The second season begins where the first left off, give or take a few months. Peggy has returned to her previous weight having secretly given birth to a baby, though she has given it to her mother to raise and has no interest in being involved in his upbringing. Don Draper, meanwhile, continues to have a wandering eye, but this time things come back to haunt him, forcing him to make some tough decisions – and forcing his wife Betty to do the same. The firm partners must also consider a potential buyout, among other things.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Mad Men, but considered it to be slightly overrated. The acting was terrific, the writing spot on, the direction fabulous and the stories well carved, but there was just something that left me thinking, Isn’t there something more? Compared to such shows as The Sopranos or many other classics, Mad Men had the drama without the power, the characters without the energy.

Season 2 is also emotionally muted, albeit intentionally so. But it quickly becomes clear that Season 1 was just an introduction to the characters. We get to see a little into what they’re thinking in the first season, but the second starts to open things up. Some tensions burst, men finally get caught cheating and more than one conflict boils over into a steaming mess. In hindsight, Season 1 was a pitch-perfect masterstroke, and Season 2 is even better.

My only fault with the production (I realize this is a contradiction to my “pitch-perfect” statement in the previous paragraph) is that Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is so hard to read it’s hard to relate with him at times. Though Hamm does a tremendous job of letting subtle hints about his true nature creep through his poised exterior, his character does seem unnecessarily muted at times. It’s his character’s complexities that drive the show, and yet his complexities are often confusing and contradictory. This is fine, but with so little explanation about why he does the things he does, it becomes frustrating after a while. [SPOILER ALERT] After he essentially gets caught cheating, what does he do? He travels to California on business and, while deciding what he wants to do in regards to his family and wife, ends up running away with another gorgeous woman for a week. Why does such a smart, caring husband and father act impulsively like this time and time again? It’s hard to say for sure, and without more insight into his character, it’s hard to believe his rationale and motivations.

Still, the faults are minor. Mad Men Season 2 looks great, is once again well acted and features some extremely addictive storylines, despite the fact that, compared to most other television shows, very little actually happens.

If you haven’t watched Mad Men, consider doing so. It is an intriguing, addictive and unique look at advertising in the 1960’s. Mad Men isn’t for everyone, but if you do discover that it is for you, you’ll be hooked.

The Mad Men: Season 2 DVD includes feature-length audio commentaries, a featurette that explores female independence in the 1960’s, a featurette about the show’s fashion, and some other, more interactive featurettes that explore the historical events of the show (the events in the show align with the Cuban Missile Crisis).

Season 3 begins on August 16, 2009 on AMC.

Donnie Darko, one of the most unique, intriguing, mind-bending and debate-invigorating films of the 21st century, is one of my favorite movies. The film, though it was never a box office hit, has become a cult classic, solidified Jake Gyllenhaal as a leading man and is just one damn fine film. It is also a movie with a satisfying ending… an ending where the title character dies to save the world.

So, when Donnie Darko fans heard of S. Darko, a sequel (sorry, continuation), they were understandably upset. As was I. As was Donnie Darko’s writer/director, Richard Kelly. Why ruin something that’s perfectly good in its own right, like the Wachowskis did to the The Matrix?

In reality, S. Darko is not that bad of a movie. It has strong acting, fairly slick directing and a decent screenplay. Especially for a direct-to-DVD title, the movie is much better than expected, other than the rather dismal special effects.

The problem, however, is that the only people who will watch S. Darko are Donnie Darko fans, the exact group that would prefer if this movie didn’t exist. This explains its 4.0/10 rating on IMDB; it’s not that bad, but it is completely unnecessary.

The movie is just as confusing, if not more so, but without the payoff or originality. The writers decided to bring back Daveigh Chase, who played Samantha Darko in the original and who has gone on to play the evil dead girl in The Ring and a psychotic teenage wife in HBO’s “Big Love.” Unfortunately, Daveigh is left to play a dull, depressed teenager who sees the same thing her brother did, but doesn’t get to show off her acting chops (though no one can blame her for taking on a lead role such as this and proving that she can indeed act). Other cast members include Briana Evigan (Step Up 2), Ed Westwick (Son of Rambow) and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper in Twilight), and all turn in pretty good performances.

