Movie Trailer: A Nightmare On Elm Street

Yes! This is a great start. I am more than interested in seeing this now. That last shot is a little iffy for me but I don't think that is his real look.

There is some terrific imagery in this teaser.

Great stuff.

RAWR(for more)

Blu-ray Review: 17 Again

http://astore.amazon.com/popculbea-20/detail/B001OQCUYS

17 Again
Written by: Jason Filardi
Directed by: Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Thomas Lennon, Leslie Mann, Michelle Trachtenberg, Nicole Sullivan, Sterling Knight, and Matthew Perry

Blu-ray Specs:
1080P High Definition 16x9 2.4:1
Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1, Dolby Digital English 5.1
English SDH & Spanish Subtitles

Bonus Features: Zac Goes Back: Meet the Movie's Star Zac Efron, Going Back to 17: Castmates Remember Their Own Teen Years, Tell-All Trivia Track: On-Set Gossip, Cast 411 - All While You Watch the Movie, Deleted Scenes, and more
Exclusive to BDLive: Zac's Commentary, Tom Lennon and Melora Hardin - Unfiltered: Two Comedic Improv Nasters Come Together, Zac Attacks: Mike and Ned's Hilarious Battle with Medieval Science-Fiction Weapons

From the Box: If you had the chance, would you do your life over? Thirtysomething Mike O'Donnell would. Then one mysteriously magical moment, Mike gets his chance. He's suddenly back at Hayden High where he's the star of the basketball team, a total hottie and a classmate to his own teenage kids...which gives Nike a chance to go from not-so-good dad to really cool friend. Zac Efron (Hairspray, the High School Musical movies) and Matthew Perry (Friends) aer 17 Again and fabulously funny as the young and older Mike in agood-time time-warp comedy that proves the best year of your life is the one you're living right now.

Before you write off 17 Again as a tween flick not worth your time, you might want to give it a chance. I found it to be a charming, if a little syrupy, family film with a lot of heart and more than a few laughs.

Click the Rawr! for the complete review.

17 Again surprised me. I wasn't expecting anything much from the film but I really found myself enjoying it. It's funny which I was worried it wouldn't be. I was sure the filmmakers would dumb it down for the tweeners who would flock to the theaters to see it. Sure, there is some of that, but there are plenty of laughs for the older folks too.

Most of this comes from the hilarious Thomas Lennon who throws himself wholly into the nerdy best friend of Perry/Efron's character. His scenes wooing the school principal are outright hysterical.

The rest of the cast is great as well. All giving admirable, albeit safe, performances. Its not really a movie to take risks during so you aren't going to find any amazing performances here. We don't get enough Matthew Perry for my tastes but when he is on screen he is as charming as ever.

Zac Efron though proves he has the chops to carry a film that doesn't have Disney or Musical anywhere in the title. He has a great screen presence whether it's the comedy or even pulling some tears for the more dramatic moments of the film. I really think he has staying power if he plays his cards right.

The film looks great on Blu-ray. The picture is crystal clear with vibrant color and sharp images. The sound is just as perfect. The disc is full of special features including plenty of Zac for those tweeners (and not so tweeners) who are interested.

Fans of older films like 18 Again, Like Father, Like Son, or Vice Versa will appreciate the throwback to those types of films. Anyone who enjoys a good fun movie will get a kick out of 17 Again. There's nothing groundbreaking here but it is a great vehicle for an upcoming star and a provides a fun time to be had by all.

17 Again is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

RAWR(for more)

The Time Traveler’s Wife: A Romantic Film with a Brain

The Time Traveler’s Wife is not a great film, but I went into the theater expecting it to be a terrible film and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it not terrible, it is actually a fairly strong portrait of eternal love in the face of great adversity. Fueled by a mind-bending premise that is reminiscent of some of the great romantic films of recent years (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button come to mind) The Time Traveler’s Wife is an interesting, thoughtful film that, though flawed, is overall a worthwhile experience.

The story of The Time Traveler’s Wife is somewhat hard to summarize. Henry (Eric Bana) suffers a rare genetic anomaly which causes him to travel through time, however he is completely unable to control his time traveling. Clare (Rachel McAdams) meets Henry when she is six and when he is in his thirties; however his earliest encounter with her happens when he is in his twenties and she is too. As they fall in love and build a life with each other they are tested by the difficulty of how to cope with the difficulty of Henry’s condition.

