DVD Releases

I’m no math whiz (actually, I kind of am), but when a movie costs $125 to $150 million to make, and only makes $70 million in theaters, that means it lost money. A lot of money. And I’m no movie buff (OK, I definitely am), but when a movie gets bumped back from November 2008 to February 2010, that’s usually cause for concern. Put the two together, and you have what is caused an epic disaster.

Read FilmJabber’s full The Wolfman movie review.

Most of us remember where we were when the Writers Guild of America went on strike in 2007. I was sitting in a cafe reading the Wall Street Journal when the news came on television. Everyone stopped, turned and listened to the horrifying news. A woman ran outside screaming. Two children sitting at opposite ends of the cafe began crying. An old woman, the poor soul, had a heart attack (she survived). It was a cold, memorable day.

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Each awards season, some movies rise above expectations – even above their means – to achieve glory, and others fade from awareness almost immediately. Occasionally, there’s nothing wrong with these movies; they’re just released at the wrong time, promoted poorly or struck by fate. One such film is The Road, the Viggo Mortensen drama-thriller that was destined for great things but never got the recognition it deserved.

The Road had everything going for it: the movie was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning book; that book was written by Cormac McCarthy, the author of another Oscar winner, No Country for Old Men; it starred Viggo Mortensen, an Oscar-nominated actor; was about a post-apocalyptic world; had a prime November release date; and it was garnering positive reviews.

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The biggest movie of all time is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and if you’re wondering why this review wasn’t written a month ago, that’s because 20th Century Fox didn’t send me a copy to review until this week. Apparently, a lot of websites and newspapers were asking for a copy to review, and FilmJabber wasn’t given first priority. It’s OK, we know The New York Times is jealous of us for being cooler, even if they get more attention.

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The sequel to one of the scariest monster movies in recent memory has come to DVD, skipping a theatrical release entirely – at least in the U.S. Direct-to-DVD sequels are usually a sign of something foul, but there are gems to be found on occasion. The Descent: Part 2, unfortunately, is not one of those films, but some scary moments and bloody sequences makes it worthwhile.

Read FilmJabber’s full The Descent: Part 2 movie review.

On Tuesday, April 27, people will die. After all, you can buy your very own copy of a tombstone while watching Armageddon near. Touchstone Home Entertainment is releasing two Blu-Ray worthy films to the format on this day: the Kurt Russell-starring western Tombstone and the Michael Bay epic Armageddon.

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For those of you who missed Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – and that’s most of you – you really missed it. Luckily, there’s this thing called home video – now in the form of DVD and Blu-Ray – that allows you to watch really good movies that you didn’t see in theaters.

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Looking back on 2009, George Clooney will be most remembered for his superb performance in the excellent film Up in the Air, and Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia. But both Clooney and Streep had another extremely good movie added to their resumes at Thanksgiving – in the form of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The stop-motion animated movie is consistently funny and entertaining, and it rightfully earned a place on my top ten movies of 2009 list – tied for tenth with Up.

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Every year, there are good and bad movies, and every year there are box office hits and box office failures. And every year, there are a couple movies that never were given a chance despite being really, really good. Adam is one of those movies.

Read FilmJabber’s full Adam movie review.

Sunday, March 21, 2010 has been a good day. I’ve watched two movies so far on this lazy day (yes, I need to get outside soon), and both have them exceeded expectations. Adam was great, and Bandslam, a PG-rated teen film that I expected to be some crappy rip-off of the crappy High School Musical franchise, was surprisingly excellent.

Read FilmJabber’s full Bandslam movie review.

With the theatrical release of Toy Story 3 fast approaching, it was inevitable that Disney would unleash two of its most lucrative titles on Blu-Ray this year: Toy Story and Toy Story 2. If you don’t remember, Toy Story‘s release in 1995 gave way to the rise of CGI-animated films, the term “Pixar” as a household name and contributed mightily to the eventual almost-demise of traditionally animated fare. Its 1999 sequel, arguably better than the original, showed that the people at Pixar know oh so very well how to make quality movies.

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Traditional animation returned to theaters in grand form last fall, but unfortunately the classic style failed to resonate with audiences on the level that the Walt Disney Company was hoping for. While mildly successful, The Princess and the Frog struggled to make it to the lucrative holiday weekends, and was decimated by the far inferior Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeaquel. It’s a shame, because The Princess and the Frog is a magical, entertaining event the entire family will enjoy.

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Brothers, from acclaimed filmmaker Jim Sheridan, arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray next Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The movie explores the effects of war upon families, and is a remake of the 2004 Danish film Brodre. The results are mixed, as the movie treats audiences to some excellent performances but not much else. The Blu-Ray, meanwhile, doesn’t boast a whole lot of special features, but does provide some intriguing insights.

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Friday was not a good day, and I blame Disney. Instead of partying my friends, I chose to watch Alice in Wonderland and Old Dogs, the latter of which arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray this week. Both movies are terrible, and the few beers I had between viewings weren’t enough.

Read FilmJabber’s full Old Dogs movie review.

2012 is one of those movies I approached with trepidation. After all, we’ve seen director Roland Emmerich attempt to destroy the world on several occasions in the past (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow), and 2012 – the destruction movie to end all destruction movies – was bound to be just a graphics-heavy onslaught of… well, graphics.

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