The Karate Kid (1984)

Karate Kid is not what you may think it is. The premise of a young fatherless boy trying to survive a completely new environment is how this movie gets its humanity. For anyone who has ever had to move to a new town, be raised by only one parent, or face overwhelming odds, and almost everyone has done at least one of these, this movie can be related to on many levels. Ralph Macchio plays Daniel, a teenager from New Jersey who is forced to move across the country with his mother and start a new life in a foreign place, California. Setting aside the differences between East & West coast alone, there is plenty for him to realize. When faced with bullies that he doesn't understand, he finds a friend in an unlikely place; Mr. Miagi, a Japanese handyman, played by Pat Morita, who's hides many talents. To say Karate Kid is a story about over coming your fear is to say that life is just a thing we do everyday. This movie mixes a friendship, a romance, a coming of age story, gaining self confidence and learning to appreciate that which you may not understand right away. After getting sufficiently beat up by the bullies more than once, Daniel enlists the help of Miagi and soon finds himself training for a tournament. This may seem outrageous, but Miagi knows it is a much safer place and a more controlled environment for Daniel to defend himself and gain respect. Miagi's training techniques are unique to say the least, and just as Daniel begins to question what is going on, he realizes that Migai really does know what he is doing. The story is good and solid and allows sympathy for both sides of the characters. They fill a void for each other, an obvious father/son, mentor/student relationship. The chemistry between them is very solid. Elizabeth Shue is good in her first major role, playing the sweet rich girl who sees Daniel for the person he is and not for his social status. Although sounding clichéd on the surface, this movie is well done and not superficial. The characters are very real, the emotions are deep and the fear of growing up with bullies hits home for many of us. The ending will have you cheering as Daniel moves his way through the tournament to the final climatic ending. Highly recommended and highly entertaining.

"Wax on, wax off" is a catchphrase that will forever be instilled in the human psyche, thanks to the eighties release, The Karate Kid.

Now, as you cringe at the images racing through your head of disco balls, pastels, hair spray and corny one-liners and you decide to bury yourself in a deep hole and hide, dust off the cob webs because no matter how many times you've see it, this is one eighties flick you can't help but love.

Now available on DVD as an Ultimate Collectors Pack, we can relive this inspirational story of courage and friendship.

While teens of today may call this a retro disaster, and use the video cover as a coaster during a drinking fest at one of their underage parties, there's no denying the saying, "an oldie but a goodie" loudly rings true.

Moving to a new home and starting over is never easy. Just ask Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio). Leaving Newark for LA, Daniel's the new kid and he thinks the whole world is coming down on him.

It's all doom and gloom until like any other 16 year old teenager with rushing hormones, meets a beautiful blonde, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue).

However, Ali brings baggage to the picture, a wild ex boyfriend Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) who also happens to be the leader of the Cobras, a ruthless youth karate gang.

Subject to constant bullying by the cobras, Daniel turns to an unlikely source for help, Japanese war veteran turned apartment block handyman Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita).

Mr. Miyagi, who has been taught karate by his father becomes the helpless teens mentor and teaches him the craft, not as an offensive tool, rather only as a means of self-defence.

After months of unconventional training such as washing cars, sanding decks and painting fences and houses, Daniel's prepped for his toughest battle, a fight against Johnny in the thrilling conclusion. Will good prevail over evil?

It's the finale that's most exciting. My finger is always drawn to the rewind button, where I can't help but recap those final gripping moments again and again.

The youth of today's movie going generation will have a field day laughing at the funky eighties pop music, the tightly worn jeans, and (I must admit) the outrageous hair styles. Despite this, 20 years later, a lot can still be learnt as its messages transcend across the boarder of time.

An everlasting masterpiece the whole family will enjoy, John G. Avildsen's The Karate Kid, the original of the trilogy, is undoubtedly the standout.

Though a little hackneyed and slightly predictable at times, it's the relationship between Macchio's and Morita's finely tuned characters that still make this a heartfelt film, two decades after its cinema release.

It's a shame Ralph Macchio can't brush off that teen type cast. Struggling to get adult roles because of his boy like features is unfortunate as his acting ability is second to none.

It sadly seems he'll forever be remembered as 'The Karate Kid'. A great performance is somewhat to his detriment. Still, only one word can describe this movie, unforgettable...that's for sure!

Dim the lights, heat up the popcorn and enjoy this timeless classic.

Buy The Karate Kid (1984) Now

This movie deserves only 3 stars instead of 3 for the following reasons:

1) There are no extras other than the trailer on this DVD. Why didn't Columbia Home Video include the trailers for the two sequels? Why didn't they get Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita (academy-nominated for this role) or director John G. Avildsen to supply commentary?

2) The movie was shot in 1.85:1 which means that the movie was shot full frame (1.33:1) but was projected in the theatre with the top and bottom blocked. This practice gives a widescreen look to movies. Since 'The Karate Kid' was done this way, pan and scan was not needed. You actually see more but this causes the composition to be a little off because there is so much space above the actor's heads. Funny thing, The Karate Kid parts 2 & 3 are letterboxed. Does this mean that an old video transfer was used for this DVD?

3) Where's the Dolby 5.1?

Read Best Reviews of The Karate Kid (1984) Here

People dismiss this film because of it's simplicity. Well I'll tell you right now, it isn't a movie about Karate. Daniel overcomes an insurmountable goal, the type of goal you achieve once in your entire life (this is why I disregard the sequels, apologies for fans). The Karate Kid is a truly beautiful piece of Cinema. If you believe the Karate Kid is a bad film then hire out the Avengers, then MK:Annihilation.

What I will say is that I am DISGUSTED at the fact that this film is presented in Pan and Scan. I paid full price for a movie I am seeing half of. I wanted Widescreen. Did I get it? In a word, No. So now I have a VHS and DVD which are both Pan and Scan. Will I ever see this film in it's original format? This is a question I leave to you, Columbia. Regards Mas

Want The Karate Kid (1984) Discount?

The Karate Kid was THE sleeper hit of 1984 ! A wonderful film that entertains and inspires, a true 80's classic that remains as good today (perhaps better) than when it was released. With that said, this review will focus on the technical aspects, both audio and video, of this Blu Ray presentation rather than the film content itself.

Bottom line is whether or not 'The Karate Kid' on Blu Ray is a good investment and a good choice for upgrading your current DVD or VHS copy.

The Answer? A resounding YES !! and here is why:

'The Karate Kid' come to us on a BD-50 dual layer region free disc in Glorious 1080p and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and housed in an 'Eco' case. We are given the OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) of 1.85:1 which gives the best pixel concentration and preserves the original framing. (it also gives you some very slight black bars at the top and bottom of your screen, unless you have your over scan engaged)

The video is very good. It is easily a solid 4 out of 5 stars and is a MAJOR upgrade from all previous versions. I detected a few very small and very short instances of telecine wobble but they are over so quickly you may not even notice them. The color timing is impeccable and lends itself to reproducing all the proper hues the way you saw them in your theater back in the 80's. I am VERY glad they did not tamper with it.

ON the problem end of things, there is noticeable black crush in dark scenes from time to time, but only slight and never enough to ruin a scene. Also, this transfer has obviously had DNR applied here and there to clean up what the transfer team probably thought was 'noisy' film grain. It is not particularly egregious and only removes SOME of the fine detail from faces. It is hard to tell if this was arbitrary or the print truly required the DNR application, but either way we are stuck with it and for the most part it is not bad at all and the film as a whole retains a very nice pleasing film-like look to it. I noticed NO bad DNR artifacts such as smearing or motion blur.

I have a very large video library and I am being overly picky here, to most folks this transfer will do nothing but please you from start to finish, and basically it did the same for me! All in all, 'The Karate Kid' looks really REALLY good on Blu Ray, borderline great in fact!

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a HUGE improvement over all previous audio mixes of this film including the theatrical presentation.

While dialogue remains a bit one dimensional and flat sounding and the ADR/Dubbing is more obvious now , the overall sound of the mix is just wonderful. Music, effects, foley and ambient room sounds are greatly enhanced with a very surprising 5.1 lossless mix that adds much to the overall presentation of this film. Every sound in the film is more audible than ever before and presented in a much more pleasing way. The same applies to panning and overall sonic fidelity/dynamics.

Bill Conti's score soars like never before, greatly benefited by the lossless audio presentation and the Pan Pipes of The Amazing Zamfir sound absolutely beautiful with more presence and dynamics making the entire soundtrack more powerful and ultimately effective.

TWO HUGE THUMBS way way UP for the audio on this disc!

As for the extras, you get PLENTY! Staring with a super commentary track featuring the films writer and director plus the two male leads, this is an above average track and especially good for real fans of this movie. I loved it!

Next up is a 45 minute documentary (broken into parts one and two) that gives you behind the scenes info, interviews, etc. called 'The Way of the Karate Kid' and again it is a very nice inclusion here. You probably wont watch it more than once, but it is great that they included it.

Three more shorter documentaries including an short interview with the films composer, Bill Conti , round out the extras package. All extras are presented in SD and if you already have the DVD collectors set then you have seen them all before. The only extras in HD are a collection of HD movie trailers that I skipped. Also included is the gimmick laden 'Blu-Pop' feature which functions as a pop up trivia track that plays along with the movie. Honestly, this is not something I would ever even check out so I can't comment on it's entertainment value.

'The Karate Kid' has been a favorite of mine for many years (since it's release) and I am totally pleased with this Blu Ray presentation. The newly energized soundtrack and 1080p picture adds much to an already endearing classic. This Blu Ray is a giant step up from any previous home video release and I do think the audio is better than it EVER has been before! Top it off with a generous helping of quality extra features and you have a real winner here.

Most Highly Recommended !!

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Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 2 (2012)

Quick reference for "NEW TO DVD" titles, all but "Porky's Hare Hunt" and "The Lion's Busy" have been previously released on Laserdisc and VHS.

Disc 1 "What Makes Daffy Duck", "Birdy and the Beast", "Home Tweet Home" (edited version previously on Saturday Morning Cartoons DVD), "The High and the Flighty".

Disc 2 "Porky's Hare Hunt", "Hare-um Scare-um", "Presto-Chango", "The Lion's Busy", "Strife With Father", "A Horsefly Fleas".

Disc 3 TEX AVERY MGM CARTOONS COME TO BLU-RAY (although in STANDARD DEFINITION)!!!! But sorry DVD fans, they will not be in the DVD version.

