Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray]

The Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection has basically been released three other times with a few different tweaks since Live Free or Die Hard hit theaters in 2007. What audiences are getting that is different with this set is a bonus disc featuring seven brand new featurettes that retrospectively look back on 25 years of John McClane.

The Movie:

The 25th Anniversary Collection features three hard R-rated flicks, Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance, as well as the PG-13 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard. Each of the films vary in picture quality, as they were shot during different time periods and don?t seem to have been particularly cleaned up for Blu-ray. Excepting the special effects in Live Free or Die Hard, these would probably all look similarly fine on DVD. I?d almost rather have grittier picture quality when it comes to a McClane movie, anyway.

It has been much easier to see how the Die Hard films have continued to resonate over the years when this set showed up and I could watch them one after another. Ever the reluctant hero, McClane (Bruce Willis) hasn?t really changed over the years, although the problems and circumstances he faces have changed and the spectrum has grown from one building to a much broader landscape over the years. Fans may always be privy to the same old McClane, but they never have to go on the same adventure.

Partially, this is due to the variety of rich villains and side characters the franchise has traditionally offered, with only a few missteps. Peppering each of the movies are fan favorite performances, from villainous characters played by Alan Rickman or even Maggie Q to side characters that have lived on in pop culture, including Holly Gennero McClane (Bonnie Bedelia), Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), Trudeau (Fred Thompson), Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) and Marvin the Janitor (Tom Bower)--the list goes on and on.

When considering the Die Hard movies, normally fond moments and characters pop up, first. However, the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection offers the somewhat unique ability to view each of the four films released in the franchise in order, to really sit up and pay attention to the material, and to hone in on the deft dialogue, the recurring themes, and a few other delicately handled moments that make the entire franchise a cohesive entity. It?s really not just the, ?Yippee ki-yay motherfucker? that holds the franchise together, it?s a lot of careful work by several different directors who believed in the character of McClane and what that character can bring to audiences time and time again. Whether or not fans have favorites among the four movies, I still believe it?s worth it to own all four.

The Disc:

It was a big disappointment that there was not a ton of cohesiveness between discs. The first three movies are set up with the same menu and formatting and the fourth flick in the franchise is literally the regular Blu-ray release just tacked on as part of the set. In fact, the Live Free or Die Hard disc was still sporting previews for The Simpsons Movie, which I actually appreciated, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which I would otherwise have forgotten existed.

Each of the discs come with a set of bonus features that have been available with other releases. The first Die Hard film, for instance, comes with commentary and news reels, among others. With some of the other movies, deleted scenes and featurettes are available. With Die Hard with a Vengeance an alternate ending is even available. There?s more, but that?s the gist.

The Bonus Disc is split into two sections. Viewers can choose the ?Decoding Die Hard? path or the Die Hard Trailers path. I actually chose the trailers first, and was happy I did, as I was rewarded with the A Good Day To Die Hard trailer at the end.

?Decoding Die Hard? is a lengthy set of retrospective segments that take a look at the making of the first 4 films in the Die Hard franchise, as well as other retrospective interview footage. There?s a full segment on McClane?s character called ?Modern-Day Hero,? which discusses everything from Willis having firm opinions on his character to the gun click over the ?mother fucker? line in the fourth Die Hard film that kept the rating at PG-13.

Each of the bad guys gets a lengthy segment and each of the sidekicks and most of the side characters are remembered during another segment. ?Punishing Blows? takes a look at the action sequences and how Maggie Q?s big scene in the fourth film is the first time McClane has been evenly matched by a woman during an action sequence, which is worth a watch. Following this is a segment on the ?explosive? effects. The most exciting of these is the discussion of the miniature work that goes on in the first couple of films.

