They Eye (DVD)

I was bored and Steven was not around. This DVD was in our shelves so I watched it.

It is absolute crap--I am telling this to you now. The acting was ho-hum. Jessica Alba is beautiful but she is far from being a great actress. Her acting reminds me of Ben Affleck's in "Daredevil". The supporting cast was not that good either.

There was no originality in the special effects and none of them was really scarey. The sound effects and music were totally forgettable.

The special features were really bland. I wonder why they did not mention the original movie.

Do not even waste your time looking at this DVD in the shops.

Vera Drake (DVD)

I heard of this movie several years ago and when I saw Imelda Staunton in a Harry Potter trailer, I was reminded of this movie again. I was impressed with her amusing portrayal of the vicious Dolores Umbridge. But Vera Drake is very very different.

It is very refreshing to watch a movie that does not rely on fantastic effects nor booming orchestral music nor a playful script. This one just relies solely on acting. The performers were devoid of fancy make up and clothes. It is not only their voices that talks but also their bodies. It is very apparent that each actor knows what their character is about but Vera Drake is very striking. She has a pure heart that is dedicated to helping others and not thinking of consequences.

The theme of the movie may be controversial in some societies. As for me, I really do not have an opinion about this. I do not think I am in the proper position to have an opinion about this. I just believe that a person would know what to do with her body and not the people around her/him.

The DVD is awful. It does not have anything about the movie. For an acting student, this could have been a wonderful resource of information.

Babel (DVD, 2-disc)

I saw this movie in a Bangkok cinema when it came out and here is my earlier review.

I know this movie represents different languages and how we are connected by our lives. For me, this movie is about abandonment. Chieko's mother killed herself. The bus left the American tourists. The nanny left her kids to look for help. And the young Moroccan kids leaving their innocence behind.

It is hard to know the quality of the video of the movie because the screen that I have is small. But judging from what I have seen, it is a very good transfer. The palette differences between the countries are very apparent.

The sound is very good. I am surprised that they were able to cancel many of the noises in the Japan scenes.

The second disc is very simple and yet it is very rich. I am impressed that the director took his time documenting the contents and editing this special feature. Because of this hard work, it really looked like a very decent TV special.

I got this DVD set from a discount store for only 5 AUD!!! I really think that they are phasing out DVDs here in Australia.

Fight Club (DVD)

Despite the title, "Fight Club" is not the most violent movie that you will ever see. I actually think it is "Schindler's List" but we are not going to talk about that now.

"Fight Club" has more testosterone than any porn flick available. It is not all muscles but pure machismo and posturing. It is very entertaining to watch yet it does not make you feel that you are stupid. The twist in the end is much more interesting than any M. Night Shyamalan movie.

Helena Bonham Carter is fun to watch as Marla Singer although she does not have a perfect American accent. Edward Norton's role is very difficult but we have already seen him in many violent movies. Brad Pitt--well, he will always look good but that is about it. Meatloaf, together with his udders, is a scene-stealer.

The action sequences are of course, bloody. But the CGI scenes will age well in my opinion because they are not really there to impress. They are not there to show the latest digital imagery but they merely show a good storyboarding.

The DVD is not really full of extras although I like the commentary tracks of the main actors and directors. I wish they were together in one recording session though. Better yet, they should be in separate audio tracks.

This is actually a perfect Saturday night movie with some mates and not with a date.

Contact (Special Edition)

The first time I saw this movie is on TV and I really regretted missing it because it is a moving film. I know it is science fiction but the message is bigger than the genre. It is like a discourse on faith.

I won't spoil the whole story.

Anyway, Jodie is extremely believable in this movie because her character is flawed. Tom Skerritt is also very good and his character extremely flawed but better than Jodie's as a politician. The power struggle between these two characters remind me of a huge dilemma--your ideals getting in the way of your dreams or sacrificing your ideals to reach your dreams.

The movie is 11 years old but the visual and sound effects do not look outdated. I am sure Warner Brothers has already come out with a dignified BD version of this movie.

The extras in this single-disc release is very good. It did not have outtakes but it has a full-length commentaries from Jodie Foster and Robert Zemeckis on different audio tracks.

Damn, when can I afford a BD player and a HDTV

Where do I put my DVDs?

I will be gone for two months so it is practical for me to leave my apartment. Problem is I already accumulated a lot of things in two years. Another big problem is I brought all of my DVDs here in Bangkok so I am faced with the huge task for storing them.