Since Hi-Defenition transfers were created when restoring the Looney Tunes cartoons for the Golden Collection DVDs it is easy for WBHV to re-issue these on Blu-ray. This doesn't mean that no further restoration work was done, it only means that most are the same film transfers. It will not be like comparing the old Laserdisc & VHS tapes to the Golden collection DVDs. However they will have better resolution than the DVDs so an improvement will be seen.

The "New to DVD" titles will show the most improvement.

AUDIO:

Disc #1 = 1) English, 2) Espanol, 3) Deutsch, (Not all cartoons have all audio options)

Disc #2 = 1) English, 2) Espanol

Disc #3 = English only

SUBTITLES:

Disc #1 = 1) English, 2) Francais, 3) Deutsch (Bonus Features also have Espanol subtitles)

Disc #2 = 1) English, 2) Francais (Bonus Features also have Deutch and Espanol subtitles)

Disc #3 = 1) English, 2) Deutsch, 3) EspanolCastellano, 4) EspanolLatino

NOTE: The booklet has some errors about what bonus material is on which disc. Here is the correct contents of each disc:

DISC 1 = about 200 minutes of cartoons (3.3 hours) + Blu-ray has 52 minutes of bonus material.

A WILD HARE (1940) Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd (the first cartoon to have Bugs' personality associated with the rabbit).

BUCKAROO BUGS (1944) Bugs Bunny

LONG-HAIRED HARE (1949) Bugs Bunny

ALI BABA BUNNY (1957) Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck

SHOW BIZ BUGS (1957) Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck

THE WISE QUACKING DUCK (1943) Daffy Duck

WHAT MAKES DAFFY DUCK? (1948) Daffy Duck

BOOK REVUE (1946) Daffy Duck

DEDUCE, YOU SAY (1956) Daffy Duck as Dorlock Homes & Porky Pig as Watkins

PORKY IN WACKYLAND (1938) (B&W) Porky Pig

YOU OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES (1940) (B&W) Daffy Duck & Porky Pig

PORKY IN EGYPT (1938) (B&W) Porky Pig

BACK ALLEY OPROAR (1948) Sylvester

LITTLE RED RODENT HOOD (1952) Sylvester

CANNED FEUD (1951) Sylvester

GIFT WRAPPED (1952) Tweety & Sylvester

BIRDY AND THE BEAST (1944) Tweety & Sylvester

HOME, TWEET HOME (1950) Tweety & Sylvester

GOING! GOING! GOSH! (1952) Roadrunner & Coyote

ZIPPING ALONG (1953) Roadrunner & Coyote

SCENT-IMENTAL ROMEO (1951) Pepe Le Pew

THE FOGHORN LEGHORN (1948) Foghorn Leghorn

THE HIGH AND THE FLIGHTY (1956) Foghorn Leghorn & Daffy Duck

TABASCO ROAD (1957) Speedy Gonzalas

MEXICALI SHMOES (1959) Speedy Gonzalas

The Blu-ray disc #1 has bonus featurettes from past DVD sets, commentaries by animation experts and alternative audio tracks.

1) The Man From Wackyland: The Art of Bob Clampett 21 minutes (SD)

2) Bosko, Buddy and the best of Black and White historians examine the vintage B&W WB cartoons 10 minutes (SD)

3) Leon Schlessinger: The Merrie Cartoon Mogul 21 minutes (SD_

DISC 2 (This disc presents collections of 'mini-series' as well as a special favorite selected by cartoon fans in an online poll) about 212 minutes of cartoons (3.5 hours) + Blu-ray has 40 minutes of Bonus Material.

WABBIT TWOUBLE (1941) Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd (voted on-line as a fan favorite)

RABBIT FIRE (1951) Bugs & Daffy in the first of the "pronoun trouble" trilogy.

RABBIT SEASONING (1952) Bugs & Daffy in the second of the "pronoun trouble" trilogy.

DUCK! RABBIT, DUCK! (1953) Bugs & Daffy in the third of the "pronoun trouble" trilogy.

DRIP-ALONG DAFFY (1951) Daffy Duck & Porky Pig western parody.

MY LITTLE DUCKAROO (1954) Daffy Duck & Porky Pig western parody.

BARBARY-COAST BUNNY (1956) Bugs Bunny & Nasty Canasta

TORTOISE BEATS HARE (1941) Bugs Bunny & Cecil Turtle, first in hare & turtle trilogy

TORTOISE WINS BY A HARE (1943) Bugs Bunny & Cecil Turtle, second in hare & turtle trilogy

RABBIT TRANSIT (1947) Bugs Bunny & Cecil Turtle, third in hare & turtle trilogy

PORKY'S HARE HUNT (1938) (B&W) Porky Pig and a white rabbit (forerunner to Bugs Bunny).

HARE-UM SCARE-UM (1939) A hunter & rabbit, forerunners to Elmer Fudd & Bugs Bunny.

PREST-O CHANGE-O (1939) two dogs are heckled by a magic white rabbit (forerunner to Bugs Bunny).

ELMER'S CANDID CAMERA (1940) Elmer Fudd hunts a gray rabbit that is not quite yet Bugs Bunny.

BUGS BUNNY GETS THE BOID (1942) Bugs Bunny & Beaky Buzzard

THE BASHFUL BUZZARD (1945) Beaky Buzzard

THE LION'S BUSY (1950) Beaky Buzzard

STRIFE WITH FATHER (1950) Beaky Buzzard

AN ITCH IN TIME (1943) Elmer Fudd

A HORSEFLY FLEAS (1948) the flea from An Itch In Time

HOLLYWOOD STEPS OUT (1941) Hollywood characters

PAGE MISS GLORY (1936) an art deco one-shot cartoon.

ROCKET-BYE BABY (1956) a sci-fi one-shot.

RUSSIAN RHAPSODY (1944) wartime themed musical.

DOUGH RAY ME-OW (1948) Louie the Parrot & Heathcliff the housecat

The Blu-ray disc #2 has bonus featurettes from past DVD sets, commentaries by animation experts and alternative audio tracks.

1) Forever Befuddled a look at the 'career' of Elmer Fudd 4 minutes (booklet indicates this is on disc #1, but it is on #2). (SD)

2) A Hunting We Will Go Chuck Jones' Wabbit Season Twilogy 10 minutes. (SD)

3) Looney Tunes Go Hollywood a look at the Hollywood star caricatures that appear in the WB cartoons 10 minutes. (SD)

4) A Conversation With Tex Avery a rare filmed interview with Tex Avery at the WB cartoon studio 7 minutes. (SD)

5) Looney Tunes Go To War a look at the patriotic roll that the WB cartoon characters took during the war 10 minutes. (SD)

DISC 3 Bonus Content totaling 432 minutes, or 7 hours and 12 minutes on one disc!(Included in the Blu-ray version ONLY, although almost all are in Standard Definition.) Most are re-issues from past DVD sets.

King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution a new 42 minute documentary focusing on Tex at Warner Brothers, with some MGM cartoons. (Some interviews are in HD, most clips are SD.)

Includes interviews with Chuck Jones, Friz Freling, Bill Plimpton, Will Friedwald, and historians Leonard Maltin, Jerry Beck, Mark Kausler, & Eric Goldberg.

NOTE: the booklet claims this is on disc #1, but it is really located on disc #3.

Tex Avery, the King of Cartoons a 1988 vintage 50 minute documentary from Turner Broadcasting giving a more thorough overview of the life and career of Tex Avery, balancing the WB & MGM years more evenly. **There is quite a bit of duplication between the two documentaries. ** If you want to watch just one of these documentaries, this is the better one to watch. (SD)

Includes interviews with Chuck Jones, June Foray, & Preston Blair.

Friz on Film a 55 minute 2006 documentary for Warner Home Video. Friz tells the story of the origins of Bugs, Speedy, Tweety & Sylvester. (SD).

Includes interviews with June Foray, LT animator Art Leonardi, Leonard Maltin

ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons A 54 minute Cartoon Network special from 2008 that includes some early cartoons rarely seen today like the "Spooney Melodies" series and gag reels. (SD).

Includes almost complete versions of these cartoons, some of which appear elsewhere on disc #3:

1) Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid

2) Crying for the Carolines Spooney Melodies

3) Lady Play Your Mandolin

4) Any Bonds Today Bugs, Elmer & Porky (Black-faced segment has been censored out!).

5) Spies Private Snafu

6) The Return of Mr. Hook

7) Animation sequence from "Two Guys From Texas" Bugs Bunny.

8) Animation sequence from "My Dream Is Yours" Bugs Bunny.

9) So Much For So Little (Educational Cartoon)

10) Orange Blossoms For Violet (Live Action Animal Comedy) clips only

11) Drafty, Isn't It? Ralph Philips

12) A collection of rare TV Commercials promoted by Bugs and the gang. Tang,

13) Philbert TV pilot clips.

14) Adventures of the Roadrunner TV pilot clips.

Real American Zero: The Adventures of Private Snafu a 9 minute 2007 "Behind The Toones" documentary for Warner Home Video (SD).

Includes interviews with LT Ink & Painter Martha Sigall and historians Jerry Beck, Mark Kausler, & Eric Goldberg.

The World of Leon Schlesinger 2008 49 minutes with Introduction by Jerry Beck & Martha Sigall (SD)

1) Bosko The Talk-Ink Kid (B&W)

2) Sinkin' In The Bathtub Bosko Looney Tune (B&W)

3) Crying For The Carolines rare surviving Spooney Melodies (B&W)

4) Its Got Me Again Merrie Melodies (B&W)

5) Haunted Gold title sequence (B&W)

6) Schlesinger Productions Christmas Party (with optional commentary by LT Ink & Painter Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck) (B&W)

Friz at MGM The Captain and the Kids Cartoons 44 minutes (STANDARD DEFINITION and UN-RESTORED)

1) Poultry Pirates (B&W)

2) A Day At The Beach (B&W)

3) The Captain's Christmas

4) Seal Skinners (B&W)

5) Mama's New Hat (B&W)

The Best of the Rest of Tex (MGM Tex Avery Cartoons!) 84 minutes NOTE: although on Blu-ray only, these are STANDARD DEFINITION and UN-RESTORED (you will notice the difference).

1) Blitz Wolf (1942)

2) Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)

3) Screwball Squirrel (1944)

4) Swing Shift Cinderella (1945)

5) King-Size Canary (1947)

6) Bad Luck Blackie (1949)

7) Senor Droopy (1949)

8) Wags to Riches (1949)

9) Symphony in Slang (1951)

10) Magical Maestro (1952)

11) Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952)

Private Snafu 34 minutes (B&W) (SD)

1) Coming!!SNAFU

2) Gripes

3) Spies

4) The Goldbrick

5) The Home Front

6) Rumors

7) Snafuperman

8) Censored

Mr. Hook 11 minutes (B&W) (SD)

1) The Good Egg

2) The Return of Mr. Hook

3) Tokyo Woes

Who's in charge of these ? Is it you, Jerry Beck, as we were lead to believe? And if so, how about fulfilling your promises and opening the vault? And treating them in a manner that befits their classic status?

