Wild Things: Controversy or Confusion?

By John C.

Like many people, I’ve been anticipating Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are for quite some time. I’ve watched the trailers countless times, and it gets better every time. Each bit of new footage is just as brilliant, if not more, then the last one. Near tears from watching the trailer? I’ve been there. I find the soundtrack to be truly magical, and really captures the spirit of what I've seen of the film. I’m sure I’m not the only who has "All Is Love" pleasantly stuck in their head.

I don’t think I’m the only one who’s heart raced with anticipation when Maurice Sendak said at the end of the Wild Things featurette that “there will be controversy about this”. What exactly does that mean? Full-blown protests, or just confusion from people not knowing what the heck to think of the film?

I personally think that there will be some people very against what Spike Jonze has done. Parents who don’t think it’s appropriate for young kids will likely speak out against the film. The vulnerable feel and atmosphere of the world that they’ve created, and the way that it addresses the needs, fears and troubles that kids go through, will probably be considered by some “too mature” for young kids.

On the flip side, I think adults who grew up with the book are the ones who are really looking forward to this film. I think the college-age crowd is really going to love it. The hip-indie soundtrack and Spike Jonze direction are sure signs of this.

If Wild Things lives up to the high expectations, which I think it will, it’s going to be a masterpiece. I haven’t seen the film quite yet, but my anticipation is through the roof, and the suspense is killing me. All I’ll say is, check back for our reviews of Where The Wild Things Are on Friday, October 16th at 12:00 am.

Trailer Watch: Toy Story 3

The new trailer for TS3 premiered online at Trailer Addict yesterday morning, and can now be watched on Apple Trailers. Having seen this trailer in 3D with the TS & TS2 Double-Bill, I found it to far surpass my expectations of what I originally thought when I heard about TS3 and the whole “daycare” plot. The Randy newman song “Losing You” plays beautifully over the first half of the trailer. This will certainly be an emotional film. I just hope the parts at the daycare with all the little kids don’t go on too long.

Even if you’ve already seen the trailer in the theatres, it’s worth watching a couple more times online. Here’s the link. TS3 director Lee Unkrich also announced in a recent video that the TS & TS2 3D Double-Bill has been extended, and will no longer be leaving theatres this Thursday. No word yet on how much longer it will be staying in theatres.

My anticipation is definitely high for next June 18th, when Toy Story 3 finally opens.

-John C.

Land of The Lost DVD Review

Land of The Lost - A Universal Pictures Release

http://www.landofthelost.net/

DVD Release Date: October 13th, 2009

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference

Running time: 101 minutes

Brad Silberling (dir.)

Chris Henchy (writer)

Dennis McNicholas (writer)

Sid Krofft (TV show)

Marty Krofft (TV show)

Michael Giacchino (music)

Will Ferrell as Dr. Rick Marshall

Anna Friel as Holly Cantrell

Danny McBride as Will Stanton

Jorma Taccone as Cha-Ka

Our reviews below:

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Land of The Lost DVD Review By John C.

*** (out of 4)

Based on a 1970’s TV show, Land of The Lost is the story of three people who go through a time warp and end up in a strange universe, where everything that has been lost on earth shows up. There, they meet dinosaurs, and the hilarious primitive human, Cha-Ka, who’s played very well by Jorma Taccone. Will Ferrell is also perfectly cast as Dr. Rick Marshall.

I don’t think anyone behind Land of The Lost was taking themselves seriously. And that’s why it’s so much campy fun. Could it have been done better? I honestly don’t think so. This is a movie that’s trying to be cheesy, and it succeeds. It’s a homage to an old TV show, and a sci-fi spoof. It’s also just very funny, and incredibly entertaining.

The DVD includes audio commentary, and approximately 25-minutes of bonus material, including three deleted scenes, and two featurettes with Danny McBride.

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Land of The Lost DVD Review By Erin V.

*** (out of 4)

Land of The Lost is a funny comedy. Based on the TV series from the 1980's, this movie seems to be geared towards those who would have watched the show. This being said though, it will be enjoyed by teens and adults who have not seen it as well. Like many of Will Ferrell's previous movies, the humour here is not for the really young, but that's ok. It's funny, and that's what counts in a film like this.

Of particular note in this movie, is the actor, Jorma Taccone, who plays the ape-like guy, 'Cha-ka'. He is hilarious in this (mostly non-verbal other than for odd sounds) role. Also of note is the musical score by master composer Michael Giacchino, whose work could also be heard in Star Trek, and Up this year.

Especially for fans of Will Ferrell comedies, and those who remember the original show, this is a movie worth getting. While the trailers didn't have me too excited for this one, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed myself.

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Land of The Lost DVD Review By Nicole

*** (out of 4)

DVD Review N/A

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Land of The Lost DVD Review By Maureen

*** (out of 4)

DVD Review N/A

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Land of The Lost DVD Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

DVD Review N/A

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Consensus: *** (Out of 4)

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all our Canadian readers, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Contest: Enter to win a Land of The Lost prize pack including the DVD

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Canada is releasing the very funny film Land of The Lost on DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, October 13th. Universal has given us five prize packs to give away to five lucky readers. Each prize pack (pictured below) includes a t-shirt, key chain/compass, and a copy of the DVD. Trust me, it’s a very cool prize. I have seen the film, and it's a lot of fun. Watch for our reviews on Tuesday.

Just send us your favourite Will Ferrell line of dialogue. Be it something from Land of The Lost, the hilarious Talladega Nights, the wonderful Christmas film Elf, or my personal favorite Ferrell film Stranger Than Fiction.

