Casino (1995)

Casino is my first chance to really compare the difference between standard DVD and HD-DVD, since I bought the Special Edition DVD last year but somehow never got around to viewing it. By all accounts the transfer on that standard DVD was stunning, and indeed it is. But compare it to the HD-DVD version and the differences become obvious, even on a screen only capable of displaying 768i resolution rather than the full-blown 1080i that the HD-DVD offers.

It's on scenes where there are detailed backgrounds that the differences really stand out. Up close (3 to 4 feet) on a 50" plasma there is significant blooming around background characters on the standard DVD version, and they're blurred and fuzzy. On the HD-DVD the blooming is gone and detail is such that eg what looks like a blurry photo frame on standard DVD turns out to be a press clipping that can be read on HD-DVD.

In other words, the HD-DVD release of Martin Scorsese's 1995 film about the mob-controlled casino's in the 1970's is another superb HD-DVD release from Universal. If they could just change the nasty little plastic flap lever for opening the HD-DVD case for the standard open/close mechanism that the other studios use this release would be almost perfect.

Not that the picture quality is everything of course, it's the film that matters, and whilst Casino has its flaws - a reliance on too much voice-over narration, and lack of a real story until the second half of the movie being the most obvious ones - there's a reason why so many of the published reviews of this film start with the words 'An under-rated....'!

Robert de Niro plays Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, a money maker for the mob who runs the Tangiers casino, with Joe Pesci playing his partner in crime, and all-round heavy, Nicky Santoro. As the film opens the two take turns in explaining via a voice-over the whole Las Vegas narration, the key players and each other. One senses the two men are rivals, although the film explains their first meeting and subsequent friendship and reliance on each other that sets the scene for what is to follow.

Rothstein makes the mistake of falling in love with Ginger, a psychotic but beautiful wheeler- dealer, played by Sharon Stone in what is undoubtedly the performance of her career, and when the two get married the successful operation the two men have built up starts to visibly crumble. As the film explores the problems Ginger introduces, the real story starts to take shape and we move from what starts off being a pseudo-documentary turns into more of a story with plot, dialogue and real characters that begins to justify the three hour running time. By the time the film reaches its climax one feels one has been witness to an epic of film-making, albeit one that critics have correctly identified as being under-rated. However it is one of those epics that you have to invest time and effort in and which demands that you pay attention throughout.

The film is based on the real story of what happened when the mob tried to put its own men in suits to run the casinos, with side stories showing the incestuous nature of the Nevada State's politics, and the effect this has on how things are run. The film is extremely violent in places with four letter words constantly being spoken, as one might expect from a film based around mob politics. Rothstein may not be a nice man, but the audience is never left in any doubt about whose side they're on, thanks to a deft performance from de Niro. He may come across as a thug in sheep's clothing (a very bright, dandyish sheep it must be said), but if you were gambling in Las Vegas he's the guy you'd want keeping an eye on things. You know that he'd make sure your stay was a pleasant one.

If there is a criticism to be made of the film, it's that maybe the direction is just a bit too 'flash'. There are some wonderful, technically innovative shots here, but they often take you out of the film, carrying a bit too much 'Look at me! Look at me!' about them. However, with performances this good, this is a minor quibble, and if you have a high-definition player this should certainly be near the top of your list of disks to have a look at. It has a depth which pays repeated viewings, and there aren't many films that can be said of these days!

The extra's from the special edition issued on standard DVD have been copied over pretty much intact, with nothing new for the high definition version. The commentary track, entitled 'Moments with Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone, Nicholas Pileggi and more' is not a commentary as such, more a series of interview edits that may or may not have made the final cut of the other featurettes included. You're better off just watching the featurettes most of the material has been taken from. On the surface there are three of these featurettes: The Cast and Characters, The Look, and After the Filming, but in truth they're a one hour documentary artificially split up to give the impression there's more here than might otherwise appear to be the case. The Deleted Scenes add nothing, being primarily alternative takes or extended versions of scenes included in the film. Nevertheless there's enough information here to keep most fans happy, and at least the featurettes are original material with some depth, as opposed to marketing exercises made to ensure a free advert on a TV station, endlessly repeating clips interspersed with just a couple of minutes from the cast.

Casino is a great movie from a great director, presented in the best possible format on HD-DVD. I highly recommend it.

Clerks II (2006)

This week has turned out to be quite a Kevin Smith week, with the writer/director's Clerks 2 being released on HD-DVD day-and-date with the UK Region 2 release of An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder on standard DVD. As you'll read over on my standard DVD blog later today An Evening... suffers from the classic cash-in sequel problems of the law of diminishing returns (and my, how they've diminished!), but what about Clerks 2? Is it the Godfather 2 of sequels - the exception that proves the diminishing returns rule - or is it a stinker follow-up to a film that has a rather over-rated reputation as being a classic, seemingly because of its endless 'jokes' about transvestites, anal sex and blow jobs with obligatory 'dude' outbursts punctuating every sentence?

I'd argue the latter. Not only has the second outing been upgraded in terms of colour and a budget that is very evident on screen, but the characters have been filled out nicely too, adding a poignancy and moral tale that was missing from the first film. As a result Clerks 2 feels more like a 'proper film' than its predecessor, which came across as far too much like a one-man stand-up routine, albeit one delivered by different characters. You don't need to be familiar with the first Clerks film to enjoy this one, but given that it's currently available in special edition Clerks X 3-disk form on standard DVD for about £6 online you'd be crazy not to check that one out too if you get the chance.

Not that this second film doesn't have its 'every character sounds like he's delivering a Kevin Smith monologue' moments too - it's just that this time round there's more of a story, and the characters have been allowed to develop so that you actually start to care a little bit about them.

