DVD review – Anvil: The Story of Anvil
Heavy metal band Anvil, which played at Rocklahoma this year, has undergone something of a revival since appearing in “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” a film that presents the hard-rocking group as a real-life Spinal Tap. Director Rob Reiner’s parody film “This Is Spinal Tap,” about a heavy metal band, is brought to mind several times in “Anvil.” Coincidentally, Anvil’s drummer is named Robb Reiner.
Robb Reiner and high school pal Steve “Lips” Kudlow formed Anvil in the late 1970s and by the early 1980s seemed on the cusp of stardom. The band’s 1982 release “Metal on Metal” influenced bands including Anthrax and Metallica. But Anvil never reached the top of the charts. The film, by Sacha Gervasi, explores the now 50-something founders of Anvil as they still struggle to find fame as rock stars.
Gervasi follows the band on a comedy-of-errors European tour and chronicles the band’s efforts to get a new album together. The passion and humanity shown by Kudlow and Reiner as they struggle to keep this enterprise together makes “Anvil” one of the best rock documentaries of all time.
It’s funny in places but also heartbreaking as it reminds viewers about the tenacity and sacrifices required to go for one’s dreams.
— Matthew Price
Star Trek comes to DVD and Blu-ray today
J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise comes to DVD and Blu-ray today. If you’ve missed what was one of 2009’s best films, now’s a great time to get caught up on it.
As I wrote in my review of the film:
Director J.J. Abrams reinvents “Star Trek” in his new film that’s a reboot of the classic sci-fi series. For hardcore Trekkies, it doesn’t negate what’s gone before, but for the newbies – which make up most of the potential viewing audience – this “Star Trek” is brand new.
Feel free to click through for my full review. I look forward to checking out the DVD for extra features in the near future. Special features on the DVD set include a digital copy of the film, deleted scenes, audio commentary and making-of documentaries.
- Matt Price
DVD review: The Guild seasons 1 and 2
Felicia Day is probably best-known from her roles in the Joss Whedon projects “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” or the “Dollhouse” episode “Epitaph One.” But Day is equally as impressive as a writer, director and producer of the online show “The Guild,” the first two seasons of which are now available on DVD.
“The Guild” is a fictional Web series based on Day’s experiences with online role-playing games and features the interactions of a group of gamers.
Day plays Codex, the online alter ego of Cyd Sherman, in “The Guild.” She and her online friends spend much of their time in a “World of Warcraft”-like game in which they are the Knights of Good — but real life isn’t so simple.
As the series begins, Zaboo, one of the Guild’s most powerful members, has gone missing. But then Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) shows up on Codex’s doorstep, having misread her winking emoticons as a real relationship. Other Guild members: Clara (Robin Thorsen), who retreats into the game to escape her day-to-day life, to the probable detriment of her kids. Tinkerballa (Amy Okuda), a woman who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, in game or out. Vork, the by-the-book Guild leader, played by Jeff Lewis. And Bladezz (Vincent Caso), the high-school-aged bad boy of the Guild, who talks a good game from his mom’s basement.
Day is both endearing and authentic as Codex, dumped by her therapist and boyfriend, finding meaning only through her online interactions. Over the course of “The Guild,” however, she’s drawn into more and more real-world interactions based on her game affiliations.
The DVD contains seasons one and two of “The Guild,” consisting of 10 episodes each. There are also multiple audio commentaries as well as script files, bloopers and cast and crew interviews.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
DVD review – Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
The direct-to-DVD “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” promises to explore the “Battlestar Galactica” series from the Cylon point of view. While it’s interesting in places, ultimately it’s not likely to bring anyone new to the franchise.
In “Battlestar Galactica,” the 50,000 human survivors of an attempted genocide search space for their mythical home planet, Earth. They are pursued by Cylons, the mechanical life forms who attempted to wipe out humanity.
DVD review: Ruby-Spears Superman
The 1988 “Superman” animated series was the first version of the character to come to television since comic-book writer/artist John Byrne’s noted revamp of the character in the 1986 “Man of Steel” miniseries. In the new “Superman” comic-book line, Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman introduced the idea of Lex Luthor as a corrupt industrialist instead of mad scientist. That characterization is followed up here, as Wolfman was the animated series’ head story editor.