I love "Looney Tunes" and I love my Blu-ray and I DON'T MIND paying again for these classics to be remastered so I can see them in 1080p. It's awesome! But to take one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) cartoons of all time, "Red Hot Riding Hood" and slap out on the bonus disc in a standard VHS copy is insulting to me and all the other fans out there. Actually NONE of the content on disc three is in HD so it's NOT a Blu-ray! It's a DVD!

Look, I understand the realities of marketing and customer demand; You can't put all Bugs or Daffy on one set because no one (or very few) would buy Porky or Sylvester. You can't put them in chronological order because the average consumer wouldn't buy the black and whites. I don't expect you to remaster all the documentaries or featurettes BUT the cartoons themselves? There's no excuse except a money grab.

The packaging that Volume two comes in doesn't even match the first one! It's completely different.

I honestly don't understand the WB's complete indifference to the Looney Tunes collections and the Looney Tunes collector. It's a rabid fan base. And as proven time and again there is quite a market for deluxe sets. Why not issue deluxe collector's versions? the Complete Tex Avery!! The Complete Chuck Jones!! The Complete One Shots and Minis! Hell, Just do The Warner Bros and the complete MGM! To big? break 'em down! Complete Looney Tunes 1930-1942, Complete Merrie Melodies 1931-1942.....

All cartoons ReMastered??In 1080p? You'd make a fortune and the fans would be happy.

Unlike how they feel now.

Buy Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 2 (2012) Now

I ordered this item because of the Tex Avery MGM cartoons included in it. Wow! "Red Hot Riding Hood," "Swingshift Cinderella" et al on Blu-ray! Sharp, brilliant high definition! Imagine my disappointment when the product arrived, I loaded up the disc containing said MGM Avery treasures, and it looked like I was watching them on VHS. Thanks for making it clear, Product Information, that these Avery cartoons are in "standard definition" (though they look even worse, with those intermittent comb-like parallel black lines that appear occasionally in the image in certain digital videos). My excitement face-planted to disappointment just like that.

Caveat emptor... suckers!

Read Best Reviews of Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 2 (2012) Here

Not only this will be the first time the post-1935 black and white Looney Tunes will be on Blu Ray but also 10 shorts will be new-to-DVD all remastard on this release:

with its original opening titles restored **

with its original opening ringss restored ***

*What Makes Daffy Duck? (1948, Art Davis) Hilarious

*Birdy and the Beast (1944, Bob Clampett)

*Home, Tweet Home (1950, Friz Freleng)** Funny

*The High and the Flighty (1955, Robert McKimson)

*Porky's Hare Hunt (1938, Ben Hardaway) My favorite

*Hare-um Scare-um (1939, Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton) This version will have its original ending remastard back to the cartoon.

*Prest-O Change-O (1939, Chuck Jones) My personal favorite

*The Lion's Busy (1950, Friz Freleng)** Hilarious

*Strife with Father (1950, Robert McKimson)** Funny

*A Horsefly Fleas (1947, Robert McKimson)

Note: the previous released cartoon "Canned Feud" is remastard with its original opening ringss unlike LTGC Vol. 1 which had the Blue Ribbon reissue version.

And 11 Tex Avery directed MGM shorts will also be on this release, but only on Blu Ray and they're not remastard unfortunately:

*Blitz Wolf (1942)

*Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)

*Screwball Squirrel (1944)

*Swing Shift Cinderella (1945)

*King-Size Canary (1947) Funny

*Bad Luck Blackie (1949)

*Señor Droopy (1949)

*Wags to Riches (1949)

*Symphony in Slang (1951) Hilarious

*Magical Maestro (1952) Hilarious

*Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952) My favorite

I only recommend this for those new-to-DVD and Blu Ray cartoona. And it's only for those who want to have the previous release shorts from the Golden Collections and Super Stars on Blu Ray in HD instead.

Want Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 2 (2012) Discount?

Warner Home Video insists on packing these blurays like sausages... Full of recycled supplement filler from previous DVD sets. But with this one, they hit a new low. A large chunk of the cartoons on this set (everything labelled as "bonus material") isn't in 1080p. It's standard def. All those great MGM Tex Avery cartoons? Yep. They just shoved a DVD on a bluray disk and tried to slip it by you.

Here is a clue for Warner Home Video... Why would a cartoon fan buy this set? Odds are, he already has all the DVD sets... He's buying it for HI DEF CARTOONS. We don't need hour upon hour of repurposed mumbling commentary and rah rah cheerleader animation historians telling us how GREAT! everything is. We want HI DEF CARTOONS. We ESPECIALLY don't want cartoons in DVD quality as some sort of booby prize "bonus".

If Warner gave us what we want, and lots of it, they would get five stars. But the filler on this set that they charged me for and I don't want cuts that in half2 1/2 stars, rounded down for the stupidity of whoever decided that bluray customers want blurays filled with DVDs.

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Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection (Caliber 9 / The Italian Connection / The Boss / Rulers of the Cit

After watching way too many poor transfers of Euro films from the seventies, it's a real treat when I get a chance to see them released by a studio that actually cares what the final product looks like. In my opinion, Raro Video did an outstanding job with these four films, from the production value of the transfers to the package as a whole. I'm not going to imply that each one of these films is a five-star effort even though fans of this director and this genre will most likely rate them very high, while others may nitpick at them rather that it is the collection itself that I'm rating as top of the line, one that any enthusiast of Eurocrime or seventies cinema will find it well worth their time to track down.

Were I to rate them separately, I would give each film four stars they all have their plusses and minuses, which seem inextricably linked in each. The first three films Caliber 9, The Italian Connection, and The Boss are part of Di Leo's 'Milieu Trilogy', a loosely linked series that doesn't follow a continuous storyline, but rather examines the criminal landscape of Italy in the early 1970's. Taking inspiration from the stories of Russian-born émigré Giorgio Scerbanenco, 'Caliber 9' (Milano Calibro 9) may very well be the overall best of the three, with Gastone Moschin taking up the part of the just-released convict Ugo Piazza, whom the berserk Mario Adorf suspects of having stolen money from his organization prior to the start of his three year-prison sentence. Labeled as noir by some, with a plot twisting and turning as well as anything by Chandler or Hammett, this film has one remarkable ending.

Mario Adorf returns in 'The Italian Connection' (La Mala Ordina) as a small-time pimp and hustler Luca Canali who gets served up as a fall-guy for two American hit men (Woody Strode and Henry Silva), who are sent to Milan to make an example of the man who stole a shipment of heroin. On the run, with nothing to lose, its either fight back against the overwhelming odds or die. This one is also based on a Scerbanenca story, and though I don't think it's quite on the same level as 'Caliber 9', it is still an extremely entertaining film. Henry Silva is back again in the trilogy's final installment, 'The Boss' (Il Boss), as bit-player Nick Lanzetta, and the film tracks his violent climb to the top of the organization. Somewhat talky, which slows down the film in spots, Silva still shines as an ice-cold killer.

The last film, supposedly exclusive to this box set, is 'Rulers of the City' (I Padroni della Città) with Jack Palance, Al Cliver and Harry Baer. This film seems somewhat mislabeled as a comedy it is a bit more light-hearted than the others, but that's about it. Baer (looking like nothing so much as the younger brother of Robert Downey Jr.) and Cliver, a couple of nobodies trying to get ahead in the world, scam Palance's organization out of 10 million Lira. Getting the money was easy getting away with it is the hard part.

All four films are highly entertaining, though time and distance mutes some of the social commentary that di Leo peppered his films with. All but 'The Italian Connection' include a soundtrack by Luis Bacalov, which reminds me (especially in 'Caliber 9') of the outstandingly funky pinball theme from Sesame Street. I watched all the films in Italian, but they all come with both English and Italian options. From my understanding, all Italian films from this time were re-dubbed after filming, even for Italian audiences, and 'Caliber 9' has probably the worst dubbing of the four films, though I consider this somewhat to be expected with these films and don't subtract much because of it. The 'Milieu Trilogy' films are all in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1; 'Rulers of the City' is non-anamorphic wide-screen (black bars on top, bottom and sides). Above all, these films look terrific. Restored and remastered, they pop off the screen. Extras include five documentaries spread out over the four discs, consisting of interviews with Di Leo, his actors and crew, and historians to address different subjects relating to each film. Also included in the box set is a small booklet containing excerpts of the Di Leo interview.

While its understandable that anyone can get a lemon, I thought the packaging in this collection was fine each film comes in its own case, and which are exactly the same as regular DVD packaging except that they are half as thick. The DVD itself is affixed to a spindle to keep it in place (as it is in traditional cases), and unlike some cheap sets, the tension on the spindle is sufficient to keep the DVD from slipping off and banging around loose inside the case. All my DVD's arrived in good shape and played well, and I highly recommend the entire set.

Nothing to add in the way of another film review.

The treatment of these movies is good, they look and sound very nice.

Yes, the cases are a bit flimsy but they're acceptable.

I, too, had an issue with the Il Boss disc. The feature doesn't freeze up but the Storie di Mafia documentary does have the 30 second audio delay. It's pretty f'n annoying and might render it unwatchable for many. I'm pretty patient with such things and still had a difficult time.

The "anyone can get a lemon" assessment by an earlier reviewer doesn't apply here.

The now-majority of Amazon buyers are having these same problems.

What seems odd to me is that the quality warnings on here are getting "1 out of 5 found this helpful" responses.

Seems to me that it might be kind of important to a potential buyer.

For whatever it's worth I'll contact RaroVideo.

Still, I won't be returning the set.

The films are great and I'm happy to have spent $20 to have them collected.

UPDATE: The good people at RaroVideo are aware of the issue, have fixed it and have offered to send me a replacement.

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When I first heard these films would hit Blu-Ray, I was pretty excited since these Di Leo films are among his best and are some of my all time favorites. It was going to be great to see these films in definitive home video editions! Sadly, these new transfers don't look very good at all. They are swimming with digital noise and artifacts that may have been film grain at one point but is now a mass of swirling fuzz. The further away from the TV you get, the better the image appears to look.

