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CROCODILE DUNDEE / CROCODILE DUNDEE 2 (Blu-ray)

May 2, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, Comedy, PG-13 rated 1 Comment

CrocodileDundeecoverGrade: B, C+
Entire family: No
1986, 1988; 97 min., 111 min,; Color
Paramount
PG-13 for adult situations, mild language, violence; PG for violence, language
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1 widescreen
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: N/A, D
Trailer / trailer

The ‘80s were big on a lot of things—like big hair, big shoulder pads, and big techno beats driving the music. In Hollywood, filmmakers were big on fish-out-of-water stories. You saw Eddie Murphy as a streetwise cop who shakes Beverly Hills up while on vacation, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cop out of his element as a kindergarten teacher, working undercover to catch a bad guy. But the most surprising fish-out-of-water—make that croc-out-of-water—success story was a 1986 Australian comedy-adventure starring Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee. The relatively low-budget film became the second highest grossing movie in the U.S. that year, and also worldwide.

The likable Hogan co-wrote the screenplay and starred as Mick Dundee, an outback guide who draws the attention of a New York journalist on assignment in Sydney. Dressed to the nines in ‘80s style, she heads for the outback to see where this Dundee fellow was when he was attacked by a monster crocodile, but managed to drag himself out of the bush to seek medical help. So the two of them have a little outback adventure all their own as she tries to get him to retrace his steps for her magazine story. Predictably, this Jane starts to fall for her rugged Tarzan, who doesn’t skip a beat in conversation as he picks up a snake near their campfire, breaks its neck, and tosses it aside. There’s mild violence here that’s mostly played for laughs, but there is one moment of peril Sue has with a crocodile that will briefly scare younger children.  More

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (Blu-ray combo)

April 19, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, Comedy, Entire Family, PG rated Leave a comment

WalterMittycoverGrade: B
Entire family: Yes, but . . . .
2013, 114 min., Color
20th Century Fox
Rated PG for some crude comments, language, and action violence
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 7.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UV Copy
Bonus features: B
Trailer

Literary purists won’t like it that director-star Ben Stiller strayed so far from the plot of James Thurber’s original short story, or the 1947 film adaptation starring Danny Kaye. Meanwhile, fans of action comedies may think Thurber’s fantasy elements the weakest part of this film. But somehow, out of a no-win situation, Stiller manages to make a likable movie that entertains while also providing a little get-out-of-the-basement inspiration.

Thurber’s Walter Mitty was a meek and mild-mannered proofreader who lived a life so dull that he was prone to daydream elaborate scenarios in which he would always emerge the hero—the guy who gets the girl. As a child, I remember liking the film in spite of those fantasy sequences, and apparently some things never change. Even though Stiller severely dialed back on the number and length of the daydreaming episodes, inventively passing them off as Mitty’s propensity for “spacing out,” my teen and pre-teen still hated those parts, as I once did. What’s more, our world has become so much more aggressive that they also didn’t care much for the Mitty character—even though he isn’t nearly as bumbling or hapless as Kaye once played him.

Stiller’s Mitty is more of a work-a-day schlepper who toils in the negative archives of Life magazine and really has no life outside of that. In fact, a dating site he joined recently keeps checking up on him to see if he’s actually done something to add to his blank and not terribly appealing or effective profile.

Adam Scott is entertaining as the “terminator” who bluntly tells Life staffers that this next issue will be the magazine’s last, and that most of them will be let go as they downsize to an online-only format. It’s a nice situational updating that lends new credence to Thurber’s story, actually.   More

THE LITTLE RASCALS SAVE THE DAY (Blu-ray combo)

April 1, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Children's, Comedy, PG rated 5 Comments

LittleRascalsSavecover

Grade: C
Entire family: No (only small children will like it)
2014, 98 min., Color
Universal
Rated PG for some mild rude humor
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UV Copy
Bonus features: C
Trailer

The original Little Rascals movies were comedy shorts created during the ‘20s and ‘30s. Like The Three Stooges shorts, The Little Rascals installments from Hal Roach Studios were driven by character interaction and antics, with the kind of exaggerated effects and outcomes that would drive TV comedies for many years to come.

