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THE REWRITE (Blu-ray)

March 14, 2015

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

RewritecoverGrade: B-
Entire family: Yes, but . . . .
2014, 107 min., Color
RLJ/Image Entertainment
Not rated (would be PG-13 for drinking and adult situations)
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: C-
Trailer

Hugh Grant is known for his boyish good looks, casual charm, and dry sense of humor. Writer-director Marc Lawrence is known for casting him.

Thus far Grant has starred in four of Lawrence’s lightweight PG-13 comedies, and while Music and Lyrics remains the best of the bunch—partly because of the chemistry that Grant had with co-star Drew Barrymore—The Rewrite is better than Two Weeks Notice and Did You Hear About the Morgans?

There are some genuinely funny moments in this comedy about an Oscar-winning writer who can’t find work and quickly manages to upset the apple cart after arriving at SUNY-Binghamton to teach a screenwriting course as a visiting writer-in-residence.

Keith Michaels, a one-hit wonder known only for penning Paradise Misplaced, violates teaching ethics by bedding the “apple polisher” that flirts with him his very first night in upstate New York. He drinks too much at the classic wine-and-cheese faculty reception and insults their Jane Austen scholar (Allison Janney). He becomes the talk of the campus after selecting his students on the basis of their attractiveness rather than the strength of their screenplays. And he all but forces an easygoing department chair (J.K. Simmons) to reprimand him after he meets with his students for a total of five minutes and tells them to come back after a month, when they’ve written a complete screenplay.

Michaels isn’t quite at rock bottom, but he still needs to travel a pretty long character arc to reach a point of redemption. And that’s what screenplays are all about.   More

THE PIRATES (2014) (Blu-ray)

January 17, 2015

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, Foreign (subtitles), PG-13 rated Leave a comment

PiratescoverGrade: B
Entire family: No
2014, 130 min., Color
Not rated (would be PG-13 for some violence and language)
Well Go USA
Aspect ratio: 16×9 widescreen
Featured audio: Korean 5.1 HD Surround/DTS-HD
Bonus features: None
Trailer

The real test of a movie in our household is whether one or all of us want to add that film to our collection so we can watch it again. And 15 minutes into The Pirates, my teenage son was cracking up and saying, “This is a keeper.” I second the notion.

But I’ll tell you right now, your children have to be good and confident readers to enjoy this South Korean comedy-adventure, because it’s presented in Korean with English subtitles, and there’s plenty of fast-talking action.

Director Lee Seok-hoon pays obvious homage to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with a slick comedy-adventure that features a Johnny Depp-like bandit leader known as Crazy Tiger (Jang Sa-jung) and a female pirate chief-turned-captain (Son Ye-jin). There are funnily harrowing escapes and even a giant water wheel that rolls through a marketplace, all of which will remind you of Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan.

There’s a thin line between “homage” and “rip-off,” but The Pirates also features plenty of quirky originality. How else to describe a plot that turns on a whale that happens to swallow the royal seal and gold that was en route to validate a new dynasty? Though the film is set in 1388 and on the surface seems to tell the epic tale behind the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, there’s more comedy and magical realism in The Pirates than there is actual history. If it were an American film we’d be calling it a blockbuster or a popcorn movie, because it’s all about big special effects, a high-concept Hollywood formula, and plenty of action and laughs.   More

THE MAZE RUNNER (Blu-ray combo)

December 31, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, PG-13 rated, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Leave a comment

MazeRunnercoverGrade: B+
Entire family: No
2014, 113 min., Color
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and intense sequences of sci-fi violence
20th Century Fox
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD
Bonus features: B+
Trailer

The Maze Runner is the latest young adult post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel series to make it to the big screen. Directed by relative newcomer Wes Ball (Beginners), the film follows the journey of 16-year-old Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), who awakens in an elevator shaft that dumps him in the middle of a grassy field, surrounded by a gigantic stone maze. He’s not the only one, because other teenage boys have been deposited here, and none of them have any memory of who they were before the Maze—they only remember their names.

