Liam Neeson is a scientist in Berlin for a conference with his wife (January Jones). After getting in a car accident, he awakens to realize that his wife doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) is claiming to be him. Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella all appear.
HOW IS IT?
UNKNOWN has a set up that Hitchcock would have loved. The innocent man, trying to prove his identity, this could have been made sixty years ago and have worked.
Without giving anything away, after a strong set up, it gets needlessly muddled with a resolution that raises more questions than answers. It just doesn't work.
Rather than sticking to the mystery of the situation, the film instead stays with too many action film cliches. It is filled with car chases and fight scenes. The story was interesting enough that it didn't need these elements.
The Blu-ray contains two featurettes on Liam Neeson and the making of the film.
UNKNOWN will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on June 21st, from Warner Home Video. It will also be available On Demand and to download on iTunes.
Two married men (Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson) are given a “Hall Pass”, a week off from marriage by their wives (Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer). The two enter the world of dating.
HOW IS IT?
HALL PASS has something of an All Star cast of some of the funniest people on TV. Jason Sudeikis from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Christina Applegate from MARRIED WITH CHILDREN and SAMANTHA WHO, Jenna Fischer from THE OFFICE, even other familiar TV faces as Alyssa Milano and THE VIEW’s Joy Behar appear. Owen Wilson and Richard Jenkins are two of the only real “movie” stars in the film.
Watching the film, it makes you really appreciate sitcoms. We are going through a revival of TV comedy. I don’t know if it tells you more about this film, or TV comedy when I can honestly say there are more laughs in a single episode of any of the above TV shows than in this film.
HALL PASS was based on a story by Pete Jones. You may remember Jones as the star of the first season of the late great HBO reality series PROJECT GREENLIGHT, the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon series that followed the making of a film from screenplay through finished product. Pete was the filmmaker who made STOLEN SUMMER (who frequently stated “Over my dead body!” to any argument).
Peter and Bobby Farrelly (DUMB AND DUMBER, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY) rewrote and directed the film.
The Blu-ray contains an extended (by six minutes) cut of the film, along with a single deleted scene and a gag reel.
While the cast is always fun to watch, and may make this worth seeing, it isn’t a highlight for anyone involved.
HALL PASS will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14th from Warner Home Video. It will also be available On Demand and to download on iTunes
You can also play a series of games based on the movie at the film’s website.
In an updated version of the classic story, Amanda Seyfried plays Valerie, the title character. She is in love with one man (Shiloh Fernandez) while engaged to another (Max Irons). When a werewolf kills Valerie’s sister, a werewolf hunter (Gary Oldman) is called.
HOW IS IT?
If you were a fan of TWILIGHT, RED RIDING HOOD might be for you. With a love triangle, werewolves, it seems to offer a lot of the same elements. It is also from the director of the first film, Catherine Hardwicke.
I have to admit, I’m not a TWILIGHT fan. Plenty are fans, but it just isn’t for me. So, I am not the right audience for this film. It just didn’t work for me.
But if you are a TWILIGHT fan, this might be worth looking for.
The Blu-ray contains quite a few extras however.
There is a picture in picture commentary with the three stars along with the director. There is an alternate ending to the film, several deleted scenes, a gag reel, featurettes on the cast, as well as music videos.
RED RIDING HOOD will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14th from Warner Home Video. It will also be available On Demand and on iTunes
You can play a series of games based on the film at their website.
It is hard to believe, but thirty years ago, a band danced in a water fountain on MTV, becoming one of the most memorable groups of the 1980’s. That was the Go-Go’s.
Thirty years later, after albums, breakups, solo careers, “Behind the Music” specials, reunions, etc, they are back together and touring.
Last night, they appeared at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton.
And they sound better than ever.
Confession: The Go-Go’s have, since that video, been one of my favorite bands of all time. Their debut album “Beauty and the Beat” I still consider to be one of the greatest, most perfect pop albums ever recorded. I was also a big fan of Belinda Carlisle’s solo work. And, last night was the first time I saw any of them live.
Maybe it is just early in the tour, but I have never seen a band seem to have as much fun performing on stage. Bassist Kathy Valentine seemed to be smiling through the whole thing. While Belinda Carlisle was always (rightly or wrongly) thought of as the leader of the group, it was guitarist Jane Wiedlin who did most of the song introductions. Gina Schock was amazing on the drums as usual, with Charlotte Caffey (who along with Jane wrote many of the still classic songs) alternating between guitar and keyboards.
Opening with “Vacation” the band sounded fantastic throughout. With “Beauty and the Beat” being reissued in a 30th anniversary edition, with a second CD of an early live performance, most of that album was played. The band played “This Town”, “Lust to Love”, “Tonite” “Automatic”, and more, all sounding great. They played just as many Rolling Stones covers (“Mother’s Little Helper) as Belinda solo songs (a Go-Goized “Mad About You”). They also played more recent Go-Go's songs, including "Has the Whole World Lost Its Head" from RETURN TO THE VALLEY OF THE GO-GOS and "Unforgiven" from GOD BLESS THE GO-GOS.
They closed out the almost 90 minute set with “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got The Beat” returning for two encores that included “Head Over Heels” which still has some of the greatest keyboarding of the 1980s.
Opening act the Dollyrots were a very good pop-punk trio signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records. I wasn’t familiar with them, but will be picking up their CDs.
The Go-Go’s will be traveling this summer (tour dates here), including an appearance this Friday on Good Morning America.
SOLDIER IN THE RAIN stars Steve McQueen as Sgt Eustis Clay, an Army Supply Sergeant. Eustis spends his days in the barracks coming up with various get rich quick schemes and hanging out with his best friend M/Sgt Maxwell Slaughter (Jackie Gleason who is very good in a rather serious role).
Slaughter has been in the service since the War. It is his life. His office is air conditioned with its own Pepsi machine. He doesn’t see leaving the Army any time soon.
Co-written and produced by Blake Edwards, and directed by Ralph Nelson, SOLDIER IN THE RAIN is an odd film that is tonally all over the place. At times it is very funny, there is also a very brutal fight scene, along with a tragic finale.
The supporting cast includes Tuesday Weld, Tom Poston, Tony Bill, Ed Nelson and even Adam West in a small role. There is a memorable theme song by Henry Mancini, who would team up with Edwards soon after for THE PINK PANTHER.
With Gleason, it is a surprise to see that McQueen turns in the wildest comic performance. His character has this strange squeaky voice reminiscent of Jerry Mathers in early LEAVE IT TO BEAVER episodes. If this had been anyone other than Steve McQueen, you might say the performance ruins the film. But McQueen was so charismatic, it is still watchable.
SOLDIER IN THE RAIN was released soon after THE GREAT ESCAPE, when McQueen was one of the biggest stars of the day. It also had the misfortune of being released a week after the JFK assassination. Because of that, the film has largely been forgotten.
SOLDIER IN THE RAIN is available now from the Warner Archive.
