Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 20th July 2009

UK DVD Releases 20-07-09

DVD PICKS

John From Cincinnati (HBO): One of the strangest shows in recent US television is this drama set in the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California which aired on HBO in the summer of 2007.

The brainchild of Deadwood creator David Milch, it deals with a strange young man of mysterious origin and the effect he has on a dysfunctional family of professional surfers.

The story revolves around three generations of surfers: Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood), an experienced surfing patriarch whose son, Butchie (Brian Van Holt), was equally promising before he got distracted by fast living and drugs.

Mitch and his wife Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay) look after their grandson Shaun (Greyson Fletcher), another surfing prodigy who Mitch tries to protect from Butchie’s fate and the people trying to latch on to him (such as a surf promoter played by Luke Perry).

Into all of this comes the strange figure of John (Austin Nichols), whose arrival in the community is a catalyst for some strange things.

The show premiered right after the famous (or infamous) Sopranos finale but audience and critical reaction was mixed meaning it only lasted a season before being cancelled.

Although by no means flawless, its strangeness is a virtue as you don’t often see things like this on TV – even from the enlightened halls of HBO.

It doesn’t reach the heights of Milch’s best work on NYPD Blue or Deadwood there is enough of interest to recommend it.

Extras include:

  • Audio Commentary of Episode 1 “His Visit: Day 1” with creator David Milch
  • Decoding John: The Making of a Dream Sequence
  • Audio Commentary on Episode 10 “His Visit Day 9” with creator David Milch

* Buy the DVD from Amazon UK *

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Cadillac Records (Sony): A biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin that explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and the singers who recorded for Chess Records.

The cast includes Adrien Brody as Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James.

Despite the highly respectable cast and favourable US reviews it didn’t make huge waves on its theatrical release.

However, it has a real for the music of the time and features some fine performances from the likes of Brody, Beyonce and Jeffrey Wright.

Extras on the regular DVD include:

  • 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English, Catalan and Spanish DD5.1 Surround
  • English Audio Description Track
  • Subtitles: English, English HOH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
  • Commentary with Writer/Director Darnell Martin
  • Playing Chess: The Making of Cadillac Records
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Once Upon a Blues: Cadillac Records by Design

Extras on the Blu-ray Disc (Coded for all regions A, B and C), include:

  • 1080P 2.35:1 Widescreen
  • English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
  • Czech, Hungarian and Polish VO DD5.1 Surround
  • English Audio Description Track
  • Subtitles: English, English HOH, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (Parisian), Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish (Castilian), Swedish, Turkish
  • Commentary with Writer/Director Darnell Martin
  • Playing Chess: The Making of Cadillac Records
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Once Upon a Blues: Cadillac Records by Design
  • BD Exclusive – The Chess Record Player: An interactive playlist feature that allows you to create and share a list of songs featured in the movie

* But it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK *

Man of Iron (Mr Bongo Films): One of the most acclaimed films ever to come out of Poland, this Oscar nominated and Palme d’or winning drama is director Andrezj Wajda’s final film regarding the Solidarity Movement and its struggles to gain recognition in his native country.

Wajda’s epic follows on from his previous work Man Of Marble and continues the story of Maciej Tomczyk, a young worker involved in the anti-Communist labour movement.

Set in Warsaw during 1980, the story follows Winkel, an alcoholic TV hack sent by the Regime to Gdansk in order to dig up dirt on the shipyard strikes, particularly on Maciek, who has become an inspirational figure in the Union movement following the killing of his father in the December 1970 protests.

Posing as a sympathiser to the cause, Winkel interviews people who know Tomczyk, including his detained wife, in an effort to undermine and destroy the growing support behind the movement.

The film uses actual news footage of the 1968 and 1970 protests and of the later birth of free unions and Solidarity which it interweaves throughout the stories of a son coming to terms with his father, a couple falling in love, a reporter searching for courage and a nation undergoing historic change.

* Buy the DVD from Amazon UK *

N.B. According to the distributor this was released back in June, but Amazon has its release date as today, so go figure.

