Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Lee Marvin

Directors: Robert Siodmak, Don Siegel

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection (Direct)

Release Date: July 7, 2015

 

 

        Ernest Hemingway’s short story was adapted into two very different films, though both somehow manage to capture the essence of the narrative while maintaining stylistic individuality from both the source material and each other. First was Robert Siodmak’s classic 1946 black-and-white adaptation, which is now considered an iconic example of the post-World War II film noir genre. Producer Mark Hellinger originally wanted to borrow Warner Brothers director Don Siegel to direct this early version, but he eventually made his own adaptation in 1964 as the first planned made-for-TV movie. While the first is a classic example of the shadowy style that noir is best known for, Siegel’s version became a gritty adaptation in full color and violence in broad daylight. Both have distinctly different approaches to the same material, making for one of the few narratives with both adaptations fittingly paired together in one package.

 

House of Cards: The Complete Third Season DVD Review

     Actors: Michael Kelly, Kevin Spacey

Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Spanish

Region: Region 1 U.S. and Canada only

Number of discs: 4

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: July 7, 2015

        Although “House of Cards” is a show about politics, the structure of the popular Netflix series often has more similarities to a gangster narrative. These crime narratives contain illegal activities which catapult the antihero to a position of fame and/or fortune, which is what we witnessed from Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) in the first two seasons of the show. At the end of season two Underwood had manipulated, lied, and murdered his way into becoming the President of the United States. If the first two seasons resembled the rise to the top paralleled in the gangster genre, season three is the beginning of the inevitable fall. President Underwood may not go out in a blaze of gunfire like Scarface or Walter White (unless assassination is in his future), but instead becomes a victim of the very system he used to obtain control.

 

Joe Dirt Blu-ray Review

     Actors: David Spade, Brittany Daniel, Dennis Miller

Director: Dennie Gordon

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: All Regions

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: July 7, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2018

Run Time: 91 minutes

 

        The films to come from Adam Sandler’s company, Happy Madison, have reached a level of such terrible reputation in the last decade that I somehow imagined even the worst productions from years ago to surpass the likes of Jack and Jill or the Grown Ups franchise. I may have been allowed to keep this disillusion going, as I can’t imagine a situation beyond the need to review a newly released Blu-ray that ever would have led me to re-watch Joe Dirt. But because this awful comedy is receiving an unnecessary straight-to-video sequel nearly 15 years after its release, Joe Dirt has been given a high definition release in conjunction, just to remind us how little the franchise needs to be continued.  

 

The Gunman Blu-ray Review

     Director: Andrew Rona

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, Color, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby TrueHD)

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Universal Studios

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2016

        Sean Penn has a somewhat humorless reputation, having proven himself unable to take jokes told in good fun at award ceremonies and a tendency to align himself with projects with more serious tones. Combine this with his stance in political and social matters and it soon becomes difficult to imagine Penn involved in any type of escapist entertainment. I don’t know if The Gunman was adjusted to fit his sensibility or if the material was simply weighed down by the somberness of the star, but the result is an action thriller that is never as fun as it should be.

 

Danny Collins Blu-ray Review

     Director: Dan Fogelman

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, Color, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Universal Studios

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2016

        Danny Collins is a crowd-pleasing film, as it should be. Though the premise of the film may have been loosely based on a real event, writer and first-time director Dan Fogelman approaches the material with a mild genre mentality. This makes for extremely predictable and passively entertaining film, however safe and unimpressive the experience feels. There may be a great film in here, but this feels like the watered down version of that movie.