Dave Foley

Blu-Ray Review: Pixar Continues HD Dominance With ‘A Bug’s Life’

BrianTT — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:33:28 -0600

CHICAGO – If you have yet to jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon or are new to the HD revolution and have yet to see a Pixar film in 1080P, the new edition of “A Bug’s Life” would be a great place to start. With releases like the great one for “WALL-E” and now this gorgeous transfer for “A Bug’s Life,” Disney/Pixar produces HD video clarity that really must be seen to be believed.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

With this week’s release of the fantastic “Up,” Pixar is back in the cinematic conversation. With Pixar back in the spotlight, go back to one of their earliest films, the underrated “A Bug’s Life,” a film that has held up surprisingly well in the decade since its release.

A Bug’s Life was released on Blu-Ray on May 19th, 2009.
Photo credit: Disney

I’ll admit that I had kind of buried “A Bug’s Life” in my own movie world. I’ve seen “Finding Nemo,” both “Toy Story” films, “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” and “The Incredibles” multiple times but I hadn’t seen “Bug’s” since its theatrical release. Not only is the film better than I remembered but it looks great. The fact is that Pixar is so far ahead of their peers that their old films still look like they could come out today.

If you’re late to the Pixar wave and have never seen the “Bug’s Life,” the story is almost refreshingly simple. It’s the tale of the little ant that could. After grasshoppers threaten his home, an ant searches for fellow bug warriors and finds a hilarious group of circus bugs. “A Bug’s Life” is imaginative, delightful storytelling that hints at the matserpieces this studio would soon produce.

A Bug’s Life was released on Blu-Ray on May 19th, 2009.
Photo credit: Disney

The new Blu-Ray release for “A Bug’s Life” imports the production and design material from previous releases and includes two great new Blu-Ray features - “The First Draft” and “Filmmakers’ Round Table”.

“The First Draft” includes all-new, never-before-seen animated sequences from the original story treatment with an introduction by John Lasseter. It runs just under 11 minutes and offers a window into the writing process of a Pixar film.

Even cooler is the “Filmmakers’ Round Table”. For 21 minutes, John Lasseter (Co-Director), Andrew Stanton (Co-Director), Darla Anderson (Producer), and Kevin Reher (Producer) reflect on the creation of the film ten years ago, and share their most memorable anecdotes.

The old special features about the production are extensive and detailed. They include sections on “Pre-Production,” “Deisgn,” “Production,” and “Sound Design”. Outtakes and publicity stills are also included.

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich provide a commentary track that has been imported for this release.

Finally, Disney includes two shorts. The first is the great “Geri’s Game,” the Academy Award-Winner for Best Animated Short Film that played before the theatrical release of “A Bug’s Life” and the second is a classic Silly Symphony from 1934 called “Grasshopper and the Ants”.

Short films, a commentary track, detailed production featurettes, new bonus features, and a perfect video and audio transfer. What more are you looking for from a Blu-Ray release? Pixar continues to guide the way in not just the quality of the films themselves but their HD releases as well.

Check out a clip from the Filmmakers’ Roundtable before you buy “A Bug’s Life” for yourself.

Featurette: Filmmakers roundtable

‘A Bug’s Life’ is released by Disney Home Video and features voice work by Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, Madeline Kahn, and Bonnie Hunt. It was written by Andrew Stanton & Don McEnery & Bob Shaw and directed by John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton. The Blu-Ray was released on May 19th, 2009. It is rated G.

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

Wide Release of Divisive Film ‘Postal’ From Controversial Director Uwe Boll Canceled

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:13:57 -0600

CHICAGO – In response to our negative review of the divisive new film “Postal” from controversial director Uwe Boll, Boll e-mailed us with these simple words:

Uwe Boll wrote:“You should ask yourself: Who gave me my moral rules? Question yourself. Too bad you didn’t like the movie.”

Uwe Boll’s “Postal”.
Photo credit: MovieSet

We responded requesting an interview and he’s amenable. Before we had the chance, Boll at 7:43 p.m. on May 15, 2008 issued to us a statement announcing the cancellation of his film’s wide theatrical release by U.S. theater exhibitors.

Unless the boycott lifts, Boll says it’s his latest film that many audiences won’t see at most theaters.

“Theatrical distributors are boycotting ‘Postal’ because of its political content,” Boll said in the Thursday statement. “We were prepared to open on 1,500 screens all across America on May 23, 2008. Any multiplex in the U.S. should have space for us, but they’re afraid.”

Boll continued: “We have even tried to buy a few screens in New York and Los Angeles. They won’t let us even rent the theaters! I urge independent exhibitors to contact us and book ‘Postal’. Audiences have been expecting the film. I don’t think exhibitors should censor what gets played in U.S. theaters.”

As it currently stands, Boll says Event Film will only release the “R”-rated film in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Tucson, Ariz. Our full “Postal” image gallery can be found here. The film’s plotline is described from the studio with these words:

A religious charlatan (Dave Foley), his mild-mannered nephew (Zack Ward) and a gang of bosomy commandos face off against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in an epic battle that will determine the fate of the world in “Postal,” which is the latest film from controversial director Uwe Boll (“BloodRayne”).

Boll roasts an entire herd of sacred cows and smashes taboos to smithereens in this over-the-top and hilariously subversive critique of modern-day America.

Inspired by the notorious video game of the same name, “Postal” is a jaw-droppingly original spoof of contemporary culture and an equal-opportunity offender that lampoons religious extremists, minorities, bureaucrats, immigrants, cops, women, the Holocaust, gun nuts and more with even-handed abandon.

The outrageous political and social satire stars Zack Ward (“Transformers”), Dave Foley (“News Radio”), J.K. Simmons (“Spider-Man”), Jackie Tohn (“On the Lot”), Larry Thomas, the Soup Nazi from “Seinfeld,” Erick Avari (“Mr. Deeds”) and Verne Troyer (“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”).

The film is produced by Boll, Dan Clarke and Shawn Williamson.

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

Uwe Boll Pukes Out Another Opus of Insufferable Screen Time in ‘Postal’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:08:27 -0600

CHICAGO – At the Chicago screening of “Postal” for critics, director Uwe Boll introduced his new film as a personal “The Kentucky Fried Movie” attacking the heart of America. Boll – a German national – has produced several “B”-grade movies in both Germany and the U.S. However, “Postal” is his first attempt at writing and directing within the American market.

Including “Postal,” his last few films have all been notorious cinematic adaptations of controversial video games. Boll’s opening rant prior to the “Postal” screening offered his personal disgust for this forced and depraved genre.

Poking fun at himself and his filmmaking, this charismatic director expressed his political angst and outlandish humor to the audience and had them laughing and commiserating before the screening even began.

Read Allison Pitaccio’s full review of “Postal” in our reviews section.

View our full “Postal” image gallery.

I initially took this as a good omen and my previous notions of “B” cinema began to quell. That said, Boll’s final remark “if you were all drunk, you will like it” became an accurate adage of the film’s overall character.

This film offensively opens with two terrorists flying a plane and arguing over the amount of virgins they will each receive in Paradise. They end up settling the dispute by calling Osama bin Laden on the phone and are both perturbed that the number is less than they had originally thought.

Therefore, they change the plane’s direction for the Bahamas. While the plane changes course, the angry mob of American passengers storms the cockpit and the plane crashes into the World Trade Center. This commences Sept. 11, 2001 and sets the tone for a despicable, 109 minutes of cinema.

“Postal”.
Photo credit: MovieSet

Read Allison Pitaccio’s full “Postal” review.