Like the boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, they establish a society in which some people have authority and the rest function according to jobs that need to be done. They call their society the Glade, and what sets this film apart from others based on young adult sci-fi novels is that there isn’t a romantic interest. It’s all about the boys trying to explore and map The Maze with designated “runners” without jeopardizing their existence by angering whoever or whatever controls the ever-shifting, ever-changing maze.   More

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Blu-ray)

December 10, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, PG-13 rated, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Leave a comment

GuardianscoverGrade: A-
Entire family: No, but . . .
2014, 121 min., Color
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action and for some language
Disney-Marvel
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 7.1
Bonus features: C
Trailer

Who could have predicted that a Han Solo type, a talking raccoon, a walking tree, an ill-tempered green-skinned woman, and a shirtless tattooed convict would make such an entertaining group to watch? Almost as surprising—at least for the parents who thought they were turning their kids on to another Star Wars—is that Disney-Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is about a group of intergalactic escaped convicts who band together despite great differences and decide to do something unselfish for a change. And it’s a doozy: they try to save the universe, starting with a planet that the villain intends to destroy.

The main characters are different from the group that appeared in the 1969 Marvel comic book, but credit Disney for finding a way to assemble them from other Marvel comics and insert them into a cohesive, slam-bang sci-fi/fantasy adventure that takes the original Guardians concept and runs with it, while also generating a comic-book vibe built on non-stop action. And the best part? Humor rides along in a sidecar.

The film’s gags and jokes will make all that sci-fi violence palatable for parents who worry about their children being exposed to such things. Guardians feels like a visual comic book, and tone is largely responsible. It’s fun, it’s funny, it features a strangely likable group of characters and terrific action sequences and special effects, and the screenplay and direction keep things moving along—another surprise, really, if you consider that the film is directed by James Gunn, the fellow who gave us the clunky live-action Scooby-Doo movie.

GuardiansscreenChris Pratt really anchors the cast. He’s infectiously likable as Peter Quill, an Earthling who’s snatched as a boy by a blue-skinned interplanetary rogue (played rather menacingly in Woody Harrelson Natural Born Killers fashion by Michael Rooker). Like Jim Hawkins and Oliver before him, he’s adopted and taught the ways of thievery, thuggery, and skullduggery. But a brief stint in prison puts him in contact with Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a mutation that’s intelligent enough to know he’s the product of wild experimentation, and Rocket’s sidekick, the talking, walking tree named Groot (Vin Diesel). There he also meets Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the green-skinned woman who, like him, was adopted and trained for a life that goes against her nature, and Drax (WWE star Dave Bautista), a tattooed shirtless hulk who’s bent on avenging his family’s death. Together they figure out how to break out of prison, and when responsibility for saving the universe falls their way, they all stand tall. Well, except for that little raccoon.   More

WHAT IF (Blu-ray)

November 15, 2014

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

WhatIfcoverGrade: B
Entire family: No
2013, 98 min., Color
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, including references throughout, partial nudity and language
Sony Pictures
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: C+
Trailer

What If Daniel Radcliffe took a break from the horror-thriller movies he’s been making since his Harry Potter run ended and tried his hand at a romantic comedy? And what if he was paired with writer-actress Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks)?

According to Radcliffe, “There was something lovely about just stepping up on the set and talking,” since this was the first contemporary character he’s ever played.

So what if a nice-guy med school dropout named Wallace (Radcliffe), who’s been burned one too many times in a relationship, meets a woman (Kazan) who already has a boyfriend and clicks with her instantly? What if she drops the “f bomb” on him that no guy likes to hear: “Let’s be friends. Just friends”? And what if the two of them find themselves growing so close as friends that he definitely wants it to be more, and on some level, so does she? What would it take for good friends to move beyond that, without wrecking what they have? And without pushing the film’s rating into R territory?

