without.
Interviews with scientists and enthusiasts add to the pretentiousness of the piece and detract from the simple fact that sometimes, a picture paints a thousand words.
Those images of rhinos, horses, bison and tigers, bumps and shapes of the walls show a world that is beyond our comprehension and understanding; and in some ways, Herzog's insistence on talking really does mean the film loses some of its impact.

At the end, a montage of paintings and snapshots flash up on screen, accompanied by music - and in that flash alone, the film speaks volumes - and much more than Herzog ever can - of its secrets from thousands of years ago.

The Three Musketeers: Movie Review

The Three Musketeers: Movie Review

The Three Musketeers
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Milla Jovovich, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Orlando Bloom, Logan Lerman, Mads Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, James Corden
Director: Paul WS Anderson

The latest version of Alexandre Dumas' infamous Musketeers book sees an odd mix of history and fantasy - mixed in with action scenes and lots of things blowing up in 3D.
Logan Lerman is D'Artagnan, a young cocky wannabe Musketeers who leaves his small rural village to head to Paris to join the "All for One, and One for All" band.
Unfortunately though, Porthos, Arames and Athos (Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans and Matthew MacFadyen respectively) are somewhat washed up and obsolete warriors who no longer have a cause to fight for; Athos in particular is the most bitter, as he was betrayed by his love Milady de Winter (Jovovich) during their last outing.
But when Cardinal Richelieu (Waltz) moves to rid the kingdom of the Musketeers and plunge France into a war against the English (led by Orlando Bloom's Duke of Buckingham), the quartet of Musketeers are called into action to save the day...
The Three Musketeers is a somewhat campy, at times, pantomime style and bizarre kind of film. It's an odd mix of fantasy with flying airships being thrown into the story (I'm guessing those weren't historically accurate even if they are apparently based on plans from Leonardo da Vinci) and it's because of these little things that it doesn't quite gel as well as it could have done.
Some of the cast seem to be acting tongue in cheek - MacFadyen seems particularly in on any potential joke with his rather bored delivery - though I don't think anyone told Orlando Bloom, whose Duke of Buckingham appears to be a mix of pantomime villain (minus requisite moustache twirling) and wannabe Johnny Rotten with quite the most bizarre choice of English accent I've heard this year. Logan Lerman, bless him, acts his heart out and is perhaps one of the more earnest of the cast - equally, Christoph Waltz delivers another great character performance, and James Corden takes bumbling comic foil to a new level in the film and provides some pretty basic comic relief.
As an aside, there's such a mix of accents (English, American, German) on display within this film as well - because none of the main actors decides to even try to capture the period detail - which is a shame because the costumes and scenery are a stunning recreation of 17th Century France.

Anderson's brought a mix of explosions, aerial Pirates of the Caribbean style ship wars, destruction and silliness to a bizarrely entertaining odd film. The mix of the ludicrous and at times, Monty Pythonesque levels of humour delivers a mix of the fantastic with the swashbuckling - but ultimately and weirdly, The Three Musketeers may actually end up entertaining some of the younger end as the school holidays continue.

Casino Royale: Blu Ray Review

Casino Royale: Blu Ray Review

Casino Royale
Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

This Blu Ray is the latest release from the new range from Sony to showcase some of the best of their product like Taxi Driver.

This is the debut of Daniel Craig's Bond - and yes, that iconic scene where he rises from the water in his skimpies. And no, I will not be telling you that looks great in its HD remastered glory.
Craig's a revelation as Bond and this returns the franchise to its gritty best - coupled with some reasonable extras as well, it's a good solid package.

Extras: Docos and music video

Rating: 8/10