Being a card-carrying comic book geek, it was a no-brainer that this DVD would end up in my collection.

Or was it?

Truth be told, I do NOT own any of the other Batman movies on DVD. It is true I have seen them all--some of them multiple times--but none of them have been so compelling to me that I felt ownership was necessary.

The first two Batman movies done by Tim Burton were probably the best of the bunch. I am a huge Burton fan, and I enjoyed the visuals and vibe he injected into the franchise.

His pick of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman though? Uh-uh. Not even close.

Now I think Keaton is an awesome actor (although he has been in some crappy movies--but just check out My Life as an example)--but this diminutive middle-aged guy was not physically convincing as the Dark Knight Detective. In fact, it was more the star power of the villians (Jack Nicholsen, Danny DeVito) that make those films truly fun to watch.

Things took a dramatic drop in quality once Joel Schumacher took the reins of the Batman flicks. His direction pushed the characters back into the campy era of the Adam West TV show--which was undoubtedly the worst thing ever to happen to the character and comics in general. The show forever cast comics as a silly and stupid light instead of the moralistic juvenile escapist faire they were intended to be. Crazy camera angles, neon lights, rubber bat-nipples...it seemed there wasn't anything Schumacher wouldn't stoop to for a cheap laugh or swipe at superhero comics in general. The cheesiness of Arnold Schwarzenegger making ice-related puns completely trashed the tragic and somber character of Mr. Freeze and Chris O'Donnell's completely retarded "Holy rusted metal, Batman!" line put a seemingly permanent end to the franchise at that time.

Years passed. Warmer Brothers decided a "reboot" was in order. But who to get as director?

Apparently, some genius over at WB decided to give Christopher Nolan--director of the brilliant movie Memento--a shot at reviving Batman for movie goers everywhere.

I cannot begin to tell you how EXCELLENT this film is. It spends a good half of the movie simply developing the character of Bruce Wayne, so that we actually empathize with his plight and care what happens to him. The cape and cowl are hardly missed until it is the logical time for their introduction. With Batman, the story is all about understanding his motivations for doing what he does, and having it make sense that he runs around the city in a crazy outfit beating on bad guys. Nolan treats the story with such gravity that you really believe that something like this could happen. Versimilitude is the key word here.

It also doesn't hurt that Nolan loads the movie with A-list actors such as Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. (In fact, the only weak link in the flick is Katie Holmes, who will reportedly be promptly flushed before the next film arrives). You can tell from this simple act that Nolan is treating this as a serious story and not as an empty man-in-spandex CGI-fest. The dialogue, themes, motivations and metaphors really are important here. And Christian Bale? Looks the part, sounds the part, IS the part. Easily the best Batman put to film ever.

So what about the DVD? Well, we have two versions: a barebones one and a "deluxe" 2-disc one (for a few more bucks). I feel it is well worth getting the latter, as the second disc is packed with incredibly cool featurettes concerning the conception, development and making of the movie. One interesting factoid I learned while watching this material was Nolan's avoidance at using CGI if at all possible. He wanted everything Batman did to be within the realm of physical possibility (for a stuntman at least--although Bale did practically all of the fighting scenes). The sets were virtually all manufactured instead of computer generated, and you will be blown away at the amount of work and detail that went into them. And it is true: all of the special effects they did with minatures look better than anything that could've come from a computer. For some reason, technology has not quite caputred real-world physics. In a lot of cases, everything moves just a little too smoothly and cleanly to be real.

The second disc also covers the casting of the film, the making of the new Batmobile, the construction of Gotham City and the Batcave and a look at the most influential comic creators behind Batman. All of this just whets your appetite for what could come next.

My hopes: keep Nolan as director, Bale as Batman and the rest of the supporting cast if possible. Continue focusing on Bruce Wayne, as the characterization is what really makes Batman a compelling personality. Keep the Batman action short, but action-packed. In other words WB--if it ain't broke, don't fix it! You saw how much money this movie made...?

[MrDM]

As everyone knows, Hollywood has devoted much of their resources to creating remakes of older and often classic movies. Although it is tempting to think that executives have simply "run out of ideas"--the more likely explanation is that in a world where summer blockbuster movies run over a hundred millions dollars in cost and promotion, it is necessary to ensure that expense is recouped. Hence, the recycling of concepts that are known to be successful in the past and consequently (in theory) already possess a built-in audience.