You’ve seen them on countless shows: oven doors that pry open with monstrous, Blob-like balls of dough after the Rascals added too much yeast; suds that also grow out of control when too much soap is added to the laundry or bath; or the Rascals’ Rube Goldberg contraptions that almost always misfired—like a dog-washing machine that went loco. The plots were simple cases of misunderstanding, attempts to raise money, attempts to impress or behave, challenges to one of them, visiting relatives, or various family mini-crises.

When the original short comedies were made and shown in theaters, the Rascals appealed because these were Depression-era kids trying to make it as best they could, whether improvising with play or attempting to do the same thing with work. Often they tried to help the adults, and just as often things got messed up. People whose lives seemed to run the same gamut could identify, and the cute factor made viewers smile. It was the transposition of the adult world onto children’s.

Two decades later, when the Rascals were a fixture on American television, that connection of identification was gone, but kids from the ‘50s found it interesting to go back in time and see what it took to live through the Depression. The Rascals’ inventions were ingenious, and they were cute as the Dickens.

But the Rascals can’t seem to make the leap into the contemporary era. A 1994 attempt failed, and this one from Alex Zamm, whose previous films are mostly sequels, doesn’t fare any better. Small children might find their antics funny, but those who remember the Rascals will see hit-or-miss moments that either capture the spirit and characters or miss the mark entirely.   More

DELIVERY MAN (Blu-ray)

March 30, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, PG-13 rated Leave a comment

DeliveryMancoverGrade: B-/C+
Entire family: No
2013, 105 min., Color
DreamWorks/Touchstone
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: C
Trailer

Now is a good time to remind readers that this site is devoted to TV shows and films that are rated PG-13, PG, or G—and amazingly, this Vince Vaughn comedy qualifies.

You’d expect a film about an underachiever who learns that some 600 “donations” he made to a sperm bank 20 years ago produced 533 children, 142 of which have filed a class-action lawsuit to learn his identity, would go the direction of R-rated raunchy comedies. But with Delivery Man, writer-director Ken Scott gives us a surprisingly sweet PG-13 film that has some language, some drug content, and brief violence, with Vaughn playing a nice guy with a darned good reason for doing what he did 20 years ago.

If you have children in sixth grade or older who aren’t being home schooled, I hate to say it but they’re already familiar with how babies are made, and they know what sperm is. What’s more, they probably won’t even ask about the “banking” aspect, because this isn’t the kind of movie that’s driven by logic. Heck, the premise itself is beyond belief, just as it’s hard to swallow that our hapless hero would be dogged by loan sharks in the first act and then ignored for basically the rest of the movie, or that this man who works as a meat truck deliveryman for the family business could just take off work every day to try to find out more about the children he’s fathered.  More

SAVING MR. BANKS (Blu-ray)

March 14, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, Drama, PG-13 rated 1 Comment

SavingMrBankscoverGrade:  A-
Entire family:  Possibly
2013, 125 min., Color
Disney
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, including some unsettling images
Aspect ratio:  2.40:1
Featured audio:  DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DigitalHD Copy
Bonus features: C-
Trailer

Ever since Old Yeller, parents have had to decide where to draw the line with live-action Disney movies—and that line gets a little blurry with Saving Mr. Banks, the 2013 behind-the-scenes story of what it took for Disney to fulfill a 20-year promise he made to his daughter.

On the one hand, Saving Mr. Banks is a bittersweet tale of how the Disney bunch finally managed to wear down the dour and stodgy P.L. Travers and convince her to assign them the film rights to her Mary Poppins books.

