Into the Wild

Blu-Ray Round Up: ‘Into the Wild,’ ‘Old School,’ ‘Tommy Boy,’ More

BrianTT — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:29:51 -0700

CHICAGO – Paramount Home Video has scheduled two waves of catalog titles making their debut on Blu-Ray for the holiday season and the first set hits this week, just in time for you to finish up your Christmas shopping.

There are some recent comedy hits, a highly lauded drama from last year, and a forgotten Samuel L. Jackson movie. It’s hard to imagine anyone out there looking to buy all six of these titles and schedule a Blu-Ray marathon in their own home, but it’s also easy to see someone in your family having one on their holiday wish list. All films are presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen and feature English 5.1 Dolby True HD audio tracks.

“Coach Carter”

2005’s “Coach Carter” stars Samuel L. Jackson as Ken Carter, the controversial basketball coach who locked out his entire undefeated team due to their poor academic performance. The players, parents, and the community fought against the inspirational leader, trying to get their kids back on the court to play the big game. Carter stands strong and teaches his young men that there is life beyond the court, gangs, drugs, and prison. “Coach Carter” is a pretty generic sports movie grounded a bit by yet another solid performance from Jackson.

On Blu-Ray, “Coach Carter” includes four featurettes - “Coach Carter: The Man Behind the Movie”, “Fast Break at Richmond High”, “Writing Coach Carter: The Two Man Game”, “Coach Carter: Making the Cut” - six deleted scenes, a music video with Twista featuring Faith Evans for “Hope”, and the trailer in HD.

“The Heartbreak Kid”

In the critically reviled remake of the Neil Simon classic, Ben Stiller stars as Eddie, a 40-year-old bachelor who finally says “I do” to the beautiful but crazy Lila (Malin Akerman). When Eddie and Lila get to Mexico for their honeymoon, our poor hero learns that his dream of marital bliss has turned into a total nightmare. While he’s down in Mexico, Eddie falls for a lovely girl played by Michelle Monaghan and supposed hilarity ensues. With its grating, unlikable characters, only Monaghan makes it out of this Farrelly Brothers’ misstep unscathed. Stiller has never been worse and Akerman is the definition of annoying, but hardcore fans of Ben and the boys who made “There’s Something About Mary” will want to include “The Heartbreak Kid” in their collection. Good luck.

On Blu-Ray, “The Heartbreak Kid” includes a commentary by The Farrelly Brothers, deleted scenes, a gag reel, “The Farrelly Brothers in the French Tradition”, “Ben & Jerry”, “Heartbreak Halloween”, “The Egg Toss”, and the trailer in HD.

“Hot Rod”

“Hot Rod” had “cult comedy” written all over it from day one. Just as Andy Samberg’s digital shorts on “Saturday Night Live” are wildly hit-and-miss, his debut movie as a star has its own highs and lows, but weird movies always gain cult followings. If you missed the cult of “Rod”, Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, a stuntman with a fake mustache and a dream. Rod is really only a stuntman in his head and with his dumb friends. To save the life of his abusive father (Ian McShane) and win the heart of his lady love (Isla Fisher), Rod plans the biggest stunt of his life. With just as many jokes that hit the floor as that hit the funny bone, “Hot Rod” is so-so at best but Samberg fans will be happy to have their cult favorite on Blu-Ray.

On Blu-Ray, “Hot Rod” includes a commentary by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone, “Ancestors Protect Me: Behind the Scenes of Hot Rod”, deleted & extended scenes, outtakes, and the trailer in HD.

“Into the Wild”

Easily the most stunningly photographed film in this wave of Blu-Ray from Paramount, “Into the Wild” looks fantastic on the next-gen format. If you’re looking to show off the potential of HD this holiday season, you can’t do much better than Sean Penn’s epic tale of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a young man who abandoned his life of comfort to pursue life on the road. McCandless was eventually found dead in a bus in Alaska. Jon Krakauer’s amazing book detailed the days in between Christopher’s departure from civilization and the discovery of his body and Penn made the true story into the most acclaimed film of his career. Written and directed by Penn, “Into the Wild” co-stars Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, and Hal Holbrook.