This one of the main reasons why many of my friends were looking forward to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory; many grew up on the Gene Wilder version and had fond memories of the story and concept. Others had read the book by Roger Dahl and were excited by the fact that this version was suppose to be faithful to the original source. And naturally, you certainly can't deny that the pairing of Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton--who had collaborated previously on the excellent Edward Sissorhands--was sure to yield interesting results.

Not having read the book, my only point of reference for this story was the original Wilder version I had seen years ago. My recollection was that Wilder's Wonka was a somewhat creepy and angry man who secretly reveled in the fate that did befall the spoiled children in his factory. Even from the trailers alone, you can tell that Depp is taking the character in a completely different direction. I'm reminded a little of Michael Jackson (without the pedophilic tendencies) in that he is emotionally stunted by his years of fame and isolation. He lacks any sort of social graces, but deep down you have the sense that he does want to be a good person.

One reason Burton works so well as a director in this adaptation is that the story is a very surreal and visual one. The plot is really secondary here, as opposed to Burton's attempt at remaking Planet of the Apes. (He certainly captured the look of the movie with Rick Baker's superior makeup techniques, but the story was completely overly-meandering and unsatisfying compared to the laser-like simplicity and directness of the original.) Everything from Charlie's wonderfully-warped house to the colorful candy factory floor is lovingly rendered as a feast for the eyes. Even the kids are hyper-realized in a strange sort of exaggeration with bright primary-colored outfits and high contrast makeup.

Even though it might appear that this movie is verging into style-over-substance territory, Burton lays out a compelling backstory for Wonka that gives us some motivation for his oddball behavior and helps us to empathize with him and connect with him as a character. Christopher Lee is particularly good as Willy's stoic and authoritative father (who of course happens to be a candy-hating dentist).

My favorite part of the movie however involved the Oompa Loompas, who were played by digitally-reduced clones of actor Deep Roy. Not only do we get their origin and rational for their servitude to Wonka, we are also treated to numerous musical numbers updated and refreshingly presented with the vocals of Danny Elfman (digitally tweaked of course). Each is bizarre and psychedelic interlude that immediately has you longing to see each child "get theirs" so you can see the next one. The Devo-ish silver jumpsuits certainly don't hurt either!

In the end, this effort by Burton and Depp is certainly not the apex of their careers--but neither is it the nadir. It is worth seeing in the theater at least once, but owning on DVD? I guess it depends on how much you like candy.

[MrDM]

What do you get when you take Pixar--the creative force behind such cgi-classics as Toy Story and Finding Nemo--and combine them with the genius of Brad Bird, writer and director of one of the most unappreciated animated movies of all time The Iron Giant? Well, pretty much what you expect: cutting edge computer animation paired with a warm and heartfelt story which threatens to clean up at the box office as one of those rare commercial AND artistic triumphs.

With movies about super heroes currently in vogue, it was certainly a no-brainer for Pixar to tackle this subject matter. It's also helpful that the company decided to build a universe of "supers" from scratch instead of trying to adapt a current Marvel or DC property (which Hollywood has the unfortunate habit of trying to "fix" by add their creative stamp and consequently negate much of the charm of the original). The concepts here are not completely unfamiliar, however. The powers of the Incredibles family are based loosely on The Fantastic Four, as well as the idea of a super-team being a family too. Comic book readers are probably going to be the only ones picking up on this, but its a well-tested formula that's worked for Marvel for around forty years.

Although the characters have a "cartoony" look to them, their problems are very real. The story unfolds with super heroes practicing their unfettered altruism until the litigiousness of society catches up with them and forces them all to go into hiding as part of a relocation program. As the family struggles to suppress their powers and live an unobtrusive existence, Bob Parr AKA Mr. Incredible (fantastically voiced by Craig T. Nelson) wallows in depression over his job as an insurance claims representative where he is inevitably forced to be more UN-helpful than anything else. Conversely, Parr's wife Helen seems better adjusted to the non-super life as she focuses on raising her children Dash, Violet and Jack Jack. The kids, forced to hide their true natures for all of their lives, end up succumbing to the occasional temptation to use them with lands them in hot water at school. Eventually, Bob's longing for the glory days as a super hero combined with an offer he can't refuse are the events that set the plot in motion.