Unfortunately, the movie seems like a less enjoyable copy of the original. Though director Chris Fisher gives it his all, the style feels, at times, as if he’s simply trying to mimic moments from the first film. There’s even a musical montage, albeit without “Mad World.” The story is very similar, not necessarily when it comes to specific plot points but just in overall theme and goals. It’s like Fisher and writer Nathan Atkins just recreated the movie with different characters and a slightly different plot and didn’t think anyone would notice.

The movie also falls apart in the end as its low budget finally rears its ugly head and the plot and characters take a turn for the worst.

Ultimately, S. Darko isn’t a horrible film, but it is like that unwanted bastard child no one wants. The only saving grace is that S. Darko is in fact a direct-to-DVD release, so we can just ignore it. Or you can. But I know curiosity now has the better of you, and you will watch it. Damn it, 20th Century Fox.

The DVD comes with a short behind-the-scenes documentary which is actually halfway decent, a few deleted scenes and a commentary with the filmmakers.

My Bloody Valentine 3D

You can read the My Bloody Valentine 3D movie review here, or read on for my DVD review…

The 2-Disc Special Edition includes a couple forgettable special features, which basically consist of some behind-the-scenes documentaries and deleted scenes. The two documentaries are your standard behind-the-scenes fare, with a look at how the gore was executed, why the actors got involved (”I wanted to do something original”), blah blah blah. Pretty boring and unremarkable.

The deleted scenes are decent enough, but all the good stuff was included in the actual picture. There’s also an alternate ending and a gag reel; the gag reel, admittedly, is pretty good. On the first disc, there’s an audio commentary with the director and one of the writers.

More importantly, four pairs of 3-D glasses are included, though you can opt to watch the two-dimensional version if you so choose. I was most curious to see how Real3D formatting would play on a small screen (42-inch plasma, to be precise). The glasses look a lot like the old school glasses from yesteryear, but they do work a hell of a lot better; a fair amount of the three-dimensional backgrounds in the film pop quite well. At the same time, it takes a lot of effort to stare at the TV through those glasses for an hour and a half, and I could only imagine that had I watched the entire movie over again, I would have had a killer headache by the end. Unfortunately, the 3D through these glasses isn’t good enough to warrant that, so I would recommend watching My Bloody Valentine 3D in 2D, if at all.

You don’t have to be a fan of Star Trek to enjoy the film, and in fact it’s fun going back after ten years and watching things all over again. For instance, at the time, Rickman was mainly known as that guy from Die Hard, whereas now he’s that guy from Harry Potter. No one knew who Rockwell was at the time, and if you look closely, Dwight from “The Office” even makes an appearance.

As for bonus features, there are several new ones not previously included in this Deluxe Edition, including:

• Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest - “Actors and filmmakers discuss how Galaxy Quest came together, why it still works today and what they think of the film 10 years later.”
  What’s most impressive about this featurette is that they managed to pull together most of the original cast to remark on the film; typically, you’d see a lot of the supporting cast but not many of the leads such as Allen. Other interviews include Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, Enrico Colantoni and Star Trek writer and director Nicholas Meyer.
• Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector—”This featurette celebrates one of the most talented and diverse casts of fake sci-fi actors of all time.”
  Many of the featurettes sort of blend together; I just watched this and already don’t remember what set it apart from the previous feature. Still, it’s fun listening to the cast talk about themselves and each other.
• By Grabthar’s Hammer, What Amazing Effects— “Explores the special effects, visual effects and creature effects created by ILM and famed effects artist Stan Winston.”
  What sets this apart from other visual effects documentaries is that it expands upon the typical creature design focus these tend to take and looks at the development of the old (fake) “show footage” and the steps necessary to make everything look believable without looking too serious.
• Alien School – Creating the Thermian Race— This one reveals some interesting facts about how actor Enrico Colantoni was solely responsible for how the aliens talked and walked, among other things.
• Actors in Space—Can’t remember too much about this one, but one can guess.
• Sigourney Weaver Raps—A mildly funny rap video with Signourey Weaver. Even though she’s terrible at it, it’s really not that funny.
• Deleted Scenes – these are very good deleted scenes, even though they’ve already been released on previous DVD versions.
• Thermian Audio Track – the famed alternate audio track, watch the movie in an alien language!
• Theatrical Trailer – wow.

All in all, the Galaxy Quest Deluxe Edition includes some good bonus features that don’t feel at all promotion. The actors, even today, seem enthusiastic about the project, which makes me curious as to why a sequel was never developed. If you don’t already own the film, Galaxy Quest would be a worthy addition to your collection.

