Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hustle

 

The Hustle is a 2019 comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. It is a remake of the late 1980s comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson playing two very different con women. Hathaway is an upscale socialite who lives in the south of France, making millions of dollars by scamming rich men. Wilson, on the other hand, scams men from dating sites by getting them to pay for breast implants for her hot sister. They end up getting in each other's way and go between being partners and rivals, with Wilson being the proverbial "bull in a china shop" compared to Hathaway's character.

The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is excellent, and the movie looks and sounds great in HD. The cinematography is wonderful, and there are some really great visuals that really pop in HD. For extras, there are about 15 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material and a commentary track on the movie by the director. While the extras that are included are good, they are not extensive.

Overall, the movie makes for a fun comedy. Wilson's physical comedy is great and the comedy is a good mix of low and high-brow. I would not say it is the best comedy of all time, but there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, even though I was never doubled over laughing. Certainly, there will be people who are fans of the original movie who will not like this as a remake but I think it can stand on its own without having to do a shot-for-shot comparison with the original. The movie flows well and, at just under an hour-and-a-half, does not seem to take too long from beginning to end. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fun comedy.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Passengers (2008)

 

Passengers is a 2008 movie starring Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson (not to be confused with the 2016 movie starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence). This was one of the movies that Hathaway used to distance herself from the Disney role that launched her to fame as it took on a much more adult theme. She still was not as big a star when this movie came out as she is now (although she had done Devil Wears Prada, Brokeback Mountain, and Get Smart by the time this was released, so she was certainly on the rise and headed toward A-List stardom), which I think helped the film overall. It had a relatively small ensemble cast of mainly character actors, including David Morse, Clea DuVall, and Andre Braugher, and the two leads (Hathaway and Wilson) who were not megastars. As a result, I think the relationships between the various felt authentic.

The story involves Hathway's character, Claire, acting as a grief counselor for the survivors of an airplane crash. It starts with her trying to help them through the trauma and then turns into a thriller where she is trying to uncover the truth about the events surrounding the crash and whether the airline was covering it up and killing off the remaining survivors. Along the way, Hathaway and Wilson's characters end up in a relationship, crossing the ethical boundaries of her role as a therapist. The story has quite a few twists and turns that you may or may not see coming.

For those who get the Blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great. For extras, there are a couple making-of featurettes and a few deleted scenes. There is also a commentary track on the movie with the director, Rodrigo Garcia, and Patrick Wilson. While there is not a ton of bonus content, what was included is good. While the movie was not a blockbuster and is not very well known, it is definitely worth checking out and makes for an enjoyable hour and a half.

DVD/Movie Set Review: The Dark Knight Trilogy

 

This is a blu-ray box set of the trilogy of live-action Batman movies starring Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan. Any fan of Batman knows that the movie franchise was nearly dead after the dreadful Batman and Robin movie in the late 1990s. The franchise had changed directors once (Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher) and stars three times (Michael Keaton to Val Kilmer to George Clooney). While the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton movies were very good.  Batman Forever (which was the first one directed by Schumacher) was good but edging toward the campy side, and Batman and Robin was almost universally reviled. This trilogy brought the series back in a big way.

First, it brought back stability. Nolan co-wrote and directed all three movies, so the tone, visuals, and feel remained the same. Just as importantly, Christian Bale was in the lead role for all three. Regardless of whether you think he was the best Batman/Bruce Wayne or not, the continuity that not changing actors every movie brought was very important. Secondly, the movies were more than just superhero or action movies. It brought in big-name actors for both the main roles and the supporting roles and focused on not only having good scripts but excellent acting (punctuated by Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker). Those elements were spotty in the superhero genre up to that point. In some movies, you would have big-name actors and a good script. In some, you would have a decent script but only one or two big-name actors, and in some, you would have an awful script. These movies did not rely just on a bunch of special effects and lots of explosions to tell the story. Lastly, Nolan tried to bring a sense of realism where possible. Obviously, these are movies based on a comic book, and most of what you see in them could not happen in real life. But, the fact that the movies were filmed in real cities and that the gadgets he used (especially in Batman Begins) were somewhat realistic (like his grappling gun) made the movies more enjoyable for me.

Of the three movies I actually think the last one has the best overall story. Obviously, however, Heath Ledger's performance as Joker was the touchstone of the three movies. He played the in-control psychotic so well, that it will be hard for anyone to top that live-action version of the character. Even though I think Ledger was the best villain, I think all the movies did a good job with the bad guys. I especially liked that they cast Bane based on acting ability and not just finding a big guy with no talent. Obviously, Tom Hardy is not 7 feet tall or anywhere near it, but his version of Bane was much better than the one in Batman and Robin.