While the retrospective featurettes are certainly worth the watch, the packaging is unremarkable and even features a piece of paper listing the extras on the bonus disc glued to the back. If you?ve been hankering for copies of all of the movies in the franchise, the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection certainly fulfills that niche and even offers some worthwhile extras, but it isn?t anything to write home about and it may be worth holding out until the newest film can be added to the mix.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Long, Maggie QDirected by: John McTiernan, Renny Harlin, Len WisemanProduced by: Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, John McTiernan, Michael FottrellWritten by: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza, Doug Richardson, Mark Bomback

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The Last Exorcism Part II

New Orleans is a really spooky place. It?s a strange mix of buttoned up Christianity, hidden superstitions and nighttime sin. It has its own pace, its own bilingual history and its own demons. In many ways, it?s the perfect setting for a horror movie interested in creepy and off-putting visuals and/ or backstories involving slavery, vampires and old mansions that have fallen into disrepair.

At times, The Last Exorcism really seems to understand the potential in its location. It cuts to creepers in Mardi Gras masks and disturbing painted street performers. It even throws in some voodoo-like rituals, but none of it is enough to save a flat exorcism story arc that few of us asked for and even fewer will enjoy.

Even casual horror fans have probably seen at least one young woman?s body twisted, contorted and raised into the air. If not, they?ve at least seen one member of a weird cult or religious organization get called out of the bullpen to try his home spun remedies on a protagonist slowly losing his or her mind. That?s why exorcism movies have to be about the characters now, as as characters go, The Last Exorcism is short on good ones.

After the de-possession story of the first The Last Exorcism, Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is discovered in the woods and brought to live in a group home for troubled young girls. After repeatedly being told the demon who possessed her, Abalam, isn?t real, she starts to make a real life for herself. There's a potential boyfriend (Spencer Treat Clark) to awkwardly go to the zoo with, a gaggle of girlfriends to talk about it with, and a job as a maid in a local hotel, but alas, we all know that bliss can?t last in an exorcism movie. Abalam reappears in various forms to sometimes torture her, sometimes woo her and consistently confuse the hell out of any viewers with common sense.

There?s a difference between a genre movie not answering every possible question a viewer might have and a horror movie straight up not making sense, and The Last Exorcism 2 is on the wrong side of that unforgiving line. We?re told Abalam is powerless without Nell; yet, he?s apparently capable of inhabiting people?s bodies and committing a boatload of felonies with only a marginal bit of effort. Sometimes we?re given evidence to believe certain characters and certain behaviors are figments of people?s imaginations, and sometimes we?re given evidence to believe certain characters and certain behaviors are actually happening. It?s a big jumbled, needlessly complicated mess.

The Last Exorcism worked because it made clever use of a skeptic, got a great performance from its lead actress and offered just enough genuine scares. The Last Exorcism 2 gets that same great performance from Bell, but beyond that, it doesn?t offer much more than confusion and the occasional New Orleans shoutout. Unlike its predecessor, this one isn?t destined for good word of mouth, and if we?re in luck, it won?t be destined for another sequel either.

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Dark Skies

There are times when I think that the horror genre is a club that?s slowly trying to exclude me because I?m not afraid of children. In the past six months I have reviewed three underwhelming horror movies that used creepy children to spook audiences, but with each one I was left pleading for studios to find another trope to run into the ground. Instead I get Dark Skies, or as I like to call it, ?Number Four.?

Unlike The Posession, Sinister and Mama, at the very least writer/director Scott Stewart?s new film trades demons and spirits for aliens, but doesn?t do much more than put a sci-fi twist on a plot device that has sincerely worn out its welcome. It?s not hard to see what the filmmaker was trying to do with the story; the problem is that it fails in execution.

The film stars Kerri Russell and Josh Hamilton as parents of two kids (Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett) who are dealing with the usual suburban family problems when they begin to experience strange events that could be the work of extraterrestrial forces. Of course, it?s the children that have the most direct contact with the otherworldly beings and come to harm as a result. To his credit, Stewart broaches on interesting themes and social conflicts, like innocent parents being suspected of abusing their children, but anything even remotely interesting is dragged down by the languid pace and overuse of clich?s. How many more times do I have to see a stoic youngster draw a crude crayon drawing of their spooky invisible friend?