The film picks up pretty much where the last one left off, opening with slacker Dante, the character based very much on Kevin Smith himself, turning up to work one day, only to find that the store that has been his workplace for several years, is burning to the ground, thanks mainly to his best friend Randal's inability to turn a coffee machine off. In a nice homage to the first film the opening sequence starts in black and white, with colour only being introduced for the fire elements which then bleed out to the rest of the film to show us we've moved forward in time. As a result of their place of employment being burnt down, Dante and Randal get new jobs in a fast food store, with things having progressed after ten years to the point where Dante is about to leave his native Jersey for California to get married to the pretty, but very controlling, Emma (played by Kevin Smith's real life wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith). Dante is in fact in love with one of his co-workers, Becky, played by Rosario Dawson - he just hasn't realised it yet. It's this central love story, coupled with subtle allusions to the need to grow up, understand what's important in life, and the value of friends and a place you can call home that lift Clerks 2 beyond the usual four-letter word, amusing-but-juvenile, comedy-based-on-outrage levels of Smith's earlier work.

Viewers of BBC1's film review programmer Film 2006 may have been as shocked as I was at host Jonathan Ross's 'review' of Clerks 2, which turned into a long personal attack (actually a full-on rant) against the film's writer/director, for reasons nobody I know can understand. One suspects Ross' review on the BBC's flagship movie review programme did the UK box office a lot of harm because one usually surmises that there's no smoke without fire. It was a particularly odd review given that the men have so much in common - they're both comic book fanatics, obsessed with pop culture, and with a reputation for comedy based primarily on being outrageous. Ross got his comeuppance a few weeks ago when viewers of his program, no doubt inflated by Kevin Smith's hardcore internet fan base, gave Clerks 2 the sixth position in the programme's Audience Top 10 Films of the Year. Unfortunately, those viewers got their verdict wrong, just as Ross had when totally dismissing the film as one of the worst ever made, but one can understand the bad feeling from Smith's fans: Clerks 2 is a good film, and one that's very unique in its own way. We should be applauding such films in the homogenised Hollywood world of film that we live in, not attacking that which dares to be different.

If there's a grain of truth in Ross' rant that Clerks 2 is a lousy film, it's probably there in the first half hour, and in particular the acting from Brian O'Hallorhan as the central figure of Dante. To say his performance is wooden is being unkind to trees, and there are times during the first act where one finds oneself wondering why on earth Smith didn't try a bit of direction to cover up the bad pauses, over-exaggerated facial expressions, and general awkwardness whenever O'Hallorhan is on screen - the guy makes porn actors, given lines to deliver to pad out the sex, look like academy winners. The net result is that it takes far longer than it should to settle into the film. Fortunately the jokes come thick and fast, and when the characters of Elias and Becky show up the film moves into second, third and even fourth gear because these people really can act, even when they're forced to appear in scenes with someone who quite clearly can't!

As is usual with Smith films, there's a spate of special guest appearances. Ben Affleck makes a 'blink and you'll miss it' appearance, while Jason Lee has a longer cameo, and Alias's 'geek guy of limited stature' Kevin Weisman as 'Hobbit Lover' gets to deliver the Lord of the Rings vs Star Wars monologue that has been part of Smith's comedy stand-up routine for the last few years. It's funny stuff for the most part, and it's good to see Smith delivering comedy lines that don't just rely on endless references to blow jobs and anal sex, as so much of his previous work has done.

The transfer is excellent, albeit deliberately drained of colour saturation to give the film a 'unique' look that makes it look a little grungy in an attempt to give it some affinity to the earlier black-and-white, grainy film that spawned this sequel. It's not exactly a must-have for High Definition, but I'd be surprised if it didn't exceed the picture quality on the standard DVD, which gets released in the UK next month.

The HD-DVD itself is superb value for money, featuring two discs packed with extra goodness, but without the usual price hike that very recent theatrical releases or double-disk releases usually incur. If there's a criticism to be made of this HD-DVD release it's perhaps that there's too much extra stuff been included. Of the three commentary tracks included, the 'unreleased podcast' is the best, albeit the oldest, having been intended for those going to see the movie in theatres, moving along at a cracking pace and featuring Smith himself, producer Scott Mosier and lead actor Jeff Anderson. There's a surprising lack of repetition across all three commentaries, but this is primarily because the Technical Commentary track is very much what it says on the tin, while the commentary track with most of the cast is of the 'lots of noise, very little signal' kind that happens when you invite a bunch of friends who haven't seen the film or each other for a few months get together. Too much of the actors commentary is spoilt by Jason Mewes feeling he has to argue with Smith a lot and dominate the proceedings, and the whole thing is way too laid back in terms of actually telling us anything, making the whole experience more like ovehearing an inane conversation in a pub rather than listening to a proper commentary track.

The second disk houses the main alternative feature - an excellent 90 minute Making of documentary that tracks the progress from the first talks of a possible sequel to the first Clerks film through to a showing at Cannes where Smith is visibly petrified of possibly negative reaction, to the first Q &A sessions when the film is commercially released. It's as entertaining as the main feature itself. The disk is rounded out with over 30 minutes of Bloopers, which gets tiresome long before its finished, simply because 'Bloopers' here just means actors forgetting their lines. There's also a half-hour VH1 Movie Special marketing piece on the film, and additional video production diaries. All-in-all great value for money and, unusually, almost all the extra's are presented in high definition widescreen format.

Clerks 2 won't be to everyone's taste - there are far too many politically incorrect 'jokes' for this to have mass appeal. But for those who can cope with the crassness and strongly American feel of the comedy Clerks 2 is a fun 100 minute romp, beautifully presented to make maximum use of the high definition format's increased capacity. With a release date that precedes the standard DVD one in the UK, and at an import price lower than, or at least equal to, that of the cheapest single disk HD-DVD releases, this is a steal and recommended for purchase rather than rental as s result. With Clerks 2, Smith has seemingly done the impossible - made a sequel that's better than the supposed 'classic' that spawned it.