Chances are if you are reading this you have already seen each movie multiple times. While I do not think any of them are absolutely perfect, I think they are as close to perfect as the superhero movies that had come out up to that point had been in a long time. And, you can certainly argue that the success of Batman Begins played a big part in the Marvel movies being taken seriously from the start.  I had hoped that the series that Nolan started would continue in some way. The ending of Dark Knight Rises certainly left that possibility open. But, after this many years, if it were to do so, it would more likely be in a "Batman Beyond" type of situation in which Bale plays the role of Alfred to a new, younger, Batman. 

This set repackages the original blu-ray releases into a decorative outer box. You get the same extras/bonus content (if you like watching that material) that the original discs were released with. There was no new bonus content created for this release. If you bought the movies individually on blu-ray the only new thing you get with this is the outer box. But, if you do not have the movies and have not upgraded to a 4k blu-ray player and a 4K TV, this is a good pickup, and definitely worth watching.

4k-UHD Box Set Review: The Dark Knight Trilogy

 

This is, as most probably know, the trilogy of Batman movies (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises) that were written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and starred Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Batman Begins (released in 2005) represented the resurrection of Batman in live-action movies after the turd that was Batman and Robin had pretty much killed it off in 1999, and arguably set the stage for the success that superhero movies have had to this day, including the MCU movies because Nolan (and the studio) wanted to make a serious movie that was grounded in some kind of reality. The Dark Knight (released in 2008) is best known for the masterful performance of Heath Ledger playing The Joker, and The Dark Knight Rises (released in 2012) was a good conclusion of the story. The movies have a strong supporting cast including Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Ken Wanatabe, Anne Hathaway, Katie Homles, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhall, Mathew Modine, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon Levitt (among others). 

In this set, each of the movies is packaged in individual cases within a decorative outer box. Each movie is a three-disc set with a 4k UHD disc and two regular blu-ray discs. The UHD discs just have the movies themselves, and then one of the regular blu-rays has the movie (which can be played with an in-movie experience that pops up facts about the movie throughout) and the second regular blu-ray disc just has special features. For each movie, you get 2-3 hours of bonus content with a lot of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that include interviews with members of the cast and crew, as well as featurettes on some aspect of the overall Batman mythology, and trailers. The A/V quality of the UHD discs is awesome, especially for the scenes filmed in IMAX for the second and third movies, and are reference quality, especially if you have a large screen and a great sound system to watch it on.

Overall, the movies are great. They are, arguably, the best of Batman in live-action. I liked that they set the movies in the "real world" and made his gadgets have some grounding in reality so it looked and felt like the things in the movie could happen in real life. In my opinion, Bale, at least up to that point had done the best job playing both characters (Bruce and Batman) in live-action and being believable in both roles. I think Michael Keaton was a great Bruce Wayne, but was not as believable as Batman. I think Kilmer played a good Bruce Wayne and a good Batman, but he was not as good as Keaton or Bale as Bruce and not as good as Bale as Batman. And Clooney was not great in either role. I think the A/V quality of the UHD presentation is good enough that it warrants the upgrade even if you already own the movies on blu-ray. I definitely recommend this set.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

 

This is the third and final movie in the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight with Gotham being mostly crime-free and Bruce Wayne holding up as a recluse in Wayne Manor while Batman is vilified for killing Harvey Dent. Dent is still being held out as a hero, and the law passed in his name allowed the police to keep all the criminals he prosecuted locked up. When a new threat to Gotham emerges, in the form of a mercenary named Bane (played by Tom Hardy) who was excommunicated from The League of Shadows, Bruce must bring Batman back to try and save the city.

The 4k-UHD version is a three-disc set. The UHD disc just has the movie itself, and then there are two regular blu-ray discs, one with the film and one with most of the extras. The regular blu-ray with the movie on it does have a second-screen experience that allows you to watch the movie with exclusive content that pops up as the movie plays. The bonus disc has about two hours worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material, and an hour-long featurette on the Batmobile, basically discussing its evolution during the comics and the various live-action versions. It included interviews with Adam West and the creator of the Batmobile from the 1960s TV show, as well as Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, and the crew members who designed the cars for the pre-Nolan movies, and then extensive interviews with the design team from the Nolan movies. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is wonderful, especially during the Imax sequences that are scattered throughout the movie. 