The major letdown of the set, however, are the weird, split-second video glitches on the Blu-Ray disc of The Italian Connection (that can be seen in this photo I took here ). Another similar glitch can be seen during the lumberyard fight, and then at least 5 more instances are seen during the final junkyard scene. I'm pretty sure this isn't an isolated incident, so if you've encountered these video glitches throughout the disc, please let Raro know that they need to correct this. They seem to not be willing to fix this problem at the moment and replied with this message to me:

"Thanks for pointing out the problem with the Italian Connection blu-ray. Unfortunately, at this point there's not much we can do to correct the disc. If you're dissatisfied with the collection you can return it and we'll issue you a refund. Alternatively we can send you the single DVD of the Italian Connection, so that you have a clean copy. Again, thank you for your feedback and ongoing interest in RaroVideo."

I'll most likely be returning my Blu-Ray set for a refund and sticking with the original Italian Raro DVDs that still look surprisingly great upconverted on my HDTV. It's a bummer. I want to support Raro because they are consistently releasing interesting and desirable Italian films that are English friendly. But, with their track record of quality already down the tubes, it's hard to recommend blind buying anything they release (Before this, they had issues with their DVD versions of The Boss and Dorian Grey). My fingers are crossed that they can overcome this and drastically improve their quality control.

Originally posted on

Read Best Reviews of Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection (Caliber 9 / The Italian Connection / The Boss / Rulers of the Cit Here

In the past year or so I've really gotten into Italian cult cinema, mainly Giallo, but I've also become a growing fan of actresses such as Barbara Bouchet and Marisa Mell. When I learned a Bouchet film was going to be released on Blu-ray in this four film series I jumped on it, especially at the price point of $23.99 (what I pre-ordered it at). Having seen none of these films before and still being rather new to the Euro-Crime genre I didn't know what to expect. Having watched them all I'm glad I took the plunge.

Transfer wise there's no complaints from me, then again I'm not overly picky about picture and sound like some people are. I've watched and enjoyed enough bad VHS rips that for me it's more about the entertainment value than the quality, quality is just a bonus. But here the quality appears to be top notch to me, definitely better than I'm sure these films have ever looked before.

Film wise my personal favorite out of the four was The Italian Connection, for me it had the best combination of non stop action and story, Mario Adorf is simply awesome, never a dull moment. The other three films are also entertaining in their own rights, although I was a little disappointed in Caliber 9, Bouchet's role was pretty minimal and as one of the more hyped films in the collection I actually found it a little boring at times, Mario Adorf and the limited amount of Bouchet carried that one for me.

Anyone whose a fan of these films or this genre should be more than happy with this set. The current price of $24.99 is simply a steal for these four films on Blu-ray.

3.5 stars for average entertainment value of the films.

5 stars for the value of the set itself.

Average 4 stars.

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These 4 Fernando Di leo movies are amont The best eurocrimes movies ever. My preference goes to Calibre 9, a nearby masterpiece.

The whole box is a treat: The hi-def transfers are perfect, great bonuses all over... Raro video made a good choice and a truly great work.

Highly recommended.

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High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Deluxe Extended Edition + Digital Copy + DVD and BD Live) (2008)

Honestly, High School Music fan or not, this movie is truly amazing. Of course, anyone who liked the first two will probably fall in love with this one, as it is, hands down, the best in the trilogy. I think that even if you didn't see the first two or if you weren't particularity fond of them, you will like this one regardless because of what it deals with. This movie is about something we all go through as senior in high school saying good-bye to our friends after high school. Addiotionally, it's nice to see a teen movie that doesn't revolve around sex, drugs, violence, and profanity. (I am aware many of you will argue with me that this is not exactly a film aimed at a teenage or young adult audience and that the viewing public expected for it is in fact little elementary school children simply because it is G-rated Disney movie, but to me, that makes no sense whatsoever. The movie talks about high school graduation, college applications, prom, the Ivy League universities, etc. Do you really think a 10-year-old will understand that?)

The East High Wildcats decide to put on their final show together at their school: a musical about their twelfth grade experience. It'll be a pretty unique musical because, for once, they won't have to play a character they'll be playing themselves! But due to her incredible intelligence, Gabriella, the female protagonist, is offered to skip her senior year in high school and go to straight onto college right away. Will she accept Standard's offer, leaving her friends, boyfriend, and the musical behind? Will Troy, the male protagonist, chose to continue with basketball or will he chose a career than involves acting? Will Sharpay win a scholarship to New York's Julliard University of Performing Arts or will her brother? Will Ryan and Kelsi find true love? Find out in this exciting conclusion to one of the world's greatest film series! The only good thing recently produced by the screwed-up Disney Channel! Yes I hate Disney Channel, Hannah Montana, Cory in the House, Jonas Brothers, and all of the other inappropriate teen shows they've decided to put on a children's channel. But High School Musical is different. It teaches both kids and teens a valuable lesson and it allows adults to revisit their past. The plot is actually relevant to what many people feel and...it's a teenage musical! You don't see something like that everyday! Just watching Troy and Gabriella perform a beautiful waltz is reason enough to buy this film. Also, the old fashioned music at the end proves that rap, hip hop, and pop isn't always what you'll see in a teenage film.

The songs are as original, catchy, and wonderful as they are visually stunning! During "Scream," the turning walls that represent Troy's confusion are spectacular! The disappearing pictures on the wall in Gabriella's solo "Walk Away" were really quite sad. The Statue of Liberty that shoots fireworks out of its head in "I Want It All" is amazing. The sets in "A Night To Remember" will leave you with your mouth wide open. "Right Here Right Now," "Can I Have This Dance," and "Just Wanna Be With You" are three incredible romance songs. And, of course, Troy and Chad turning into little boys in "The Boys Are Back" was really cute. That reminds, "Right Here Right Now" and "The Boys Are Back" are so of my favorites because of what they talk about: not wanting to grow up. Anyway, n case you forgot or are too lazy to read the customer reviews for the HSM3 soundtrack, here are the songs:

1. "Now Or Never" Troy and the Wildcats basketball team

2. "Right Here, Right Now" Troy and Gabriella

3. "I Want It All" Sharpay and Ryan [A TRUE BROADWAY SONG!]

4. "Can I Have This Dance? (Version I)" Troy and Gabriella

5. "A Night To Remember" cast!

6. "Just Wanna Be With You" Ryan & Kelsi, Troy & Gabriella

7. "The Boys Are Back" Troy and Chad

8. "Walk Away" Gasbriella

9. "Scream" Troy

10. "Can I Have This Dance? (Version II)" Troy and Gabriella

11. "Senior Year Spring Musical" ***made up of reprises of NOW OR NEVER (Chad, the Wildcats basket team, cheerleaders), I WANT IT ALL (Ryan), JUST WANNA BE WITH YOU (Sharpay & Jimmy, and later Troy and Gabriella), and A Night To Remember (Sharpay vs. Tiara), as well as a new song: Last Chance (Ryan and Kelsi)***

12. "We're All In This Together" cast!

13. "High School Musical" cast!

14. "Just Getting Started" during the end credits, winner of the Get In The Picture ABC7 contest

By the way, during the "I Want It All," you actually see Gabriella The Maid a bit more than you did in the theaters because you see that part of the song in a different camera angle than you did in theaters. That also lets you see an important-looking lady giving Ryan a newspaper with him and Sharpay on the cover. This is not due to the extended edition thing because the song is the same length, but, like I said, the camera angle is different so you see more things.

The special features on this Blu-ray are freakin' cool! Even though it's a single disc release, it has the exact same content found on the Two-Disc release, plus more! These are the Special Features (the last two aren't found on the two-disc release).

-Extended Version Of The Movie

-Optional Sing Along Version

-Bloopers

-Deleted Scenes

-"Cast Goodbyes" feature

-"Night Of Nights" feature

-"It's All In The Dress" feature

-"Senior Awards" feature

-New Cast Profiles

In addition, just like in the Two-Disc release, you can download a digital copy of the movie. And as if that weren't enough, it comes with the first disc of the Two-Disc Edition!!!!! Now you can watch the movie practically anywhere because you have the regular version as well as the Blu-ray version!!!! What do you know, it is a two disc after all. ^_^

I thought HSM 3 was an awesome movie. The acting and songs were amazing. I am just sad to see an excellent triology come to an end.

In high school musical 3 you get to see all of the emotions and changes that happen during senior year. You get to see Troy and Gabriella's relationship progress, you get to see what everyone's future is going to be, you get to see prom (Troy and Gabriella look amazing and so does the rest of the class), you get to see everyone graduate, and you get to see everyone say goodbye to each other which was really sad. There are some really hard decisions to be made in this movie and I think everyone did an excellent job acting it out.

Overall this movie was great. It was played out really well. When you are watching this movie you really feel like you are also saying goodbye to the cast and its really sad.

I wish the entire cast good luck with everything they do in the future.

If you love the first two high school musical films then I know you'll love this one as well.

The Extended version of the film comes with an extended version of the film, sing alongs, cast interviews, bloopers and so much more. I highly recommend you pick up the extended version of the film instead of the theatrical version. It is well worth the extra money.

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This movie is about Troy who struggles with the dilemma of whether to play basketball or sing all while trying to keep his girlfriend. Pretty much, it's the same thing as High School Musical 1.

I wont knock the movie for having a trivial story because high school kids care about trivial things. My biggest problem is, none of the characters seem to have grown at all since the first movie. Troy still doesn't know what he wants to do, Sharpay is still a back stabbing creep, and Gabriella is still the airhead girlfriend she was in the first film. The only difference here is, this is senior year and they leave each other in the end.

The musical numbers are all very well done. The main star of the movie is the choreographer who has to handle all the 30 year old dancers pretending to be 18 year olds. The songs are pretty good but they're not really all that memorable. I doubt kids that watch this today will be singing these songs when they're adults. This is not Grease. But it is good clean fun and it's nice to see young people interested in musicals.

I wish the songs weren't so incredibly over produced. Every time they start singing, it doesn't sound like they're in the real world anymore. It sounds like they're in a studio. Especially Vanessa Hudgens who sounds like her voice had to be worked over in a computer. But it still sounds whiny and nasal. Contrast this movie with Hairspray. In that movie the musical numbers just seemed to fit and blend in with the story and not seem like music videos.

However, the movie was still very enjoyable and I would recommend it for young people. Better they see movies about kids going off to college than movies about drugs and sex.

Read Best Reviews of High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Deluxe Extended Edition + Digital Copy + DVD and BD Live) (2008) Here

This movie was really cute. Zac Efron did a great job. Vanessa Hudgens, gorgeous and the supporting actors helped round out this final sequel. If you enjoy musicals you'll enjoy this.