Dark Skies isn?t a found footage film, but it uses a very similar story structure to the Paranormal Activity films and succeeds in being just as boring. Each night Russell?s character wakes from her sleep, walks around the house and discovers something weird. The next day they deal with the weirdness, call the proper authorities, and try and figure out what?s going wrong while the youngest son acts strange and talks about the Sandman visiting him at night. This pattern is repeated multiple times with each night escalating the situation and therefore the drama between family members. It doesn?t take long to see the structure and it gets old fast.

Slow as it may be, the film shows some flashes of subtlety. While Stewart has a long background in visual effects he keeps them to a minimum here, taking the Jaws approach and understands that sometimes less is more. The film does occasionally take a heavier-handed approach to scares, such as scenes where small birds suicide bomb the family?s home and Russell gets put into a trance and bashes her head against a sliding glass door (which comes across as absurd more than frightening), but sometimes you have to appreciate convention being bent when it?s not being broken.

In the film?s second act the parents go to visit an alien expert played by J.K. Simmons who proceeds to give them a test to see if they are legitimately experiencing extraterrestrial contact. As he reads off the list of strange events and the parents begin to nod and share worried expressions you begin to realize that this was the same list that the writer/director got his hands on before writing the script and used it to structure the film. But while Dark Skies may live up to ?Believer? codes, that doesn?t make it an entertaining time at the cinema.

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Oz The Great And Powerful

In a world of sequels, reboots, remakes, re-adaptations and re-imaginings, prequels have become one of Hollywood?s hardest nuts to crack. There have been far fewer successes than notorious missteps, from George Lucas? second Star Wars trilogy to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In directing Oz The Great and Powerful, Sam Raimi was facing an uphill battle working to live up to the legacy of Victor Fleming?s classic The Wizard of Oz, but by embracing what was great about the old film while introducing plenty of new to the world, he has succeeded.

The legacy of both Disney and Oz both could have found a way to stifle Raimi?s style, but Oz The Great and Powerful is undeniably a Raimi film. The director brings all of his little flourishes that he?s had since The Evil Dead to the new blockbuster - most notably the quick-zooms that distinguish scenes of chaos ? and he?s also even able to play around with some scarier elements. The film is never any more frightening than The Wizard of Oz is, but between dragon-winged baboons, intense witches and a scene involving some freaky plant monsters, the movie will raise your pulse at times.

And credit to Raimi for actually building Oz for his actors to interact in instead of a bunch of green screens. Not only does it give the film a surreal quality, convincing the audience of its otherworldliness, it?s also a boon to the 3D cinematography, which succeeds in not making the characters look like cardboard cutouts against a matte painting. But where the CGI does come in its fantastic, particularly in the design and integration of the China Girl, who looks impressively photorealistic.

As an origin story for The Wizard of Oz, this film cleverly balances its own story while also embracing the elements that made the original great to begin with. Raimi includes many nods to Fleming?s movie, including the sepia-toned 4:3 aspect ratio opening that turns to color and widescreen in the Land of Oz, and the fact that both stories have a group of unlikely heroes joining together to go on a great adventure, but keeps the story surprising and clever enough for it all to play as loving homage. The troupe that the movie pulls together - which includes Oz (James Franco), the con-man/magician/presumed wizard destined to save the land from the wicked witch; Finley (Zach Braff), a flying monkey who owes a life-debt to Oz; and the aforementioned China Girl (Joey King), a sassy young porcelain doll who Oz rescues ? has wonderful chemistry and conflicting personalities, while the three witches Glinda, Evanora and Theodora (Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Mila Kunis) all get interesting new backstories that add surprising depth to previously underdeveloped characters.

Fun as Franco is in the eponymous role, it?s surprisingly his CGI co-stars that wind up stealing the show. As Finley, Braff has the benefit of getting the lion?s share of the funniest one-liners and quips, but the actor deserves the credit for his great timing and simply having the perfect voice for the part. King, meanwhile, brings the ideal level of pluck and cute humor to the China Girl without ever being cloying or reducing the character to being a stereotype.

