All the Times I've Bought Star Wars: Episode IV -- New Formats, New Frontiers

For those just joining us, welcome back to All the Times I've Bought Star Wars, my epic series of blog entries chronicling all the times I've bought Star Wars.  Along the way, I try to figure out exactly why I've bought it so many times.  We continue with Episode IV: New Formats, New Frontiers

Quick history lesson, kiddos.  The year was Y2K.  This DVD thing was starting to catch on, and most entertainment websites started running watch lists.  These lists consisted of great, classic films that were NOT yet available on DVD.  And always, always, always, at the top of the list, was the Star Wars trilogy.  

The people would ask George Lucas, �Why George?  Why are you not releasing this on DVD?�  And ol� Mr. Lucas, he gave us an answer.  He told us that he was hard at work on the prequels, and he was not going to release Star Wars on DVD until he was done making the prequels.  That way, he could just focus on the DVDs, create one super-ultimate-mega-special edition, and never have to re-release it again and again when new advancements came along.  Besides, by the time Episode III came out, he figured that DVD technology would finally have reached its pinnacle, and he could take full advantage of all the bells and whistles of the format.  It seemed fair enough.  And the geeks were happy...for a while.

But then, something weird happened...something unexpected.  DVD became the fastest growing home video format in the history of ever.  It wasn�t  just replacing Laserdisc, like the media analysts had predicted, but it was now beginning to replace VHS as well.  As more and more homes began buying DVD players, and more and more people began asking for Star Wars on DVD.  Lucas...stuck to his guns.  He kept reiterating that he would not release it on DVD until he was done making the prequels.  George Lucas, who always championed the newest and latest filmmaking technology, was now being branded a dinosaur for his staunch refusal to embrace DVD.  

Which was far from the case.  When DVD was first out of the gate in 1997, Lucas was on the scene, and put together a really sweet 2-disc special edition of his classic film American Graffiti.  But because his #1 franchise wasn�t on DVD yet, he was being raked across the coals.  The home theatre enthusiast forums really went on a rampage in the holiday season of 2001, when he re-released the Special Editions on VHS to promote the forthcoming release of Episode II, but not on DVD.  The champion of new technology was now starting to look like a  hypocritical douchebag.  

Fast forward three years to the fall of 2004.  The hype machine was gearing up for Episode III, and the original trilogy was doubtlessly going to be re-released again.  But by now, the roars had become deafening.  George Lucas could no longer say, �Not until the prequels are done!�  And at this point, the people weren�t even satisfied to wait one more year.  VHS had officially been branded obsolete technology by the press, and it was finally time for Lucas to man up and meet the demands of the people.  The final straw came when Lucas�s own people pointed out that he was starting to lose money because people were buying the trilogy on bootleg DVDs.  And on September 21, 2004, Star Wars would finally be out on DVD.  

As I finished telling this tale, young Matt looked back at me with a somewhat bewildered look...shocked that he had seen so deep into my obsession.  In the fall of 2004, I was attending NAIT to get my diploma in broadcasting.  I had been geeking out about this DVD release to my classmates for weeks.  Even the mainstream media picked up the tale.  Young Matt, one of my classmates, hadn�t yet written a news story for news class that week, and decided to do his own variation on the �Star Wars comes to DVD� tale.  He interviewed me for it.  I�m sure he regretted it.  As I recall, he didn�t get a good grade on that news story.  I wonder if it had anything to do with the soundbyte I gave him:  �Star Wars on DVD is the best thing ever!  This must be what sex is like!�  

As I�m sure you can tell, I was most definitely going to be buying it on DVD.  I loved my VHS tapes, but I had moved on to DVD way back in 2001.  After all those years of watching DVDs, I had really noticed the improvements in picture and sound quality on DVD.  And, unlike VHS, DVDs don�t wear out.  This most definitely met my criteria for succumbing to the double dip:  it was a movie I really, really liked, and the new bonus materials demanded it. 

