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DVD Review: Unknown

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One of my roommates and I watched “Unknown” during the snow in last night and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would have been bad because it was an independent film that I figured would have a twisted plot and I was partly right. I say I was partly right because my automatic first assumption was that since the main character was played by James Caviezel, the independent film makers would want to make him evil at his core (Jim is best known for his awesome portrayal of Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ”). I was right about that (though some may want to argue whether or not it was because liberals made the movie) – however I was not right that the movie would be bad.

The movie is called Unknown because the main characters basically have no idea what the hell is going on. Apparently there was a struggle and they are all sitting there slowly waking up in an industrial type of building and remembering bits and pieces of their lives. As they wake up and move around the building, they realize that they’re locked in (it’s never fully explained why they are locked into the building) and that they are either kidnappers or kidnap victims.

There is a second, related plot that deals with the police in the outside world who are trying to find the kidnap victims – but that doesn’t go anywhere until the very end of the movie.

What I think the writers were trying to go for with the bulk of the movie was to show each of the men who are locked in this large warehouse as a regular human being. They succeed in this measure for the most part, though they forget some minor parts of each person’s story and they really don’t give too much of a back story to Joey Pants (from Sopranos fame).

The twist at the end of the movie (and you’ll probably not want to read from this point forward if you haven’t seen the movie and plan on seeing it) is that Jim Caviezel is made out to be a bad kidnapper, but turns out to be an undercover cop. Then, in the last minutes of the movie, it’s revealed that he masterminded a plot to kidnap one of the “good guys” because he was having an affair with that guy’s wife.

His course in the movie takes him from being neutral, then somewhat good, then somewhat bad, then really good, but ultimately really bad. It’s a good plot and it’s well done in what is obviously a low-budget film (which is one of the things I really liked about the movie). But, at least for me, it was predictable from the get go in that I knew the main character would ultimately be a villain. Don’t all independent films sorta have that progression with the good guy main character?

If you’ve got a Blockbuster rental laying around and you’re looking for a decent movie to watch that is a bit off the beaten, Hollywood path, then I suggest renting this movie. You’ll enjoy the plot twists (unless you just read it above) and you’ll enjoy watching the story progress.

DVD Review: Arrested Development, Season 1

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This was one of the best shows on television up until the morons at FOX decided to cancel it last year. And what did they replace it with? That’s right – stupid shows like “til Death” and “The Wedding Bells.” It’s a God-damned shame. But that’s what FOX TV does – they cancel shows that are absolutely amazing. *cough* Family Guy & Futurama *cough*

Anyway, before this show was cancelled it was one of the most critically-acclaimed sitcoms in the last ten years – matching even Seinfeld’s early hysteria and cult fan base. After watching the first season (again), it’s easy to see why.

This show is absolutely hilarious! From Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) and her snide remarks to all of her children to George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) and his confusion over whether or not to pursue a relationship with his cousin – it all just falls into place perfectly. As I wrote earlier on this blog, there are some people that watch the show and go, “I don’t get it.” My suspicion is that some dingbat at FOX had that reaction after watching the first show and then just said, “Cancel it.” However, after you watch the first two or three episodes, you “get” what is going on and it’s absolutely brilliant to watch.

The camera work for the show is also great as is the show’s use of the same flashback clips throughout the entire season (this carries into the second season, too).

Arrested Development’s basic story is the story of a rich, privileged family who literally has it all, but loses it when the family patriarch is sent to prison during his retirement party. The problem? Well, besides squandering company funds, there is a chance he may have “committed some light treason” by building housing developments in Iraq. The timeliness of this show (at the time it was aired) is unbeatable, but that’s another story. The plot is made all the better by the fact that the entire family is completely clueless and oblivious to everyday life.

What holds them all together? That would be the prodigal son, Michael Bluth.

Michael, who is masterfully played by Jason Bateman of 1980’s/1990’s sitcom “The Hogan Family,” is the glue that holds the family together as they are subjected to a federal probe. On top of that chore, he also is trying to raise his son, George Michael Bluth, better than he was raised by his father. While he is generally a good father, it’s fun to see him stumble over his words every once in a while and to watch him completely ignore some of his son’s most basic wants and needs.

The story works so well because it is written so well. Without the amazing writing, the show could really fall apart. Again, it’s a shame that this award-winning show was taken off of television too early, but that’s the history of FOX and TV shows that the fans and critics both love. Why couldn’t they put this show on FX? Lord knows it would have been the best show on the entire channel! Eh, I digress.

I highly suggest going out and buying the first season of Arrested Development. Yes, buy it and don’t rent it because I guarantee that once you “get” what is going on, you’ll want to watch the series over and over again.