Wolf Creek (2005)

The five most mendacious words in the history of cinema must surely be 'Based on a True Story'. The Coen Brothers famously made up a complete story and then carried the tag-line as an 'insiders joke' on their movie Fargo, but Wolf Creek isn't far off that complete fiction when claiming its story of Australian backpackers being captured and tortured to death is based on real life events. So, Yes, there WAS an Australian case a few years ago where an Australian was found to have picked up hitchhikers and shot them and/or tortured them; No, this is NOT a movie about that and, frankly, it's a hell of a cheat to pretend it is.

The film is very much one of two halves, and horror fans are likely to get bored when they discover that the first half of this film is a languorous, documentary-like feature that sets up the backstory of the three backpackers that are going to find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere with a twisted murderer in the second half of the movie. This first half is all hand-held camera-work, with occasional steadycam, which gives the film a 'naturalistic' feel, but can also make you prone to nausea at times. At times the film's very low budget is all too obvious.

The first act introduces our three main characters, Ben Mitchell (played by Nathan Phillips, who went on to star in Snakes on a Plane) is a 'young, dumb and full of cum' Ozzie, all thumb rings and trendy tattoos that epitomises the 'cool' surfer dude crowd this film is presumably aimed at, albeit one with a 'good heart'. He is joined by Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassie (two Australians, playing English girls - go figure!), best friends who've hooked up with Ben for their holidays, and one of whom has a bit of a crush on him. The trio buy a very cheap run-down car and head out to a rather remote tourist attraction - the Wolf Creek of the title - returning from a four hour hike to find night settling in and a car that won't start. Resigned to waiting in the car until daylight, the group are grateful when a rather odd local, with whom they've had a run-in earlier on their travels, shows up in a tow truck and offers to help them out. Suspicions arising from the long journey to his 'workshop' vanish as alcohol is passed around at a camp fire, although the backpackers alternate between being afraid and amused as their new host swings between being jovial and friendly one minute, and then inappropriate and rather frightening the next. They are keen to be on their way but alcohol and lack of sleep take their toll, and they become resigned to spending the night at the remote workshop. One-by-one they fall asleep around the campfire, and awake next morning to find themselves in rather different environments to the one they fell asleep in. Let the horror commence!

Chicago film critic Roger Ebert (of Ebert and Roeper fame), whose opinions are always worth reading, gave Wolf Creek, his first 'zero' rating in many years of film journalism and writes a very eloquent piece on why this film sickened him. He believes the film to be misogynistic, which I find odd given that the strongest characters by far are the female leads. Admittedly they have by far the most screen time, and hence the worst torture scenes, while the male character seems to be there in an attempt to decieve us as to who is likely to survive and who isn't. At times the things the women do grate infuriatingly - would someone who's clearly quite intelligent that's been tortured horrifically but who's managed to escape really return to the scene of the crime, continually shouting, screaming and waving a 'Here I am' torch around? I don't think so! But the film does have you gripped for its half hour 'finale' gore-fest, and it's some measure of how effective the long set-up has been that the gory scenes which actually don't run for very long, seem to dominate the whole film. If you like being shocked and scared and having to turn your head away from the screen at times, then there's a lot in Wolf Creek that you'll enjoy, and personally I think Ebert's criticism that the film goes too far, and is too sadistic and bloody, together with his 'zero' rating, while simultaneously admitting that it shows great film-making skills, was unfair.

What Ebert really misses in his extremely negative review is the astonishing performance from John Jarratt, as the screwed-up protagonist 'Mick'. This is a new villain to give the likes of Hannibal Lecter a real run for their money, with his peculiar laugh, and sudden switches from genial affability to pure evil hatred being quite terrifying. This is a performance far more subtle and well-rounded than one is used to in this genre, and an extremely powerful one for all that.

The film was shot on high-definition cameras, which might lead you to believe this is going to be a 'show case' release. Alas, the end result comes across more like a home movie than a state-of-the-art motion picture, and the pitifully low budget is very evident on screen. The picture blooms, and is full of noise and grain in dark scenes. This is not the sort of release that's going to win over huge converts from standard definition DVD, although given its low budget limitations it's adequate enough.

Unfortunately this is another disk from the Weinstein studio. The internet is awash with reported glitches and problems with their disks, and this appears to be no exception. This is the first disk from the company I've had sustainable, easily repeatable problems with on my XBox 360 HD-DVD player. Fortunately the main film plays fine, and it's only the extra's that are all screwed up.

The hour long Making of... documentary is completely unplayable, giving a black screen on selection, before crashing the XBox 360 with an 'invalid disk status' code. Owners of Toshiba players have reported other (different) problems. Luckily, the other extra features are viewable, but they are artificially stretched vertically (the opposite way to that one usually sees in poorly set up stores that take a standard picture and stretch it to fit widescreen), which makes them uncomfortable to view.

A Commentary track is included, with the director, executive producer and two female lead actresses, which I confess I didn't get around to listening to. There's a static, very low budget, ten minute 'talking head' session with the actor John Jarratt, who talks about inventing the cough and laugh for the character he plays and reveals that he went 'method' for the first time in his career, which made him a difficult person to be around on set. A deleted scene and theatrical trailer round out the package.

Wolf Creek won't be to all tastes, and there are times when the stupidity of the lead characters will have you jumping up and down in frustration, but if you can stand the tension, gore and horror of the last 30 minutes you're in for an 'enjoyable', if rather uncomfortable, ride with plenty of scares. It's certainly worth a rental for horror fans, and if you number films like Hostel, The Chain Saw Massacre (the original, not the dreadful remakes), or the SAW franchise amongst your favourites you should definitely check this one out.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the first home-grown (British) HD-DVD I've bought in what has been an extremely lacklustre British line-up, at least when compared with American releases. The British purchase is justified partly by its relatively low price tag compared to some UK releases, and partly by the fact that, unlike its American equivalent, it's not a nasty 'combo' release comprising HD-DVD version on one side, and standard DVD on the other. Unlike the American releases, and several of the British ones, the disk is packaged in a much thicker than usual case of about the same size as a traditional DVD case, and although it is of the same 'reduced height' size as the American HD-DVD cases, the nice transluscent red-brown plastic used has been replaced by something more ordinary looking and slightly darker. Why the film companies have to keep messing about with the case format, particularly this early on in its lifecycle, is a mystery that nobody I know understands or wants.