As with the Special Edition VHS release back in 1997, it was made fully available in widescreen and fullscreen editions.  And, just like 1997, the widescreen was in a silver box, and the fullscreen in a gold box.  Getting into some of the technical details, the sound was remixed into 5.1 channel surround sound.  These were also some of the first DVDs released in a 4k digital restoration.  That means the picture on the DVD is the same resolution as your average movie screen.  That�s right, they look as good on the DVDs as they do in the theatres. 

For bonus features, each individual film has a running commentary from George Lucas, Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and various members of the film crew.  For Empire Strikes Back, they�re even joined by Empire�s director Irvin Kirshner.  Fun trivia fact:  as payment for participating in these running commentaries, Fisher asked Lucas for a copy of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.  She holds parties to show it to her friends.

But the gem in this boxed set is disc #4, which contains all the bonus materials.  You get all the trailers for the Star Wars trilogy, the requisite featurette on Episode III, featurettes on how Star Wars impacted filmmaking, the creation of the lightsaber, and the development of the characters in the trilogy.  And, the crown jewel on this disc is the feature-length documentary on the making of the original trilogy, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy.  It was a really good documentary, featuring all new interviews with all of the stars of the trilogy.  Haven�t sat down to watch it in a while, but then, when the DVDs came out, A&E was showing it ad nauseum for a while, so I think I got my fill.  

Quite frankly, with the advancements in home theatre technology, there was no way I was NOT going to buy it on DVD.  I don�t know if or when they�re even planning another theatrical re-release for the films, but until they do, I�m sitting here, satisfied that I can watch Star Wars in the best picture and sound quality that I can.

But see, we geeks, we�re a fickle lot.  Even though we finally had the Star Wars trilogy on DVD, it wasn�t the Star Wars that we wanted.  As nice as the Special Editions were � made even MORE special by some additional tweaks for the DVD � we still wanted the Star Wars trilogy on DVD.  The ORIGINAL trilogy...the original theatrical versions that we all grew up with.  The people would ask, �Why George?  Why have you not released this on DVD?�  And ol� Mr. Lucas gave us answer.  He said, �If you want them, I released them on VHS.  Back in 1995.  Do you not remember that all the commercials said �One Last Time...�?�  And once again, the geeks roared.  And the cycle began anew.  

Next issue:  Be Careful What You Wish For

Starring: Leslie Nielsen - Airplane!

Airplane!

Director: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
Cast: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd BridgesLloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Robert Stack, Stephen Stucker

Airplane! Movie Reviews

All the Times I've Bought Star Wars: Episode III -- Greedo Shoots First

For those just joining us, welcome back to All the Times I've Bought Star Wars, my epic series of blog entries in which I recount all the times I've bought Star Wars.  I'm also trying to figure out why I've bought it so many times.  We continues with Episode III: Greedo Shoots First

The year was 1997 and OH MY GOD STAR WARS WAS COMING BACK TO THEATRES.  

The trailers and the TV spots for the Special Editions got it right.  A whole generation had grown up watching it on TV.  They�d never seen it in theatres.  I was a member of that generation.  In my second year at college, all of my friends were in that generation.  All of my friends at college were fellow nerds, and needless to say, this was a huge freakin� deal to us.  Yeah, Camrose (my college town) had its quaint, old-school movie house, the Bailey Theatre, but screw that noise.  We were organizing road trips into Edmonton to see it in the latest multiplexes the weekend it came out.  Well, most of my friends were.  For some reason, they weren�t inviting me along.  Oh, well.  So, I had to go home for a weekend, and borrow Mom and Dad�s car to run into Edmonton to see it.  And I saw it on the big screen...as it was meant to be seen. 

I remember when we were sitting around debating the Special Editions over lunch in the cafeteria.  For some reason, the whole �Greedo Shooting First� controversy was something that never really dominated our debates.  We were more focused on the things like putting Jabba the Hutt into Star Wars.  We all agreed that the �man in suit� Wampa that attacks Luke in The Empire Strikes Back looked kind of cheesy.  And we all seemed to enjoy the new celebration song at the end of Return of the Jedi.  Those initial months in the spring of 1997, we actually had mostly positive things to say about the Special Editions.  It was only upon multiple viewings and reading ongoing debates online that we started to feel that new additions didn�t make the special editions so special.

And, of course, we could only watch it multiple times, if we bought it on VHS again.