Unlike 2011?s The Thing, Hannibal Rising or Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Oz The Great and Powerful is the rare prequel that fans will want to rewatch back to back with the original classic, not only finding the places where the stories sync up, but also just enjoying the story of it all. It?s an entertaining family movie, a true Sam Raimi film, and a fun return to a merry old land.

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Hit and Run [Blu-ray]

Hit and Run will probably reaffirm fans? love for the real-life relationship of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, while simultaneously making fans hate heist capers based on car chases. Its low budget road trip story with a criminal bent is never even saved by its slew of guest stars, making it mostly an unfortunate waste of talent.

The Movie:

Written and directed by Shepard and co-directed by David Palmer, Hit and Run follows the story of Charlie Bronson (Shepard) and Annie Bean (Kristen Bell), who are reaching a critical point in their relationship. Just as things get serious, however, Annie is offered a job in Los Angeles, which both happens to be located far away and be a place Charlie is not supposed to head to. Unbeknownst to Annie, Charlie was formerly a bank robber who turned a new leaf after giving up his cronies and entering the witness protection program. When his old partners sniff out some news on Charlie?s whereabouts, a chase across part of the country ensues.

While Shepard and Bell seem to mostly be playing themselves with different backstories, the rest of the cast is filled with stock characters or characters that are too strange to be watchable. In the former category we have Neve (Joy Bryant?hello, Parenthood cameo), an African American female criminal with more than a bit of an attitude. In the latter category, we have Debby Kreeger (Kristin Chenoweth), a college administrator with a drug and sex-laced past who has a dirtier mouth than a prostitute. The worse offender is probably Gil (Michael Rosenbaum), Annie?s besotted ex, who would go to any lengths to prove he still belongs in the young woman?s life. This isn't including any of the one-scene side characters, either.

It?s not that the film?s issues stem from the acting, even when some of the characters are nothing short of outrageous. There are some compelling performances here, especially from the main couple, who still manage their rapport when delving into absurd ?I didn?t know you were a bank robber? conversations. Additionally, Bradley Cooper, who appears in Hit and Run as a dreadlock-sporting bad guy after revenge and some hidden money, sometimes manages to harness his wild character and provide some funny moments onscreen. Unfortunately, the movie is more about the testosterone-filled car chases that begin soon after Charlie leaves with Annie on her big trip to Los Angeles. Everyone wants a piece of Charlie and his pretty sixties Lincoln, including Charlie?s parole officer, a couple of cops, and Charlie?s former crew. Which means fans get lots and lots of moments with Charlie and Annie in various cars as they are getting chased.

I may be female, but cool cars and interesting chase scenes can still pique my interest. There are a few of these moments that are completely investing, including when Charlie grabs an off-road race car and jumps it over a few police and civilian vehicles. However, there are plenty of excessive moments, too, including a lengthy scene where Charlie and Annie do donuts to kick up dirt and escape from ex-boyfriend, Gil. Maybe the movie should have foregone some of the comedy for better action or should have forgone some of the action for better comedy, but at the end of the day, there?s something missing in Hit and Run?s formula. It?s not the biggest waste of time, ever, but, in all likelihood, it?s probably not worth chasing down a copy.

The Disc:

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has a certain flair for its discs, and the studio even pulls out all of the stops for smaller movies like Hit and Run. The menu is clean and easy to navigate, and the desert colors within the film pop, although the yellow backdrop on the menu page makes the characters look a little washed out.

The set doesn?t feature a ton of extras, but six deleted scenes are present, although none offer commentary. The deleted scenes are actually extended scenes, focusing extensively on the early scenes between Bell and Chenoweth, as well as Charlie and his parole officer. Finally, even more car chase scenes are highlighted and a couple of these are even more ridiculous than the stuff that shows up in the movie itself.