Even though the Christopher Reeve film series was over by the time this series aired, after the dismal failure of 1987’s “Superman IV,” the 1988 animated series still paid homage to those films. Luthor’s assistant, Jessica Morganberry, is a version of the film’s Miss Tessmacher, and Luthor, though an industrialist, speaks in a manner consistent with Gene Hackman’s Luthor from the films. Furthermore, the theme song for the Ruby-Spears “Superman” uses a bit of the famous John Williams “Superman” score. The series calls back to Superman’s past in another way, too: The opening narration was the same as the 1950s “Adventures of Superman” television show.
Superman/Clark Kent was voiced by Tulsa-born Beau Weaver, who later voiced Mr. Fantastic in the 1990s “Fantastic Four” animated series.
Each episode of “Superman” featured an 18-minute Superman adventure followed by a 4-minute segment called “Superman’s Family Album,” which touched on his days as a youngster in Smallville.
While “Superman,” produced by Ruby-Spears, only lasted one season, it provided an intermediate step between the silliness of the “Super Friends” of the 1970s and the more modern take of the 1990s series.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan comes to DVD today; contest offers dinner with Admiral
The direct-to-DVD “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” comes to DVD and Blu-ray today, exploring the events of the series from the Cylons’ point-of-view.
It’s also a little racier than the cable series, as there are no particular restrictions on the direct-to-DVD release. (It’s still no racier than an R-rated film, however.)
Tying into the film’s release, UGO is offering fans a chance to win “Dinner with the Admiral.” The winner will receive a trip for two to Los Angeles for dinner with Edward James Olmos.
DVD review: Easy Virtue
Director Stephan Elliott (“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) adapts the early Noel Coward play “Easy Virtue” into a motion picture starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Biel stars as Larita, a breezy American race car driver who marries into an upper-crust British family in the 1920s. Mrs. Whittaker (Thomas) is opposed to the marriage, having intended her son John (Ben Barnes) to marry Sara Hurst (Charlotte Riley), whose father owns the neighboring farm. Mr. Whittaker (Firth) responds well to Larita, but he’s barely present in his own life — he’s never recovered from his days in the first World War.
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DVD review: Primeval Vol. 2
New characters arrive in the second volume of “Primeval,” which contains the third season of the U.K. production. (The first two seasons are available in “Primeval Vol. 1.”)
Joining the Anomaly Research Centre this season are Egyptologist Sarah Page (Laila Rouass) and security leader Becker (Ben Mansfield). “Primeval” features Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) and his team of scientists who investigate time anomalies that allow gates to the past and future to open, and often-dangerous people and creatures to come through. The dinosaurs that often appear are dynamically portrayed; credit that to series’ co-creator is Tim Haines (“Walking With the Dinosaurs”). (more…)
Tricia Helfer, Grace Park promise skin in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
“Battlestar Galactica” stars Tricia Helfer and Grace Park tell Maxim that the upcoming “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan,” coming to DVD on Oct. 27, will be a little sexier than previous BSG. From Maxim:
Tricia Helfer: There will certainly be a lot more explicit action on the DVD. And I refuse to have a body double, so you will see a little bit of skin from me as the Six character. There’s also a new character you’ll see in some very intense sex scenes.
Grace Park: Yeah, there’s going to be a T & A version. Though maybe I should say T, C & A, because it’s not just girls this time…
More pictures after the cut.
DVD review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
The Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader team up in this direct-to-DVD animated film based on the comic books by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Loeb has plenty of screenwriting experience, as the writer of “Teen Wolf” and “Commando,” and his story translates relatively easily to film. The screenplay was adapted by Stan Berkowitz, who also adapted Darwyn Cooke’s “Justice League: The New Frontier” into an animated movie.
McGuinness’s blocky, muscular style is recreated in the style of the movie, which is heavy on action but lighter on character development.
The movie reunites Tim Daly, who voiced Superman on “Superman: The Animated Series,” with Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman in “Batman: The Animated Series.” The two hadn’t worked together since 1998’s “World’s Finest” animated movie. (George Newbern took over the role of Superman for the “Justice League” animated series.)
The United States, in the throes of wars and recession, turns to an exonerated Lex Luthor, who is elected U.S. president. Luthor fixes the immediate problems but also insists all superheroes work solely for him. When a giant Kryptonite meteor threatens Earth, Superman and Batman — now “public enemies” in Luthor’s regime — are forced to come up with their own plan to save the planet.
The first half of the movie zips along, but the ending isn’t as strong.
It’s great to hear Daly and Conroy working together on their signature characters, but the film doesn’t exceed the past decade of animation with Superman and Batman.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