It hit VHS in August of 2007.  I had quit my summer job about halfway through August, so I could still squeeze in a bit of summer vacation before heading back to school.  When the Special Editions first came out, I remember having a very serious debate with myself about whether I should buy it on VHS again or not.  Perhaps it was in this internal dialogue where I first began forming my rules for when to succumb to the double-dip.  After writing out lists, weighing the pros and cons, and leafing through magazines detailing the filming of Episode I, I determined that, yes, the 8 minutes worth of new footage was worth purchasing the films again.  I went down to Music World in West Edmonton Mall while I was doing my back-to-school shopping.  I had begun buying all my VHS tapes at Music World because they had a dedicated �widescreen section,� and I had fully become a widescreen snob.  I got that shiny silver box and spent the last few days of summer watching the Special Editions.

It�s interesting to note that this is the first edition where the widescreen versions were as readily available as the fullscreen versions.  Widescreen came in a silver box, fullscreen came in a gold box.  Me and most of my friends got the widescreen versions, and we all agreed that it was nice that now we didn�t have to wait until the opening crawls were in the middle of the screen in order to read them.

And, once again, for VHS, they were attempting to put bonus features on these tapes.  At the opening of each tape is a featurette that details the making of this Special Edition, where they highlighted the new effects that were put in and how they did them.  Also exclusive to the widescreen editions is that they put on the trailers for the Special Editions � something that 20^th Century Fox was starting to do to a lot of their widescreen VHS tapes in the late 1990s.  .  And, just like the last edition, these VHS tapes were fully digitally remastered in THX.

I never regretted buying the Special Editions on VHS.  Granted, for the rest of the 1990s, whenever I felt the urge to watch a Star Wars film again, it was the Special Editions I�d reach for.  Whenever the gang got together, and we�d spend a Sunday watching the whole trilogy in a TV lounge, it was the Special Editions that we�d more than likely watch.  But I�ll never forget, one lazy Sunday, after I�d finished my homework and I was looking to unwind, I reached up for Return of the Jedi, and my hand drifted over to the original theatrical versions.  I had a craving to hear the original Ewok celebration song.  It was nice to have a choice between the Special Editions and the original theatrical versions � a choice George Lucas has since tried to deprive us of by erasing the original version from existence and telling us that the Special editions are the ONLY editions, but that`s a rant for another day. 

 

I`ll never forget those final halcyon days at Augustana.  In terms of Star Wars, I was satisfied.  I had the movies on VHS.  I could watch the originals or the Special Editions whenever I chose.  And I was secure in the knowledge that I would never, ever have to buy the films again...unless, of course, some new home video format was invented that rendered VHS obsolete. 

It was on one of those final days that I ran into my friend Arlo, as he was carrying around a great big box.  �Whatcha got there, Arlo?�  I asked.

�I just bought myself a DVD player!� Arlo exclaimed.  �Once I get it hooked up, you want to come over and watch Star Trek: First Contact?�

�Hellz, ya!� I said.  Yup.  VHS would NEVER be rendered obsolete.  

Next issue:  The Most Anticipated DVDs of All Time

Latest Targ's Up!

It's the dawn of a brand-new week, so that means it's time to bust out a new episode of U62: The Targ!

This week is Episode 4.09: The Chill of Winter! It's a fairly routine episode as I geek out over the Green Lantern trailer, marvel at the raw sexuality they managed to sneak into an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and offer up some thoughts on Megamind.

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The Mechanic

The Mechanic

Release: January 28, 2011
Director: Simon West
Writer: Karl Gajdusek
Cast: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Christa Campbell, Tony Goldwyn

Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood

Release: March 11, 2011
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writer: David Johnson
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez , Max Irons, Virginia Madsen, Julie Christie

Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens

Release: July 29, 2011
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Ana de la Reguera, Adam Beach, Abigail Spencer

Megamind Review is Up

 

So, umm, yeah, I saw Megamind about a week ago, and my review is up over at my main website!

Head over there to read it!

All the Times I've Bought Star Wars: Episode II -- One Last Time....