To enter: Email your full name and favourite Will Ferrell line to contests@onemoviefiveviews.com

Please include "Enter to Win a Land of The Lost Prize Pack" in the subject line.

The contest runs from October 9th, until October 23rd. Contest is open to all Ontario residents over the age of 14. Five winners will be chosen at random, out of all eligible entries received. Read the full rules and regulations here. Please include "Enter to Win a Land of The Lost Prize Pack" in the subject line.

-John C.

Winner of “Victoria Day” on DVD contest

Congratulations to Sarah W. of Toronto, for winning our Victoria Day DVD contest. Big thank you to E1 Home Entertainment for supplying the prize.

You can read more about the wonderful Canadian film Victoria Day here.

Check back soon for more contests!

-John C.

The Brothers Bloom DVD Review

The Brothers Bloom - An E1 Films Release

http://www.brothersbloom.com/

Our theatrical reviews of The Brothers Bloom

DVD Release Date: October 6th, 2009

Rated PG-13 for violence, some sensuality and brief strong language

Running time: 114 minutes

Rian Johnson (dir.)

Rian Johnson (writer)

Nathan Johnson (music)

Rachel Weisz as Penelope Stamp

Adrien Brody as Bloom

Mark Ruffalo as Stephen

Rinko Kikuchi as Bang Bang

Robbie Coltrane as The Curator

Maximilian Schell as Diamond Dog

Ricky Jay as Narrator

Zachary Gordon as Young Bloom

Max Records as Young Stephen

Andy Nyman as Charleston

ADRIEN BRODY (left) RACHEL WEISZ (center) and MARK RUFFALO (right) star in the adventure comedy THE BROTHERS BLOOM, an E1 Films release.

Our reviews below:

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The Brothers Bloom DVD Review By John C.

**** (out of 4)

Click Here to read original theatrical review.

The Brothers Bloom is a flawless masterpiece. From the acting by the stellar cast, the breathtaking on-location cinematography and the brilliant music by Nathan Johnson. Right from the amazing opening scene that’s written in verse, to the beautiful and emotional grand finale, this is a great movie all the way. It’s clear why it’s still tied with Up as my favourite movie of the year.

This is one film that I think is worth buying on DVD. I'm sure I'll be talking a lot about The Brothers Bloom again at the end of the year.

The DVD includes about 54-minutes of bonus material, including some behind the scenes featurettes, an image gallery and over 30-minutes of deleted scenes. It also includes audio commentary with director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman.

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The Brothers Bloom DVD Review By Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

Click Here to read original theatrical review.

Back in May, we saw The Brothers Bloom in theatres. It left us amazed. This is a really, really fun and well made film. Watching it again on DVD, I must say was quite interesting. The film was still just as much fun as it was the first time around, but knowing the ending you notice so many things in the dialogue that relate directly to it. This is why they say that some of the best films are written backwards - they know their ending, or at least some semblance of it. Because how can you know what is important to show the audience if you don't know what you are leading them to?

The disc of The Brothers Bloom includes a bunch of deleted scenes. As the end of the film was sorted out to it's final version, many alternate scenes, with subplots that would have merely disrupted the flow of the film centered around the four main characters, were removed. The filmmakers made great choices in what to cut and what to leave, making for a stronger finished product. Also on the disc is the opening five minutes when the brothers are kids shown beside it's storyboard form, as well as the bicycle/car scene, and the chase sequence also shown in this way - very interesting all three. There are featurette's about the making of, (location, stunts etc.), and a commentary track on the disc as well.

The Brothers Bloom is not one that you are going to want to miss seeing. It is a great movie, that so far, is on my top 10 list of the year.

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The Brothers Bloom DVD Review By Nicole

**** (out of 4)

Click Here to read original theatrical review.

DVD Review N/A

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The Brothers Bloom DVD Review By Maureen

**** (out of 4)

Click Here to read original theatrical review.

DVD Review N/A

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The Brothers Bloom DVD Review By Tony

**** (out of 4)

Click Here to read original theatrical review.

DVD Review N/A

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Consensus: **** (Out of 4)

Summer Hours on DVD Today

E1 Films is releasing the film Summer Hours on DVD today. While I wasn’t too crazy about this French drama, I respect that some people are going to like it a lot. It’s mildly worth checking out on DVD if your interested in different types of film. We reviewed the film when it opened in theatres on June 19th, you can read our reviews here. As our consensus read:

Consensus: Summer Hours has too much endless dialogue with not enough action to sustain itself for 98 minutes. Also, some parts of the movie don’t quite fit with the rest. If you are interested in the subject matter though, it would be worth watching once it comes out on DVD. **1/2 (Out of 4)

The only bonus feature on the DVD is the films theatrical trailer.

-John C.

My Life In Ruins on DVD Today

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing My Life In Ruins on DVD today. When the film opened it got fairly bad reviews, but truthfully, I’m not sure what people were expecting. Though it’s not a great movie, we all thought it was a pleasant and enjoyable enough romantic-comedy. We reviewed the film when it was released in theatres on June 5th, read our reviews here. Our consensus was:

Consensus: A light, enjoyable romantic-comedy that audiences are sure to love. *** (Out of 4)

The DVD includes three separate commentary tracks. One with Nia Vardalos, one with director Donald Petrie and one with writer Mike Reiss. It also includes about 16-minutes of bonus video, including deleted scenes.

-John C.

Trailer Watch: Up In The Air (Theatrical Trailer)

Apple now has the full theatrical trailer for Jason Reitman’s third film Up In The Air. The teaser was brilliant, and this trailer is even better. The film looks like a masterpiece, and could easily end up being Jason Reitman’s best film yet. And that’s really saying something considering his first two films were Thank You For Smoking and Juno.

-John C.