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this movie shows a lot of team work and students working together to do something great! I thoroughly enjoyed the music and dancing in this outrageous display of young talent!

The Fast and the Furious (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2001)

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) rules the streets with his "team" in the world of illegal street races. Running a luncheonette and a garage, Dominic makes money to pay for the mortgage on his house, and keep his sister (Jordana Brewster) in school, but that money alone is not enough so he resorts to the illegal ways to keep the cash flowing. Vowing to kill himself before returning to prison, Dominic stays one step ahead of the police until he meets Brian (Paul Walker), an undercover cop investigating a series of bizarre truck heists.

The FBI believe Dominic and his crew are behind the robberies, and it's Brian's job to find enough evidence against, but putting together the case against this crew will prove to be difficult because Brian becomes friends with Dominic and starts to understand his difficult life, and at the same time he is falling in love with his sister. To make matters worse, Dominics rival Johnny Tran drops in to settle some old scores, and the list of suspects in the robbery case is growing larger.

`The Fast And The Furious' is top-notch entertainment. Containing serious action sequences, and a thrilling mystery of the robberies, `The Fast And The Furious scores on many levels. The action scenes are some of the best filmed racing sequences I have ever scene, and the pulsing soundtrack keeps things at a high energy level.

The performances from Walker, and Diesel are right on the money, and the supporting cast of Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Chad Linberg, Johnny Strong and Ted Levine bring life to the characters they play.

Great action, and a pulsing soundtrack will keep you glued to your seat for two hours of entertainment.

Look. I know that most who've seen this movie (especially the teeenage boys) will automatically tell you "Yea man! It rocked! It's the best movie ever!"

Personally, I'm a tunerhead. I love suped up cars, and the whole street racing scene. I can't say how this movie can relate to the real midnight street racers, but I'm sure it's been Hollywooded up enough to go overboard a little.

But, I was expecting to see terrible acting, a bad script, a bad plot, but cool cars. In reality, the acting is very well done. The script isn't corny, the plot is entertaining, and, well...the cars speak for themselves. (Vin Diesel's Mazda RX7 in the movie just went up for bid on Ebay!) This movie, whether you're into cars, or not, is a must-see. My friends who get bored even when I mention cars and racing still loved the movie for its other aspects. I thought it was awesome, but, hey, to each his own. Why don't you go and see it to check it out?

Buy The Fast and the Furious (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2001) Now

This movie is so far the best movie I've seen all summer. But, most may not agree.

The people that won't like it: People who don't know a thing about cars/engines. (i.e. People who think a TUNED Toyota Supra can't beat a "Mid-life crisis" Ferrari) People that are expecting more from the movie than just fast and furious driving, which it delivers! and delivers well.

People who will like it: People who have a passion for cars and the technology behind it. People who appreciate high tech DOHC horsepower rather than the "bigger is better" approach that powers most OHV American vehicles. Oh, and any girls who like Paul Walker.

So if you are looking for a intense, fun, highpowered ride of your life, see this movie. But if you are looking for a wonderfully scripted Oscar winning drama, go rent "The Piano" and try to keep from falling asleep.

Read Best Reviews of The Fast and the Furious (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2001) Here

Who doesn't like to drive fast? I'm pretty sure everyone does. Those guys in the movies are crazy, but it makes me want to drive like they do, and not get killed. Vin Diesel is his best in the movie. It's a very moving and interesting movie to watch.

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Lifting the plot directly from Point Break (1991), The Fast and the Furious is a turbo-charged ride with hot women, outrageous stunts, loud cars, and an equally loud soundtrack. Director Rob Cohen seems to be playing it safe relying on the sure-fire formula of said girls and cars after the critically-mauled The Skulls(2000). And the film indeed does work well with all the elements that make a no-brainer movie like this a winner with audiences. Vin Deisel makes a stand-out performance as the main man of the late-night drag racing, and Michelle Rodriguez provides enough eye candy for all the pre-pubescent boys. The story, as it is, is basically the same as Point Break, with Paul Walker as an undercover cop attempting to infilltrate the late-night speeders, then joining theit unique culture. The sub-plot involving gangsters fells like it's been tagged on to create more of a plot, but who cares? Rob Cohen knows what audiences want in an action flick like this, and it suceeds admirably. Turn up the volume, set your brain to half-mode and this is a winner.

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Country Strong (2010)

Kelly Canter (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow) is one of the biggest country music stars on the planet, and she's also struggling with many demons. A year after a tragic (and very public) accident in Dallas derailed her career, Kelly has emerged from rehab, and is quickly sent back on the road by her husband-manager James (Tim McGraw). James, who is now more Kelly's manager than husband, recruits a singing beauty queen named Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) to join Kelly's "Encore" tour. Kelly, enamored during her rehab stint with a musically talented intern named Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund), insists that he supports Kelly on the tour, as well. James agrees, but only on the condition that Beau's role is sponsor first, musician second. The complex layers of relationships among the main characters is the essence of 'Country Strong'.

All of the actors turn in very convincing performances, Hedlund's not the least among them. Hedlund's turn as a gifted musician more in love with music than with the idea of fame is second only to Paltrow's authentic depiction of the troubled superstar. McGraw gets better with every role that he receives, although his character range might be limited. Meester's interpretation of the "Country Barbie" has legs, and healthy ones at that. Her character was the most well developed in the film, start to finish.

As the writing goes, I found it to be a little sloppy. The emotional pendulum swings so quickly and frantically among the characters, that it becomes difficult to get invested in even one of them, let alone all of them. The story is not difficult to follow, but some instances of interaction are questionable, if not unbelievable. There are also elements surrounding the film that even make it feel a little dated. That said, I did find the pacing of the film to be solid and steady. I also found the victories and defeats that the characters experience I found to be a plus for the movie.

The true strength of 'Country Strong' is the music that is woven throughout the fabric of the story. The variety of country music sub-genres (from classic country to the current, dominant pop-style of country) are all great, and I consider myself a casual country music fan, at best. The real tragedy is that not all of the songs in the film are on the official soundtrack. Paltrow has at least three top-quality songs in the film, all of which she performs herself. She sounds like someone who has been performing country her entire life. Meester's "Words I Couldn't Say", which she also performs on her own, is potentially a #1 single for her. It's really that good. Overall, this might actually be an instance where the soundtrack will outlast the popularity of the movie it originates from.

'Country Strong' amounted to something of a predictable ending, but knowing the destination didn't make the journey any less worth taking for me. As I type this, Rotten Tomatoes critics have this film at 17%. I find this rating to be very unfair, and very harsh. This is an entertaining film that will satisfy the majority of those who spend their money to see it.

I seem to be in a minority, but I thought this was a superb movie, a great start to 2011 (countering what Rebecca Murray said about the movie). Was it the greatest movie of all time? Not by a long shot, no. But it accomplished what it set out to do: it told a great story, showcased great performances both dramatically and musically.

While Paltrow may take first-billing, and while her musical numbers are phenomenal, to me it is Beau and Chiles (Hedlund and Meester) who this movie is really about.

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I really loved this movie. I went back and watched it again with my daughter and she liked it to. The music is great but so was the movie. It was about all 4 main people and how their lives were changed because of each other. It's a movie I plan to buy. I bought the cd after watching the movie. The music is really great.

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I love music, and country music. I also love a lot of the actors and actresses in the movie so I went expecting a "Pure Country" or even a "Coal Miner's Daughter" kind of movie.

Instead I got a movie with some exceptional acting, great music, and an amazing story.

I will first make a comparrison:

Love and Other Drugs was similiar in that it deals with a lot of human element and complexities. However, that movie was so OVERLY sexual that it watered down the emotion. And while I love Anne Hathaway and thought she did some great acting I didn't like her character. In the end I didn't think he character developed and still felt like her character was very selfish and that they both were. It was a very co-dependent relationship.

Country Strong was so much more. It was what I wanted Love and Other drugs to be. (Spoiler Alert) You wont' find a happy ending here but the complex story of Kelly Canter won't leave my mind. Paltrow was a perfect pic for this character as she almost has a sadness in her eyes, a certain quality.

Kelly Canter is a famous celebrity who's lost her way in life. After losing a baby when she fell of stage during a concert (she tripped over a mic cord, but she was intoxicated) she goes to rehab where she stays for about a year. James Canter, her husband checks her out early from rehab to help her get her career back. Kelly'd not ready to leave rehab and a friend who works at the rehab and sings at local bars and dance halls comes on tour with herBeau.

Kelly Canter is now KELLY CANTER. Her entire being is her "celebrity" and she's no longer herself anymore. All she really wants is for James to love her. She longs to escape the life she's living but when she tries to talk to James about this he refuses to see the real Kelly anymore.

There's so much pain between them, and you watch Kelly's life jump off the tracks and spiral out of control. It's very painful at times. James and Kelly have a complex relationship that's become more about business and more about KELLY CANTER the headliner than Kelly Canter the woman. Kelly continues to make bad choices and it's clear she's had a mental breakdown. Only Beau can see this and while he's in love with her all of her demons push him away.

Meanwhile Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester who does a great job) is the pageant queen girl trying to break in to stardom. She turns out to be more complex than she seems on the surface and in the end Beau falls for her. She wants the limelight though and wants to be the next Kelly Canter. Beau gets a taste of it and decides it's not for him. He can see what fame has done to Kelly. How it steals every piece of you. He just loves music and wants to go back to singing in dance halls.

James Canter will push Kelly at any cost. His love for Kelly has become so entagled in his desire for her to suceed and be KELLY CANTER that he can't see how broken she is. "She use to be strong. I don't know when she became so fragile." he says to Beau.

There is such a struggle in this movie between two people who love each other and hurt each other in so many ways. It shows how complex a marriage can be. How complex the "celebrity" personality can be and how even those close to you can blur the lines between real and pretend.

You'll find hope at the end of the movie when two characters decide to leave that life behind. Unfortunately you'll also find pain and sadness, when sometimes it's just too late.

There is not a character in this movie that is not deeply complex. You're heart will break and bleed for them even as you watch them hurt each other and make avoidable mistakes. These characters too do selfish things to one another but what will stay with you is the pain that love can cause when it won't let go.

You'll see the intensity that is so hard to show between two people as you peel back the layers on James and Kelly's marriage.

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I watched this movie twice...it made me laugh...it made me think...it made me mad... and it made me cry. Who ever saw this and didn't cry when Kelly (Gwenyth) sang to TravisI am in awe of you. This had great music and a good story line. It could have used a little more meat to the script as to all that happened to lead to the end, but it did what it set out to do it entertained, it brought out a lot of different emotions and it made you hug your family a little closer. I do agree with everyone else, there was nothing wrong with the vocals, so the soundtrack being sung by other stars is both dissapointing and ridiculous.