Critically slated as a film, the disk regularly appears on 'best high definition picture quality' lists, so it seemed worth a look-see, even though I haven't really been a fan of any of the films released as part of this particular franchise.

Tokyo Drift is the third in the Fast and the Furious series, but the big names from the first movie are long gone (although there is a surprise cameo from a well-known actor towards the end of the film). This time round the film is set in Japan, with the central figure being 'trailer trash bad boy' Sean Boswell, here played by relative newcomer Lucas Black.

The rather flimsy plot has bad boy Boswell effectively run out of town by the police and his mother after he gets involved in an illegal car race which totals a couple of vehicles. He is sent to live with his estranged father, stationed with the Navy in Tokyo, where he discovers the 'underground' (yawn!) car racing scene, and in particular the art of 'drift' racing, which seems to involve carefully timed locking of tyres at speed so that cars literally drift around corners and tight spaces. A silly tacked-on 'good girl from a poor background who's fallen in with the wrong crowd' love story, together with background filler involving Japanese gangsters, help pad out a script that is really just intended to fill the gaps between seemingly endless car races and chases.

Admittedly the film opens with a showpiece chase, arguable the best in the film, where a 'Ken and Barbie' couple with a flash sports car disrespect our trailer trash hero and are forced to issue a challenge. The central chase, through the middle of a new housing development that's still under construction, makes for impressive on-screen eye candy, presented to beautiful effect in high definition, even if credibility is stretched to the limit. For starters, we are asked to believe Black, looking even older than his 24 years would suggest, hasn't yet reached 18. And then in a spectacular car-crash scene we switch continually between shots of a car falling apart so that there's barely a skeletal frame in evidence, to shots supposedly inside the same vehicle as it tumbles around with full roof and side parts. Essentially these early scenes are a warning that this is not a film for those wanting an intelligent story line and easy believability.

Age issue aside, Boswell gives a convincing performance, although his 'country bumpkin' Southern drawl, which is apparently genuine, provide many moments of unintentioned hilarity, at least to British ears. He's joined by a competent cast, but be in no doubt, it's the cars and their hidden stunt drivers that are the real attraction of this film.

Director Justin Lin has a strong visual style, albeit one dominated by the world of MTV music videos, and there are some beautifully shot scenes here, particularly the night-time shots where the neon magic of Tokyo City is beautifully caught in high definition. The car chase scenes themselves are a bit of a mixed bag. Too often the shots are confusing because of the fast cutting, and the loud American metal rock music tends to drown out any attempts at subtlety or originality. That being said, it's a fairly enjoyable romp, and a far better one than the overall critical ratings have implied.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be the last in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Despite their high costs, the films have all turned in very healthy profits, showing that somewhere there is a huge demand for this sort of noisy, somewhat brain-dead tosh.

Universal have gone all-out with the disk features. The main movie features the HD-DVD U-Control feature which allows picture-in-picture material to appear while the film is playing. Personally I found this an annoying interruption, particularly with talking head interviews clashing with the main movie soundtrack such that one had to question why anybody would want to experience either the movie or the filmed interviews this way.

Director Justin Lin provides a commentary track that is informative, if a little dull, and which cracks along at a fair pace throughout the running time of the film. There are a number of extra's covering the main shoot, the drifting school the cast attended, the customisation of the vehicles and the main stunts, and a feature on 'The Real Drift King' from 'The Japanese Underworld' (yeah, right!). All features are supplied in high-definition format, which is unusual for most HD-DVDs issued to date, which have tended to go for the lazy option of simply copying the same low-definition extra's that feature on the standard DVD versions. Deleted scenes are also included, although these are mainly existing scenes with minor additions, adding little of real interest.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift isn't going to win any awards for film-making, scripting or acting, but it's a fun enough ride if you're happy to go along with the clichéd plot, and morally dubious through line of gangsters and thugs being the good guys. And it looks great in high-definition. Certainly this is one High Definition release that's worth taking out for a test drive, if not purchasing outright.

Lady in the Water (2006)

It can't be much fun being M Night Shyamalan right now. Every director turns out a bad film once in a while, but rarely does that become an excuse for the sort of character assassination and rewriting of film history that we've witnessed with the release of Lady in the Water. For a classic example, take a listen to the podcast from the folks at The AV Forums where a round table discussion on the director's work not only dismisses everything he's ever done, but seems to think that guessing the twist in The Sixth Sense automatically means it was a truly dreadful film. Hellooooooo???!

In fact, I think Lady in the Water shows the same fault that's been there in all the basic material since The Sixth Sense - an inability to deliver a good ending to a story, although this time around the story being told suffers some pretty basic weaknesses too. Regardless of whether or not you guessed the twist The Sixth Sense was a cracking good yarn. In fact, I can distinctly recall sitting in the theatre watching the film at the point before the twist is revealed, although I'd been told one was coming, thinking 'Well even if that's it and the twist is rubbish there's no doubting this has been a really well-made film'.

The diretor's second film, Unbreakable, had the same solid quality of film-making, and a great story at its heart, but relied too much on a twist that didn't really complete the story. When it was revealed, one expected some resolution to the story that had gone before it, only to find the credits rolling before one even had time to take it in. As a result one left the theatre feeling unsatisfied and, it must be said, rather cheated.

Signs was even worse. I can remember as a young kid feeling really bad about having written a school essay (a fictional story) that was a bad rip-off of a B-movie film called The Blob (or something similar about an alien menace that attacked the Earth). My really weak conclusion to the story was that the alien died when it landed in a swimming pool, with a rather pathetic explanation that the aliens were allergic to water. That was bad even for a twelve year-old, but to find it as the 'conclusion' to a major Hollywood motion picture starring Mel Gibson just seemed REALLY pathetic, and although the film was saved to a certain extent by its cast and cinematography, one felt that maybe story telling wasn't Shyamalan's forté after all!