On Blu-Ray, “Into the Wild” includes a shocking dearth of special features with just two featurettes, “Into the Wild: The Story, The Characters” & “Into the Wild: The Experience”, and the trailer in HD.

“Old School: Unrated and Out of Control!”

2003’s “Old School” really launched Will Ferrell from TV star to movie star and provided Vince Vaughn with his best part since “Swingers”. The two starred with Luke Wilson in the Todd Phillips comedy about three guys unwilling to give up on their raucous college days. As their “grown-up” lives fall apart, they find it easy to be the most popular guys on campus. Everyone who longed for the simple days of keggers and frat partying, could identify with Beanie, Mitch, and Frank “The Tank”. “Old School” has held up surprisingly well over the years, certainly more than many of the films its stars have made since. Maybe they should all make up and get that long-rumored “Old School” sequel into production soon.

On Blu-Ray, “Old School: Unrated and Out of Control!” includes a feature commentary, several scenes from the cutting room floor, “Old School Orientation”, a must-see spoof of “Inside the Actor’s Studio”, TV spots, outtakes & bloopers, and the trailer in HD.

“Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition”

One of my personal favorite comedies of the ’90s, “Tommy Boy” is a must-own. The comedy features Chris Farley and David Spade doing the best work of their careers and a likable, easy-going comedic sensibility that simply works from start to finish. I’m not going to argue that the script for “Tommy Boy” is anything remarkable, although it is better than most critics would give it credit for, but the film works because Farley & Spade had perfect chemistry. “Tommy Boy” is a road comedy about two salesmen trying to save the family business but its really just a showcase for two Saturday Night Live actors who looked like they were on the verge of superstardom. If you haven’t seen “Tommy Boy” in the thirteen years since it came out or have forgotten the film that played in college dorm rooms on a non-stop loop in the late ’90s, check it out on Blu-Ray HD.

On Blu-Ray, “Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition” includes a commentary by director Peter Segal, 4 featurettes, “Tommy Boy: Behind the Laughter”, “Stories From the Side of the Road”, “Just the Two of Us”, “Growing Up Farley”, 6 deleted scenes, 6 alternate takes, 15 extended scenes, 7 storyboard comparisons, 19 TV spots, a gag reel, a photo gallery, and the trailer in HD.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Speed Racer’ Condemns Franchise Dignity, Delivers Sensorial Explosion

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:45:52 -0600

CHICAGO – While Hollywood slapped “PG” on the hotly anticipated “Speed Racer” to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion.

Rather than the “go!” marketing hype, this is a stop-and-go proposition. Chicago brothers Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are ultimately wrangling with a clear identity crisis of who this film is meant for.

Is it the 1967 crowd who adored the American anime version following the Japanese manga creation? Is it for today’s children who didn’t grow up with the franchise but will magically identify with it from scratch because it’s on the big screen? Perhaps it’s for “The Matrix” crowd who slobber over the Wachowski’s sensory orgy?

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Speed Racer” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Speed Racer” image gallery.

A slathering of all of the above will be influenced by the omnipresent advertising and power of the Wachowski name, which has been catapulted to stardom with the trail-blazing triumph of “The Matrix” films.

But with summer blockbuster season in full effect for 2008, moviegoers won’t spend in droves the way they recently did with “Iron Man,” which is so far the best-reviewed film of the year.

With a production budget of $140 million, “Iron Man” has already earned $220 million in worldwide box-office receipts in its first six days of release, according to Box Office Mojo. With a production budget of $100 million, “Speed Racer” won’t compare.

Buy Posters at AllPosters.com

Despite its bevy of blemishes, you can’t deny its color. There’s an intense vibrancy to the environment that – while unrealistic in the real world – is beautifully charming in Hollywood’s CGIville.

