The FilmJabber Movie Blog

I’ve posted three new movie reviews, which I believe are the last of the eleven I wrote last weekend. Click on the links to view them:

• We Are Marshall
• Talk to Me
• First Snow

Other movie reviews coming up soon are Stardust, In the Land of Women and The Namesake, and DVD-specific reviews for Braveheart: Special Edition and Halloween Unrated Director’s Cut (Rob Zombie Version).

Um… Where do I start? High School Musical 2 is coming out on DVD this Tuesday in an Extended Edition, which includes a new music scene, sing-along features, a rehearsal cam (where you can watch dance rehearsal footage while watching the movie), karaoke features and music videos. First, though, you have to see the movie, and if you’re not in the Disney demographic, you probably won’t like it.

“Probably won’t like it” – is that true? High School Musical 2 was one of the biggest hits of the year, and that must mean that more than pre-teen kids are watching it. It received pretty good reviews, so that must mean that some adult critics liked it, too.

But honestly, I do not see what the appeal is, though I’ll admit that I am way out of the target demographic. I like musicals, but I like realistic musicals with engaging music with excellent musical sequences. High School Musical 2 does not offer this. I liked one song out of the entire movie, and had to fast forward through several of the other musical sequences as they were just so utterly unbearable. The songs are so chipper (yes, so Disney) and cheesy, but what really kills them is the poor audio matching to the actors – I’m pretty sure they sing the songs, but the audio track is so obviously separate from the actual filmed scenes that it pretty much looks like they’re lip syncing the entire time. Oh, and the dance moves are just dreadful. I felt like I was watching an N’Sync or Backstreet Boys music video from ten years ago, as the dance moves are so goofy and un-trendy you just have to see them to believe them.

When the actors aren’t singing, High School Musical 2 is pretty bearable and somewhat entertaining. The development of Zac Efron’s character is decent enough (the story is about him forced to decide between a bunch of easy choices to get into college and allegiance to his friends and girlfriend), and I also liked the nasty performance by Ashley Tisdale. Having known nothing about the High School Musical franchise before tonight other than Vanessa Hudgens’ nude photos, I was a bit surprised to see that Hudgens has such a small role in the movie (maybe because her acting, singing and character aren’t very inspiring). In reality, the writers’ decision to keep the movie away from a typical teen romance story (though it does have a lot of those elements) and do something different (no, I’m not saying it’s original by any stretch) was a smart one, though.

The only other thing that bugged me about the movie was just how G-rated it was. I should have seen it coming – it’s from the Disney channel after all – but for some reason I had expectations that it was going to be something more. Since it has been so successful, I figured that the movie would branch away from Disney just a little bit, but nope. Why does G-rated stuff bother me? The movie is about 17-year olds, yet Efron and Hudgens only kiss at the very end, there’s almost no cleavage (hair is strategically placed at times to hide Tisdale’s) and the girls don’t wear bikinis. It’s not that I needed these things, but the absence of them are so blatant and forced that the whole movie feels unrealistic as a result. It’s hard to get into characters when everything about them is unbelievable.

High School Musical 2 is probably popular because it is safe and G-rated while never boring, which is perfect for families with younger children or people with certain religious values who don’t believe that men and women should touch each other before marriage. I understand this, and for the right age, I can see how the movie could be quite entertaining.

Still, I am just shocked at how low quality the music and the dance numbers are; they are so bad I couldn’t even watch them. That’s not a good sign for a musical.

Lost: Season 3 comes to DVD next Tuesday, and with it another very good season of Lost adventure -thankfully without the three month gap partway through. Sure, nothing can quite compare to the mysticism of the first season, but Lost is a great entry in the series, and one that answers many, many, many questions that fans have been wondering about – and of course raises even more.