It sounds silly but you have to see how big my collection is. It is more than a suitcase! These are not clothes but discs and cardboard so it is really really heavy.

Yesterday, I updated my catalogue and it is more than 220 titles. I am not talking about the number of DVDs because some of the titles can have as many as 4 discs. I am sure this is heavier than I am (on a good day).

What do I do?

The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen (DVD)

It has been decades since the first time I saw this movie and I am really impressed that it still scares me a lot. It is effective because it does not depend on special effects that much. This is a longer version from the cinematic release and I do not know how different they are.

Linda Blair is extremely scary although I am sure she got a lot of help from dubbing, makeup and contact lens. Ellen Burstyn's reactions are just as scary though and she does not need makeup for that.

This is a film that many Filipinos consider a documentary (blame the church) and it is because it really reflects our own beliefs about the devil and how he plays with man. This version may not appeal to people who want action all the time but it still delivers.

The profanity in this movie alone is enough reason not to let any children see it. I have never encountered any movie that is as vulgar as this one.

The extras are not that many. I would like to see a proper docu. The director's commentary track does not present anything new. He is merely narrating what is happening on screen.

I really would like to get the original version of this one because I really think this is still the scariest movie I have ever seen in my life.

Ned Kelly (2003, DVD)

I have the Heath Ledger fever but then I bought this DVD a couple of months ago. It was very inexpensive and at the same time, it is one way for me to understand a part of the Australian identity.

I think it is hard for a movie like this to be appreciated by a non-Aussie. It is similar to the Robin Hood story but it is totally different. The armor scene may appear comical to people who are not familiar with the story but it really did happen and the armor in the movie is actually very similar to the original one.

Heath is of course fantastic in this movie but there are also other notable performances by Joel Edgerton as Aaron Sherritt and Kerry Condon as Kate Kelly. The cinematography takes advantage of Australia's wide landscape. It is breathtaking.

The video quality of this DVD release is actually very good. The night scenes are not that grainy. The audio is OK. It is not a special effects movie or an action movie so there are no booming scenes to be expected.

The special features are very minimal but after Heath's death, I am sure producers will re-release more footage of this great actor.

Planet of the Apes (2001, 2-disc DVD)

Sometimes, Hollywood just has a lot of money to waste. Well, this take of Planet of the Apes is not a real waste but then there are some movies that you just should not touch and the 1968 film is one of them.

Let's go to the exceptional aspects of this film. The makeup is very realistic. Many of the characters look real like General Thade and Limbo. But then some of them really struggled in enunciating their words. The music is memorable and it matches the mood of the movie. The choreography of the apes is well-thought of. The extras also moved in a very realistic way.

And then the worst points--Mark Wahlberg: his bubble butt won't save the film. His acting is just horrendous. It is only after watching the extras that I understood the ending. I do not think I am that stupid though because Tim spent several minutes defending it on his commentary track.

Well, the extras in this DVD release are actually amazing. There are tons and tons of outtakes. Many steps of the pre-production and production were revealed. I have a feeling that they were too busy completing this DVD that they were not able to put in the post-production process in the extras. There are multi-camera viewing of some of the outtakes. There are tons of drawings and docus as well.

The audio quality is great and the video is generally OK. Some of the dark scenes are too grainy though. I am sure this would look a lot better on BD.

Anyway, I still like the 1968 version even if I hate what lead actor represented.

Planet of the Apes (1967, DVD)

Even with the dated special effects and acting, this movie is still very striking and unforgettable. The philosophies in the film will forever remain true as men destroy each other and their surroundings.

The cinematography is great but it could have been better if the lens were properly used. Some of the scenes are eschewed. The makeup is crude by today's standards but I am surprised at how much emotion the actors were able to push through the rubber.

I do not like the DVD presentation because there was no restoration applied. The last shot is terribly grainy and the music throughout the movie is muffled.

This is a must for all movie enthusiasts although 20th Century Fox should come out with a BD that will live up to the greatness of this movie. It is just too bad that Charlton Heston is in it. I do not like him personally but he did well in this movie.

Elizabeth (DVD)

Rich, rich, rich, rich.

This movie is just rich and I am not only talking about the colorful costumes, the imaginative cinematography, the big sets, the numerous wigs and the beautiful make up designs. But I am also talking about the writing, the performances and the directing skills of Shekhar Kapur.

The words are not only strong but they are also measured. The speeches are well-crafted and the conversations playful. The scenes can be very brutal sometimes and very subtle sometimes. Nothing is accidental.

