James Marsden

Blu-Ray Review: HD ‘X-Men Trilogy’ Primes Fans For First Big Summer Movie

BrianTT — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:56:51 -0600

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ opening this Friday, fans can catch up on where Hugh Jackman’s legendary character earned a following big enough to warrant a summer tentpole release date in the Blu-Ray release of the “X-Men Trilogy” including the two films by Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United”) and the three-quel by Brett Ratner (“X-Men: The Last Stand”). With nine discs, HD video/audio transfers, and dozens of special features, this is the Blu-Ray release of the season for the comic movie nut in your circle of friends and family.

Very few franchises have been robust enough to support four films in the new millennium. With “X-Men,” “X2: X-Men United,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and this week’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” this has been easily one of the most successful franchises of the ’00s (only Harry Potter, “Saw,” and “Fast & Furious” have had as many theatrical releases.) The three films in this set have made over $1.1 billion worldwide.

X-Men Trilogy was released on Blu-Ray on April 21st, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox

Knowing the rabid fan base of the franchise, Twentieth Century Fox has released a very complete set. Want special features? There are hours of them. Digital copies? There’s one for each film. And each film is presented in HD for the first time (the first and third film are presented in 2.40:1 with the middle film in 2.35:1). All three films are accompanied by 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio English tracks and 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Sadly, Fox continues to underwhelm in the technical departments. “X-Men” looks older than it should with the picture often coming across much flatter than an average Blu-Ray. The picture simply doesn’t pop like it should, something I’ve noted far-too-often with recent Fox releases (although, to be fair, not all of them). Ultimately, “X-Men Trilogy” should look amazing and it looks (and sounds) merely average.

What is amazing is the collection of special features for all three films. They’re as informative and exhaustive as a fan could possibly ask for. There’s clearly no more material left on the cutting room floor and until the cast and crew gets together in decades for an anniversary edition, there are no more interviews or behind-the-scenes details to provide.

X-Men Trilogy was released on Blu-Ray on April 21st, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox

The first disc of special features on “X-Men” - Commentary by Bryan Singer and Brian Peck, Behind-the-Scenes Footage, Deleted/Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Bryan Singer and Brian Peck, Fox Special: “The Mutant Watch,” Bryan Singer Interview, Animatics, Art Gallery, Three TV Spots, Music Promo, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features on “X-Men” - Disc Intro by Bryan Singer, The Uncanny Suspects, X-Factor: The Look of the X-Men, Image Gallery, Production Documentary Scrapbook, The Special Effects of the X-Men, Reflection of the X-Men, Marketing the X-Men, TV Spots, and Internet Interstitials.

The first disc of special features on “X2: X-Men United” - Commentary by Bryan Singer and Tom Sigel, Commentary by Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, Generation X: Comic Book History, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features on “X2: X-Men United” - History of the X-Men, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, Deleted Scenes, Galleries, Locations and Sets, On-Camera Graphics, The Unseen X2, and Three HD Trailers.

The first disc of special features on “X-Men: The Last Stand” - Director and Writer Commentary by Brett Ratner, Zack Penn and Simon Kinberg, Producer Commentary by Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, HD Deleted Scenes (Optional Director and Writer Commentary by Brett Ratner, Zack Penn and Simon Kinberg), HD Easter Eggs, BD-Live: Wolverine Exclusive, and HD Marvel Universe Trailers.

The second disc of special features fon “X-Men: The Last Stand” - Brett Ratner’s Production Diary, X-Men: Evolution of a Trilogy, X-Men Up Close - Interactive gallery with stills and video, Generation X: Comic Book History, Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life After Film School, Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session, X3: The Excitement Continues in HD, Anatomy of a Scene: Golden Gate Bridge in HD, HD Vignettes, HD Blogs, Previz Animatics, Galleries, Easter Egg, and Three HD Trailers.

‘X-Men Trilogy’ is released by Twentieth Century Fox and stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romijn, Bruce Davison, Brian Cox, Kelsey Grammer, and Vinnie Jones. “X-Men” was written by David Hayter and directed by Bryan Singer. “X2: X-Men United” was written by Zak Penn and Hayter & Singer and directed by Singer. “X-Men: The Last Stand” was written by Simon Kinberg & Penn and directed by Brett Ratner. “X-Men Trilogy” was released on April 21st, 2009. All three films are rated PG-13.

