Though attractive, Outlander from Howard McCain did not meet the success expected for big productions. In spite of a poster crying out loud that Barrie Osborne, one of Lord of the Rings producer, was in charge of the project, the feature did not draw much attention to itself. It was bashfully broadcasted in a few American cinemas last January 23rd. But monster fans can be relieved, the movie’s DVD and Blu-Ray release last Tuesday should finally bring out this well made feature into the lime light.
During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking’s Iron Age weaponry.
Despite a risky synopsis and though the story sometimes is a little OTT (love story, revenge, big muscles rivalry…), Outlander succeeds quite well thanks to a punchy production with continuing action as Caviezel, John Hurt and Ron Perlman will all give a hard time to the Morween. As far as DVD extras are concerned, Wild Side Video added a documentary on the film’s conception and details on special effects as well as 27 cut scenes and 14 animatic scenes.
The unbeatable American soldier G.I Joe, hero from David Breger’s comic book of the 40’s and cartoon star in the 80’s, is the animated and articulated equivalent to John Rambo. Indeed, the anti-terrorist action group might even be more famous for its plastic Hasbro version than for its cartoon or drawn figure. Anyway, the new G.I Joe generation will be coming back this time on movie screens by next August 7th… Considering the trailer, The Rise of the Cobra from Stephen Sommers (also responsible for The Mummy) seems to hold many actions sequences recalling typical “popcorn movies” from the 80-90’s. In other words, smart faces (Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans, Brendan Fraser) and fit chicks (Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols), together with bad terrorists guys and this way massive explosions too… you can check it all in the trailer…
We will for sure discuss again from G.I Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, in which an action commando will be fighting against the threatening terrorist group named C.O.B.R.A…
There are movies that are memorable for us spectators, for our minds and the times we live in…movies that overcome their own kind and this way become obvious sources of inspiration for the many movies to come in the following years. Well Terminator 2 is definitely part of it. Considering it as a simple action movie would be stupid. Indeed, Cameron’s T2 is way more than just a key example of cinema entertainment of the 90’s. It also raised action cinema up from the ground by giving it distinction and the credibility that had been missing up to now: a dynamic framework based on an intelligent scenario with special effects, which still prove to be up-to-date with the latest ones, 30 years after (or just a little bit)… Terminator’s mythology was born…
No need to precise how much I admire the everlasting of Terminator 2. I couldn’t say the third part disappointed me, but I just knew even before its release that it wouldn’t be as good as T2. How is it even possible to think any action film could be better? Thus, Terminator 3 is what was meant to be: a transition towards what all fans waited for, a war between the last remaining humans and machines, humankind against Skynet! Every fan has secretly been wishing for this war since 1985, and this will finally come true thanks to McG, with the first episode of a new trilogy : Terminator Salvation coming out tomorrow on screens!
After having suffered the apocalypse of men fighting against robots, John Connor has become in 2018 chief of the human resistance against Skynet and its terminators army. However he is forced to reconsider his way of thinking when meeting Marcus Wright, a stranger who only remembers waking up in death sentence area. Connor has to find out if Marcus was sent from the future or if he’s escaping from the past. While Skynet is preparing the final attack, Connor and Marcus begin an odyssey, which will lead them straight to the heart of Skynet’s plans. Together, they will discover the terrible secret hidden behind the plan to erase the whole humanity.
After the tremendous Usual Suspects, the enjoyable X-Men trilogy and the very Hollywood-like Superman Returns, Bryan Singer came back last year on screens to offer us Valkyrie, which relates the events of July 20th, a conspiracy during World War II to murder the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Although we already know the plot in the movie is bound to fail (I’m not spoiling anything as the movie is entirely based on real facts), the heroic failure is nevertheless very bravely faced by movie star Tom Cruise, embodying the project leader colonel Stauffenberg.
Based on a true story, the film chronicles a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg has lost faith in the Fuhrer’s actions, considering him a danger to the entire world, including his beloved Germany. He joins a group of high-ranking Nazi officers in a plot to kill Hitler, take control of Germany and negotiate a truce with the allies. But all does not go according to plan.
Regarding the DVD and Blu-Ray extras, MGM Home Entertainment made a real effort! With around three hours bonuses, special care was taken for the collector edition. On top of the traditional audio commentaries and the making of, the editor benefited from the historical context in which the film takes place to fill in the remaining gaps with various documentaries (dealing with the conspiracy itself, the German resistance and war). Finally, a special DVD and Blu-ray edition featuring a numerical copy of the movie will be made available for those interested. The stuff should be on the market from May 19th. So there you go!