Mark Twain famously said, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please,” and that’s exactly what screenwriters Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith have done. But if you like Disney’s live-action/animated musical Mary Poppins, odds are you’ll enjoy seeing the curtain parted to show Disney and his writing and songwriting team wooing Travers. There’s plenty of humor and warmth in these sections, which are set in 1964 mostly in and around the Disney studio—a setting that’s almost as magical and fun to see as the movies and theme parks. But the story behind the story is . . . well, another story.  More

BIG (25th Anniv. Blu-ray combo)

December 13, 2013

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, PG rated Leave a comment

BigcoverGrade:  A-
Entire family:  No, unless you send them for snacks during two scenes
1988, 104/129 min., Color
Rated PG for language and adult situations
20th Century Fox
Aspect ratio:  1.85:1
Featured audio:  DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes:  Blu-ray, DVD, sound-chip packaging
Bonus features:  B
Trailer

The Big 25th Anniversary Blu-ray offers two ways to watch the film—the original 104-minute theatrical version, and a 129-minute “extended edition.” And so what if that extended edition was available previously on a two-disc DVD that was released six years ago? It’s the first time that the material is available on Blu-ray, and this combo pack should be a welcome addition to the libraries of film fans.

If Splash was the film that gave the Bosom Buddies TV star his first big movie role, Big was the one that showed the industry and audiences that this guy Hanks can act. He earned his first of five Best Actor Oscar nominations for his performance, and it’s great to have both the theatrical release and extended version on Blu-ray finally.

The idea for Big came during a lunch conversation and the first draft flowed in just four months. One day later, it was a quick sell to producer James L. Brooks, who told his friend Penny Marshall that she had to sign on as director. But the second draft took writers Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg (Steven’s little sister) a full year. During that time, they learned that three other films about body transformations were coming out. Their choice was, hold out for Tom Hanks, whom they had in mind when they wrote the script, or rush to be first with whomever they could cast.

What were the other three movies? It’s hard for most people to recall, because Big became a huge hit and remains memorable because of Hanks’ virtuoso performance. You have no trouble whatsoever believing he’s a 12-year-old boy who gets his wish from an unplugged carnival fortune-telling machine and is transformed into a near-30-year-old man. Driven from his home by his mother (Mercedes Ruehl), who thinks he’s a pervert or kidnapper, the suddenly adult and adrift Josh Baskin goes to New York City and finds work at a toy company—all the while hoping to track down the carnival so he can reverse his wish.

Whether playing opposite his 12-year-old best friend (Jared Rushton), a cubicle co-worker (Jon Lovitz), an arrogant idea man (John Heard), or a sexually active career woman (Elizabeth Perkins), Hanks, as a stranger in a strange land, gives us equal portions of laughs and insights into the worlds of both adults and adolescents. Big also offers up a very funny satire of corporate ladder climbing, as we see how quickly Josh rises in the toy company because of his common-sense kid insights.  More

THE SMURFS 2 (Blu-ray combo)

December 3, 2013

James Plath, Family Home Theater Animation, Children's, Comedy, PG rated Leave a comment

Smurfs2coverGrade:  C+
Entire family:  No
2013, 105 min., Color
Rated PG for some rude humor and action
Sony Pictures Animation
Aspect ratio:  1.85:1
Featured audio:  DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes:  Blu-ray, DVD, UV Digital HD copy
Bonus features:  C-
Trailer

I don’t know how much Hank Azaria is getting paid to play Gargamel in the live-action/animated Smurf movies, but it’s not enough.

If it wasn’t for Azaria’s scrumptious,villainous dramatic monologues directed at his cat accomplice, Azrael, The Smurfs 2 would be one big animated yawn. The scenes that feature Azaria and his cat salvage this 2013 sequel—for older audiences, that is. Younger ones will probably be blissfully captivated by the blue Smurfs too, and all things Smurfy.

It’s ‘tweens, teens, and adults who will find the plot and the animation sequences pitched way too low to be of much interest, and the other on-camera stars—Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Jayma Mayes (Glee)—seem so caught up in the dumbing-down that their performances don’t have the same wink-wink quality of Azaria’s. So yeah, this guy and his CGI-enhanced cat save the day . . . sort of.

They can’t rescue the plot, which is straight out of the repetitive old Saturday morning cartoons about little blue creatures who live an idyllic existence except for an evil wizard who wants to eliminate them. And they aren’t enough to compensate for humor that sometimes stoops, or rather crouches, to potty-level (“Every time a smurf toots, someone smiles”?).  More

THE WAY WAY BACK (Blu-ray)

October 30, 2013

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, PG-13 rated Leave a comment

WayWayBackcoverGrade:  B+
Entire family:  Yes
2013, 103 min., Color
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language, some sexual content and brief drug material
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Aspect ratio:  1.85:1
Featured audio:  DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray + UV copy
Bonus features: C-
Trailer

There are some films that children just aren’t as willing to watch with adults—like foreign movies with subtitles, silent movies (more subtitles), or indie pics, with their watch-grass-grow pacing.