The Village received some terrible reviews, and the honeymoon period with the critics, after the surprise breakout debut film from the director, was very clearly over. Yet despite the weak twist which, this time I DID see coming, I thought the film held up well on most fronts - the basic story was solid, the acting and cinematography were first class, and the twist really wasn't the main be-all and end-all of the story the way the most severe critics seemed to think it was. Not a great film, but not a bad or even an average one either.

And now we have Lady of the Lake - dead long before arrival, thanks to preview screenings, based on a rather silly fairy story (Shyamalan rather foolishly keeps referring to it as 'a mythology' - the man is his own worst enemy!) that he used to tell his very young kids at bedtime. With silly invented words like 'narf' (surely SOMEONE could have pointed out to him how alarmingly close to the word 'naff' that is!) to describe the nymph who is at the heart of the story, it's not hard to see why the words 'pretentious' and 'rubbish' seem to be the most oft-used by those reviewing the film.

I won't bore you with the plot, other than to give the broad brush-stroke outline that this is about a mythical princess nymph (played by Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard's daughter, last seen playing the lead in The Village) and her relationship with an apartment manager (played by Paul Giamatti), who's rather given up on life, and the quirky personalities that make up the tenants of the block he manages. The nymph is being hunted by more mythical creatures, shadowy figures that look like wolves made of grass, to stop her fulfilling her destiny of becoming princess.

If you think that sounds like a load of 'tosh, gibberish and nonsense', as R F Delderfeld used to say, you'd be right, and it's not helped by the pretentious language Shyamalan has invented. The man is clearly no Tolkien, and not even a second-hand J K Rowling. When you add in the absurdity of trying to match everyday tenants that are supposed to be steeped in reality to the roles of traditional fantasy clichés) things start to fall apart very quickly.

But things get worse! To say the pacing of the film is slow is an understatement, and the murkiness of the picture palette, not helped any by the high definition transfer as one might have hoped, certainly don't help suppress the feeling of boredom and gloom that permeate the film. Alas, this really is the weakest film in Shyamalan's repertoire to date and one can totally understand the Disney head who told him he hadn't made a very good film and that she just didn't "get it", only to find him launching a written bitch-fest about her and Disney by way of mature response.

All that being said, there are SOME things to like about the picture, and I'd argue that it's not quite as bad as most seem to have made out. Paul Giamatti is superb, and believable for every second he's on screen - no mean achievement given some of the lines he has to deliver. Bryce Dallas Howard also has presence in a role that really asks her to do little more than look mysterious and confused. Most of the vitriol aimed at the film has been centred around Shyamalan's casting of himself ('ego run amok!') in the role of a tenant writer who is going to do great things in the future. Admittedly this 'get the director to do a cameo' nonsense has escalated with each of his pictures, to the point where he's now casting himself in a major role with lots of screen time, but on the other hand, he's believable in the role (which is not a demanding one), so there's no real damage done.

My main disappointments with the film, aside from the dreadfully childish and pretentious plot, is with the cinematography. I'm sure the dark green/dark blue 'sea water' palette was intentional, but it just makes for a repressive and dull picture. If you're looking for a cinematic experience this isn't it, with even the special effects work relegated to 'let's make it so hard to see people won't know if it's good or bad' rendering unless you are quick and have a freeze frame button (see screencap below!)

The HD-DVD is presented as a 'combo' release, which means that you get the standard HD-DVD region free version on one side of the disk, and a standard definition Region 1 version on the other. As far as I'm concerned these are the spawn of the devil, and it's a relief to see that UK releases which are only now beginning to trickle onto the market, are taking what are 'combo' releases Stateside and turning them into HD-DVD one-sided releases here. The marketing idea is that if you are not ready for HD-DVD yet you can pay twice the price of a normal DVD now and have something to watch today, but which you can play in high-def in the future. Is anybody interested? For those who have taken the gamble on HD-DVD sticking around for a while these releases add insult to injury by ramping up the price (combo disks are ALL several pounds more than their HD-DVD -only counterparts) and giving us a 'standard' DVD version that won't work on most UK players anyway. Worse, the only way to tell which side of the disk is which is to squint at minute writing on the inside rim of the spindle, because the ability to put a label on the disk is lost.

Extra's wise this is a bit of a disappointment for such a highly-priced 'day and date' release (the UK Region 2 DVD of this title hits stores this coming Monday). Some of the features are presented in wide screen high definition, but others are in standard 4:3 480i definition. Thankfully the 'six part' documentary that is effectively an on-set diary of the progress of the film that runs for over an hour is in high definition widescreen format, and is more interesting than the main feature, although that's not saying much and there are times when it feels like they just decided to use all the footage they had rather than edit things down into a tight documentary.

There's no director's commentary, which means of course that there's no reaction or even acknowledgement of the worldwide critical mauling the film received on its theatrical release. There is a Gag Reel which only lived up to its title by the fact that it really DID make want to physically gag - it is totally unfunny and, frankly, completely pointless. The Additional Scenes are not so much deleted scenes as existing scenes with a few extra seconds tacked on - as if sitting through this stuff the first time wasn't enough! Theatrical trailers round out the package.

Lady in the Water isn't as bad as most people have made out. But it isn't very good either. Only time will tell if this really is the end of Shyamalan's film career, as some have indicated. If you absolutely loved the writer/director's previous films then this is probably worth a rental. But if you're not a big fan of Shyamalan's previous efforts you are best advised to give this one a miss, as it's by far the weakest in his canon.

Forbidden Planet (1956)

The film companies behind HD-DVD releases seem, for the most part, to have assumed that the potential audience for this 'early adopter' market consists almost entirely of 13 year-old boys who want brain dead blockbuster or horror fare. The lack of quality 'classic' releases is so bad that online forums are awash with 'explanations' that this is because HD-DVD cameras weren't around when the films were originally made, showing a scary lack of understanding about how films are transferred to digital discs. Given that this is an audience that is expected to understand the differences between two competing technologies (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) and the subtleties of different 720p, 1080i and 1080p picture formats, this doesn't auger well for the future of high definition in the mainstream!