Some fans weren’t overly crazy about the first eight episodes of the show, which focus exclusively on Jack, Kate and Sawyer and just about ignore the rest of the cast. This was a major departure from the past two seasons, where each episode focused on a different character, but these episode still do a lot: they set the stage for what is to come, they introduce us to The Others and give us some insight into the truth about the island. The series starts off great, with a shockingly suburban scene, and the first half of the season ends great as well, with the amazingly tense scene where Jack holds Ben hostage and orders Kate to run. From there, the show returns to its more ordinary format, focusing on different characters as it sees fit to develop the story. Still, there are a lot more of The Others, and now, instead of making them an elusive shadow people, they are themselves people and characters who just happen to have twisted morals. The introduction of Jacob (if you can call it that) is terrific, and there are plenty of other highlights in the series as well. While there are a few stumbles (Hurley’s van episode), but hey, no one’s perfect.

The DVD, as you might imagine, has a lot of little bonus features, all of which are gathered onto Disc 7. Much like with Lost itself, you have to work to find the features, as the DVD lacks labels for the most part. While I normally don’t like this approach, it fits in with the theme of the show, and also gives you a chance to explore for easter eggs, of which there are several. Some of these easter eggs are pretty lame (one where various cast and crew members talk with sentiment to everyone who has made the experience so great), but there are a few that are entertaining.

The real meat of the special features are these:

• The World of the The Others
  A look at different aspects of the revelations about the bitter enemies of the survivors. Fans will be delighted that the cast and crew reveal a lot of little tidbits you may not have thought about.
• Lost Flashbacks
  Nothing too spectacular here. There are a couple additional flashbacks that provide a little more detail into certain stories, but there’s nothing that wasn’t removed without a purpose.
• Lost On Location
  This is an entertaining featurette that explores several episodes from behind-the-scenes. There are a lot of cast and crew interviews and looks at how sequences were filmed. The most interesting part is where we see how the original crash scene is reconstructed to add in new actors that weren’t around in the first season.
• The Lost Book Club
  Watch this one. The writers reveal that every book shown in the show has significance, and they let slip a few details about what’s to come. There are definitely a few things in here that had me wanting the fourth season to come along right now.
• Lost in a day
  This is a look at 24 hours in the day of the production. I honestly can’t remember if I found this one insightful or not, but I think I did.
• Deleted Scenes
  There are a few decent deleted scenes, but, of course, there’s nothing too spectacular to be found here.
• Bloopers
  Hey, who doesn’t like bloopers?

I’m not quite sure where this is on the DVD – it may be an easter egg – but the best part of the features is a brief instructional video a la the Dharma Initiative. Does this explain the truth behind Lost? Read more here.

One of the special features on the Lost: Season 3 DVD may not answer all of the questions of the mysterious show, but does it reveal a good chunk? If you click on the fourth screen you can actually click on, you’ll see an entry for “Orchid Instructional Video”, which has that Asian scientist guy preparing to shoot an instructional film. He’s getting makeup applied to reduce the shine, and is also holding a bunny rabbit.

However, the video is quickly disrupted – and by that I mean that the scientists begin to freak out – when a second bunny rabbit appears. What’s so strange or notable about these events are these:

• The bunny rabbit that the scientist is holding has a “15″ branded on its side. When the other bunny appears, it too has “15″ on its side.
• The scientist shouts in desperation, “Keep them away from each other!”
• The scientist then asks an assistance how far “the shift was set?” She responds, “Minus twenty.”

Um… so what the hell does this mean? Cloning? That would explain the “15″ on both bunnies. But “keep them away from each other”? Does that mean alternate realities? Time travel? This instructional video definitely raises some questions and possibly answers them, but of course we won’t know for sure. Near the end of Season 3, it is revealed that rescuers found an airplane they believed to be the survivor’s flight at the bottom of a deep underwater chasm, with all bodies on board. If this airplane is indeed the correct flight, then how are the survivors still alive? Are they alternate versions of themselves? What the heck?

Anyway, I’m intrigued.

