Bill Kelley
12-28-07, 08:35 AM
The Virginian-Pilot newspaper/online review the following HD DVD discs.
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 28, 2007
“EASTERN PROMISES”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2007, R for frontal nudity, language, gruesome violence and graphic sexuality
Best extra: "Marked for Life" taped in hi-def is an exploration of the importance of tattoos in the Russian mafia – each one telling part of a man's life story – something that plays a significant role in the film.
NAOMI WATTS AND VIGGO MORTENSEN are brilliant as a midwife and a mob driver/corpse cleaner, respectively. The two become tangled as Watts discovers a diary of a young girl who dies after delivering a baby.
The girl's journal, written in Russian, reveals that she'd been forced into prostitution by the mob family that Mortensen's character works for. Even worse, Watts' character unwittingly brings the diary to be translated by the crime circle's boss – who the book says raped and impregnated the girl. It's a dark, chilling tale told and filmed masterfully.
Sadly, the HD/DVD comb disc extras are as bad as the movie is good. There are only two added features on the single-disc release. Absent are such standards as director's commentary, deleted scenes and a making-of piece. On the plus side, the HD picture is superior to the DVD.
The tattoo featurette – which is solid but short – and "Secrets and Stories," also in HD, only with brief bit with director David Cronenberg, who talks about taking Steven Wright's script to the screen.
The film will make you think, but the HD/DVD disc will make you wonder.
— Kyle Tucker
“THE KINGDOM”
HD widescreen and standard-def widescreen, 2007, R for intense sequences of graphic, brutal violence and for language
Best extra: An interactive mission dossier, exclusively on the HD disc, pinpoints investigative notes and background intelligence and provides a cultural guide throughout the movie.
FOR THE FIRST 120 seconds, director Peter Berg demands we take a history lesson. “We came to realize, people didn’t understand U.S. and Saudi relations,” he says during the commentary of his action-packed political thriller. The visual timeline chronicles Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, from its birth in 1932, to the monarchy condemning the 15 Saudi hijackers involved in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
The young director filmed for two weeks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and finished in Scottsdale, Ariz., using his trademark handheld camera. It puts viewers right in the middle of the action but excessive camera movement can be alarming. Motion sickness pills may be required, especially if you’re sitting super close watching the hi-def version.
A devastating terrorist attack at an oil company compound brings in the FBI’s Rapid Deployment Team led by Jamie Foxx with Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman. Palestinian actor Ashraf Barhom provides an emotional performance as Col. Faris Al Ghazi. He is assigned to escort the Americans, but quickly joins the hunt to sniff out the terrorists.
The HD/DVD comb disc includes deleted scenes in HD, pop-up video commentary with Berg, interviews and plenty of behind-the-scenes footage. You’ll also find a making-of documentary in standard-def and four different edits following the FBI agents into a climatic apartment building shootout.
— Bill Kelley III
“THE HEARTBREAK KID”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2007, Rated R for strong sexual content, crude humor and language
Best extra: The gag reel is infinitely funnier than the film.
NO MATTER HOW HARD they try, the Farrelly brothers can’t recapture the magic of their hit comedy “There’s Something About Mary.” After the failures of “Shallow Hal” and “Stuck on You,” the brothers, for no particular reason, have decided to remake the comedy classic directed by Elaine May and written by Neil Simon. Apparently, the brothers just didn’t think these cinema icons did a good enough job the first time around, have shoved Ben Stiller in the title role, and completely wasted Michelle Monaghan, one of the best, young actresses working today. The comedy falls flat again and again and one longs for the critically acclaimed original.
HD buyers will be satisfied with this flawless transfer that sports warm, natural colors and excellent detail. A Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is included but, as with many comedies, it may accurately reflect the theater experience but isn’t anything to write home about. Extras include a dull commentary, deleted scenes, and a handful of short featurettes.
Recommended for audio/video quality on HD but not recommended for the film itself.
— Josh Boone
“PAN’S LABYRINTH”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2006, rated R for graphic violence and language
Best extra: A new hi-def (Blu-ray & HD DVD), enhanced video commentary that incorporates writer/director Guillermo del Toro's audio commentary and production features.
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S brutal, beautiful adult fairy tale, one of the titles on The Pilot’s list of the best DVDs of 2007, was so good in standard-def it’s hard to believe the hi-definition treatment could up the ante.
Believe it.
The expansive and enlightening extras that were included on the two-disc set that came out in May have been picked up for the hi-def versions, among them “The Color and the Shape,” a feature that details the intricate palette del Toro used to spin his story. It’s another solid argument for the format (HD DVD for this review). The film, about a 12-year-old girl in fascist Spain who discovers her true identity and destiny, looks spectacular. (It sounds great, too.)
New for HD is an enhanced video commentary compiled from del Toro’s audio commentary and the production features. It not only runs concurrently with the movie, viewers have the option of pairing it with a running storyboard.