For those just joining us, welcome to All the Times I've Bought Star Wars, my epic series of blog entries recounting all the times I've bought Star Wars.  I also try to figure out why the heck I've bought it so many times.  And now, our story continues with Episode II: One Last Time....

The year was 1995.  I finished high school.  I remember graduation being strangely anticlimactic.  The first 18 years of my life gone...for a piece of paper.  As soon as that was done, I was onto a very difficult summer job.  Word of advice to all the youngsters out there:  never get a summer job at your favourite summertime hangout.  Because once summer is done, you will want to burn it to the ground.  With that all done, I was taking a few months off just to figure out where to go next in life.  

So there I was.  Spending my days doing a whole lot of nothing and just trying to get my head together.  I was watching a lot of TV.  Unhealthy amounts of TV.  It was right around this time that YTV started showing Sailor Moon and I became 100% obsessed with it.  As the holiday season started rolling around, and all kinds of TV commercials for potential Christmas presents started being shown, I started seeing the commercials for...it.  The Star Wars Trilogy.  Being re-released on video!  But, what�s this that the commercials are saying?  It�s going to be released on video...just one last time?  After this, it�s not going to be on video anymore? 

Who else remembers the Lucasfilm hype machine for the 1995 video releases?  That was the tag line, wasn�t it?  Each and every commercial was quick to point out that this would be the absolute last time that The Star Wars Trilogy was going to be released on home video.  After this...gone.  No more.  It was something that really didn�t surprise me.  I mean, Disney had already introduced their �Disney vault� concept for their home video releases.  It just made sense that other studios would follow suit.  And here it was.  Star Wars.  My last chance to own it.  

I didn�t get it for Christmas, despite dropping heavy hints all over the house.  So, it was a few days after Christmas, at HMV in West Edmonton Mall, where I gingerly picked up the boxed set of the trilogy off the shelf, dropped it on the counter, and gently handed my Christmas money over to the clerk.  As I made the purchase, my mother gave me a bewildered look.  �I didn�t know you liked Star Wars that much,� said Mom.  Short answer:  Yes, Mom.  I do.

The long answer:  how could you not know I love Star Wars that much?  I was raised with Star Wars.  My earliest conscious memories of television are for Empire Strikes Back toy commercials.  I remember kindergarten, where my favourite activity during free time was to sit in the corner and read the Empire Strikes Back pop-up book.  Pull the tab and the Millennium Falcon flies away from that asteroid monster!  And, if my teacher, Mrs. Martin, was in a good mood, she�d put on the Star Wars book-and-record for me, so I could listen and read.  When I was in first grade, and book orders started, the first book I ever ordered was the Return of the Jedi storybook adaptation.  (I still have it in a box at home somewhere.)  I remember rushing home from Cub Scouts so I could watch From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of an Epic on TV.  There were countless Saturday mornings getting up to watch the Ewoks and Droids cartoons.  Heck, Mom, do you not remember just one year ago when I borrowed the trilogy from a friend and rented a VCR from the rental place so I could dub copies for myself?  The main reason why I�m buying the trilogy today is because I�ve worn out my dub.  For geeks and nerds of my generation, Star Wars has become imprinted into our collective unconsciousness.  YES, MOM, I LOVE IT THAT MUCH!!  AND THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE TO HAVE IT WITH ME FOREVER!!  THE TV COMMERCIALS SAID SO!!  

So let�s take a look at these videos.  Did they go all-out for it being on video for one last time?  Well, they were the first VHS tapes digitally remastered in THX.  I remember that was also something heavily hyped in all the TV commercials at the time.  For all my love of movies and the cinema and home theatre, I�m still not exactly sure what THX is supposed to do, besides putting that cool sound at the start of your movie.  According to the repository of the world�s knowledge, Wikipedia, THX is a set of quality control guidelines laid out of Lucasfilm.  They are the first and still most demanding set of quality control guidelines.  Good to know.  

They also produced a neat featurette for each film.  Each film opens with an interview with George Lucas, conducted by legendary film critic/film historian Leonard Maltin, about each respective film in the trilogy.  This is where I first learned such interesting tidbits that it was originally supposed to be the Wookies in Return of the Jedi, but as the trilogy evolved, Lucas felt he needed different aliens on the forest moon of Endor.  So he cut the Wookies in half, wrote their names backward and came up with Ewoks.  Lucas also made a passing mention in regards to �new versions [he�s] working on,� which we later learned was a cryptic statement of things to come.  