The most difficult task about writing for characters that people are familiar with is making them three-dimensional. Michael Hirst made every character multi-layered with their own little agenda that won't reveal themselves until the end. It helped a lot in making the actors very memorable except for Joseph Fiennes. His acting is not horrible but he tends to get overshadowed by Cate Blanchett in every scene. Again, I want to mention that all of the actors are excellent (except for Fiennes) but I have to give special mention to Fanny Ardant who played the seductive and vicious Mary of Guise.

What frustrates me is that this DVD does not have enough docus. I really would like to see pre-prod and post-prod videos. Some of the scenes suffer from too much grain--it was really distracting. I guess I have to put this on my list of future BD purchases.

The Sixth Sense (Special Edition DVD)

I have seen this movie many times so the focus of my attention is on the acting.

Of course Haley Joel Osment is still superb as the troubled Cole. His acting is very honest and very affecting. Toni Collette's scene inside the car is very very emotional and tense. I have to say though that her scene with the doctor shows her real thick Aussie accent. Donnie Wahlberg is very scarey as the suicidal ex-patient. It takes guts to take that role.

Bruce Willis should remain an action star.

Many ghost movie fans would say that this is the only good M Night Shyamalan movie and I have to agree. This is the only movie that his technique of foreshadowing and unexpected twists has worked. The theme was relatively fresh that time.

Sound effects really worked to the movie's advantage. I jumped less though because I know now where and when the ghosts will appear.

The DVD is loaded with interviews and docus. Some of which are boring stuff. The most fun I had watching this movie is the first time. It tends to get boring after that.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2-disc DVD)

Let me make this clear: I am not a Harry Potter fan. It is just part of pop culture so I do not want to be left behind.

Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter is growing up to become a handsome young man. That is the only good thing I can say about him. He is still a flat actor. When one student dies, he looks like he just lost his dog which is not even his favorite. What can teach this person to cry convincingly? A circumcision without anesthesia perhaps?

The rest of the child stars are not that different. They are all casted because they look like the characters in the book and not because they can act. The adult actors are superb though especially Miranda Richardson. She has very few scenes in the movie and yet I cannot help but focus on her. I also love Shirley Henderson as Moaning Myrtle because she is just so funny and spooky at the same time.

The quality of the video is OK. It is not really that fantastic and maybe because the producers have their eye on high-definition discs. The quality of the audio is overwhelmingly loud. It is hard to know if it is detailed but it is certainly very loud.

The extras are actually very interesting to watch. It is disappointing to learn that Rupert (or Ron) has quit school. It is a shame that he has all the resources to have a good education and yet he is wasting it. Oh wait this is a DVD review. Anyway, the film is two and a half hours long and I am glad they took away many of the scenes. The dance looks enchanting though. I wish they had put it back.

There is no chance that Harry Potter will appear nude in succeeding movies. Too bad that is the only thing that can distract me from his awful acting.

Silence of the Lambs (DVD)

Jodie Foster is one cute dyke. She looked so beautiful then and she still looks beautiful now. I wonder if she went under the knife. Anyway, Jodie is very good in this role eventhough she was very young.

Anthony Hopkins on the other hand is just scary. With very little movements and an ornate delivery of lines, he can send the chills up my spine. His rendition of Hannibal Lecter is one of the scariest characters in Hollywood history.

This DVD bought in the Philippines is packed with extras. There are tons of trailers and docus. The most interesting part is the reaction of some gay people when it was released. I honestly did not see Buffalo Bill as a homosexual. How can I identify myself with a very disturbed person anyway? I am just surprised that there was an outcry when this movie was released because I do not think there is any homosexual character in the movie.

It is a shame though that there was very little restoration done on the film. There might be better DVD releases. If I had a BD player, this would definitely be on my list.

The Beyonce Experience Live (DVD)

It was a crappy cover but the DVD disc is engraved. It really looked good and when I put in my computer, I discovered that it is a DVD-9.

As a result, the video is intense. You can see Beyonce popping without blurring. This woman is just so flawless. Where did she get her genes? You can also each and every abdominal muscle of her back up dancers.

The design of the costumes are good but some are not so spectacular like the "nude-like" costume with the bits of glass. Her hair is sooo big. I wonder if it weighs more than five kilos. Those extensions are wild!

Some of the dance moves are African-inspired but some are done many times in concerts. I can see Madonna in some of the sequences. But she can move! I wonder where her lungs are.