Fortunately, there have been some excellent exceptions to this 'no classics on HD-DVD' rule (reviews of Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood will no doubt be appearing here shortly), and for the most part, early reports indicate that the picture quality on these old titles is nothing less than stunning.

I can well believe these reports if Forbidden Planet is anything to go by. Make no mistake, Warner Brothers have pulled out all the stops in producing this excellent HD-DVD, which is available in two flavours - the 'standard' version reviewed here, and an 'Ultimate edition' which packages the 'standard' version disk and case in an awkward-sized tin with some film-scene cards and a very small, very plastic Robby the Robot figure. Ordinarily I'm a sucker for 'Ultimate' packaging, but there have been a lot of online complaints about the poor 'value for money' of the significantly more expensive 'Ultimate' edition and its rather tacky contents, so I switched my order at the last minute. As it turns out the 'standard' edition is quite a luxury in itself.

Forbidden Planet set the tone, many argue, for all science fiction we've had since its release. Certainly it's hard to imagine Star Trek having ever been made without this film's release, with the original 1960's series clearly borrowing heavily from its moralistic story-line, futuristic ideas (the transporters have been lifted lock, stock and barrel from the film) and general design. The story is effectively a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest in space. A ship of all-male Earth travellers visit a far-flung planet where they find Doctor Morbius and his daughter, together with a powerful man-servant Robby the Robot, who are the only survivors of a colony that landed many years before. The planet appears to be host to some sort of invisible monster that starts attacking the ship's crew. Is the monster one of the long-lost Krell, an technologically superior alien race that once inhabited the planet, or the mysterious Dr Morbius, who appears to begrudge the new arrivals and their effect on his daughter who has only had him for human companionship until their arrival.

The film is undoubtedly a classic, and holds up surprisingly well today in many respects, especially for fans of the genre. However, it does have weaknesses: the performances, particularly from the minor characters, are often wooden and unconvincing, the pacing is painfully slow by modern standards, and the direction is, frankly, dull for the most part - too often one feels one is watching a stage play where the cameras have just been left in the same fixed position throughout. That being said, Walter Pidgeon, playing sort of 'pantomime Shakespeare' is never less than entertaining, Anne Francis and her ridiculously short mini-skirts (long before they became popular in the 60's) and the sight of Leslie Nielsen, known for playing effectively the same role in so many comedic quick-fire movies, as the male romantic lead is fascinating for movie buffs.

It's no exaggeration to say the film has never looked so good. The transfer from a digitally spruced up print is never less than stunning, particularly when one considers the age of the film. Disney technicians were loaned to Universal to help with the special effects, and they're surprisingly good given the advances that have been made in the fifty years since the film was made. This HD-DVD would be a 'Highly Recommended' on the strength of its place in film history and the quality of the transfer alone, but that barely covers what's included here. Robby the Robot proved so popular that another film, The Invisible Boy, albeit one made in black and white, was hastily rejigged to feature the new 'star', and its included in pristine 90-minute glory as just one of the extra's on the HD-DVD. It's not in the same class as Forbidden Planet, but an interesting variation on the 1950's obsession with all matters sci-fi and, I would argue, a film that features some more natural acting performances too (especially from Phillip Abbot who plays 'The Invisible Boy''s father).

Extra's wise, the new capacity of HD-DVD is shown off to incredible effect, because as well as two full-length films the disc includes a one hour documentary looking back at science fiction of the 50;s, in addition to the usual treasure trove of featurettes that more directly relate to the main feature.

The documentary, Watch the Skies! Science Fiction, the 1950's and Us, features high profile film industry figures (Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron) reminiscing about the 1950's movie experience. Many of the featured films have their trailers included in a separate 18 minute featurette Trailers, which shows how corny, and formulaic the films were for the most part.

A half-hour featurette, Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet, has most of the cast and crew, at least those still alive, involved in the film, reminiscing about the film and how it was made, some 50 years later. It's joined by excerpts from some Walter Pidgeon -hosted MGM Parade episodes of the time where the actor announces the imminent release of the film and chats with Robby the Robot. Robby himself gets his own fifteen minute featurette, Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi icon, an icon so popular that one fan is apparently able to make a living selling modern replicas which sell at $50,000 dollars a time!

In fact Robby the Robot proved so popular he went on to make several more appearances on TV (perhaps, most notably, Lost in Space) including a 'Whodunit' episode of The Thin Man, an episodic half-hour TV series, which is included here with the robot being the prime suspect in a variant on the old 'Did the butler do it?' theme.

Rounding out the package are Deleted Scenes (13 minutes of mainly poor FX shots or fly-bys), and Lost Footage (9 minutes that should carry the warning 'For complete anoraks who must have every test shot only').

Forbidden Planet is an excellent HD-DVD release, which really shows off what the format is capable of, whilst demonstrating how much better value for money it can be that standard DVD. This title comes highly recommended and should be added to the collection of anyone who has even a vague interest in the history of science fiction in the movies.

Derailed (2005)

The critics didn't like Derailed very much - an average RottenTomatoes score of nearly 21% would indicate the film is a real stinker.

Normally I find myself siding with the critics over the general public (at least as represented over at imdb) where opinions differ, but in this case I think the critics were way too harsh, and the public got it right in giving it over 60%.

The main criticisms levelled at Derailed are that not only is it implausible, unoriginal and overly moralistic, with twists that are too predictable, but that it features two leads (Clive Owen and Jennifer Aston) who have no real chemistry.

I can think of a lot of Hollywood films at which those criticisms could be leveled, but that hasn't usually resulted in the sort of bile that's been heaped on this movie, and one can't help wondering whether this is more down to scoring points against the Weinstein Company that produced it or just perception of the lead actress' performance based on months of tabloid gossip.