Yesterday, I posted 8 Reasons Why Heroes: Season Two Was a Disappointment, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t think it was a good season. It just wasn’t nearly as good as the first season, and not just due to higher expectations. Here are some aspects of Heroes: Season Two that I did like quite a bit (DO NOT READ THESE UNTIL AFTER YOU WATCH THE SEASON):

• Maya. Not only is she scorching hot, but she has a killer ability – literally.
• Hiro’s journey back to 17th century Japan. While it seems like some random story at first, as we later find out, it’s all setting the stage for what is to come (or what would have come had the writer’s strike not rushed things). This is the one true storyline that feels very developed.
• Any episodes alluding to the Nightmare Man as worse than Sylar. Too bad he turned out to be no such thing.
• The episode where Claire fakes her death to discredit the head cheerleader.
• The scene where Sylar talks to Maya’s brother Alejandro and tells him that he is going to kill both he and his sister; too bad Alejandro doesn’t speak English.
• Peter goes into the future. Too bad the storyline ends up going nowhere.
• The scene where flying boy West reveals to his girlfriend Claire that he was abducted when he was younger by a man with horn-rimmed glasses. Does it sound like Claire’s dad? Does it?
• The revelation that Takezo Kensei may not be as pleasant as he first appeared, and that he didn’t actually die in 17th century Japan.
• The episode “Four Months Ago”. While it rushed a lot of back story, it did treat us to a pleasant sequence where Maya kills her brother’s wife and everyone else at the wedding. Peter’s back story is also quite interesting.
• The moment where the mastermind killer of the season is none other than Adam Monroe.
• The scene where Bob and Suresh go up against HRG and West to fight over Claire.
• The scene where we learn of Kristen Bell’s weakness: put her in water and she’ll electrify herself.
• Maya learns how to control her powers and Sylar makes his move. There’s nothing sweeter than Sylar making out with Maya while her brother lay stabbed to death just a few feet away. This was a great moment in the series.
• The part where Molly tells Maya that she can’t find her brother anywhere, which means he’s one dead duck.
• Claire threatens to go public.
• Hiro attempts to kill Adam and must go up against Peter in the process.
• Adam Monroe stuck in a coffin. Does this fit within Hiro’s personality, though?
• The assassination of Nathan Petrelli. We saw it coming, but this was another great moment of the series. If I were Peter, I would have froze time right there, right? Oh, and was that Claire’s dad who pulled the trigger?
• The moment where Sylar regains his power, setting the stage for Volume III. However, in all seriousness, I wouldn’t have had Sylar experiment on a can. It would have been much more effective had he done some work on a cat, and while the explosion is off screen, we see blood splatter across Sylar’s smiling face.

While not a great season, Heroes: Season Two was still better than most of the television out there. It’s a shame the writer’s strike cut it short, as they did have some good storylines going. I hope they figure out a way to bring back the biological disaster, as they set too much of the stage to just throw it away.

Heroes: Season Two has come and gone, thanks to the writer’s strike that cut the show short. Even before the writer’s strike was inevitable, however, Heroes: Season Two seemed rushed at times.

First off, let me say that the first Heroes season was a spectacular piece of filmmaking. It was original, entertaining, increasingly dark with humor and lighthearted moments thrown in along the way. It was the most refreshing thing we’ve seen on TV since Lost, and, amazingly, it somehow became a hit. I almost didn’t get into the show but my roommate forced me to watch the season premiere, and instantly, I was hooked.

The second season is still good, but when expectations are high, there are bound to be disappointments. Heroes: Season Two just felt flat at times, with rushed storylines, poor character development and the introduction of new heroes who really aren’t that interesting. A lot of decisions were made with the characters that just didn’t make that much sense.

What, exactly, bothered me? Let me list them, as much as I can remember:

