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Short Takes.."Cinema Paradiso", "Bored to Death", and "The Cider House Rules"
BORED TO DEATH - SEASON 2 (Blu-Ray and DVD)....Guest Review by LEON
Writer Jonathan Ames’ adventures of the fictional Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman), a once successful writer who becomes an unlicensed private detective to serve as a distraction from his writer’s block, continue as Jonathan finally finishes his second novel, only to have it REJECTED. In second season of "Bored To Death", Ames’ stalwart companions, his publisher, George (Ted Danson) and best friend, Ray (Zach Galifianakis), get more involved in his offbeat cases while having bigger developments in their own subplots. George sells his magazine to bigger publishing group only to get phased out and diagnosed with prostate cancer…possibly. Meanwhile Ray has unexpected critical and financial success with his cartoon character Super Ray which ultimately only makes him unhappier. Whereas the first season of "Bored To Death" felt more like a experiment to turn a VERY indie movie into an eight-episode TV show, the second season settles more into being a more familiar HBO comedy series. Truth be told, I think I prefer the novelty of the first season, but Ted Danson (in his best role since "Cheers") still manages to steal every scene he’s in. Most surprising of all is, that despite becoming a household name in between seasons, Zach Galifianakis is surprisingly subdued…for him, anyway.
--CLICK HERE TO BUY Bored to Death: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (Blu-Ray)
Goddamn do I hate these generic, cast-totem pole, bland covers. Can't we all agree that we'd rather have original poster art on the home releases of movies...or even art posters from the likes of what Mondo offers? But this...what does this tell you about the film other than what famous people were in it, and that someone gets a piggy back ride at sunset? Wheee! It's a shame because I know that despite the "7 Academy Award Nominations" banner at the top, I suspect a lot of folks will look right past this film. This 1999 Lasse Hallström Best Picture nominee, based on a John Irving novel, is well worth anyone's time. It's the 1940's and Tobey Maguire plays Homer, an orphan taken in by an ether-addicted doctor, played to Oscar-winning acclaim by Michael Caine (although it is notably offputting hearing Caine talk all 'merican). Despite his lack of schooling, the sketchy Doc trains Homer in Obstetrics and how to perform the illegal abortions that make up part of his business. Eventually, Homer decides to leave in the company of Wally (Paul Rudd) and Candy (Charlize Theron) and goes on to 'become a man', as it were, in a variety of different ways. Touching, complicated, and rather shocking in more than a few scenes, "The Cider House Rules" isn't the bland looking drama it seems from the outside. Not one bit. A really nice transfer to HD isn't marred by the lack of inclusion of any new extras, aside from the meagre ported over DVD features. This might be Hallström's best looking film and the new release displays it in all its glory.
--CLICK HERE TO BUY The Cider House Rules [Blu-ray]
CINEMA PARADISO (Blu-Ray)
I know I'll probably get in trouble for publicly admitting this, but here goes: I'm not a fan of Fellini. Sorry. I've tried all his big films and nothing left me with more than an irrepressible desire to yawn all the way through. That being said, this 1988 Italian Oscar winner of Best Foreign Language Film, despite all the Fellini-esque comparisons that were popular to make at the time of its release, really spoke to me, as I suspect it would to almost any dedicated fan of film. The story is made up largely of the nostalgic recollections of a film director, Salvatore Di Vita (Jacques Perrin), who, upon hearing an old friend Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) has died, remembers back to when he was a child (Salvatore Cascio) growing up in a small village, and how this man who worked as a film projectionist ended up being a surrogate father for him. Just after WWII, Salvatore's own father had died in the war, and his uncontrollable wild-child antics were tempered by the patient and loving Alfredo, who imparts to the tyke a passionate affection for cinema, and eventually after a terrible accident takes his vision, his job as a projectionist. Certainly the film imparts that same passionate love of film to its viewers, with Salvatore being the exact kind of dreamy movie-eyed fan who probably would have been an active part of the Spill.com community if the story took place today. There's very little not to like about "Cinema Paradiso", but Miramax's decision to put out this truncated version on Blu-Ray instead of the much longer director's cut, is ironic and terrible, considering part of the film is about the village's parish priest forcing the projectionist team to excise scenes from the prints they take in based on his own skewed moral compass. Not to mention the lack of any bonus features. As great as this film is, I'd protest with my dollar and wait for the uncut version.
--CLICK HERE TO BUY Cinema Paradiso [Blu-ray]
Comment
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Comment by Joseph E T Hughes on November 3, 2011 at 4:24am -
Clearly, I am not a devoted film fan, because the only Fellini I know is the one selling the bread sticks.
I remember seeing Cider House Rules on cable as a little kid. It...was not really meant for a child's eyes. I can never look at Spiderman and not have unbidden flashbacks of white buttocks.
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Comment by randy on November 2, 2011 at 4:46pm -
Well that's what doesn't make any sense, even the special edition DVD of the film came with both versions because some people want to watch the version they like better or even switch between the two.It would be like only releasing one version of Apocalypse Now, even if the original version is certainly the more known one, plenty of people like the Redux version and would pay the money to have it on there.
I'm kinda shocked you don't like Fellini, but it's always refreshing to hear a film buff not going with what everyone else says is great, I have always had that problem with my dislike of 2001.
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Comment by Cyrus on November 2, 2011 at 4:33pm
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And I will disagree with you enthusiastically, although I'll agree that issuing a copy with both versions would have been the way to go.
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Comment by randy on November 2, 2011 at 4:31pm
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Well sorry for using that word, but I don't agree with you that their decision to release that version is terrible, they should have included both on the disc together.
It makes sense to release that version if they were only going to release one, that's the version most people know in the States and it's the version that won the film the oscar and is very popular.It certainly might not be fair to all fans of the film around the world, but it certainly wasn't a terrible decision from a release standpoint.
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Looking through a lot of other reviews of both versions of the film, while that sentiment is there, Randy, it's hardly the consensus.
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Comment by randy on November 2, 2011 at 4:19pm
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The longer version of Cinema Paradiso is weaker in every way to the two hour cut, that's been the consensus of fans for years.
It's a movie built on moments, magical movie moments that make us feel, much like Glory, the little details and plot aren't the strongest points, it's how effective single scenes are .Him going back to his hometown is dragged out beyond belief in the DC, it pushes the point of the film too strongly and doesn't just hurt the pacing of the movie but brings it to a complete stop.
They should have included both versions for fans who like both, but they certainly picked the better version to release.
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Comment by GODZILLA3000 on November 2, 2011 at 3:57pm -
Bored to Death is a terrific show!
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Comment by Detective Marlowe on November 2, 2011 at 3:51pm -
I love Bored to Death.
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Comment by TheMantaBluRay on November 2, 2011 at 3:44pm -
Now that you mentioned his full name I have seen one of his films called Fellini Satyricon. When I first rented it I was baffled by what I saw because the images came at me relentlessly. Then I rewatched a couple of scenes and somehow I was intrigued by how natural it all looks. It’s a very strange film.
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He did direct it. I only said it was relentlessly compared to Fellini. And even though I don't particularly like Fellini, any devoted film fan should be aware of who he was and his impact on world cinema. I advise looking at your nearby college's available classes and taking some History of Film courses. Not everything they show will be to your liking, but it's important to have a good overview presented in an organized fashion if you consider yourself a 'serious' film fan. Plus, they'll DEFINITELY turn you on to some stuff you had no idea even existed. AND as a special added bonus, you'll never have to admit publicly that you've never heard of Federico Fellini again (although you might have to admit that you don't like him).
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