But if you are looking for a great “starter indie” for the family—an adult movie that the kids can see, if you don’t mind adult drinking and pot smoking—you might consider The Way Way Back. It’s from the same studio that gave us Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, but is even more kid-friendly than those two films. It’s that rare coming-of-age film that isn’t all about having sex for the first time.

The title is inspired by the rear-facing “way way back” seat in those old station wagons that were big as boats, and while there’s teens and adults and bad behavior, the twist is that the adults behave badly and the kids—at least the main characters—seem more mature.   More

THE INTERNSHIP (Blu-ray combo)

October 30, 2013

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, PG-13 rated Leave a comment

InternshipcoverGrade:  B
Entire family:  No
2013, 119 min., Color
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, partying, crude humor, and language
Twentieth Century Fox
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes:  Blu-ray, DVD, UV copy
Bonus features:  C-
Trailer

Watching The Internship, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was reliving Stripes all over again—only instead of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis as the laid-back, unconventional “leaders” of a bunch of misfits we get Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. And instead of Army basic training exercises as the main plot structure, it’s a series of internship challenges to see which group gets offered permanent jobs at Internet giant Google. There’s even a disapproving authority figure (Aasif Mandvi as Mr. Chetty) that’s every bit as ubiquitous as Sgt. Hulka, and a raunchy club scene where the tech geeks get drunk and bond like the men in khaki.

I realize that my first paragraph will be enough to convince many families that this movie isn’t right for them, and as PG-13 movies go it feels borderline. While there’s no nudity as there is in Stripes, the theatrical version of The Internship does have pole dancing. For some families, that will be a  reason to stay clear. Be warned too that there is nudity and plenty of F-bombs on the unrated version that’s also provided on this combo pack, so make sure you select the right one. The theatrical version has sexuality, partying, some crude humor, and language—though it all seems less offensive because the focus is on the comedy that derives from two “old guys” trying to compete with a younger, tech-savvy generation.   More

THE ODD COUPLE (1968) (Blu-ray)

June 15, 2013

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, G rated Leave a comment

OddCouplecoverGrade:  B
Entire family:  No
1968, 105 min., Color
Rated G
Paramount/Warner Bros.
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Featured soundtrack: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: B-
Trailer

I grew up watching adult movies with my parents—and by “adult” I don’t mean racy content. I just mean comedies, dramas, or musicals that were made with an adult audience in mind, rather than kids or families. I want my own children to have broad tastes and interests, and if we only watch family films they’re going to have a gap. So when a classic comes out on Blu-ray that might be suitable for younger viewers, I ask them to give it a chance. With older movies we have a 20-minute rule: Watch for 20 minutes, and if you’re bored or really hate it we’ll play a game or switch to a different movie.

That rule was in effect when I popped in the 1968 film version of The Odd Couple, Neil Simon’s popular Broadway play about two divorced men—one a neat freak, the other a slob—who come to share an apartment. Unlike the TV series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman that ran from 1970-75, the film is a “genesis” story that tells how Oscar (Walter Matthau) ends up accepting fastidious Felix (Jack Lemmon) as a roommate.

Although The Odd Couple is rated G, my wife and I looked at each other wondering whether we should pull the plug, because the opening sequences involve a despondent Felix wandering the streets of Manhattan and looking for a place to kill himself after finding out that his wife is leaving him. As the camera cuts back and forth between Felix’s half-hearted (and comic) attempts and Oscar’s apartment, the men there are playing poker, drinking, and smoking cigars.

But apart from Oscar’s complaint later in the film that Felix leaves notes all over the house and signs them FU—“It took me three hours to figure out FU was Felix Ungar”—The Odd Couple is pretty clean and the language safe. Even when Oscar tries to get Felix to accept his situation and double date with the Pigeon sisters he meets, there’s nothing much in the way of innuendo.   More

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