Click the Rawr! for the complete review.

One of the biggest problems I had with the film came from the ease with which these two characters fall in love; while much of the movie is about the complications and hardships of their relationship together after they’ve fallen in love, it felt almost as if the characters didn’t have to do anything to earn the other’s love. This complaint could be easily countered with a “they are destined for each other, and people destined for each other don’t have to work to fall in love” argument, but there was still something too easy, too convenient about how easily each one wins over the other.

Eric Bana gives what is arguably the strongest performance of his career with his delicate and subtle performance of Henry. He manages to never overdo the performance which has the added difficulty of having an unbelievable, magical element to it. Rachel McAdams doesn’t do quite as well, she brings her characteristic charm to the part, and doesn’t ever detract from the movie, but she seems to use the same approach in many scenes. She utilizes the weepy, tear filled eyes a little bit too much. Both Bana and McAdams seamlessly play a range of ages.

The entire supporting cast is pretty brilliant with standout performances by Ron Livingston, Arliss Howard and Stephen Tobolowsky. All three of these actors are criminally underused (Toblowsky, in particular, only really has two or three scenes) and they turn in beautiful performances as other people being affected by Henry’s condition. The film also benefits from unusually strong performances by children, Alex Ferris (as young Henry), Brooklyn Proulx (as young Clare), and Hailey & Tatum McCann give extremely nuanced performances, especially when you consider that the oldest of these actors is thirteen.

While The Time Traveler’s Wife is not really concerned with the science-fiction element inherent to its story, I did find myself frustrated at times thinking of the implications of the premise. The thought that one of these two characters would experience their collective firsts (i.e. their first meeting which for her happens in a meadow when she is a little girl and he is in his thirties or forties, but for him happens in a library when he is in his twenties and she is in her late teens or twenties) separate from the other No doubt that this movie, more so than most, requires that the audience really suspend their disbelief in order to enjoy.

One of the best things about the movie was the simple, classical style of the camera work and editing. Director of Photography Florian Ballhaus and Editor Thom Noble manage to never let their work overpower the story or the performances. In particular, a montage that occurs in the final third of the movie is one of the most beautiful and resonating in a long time. In keeping with the subtlety and simplicity of the piece Director Robert Schwentke has a very organic, natural style that allows the film to speak for itself. Overall the various artists and technicians that made the film seem to all have been working towards the common goal of making an old-school movie, with new-school ideas.

The one thing that seems to diverge from the classical style of the film is the special effect that is used when Henry is time travelling. There is something unsatisfying about the way in which his body seems to dissolve into the air, it has the feeling of the effect not being fully thought out. It seems to me that this effect could have been not shown at all (as it is at several points throughout the film, as when a police officer puts Henry in the back of his car, only to turn around and have him not be there anymore) and that this technique would have been less distracting and resulted in the entire movie being stronger. Also the film never really goes into if Henry arrives in a new place in the same way he travels out of an old place, in other words the movie never shows him dissolve into the new time (although he always arrives naked) almost as if the filmmakers knew that the effect could have been worked around, at least somewhat. (According to the friend that I brought with me, who has read the book, in the novel Henry just disappears and reappears, there is not dissolving effect at all.)

The writing by Bruce Joel Rubin from the novel by Audrey Niffenegger is consistent with the disparate elements of the movie; also, according to my friend the screenplay is very loyal to its source. There are some glaring shortcomings, such as Henry’s time traveling being supposedly random but often happening at the most inconvenient times, but overall the supernatural and romantic elements of the film blend well together (it is noteworthy to mention that Rubin has previously won an Oscar in similar territory with the screenplay for Ghost) and, even with the outrageous premise, the dialogue is sharp, natural and well thought out.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is actually a pretty good movie. While I doubt the movie will ever be remembered as much else but an above average, late Summer romantic film, it is definitely worth your time.

The Time Traveler's Wife is in theaters everywhere today.

RAWR(for more)

Movie Trailer: The Final Destination

The Final Destination trailer in HD


"...Death Saves The Best for 3-D."

riiiigghhht. It sure looks that way.

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