DVD Review: The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior

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World Wrestling Entertainment named this DVD incorrectly. This is not the story of the Ultimate Warrior’s self-destruction, it’s a story of his absolute insanity. Now, I know that the Warrior is on the conservative speaking circuit (the low-budget conservative speaking circuit, that is) and that he maintains a freakish online presence with rambling, incoherent blog posts, but this DVD tells you the story of the way he completely neglected the push and the rub that he was getting in the wrestling business.

By far, my favorite part of the DVD was the story of how Andre the Giant almost knocked out the Warrior during a match. For those of you that don’t know, Andre the Giant was a legitimate “tough guy” wrestler who could easily smash anyone that was in the ring with him. He told the Warrior time and time again that he wanted to do a “spot” during the match, but that he wanted to do it his way. And after the Warrior did it his OWN way for two matches in a row, the Giant took matters into his own hands. In the third match, the Warrior came off the ropes looking to clothesline Andre and all Andre did was put his bowling ball-like fist out and smashed the Warrior right in the head.

The Warrior did the spot Andre’s way from that point on. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

The other thing that is really funny about this DVD is the way TNA’s Christian (a WWE wrestler at the time of the taping) and WWE’s Edge and Chris Jericho go over some of their favorite Ultimate Warrior promos. First of all, their memory of these promos is uncanny. And second – it is absolutely hilarious to hear them say things that make you think to yourself, “the Warrior would never say that,” only to have the tape of the Warrior saying it from almost two decades earlier.

I was glad that they went over the Warrior’s time in WCW because that’s what really sealed the deal on his tenure in professional wrestling. I was also glad that they covered the now deceased “Renegade” and how he was a cheap Warrior rip-off (though Bischoff claims otherwise). Looking back at Warrior’s time in WCW shows you just how crazy the guy was; his first promo upon debuting made little to no sense at all!

Hulk Hogan has a few good lines where he says that both he and Bischoff knew in the ring that night that the Warrior was an exhausted commodity.

For the wrestling fans who remember the Ultimate Warrior, I suggest seeing this DVD. It gets a little long in some places and thus it could easily be a half an hour shorter in length, but the story told about the Warrior’s maniacal ways in the wrestling world is worth the time watching this DVD. For those of you who are NOT wrestling fans – don’t bother seeing this one as it will probably make little sense to you.

DVD Review: 20 Years Too Soon, The Superstar Billy Graham Story

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Over the Christmas break, I managed to watch a few DVDs. One of these was 20 Years Too Soon, The Superstar Billy Graham Story. For those of you that don’t know, Superstar Billy Graham is a wrestler who was WWWF (predecessor to today’s WWE) champion in the late 1970’s and the man who sued Vince McMahon in the early 1990’s an caused him to be put under a federal investigation for steroids.

This DVD was a biography/archive of the Superstar’s wrestling career. I enjoyed the stories that he told of getting into the business and the way that the other wrestlers who were interviewed showed their adoration for the Superstar. Many of the greatest names in professional wrestling history cite the Superstar as their inspiration to enter the wrestling business. Men from Hulk Hogan to Ric Flair to Dusty Rhodes to Governor Jesse Ventura – all of them give Graham proper praise on this DVD.

The DVD gets very interesting when Vince McMahon and Billy Graham each recount their involvement in the lawsuit that Graham brought against McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. Both sides tell their story, from Billy’s belief that he was thrown aside by the company he helped to build to Vince saying that many wrestlers don’t want to hear the honest truth of, “You’ve got nothing left to offer,” before they get fired.

The story does have a happy ending, though. Before going under the knife for a liver transplant, Superstar got a phone call from McMahon saying how the entire WWE was behind him. This buried the hatchet between the two and led to an eventual visit by Graham to a WWE PPV event in Phoenix. And, rightfully so, this led to Superstar Billy Graham’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

For the wrestling fan, I think this DVD is a must-see. I’m in the process of reading the autobiography that goes along with the DVD, so I’ll be able to post a review of that soon enough. However, if you’ve got a few bucks laying around or a Blockbuster rental and you don’t know what to get, go for this DVD.

DVD Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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What a disaster this movie was! From the very beginning to the very end, there was more chopped out of this movie than I thought was possible! Really, Warner Brothers did a tremendous hack job with this film so much to the point where I recommend NOT seeing it.

The only thing that this film is good for is to put faces with names. Other than the obvious lack of including all, most, or even a majority of the storyline features from the book, there is no contiguous logic in the story. It’s like watching a bunch of scenes from what could have been a much, MUCH longer movie. It’s disjointed and there are not enough explanations in the two and a half hours that the thing tarries on for.

I will say that the special effects and wardrobe are done very well. So was the casting and make-up. Warner Brothers does do a good job of giving you a look at what Hogwarts and the characters would probably look like in real life.

But in terms of telling a story, this movie sucked. If you’re a non-Harry Potter fan, then I would suggest not using this film as a basis to judge whether or not you’d like the series.