• Mohinder Suresh is just plain stupid this season
  The writers come up with the great idea of having Mohinder go undercover in the company, but then turn him into an idiot by making him become a quasi bad guy. This is all fine and good, but the transition and reasons for doing so just don’t make a lick of sense. Basically, Mohinder acts like a fool, and I’ve really grown to not like the character (when I liked him quite a bit in the previous season). Kill him off already.
• Bringing the dad, Noah (Jack Coleman), back to life
  In one of the better episodes of the season, the dad seemingly gets killed, and it’s a pretty sure thing: he gets a bullet through the eye. At the end of the episode, he is brought back to life. I have three problems with this: one, with his daughter’s blood in him, does that make him a “hero” permanently? If so, aren’t there enough already? Two, the show needs to learn how to keep characters dead. The drama is much more powerful that way. And three, if you are going to bring him back to life, wait a couple episodes and have it be a surprise. If there’s one thing that Heroes is not good at, it’s leading us down one path and then revealing that we were wrong all along. Even comic books do this.
• Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) is just plain stupid
  Having one of the more intriguing powers (and still not fully explained) of the group, I’ve always found Niki’s character interesting, but this season does away with all that. She subjects herself to getting rid of her powers, helps the Company and just does all kinds of weird things. Her behavior is almost understandable, but there’s just something that doesn’t click about the way her character develops. The writers missed a few beats here.
• Peter Petrelli is just plain stupid
  Here’s another character whose motivations almost seem right, only they don’t. The writers messed up here as well, doing the kiss-of-death amnesia storyline and turning Peter into an overly gullible (from just gullible in Season One) idiot who falls into allegiance with a mass killer and doesn’t listen even when Hiro goes out of his way to try to kill Adam. One sight of Hiro, who warned him about impending doom last season, should have been enough to convince Peter that he was on the wrong side.
• Monica isn’t a very interesting hero
  Sure, Monica (the cousin of Micah) has some interesting powers, but her character always seemed a bit forced and was never very interesting. Also, her realizations that she is something special seemed a year out of date, as all of the other characters found out LAST season. Basically, there was no reason to introduce her into the mix when there are so many good characters already.
• Kristen Bell’s character not as dark as she should have been
  They hinted at Bell’s electricity villain being rather nuts (in sequences where she’s with Peter in the prison cell), but then the writer shied away from doing anything really cool with the character. In the end, they make her almost good and try to get the audience to sympathize with her, when in reality it would have been much better to let her play a hot but psychotic “girl” with some very dangerous powers.
• Rushing storylines
  There are just a lot of things that went a little too quickly this season, even before the strike. Peter’s memories coming back to him in a split second seemed like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Peter’s visit to the future feels rushed, too. I can’t think of other specific examples, but the whole season just felt off kilter, as if the writers were afraid to develop things and let them “drag” a little.
• Cutting the season short
  OK, it sucks that the writers went on strike, but I think it was a poor choice to wrap things up with a nice little bow (somewhat). Destroying the virus was not a very good ending. They should have left it open, either with Adam escaping with the virus in hand or something along those lines. We should have been left with a sense of dread and destruction at the end of the final episode. Killing Niki also seemed rather sudden and out of nowhere. I would have much rather them chopped the season in half and end with a few big cliffhangers rather than wrap up stories prematurely.

All in all, this was still pretty good television, but the second season was a noticeable step down from the valiant first season. That being said, read what we liked specifically about the second season!

One good movie. Two really bad ones. I’ve posted movie reviews for License to Wed, Waitress and I Know Who Killed Me… guess which one I liked.

If you guessed I Know Who Killed Me because Lindsay Lohan plays a stripper and has a sex scene, you guessed wrong. This movie sucked, but read the full review for more rants.

If you guessed License to Wed, the movie that could have been funny given that Robin Williams plays a reverend who tests the wills of a newly engaged couple, you are still wrong. This movie was about as funny as a tube of toothpaste – when it hasn’t even been opened yet! Yes, that funny. Read the review.

Now, if you guessed Waitress, a movie that’s not only good because Keri Russell struts her stuff in a hot waitress’ outfit but also delivers a great performance on top of a witty little screenplay, then kudos to you, my friend! Here’s the review.

Arctic Tale, the latest movie to capitalize on winter animals that are cute, is a documentary about a polar bear cub and a walrus pup who have to bear it out in the arctic cold. Narrated by Queen Latifah, the movie arrives on DVD December 4th…

We’re giving away Arctic Tale on both DVD and HD-DVD. Please only enter the HD-DVD one if you have an HD-DVD player.