The music is perfect before you go to a club. The message is positive. The show ends with a slow song but it is perfect.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (DVD)

The look may not be original but this movie is definitely memorable as it tries to revive the tension of the Cold War and an era of skepticism.

The visuals are overpowering but luckily, some of the actors have very strong screen presence. Surprisingly, Angelina Jolie stood out eventhough she had a very small part in the movie. I guess the eyepatch did the trick. Giovanni Ribisi's performance is also entertaining to watch eventhough he did not have some funky costumes. Unfortunately, the blandest performance is one of the main actors, Gwyneth Paltrow. I have never liked her in any of her movies. I just do not understand why producers keep on hiring her--she is not that beautiful and she is not a convincing actress.

Back to the visuals, many of them are exciting to look at especially for a movie geek like me. There are so many references to very old movies like "King Kong" and "THX 1138". Laurence Olivier's likeness is also very interesting to see.

This is only a single-disc release but it is packed with very informative documentaries. Half of it is about the technical aspects of the film and half of it is about how the production people worked together. It is really nice to see people who make films because they love it.

I actually did not expect to like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" this much.

Apocalypto (DVD)

Mel Gibson thinks that we are stupid. He gets a pig to sound like a tapir. And he thinks he can put an extinct civilization on the big screen without a proper research.

I think Mel Gibson has too much money and too much time in his hands to make ambitious concepts look like shit. Why does he use a language that is not popular? Answer: people won't notice how badly written it truly is and it is cool to have subtitles in each and every movie that he makes.

The movie may be historically and biologically incorrect but there are some great points. Mel Gibson was lucky to get some very good actors and extras. They all look great on screen. The cinematographer is a genius. He has done some breathtaking shots indoors (like the one in the cave) and outdoors (like the waterfall scene). The makeup and visual effects are all convincing. And everything looks pristine on DVD.

The commentary track is very insulting to the work of many people. Mel Gibson does not remember the names of his stunt people. He also laughs inappropriately in scenes of carnage. Maybe, he gets hard looking at violence.

By the way, the butts of many of the actors look amazing.

The Full Monty (DVD)

I bought the DVD some months ago because it was extremely cheap (less than 100 Thai Baht) and now I know why. It is hard for the DVD player and DVD drive in my computer to read chapter 7 of the DVD. Quick suggestion: do not buy the original DVD of this movie in Thailand.

There were no extras as it was only a barebones DVD as I expected. The audio and video were OK. It was not really very clean but for that price, why should I complain? But then it says on the cover that it is a dual layer disc but the entire data is only 4.1 GB. It is a single layer disc!!!

Some of the actors in this movie are quite popular now. Robert Carlyle looks a lot younger but he is obviously very talented as a struggling parent. Mark Addy looks very handsome here actually. He is not as chubby here as he is now.

If I publish this review then that means I had nothing else to write about.

Collateral (2-disc DVD)

Tom Cruise may be the most despicable person in the world but I am still in love with him. I have always fantasized him enveloping me in his arms. According to what I have heard, it is not really that impossible. Anyway, that is not the topic of this entry.

I was very surprised at how exciting this movie is. The plot is clean and not overtly manipulative. The production value was impressive. The musical score and the cinematography took me to the exciting nightlife of L. A. The editing kept to its very measured beats.

The performances were the ones who stood out though and I think this is one of the best performances by Tom Cruise. He was very believable as a killer. He knew how to throw punches and shoot like a henchman. It is not as fake as him holding a samurai in another movie. Jada Smith is extremely beautiful and very nice to watch on screen. Jamie Foxx is not as sincere though. I can still see a man acting and and not a cabbie.

Michael Mann is a perfectionist. The extras are very informative and they show how meticulous Michael is. The commentary track is full of information and I know that many parts of the commentary track were done in more than one take. Sometimes, Michael's voice actually overlaps his own. I am now curious to see his other movies.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (DVD)

Mel Stuart's version is definitely very different from Tim Burton's. Mel's is sweet and very childish while Tim's is very dark and wicked. I really prefer the latest version because it is more faithful to the book and the scenes are more inventive.

But there are some very good moments in the first adaptation. Gene Wilder is very sympathetic and some of the songs are really unforgettable.

The pacing is actually nicely done. It is more hopeless than Tim's.

One great thing about this DVD release is the commentary track of the four kids who are already grown ups when they recorded it. They sounded very much like the kids they were 30 years ago. The excitement in their voices is very obvious and how I wish there was a video of them talking.

Hmm...there is something convenient and sexy about Oompa Loompas...