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

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Sex Drive: Unrated and Cream-filled’ Edition Delivers What Title Promises

BrianTT — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:03:58 -0700

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray for the raunchy teen comedy “Sex Drive” is simply ridiculous. And I think I mean that in a good way. As a DVD critic, I’m constantly faced with “Unrated” editions that don’t really live up to their name. You can say a lot about “Sex Drive,” but the Blu-Ray is undeniably “Unrated and Cream-filled”.

We’ve all seen unrated DVDs with a minute or two of extra footage, none of which would have earned the film anything harder than an R in theaters. That is NOT the case with “Sex Drive”. Playing with the very concept of “Unrated” DVDs, the team behind “Sex Drive” have made what I would call the “Horny Stoner Version” of their teen sex comedy and it almost needs to be seen to be believed.

Sex Drive was released on Blu-Ray on February 24th, 2009.
Photo credit: Summit

The unrated version, which the writers warn you sucks at the beginning, includes twenty minutes of gratuitous nudity and alternate takes. How gratuitous? Occasionally, they’ll just green screen in some boobs or a flaccid penis. It’s ridiculous but the guts it took to even burn it to Blu-Ray is somewhat admirable.

Sex Drive was released on Blu-Ray on February 24th, 2009.
Photo credit: Summit

But what about the movie itself? Watch a bit of the unrated version just to admire its ridiculousness, but stick with the theatrical version, a so-so teen sex comedy that will play better at homes than it did in theaters. Not nearly on the scale of “Superbad” or even the “Harold and Kumar” movies, “Sex Drive” feels ultimately hollow but features some pretty original supporting performances. Even still, kids will need some serious beer goggles to get over all of the flaws of “Sex Drive”.

The problem is that we’ve seen all of these characters before. I’ve long said that writers of teen sex flicks underestimate their audiences desire to see something new. “Superbad” worked because it felt fresh. Nothing about “Sex Drive” feels fresh. Only the levels of alcohol poisoning have changed.

Once again, we have the awkward virgin who’s really in love with his best friend and the slick player who will surely be taught a lesson about love by the film’s end. The lovable loser this time is Josh (Ian Zuckerman), the best friend is Felicia (Amanda Crew), and the playa is Lance (Clark Duke). In an inspired bit of casting, Duke, most well-known for the internet phenomenon “Clark and Michael” with best friend Michael Cera, is not the first person most would think of for a ladies man. It’s the only thing inspired about “Sex Drive”.

Duke has good comic timing and supporting players Seth Green and James Marsden can be very funny but Zuckerman and Crew are a black hole for comedy, sucking the project in with boring characters and dull personalities.

Sex Drive was released on Blu-Ray on February 24th, 2009.
Photo credit: Summit

Ian works at a donut shop at the mall and has been communicating with an online girlfriend (he hopes) named Ms_Tasty. The road movie begins when the object of Ian’s e-affection says she’ll do him if he comes down to Knoxville. The trio pile into their brother’s ‘69 GTO and begins a series of unusual encounters with an angry hitchhiker, sex-crazed redneck, and a sarcastic Amish guy.

The writers clearly know that “Sex Drive” is derivative and their solution was merely to push up the gross-out humor to eleven. The movie opens with underwear soaked in male fluids hitting a woman in the face and spend another 105 minutes trying to top it. It’s gross-out desperation. And it reeks.

The movie is saved from complete disaster by Duke, Green, and Marsden (who is clearly having a blast improvising a riff on Sean William Scott’s Stifler or, even more appropriately, Bill Paxton’s Chet from “Weird Science”), but the awkward, poorly cast leads and the lackluster script cause this car to break down long before it reaches its destination.

The “Unrated and Creme-filled” version of “Sex Drive” includes the aforementioned unrated edition, a filmmaker audio commentary on the original version, the hilariously named “Sex Drive: Making a Masterpiece,” “The Marsden Dilemma,” and “Clark: Duke of the Internet”. The film is presented in 1080p with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.

‘Sex Drive: Unrated and Cream-filled’ is released by Summit Home Video and stars Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, Clark Duke, Seth Green, and James Marsden. It was written by Sean Anders & John Morris and directed by Anders. It was released on February 24th, 2009. It is rated R and unrated.