You want the complete experience? Here it is.
— Craig Shapiro
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 28, 2007
“EASTERN PROMISES”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2007, R for frontal nudity, language, gruesome violence and graphic sexuality
Best extra: "Marked for Life" taped in hi-def is an exploration of the importance of tattoos in the Russian mafia – each one telling part of a man's life story – something that plays a significant role in the film.
NAOMI WATTS AND VIGGO MORTENSEN are brilliant as a midwife and a mob driver/corpse cleaner, respectively. The two become tangled as Watts discovers a diary of a young girl who dies after delivering a baby.
The girl's journal, written in Russian, reveals that she'd been forced into prostitution by the mob family that Mortensen's character works for. Even worse, Watts' character unwittingly brings the diary to be translated by the crime circle's boss – who the book says raped and impregnated the girl. It's a dark, chilling tale told and filmed masterfully.
Sadly, the HD/DVD comb disc extras are as bad as the movie is good. There are only two added features on the single-disc release. Absent are such standards as director's commentary, deleted scenes and a making-of piece. On the plus side, the HD picture is superior to the DVD.
The tattoo featurette – which is solid but short – and "Secrets and Stories," also in HD, only with brief bit with director David Cronenberg, who talks about taking Steven Wright's script to the screen.
The film will make you think, but the HD/DVD disc will make you wonder.
— Kyle Tucker
“THE KINGDOM”
HD widescreen and standard-def widescreen, 2007, R for intense sequences of graphic, brutal violence and for language
Best extra: An interactive mission dossier, exclusively on the HD disc, pinpoints investigative notes and background intelligence and provides a cultural guide throughout the movie.
FOR THE FIRST 120 seconds, director Peter Berg demands we take a history lesson. “We came to realize, people didn’t understand U.S. and Saudi relations,” he says during the commentary of his action-packed political thriller. The visual timeline chronicles Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, from its birth in 1932, to the monarchy condemning the 15 Saudi hijackers involved in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
The young director filmed for two weeks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and finished in Scottsdale, Ariz., using his trademark handheld camera. It puts viewers right in the middle of the action but excessive camera movement can be alarming. Motion sickness pills may be required, especially if you’re sitting super close watching the hi-def version.
A devastating terrorist attack at an oil company compound brings in the FBI’s Rapid Deployment Team led by Jamie Foxx with Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman. Palestinian actor Ashraf Barhom provides an emotional performance as Col. Faris Al Ghazi. He is assigned to escort the Americans, but quickly joins the hunt to sniff out the terrorists.
The HD/DVD comb disc includes deleted scenes in HD, pop-up video commentary with Berg, interviews and plenty of behind-the-scenes footage. You’ll also find a making-of documentary in standard-def and four different edits following the FBI agents into a climatic apartment building shootout.
— Bill Kelley III
“THE HEARTBREAK KID”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2007, Rated R for strong sexual content, crude humor and language
Best extra: The gag reel is infinitely funnier than the film.
NO MATTER HOW HARD they try, the Farrelly brothers can’t recapture the magic of their hit comedy “There’s Something About Mary.” After the failures of “Shallow Hal” and “Stuck on You,” the brothers, for no particular reason, have decided to remake the comedy classic directed by Elaine May and written by Neil Simon. Apparently, the brothers just didn’t think these cinema icons did a good enough job the first time around, have shoved Ben Stiller in the title role, and completely wasted Michelle Monaghan, one of the best, young actresses working today. The comedy falls flat again and again and one longs for the critically acclaimed original.
HD buyers will be satisfied with this flawless transfer that sports warm, natural colors and excellent detail. A Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is included but, as with many comedies, it may accurately reflect the theater experience but isn’t anything to write home about. Extras include a dull commentary, deleted scenes, and a handful of short featurettes.
Recommended for audio/video quality on HD but not recommended for the film itself.
— Josh Boone
“PAN’S LABYRINTH”
HD and standard-def widescreen, 2006, rated R for graphic violence and language
Best extra: A new hi-def (Blu-ray & HD DVD), enhanced video commentary that incorporates writer/director Guillermo del Toro's audio commentary and production features.
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S brutal, beautiful adult fairy tale, one of the titles on The Pilot’s list of the best DVDs of 2007, was so good in standard-def it’s hard to believe the hi-definition treatment could up the ante.
Believe it.
The expansive and enlightening extras that were included on the two-disc set that came out in May have been picked up for the hi-def versions, among them “The Color and the Shape,” a feature that details the intricate palette del Toro used to spin his story. It’s another solid argument for the format (HD DVD for this review). The film, about a 12-year-old girl in fascist Spain who discovers her true identity and destiny, looks spectacular. (It sounds great, too.)
New for HD is an enhanced video commentary compiled from del Toro’s audio commentary and the production features. It not only runs concurrently with the movie, viewers have the option of pairing it with a running storyboard.
You want the complete experience? Here it is.
— Craig Shapiro