This movie runs with the same feel as "The Thing Called Love" with River Phoenix and "Walk the line" with Joaquin Phoenix. If you liked them you will like this. Grab a blanket and your tissues and roll film

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Summer with Monika (The Criterion Collection) (1953)

What started as a story of idyllic summer of love and journey, shared between very young Harry and Monica, became an interesting study of relationship that had to survive the demands of real world after the journey was over.

I kept thinking while watching this film what would've happened to Romeo and Juliet (who were close by age to film's heroes Monica, 17 and Harry, 19) had they been given a chance to live happily ever after. Would they be able to love each other after the reality of marriage would fight with their eternal love, when the baby is crying all night long and there is no money to pay a rent, and young and tender Juliet has learned about power and pleasures of sex but her Romeo is always out working, trying to make enough money to support her and the child? Would Juliet get bored and angry with Romeo for leaving her home alone? Would she start looking for fun elsewhere? Would be Romeo left heartbroken and bitter or would the memories of that unforgettable summer with his Juliet Monica still stay with him as the best time of his life?

Beautiful film with wonderful Harriet Andersson as a sultry teenager Monica, full of life, rebellious against her boring existence at home, ready for all pleasures of adult life but not ready for responsibilities of a wife and a mother. Will she learn? Will she remember the summer with Harry? Bergman, as usual, does not answer the questions. He never does. He tells the story we are the ones who are left with unanswered questions.

This 1953 film is available on region free Tartan DVD from amazon.co.uk as "Summer with Monika" (almost directly translated from the original title "Sommaren med Monika".) It's an OK edition, worth obtaining especially for Bergman fans. The film is also available on NTSC VHS as "Monika." Renaming the title of this film yet another time as "Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl" is just ridiculous. Even if the studio that will provide this DVD is going to be Criterion, I will certainly have to think twice whether or not I want "Bergman's Story of Monika the Bad Girl" on my bookshelf...who the hell is handing out these additional/optional movie titles over 50 years in retrospect, anyway...?

Aside from unaccredited roles in past Ingmar Bergman films, Harriet Andersson is introduced in a leading role alongside Lars Ekborg (both in their twenties playing 17 year old Monika and 19 year old Harry.) As often in Bergman's films the story has a deeper meaning than its basic plot, and has a stable shifting of multiple emotion. This is also one of few Bergman films to feature so many beautiful Swedish archipelago images. Among his better from the early era.

Buy Summer with Monika (The Criterion Collection) (1953) Now

**** 1953. Co-written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Two teenagers spend the summer in the country after having left their job and their family. When they return to Stockholm, Monika is pregnant and Harry must now find a way to support his family. Two years after Summer Interlude (Sommarlek) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import Great Britain ], Ingmar Bergman describes another figure of woman. But if the summer Marie spends with Henrik will leave a lasting souvenir in the youg woman's heart, Monika will soon forget the idyllic weeks spent with Harry and will not bear the prosaic return to the real world. A movie about innocence and responsibility that will leave you hating reality. Once more.

Read Best Reviews of Summer with Monika (The Criterion Collection) (1953) Here

The first half recalls Bergman's earlier 'Summer Interlude'. But the

second half goes further and explores the 'what if' of the summer

romance between teens; moving into parenthood, marriage, and

disillusionment.

The acting is excellent, and unlike 'Summer Interlude' these actors

look close to the naïve age they're playing.

The film's point of view sometimes felt a bit one sided to me with 'bad

girl' Monika, from a crude, poor family, less willing to extend herself

than her upper-class boyfriend Harry. Of course, along with being

selfish she is also the more complex and fascinating character,

especially as played by the young Harriett Andersson.

Some critics make the argument with merit that the film doesn't

judge Monika,the audience does. Indeed, it could be argued that the

film is meant to make us question our own judgment of a poor girl who

is brought up with dreams of marriage as a glamorous escape, and not

just a humdrum existence. It's not for nothing the heroine is obsessed

with Hollywood love stories.

Andersson's performance may be the first of the many hyper-real and

extremely complex characters in Bergman's body of work, transcending

'type' and moral judgment.

The film was beloved by the French New wave filmmakers, who saw in it's

complex attitude (and very brief nudity) a throwing off of the shackles

of conventional characters and storytelling.

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*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0

Right before the release of 'Sawdust and Tinsel', which marked the beginning of Ingmar Bergman's long string of profound films with metaphysical themes, he served up 'Summer with Monika', a film more in the tradition of the Italian neo-realists, about a young couple who spend a summer of abandon amongst the islands of the Swedish archipelago, north of Stockholm, before returning to the city and getting married.

The film's principals, Harry and Monika, are introduced when they meet at a bar. One is struck right away by Monika's liking for Harry--he really doesn't have to do anything and immediately scores a date with her at the local cinema. We soon discover that both young people are very needy. Monika comes from the more lower class background, residing in a tenement apartment with her mother and an alcoholic father, along with younger siblings who can't keep quiet. Harry lives in a bigger home but lost his mother when he was eight and hardly speaks with his father who suffers from health problems.

In the film's first act, Harry and Monika are at the point where they both want to run away as they both hate their jobs. Harry is a delivery person for a glass and porcelain factory and is constantly berated by his superiors as he's often late for work and shows little enthusiasm for the job. Monika works for a produce wholesaler and must endure the salacious comments and outright groping by crass co-workers and supervisors. It's understandable how Monika is so immediately attracted to the kindly Harry, as he doesn't treat her as a sex object like many of the men she knows from her side of the tracks.

Perhaps the only unsatisfying aspect of 'Summer with Monika', is the underdeveloped character of Lelle, one of Monika's neighbors who we can presume has either had a prior relationship with Monika or admired her from afar. Out of jealousy he socks Harry in the face out of the blue, after observing him escorting Monika home and saying goodbye. It's an awkward scene because we find out nothing about Lelle before, and wonder simply who this guy is.

The film's second act (where the principals commit themselves to an adventure outside their ordinary lives) occurs after Harry is fired from his job (and Monika quits hers); Harry ends up convincing Monika to take his father's motor boat up to the islands in the archipelago and 'live free' from the constraints of their drab lives back in the city. The cinematography, highlighting the natural wonders of this part of Sweden, is magnificent. The second act machinations include more revelations about Harry's upbringing as well as another awkward scene with Lelle fighting Harry after he attempts to torch their boat (has he been stalking the couple the whole time? Again, he's a character who always seems to be popping up out of the blue without a back story).

One of the great things about Bergman is that you can always count on him for his deeply nuanced female characters. 'Summer with Monika' is basically a brilliant character study about a very young woman who turns out to be quite different than what we're first led to believe. At first, Monika appears quite sympathetic, as she cradles Harry in her arms after he reveals how lonely he was as a child (due to the loss of his mother and distant father).

Even before Monika's sudden transformation, there are clues that she has quite a different temperament than Harry. When Harry is fired, he only brings himself to tip over one glass in the factory, instead of smashing many more glasses as he could have done. When Harry knocks Lelle down during the boating trip, Harry restrains Monika, who could have ended up killing him, by striking him with the oar.

Monika begins to sing a different tune when the intrepid couple find themselves subsisting on mushrooms for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Like a savage animal, she breaks into a well-to-do home on one of the islands and steals a pot roast. The husband calls the police but Monika breaks free and returns to the boat, where Harry chastises her for committing an illegal (and hence immoral) act. Monika has no scruples, and believes that the 'ends justify the means'.

The third act, perhaps the strongest of the film, chronicles the dissolution of Harry and Monika's relationship. They end up marrying due to Monika's pregnancy. She turns out to be the wife from hell as she doesn't want to care for her child and would like to resume the life she had when she was single. Meanwhile, Harry takes steps toward maturity by finding a job, with co-workers who treat him with respect.

Things go from bad to worse, when Harry discovers that she's been sleeping with Lelle and also spent the rent money on an expensive suit. When he asks her why she went to bed with Lelle, she cynically claims that she loves him. Harry then slaps Monika who ends up leaving him. Bergman's portrait of Monika is sympathetic but he doesn't excuse her behavior. In effect, she goes back to the very men she was trying to escape from in the first place. The famous close-up of Monika suggests that she's as empty on the inside as that vacant stare we see on the outside.

On the other hand, when we see Harry close-up in the last scene, we're first treated to a montage of the young father's memories of his summer with Monika. His expression changes from pride in his newborn, to a look of sadness, as he realizes that he has a tough road ahead as a single parent. The brilliance of Bergman is that he never sugarcoats reality. Monika's actions are vile but her difficult upbringing is no excuse for her rejecting her responsibilities as a mother. Indeed, Bergman is saying, there are people like Monika in this world! Deal with it!

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Fish Tank (The Criterion Collection) (2009)

Tilbury Town railroad station, Tilbury, Essex, England a common event unfolds on the train platform. A young woman is arguing with her boyfriend. But what seems like a natural occurrence to the naked eye is a turning point in nineteen-year-old Katie Jarvis's life, as an Oscar®-winning director, Andrea Arnold, was watching the argument unfold from across the train platform. And thus begins the story of Fish Tank, a gritty and gripping 2009 drama, set in England, directed by Andrea Arnold. Katie Jarvis, the volatile and angry girlfriend on the platform, stars as Mia Williams, a fifteen-year-old binge drinking high-school dropout, living in a small tenement with her single mother Joanne, played by the British Independent Film Award nominee Kierston Waering, and her younger sister Tyler, played by Rebecca Griffiths. Mia is an expelled student, a volatile adolescent, and a passionate street dancer. After a day of picking fights with fellow street-dancing females, illegally purchasing alcohol from street dealers, avoiding a conference with a secondary school representative and trying to rescue a white horse from a seemingly abandoned lot, the teenager returns home to find that her mother has brought home a young man, Connor, played by Hunger's Michael Fassbender. Connor is a seemingly nice man, who takes Mia, Joanne and Tyler on a family drive to go fishing at a secluded pond. But Connor is sheltered beneath a shell that hides the man's true colors, as his eyes are not focused on Mia's drinking, smoking, abusive mother they are focused on Mia.

The style in which Fish Tank is filmed resembles that of Christian Mungiu's 4 luni, 3 sãptãmâni ºi 2 zile (known in English by 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days), in that what is being filmed is almost a documentary. The camera shakes when Mia is attacked by three tough boys when trying to rescue the white horse. The camera shakes when Mia chases after Connor's car after he walks out on her mother, and as Mia flees from the clutches of the three thugs in the lot. A handheld camera is used for scenes when Mia is in the abandoned apartment, practicing her hip-hop dancing to Ja Rule and Nas. The brilliant and engaging "new" camera style enables the audience to engage more sufficiently in Mia's life as she lives it.