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

Blu-Ray Review: Valentine’s Day Gift Lists Start With ‘The Notebook’

BrianTT — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:15:57 -0700

CHICAGO – It may not have been a massive hit when it was first released, but in just a few short years, “The Notebook” has become one of the more beloved romantic dramas of the last few decades. People adore The Notebook, propelling the film to a sales total of more than nine million units to date. At least a few of those nine million people will want to upgrade their favorite tearjerker to the impressive new “Limited Edition Giftset” from Warner Brothers.

The Notebook Limited Edition Gift Set is released by Warner Brothers Home Video on January 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

“The Notebook: Limited Edition Giftset” is not for anyone who believes in even the concept of overkill when it comes to Blu-Ray releases. This thing is a monster. It takes up as much shelf space as four normal Blu-Ray releases and the quantity of collectibles included in the packaging is borderline ridiculous. Does anyone need “Notebook” stickers? Stationery? Collectible bookmarks? It’s difficult for a critic to come down too hard on a package that’s clearly designed with the best of intentions for its rabid fans, but if a giftset can be too much, then this is it.

The Notebook Limited Edition Gift Set is released by Warner Brothers Home Video on January 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

What will “Notebook” fans find? Well, first and foremost, if you haven’t seen the film since it was first released, it’s held up incredibly well. Yes, some of the final act tearjerker material with James Garner and Gena Rowlands is a bit overdone but Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are excellent in the heart of the film, perfectly embodying an old-fashioned romantic drama style that you don’t see that often any more. This movie will stand up for years and have legions of fans for generations.

Those fans can now make their own “Notebook” scrapbooks. No, we’re not kidding. The giftset includes a photo album, scrapbook with images from the movie that leaves space for your own photos; scrapbook accessories such as stickers and photo corners; a stationery set with letterhead and envelopes and collectible bookmarks. This is also the first time that “The Notebook” has been released on Blu-ray Hi-Def, the part of this giftset that will truly be the draw for fans of the movie.

For the first time, “The Notebook” is presented in 1080p with a 2.40:1 widescreen ratio. Warner Brothers still produces one of the best Blu-Ray pictures and “The Notebook” looks great. I have to say though that there are fans and collectors out there who would probably want to own “The Notebook” just for the film and the actual disc special features, but New Line/WB are only releasing it on Blu-Ray in the “Giftset” form. That means that every movie lover who wants to own “The Notebook” will have to pay the $39.99 SRP and take up the space of four other titles on their shelf. There should have been a “Limited Edition” and a “Standard Edition” for fans without the desire to scrapbook.

As for special features, “The Notebook” on Blu-Ray includes twelve deleted scenes, director and novelist commentaries, 4 incisive making-of featurettes, a screen test from Rachel McAdams, and more. A fan of the movie could not be more satisfied with this gorgeously packaged, extensive set for one of their favorite romantic films.

‘The Notebook Limited Edition Giftset’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Joan Allen, and James Marsden. It was written by Jeremy Leven and directed by Nick Cassavetes. It will be released on January 20th, 2009.

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

Hookup: 40 Admit-Two Passes to Chicago Screening of ‘Sex Drive’ With James Marsden, Seth Green

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:03:56 -0600

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of “Sex Drive,” which stars James Marsden, Seth Green, Clark Duke, Josh Zuckerman and Amanda Crew.

To win your free pass to the advance screening of “Sex Drive” in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is be one of the first 40 people to submit a comment in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup. That’s it!

The screening will be held on Oct. 8, 2008 at 7 p.m. near downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

“Sex Drive” features James Marsden, Seth Green, Clark Duke, Josh Zuckerman and Amanda Crew.
Image credit: Summit Entertainment

“Sex Drive” is about a high school senior who drives across the U.S. with his best friends to hook up with a babe he met online.

To secure your free tickets now, make sure you’re 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 address is required.

Then, simply add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include an answer to this simple question:

Have you ever met anyone from the Internet If so, how’d it go?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film is simple: The first 40 people to comment below win! We will be in touch with the 40 winners to distribute your passes. “Sex Drive” opens nationwide on Oct. 17, 2008.

5:52 p.m. update on Sept. 29, 2008: Due to popular demand, we have received authorization from the film studio to increase this Hookup from 25 admit-two passes to 40 admit-two passes.

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