While I'd agree that there's little real chemistry between the two leads, one can't deny that both are very attractive, and appear even more so in glorious high definition, making for nice eye candy throughout the film's 112 minute running time. And while the plot is predictable, it's nicely paced, as well as being well performed by its cast. If you like thrillers, with a few surprises along the way, and a relatively tidy ending, you could do a lot worse than checking out Derailed.

Clive Owen plays Charles Schine, a successful campaign manager who's got into a rut in all areas of his life. The worries of his seriously ill daughter, his long hours in a career that's gone a bit stale, and a marriage where the two partners rarely have personal time for each other is not the recipe for a happy human being. When the very attractive, but also married, Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) comes to his rescue on his daily train commute, a flirty relationship that adds excitement to his life develops, culminating in a 'one-night stand' (or one hotel stand) that gets a rude interruption which will ultimately turn both their lives upside down. Schine finds himself being blackmailed, and becoming increasingly desperate as the demands keep rising and the threats to his career and home life become more and more real.

This theme of 'the innocent man pushed to extremes' is a familiar theme, and one Alfred Hitchcock has dealt with far more cleverly and originally than this, but Derailed moves along at a reasonable pace, is niftily edited, and rather well acted too. There really isn't that much to dislike about the film. Aniston in particular is excellent, and shows, yet again, that she's a far better actress than those stuck in the world of Friends are prepared to admit, although she does seem to have a complete inability to spot good movies that would best showcase her talent. Even Owen, an actor I can enjoy looking at, whilst wishing at the same time he wasn't quite so wooden, surprises too, thankfully dropping his rather 'rough' British accent for a faint American one that fooled this viewer, although admittedly I'm not good at judging the authenticity of American accents (after all, I even thought Dick Van Dyke was a good choice for Mary Poppins!) Visually, the film is never too pedestrian, indeed it's very polished in places, and most of the budget is clearly visible and on the screen. What's not to enjoy? Really!

This is one of the first batch of HD-DVDs from the Weinstein Company, and whilst I can't criticise the picture quality, which, given the material, is worthy of the title 'High Definition', I CAN criticise the poor use of the medium. This is an 'Unrated version' which apparently means a couple of the fight scenes are a little more violent than in the theatrical cut, but otherwise little advantage has been taken of the capabilities of HD-DVD when it comes to U-Control features, automatic timelines or additional extras being available through the increased capacity.

There's no commentary and little in terms of running time (less than 20 minutes in total) for extra's.

A short 8 minute Making Of featurette is marketing fluff that adds nothing to the movie viewing experience. There are seven minutes of Deleted Scenes, which at least help to demonstrate how fantastic the high definition image on the main feature is, given how much like a poor VHS recording they look. The deleted scenes do reveal an interesting plot thread that was left out of the theatrical release, but which, if included, might have answered those critics who found the film a touch too moralistic on the subject of partners having affairs outside marriage. The Theatrical Trailer is also included, but that's it.

This HD-DVD presentation could have been better in terms of extra's and commentary, and this isn't a title that's going to rush off the shelves as a 'reference standard demonstration' disk, the way King Kong, Batman Begins and The Hulk are currently doing. But with the paucity of high-def material available at the moment, this title is well worth considering if you like a thriller that isn't too taxing, and which is at least professionally presented and acted. Recommended, but with strong reservations, and if you can get hold of it as a rental rather than a purchase, that's the way to go!

World Trade Center (2006)

Oliver Stone hasn't exactly had an easy ride over the last couple of years.

First there was the critical mauling that Alexander received - and rightly so! It was a mauling that even a hastily compiled Director's Cut, released on DVD day-and-date with the theatrical version, couldn't escape. (Footnote: apparently yet another version - the Unrated Final Cut - is due to hit HD-DVD at the end of next month - Enough already!)

For lesser directors, the failure of Alexander, both critically and in terms of the box office, might have been the end of a career, but in 2006 Stone managed to get another gig: World Trade Center. In doing so he produced what this viewer thinks is one of the finest films in what is a worthy canon of work that any director would be happy to own. For some reason critics (and the British critics in particular) don't appear to have been impressed, although whether this is because of the director's politics or the film itself is hard to determine.

In any other year I believe World Trade Center would be a shoo-in for several oscar nominations. After all it meets all the requirements: Great acting performances? Check. Based on real life events? Check. Ridiculously sentimental story of hope overcoming adversity? Check. So what happened in 2006 that upset the apple-cart where awards and rave reviews were concerned? A 'small' and unique film, United 93, documenting different events that occurred on that same fateful day on September 11th 2001, hit the box office first, leaving the bigger, more 'traditional' picture with nothing but 'me-too also-ran' reviews.

United 93 is an astonishing film. It provides a more visceral experience, primarily through its machinations of making everything real time, refusing to add any dramatised emotional elements, and dropping the viewer right bang in the middle of the action. But that doesn't make World Trade Center a bad film, and for a director who's too often been criticised for 'ignoring the facts' on his past releases, it's somewhat ironic that most of the criticisms aimed at World Trade Center appear to centre around criticisms that the events are over-sentimentalised, or that scenes have been invented as is obvious from their high sacharine content. If nothing else, this HD-DVD release of the film, which features so much input from the Port Authority employees who were involved in the rescue attempts made on 9/11, should force those critics to realise they've just done the literary equivalent of putting a size 10 jackboot in their mouths. There are many accusations one could throw at World Trade Center, but factual inaccuracy is not one of them.

