Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 12) REVIEWS Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I EL NORTE Street 1/20 Criterion, Drama, $39.95 Blu-ray or DVD, ‘R.’ Stars David Villalpando, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Lupe Ontiveros, Tony Plana. T I SWING VOTE Street 1/13 Disney, Comedy, B.O. $16.3 million, $29.99 DVD, $34.99 Blu-ray, ‘PG-13’ for language. Stars Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, Paula Patton, George Lopez. S wing Vote is a well-meaning attempt to cut through the cynicism of American political theater. The premise concerns a presidential election that has come down to a single vote. Bud (Kevin Costner), a loser living in New Mexico, promises his daughter, Molly (Madeline Carroll), that he’ll vote in the election. But when he passes out drunk and never shows up, Molly sneaks into the polling place and tries to vote for him. The next day, Bud is told his vote didn’t go through, and he is entitled to cast a new ballot. For some reason, his special election is set nearly two weeks after the real election, giving the press ample time to swarm his residence, and the two presidential candidates (Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper) plenty of opportunities to sway his support, making a mockery of the concept of the secret ballot. It is in these early scenes of the renewed campaign that the film best connects with its core message, that power has so corrupted the bureaucratic soul that politicians will say or do anything to get elected. Swing Vote works best when actually allowed to function as a satire. The situation is clearly meant as a farce, as it bears little resemblance to any actual politics on our planet. But the filmmakers try to switch from satire to realism, and by the end the film takes itself way too seriously. It doesn’t help that the story veers way off course into a subplot involving Molly’s missing mother, which needlessly adds about a half-hour to the running time and turns the political aspects of the story into a vehicle for a typical plot about healing a fatherdaughter relationship. The home video versions are missing any kind of serious discussion about the one-man-one-vote scenario presented in the film. Then again, Swing Vote isn’t intended for those who might actually study these things. This is politics simplified for the masses. Instead, the behind-the-scenes featurette and commentary focus mostly on anecdotes about making the movie, giving director Joshua Michael Stern plenty of opportunities to compare himself to Frank Capra. Nice try. – John Latchem he Criterion Collection Blu-ray Disc of El Norte is a celebration of the independent film movement of the 1980s. Director Gregory Nava wanted to put a face on the undocumented workers living in America, and made the film on a budget of only $800,000 in 1983, a time when most studios were not interested in this subject matter. As a result, El Norte became one of the first films to relate the Latino experience to mainstream American audiences. He tells the tragic story of Enrique and Rosa, a brother and sister who flee political oppression in Guatemala to find a better life in el norte, Spanish for “the north” and a common colloquialism for the United States. The border crossing, in a rat-infested sewer tunnel, provides one of the lasting images of the film. The gorgeous Blu-ray transfer maintains the crisp colors of Nava’s original vision while preserving just enough grain to immortalize the film’s indie roots. El Norte has probably not looked this good since its days on the festival circuit. One reason El Norte is so powerful is that it is permeated by an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss. Enrique and Rosa’s journey is one of disillusionment and heartbreak, and through them American audiences are able to look back at themselves through a startling new perspective. The Blu-ray format is especially beneficial to the outstanding retrospective featurette. The picture is so crisp that images of newspaper clippings are very easy to read on screen, and really add to the reflections of the film’s support and influence. Nava is the star here, telling behind-the-scenes tales that would be worthy of a movie in their own right, filled with car chases, theft and ransom. The director also goes solo on the commentary, using the track to discuss the rich symbolism embedded into the film, much of it inspired by Mayan texts. This special edition also includes Nava’s UCLA grad-school short film The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva, about a poet on the run from soldiers during a civil war. Many of the themes and visuals would be expounded upon in El Norte. – John Latchem I MY NAME IS BRUCE Prebook 1/13; Street 2/10 Image, Comedy, B.O. $0.17 million, $27.98 DVD, $35.98 Blu-ray, ‘R’ for language and some violence. Stars Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi. I 12 would dearly love to say that My Name Is Bruce is one of the greatest spoof movies of all time, but I just can’t. While the concept is near genius, the execution is disappointing, an overall not-so-funny comedy with a few moments of true hilarity. One of the funniest things about the film is the concept. Bruce Campbell plays himself (well, a down-and-out version we can only hope is fiction), as a ‘B’-movie actor who will take any role to make some cash. When he is kidnapped by one of his überfans (think Comic-Con) to save a small town from an ancient Chinese demon, he thinks it is a prank birthday present from his agent and decides to play along with the townspeople, not realizing the demon is an actual threat. The plot device leaves a lot of room for inside jokes (particularly for those fans of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness) and pop-culture references. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny, but most of them fall flat. Fans of Campbell have a better chance at enjoying the film than those who are unfamiliar with his work. I have been a long-time fan, so I found the experience a little like watching the Christmas pageant of a favorite nephew — I knew it wasn’t great, but my affection for the actor still made me shake my head and chuckle at the bad jokes. Even if the movie isn’t the funniest thing I’ve seen, I have to admire a man who can take a joke — especially when the joke is on him. The DVD includes a ton of extras, including the featurette “Heart of Dorkness: The Making of My Name Is Bruce”; the featurette “Hard Truth News from Hollywood — The Real Bruce Campbell,” a spoof of “E! True Hollywood Story”; and commentary with Campbell and Mike Richardson. – Kyra Kudick Home Media Magazine January 12–18, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Contents News Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 26)
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