Rarely do I ever close my eyes in films, and rarely do I have to reach over and hold the hand of whomever is sitting next to me in the theatre, whether it be my mother, father, sister, or that woman sitting next to me who keeps chatting with her girlfriend, but Fish Tank and Katie Jarvis's exhilarating, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking performance made me do both. Her role pins you to your seat from the very first scene to the very last moments, which has been seen once before this year in a young newcomer's performance in a motion picture Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. In fact, Fish Tank has been referred to as Britain's Precious, two motion pictures with hauntingly similar yet eerily different plotlines a high-school dropout, living in a bad area, with an abusive parent and troubled lives. Like Sidibe, the debutante Katie Jarvis outshines and upstages veteran actors such as Michael Fassbender and Kierston Waering, and offers an authentic and breathtaking role in an unfortunately relatable part.

Fish Tank: Directed by Andrea Arnold. Starring Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Waering, Rebecca Griffiths and Harry Treadaway.

In many ways, I expected to like Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank"--another working class British drama exploring a disaffected and rebellious teen. But the film rather exceeded my expectations in all ways. It can be an incredibly hard edged presentation but it is also surprisingly hopeful--and this balance is impeccably wrought. Front and center is lead Katie Jarvis and the picture sinks or swims on your investment in this young, tough, unpleasant, wild, and lawless creation. You might instantly be turned off by the in-you-face Jarvis, but "Fish Tank" is deftly able to peel away her hardened exterior to reveal the tortured soul yearning for love and acceptance. Don't be mistaken, however, that this is going to be a heart warming story of redemption once you see some softer shadings. No, this incredibly real story maintains an integrity throughout and doesn't attempt to provide quick psychological or sociological answers leading to happily ever after.

Jarvis, as I said, takes center stage throughout. Independent and confrontational, Jarvis lives with her mother and younger sister. As you might expect, there is a constant battle at home where her mother seeks refuge in alcohol and attempts to relieve her loneliness through random sexual encounters. The bulk of the story begins when momma's new beau (Michael Fassbender) enters the picture. Initially wary of the sexy new stranger, Jarvis becomes increasingly intrigued as he seems to be more than a one night stand. Alternately hostile and accepting, it is supremely difficult for her to let her guard down. But her racing and conflicted emotions propel her closer to Fassbender. It is an astute portrayal (perhaps one of the better representations of warring emotions of late) that has Jarvis infatuated with her mom's suitor. She is sexually attracted to him, sees him in a paternal light, and sees him as a respectful friend and equal. He stirs up so much uncertainty, however, it does cause Jarvis to reexamine how she's leading her life.

The film doesn't shy away from some rather unpleasant plot developments. When Jarvis feels betrayed, in fact, the film possess the power to shock as she is pushed beyond all reasonable boundaries. This is truly a magnetic performance of fire and honesty and I expect we'll be seeing much more of Katie Jarvis. I have sung the praises of Michael Fassbender in several other films (and I like the way his career is going--balancing small indies with big blockbusters), but he is absolutely crucial here. So captivating and winning, with a quiet despair just under the surface, it's easy to see how he could bewitch the standoffish Jarvis. A picture of enormous power, "Fish Tank" is a truly unique and great entry into the ever growing alienated teen genre. Smart and successful, an easy recommendation. KGHarris, 3/11.

Buy Fish Tank (The Criterion Collection) (2009) Now

15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) lives on an "estate" on the outskirts of London. If estate sounds fancy, it actually is the British equivalent of the projects. A tall, drab, run-down apartment building. She lives there with her mother Joanne and younger sister Tyler. Skinny and carrying some heavy acne, Mia spends her days wandering around the neighborhood and sneaking into an empty apartment so she can listen to music and work on her dancing. She's moody, foul-mouthed to the extreme, and deeply misses a kind presence in her life. Her mom makes no secret of the fact that her two children are nothing but a bother and interference in her social life. Mia apparently has no interest in school and quite frankly, doesn't seem to have much to offer the world.

This is the basic set up for the much -praised film from up-and-coming filmmaker Andrea Arnold. Shot in a hand-held style on a shoe-string budget, FISH TANK is interested in exploring the life (and inner-life) of this one specific teenager. She comes from poverty and neglect. She's not experienced much affection in her life. She's angry but also has impulses that draw her to beauty, whether towards a horse kept in a nearby deserted lot or for the simple pleasures of a drive into the country. Our initial reaction to Mia, whom we meet as the camera follows her wandering around the estate (Arnold spends A LOT of time literally following the jogging-suit-wearing Mia as she walks around), is not positive. "What a horrible brat!" is the first reaction, followed by a feeling that this young lady is a hopeless waste of anyone's time and energy.

Then her mother meets a guy, Connor (Michael Fassbender). Connor is handsome, charming, has a decent job and makes mom happy, which makes mom nicer. Connor also provides Mia with some much needed positive attention. He compliments her dancing. He takes the family to the country and shows them beautiful sights. We are shown how his simple attention awakens something in Mia. He is awakening hope. He is reminding Mia that gentle human contact is desirable. And he also appears to be stirring a physical response from Mia. The viewer can see that what Mia NEEDS is a father figure...but she is mistaking that need as a need for physical attention...for sex, perhaps.

The tension of this film (which is actually pretty palpable at times) is in the wondering where the relationship between these two is headed. Will they find their ways into appropriate roles? Or will the chemistry between them pollute what started out so well? And suddenly, we are rooting for Mia...because we see how the right choices could really turn things around.

The story-telling style, as I said, is to pretty much just follow Mia around, whether she is doing important things or mundane things. Young Katie Jarvis is a natural and even though she seems to be a typical sullen teenager, she lets us see enough on her face to understand that her inner-life is a bit richer and more complex than her exterior. It's one of the most convincing portrayals of a teenager I've seen. However, Director Arnold does spend just a bit too much time photographing Mia walking. Of two hour running time, I think we spend 20 minutes just watching Mia stroll around. That's 10 minutes too much. The filmmaker is perhaps just a bit too much in love with her naturalistic filming style and forgets that she's also making a piece of entertainment.

All the acting is good. Fassbender, before he became a rising star, is virile and charming. All the minor performers come across well. This is a tiny little story, but told with great conviction and commitment...resulting in a surprisingly gripping movie.

The Criterion Blu-ray is excellent as always. The filming uses natural light, and the blu ray captures that well, for better and worse. The bonus materials are decent but uninspired. However, the essay included in the booklet is great...it puts the film into perspective into the larger genre of "exploring British lower-class life via naturalistic filming" that folks like Ken Loach made so resonant. But it also deeply explores the film and illuminates what makes it unique and what makes it work so well.

Read Best Reviews of Fish Tank (The Criterion Collection) (2009) Here

This film is a rare gem that follows none of the conventional movie tropes. The characters are 3-dimensional; dialog rings true; the story progresses without artifice or resolution or plot holes; and nobody looks or acts like a movie star. [perfect neon white teeth are thankfully absent, which I always find terribly distracting. If there were a nuclear war today, all that would survive would be roaches, and movie star teeth.] The acting is beautifully understated, and there are no histrionics. For example, the relationship between the eldest daughter and the mother is elucidated with small, realistic actions and words. And because of the authenticity of the film, I could give myself over to the film maker and get emotionally involved in the characters.

In most movies, everything is cranked up to the maximum and shoehorned into a contrived plot that strictly follows conventions so as not to upset the audience. Music, emotions, conflicts, events...everything is calculated to manipulate the viewer and bash them over the heard. Stories follow predictable lines with easily identifiable character archetypes. They are written to please audiences. Infact many releases go through a process of test screening to determine which ending is the best one at pleasing audiences, for example the travesty that was I Am Legend. And, of course, frames are populated only by capital 'a' Actors. And as a result, they have all the metaphorical nutrition and satiety of a bag of Doritoes. Of course I like me a bag of cool ranch every now and again, but they don't satisfy like real food.

Fish Tank also avoids what I call the James Joyce syndrome, wherein a work is buried in a mass of symbolism and metaphor, and you have to have a pHd in codebreaking to understand what is being communicated. I am not saying that those types of works are worthless etc, or that it is not worthwhile in watching and thinking about films Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. But, for me, I cannot get emotionally involved with the characters or engrossed in the story when it is heavily abstracted and symbolic. Moreover, I don't have the educational background in literature and film to be able to do that kind of analysis.

Imo, this is one of the best character driven movies I've seen. I really cannot find fault with anything the director/writer has done in Fish Tank.

As far as the criterion edition goes, it is fantastic. The movie was shot on 35mm film and the blu ray transfer retains much of that wonderful film look. The video portion is an h264/AVC stream that averages 37 Mbps, and so suffers from no visible compression artifacting or degradation. The audio is 5.1 dts-hd. The majority of the audio is dialog or music that is being played on a portable player etc within the story, so most of the audio is in the centre channel. This also lends to the realism as there are no unnatural 5.1 audio effects. All in all a wonderful job by the Criterion people.

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Independent films have gotten less......independent over the years. The casts and budgets have gotten more expensive making them more like Hollywood versions of heir distant cousins. Not the case here.

Here's the scoop. Mia lives in some low rent housing with no father and a mother who won't grow up. She has a little sister but the two don't communicate on any meaningful level. Mom gets a new boyfriend who seems really cool and might be someone who might help her break the chain. No such luck.

Kate Jarvis plays Mia. She's 15 years old. Doesn't attend school and only seems to care about dancing, which she does mostly to the accompaniment of gangster rap. She's mean to people. Swears a lot. Drinks and generally gets into trouble. But she can't abide cruelty to animals. She feels trapped. Mom's new guy is fun but he also eggs her on to excel. Gets her to try dancing to other kinds of music. He gets the whole family out to the country where he teaches her to fish with her hands. He seems to genuinely care for her and can be good for her. She sees the possibilities. It all comes crashing down when certain things come to light. But whatever happens, she's getting out.

This is real indy stuff. A lot of hand held camera and natural lighting. Jarvis does a great job as Mia. You see how she gets to realize that where she's at is nowhere, but there has only been a glimpse of a beacon (in mom's boyfriend) as to where she can go. Michael Fassbender, the only name I recognized, does a great job as the boyfriend. He seems, at first, like a decent sort. It hurts when you see his true colors. The music is mostly Gangster Rap and Hip-Hop. Good attention is paid to location. It's shot in such a way as to show the world happening around her. It's a world she's not part of.