Knowing they had to hop beyond another planet in the solar system following 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” the Wachowskis don’t disappoint in the “Speed Racer” special effects department.

The brothers continue to break new ground, and in doing so, they play an important role in inspiring other visionaries to forge new lines of thinking.

Just as “The Matrix” in 1999 had sequences that have been among the most emulated in Hollywood today over the past decade, the Wachowskis continue to up their own bar.

Emile Hirsch in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Matthew Fox (middle) in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “Speed Racer” review…

Screenplay Surfaces Online For Oscar-Worthy ‘There Will Be Blood’ With Daniel Day-Lewis

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:31:11 -0700

“There Will Be Blood” is among the best films of 2007. Period. An Oscar-worthy performance by Daniel Day-Lewis helps to make this picture Oscar worthy in its own right.

Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: IMDb
A haunting supporting performance by Paul Dano (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Girl Next Door”) isn’t one you’ll soon forget, too.

Aside from his 2005 work in “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” we last saw Day-Lewis in film all the way back in 2002 for his gritty “Gangs of New York” performance.

“There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: IMDb
“There Will Be Blood” is as worthy as any for him to bring the familiar character out of hibernation.

While you’d be remiss not to see this in theaters, you can read now why director Paul Thomas Anderson (who adapted the film’s screenplay from the Upton Sinclair novel “Oil!”) deserves your attention.

Paul Dano in “There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Anderson also directed “Punch-Drunk Love” and “Magnolia”. The full screenplay is below. Warning: This is a thorough spoiler alert.

Click for the full “There Will Be Blood” screenplay.
I downloaded this screenplay from this Paramount Vantage link.

Daniel Day-Lewis (left middle) in “There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Though the film only opened in limited New York City and Los Angeles theaters on Dec. 26, it will expand in Jan. 2008. Before that, 14 cities are being treated to a midnight sneak screening on Dec. 29.

Daniel Day-Lewis (left) and Dillon Freasier
on Dec. 10, 2007 for “There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
These include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C. See our Dec. 23 post for more.

Daniel Day-Lewis (left) and director Paul Thomas Anderson
in “There Will Be Blood”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Other Paramount Vantage scripts are also online for “The Kite Runner,” “A Mighty Heart,” “Margot at the Wedding” and “Into the Wild”.

Landmark Theatres Releases Upcoming Independent Film Release Schedule For Chicago

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:44:32 -0600

CHICAGO – Many of you have asked me for information about and reviews on independent films coming through the Chicago circuit.

Because the two film agencies that blanket Chicago critics with screenings don’t have full coverage for all independent films, I have been in contact with Landmark Theatres to also cover their releases.

As many Chicagoans are aware, the dominant place for quality independent film is Landmark Century Centre Cinema at 2828 N Clark St. in Chicago. Here are the upcoming indie films that will be released there over the next few months.

“Across the Universe,” Sept. 14, 2007
“Fierce People,” Sept. 21, 2007
“Freshman Orientation”
“King of California”
“Trade,” Sept. 28, 2007
“Lust, Caution,” Oct. 5, 2007
“Broken,” Oct. 19, 2007
“Lars and the Real Girl”
“Great World of Sound”
“Ira and Abby”
“Sleuth”
“Jimmy Carter Man From Plains,” Oct. 26, 2007
“Margot at the Wedding,” Nov. 21, 2007
“I’m Not There,” Dec. 7, 2007
“Juno,” Dec. 14, 2007
“Atonement,” Dec. 21, 2007
“Youth Without Youth”

In addition, here are the upcoming film releases at Landmark Renaissance Cinema in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.

“Pete Seeger: The Power of Song,” Sept. 14, 2007
“In the Shadown of the Moon”
“Into the Wild,” Sept. 21, 2007
“In the Valley of Elah”
“The Jane Austen Book Club”
“The Darjeeling Limited,” Oct. 12, 2007
“Lust, Caution”
“Ira and Abby,” Oct. 19, 2007
“Sleuth,” Oct. 19, 2007

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com