Enter now:

• Arctic Tale DVD Contest
• Arctic Tale HD-DVD Contest

Bloody-Disgusting.com is reporting that United Artists, which is owned by Tom Cruise, is in negotiations to secure the rights to Anne Rice’s The Tale of the Body Thief, the fourth book in her “Vampire Chronicles” series. With Cruise’s name associated so close to a sequel to Interview with the Vampire, rumors are circulating that Tom Cruise may reprise the role of Lestat, the bloody thirsty, morally ambiguous vampire.

Considering that Tom Cruise is trying to reestablish himself as a leading man after a bunch of PR nightmares over the last couple of years (not to mention a critical and box office flop in the form of Lions for Lambs), it isn’t completely unreasonable that he would consider returning to one of his most popular characters.

Hopefully the movie will be better than Queen of the Damned…

With Christian Bale being selected to play John Conner in the new Terminator movie, I figured it was time to do a top ten list for this rising actor. For years, Bale has been on the fringe of fame and popularity, and it appears that he is finally breaking into the A-list. If you look back on his career, you’ll realize that Bale chooses his films very wisely for the most part (neither Harsh Times or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin were very good, though).

The movies are ranked on a combination of his performance, the size of his role and the quality of the film overall. Without further ado, here are the top ten movies of Christian Bale’s career:

1. American Psycho
   This satirical drama put Christian Bale on the map as a man obsessed with appearance and reputation, and with killing people in very brutal ways. While some people were put off by the not-quite-literal movie, no one can deny that Christian Bale turned in an Oscar-worthy performance.
2. Batman Begins
   The combination of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, along with a cast where every single major player had been nominated for an Oscar other than Katie Holmes, revived the Batman franchise and is arguably the best, if not at least one of the best, comic book adaptations ever. Between Nolan and Bale, the character of Bruce Wayne has never been more realistic or deep.
3. The Prestige
   It took me a second viewing to really appreciate this film, but The Prestige (directed by Batman Begins‘ Christopher Nolan) is a great character study set against a revenge/murder plot. Bale is terrific, and while it was not the kind of movie that would evoke awards, it shows his taste for smart, edgy films.
4. Rescue Dawn
   Few people have seen this war drama as of yet, but Bale is excellent as a real-life pilot who is captured in Vietnam and held in a prisoner’s camp for several years. Funny and powerful at the same time, Rescue Dawn is one of the best movies of 2007.
5. The Machinist
   The movie isn’t completely extraordinary, but the transformation Bale put himself through to become the tragic protagonist shows his dedication to his movies: he lost a record 63 pounds down to a startling 120 pounds. His performance is also quite memorable, too.
6. Newsies
   A lot of you may not realize that Bale is the lead actor in Newsies, the 1992 film about turn-of-the-century kids who sell newspapers. This was one of my favorite films as a kid, and is still a quality musical that stands the test of time.
7. I’m Not There
   Still out in theaters, I’m Not There tells the story of Bob Dylan in a very odd way. While Cate Blanchett overshadows for her portrayal of the artist, Bale, in a lesser role, is also quite good. At the very least, the movie is one of the most unique films ever made, and shows Bale’s capabilities in identifying as such.
8. 3:10 to Yuma
   A classic western made in 2007, 3:10 to Yuma has Bale up against Russell Crowe. While Crowe steals the show, Bale still is a solid edition and is one of the main reasons audiences were lured to theaters. The movie is pretty good, too.
9. Equilibrum
   One of the best action movies to never get a major theatrical release, Bale stars as an assassin in a future, Big Brother society who decides to turn on his handlers and join the rebellion. Spectacular visual effects and direction have Equilibrium rivaling The Matrix, which is not an easy task.
10. Shaft
    A pretty good reimagining of Shaft that never got the recognition it deserved, some may forget that Christian Bale played the ruthless villain in the movie. His character here is not unlike his rich-but-vicious character in American Psycho, but that’s a good thing.