It�s also interesting to note that this is the only version of the trilogy that I own in fullscreen.  I hadn�t quite become a widescreen snob yet.  I hear that these versions were released in widescreen.  Well, actually, I remember seeing it on the store shelf, once, after I�d already bought my version.  Video stores didn�t have �widescreen� sections yet, so they were still a special order item.  

I remember getting the videos home.  I remember gently opening them.  I remember sitting down to watch the entire trilogy on one lazy Sunday.  I remember watching The Empire Strikes Back, with its opening scenes of Luke Skywalker riding his Taumtaum across the snowscapes of Hoth.  And I remember my father coming into the room, pointing at the scene, and bursting into laughter.  �That guy�s riding a dinosaur!  My God, this is a stupid movie!� said my Dad.  I realized then that it was time to move out.  I looked up at the calendar.  I was off to college in two weeks.

And, just like throughout my childhood, Star Wars would be there with me, as I moved on to the next great stage in life.  Good thing I leapt into action when it was on sale, and I got it on video this one last time.

Too bad we didn�t read the fine print.  The next time I buy it, Greedo shoots first.

Next Issue:  Greedo Shoots First

New Cars 2 Trailer

New Cars 2 trailer.  Really don't have anything more to say ever since I ranted about the first trailer about a month ago.  Come on, Pixar.  This really looks like your sellout film. 

But at least we know one of the new celebrity voices.  That's quite obviously Michael Caine as secret agent car Finn McMissile.

Share my pain, and through the sharing, gain strength.

 

Winnie the Pooh Trailer

Well, Walt Disney Pictures is working at keeping the traditionally animated film alive, and they're doing it in the summer of 2011 by bringing back one of their most beloved franchises, Winnie the Pooh. And the next Pooh film is called, appropriately, Winnie the Pooh.



Now, I know, you might be groaning in disgust because the last batch of Winnie the Pooh films (that would be The Tigger Movie, Piglet's Big Movie, and Pooh's Hefalump Movie) weren't of the best quality. Well, for this, they've gone all the way back to the well...this one is based on five, never-before-adapted, A.A. Milne stories. This one is also being made by Walt Disney Feature Animation, so it counts in the official Disney Animated Film canon. The other three were made by Disney MovieToon Studios, which focuses on their straight-to-video sequels.

And I'm also a little disappointed that they replaced the voice of Eeyore. For at least the past 20 years, Disney's official voice of Eeyore has been Peter Cullen, who's most famous voice is still Optimus Prime. But, for some reason, for this film, Cullen was let go and replaced with veteran animator Bud Luckey. However, Pooh's official voice for the past 20 years, Jim Cummings, is back as Pooh and Tigger. Another veteran voice actor, Tom Kenny, is voicing Rabbit, and voice actor Craig Ferguson is voicing Owl. I'm glad to see they're going with so many veteran voice actors instead of cramming in celebrities for the sake of cramming in celebrities. But they still got one celebrity in there...John Cleese is the narrator.

The film is being co-directed by Stephen Anderson and Don Hall. Winnie the Pooh hits theatres on July 15.

The Warrior's Way

The Warrior's Way - Kate Bosworth

The Warrior's Way - Dong-Kun Jang

The Warrior's Way - Geoffrey Rush

The Warrior's Way - Danny Huston

The Warrior's Way

Release: December 3, 2010
Director: Sngmoo Lee
Writer: Sngmoo Lee
Cast: Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Geoffrey Rush, Tony Cox, Dong-Kun Jang, Matt Gillanders, Nic Sampson, Ashley Jones, Jessica Cummings, Andy Conlan, Ryan Richards

Movie Review -- Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam

Alright, I do so love to review the direct-to-DVD movies I purchase here on the blog, so let's get going with my latest aquisition!  Let's take a look at....