Overall, this is a fine end to the Nolan Trilogy, which absolutely revived the live-action Batman franchise and arguably paved the way for the boom of superhero movies that would follow 2005's Batman Begins. The main supporting characters/actors (Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman) were all brought back, and the additions to the cast were, of course, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Joseph Gordon Levitt who is a GCPD member, as well as Ben Mendelsohn (from Rouge One), Marion Cotillard, Adien Gillian (from Game of Thrones), and 80s star Matthew Modine. And, Cillian Murphy makes yet another appearance as Dr. Crane. Some of the supporting character's roles are definitely larger than others. Hathaway does a great job as Selina Kyle, although playing a much different version of the character than any of the other live-action versions of her, and Hardy is very good as Bane, especially having to act through a mask through 99% of his scenes. There were rumors that the original plan was also to work Joker into the third movie, however, after Heath Ledger's death, that role was never going to be recast, and they did not even use archival footage or deleted footage from the second movie of Joker in this one. While I still think that the second movie, The Dark Knight, is the best in the trilogy, this is a worthy follow-up and definitely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Interstellar

 

Interstellar was the first major movie written and directed by Christopher Nolan after his Batman trilogy ended. The basic plot of this movie is that in 2067 the Earth is becoming more and more uninhabitable because of a planet-wide blight/dust bowl, which is making it harder for food to grow. Matthew McConaughey plays Coop, an ex-astronaut turned farmer who is recruited for a mission to pilot an expedition to a series of possibly habitable planets to which advance scouts have already been dispatched. To get to the prospective planets, the ship must travel through a wormhole that opened near the planet Saturn. This requires him to leave his only child, Murph (played by Mackenzie Foy at the beginning of the movie, then by Jessica Chastain later on) on Earth, promising her that he will return. The rest of the cast includes Nolan veterans Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine, as well as Wes Bentley (from American Beauty), John Lithgow, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and David Oyelowo.

The blu-ray has a ton of great extras, and the A/V quality is stellar. The most comprehensive extra is an almost hour-long documentary on the science of Interstellar, in which Nolan explains what they did to get as much of the science correct as possible. This included using a physicist as a consultant to do things like help create the CGI black hole, and how the time aspects of the movie would work. Then, there are a series of 14 making-of featurettes titled Inside Interstellar, which details the process to make various aspects of the movie, and then the three trailers for the movie are included.

Overall, the movie is great. It is well-written and very well-acted. As an engineer, I like that they actually get a lot of the science correct (although some of it is embellished for dramatic effect), and they get concepts like gravity around a black hole and the resulting time dilation effects correct. McConaughey and Chastain are definitely the standouts, as they get the most material to work with, but the entire cast does a great job with their characters. It is an awesome movie and definitely worth multiple viewings.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Love & Other Drugs

 

Love and Other Drugs is a romantic comedy about a pharmaceutical salesman played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is on the verge of getting fired until Viagra comes along and reignites his career. One day while pushing Viagra at a clinic, he meets and falls for Anne Hathaway's character and they start in what is supposed to be an NSA relationship, mainly because she has Parkinson's and does not want to get into a long-term relationship. Of course, feelings develop and the two have to figure out what they want. It has a strong supporting cast including Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, and Josh Gad.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is very good, and it has a handful of extras, including deleted scenes, character profiles of Maggie (Hathaway) and Jamie (Gyllenhaal), a feature on Jamie Reidy, the real salesman on whose book the movie is based, the theatrical trailer, and a BD live feature on Gyllenhaal's favorite scene.

Overall, the movie is good, but not without its flaws. The movie does at times seem like a schill for big Phrama, with Pfizer getting a ton of product placement, and just kind of glossing over many issues that the drug companies create (which could easily be more of a theme, because of the character of Maggie and her predicament). There is a lot of sex and nudity in the movie, moreso than in other rom-coms. While it does follow some of the traditional rom-com formulaic notes, it does diverge from that at times. While it is definitely not a family-friendly movie, it is worth watching if you are looking for an adult rom-com.

DVD/Movie Review: Havoc

 

Havoc was the movie that really broke Anne Hathaway out of the Disney mode. In it, she plays a rich Los Angeles high-school girl who hangs out with a bunch of kids who pretend to be a part of the hip-hop gangsta culture. When she ends up going to a party in East LA to hang out with actual gang members, she discovers that the life she thought it was and reality are two very different things. Part of the plot involves one of Allison's classmates making a documentary about the wannabe gangsta lifestyle of her and her friends. While I do not think it was all that integral to the plot, it did not distract from it.

Overall, I would say the movie is good but somewhat predictable and formulaic. It did show that Hathaway had real acting chops as she went from playing the wannabe gangsta chick to a "normal" acting rich suburban teenager to a very vulnerable kid when she was called out for the act she put on, with ease. And, of course, it was the first time she appeared topless on-screen diverging greatly from her Princess Diaries role. The movie also touts a strong supporting cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Freddy Rodriguez, Bijou Phillips, and Channing Tatum.

For those who get the DVD, there are no extras included. It is closed captioned, but that is it. I am not sure if the movie streams on any of the popular streaming platforms, so this may still be one that you want to pick up on disc even with the lack of extras. While it is not Hathaway's best movie, it is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of hers.