Home Media Magazine - February 16-22, 2009 - (Page 18) REVIEWS BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I KING KONG Universal, Adventure, B.O. $218.1 million, $39.98 Blu-ray, ‘PG-13’ for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images. Stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell. Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com n the heels of the commercial and critical success of the “Lord of the Rings” franchise, it seemed fitting in 2005 that director Peter Jackson would tackle venerable gorilla icon King Kong. Blu-ray is the perfect medium to showcase Jackson’s suspenseful near fourhour (extended) vision of Skull Island — home to the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” With its razor-like clarity, Blu-ray showcases the island’s tropical jungles, ravine waterfalls and sheer mountain cliffs to stunning effect. This same detail is also on display in Kong’s early Depression-era New York scenes, much to the delight of co-writer and producer Philippa Boyens. “I love how you can see all the way down the streets, the cars, the people, many of whom are computer generated,” Boyens remarks in the audio commentary. Not surprisingly, Kong won three Oscars, for sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects. It appears Jackson was in no hurry to leave Skull Island and rather enjoyed subjecting a Jurassic Park-style CGI prehistoric creature thrill ride onto Kong’s eccentric director Carl Denham (well-cast Jack Black in an homage to Orson Welles), assistant Preston (Colin Hanks), writer Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), aspiring leading lady Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and Captain Englehorn’s (Thomas Kretschmann of Valkyrie) hapless crew. Interspersed among the hundreds of island species endlessly engaged in a “kill-or-be-killed” existence, Darrow, of course, is the object of affection for Kong, an emotion Jackson successfully portrays even in standard-definition. O The BD release offers the requisite “U-Control” option featuring (limited) picture-in-picture material, audio commentary, art galleries, and BD Live staples such as “My Scenes.” It’s interesting to note that in the commentary, Jackson says he prefers filming leading-actor close-ups later in the production so as to allow them to better identify with the role. This is mentioned during a Denham scene in which Black (during just the second day of filming) is trying to convince studio executives about the merits of funding his newest movie. – Erik Gruenwedel “It was difficult for him,” Jackson says. I QUARANTINE Street 2/17 Sony Pictures, Horror, B.O. $31.7 million, $28.96 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, $24.94 UMD, ‘R’ for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language. Stars Jennifer Carpenter, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Harris, Columbus Short, Jay Hernandez. I AMERICAN SCARY Street 2/17 Cinema Libre, Documentary, $19.95 DVD, NR. I burn through horror movies like candy, and it’s been a long time since a film scared me as much as Quarantine. It wasn’t the blood and guts or the things jumping out from behind corners. What put the fright into me was the perfectly relayed message that, yes, what happens in this movie could easily happen in real life. No zombie movie or supernatural slasher flick has ever instilled the same sense of despair and hopelessness that Quarantine delivers. Much like Paramount’s very entertaining Cloverfield, the story is told via a videotape left behind after the carnage. Yet while Cloverfield took place in epic, all-over-NewYork-City fashion, Quarantine is a scarier film, thanks to its nearly exclusive location: an old apartment building. A blood-curdling scream alarms the residents, who call 911. Emergency workers find a woman covered in blood, frothing at the mouth and biting anyone she sees. As injuries mount, the residents attempt to escape, only to find themselves trapped. The quarantine victims make some of the same old standby groan-inducing horror-movie-victim mistakes, such as walking into pitch-black rooms and walking up to strangers when they should know better. But our subjects also do what we all would probably do in this situation: wait it out. However, when the lights are turned off and a disheartening TV broadcast gets through on an analog set, our victims have their answer: They’re on their own. Quarantine is one of those unique horror films that punches you in the gut, not because of the way people die, but because of the cruel reality of the situation — some must die for others to live. Where this film really succeeds is sending the viewer off with the understanding that what we just saw isn’t all that far-fetched. Extras on the DVD are sadly thin. The commentary, making-of, anatomy of a scene and makeup featurettes are nice and all, but left me wanting more, such as examples of real-life quarantines. On second thought, maybe I’m better off not – Chris Tribbey knowing. he rise of the Horror Host is one of the more fascinating and fun aspects of TV history. In more-innocent times, before the days of basic cable, local TV markets were largely responsible for their own programming, bringing in a proliferation of personalities to host kiddie shows and introduce movies to their audiences. But the Horror Host seemed to combine these two concepts, presenting bizarre characters to introduce classically bad scary movies to late-night audiences. Many of them offered sketches and trivia that gave viewers more of a reason to tune in than the movies themselves. American Scary is a celebration of these goofballs of gore, from nationally known figures such as Vampira and Elvira, to regional celebrities with such names as Svengooli, Zacherley, Chilly Billy, Ghoulardi, Dr. Sarcofiguy, Doktor Goulfinger and Dr. Mor B.S. In this thorough and entertaining documentary, director John E. Hudgens and writer Sandy Clark cover the trends and personalities that shaped the phenomenon. Included are interviews with fans, such as noted critic Leonard Maltin, and dozens of Horror Hosts themselves, many of whom appear in costume. These are not people who have faded into obscurity. A lot of them are childhood icons, and some achieved even greater fame. For example, comedian Tim Conway (“The Carol Burnett Show,” “McHale’s Navy”) made a name for himself in the late 1950s writing and starring in comedy bits for the Ghoulardi show in Cleveland, the hotbed of Horror Hosts. And Ghoulardi was played by voiceover specialist Ernie Anderson, father of director Paul Thomas Anderson. The documentary also covers modern versions of Horror Hosts, including the Cryptkeeper from “Tales From the Crypt,” and the gang at “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” led by Joel Hodgson. “MST3K” took hosting to a new level, ripping the movie while it was playing, not just during the interstitials. Extras include an affectionate commentary with Hudgens and Clark, extended and unused interviews, and some strange footage of a 2003 wedding involving two Horror Hosts. – John Latchem T 18 Home Media Magazine February 16–22, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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