Other honorable mentions are Reign of Fire, a surprisingly good dragon movie that also didn’t get the recognition it deserved (watch it a couple times and you’ll see what I mean), Howl’s Moving Castle, a movie you can’t really credit to Bale even though he did do voice work for the American version and The New World, my Best Movie of the 2005. The only reason The New World isn’t on the list is that Bale has a smaller role and I had completely forgotten he was even in it.

We’ll ignore the fact he did voice work for Pocahontas, my most hated cartoons ever.

Rumors have been flying for a little bit, but The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Christian Bale will indeed play John Conner in the upcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.

This is great news for Terminator 4, as Christian Bale is one of the best actors out there today. After helping transform Batman into a modern day franchise, Bale is in high demand right now, and should be making a good sum of money for this film. He rarely appears in a bad movie.

Unfortunately, this new Terminator movie does have two things going against it:

• McG is the director. This one better not look anything like Charlie’s Angels or I’m going postal.
• The title sucks. Call it Terminator Salvation, but what’s with The Future Begins? Honestly, it doesn’t need two extra titles.

I’ve spent the weekend writing movie reviews for a slew of films that I’ve seen over the past week or so. In total, I’ve written eleven movie reviews over the last 48 hours, and I’m definitely looking forward to not writing anymore for a couple of days. The reviews include: Day Watch (2007), Hairspray (2007), License to Wed (2007), We Are Marshall (2006), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Waitress (2007), Talk to Me (2007), The Nanny Diaries (2007), First Snow (2007), Stardust (2007) and I Know Who Killed Me (2007).

Coming soon… High School Musical 2 Extended Edition, and a DVD review of Lost: Season 3.

I’m not going to post them all at once so as not to overwhelm you all, so here are the four reviews I’ve made public thus far:

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

The only theatrical release of the eleven reviews, Lars and the Real Girl is a surprisingly good and entertaining film that is both sad (it’s about a delusional young man who falls in love with a sex doll) and funny (it’s about a delusional young man who falls in love with a sex doll). Starring Ryan Gosling, the movie is terrific and boasts a great but relatively unknown supporting cast. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes, and overall the picture is very heartwarming and engaging. While I doubt it’ll get much Oscar recognition, it certainly is one of the best movies of 2007. Read the full review…

Day Watch (2007)

The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch is a Russian film that boasts absolutely spectacular visual effects on a budget of – brace yourself -only $4 million. The visuals are enough to make it worth it, but unfortunately the story is so convoluted and weird that it’s hard to figure out exactly what the director was intending. Add on the fact that the movie isn’t nearly as exciting or action packed as it should have been, Day Watch really isn’t anything special. Read the full film review…

Hairspray (2007)

A funny and lighthearted musical starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah and others, Hairspray works as an entertaining piece of work that balances goofiness and social commentary relatively well. The real star of the show is… the star of the show, Nicole Blonsky, who has never been in a feature length movie before. Read the full film review…

The Nanny Diaries (2007)

Coming to DVD this Tuesday, The Nanny Diaries stars Scarlett Johansson as a young woman who foolishly takes a job as a nanny for an uber-rich woman (Laura Linney) and her husband (Paul Giamatti), who are only referred to as Mrs. and Mr. X respectively. The parents, engrossed in their fortune and social “responsibilities”, complete neglect their child, and Johansson is afraid that if she quits, the son will be lost forever. The comedy and the drama work well together, and the result is a relatively lighthearted, funny and cute picture.  Read the full film review…

Pigs are flying. Hell is freezing over. Yes, Uwe Boll has risen from the ashes and will be gracing us with not one, not even two, but three disasters within one month of each other. Yes, can you believe it? Can you believe that he still gets work? Can you believe that distributors still believe in his movies? Can you believe that anyone actually goes watches his garbage?

On January 11, 2008, we get In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, a Jason Statham-starring film. Hell, even if Uwe Boll wasn’t directing the movie, I can tell from the title that it’s going to suck.

On January 25, 2008, we get Seed, also from Freestyle Releasing.

And on February 1, 2008, Postal, based on the video game, comes to theaters from – you guessed it – Freestyle Releasing.