The Uninvited is a remake of one of my favorite horror movies, the Korean-made A Tale of Two Sisters. The Korean version was creepy, subtle and confusing, avoiding convention and delivering a superbly complex thriller. As one might expect, The Uninvited is a shallow, routine movie where directors Charles and Thomas Guard resort to cheesy hallucinations and dream sequences to make up for a lack of storytelling ability.

Read the rest of The Uninvited movie review.

So, the odds were good that his 2008 follow-up Seven Pounds, which is directed by the same man, Gabriele Muccino, would continue Smith’s streak of consecutive $100-million earners.

Unfortunately for Smith – though we can hardly feel sorry for his rare flop – audiences read right through the obscure previews and opted to not see the flick – or at least wait until DVD. It was a good choice.

While half of the people who spent money on Seven Pounds thought the drama was well worth the money, the other half wasn’t fooled by its convoluted direction and feinting plot devices. Intelligent moviegoers will figure out the ending within the first minute or two, and will identify the rest of the mystery by the half hour mark… which will leave them an hour and a half of fidgeting as they wait for the end credits to roll.

Seven Pounds is not terrible – it’s just a movie that isn’t nearly as good as some people, including those involved in the film, claim it to be. Judging by the interviews on the DVD, which comes to stores on March 31, 2009, the filmmakers, cast and the rest of the crew honestly believed that audiences don’t mind a completely simple story twisted into a cluttered mystery. Their excitement about the film shows; I just can’t share in their anticipation.

You can read my full Seven Pounds movie review here.

Despite the movie’s pitfalls, it will make a moderately good DVD, assuming you rent it – or, better yet, get a friend to rent it so you can watch it for free. As a free movie, Seven Pounds is worth it. For a drama, it also has some decent bonus features.

There are a few forgettable deleted scenes and an audio commentary with director Gabriele Muccino, but the meat lies in the variety of featurettes included. The DVD takes an in-depth look at a variety of aspects of the film, including the central theme and story. While I don’t agree with the filmmakers, their explanations and passion for the project show; the director’s motivations are quite clear. Beyond that, they talk about the characters and casting, and most of the actors are involved in the interviews.

While I’m usually not crazy about filler features, the Seven Pounds DVD also examines two areas of the movie that normally wouldn’t be covered (SPOILER ALERT), the printing presses and jelly fish featured in the story. The jellyfish featurette is pretty interesting, as is the printing press one. More importantly, I found the narration by the content experts entertaining and well-delivered.

Seven Pounds isn’t a great movie, and the bonus features aren’t anything to scream about, but there’s enough here to warrant a rental.

In The Odd Couple, Lemmon plays Felix Ungar, a man who just been kicked by his wife. Left to fend for himself, he ponders suicide until he is taken in by his friend Oscar Madison (Matthau), a divorcee who lives simply and like a slob. Felix seems to be the perfect complement to this, as he’s a clean freak verging on obsessive compulsive. Unfortunately, Felix’s mannerisms begin to gnaw at Oscar’s soul…

Though made 40 years ago, The Odd Couple is still a hilarious film that lives up to expectations. The movie, directed by Gen Saks and written by Neil Simon, is simply done – but it works. Funny enough, having watched this movie the other day, I realized that I had never seen it before; I’d seen the sequel, but never this original classic. I’m amazed I went this long without seeing The Odd Couple.

There’s not much else to say: the movie is pitch perfect. It doesn’t try too hard; it doesn’t try to cram jokes into every second of the picture. The comedy comes naturally, and a lot of that is thanks to the chemistry between Lemmon and Matthau. They play off each other expecially well, but the supporting cast is also strong. The two women are hilarious, as are the poker friends.

Those of the younger generation (like me) who haven’t gotten around to seeing The Odd Couple should give it a chance. It is surprisingly modern in its presentation, and yet harkens back to a day when comedies didn’t need to be edgy or over-the-top to succeed.

The Odd Couple comes to Centennial Collection DVD on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 and includes the following bonus features:

• Commentary by Charlie Matthau and Chris Lemmon
• In the Beginning…
• Matthau & Lemmon
• Memories from the Set
• Inside The Odd Couple
• The Odd Couple: A Classic
• Photo galleries
• Theatrical trailer

While perfectly fine as a non-stop action movie, Quantum lacks the craftsmanship and character development of its predecessor, which was honed by the direction of Martin Campbell. Marc Forster, having never directed such an action film before, was an odd choice to helm the follow-up, and his style is largely a poor knock-off of Campbell’s direction. Funnily enough, in one of the special features on the DVD, Forster explains that his approach is to just “throw everything on the screen,” which explains the lack of deleted scenes – and the senseless barrage of action in the movie.