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ALSO OUT

Casualty 1900s (2Entertain)
Dallas Season 11 (Warner)
Hush (Optimum)
In Plain Sight Season 1 (Universal Playback)
Ladies of Letters (2Entertain)
Marlene (Park Circus)
Requiem for Billy the Kid (Park Circus)
Ross Kemp In Search of Pirates (2Entertain)
Sirens (Arrow Films)
That Mitchell and Webb Look Series 3 (2Entertain)
The Haunting in Connecticut (EIV)
The Secret of Moonacre (Warner)

> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 17th July)

Categories
Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 20th February 2009

UK Cinema Releases 20-02-09

NATIONAL RELEASES

Gran Torino (Warner Bros.): Just 3 months after Changeling opened at UK cinemas Clint Eastwood returns with another film, which he directs and stars in. The story is about a disgruntled Korean War vet (Eastwood) who sets out to reform his neighbour, a young Hmong teenager (Bee Vang), who tried to steal his vintage 1972 Gran Torino car.

Although this project came together quickly, it is a lean and satisfying tale told with Eastwood’s customary efficiency and class. It would be safe to categorise it as a drama, but there are some very funny sequences, mostly involving the culture clash between Eastwood’s gruff character and his immigrant neighbours.

There are times when the film skates on thin ice when dealing with the issue of race, but Eastwood and screenwriter Nick Schenk deserve credit for venturing in territory that most Hollywood execs wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.

It is a pleasingly old fashioned drama of simple pleasures and a fitting swansong for the iconic tough guy persona Eastwood has owned for a generation.

For some reason Warner Bros are doing a platform release in London before going nationwide next week (perhaps they were hoping for Oscar nominations that didn’t materialise?) when it can expect to do decent, if unspectacular business. [Cert 15 / Vue West End – Nationwide from 27 February]

Che Part Two (Optimum Releasing): The second part of Steven Soderbergh’s Che biopic focuses on his futile attempt to bring revolution to Bolivia and eventual ill-fated demise.

When viewed as two films I have to admit a preference for the vibrancy and sweep of Part One, but there is much to recommend in this darker second segment.

Benicio Del Toro is still splendid as the revolutionary icon and the wide-screen lensing of the first part is replaced with a more claustrophobic shooting style – it was shot on the 1:85 ratio instead of the wider 2:35 format.

Although some critics have found both films a little dry, Soderbergh deserves a great deal of credit for the authenticity and audacity of this project – a testament to the director’s ability to mix his successful Hollywood career with more intriguing work.

For a foreign laguage film, Part One did well early in January (helped by some Film Coucil money enabling a wider release) and Part Two can expect to do similar business. [Cert 15 / Cineworld Wandsworth, Odeon Covent Garden, Vue Shepherd’s Bush & Nationwide]

Cadillac Records (Sony Pictures): A biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin that explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and the singers who recorded for Chess Records.

The cast includes Adrien Brody as Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James.

Although this has a starry cast and got favourable US reviews, it may struggle to find a sizeable audience in the UK. It may be that a more appreciative audience discovers the film on DVD and TV in the future. [Cert 15 / Odeon Panton St, C’Worlds Enfield, Feltham, Wandsworth & Nationwide]

Confessions Of A Shopaholic (Walt Disney): Disney execs who greenlit this film must have been kicking themselves when Wall Street and modern consumer capitalism started to implode last Autumn.

Why? Well, this is a film based on the chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella about young woman (Isla Fisher) who moves to Manhattan in order to nurture her shopping addiction and get involved in the New York magazine world.

Directed by P. J. Hogan, it also stars John Goodman and Joan Cusack as her parents and was probably rushed into production when The Devil Wears Prada became a hit.

This might seem like a bad time to be releasing such a film, but perhaps reverse psychology and a desperate need for escapism might help it to a better than expected gross. [Cert PG / Vue West End & Nationwide]

Push (Icon): This sci-fi thriller about a group of young American ex-pats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities seems to bear some similarities to last year’s Jumper.

Directed by Paul McGuigan, it stars Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, and Camilla Belle as some of the psychic peoplewho band together to attempt to battle a government agency.

It has already spawned possibly the longest ever ever plot summary on Wikipedia but on a more serious note, the negative US reviews and lack of any real star may hamper its UK box office prospects. [Cert 12A / London & Nationwide]

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IN LIMITED RELEASE

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil (The Works): An offbeat documentary about a 30-year-old Canadian metal band led by two lifelong friends in their 50’s. Directed by Sacha Gervasi it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008, and has won Audience Awards at various other festivals since then. [Cert 15 / Curzon Soho & Key Cities]

20th Century Boys (4Digital Asia): A limited run at the ICA Cinema for this live-action take on Naoki Urasawa’s ace manga series. [Cert 15 / ICA Cinema & Key Cities]

> UK Cinema Releases for February 2009
> Get the latest showtimes for your local cinema via Google Movies
> Check out our latest DVD picks (W/C Monday 16th February)