David Carradine

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Dexter: The Second Season’ is Killer in HD

BrianTT — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:01:10 -0600

CHICAGO – When “Dexter: The Second Season” was originally released on standard DVD, I lamented the fact that it wasn’t released on HD Blu-Ray and barely had any special features. I hoped that CBS/Paramount would come around to the Blu-Ray craze by season three and they’ve done just that by catching up with the first two seasons of “Dexter,” now in HD.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

I have bad news for those of you with standard-definition versions of the excellent second season of “Dexter” - this is a pretty mandatory upgrade. If you thought the sophomore slump-defying season of this Showtime series was worth buying, the new video/audio and new special features are worth the trade-up.

This season of “Dexter” was nominated for several major Emmys including Best Dramatic Series, Best Actor, and more. And it arguably deserved more. Jennifer Carpenter and Keith Carradine certainly deserved consideration for supporting nominations in a season that arguably surpassed the first.

Dexter: The Second Season was released on Blu-Ray on May 5th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount/Showtime

If you’re completely unfamiliar, start with the first season and if you worried about how that season could be topped, just trust me and dive into season two. The second season of “Dexter” asks even more daring questions than the first, as Dexter’s serial killer past becomes the focus of the show and the creators paint a riveting portrait of a monster dealing with domesticity.

The DVD for season two of “Dexter” disappointingly included no special features and a purely average technical treatment. It was enough to send Mr. Morgan out himself for some vengeance. Apparently, CBS/Paramount heard the complaints because they correct the era with a very solid Blu-Ray release.

The video and audio on “Dexter” are notable enough with 1080p video and English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD tracks that probably match the way most people watched the show on Showtime. That’s the problem with non-HD TV sets. Most of us are watching the programs in HD the first time. And now we have to watch them in standard on DVD? It doesn’t make sense. The Showtime picture for “Dexter” in its original broadcast is one of the best and now the home release finally matches.

Even more remarkably, CBS/Paramount took the chance to add special features to a season that had none the first time around. There is still no commentary track, which is disappoint, but now there’s a featurette called “Blood Fountains,” podcasts about the show and the “Dark Defender Series”. Fans can also catch up with the first two episodes of “United States of Tara”.

Season three of “Dexter” will probably be released on Blu-Ray this fall and the show will return to Showtime. With the two Blu-Ray releases of the first two seasons (the first dropped in January), 2009 really is the year of “Dexter”. Just submit. Don’t make him come after you.

‘Dexter: The Second Season’ is released by Paramount Home Video and stars Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar, and David Carradine. It was developed by James Manos, Jr. based on the novel by Jeff Lindsay. The Blu-Ray was released on May 5th, 2009. It is not rated.

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

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 20 Prize Packs For ‘Crank High Voltage’ With Jason Statham, Amy Smart

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:02:13 -0600

CHICAGO – In our latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have a special giveaway with 20 “Crank High Voltage” prize packs where each winner is awarded a themed T-shirt, shot glass, movie poster and batteries! “Crank High Voltage,” which opens nationwide on April 17, 2009, stars Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, David Carradine, Clifton Collins Jr., Ling Bai, Corey Haim and Efren Ramirez.

To win your “Crank High Voltage” prize pack courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is be one of the first 20 people to submit your adrenaline story in our confidential, Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The poster for “Crank High Voltage” with Jason Statham and Amy Smart.
Image credit: Lionsgate

Here is the synopsis for “Crank High Voltage”:

In this high-octane sequel, hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) launches himself on an electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart.

“Crank High Voltage” is written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor – the duo behind the 2006 hit film “Crank” – and the upcoming “Game” starring Gerard Butler. Jason Statham (“The Transporter,” “The Bank Job”) returns to star as Chev Chelios.

Reprising their roles from the 2006 original are Amy Smart (“Road Trip,” the upcoming “Mirrors”) as Eve, Dwight Yoakam (“Sling Blade”) as Doc Miles and Efren Ramirez (“Napoleon Dynamite”) as Venus. Rounding out the cast are Clifton Collins Jr. (“Capote,” the upcoming “Star Trek”) and Bai Ling (“Red Corner,” the upcoming “Love Ranch”).

To secure your free “Crank High Voltage” prize pack, you must be logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail is required to win this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup.

Next, simply submit your adrenaline story. You must submit your adrenaline story using this confidential, Web-based submission form. Please do not comment in this Hookup. Your entry will be invalid if you do so. Please only submit your adrenaline story using this submission form.

You must include your e-mail address, name and physical mailing address in your submission. Your personal information will be kept strictly confidential and is only for us to mail winning posters. Your personal information will not be sold or shared elsewhere.

Submit your adrenaline story now!

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film is simple: The first 20 people to submit a adrenaline story win! The 20 “Crank High Voltage” prize packs will be mailed to the winners at our expense.

In addition, there is a national sweepstakes that is now live for “Crank High Voltage”. The basic premise is for contestants to call into a toll-free line where they are guided through instructions on how to enter to win a $1,000 cash grand prize or movie tickets for the film. Winners will be notified after the film’s release. The phone number to call is below.

“Keep Chev alive and you could win! Call 1-877-9-Crank2!”

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

In Purely Exploiting Gratuitous Violence, Paul W.S. Anderson’s ‘Death Race’ Remake Kills All Comedic Value

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:56:45 -0600

CHICAGO – While 2008’s “Death Race” makes no secret about being a remake of 1975’s “Death Race 2000” with David Carradine as the title character Frankenstein and Sylvester Stallone as his archrival Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, what’s perhaps less obvious but still clear is how the film steals from others.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Though the “Death Race” story has a different book cover, Jason Statham’s character as Jensen Ames and then the masked Frankenstein can be directly correlated to (as just one example) Nicolas Cage’s character in 1997’s “Con Air”. We’ve certainly seen this before: a man who’s supposedly in the slammer innocently and has a monster axe to grind.

While films today can be rewarded for being quality remakes of compelling yesteryear memories, 2008’s “Death Race” not only disappoints in its unoriginal ripping from other films but ultimately loses face in its mission merely for unadulterated and gratuitous violence.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Death Race” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Death Race” image gallery.

“Death Race” is yet another film along the lines of so many second-rate Hollywood products we see today feeling pressured to blow stuff up bigger and badder while servicing the human need to fantasize in the utterly ridiculous.

All the while, a weak story is slapped on top of what essentially just amounts to an anthology of big booms.

Sometimes films succeed in being pure entertainment and don’t attempt to have underlying meaning or instigate inspirational change. When they do, though, they’re most successful when their fundamental purpose at least has some redeeming value.

The unfortunately simple message of “Death Race” merely says we’re living in a time and place where financial corruption can allow us to prostitute ourselves to charge $250 to watch one guy violently off another for our viewing pleasure. In the film, 70 million morbid viewers take the plunge.

“Death Race,” which is written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, stars Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez, Ian McShane, Max Ryan, Jason Clarke and Frederick Koehler. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 22, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Death Race” review.

Navigator Case (Natalie Martinez) arrives from the women’s prison in an action-thriller set in the near future with the world’s most brutal sporting event as its backdrop in “Death Race”.
Photo credit: Takashi Seida

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) drives Frankenstein’s Monster in an action-thriller set in the near future with the world’s most brutal sporting event as its backdrop in “Death Race”.
Photo credit: Takashi Seida

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Death Race” review.