Three featurettes follow. The first, ?Street Legal,? takes a look at the vehicles that pop up in the film, which apparently are mostly made up of cars Shepard owned prior to shooting, which makes sense, since he likely wrote the script with his own cars in mind. The other featurettes take a look at other aspects involved in shooting the film and featuring interviews from Shepard and Bell.

It?s actually a decent Blu-ray for a less decent film, and may be worth a purchase if you did enjoy the movie.

Distributor: Universal StudiosStarring: Dax Shepard, Bradley Cooper, Kristen Bell, Michael RosenbaumDirected by: Dax Shepard, David PalmerProduced by: Andrew Panay, Dax Shepard, Nate Tuck, Kim Waltrip

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Texas Chainsaw 3D

Contrary to what you may think, Texas Chainsaw 3D is not a shameless exploitation of a beloved franchise to make a quick buck, at least not from anyone involved at the actual filmmaking level. Director John Lussenhop and his team were clearly very invested in trying to make a film that pleases the fanbase and smoothly transitions from the classic first installment. For the most part, those involved accomplish those two goals. Unfortunately, jarring alterations in the quality of both acting and story keep the movie from being anything better than mediocre or even mediocre minus.

At times, TC 3D feels like a low quality, low budget horror film that should have gone straight to DVD. Not Blu-ray. DVD. One of its female characters is a scantily-clad, dick-grabbing, shrieking idiot every horror fan has seen dozens of times. Another of its female characters runs like an uncoordinated buffoon, tripping over every object in a hundred yard radius, and a few of its more emotional moments are unintentionally funny and filled with melodramatic nonsense. Other times, however, the whole thing plays like a wonderful addition to the franchise and a damn scary movie. TC 3D brilliantly uses cell phones/ new technology in one scene that?s among the more well-shot the horror genre will offer this year. A few of the kills have great surprise elements to them, and most importantly, the film feels like an authentic, albeit absurd, next step following the original.

The action picks up in 1974 after Sally?s escape, which is helpfully chronicled in the film?s opening credits for those less familiar with the franchise. The police and an angry mob quickly descend on the house, calling for Leatherface to be sent out. Unfortunately, before that can happen, a few Molotov cocktails are sent into the homestead, laying waste to numerous members of the Sawyer family and setting in motion a chain of events that leads to an infant being snatched from the rubble and raised without a clue to her identity.

That girl grows up to be the angsty Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario), and after her real grandmother Verna dies, she inherits a giant mansion filled with expensive antiques and, of course, a hulking, mentally stunted murderer (Dan Yeager) who lives in the basement. Thanks to a serious lack of communication and common sense, Heather heads to the property with her boyfriend (Trey Songz), her best friend (Tania Raymonde) and a drifter (Shaun Sipos) without any knowledge of the horror that awaits. Upon arrival, they figure out the score pretty quickly, but where the film goes from there is less of what we expect from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and more of a ludicrous curveball that will likely polarize audiences.

I?m fine with the second-half wrinkle, but what bothers me about the film, beyond its occasional dips in quality, is the frustrating middle ground it often takes on sexuality/ humor. If you?re going to give viewers a slutty, absurd caricature who unnecessarily changes in front of people in a van and genuinely acts like a woman put on the Earth to do nothing other than fornicate, then it?s stupid not to have her actually get naked. If you?re going to make a few sick jokes about the ridiculous situation everyone finds themselves in, take that concept to the extreme. Properly carry on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre legacy of disgusting black humor weirdness. If you?re going to go there, indulge. The R-rating has already been secured. Use it.

Texas Chainsaw 3D isn?t nearly as good as it could have been. Like all of the sequels it mostly chooses to ignore, it will likely be forgotten and passed over when a new generation of filmmakers takes a crack at Leatherface. With a few creepy scenes and a great transition from the first film, however, it should still please a high percentage of horror fans looking to find an unnerving way to spend an hour and a half out of the cold.

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End Of Watch [Blu-ray]

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