The film tells the story of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre, as seen from the highly personalised viewpoints of two men: rookie Port Authority policeman Will Jimeno and his chief John McLoughlin. Jimeno and McLoughlin were the 18th and 19th of 20 survivors pulled out of the Two Towers wreckage that claimed an estimated 3000 lives. The film's first 20 minutes follow very much the traditional disaster movie clichés, setting the background to the big disaster itself. As the film opens we see an alarm clock as it ticks to the 3.30am position and sounds off - the start of a typical day for those working for the Port Authorit Police Department on the early shift and who need to start the hour long commute before the normal congestion starts. We see New York coming to life as the working day begins, and then the disaster itself, albeit played very much in the background: the shadow of a plane crosses a block of flats, a long shot of the Twin Towers shows billowing smoke, officers arrive to see a body falling from one of the towers, and groups of people sat in bars and offices watching the event unfold on TV.

With the traditional disaster movie first act in place, the film switches gear, becoming a much more character-driven piece, focusing on three trapped men from the police department who have been caught inside one of the towers. We switch between initial scenes of the three officers, trapped below the rubble, and witness the early heroic death of one of them before switching to the distraught wives waiting back home. Stone is not attempting to send any kind of political message here, or even to present a 'Towering Inferno' -like disaster movie remake for the noughties, albeit one with a lower celebrity count. What he's telling is the story of two 'ordinary Joes' who, like many others that day, became heroes when circumstances dictated that they needed to.

World Trade Center is by no means an easy film to sit through. It does, however, have a more upbeat, life-affirming ending than the afore-mentioned United 93, and for those of us with no personal connection to anyone involved in the events of that day, tells us many new things about how 'ordinary people' came together and achieved something remarkable.

It's pointless going into details of the cast performances, since they're uniformly excellent. Nicolas Cage is, in my view, an under-rated actor (OK, so I haven't seen the remake of The Wicker Man that he stars in and which, by all accounts, could change my opinion) and here is never less than outstanding in an oscar-worthy performance as the unemotional leader John McLaughlin who comes to realise he's still desperately in love with his wife, despite having fallen into a bit of a rut after raising four children. Maggie Gylenhaal (another seriously overlooked actress) deserves special mention for her performance as Will Jimeno's wife, delivering a moving, heart-breaking performance as a fiery, temperamental woman seven months pregnant trying to hold everything together for her young daughter when she thinks her husband is dead. Michael Pena, as Will, shows that Crash wasn't a one-off performance and that we'll be hearing and seeing more of this actor in the future, while Jay Hernandez, as Will's doomed best buddy, is barely recognisable from his role in the Hostel movies, and shows he has the acting chops to match his 'pretty boy' looks.

The music soundtrack is worthy of special mention here too. A slow, melancholic piano motif is used throughout the film, where it might have been easier to go with something more orchestral, and to over-emphasise the use of trumpets. The music is a thing of simple but elegant beauty, that powerfully underlines the events we're witnessing without in any way distracting from them.

World Trade Center is destined to become a reference standard showcase for the HD-DVD medium. The picture is absolutely stunning, the sound all-encompassing, and the film is presented in a double-disk format (which explains the slightly higher than normal asking price) enabling several hours of extra features to be included. All HD-DVDs carry a format trailer boasting of 'more extra's on the HD-DVD format' - a promise which, until now, has proven to be entirely false. World Trade Center finally delivers on that promise, with the added benefit of presenting all the extra's in 16:9 1080i high definition instead of the more usual 'ported from the standard DVD' 480p format.

First up on the extra's front are two commentaries. The first commentary is a respectful, informative commentary from the director, Oliver Stone. Stone is honest about the criticisms he's faced, and humble about his own accomplishments and the final film. The second commentary features four of the Port Authority staff featured in the film, including one of the two main characters, Will Jimeno. This will not be an easy track to listen to for anybody local to the area or who lost loved ones in the disaster. Clearly the men are still fairly raw (one suspects that McLaughlin's absence is down to this formerly 'unemotional' man's inability to recall events without breaking down in tears) but Jimeno's optimism and likeability shine through the chat track, and his motives for wanting the film made are clearly genuine. Those critics who complained about the ridiculousness of a 'Jesus' vision scene in the film, or of the overly-sentimental 'I love you' farewells spoken out in the dark should be forced to listen to this chat track. Jimeno is a larger than life 'I always wanted to be a cop. I love my job' character who reveals that, if anything, the sentimentality and heroism we've just witnessed in the main featured were played down compared to what really happened.

The 53 minute Making of, split into three sections, does an excellent job of explaining the history of the film project and the continual on-set involvement of the two men depicted in the picture, and is accompanied by a second 54 minute documentary Common Sacrifice covering the real world 'rescue' and 'recovery' of the film's two main characters. It focuses on the real people that that we've seen depicted by actors in the film. The second documentary in particular, while being life-affirming and inspirational, is not easy viewing and it's obvious that McLaughlin in particular is struggling to cope emotionally with the after-effects of the disaster.

Building Ground Zero, at 25 minutes, shows the detail and planning that went into recreating the disaster site in the Californian film studios - a recreation so accurate that the real world Port Authority staff who visited the set found themselves suffering real time flashbacks. A 12 minutes Special and Visual Effects featurette gives insight into the incredibly seamless CGI and effects work that was worked into the movie, while the 24 minute Oliver Stone on New York is really the director talking about his upbringing and how it impacts his film-making. A 23 minute Q&A with Oliver Stone is an interview with Mark Kermode that was filmed as part of a series of David Lean lectures at BAFTA last year and is perhaps most interesting for Stone's comment that he'd like to revisit 9/11 and make a very different film from the one he's just made. A cinema trailer, TV spot advertisements and a high definition photo gallery round out the whole package.

World Trade Center is available on region-free US-sourced HD-DVD from several online import suppliers. For those who prefer to pay higher prices and wait longer to 'Buy British' the UK region free HD-DVD release is currently scheduled for 29th March, and the title is also available on import on Blu-Ray (which is not region free). A special edition Region 2 DVD will be released on 29th January. World Trade Center is worth purchasing whatever your format of choice, but the reason I've launched this new HD-DVD blog with this specific title is because I think it stands out as a quality HD-DVD presentation that shows the substantial improvements HD-DVD can have over standard definition DVD, providing a good reason for becoming an 'early adopter' of the format.