That’s the premise of What If, a PG-13 rated comedy-drama-romance that features intelligent writing, a believable chemistry between the slightly staid Wallace and borderline free spirit Chantry, and one “close-your-eyes” skinny-dipping moment that shows both actors’ bodies from behind in a moonlit (sorry, bad pun) long shot.

These two are friends, and so the emphasis is on friendship and clever dialogue rather than the steamy couplings and break-ups and make-ups that often shape the contemporary rom-com. There’s a meet-cute, certainly, but everything else takes a different route from the typical romantic comedy. That’s refreshing, especially since these two are moral individuals who care about each other, and the film emphasizes caring over romance, and romance over lust (which hardly makes an appearance).   More

ARROW: SEASON 2 (Blu-ray)

November 13, 2014

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

Arrow2coverGrade: B+/A-
Entire family: No
2013, 1014 min. (23 episodes), Color
Unrated (would be PG-13 for violence)
Warner Bros.
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Featured audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Bonus features: C
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UV Copy
Trailer

As I wrote about Arrow: Season 1, if your family consists of parents and teenage boys and you’re looking to bond, this show will grab their attention. Loosely based on the DC Comics vigilante Green Arrow, the popular action series spotlights a hero who fights crime but isn’t appreciated by either the police or the media, largely because of his above-the-law methods and the collateral damage that seems to follow him. In Season 1, we saw the origin of Arrow and the madness behind his method: rich people built their fortunes by abusing and taking advantage of others, and he followed a list his father had given him in order to exact what some would call “revenge” and others “justice.”

That first season grew a little tedious because every episode seemed a dead ringer for the previous one. It was like watching My Name Is Earl without the humor. But Season Two had a bigger budget to work with and the production values are noticeably slicker, while more money was obviously paid to writers. The scripts are a huge improvement, and the special effects and action are cranked up a notch to where they’re right up there with big-screen FX.  More

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (Blu-ray combo)

September 20, 2014

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

FaultinOurStarscoverGrade: A-
Entire family: No
2014, 126 min., Color
Twentieth Century Fox
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality, and brief strong language
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Featured audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UV Copy
Bonus features: B
Trailer

Augustus “Gus” Waters wants what most teens do: to make a mark on the world, to be famous, to be somebody the world will mourn when he’s gone. That’s ridiculous, 16-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster says. The world will end and no one will be around to remember even its most famous people, much less the billions who, despite grand aspirations, never fulfilled their dreams. But both of them fear oblivion, and in a cancer support group they find in each other an unexpected love.

Entertainment Weekly called it “The greatest romance story of this decade,” and I can see why. It’s this generation’s Titanic—only cancer is the iceberg that sinks their boat. Though it’s about teens, narrated by a 16 year old, and based on a young adult novel by John Green, The Fault in Our Stars has a much wider appeal because cancer is not age- or audience-selective. It affects the lives of so many, and this film reassures people that it doesn’t matter if you’re not famous enough to make history (or reality TV, for that matter). In the end, what matters is that your passing is remembered by ONE person—which reinforces that relationships of any kind are more important than accomplishments.   More

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (Blu-ray)

September 19, 2014

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, PG-13 rated, Thriller Leave a comment

TheWinterSoldiercoverGrade: B+
Entire family: No
2014, 136 min., Color
Marvel Entertainment
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay, and action throughout
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1
Bonus features: C+
Trailer

Superhero films are the exception to many parents’ rules against too much violence, because even without the “BAM” or “SOCK” graphics we got from TV’s campy Batman episodes, it’s understood that superheroes aren’t real and so neither, by extension, is the violence. It’s why younger children climb onboard to watch a film that, were it a straight action flick, might have been taboo.