I won't give away the details beyond that for fear of spoiling some of the twists and turns of the movie but suffice it to say, this movie entertains on every level--visually, aurally (with a keen retro James Bond-ish score) and story-wise. You may have heard that Pixar builds their movies AROUND stories; this is what truly divides the see-it-once eye candy flicks from the true masterpieces that you'll enjoy for years to come. The story's moral--that true happiness can only be had if you are true to yourself--is a timeless one. Kids coming for the heroic action might find themselves learning an important lesson as well. [MrDM]

The Iron Giant

Directors : Brad Bird

IMDB

Let I'll just get this out of the way: The Iron Giant is one of my favorite movies of all time. I guess that means that this is less of a review and more of me convincing you to go watch--or better yet, buy this movie immediately. Sadly, The Iron Giant is a hughly underappreciate movie that had almost zero promotion when it original hit the theaters. Fortunately, many people later discovered the movie on video and it became somewhat of a cult classic. With director Brad Bird's burgeoning success on his latest film The Incredibles, The Iron Giant has finally been re-released on DVD with a proper collection of extras that give you a lot of interesting insight into creating this brilliant film.

Adapted from a children's book, The Iron Giant tells the story of a huge robot sent to Earth by presumably an alien race bent on conquering the universe. He is designed as a weapon of war, but through a series of circumstances he ends up an amnesiac and ultimately befriends a little boy. What unfolds is a story of love and sacrifice that triumphs over the evils of military paranoia and violence towards what we fear and do not understand. The tale is set during the Cold War of the mid-to-late 60's, which is the perfect atmosphere to magnify the power of this theme of xenophobia. It is very much in the tradition of War of the Worlds in this respect.

This movie manages to excel in virtually every category. The cell-drawn animation is excellent (which a slight assist in the CGI department) and the voice work is understated and well-done. Eli Marienthal does a great job as the boy Hogarth Hughes and Harry Connick Jr. shines as the quasi-beatnik/artist Dean McCoppin. The surprising standout though is Vin Desiel as the giant himself! Although the voice run through some mechanical distortion to get that "robot" effect, Desiel captures the character so completely--letting a subtle amount of emotion and pathos seep out from this supposed unfeeling killing machine. In fact, there is one key scene towards the of the movie where the utterance of a single word that will most likely have you bawling--or at the very least misty-eyed. It's sad that Desiel has relegated himself to brainless action movies because this role alone proves he does has some real acting ability.

It's easy to see after viewing this film why Pixar ran out to recruit Brad Bird; the company is all about STORY, and it is obvious from this film (and The Incredibles) that Bird is a master storyteller. Many themes are explored in an economical way. The conclusion is satisfying, but only after dragging you to the utter depths of despair. I'm not sure exactly why this movie resonates so much with me. Part of it is nostalgia and love of subject matter, but I think primarily it's the humanity of the flick that completely wins me over.

While this movie is played very "straight" and is not a goofy talking-animal kids movie, I think children will still get a lot out of this movie (and even moreso as the years pass). There is some humor scattered about, but the story unfolds more like a classic fairy tale than anything else. There is a powerful message of judging a book by its cover and tolerance for diversity that every child would benefit being exposed to (and perhaps many adults as well).

Well, that's about as much as I can say to convince you to check this movie out. The rest is up to you!

[MrDM]

The Island

Director: Michael Bay

IMDB

Michael Bay.

The name typically triggers a wave of revulsion amongst film snobs and purists. If ever there was a "style over substance" director, this would be the person you would immediately think of. However, is this necessarily a bad thing? Personally, I don't think so--just as long as the film in question's main objective is to entertain rather than present itself as some kind of profound cinematic artwork.

Fortunately, The Island is exactly that: entertainment. It's true that it does attempt to touch on some moral and philosophical questions--but these are mostly overpowered and obscure my mind-bending chase scenes and expensive-looking explosions.