This is pretty hard edged stuff. It's not a "Juno" kind of flick. It's much tougher than that, filled with people who live outside society. If you're at all into this sort of thing this is about as good as it gets.

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Whip It (2009)

Roller Derby. I can easily remember turning on the television and watching the Los Angeles T-Birds. Personally, I didn't know if this was a true sport or if it was like wrestling and it was just sports entertainment. But I was hooked. Not sure if it was the blonde women with poofy hair throwing other women out of the rink or that one person who didn't look should be on the rink, actually kicking butt. Needless to say, that roller derby has had its following for decades and now here we are with a film based on a character who takes part in roller derby competitions.

"Whip It" marks the directorial debut by actress Drew Barrymore ("E.T.", "50 First Dates", "The Wedding Singer", "Charlie's Angels" films) and is an adaptation of the novel "Derby Girl" by Shauna Cross, a fictionalized book of skating with the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls.

The independent film was released in theaters during the fall of 2009 and now makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut. The Blu-ray edition comes with a second disc which contains a digital copy of the film.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Whip It" is presented in 1080 High Definition (Widescreen 2:40:1), AVC @ 36 MBPS. The film sports vibrant colors with the Hurl Scouts green outfits, while amber lights shine on the roller derby rink. You can see details in the surroundings, especially injuries ala bloody noses to bruises. Even the tattoos on Kristen Wiig are seen much clearly on HD. Skin tones are natural and blacks are nice and deep. Everything is visible from the freckles of Pash, to the sweat and tears of Bliss and the other girls during competition or the more emotional scenes of the film. I will say that at first, I thought this was a period film shot in the '80s but you realize that the film focuses on Bliss living in a very small town.

There is a fine amount of grain in the film and I didn't notice any compression artifacts, banding or any sign of DNR. A solid Blu-ray release in terms of PQ from Fox.

As for the audio, "Whip It" is featured in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish, French 5.1 Dolby Digital. The film is front and center channel driven. Dialogue and music are both crystal clear but there is minimal use of surrounds. You can hear crowd ambiance and the women racing on the rink and hitting the side rails and hearing the skates but its not immersive as I would have hoped but still, the film is not all about the roller derby and there are plenty of dialogue scenes and music-driven scenes that are very clear, with some songs having a nice kick of bass. A pretty interesting soundtrack as well from '80s 38 Special's "Caught Up in You" to music from the Ramones and the Breeders.

Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Whip It" comes with a digital copy of the film and comes with a few special features:

* Deleted Scenes (16:14) Included is an alternate opening and eight deleted scenes.

* Fox Movie Channel Presents Writer's Draft: Shauna Cross of "Whip It" (3:04) A short featurette with an interview with novel and screenwriter Shauna Cross about "Whip It".

* Whip It Soundtrack Spot (:32) A promotional for the "Whip It" soundtrack.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Whip It" may seem like a film about roller derby and the antics that go behind-the-scenes of the sport but truthfully, the film has many layers. From a coming-of-age film, a relationship movie and a girl power film, there are a good number of things going on in this film that there is far much more to enjoy than expected.

I have to admit that Drew Barrymore's directorial debut definitely shows promise. The actress has starred in so many films since she was a child and has worked with a good number of quality director's, I had no doubt that she would do a pretty solid job.

Part of the challenge of "Whip It" is bringing together this wild bunch of characters that the character Bliss associates with and then bringing this other side of her life as a teenager from a small town, having an overbearing pageant mother and working at a fast food restaurant while trying to maintain her friendship with her high school friends and then finding love. Definitely not an easy task for Barrymore but one thing she does have is the original author Shauna Cross involved with the screenplay and she has a talented actress in Ellen Page in the main role.

At first glance, I didn't know if Page can pull of such a role but as she did with "Juno" she manages to pull of Bliss very well for "Whip It".

As for the other supporting characters, personally I don't if roller derby lifestyles are similar to what is depicted in the movie. As much as I do enjoy Barrymore's directorial debut, her role as Smashley Simpson is a bit too much while I do feel Kristen Wiig manages to pull off another solid supporting role like she has done in "Extract" and Juliette Lewis still does a great job in portraying the bad girl. Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern (who plays Bliss's father) also do a good job as the parents of Bliss.

As for the Blu-ray, the picture quality for the film was very good and the lossless audio was satisfactory but it would have been great to have it a bit more immersive via use of the surround channels. And it would have been great to have audio commentary by Barrymore and Shauna Cross or even a featurette on how the talent prepared for the film or even Behind-the-scenes footage. I felt the special features were a bit short for this Blu-ray release. But as for the film, "Whip It" is an entertaining, humorous and a solid coming-of-age, feel-good style of film. And again, although roller derby does play a big part in this film, "Whip It" is not an all out sports movie. The film has many layers to it and fortunately, the solid performances definitely made this film enjoyable.

Overall, "Whip It" is a solid directorial debut from Drew Barrymore and fine performances by Ellen Page and its supporting cast makes this film better than expected.

Not all movies are made to be Oscar contenders. Many are made to simply fill theater seats and offer solid entertainment and an enjoyable time. More often than not, these films offer a chance to see heroes made or characters that get the opportunity to follow their dreams. Such is the case with WHIP IT, the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore.

Bliss Cavender (Ellen Page) is an unenthusiastic beauty queen contestant. Fulfilling the dreams of her mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden) more than herself, Bliss does as she is told between school and working at the local BBQ restaurant. Bliss feels nothing more than trapped in small town Bowdeen, Texas.

While clothes shopping with her mother in Austin, Bliss happens to see a group of girls on skates come into the store they're in. Leaving behind a stack of flyers, Bliss picks one up to see that these are roller derby competitors trying to promote their next match.

Sneaking off with best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat), Bliss is totally taken in by the whole scene. The match takes place in a converted warehouse where emcee Johnny Rocket (Jimmy Fallon) announces the girls as they make their way to the track. With names like Iron Maven, Smashly Simpson and Maggie Mayhem you can tell this is no skate in the park. The girls come out rocking and knocking, making an impression on young Bliss. When she tells Maggie afterwards that she is her new hero, Maggie suggests she come to practice and try out.

Once home, Bliss begins skating once more in her Barbie skates, remnants of times gone by. She progresses from just being able to stand to skating through town. The day comes and she sneaks off again for Austin just in time to try out. With more speed than most of the rest trying out, Bliss gets her chance. Now all she has to do is sneak off to the matches.

The girls welcome Bliss in as one of the Hurl Scouts, a losing team that has resolved to stay in last place. But with the speed Bliss shows them and the ribbing they take from the other squads, the team slowly gels into a force to be reckoned with. It also makes Bliss a target for Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis), an aging star who wants to retain her position.

Along the way Bliss also picks up a new boyfriend. Oliver (Landon Pigg) is a member of a band that played at one of the house parties thrown by the team. The pair seems to connect but an upcoming tour tosses them into the possibility of a break up.

As Bliss, now known as Babe Ruthless, moves into the world of roller derby, she begins to distance herself from her friends. And when her parents find out about her lies (as does her team when it's revealed she's too young to skate without her parent's permission), Bliss finds herself alone.

The team now has a chance at the finals. The only thing stopping this from happening is Bliss' family. Resigned to beauty pageants once more, Bliss heads out to a new contest, her mother's favorite, the same night as the big contest. Is there a chance of her making it? Come on, this is a movie folks!

Is this movie believable? No way. First off no league would put themselves in the position of being shut down due to a teenager not being old enough. And the chances of walking in off the street and being better than anyone else? Slim to none. But it doesn't matter. What matters is feeling a sense of hope for Bliss as she has that opportunity to move beyond a life she hates into one she loves, finding that one thing in life that makes her feel more than she has ever before.

The acting in the film is solid, especially by Ellen Page. Changing from the shy Bliss who enters contests at her mothers request to becoming the young woman who makes her own decisions is fleshed out in her performance. Page has done such a great job with various roles in films like JUNO, HARD CANDY and even X-MEN that I'm beginning to think she's one of the best actresses around these days.

The supporting cast also does a great job. Barrymore takes on a small part as one of the derby girls as does singer Eve and stuntwoman Zoe Bell. But the one who stood out for me was Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem. Wiig is one of the series regulars on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE these days and what I've seen of her there is far too over the top. But like Robin Williams when given the right director, she comes through with a great performance as a single mom skater who acts as surrogate mom to Bliss.

Barrymore's first outing as director shows that she can put together a well made film. It's entertaining, fun and delivers everything the previews said it would. As I said, this isn't Oscar material but it is a fun film. Predictable at times but its less about the end result and more about the path taken to get there that makes movies like these work or fail. In this case, the movie works. So take a couple turns around the track and give this one a look.

Buy Whip It (2009) Now

This film is amazing! It's got everything, an indie, fresh, real feel to it, a lot of great laughs and some very intense heartfelt moments. Drew is a lot more than a pretty face---it seems she's also a great judge of screenplays and a great director. The casting is absolutely perfect. Every line, every expression, every scene is pitch perfect. The acting is wow! If you can watch this without laughing yourself sore and tearing up (in a manly way, of course) then you're obviously suffering from the same degenerative brain disease as the reviewers who rate it below 4 stars. And what's amazing is there is nothing really gross or offensive in it. A few off color lines is all that gives it the 13+ rating. For gawd's sake, if you love great movies, rent this one and give Drew a chance to make another one.

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Loved the movie even more than the book, Derby Girl, upon which the movie was based. Ellen Page softened the character of Bliss and I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job. The supporting cast was wonderful. The movie expanded the storyline perfectly while maintaining much of the dialogue straight from the book and best of all expanded the derby action. Kudos to Drew Barrymore in her directing debut and in her supporting role. D.B. obviously gravitates towards the girl power genre while having the knack of toning it down just enough to be enjoyable to general audiences. I truly hope the author or a screen writer comes up with a clever sequel because this was a ride that ended way too soon.

Want Whip It (2009) Discount?

This is a killer (and by that i mean awesome) movie for those of us with a tortured past (or present), built up anger and/or frustration and the desire to aspire to be more than what we are told to be. It will bore the (sorry to be stereotypical) cheerleader, popular girl type. If you have been to Austin, TX or seen it on TV or in the movies and you just don't get the place....this movie is NOT for you. It promotes individuality, striving to find and practice what you are good at, taking the good with the bad in all relationshhips and that women can be badass, stupid, immature, forgiving, selfish....and everything we allow men to be all the time. Thanks for reading my opinion.

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