But Captain America: The Winter Soldier does something no superhero movie has even attempted: it picks up the superhero and plunks him down right in the middle of a ‘70s conspiracy thriller. That makes sense, actually, because Captain America is probably the most human and normal of all the Marvel superheroes. He’s a regular guy who was made stronger and faster through medical experimentation, the U.S.’s attempt to counter Hitler’s “Master Race.” His only weapon is a shield that he throws like a Frisbee.

Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were heavily influenced by espionage thrillers such as Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor, while directors Anthony and Joe Russo wanted to push the superhero movie beyond the simple nemesis-driven plots we typically see. How unusual is it for a superhero NOT to appear in just about every scene of a superhero movie? But of course it isn’t unusual for that to happen in more complex thrillers.

The Winter Soldier takes its title from a Soviet agent that Captain America (Chris Evans) goes up against, but that assassin (Sebastian Stan) is only one piece of the puzzle in a complex plot that twists and turns like Steve Rogers own souped-up DNA.   More

BLENDED (Blu-ray)

September 12, 2014

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

BlendedcoverGrade: B
Entire family: No
2014, 117 min., Color
Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Featured audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UV copy
Bonus features: B-
Trailer

Sometimes you just have to ignore the buzz. Our family had heard that Blended, the latest Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy, wasn’t all that good. But hey, I said, we loved them together in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, so let’s give it a chance.

We did, and our whole family was entertained—enough to watch it again in the future. Yes, there were some cheesy spots and a few gags that fell flat, but that’s the nature of comedies—especially those that try to balance humor with warm fuzzy moments.

So I’m going to have to disagree with my colleagues at Rotten Tomatoes that gave this film a crappy 14 percent “rotten” rating—meaning only 14 critics out of 100 liked it. The telltale sign is that 66 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes readers liked it, and audiences aren’t looking to criticize. They’re just looking to have a good time. So were we.

Blended won’t be for everyone, though, because it does try to do the impossible: to make a family movie that’s also adult, insomuch as it’s full of put-downs, sexual innuendo, and slapstick that bounces back and forth between the adult and juvenile realms. Running gags include the girls’ boyish looks, one “blended” couple’s get-a-room antics, a 15-year-old girl’s flat chest, and a boy’s babysitter and dirty magazine fetish. Blended is rated PG-13 for “crude and sexual content and language,” and parents who are uncomfortable letting their children watch films like that will want to take a pass.

But you know what? The juggling of adult and family content is the realistic theme of this film—and the bulk of it takes place at a South African resort specializing in blended families, one which makes no bones about wanting to keep (or rekindle) the flame between the mother and father so that they don’t just think of themselves as 24/7 parents.  More

OUT OF THE PAST (Blu-ray)

August 16, 2014

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

OutofthePastcoverGrade: B
Entire family: No
1947, 97 min., black and white
Warner Bros.
Not rated (would be PG-13 for some violence, drinking and smoking)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Featured audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono
Bonus features: C-
Clip

Like many parents, my wife and I have tried to help our children to develop an appreciation for a broad range of things, whether it’s expanding their palette at home or their sense of the world via travel. It would be nice, too, if that appreciation extended to film—though this generation seems more resistant to black-and-white movies made in the old Academy ratio (1.33:1) instead of widescreen, and put off by films that are dialogue and plot rich, rather than action-filled visual blockbusters.

So this was an experiment. I told them the 20-minute rule was in effect—give Out of the Past a chance, and if they hated it after 20 minutes I’d put on something else. Film noir is so important a style that I wanted them at least to be able to recognize the traits: the emphasis on shady characters with shady pasts, the frequent flashbacks, the manipulation of shadow and light to create stylized effects, the rough-talking hero who often narrates his own story, and the femme fatale he’s drawn to, even though she’s bad for him and could get him killed.

Film noir is most often associated with crime dramas from the ‘40s and ‘50s, and I knew that Out of the Past was considered among the top 10 on just about everybody’s list. Warner Bros. released it on Blu-ray this week, available only through their archive program, so why not give it a try? As it turned out, both of our kids said they’d keep watching after 20 minutes.   More

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