Although this movie is not original in the least, it does borrow heavily from some compelling works such as Brave New World, 1984, Logan's Run and perhaps most importantly the Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic Parts: The Clonus Horror. (Even the track suits!) The plot--which is pretty much entirely revealed in the trailer--involves a character named Lincoln Echo Seven played by Ewan McGregor who lives in a hermetically-sealed utopia and slowly begins to question his existence because of his horrific dreams. Lincoln's main concerns surround the society's "lottery" (a thinly veiled reference to the famous story by the same name?) in which the winners get to leave the society and live outside on a tropical island paradise. Of course, not all is what it seems--so Lincoln and his quasi-girlfriend Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) make a break for it and have to evade capture while dealing with the complexities of the outside world.

This is when the movie starts to get GOOD.

Rendered with Bay's trademark dizzying and circling pans, heroic upward camera angles and copious lense flares (all in slow motion of course), we are treated to a cavalcade of exciting chases, monstrous explosions and incredible stunts that stretch the boundaries of credulity to microscopic thinness. None of this really matters though as it is just too darn fun to care about such worrisome things as realism and continuity. The CGI in this film is extremely well done and doesn't come off as fake looking at all. There is a nice blending of modern and futuristic architecture and vehicles that allows the viewer to identify with the reality the movie portrays, but still be dazzled by the cool sci-fi stuff (somewhat similar to what was done in Minority Report). One thing that did annoy me a bit was the overly-blatant product placement which completely dragged me out of the movie. This is one area where Bruckheimer could take some lessons in subtlety.

The movie is loaded with great actors, from the aforementioned McGregor and Johansson to Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sean Bean and Ethan Phillips. They don't really have a ton to do with a script like this, but they do lend a air of credibility to the silliness of an over-the-top action flick such as this one.

And finally, there's one key ingredient necessary to a film like this to make it a sure-fire hit for the summer: a sense of humor. In my opinion, this is what makes forgettable and disposable blockbusters films stand up to repeated viewings. Why else do you think Schwarzeneggar had such a long and popular film career? It was all of his funny catch phrases and one liners. Fortunately, this movie has plenty of laughs in it to help break the tension and give you a more balanced viewing experience.

A believe this will be a bona fide hit, and I am looking forward to adding this one to my DVD collection.

I'm positive some cutesy film reviewer somewhere will call this the real "Attack of the Clones"--but not me. I would never stoop to using such a shamefully bad pun.

[MrDM]

Sin City

Director : Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller

IMDB

Sin City it yet another in a long line of comic book adaptions that have been flooding movie screens in recent years. The main difference with this property it that it is not typical super hero faire that we see from Marvel or DC. Produced by Portland-based Dark Horse Comics (home to Hellboy, The Mask, Concrete and others), it is a ultra-violent monochrome noir universe populated by thugs and hookers--and even more corrupt cops and clergy. It is brought to us by Frank Miller, a very famous comic book artist and writer responsible for reinventing Daredevil in the 80's and establishing the "grim and gritty" era in the 90's with the groundbreaking The Dark Knight Returns.

Miller amped up the level of violence we would typically see in a mainstream super hero comic book with the aforementioned latter series, portraying Batman in an alternate future driven somewhat insane by his dystopian surroundings and dealing with criminals in a very amoral fashion. In Sin City, things are taken a step further with everyone portrayed as "evil," with the only difference being the degree. (Ironically, authority figures appear to be seem to be the most lacking in moral virtue). I have heard complaints about Miller's "unrealistic world"--but it seems to mostly from those who are unfamiliar with the conventions of noir. The effect is so over-the-top that even the extremely graphic violence proves to be humorous the majority of the time.

Probably the most intriguing aspect of this film is that Rodriguez has managed to create the most faithful adaption of a comic book ever. The movie is literally storyboarded straight off the panels of the comic itself. Considering that Hollywood has historically arbitrarily warped and perverted previous adaptions to put their "signature" on the work, this level of accuracy is incredibly refreshing. Rodriguez, who mastered direction of films featuring extensive CGI with his Spy Kids movies successfully replicates the stark and minimalistic artwork featured in the Sin City comic book. One could safely assume that this movie has come out exactly as Miller intended it.