DC Showcase:  Superman/Shazam -- The Return of Black Adam

Directed by Joaquim dos Santos

Starring the voices of George Newburn, Jerry O'Connell, Arnold Vosloo, James Garner, Zach Callison, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

Backstory:  So, all this year, DC Comics and Warner Brothers have been running a little side project with their straight-to-DVD animated films:  DC Showcase, a series of animated short films that focus one some of DC's better-known B- and C-list heroes.  With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, DC has taken all of the DC Showcase shorts and compiled them on their own DVD.  And, in order to entice you to buy them again, added an all-new short, featuring the team-up of Superman and Captain Marvel.  So let's take a look at the latest DC Showcase short.

Plot:  Young Billy Batson is only 10 years old, and has already had a rough life.  His parents were killed...he's bounced from foster home to foster home...and now finds himself living on the streets.  But he's always retained his good heart.  But then, his life is turned upside down when a villain from beyond the stars, Black Adam, returns and vows to destroy young Billy.  Superman shows up to save young Billy, and this gives Billy enough time to meet the wizard Shazam and be bestowed with superpowers, becoming Captain Marvel.  Will the combined power of Earth's Mightiest Mortal and the Man of Steel be enough to defeat Black Adam?

What I Liked:  Like a lot of the other DC Showcase shorts, it quickly turns into a gigantic superhero slugfest, as Superman, Captain Marvel, and Black Adam come up with new and creative ways to pound the snot out of each other.  The animation is sharp.  The music is top notch.  And it's good to hear George Newburn back voicing Superman.  He did the voice of Superman on the Justice League cartoon, and it's good to see him back in action.  And James Garner is good, too, voicing the wizard Shazam and once again proving that he's all kinds of awesome. 

What I Didn't Like:  Again, this kind of showcases my frustration with how DC Comics is dropping the ball with their animated films.  Captain Marvel could easily carry his own film, but instead, he's given a short film where he's second banana to Superman.  Just plain too short, is what I'm saying.

Final Verdict:  A very enjoyable superhero battle.  Lots of fun, but too darn short.

3 Nibs

Bonus Materials:  This is a compilation of the DC Showcase shorts, so you get the other 3 that have been produced to date:  The Spectre, Green Arrow, and Jonah Hex.  Each of these shorts is presented as a "director's cut," with an extra 2-minutes or so of footage they had to cut out the first time.  Each short has a running commentary with its writer, and you get a selection of DC Universe cartoons focusing on the characters featured in the shorts. 

The Way Back

The Way Back

Release: December 29, 2010
Director: Peter Weir
Writer: Peter Weir
Cast: Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan

Casino Jack

Casino Jack

Release: December 29, 2010
Director: George Hickenlooper
Writer: Norman Snider
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz, Graham Greene, Rachelle LeFevre, Maury Chaykin

Made in Dagenham

Made in Dagenham

Release: November 19, 2010
Director: Nigel Cole
Writer: Billy Ivory
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Miranda Richardson, Bob Hoskins, Sally Hawkins, Richard Schiff, Daniel Mays, Robbie Kay, Geraldine James, Andrea Risenborough, Jaime Winstone

The Eagle

The Eagle

Release: February 25, 2011
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Jeremy Brock
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim

Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole

Release: December 17, 2010
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Writer: David Lindsay-Abaire
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller, Tammy Blanchard, Sandra Oh

A Lure

A Lure

Release: November 11, 2010
Director: Bill McAdams Jr.
Writer: Bill McAdams Jr., Jessica Sonneborn,
Cast: Jessica Sonneborn, Michael McLafferty, Ryan Bittle, Paulie Rojas, Augie Duke, Casey Reinhardt

Hall Pass

Hall Pass

Release: February 25, 2011
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Writer: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Kevin Barnett
Cast: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Richard Jenkins, Christina Applegate, Alexandra Daddario, Stephen Merchant, Nicky Whelan, Derek Waters, Alyssa Milano, Vanessa Angel, Kristin Carey

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This week is Episode 4.08: 4-Day Weekend! I went old-school for this episode, for reasons that'll be clear when you give it a listen. And in it, we take a look at Toy Story 3, the Shrek Halloween special, and discuss a disturbing trend in movie promotion.