What is Freestyle thinking? Are they just trying to dump these all at once so they don’t have to worry about Boll anymore? Somehow, I’m guessing they have more sinister plans in mind. I’m pretty sure that the soul of Adolf Hitler himself – if he had a soul – has returned and inhabited the body of the President of Freestyle Releasing. What other explanation could it be?

I would not be surprised if these releases turn into limited releases, or get pushed back, but it’s pretty shocking to see that three movies from the same director are coming out within a month of one another, let along from Uwe Boll, who is regarded by many as the worst director ever.

Boo, Freestyle Releasing! Boo!

I found this article on Yahoo! News this morning, which was originally written by Mike Klis of the Denver Post. In the article, Klis writes this:

The NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to start their Monday Night Football game without the National Anthem according to the Denver Post. Bad enough football has taken away all our free time in the fall and early winter. Now, it’s going to take away our patriotism?

This time, it seemed like the NFL had gone too far.

And I have to ask Mr. Klis, “Are you f**king kidding me.” I hate how sensitive people are these days, and I really, really hate when people accuse others of being unpatriotic. I hate it when Republicans criticize others for questioning the President and policies and calls those critics unpatriotic – isn’t it more patriotic to question what isn’t right? (balance of powers, freedom of speech, etc.) I hate it when… well, I just hate unpatriotic talk altogether. Unless someone goes and joins Al Qaeda and actively fights in one way or another against the U.S., they’re probably not unpatriotic. And this story just rubbed me the wrong way.

The article stems from the NFL and Pittsburgh’s decision to forego the National Anthem at the beginning of the game after kickoff was delayed 25 minutes due to horrendous weather, including lightning, rain and near swamp-like conditions. No one wanted to be outside, and I doubt the person singing the National Anthem really wanted to be outside, either. Can you really blame them for wanting to jump right to game play rather than spend ten minutes of the National Anthem, commercial breaks and so on and so forth?

Klis finishes his article with this: “The NFL hardly seemed worthy of its red, white and blue insignia colors by canceling America’s most honorable song so the show could on two minutes less late.” Come on! If anything, the NFL is probably the “most patriotic” sport in the USA, and they pander to patriotic thinking more than baseball, basketball, hockey and any other sport. Missing the National Anthem for one game is not going to kill anyone, and does not imply that the people who made the decision are any less patriotic.

The DVD box for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) quotes Mark S. Allen from CBS/CW-TV: “The best Pirates yet! Epic and amazing.” What movie did he watch? First off, the original Pirates movie is by far and away the best of the three. Second, At World’s End, the third in the trilogy, isn’t that good. It’s long, bloated, full of special effects and ends with a fizzle. That being said, it’s still better than Dead’s Man Chest, which was downright terrible at times.

But this DVD review isn’t about the movie; it’s about the DVD. You can read my full Pirates movie review here. Specifically, this DVD review is about the 2-disc Limited Edition, which, honestly, isn’t that great.

While I didn’t like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the DVD was extraordinary, full of hours and hours of in-depth and informative behind-the-scenes featurettes and so on and so forth. This 2-disc limited edition is… shall, we say… limited.

Sure, the box has a lot of things: several behind-the-scenes featurettes, bloopers, deleted scenes and a few other things. That’s all fine and good, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End offers pretty decent bonus features compared to a lot of other DVDs out there, but for this franchise, people, it ain’t that great. None of the featurettes are all that long, and I got through most of the features in a ridiculously short time – compare that to the hours I spent (wasted?) watching the features for Pirates 2 and that stands out to you.

That being said, the featurettes, as short as they are, do offer a little insight into the film. Those who like Keith Richards will appreciate a few minutes devoted just to him, while there are also sequences that examine the multiple Johnny Depp scene, Chow Yun-Fat’s involvement, the music of Hans Zimmer and so forth. Informative, but too short. Then again, this means I didn’t have to watch more Pirates than I had too.

All in all, fans of the film will probably pick up this 2-disc set anyway, but if you’re expecting features on par with the previous two films, you will be disappointed.