Structurally, the story is very similar to Pulp Fiction with three stories that run somewhat concurrently and intersect and certain points. (Other allusions to that film include the presence of Bruce Willis as one of the main characters and Tartantino directing a key scene in the film!) I found the film had just the right blend of action and "talky" moments and was amazed that even at two plus hours it breezed by.

The film is also jam-packed with capable actors, ranging from Mickey Roarke (who is brilliant as Marv), Benicio Del Toro, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood and many others. Rosario Dawsom IS a Frank Miller drawing! Having a lot of talent don't necessarily equal and great movie, but it sure didn't hurt in this particular instance.

Basically I was so impressed with this flick that I'd willingly see it again in the theater--which is something I pretty much never do.

Sin City: it's got a lot of style, but also a lot of substance.

[MrDM]

VNV Nation:

Pastperfect


Metropolis Records

I have quite a few music-related DVDs, but this is the one that I always come back to.

Of course it doesn't hurt that VNV Nation are one of my favorite bands ever!

But that factor really isn't enough to get me to watch anything repeatedly. DVDs featuring great bands can be deadly dull--whether it be the presentation or even the band itself. Fortunately, this is NOT the case with VNV's Pastperfect.

Highly anticipated when this project was first announced a few years ago, a series of issues arose that resulted in the DVD's delay. Through the changing of production companies and loss of material, Ronan's perserverance and commitment to a quality product has resulted in one of the most entertain live performance and backstage band DVDs I've seen.

The contents...

Disc 1: Spliced footage between a show at the Columbiahalle in Berlin and the Mera Luna Festival, containing 12 tracks from the Futureperfect tour.

Disc 2: Part one of an interview with VNV; a backstage meet-n-greet with the touring personel in "Tour Preparations"; a collection of odd/hillarious/profane tour moments dubbed "Pastimperfect"; a brief overview of touring in various locales such as Paris, New York and Zurich; and finally, a "Making of Futureperfect" documentary which explains the technology and creative process behind creating VNV's music.

Disc 3: A CD-Rom which contains the second half of the interview with Ronan and Mark, live concert videos for "Procession" and "Standing" and various other items.

Also included--a poster and a sticker.

Not a bad deal for $24.95!

As for the DVDs themselves: first of all, you really do get a good idea of what a VNV Nation concert is like from DVD 1--high energy, loud and a lot of fun. The video and sound quality is excellent, and we are treated to enough angles and perspectives to prevent any monotony from setting in. (Sometimes the lip-sync is a little off, but that's par for the course with these sorts of videos). You also get a good balance of crowd noise and feedback to help mentally transport into the show. The song selection and track order is excellent as well. In retrospect, I wish they had released a companion live CD with the full concert on it. Smartly, Ronan's banter is kept to a minimum on this disc; although he is very entertaining, it probably wouldn't stand up to repeated viewings on this DVD. All of that sort of thing has been relegated to DVD 2.

And speaking of which, DVD 2 is loaded with all sorts of interesting tidbits. Despite the fact that in my opinion the interviewer is incredibly bland and asks some fairly generic questions, Ronan and Mark compensate for this by cracking wise and having fun with the whole thing--as well as giving some really thoughtful answers to questions they've probably answered a million times before. The craziness of the "Pastimperfect" section defies description, but most of it is genuinely funny stuff and not the sort of "you had to be drunk" or "you had to be there" sort of humor you usually see in these sorts of DVDs. You get the sense the Ronan and Mark would be really fun guys to hang out with. My favorite part of this DVD though is the "Making of Futureperfect" section--mainly because I am a big fan of electronic music and am very interested in seeing how it is put together. Ronan's setup is surprisingly low-tech and he gives some pretty inspiring words and advice to the upcoming generation of this genre's musicians.

The only part of the whole package I don't really understand is the use of a CD-Rom as the third disc. Perhaps it was a cost-cutting measure of some kind, but there really isn't any advantage that I can see to setting it up this way. Another disappointment was the fact that they imbedded internet link on this disc was never utilized for the downloading of bonus material. These shortcomings are very minor though in comparison with everything else you end up getting with this DVD set.

PastPerfect is highly recommended, even for casual fans of the band. The amazing concert footage alone will convince you that a ticket to VNV live would be money well-spent. It almost makes a great tool for converting your friends and family to the VNV way of life...

[MrDM]