Nevertheless, if you go in expecting a more standard James Bond action flick rather than something as well done as Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace is entertaining enough. To complement the film, the DVD has plenty of special features – but most are as shallow as the movie itself.

In addition to the theatrical trailers and the Alicia Keyes music video, the second disc comes with six featurettes that focus on various aspects of the filmmaking. The featurettes include a 24-minute “Bond on Location” documentary and others that focus on the start of shooting, the locations, Olga Kurylenko and the boat chase, director Marc Foster and the music. While there are some nuggets of interesting facts to be found here, especially in the “on location” piece, the featurettes feel primarily promotional in nature versus informative. Several are spliced with an interview with Daniel Craig that was clearly intended to sell the pick to audiences.

As referenced earlier, the interview with Marc Forster references how he liked a lot of things that were pretty much universally panned by credits, like the improper ratio of action to story and Forster’s approach to presenting. I always get a kick out of hearing directors get all excited about things that really aren’t that exceptional.

Of course, you could just skip all of these featurettes and go right onto the Crew Files, which contain 45 minutes of interviews with various members of the crew and cast. Those previously mentioned featurettes pull most of their content from these interviews, and presented in a raw, more direct format, feel more insightful and less promotional. Frankly, MGM wasted their money making nice-looking featurettes when they could have just given us these interviews and be done with it.

Quantum of Solace isn’t a terrible movie, but compared to Casino Royale, it pales in comparison. Since the screenwriters didn’t change from one film to the next, the blame deservedly falls on Forster’s shoulders. As far as the DVD goes, the bonus features aren’t very good and should not factor into your decision to buy.

But, I can be wrong sometimes. It’s a rare occurrence, but I can be wrong. And I was wrong about Happy-Go-Lucky. Sally Hawkins, who was nominated for Best Actress, turns in a star-turning performance, and writer/director Mike Leigh makes that performance possible with an entertaining, surprisingly layered story.

Read my full Happy-Go-Lucky movie review.

Primal Fear

Needless to say, I like this movie. I like this movie a lot. And since Paramount Pictures just sent me the all-new Hard Evidence Edition, I now have two versions of the DVD.

This latest release of the 1996 thriller doesn’t offer enough bonus features to warrant repurchasing the picture, but Paramount has packaged a couple of short featurettes to accompany this amazing film:

• The Final Verdict – this 17-minute featurette examines the making of the film, with a focus on the challenges the crew went through to get it made. Though Richard Gere was signed on to star, he almost backed out due to a lack of a convincing script. Once the script was rectified, the director and producer faced the challenge of selling a $30-million film with only one recognizable name to the studio. Furthermore, setting up the story in a way that the twist ending would remain hidden required the right mixture of acting, writing and directing. The featurette is short, but does offer some sincere interviews with everyone involved, save Gere.
• Star Witness – Casting Edward Norton – the other 17-minute featurette on the DVD focuses on how Norton came to be casted in this role. This interesting segment of interviews has Norton talking about his experience of going into the initial audition with no expectation of landing the role through his wide-eyed realization that he’s been offered the part. This featurette offers some insights I wasn’t aware of and also offers more sincere interviews with Norton, the director and the casting director.
• The Psychology of Guilt – this 13-minute featurette explores the legal ramifications of multiple personality disorder and whether it actually exists or not. While short, the featurette is smartly put together and tackles a lot of different aspects of the alleged disorder. It was good enough to compel me to look up the Hillside Strangler(s) and a few other serial killers who all seem to have crossed paths with my alma mater’s town, Bellingham, WA.
• The original theatrical trailer and a commentary with the director, writer, producer and casting director are also included.

In all, there are only 47 minutes worth of raw bonus features – hardly enough to warrant an all-new edition. Yet, those 47 minutes are packed full of insightful interviews with most of the big names involved in the picture. My only real fault with the DVD is the DVD cover… the cheesy crime scene layout makes the picture look like some B-grade action flick rather a quality drama. Still, if you don’t own Primal Fear, this would be a good time to buy. The Hard Evidence Edition comes to stores on March 10, 2009, available in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats.