Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Killers

 

Killers is a 2010 movie starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Martin Mull, Catherine O'Hara, and Tom Selleck. In the movie, Kutcher plays a professional assassin named Spencer Aimes. While in France, he meets Heigl's character, Jen, and the two have a whirlwind romance that causes Spencer to quit his job and settle down in suburban life. After three years, Spencer's life unravels when a bounty is put on his head when he refuses to take another assignment.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is outstanding. While there are not a ton of CGI effects (if any), the location shots in Nice, France, look awesome in HD, especially if you have a large screen. As far as extras, there are some behind-the-scenes features, deleted and extended scenes, and a gag reel. In total, the extras run just under a half hour in length.

Ultimately, if you take this movie too seriously, you will probably hate it. If you take it as a spoof of romantic comedies and spy movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the like and see it as a movie that is very much tongue-in-cheek, it is entertaining. The only real complaint I have about it is the pacing. There is a little back story and set up to Kutcher and Heigl's relationship, then the story fast forwards three years and kind of stalls as they try to transition Kutcher's character from spy life to mundane suburban life. Once the story starts to pick back up, as everyone around Spencer in the mundane suburban life starts trying to kill him, the pace gets better. 

Yes, the premise and plot are totally preposterous. That is partly the point. If you can suspend your disbelief past that, however, I think you can find this enjoyable. Luckily, the movie is not so long that, unless you hate it from the get-go (and there are certainly people who do), it seems never-ending. Heigel and Kutcher are pretty much on the edge of who I would think of for lead roles in a movie, but since it was really not going for a serious blockbuster feel, they still worked as the leads. While it is certainly not the best movie ever, it is a decent combination of action movie and romantic comedy and worth the time to watch as long as you accept the movie for what it is. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitch

 

Hitch is a 2005 movie directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, and Eva Mendez. In the movie, Smith plays a "date doctor" named Alexander Hitchens, who coaches men on how to pick up women with the goal of dating them versus just hooking up. James plays Albert Brennaman, who works at an investment firm and hires Hitch to help him get one of the firm's celebrity clients (played by Valletta) on a date. In the meantime, Hitch starts to fall for Mendez's character, who is a workaholic gossip columnist.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is okay, but not outstanding. Given, however, that the film is not a special-effects-laden blockbuster, most people will be fine with the quality of the transfer. The blu-ray has a handful of extras, including a gag reel, a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and trailers for a few different movies. The movie is a fairly good, tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy. When the movie does not take itself too seriously and almost spoofs "typical" romantic comedies, it is very good. It is funny in a lot of parts, and the actors have (or seem to have) very good chemistry. Then, for some reason, it feels the need to become a "typical" romantic comedy and do almost the exact opposite of what it did for the first 3/4 of the movie. If they had stuck to its original formula, I think it would have been perfect. 

Kevin James was the total scene-stealer in the movie. He was never afraid of making a fool of himself, and you could tell that he and Will Smith were having a lot of fun working off each other. Eva Mendes plays bitter and jaded very well and she showed she has very good comedic chops and can do more than just be eye candy. Ultimately, it is a good date night movie that can get kind of schlocky at the end. While that does keep the movie from being as good as it could have been, it does not take away from the entire thing. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

DVD/Movie Review: Doc Hollywood

 

Doc Hollywood is a 1991 romantic comedy starring Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson, Bridget Fonda, and David Ogden Stiers. The movie is a classic fish-out-of-water story. A doctor named Ben Stone is driving across the country to take a job in Los Angeles and gets stuck working at the hospital in the small fictional town of Grady South Carolina after destroying the town judge's fence. It is completely absurd from a reality concept, but it is one of those stories that if you can suspend your disbelief on that part, you can enjoy the rest of it. 

As far as the DVD itself goes, it is definitely nothing fancy, with no bonus material or extras, and it did not get the best DVD transfer. Hopefully, it will get a better release at some point in the future, maybe for a 35th Anniversary release as a Special Edition Blu-Ray. But, for the moment, it has just had the bare-bones DVD and Blu-Ray release.  

Overall, the movie is great even though the story is predictable, and you can see where it is going from a mile away, Even so, the acting is great, and the story is told in a very entertaining way. Fox and Warner were great as the leads and David Ogden Stiers was awesome as Grady's mayor and stole nearly every scene he was in. But really, the entire cast, supporting actors included, did well and brought something to the story. Personally, I think that this movie, along with Secret of My Success, is Michael J. Fox's best movie outside the Back to the Future series. It is also among the last handful of movies in which Fox had a leading role as it was during the filming of this movie in which he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

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.