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All the Times I've Bought Star Wars: Episode I -- The Saga Begins

I am a home theatre enthusiast.  That means I�ve got my Blu-Ray player, my DVD player, an old VCR that�s still in functioning order, and I think one of the best things in the world is to just kick back and watch a movie.  And to the home theatre enthusiast, there is no greater crime than that of the double dip.  

For those who are only familiar with the term from the Seinfeld episode, here�s how �double-dipping� applies to home theatre.  Your favourite movie comes out on DVD.  Naturally, you buy it because you love it so much.  But then, six months later, it comes out on DVD again, in all-new special-edition, with all new bonus features, thus compelling you to buy it again.  That is the double-dip.

Even before the term became mainstream � heck, even before there was a term to describe it � I knew to be wary of the double-dip.  When I bought my first DVD player, I swore that I would only buy a DVD when I already owned it on VHS if it met one of my two criteria:  1)  it had enough bonus features to warrant buying it again.  2)  I just loved the movie so darn much that it would break my little heart if I didn�t buy it again.  Following that criteria, to this very day, I still own about a dozen movies or so on VHS that I have yet to upgrade to DVD.  

However, there is one movie, or rather, movie franchise, where whenever a new edition is announced, I drop everything, start saving my pennies, and start counting down the days until I can buy it again.  There is one film franchise that always meets those two criteria in spades, and thus I am doomed to repeat a never-ending cycle of always buying it again, and again, and again.  

That film franchise is Star Wars.

Of course, we�re talking about the core six movies.  The original trilogy and the prequel trilogy.  I know we�re supposed to regard the thing as one massive six film epic, but I�ll always be dividing it into the two trilogies.  One I grew up with, the other ushered in my adulthood.  One ushered in a new era of moviemaking, the other was seen as a bloated series of mistakes by its creator that we all love anyway because of nostalgia for the first.  Either way, whenever a new edition is announced, I start drooling in anticipation.  

Going through my library, I see that I�ve bought the original trilogy no less than four times.  The prequels twice.  And countless ancillary titles that I purchased mainly because of their relation to Star Wars.  Why?  What is it about this series that keeps me coming back for more?  

So, in this epic series of blog entries, I�m going to recount all the times I bought Star Wars.  Now, I�m not going to detail all the special edition changes and new footage that was inserted into the films each time it was re-released.  That�s been recounted hundreds of times in excruciating detail at far better websites.  Instead, I�m going to focus on what I was thinking, and what was going through my mind where I figured it warranted another purchase.  I�ll also touch upon some of the bonus features that were added, and maybe get into some of the technical details of each release.  

This is a series of blog entries I�ve been considering writing for a while now.  And now, with the recent announcement that it�ll be released on Blu-Ray in the fall of 2011, and as I start to make room for the fifth time I�ll buy it, it feels like this is the right moment to just sit down and ask, �Why am I buying it a fifth time?  Why did I buy it four times prior?�  Hopefully, by doing this, I�ll be able to figure it out.

So, let�s get started with the first time I bought Star Wars.  I remember buying it for the first time because I was convinced it would be the last time.

Next Week:  Episode II -- One Last Time

Kung Fu Panda 2 Trailer

As I was saying in the blog not too long ago, I've grown to loathe everything Dreamworks does.  That's why, when I finally sat down and rented Kung Fu Panda about a year ago, I was pleasantly surprised that it's a fairly decent action comedy.  Yeah, I liked it!  If I ever see it in a discount bin, I just might pick it up.

But, as we all know, Dreamworks likes to take a good concept and run it into the ground, hence, Kung Fu Panda 2, coming next summer.  First trailer!



I have to get me a wider blog template so I can post wider videos. 

Love and Other Drugs

Love and Other Drugs

Release: November 24, 2010
Director: Edward Zwick
Writer: Marshall Herskovitz, Charles Randolph
Cast: Judy Greer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Gabriel Macht, Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt

Latest Targ's Up!

We're rolling along with another episode of U62: The Targ!

This week is Episode 4.07: I'll Have the Usual, and "usual" is the name of the game in this one. I rant about the latest episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, we long for the days of styrofoam containers at McDonald's, and I check out the tech specs of the Toy Story 3 DVD.

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