Author: Robert Greenberger

Warner Home Video is readying the Blu-ray debut of [[[A Clockwork Orange]]], coming in late May, and released a new trailer for your entertainment.

Here’s the official release:

Burbank, Calif., March 31, 2011 – Stanley Kubrick was one of the great filmmakers of our time and his profound influence on motion pictures continues to this day. His 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange, starring Malcolm McDowell, portrayed an oppressive lawless society where man was reduced to little more than a machine. The film introduced into popular culture the concept of “ultra-violence,” as singing, tap-dancing, derby-topped hooligan Alex (McDowell) has a “good time” – at the tragic expense of others. His journey from amoral punk to brainwashed proper citizen and back again forms the dynamic arc of Kubrick’s future-shock vision of Anthony Burgess’ novel.

This was a powerful film made by a director at the height of his artistry and its impact generated worldwide controversy. Forty years later, the world is a different place but the film’s power still entices, shocks and mesmerizes today.

On May 31, Warner Home Video will honor Kubrick and the film with A Clockwork Orange 40th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray ($34.99 SRP). The two-disc release includes two newly-produced bonus features: Turning Like Clockwork, a 25-minute documentary about the film’s “ultra-violence” and its cultural impact, and a short documentary where Malcolm McDowell reminiscences on working closely with the legendary director. This two-disc edition will also contain the feature-length documentaries, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures and O Lucky Malcolm! The 40th Anniversary Edition will be packaged in a 40-page Blu-ray book with rare photos and production notes. (more…)

I wish I could put my finger on exactly why Marvel’s animated efforts leave me cold. Time and again the vocal casting, character design or animation displays cheap production values and they are far from entertaining. The latest such offering is [[[The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes]]], which has been airing on Disney XD and is now available in two DVDs released this week by parent company Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

The cartoons are based more on the feature film reality than the comic book source material the films were based on, but there’s enough material borrowed from the comics it feels like a mixed bag. We start with a cocky Tony Stark who chases Hydra for stealing Stark Industries technology, which was actually taken from S.H.I.E.L.D. Meantime, it’s a world of countless super-villains, captured somehow and locked away in one of four unique facilities – the Vault, the Cube, the Big House, and the Raft.

But it’s a world without the Avengers. Iron Man is the only established hero, while the Hulk is on the run, and Ant-Man and the Wasp focus entirely on scientific research, preferring to keep Nick Fury at arm’s length. Then there’s Thor, who loves Earth but doesn’t seem overly engaged with its super-villains. Meanwhile, in Africa, T’Challa has just assumed the Black Panther mantle and wants revenge against, Klaw, who was instrumental in his father’s death.

Beyond the Hydra conspiracy, Bruce Banner worries that General Thunderbolt Ross and maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. want to build their own army of Hulks. Then there’s Kang the Conqueror who blames Captain America for somehow destroying his timeline and wants to alter a sequence of events.

That’s about par for comic book storytelling but everything feels incredibly disjointed. Maybe that has something to do with its origins, with the show actually conceived as a 20-part microseries of animated tales that debuted online then became edited into 22-minute episodes for cable. Mimicking the 2012 feature film, now in production, the team is composed of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp with tons of other heroes working solo or for S.H.I.E.L.D. including Black Widow and Hawkeye (also because of the film series). (more…)

Heat Vision reports that the percolating film adaptation of  Rex Mundi, which is being produced by Johnny Depp‘s  Infinitum Nihil for Warner Bros. Pictures, has hired screenwriters. Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, who were among the credited writers for last year’s Tron: Legacy, have signed on.

The series, from Arvid Nelson and Argentinian artist Juan Ferreyra, has run a total of 38 issues, evenly split between Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. The story is all about the quest for the Holy Grail, in Europe’s dark days just before the outbreak of World War II. The difference is that this alternate reality of 1933 presumes magic is real and feudalism reigns supreme. The Protestant Reformation was crushed long before and the Catholic Church has a stranglehold over Europe.

The character’s name means King of the World when translated from the Latin and the acclaimed storyline and came about when Nelson visited Europe and the dry history lessons came to life for him. He then imagined the ancient cities and their beliefs co-existing in a more modern setting. He also applied his personal Bahá’í faith to the religious subtext making the characters unique and memorable.

At first, Nelson worked with artist Eric J. when the series debuted in 1993 but they split over creative differences and after a break, the series resumed in 2005 with Ferreyra providing the artwork. The entire run can be found in six trade editions from Dark Horse.

A movie version has been kicking around for years with Depp attached. Fight Club‘s Jim Uhls write a script five years ago but the project stalled despite talk surfacing every few years. Klugman and Sternthal share story credit on the critically reviled Tron sequel but to be fair, neither are experienced writers with Klugman better known as an actor. IMDB lists the film as coming in 2014 so there’s plenty of time to see what happens next.

In 1992, there may have been nothing bigger and more exciting than the video game [[[Mortal Kombat]]].  Wisely, Midway Games created their own universe with six realms which have unique backstories, all created by the Elder Gods. Players could manipulate their favorite surviving warrior — Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, and Jax, — and fight for survival in do-or-die tournaments.

The phenomenon was huge, spawning follow-up games, merchandise, and, of course, movies. Now available for download this week is the first Mortal Kombat film from 1995. The movie can be downloaded from iTunes and played on your iPod, phone, or tablet.

Released on August 18, it grossed $23 million and was proven critic proof. After earning over $70 million, it gave birth to 1997’s [[[Mortal Kombat: Annihilation]]]. The first film had the benefit of Paul W. S. Anderson’s early work, showing us what the director can do with action and other realities.

Warner Digital describes the movie this way: For nine generations an evil sorcerer has been victorious in hand-to-hand battle against his mortal enemies. If he wins a tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, desolation and evil will reign over the multiverse forever. To save Earth, three warriors must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, their own inner demons, and superhuman foes in this action/adventure movie based on one of the most popular video games of all time. Starring Christopher Lambert (Highlander, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan), Bridgette Wilson (Shopgirl, The Wedding Planner), Linden Ashby (Prom Night, Resident Evil: Extinction), Robin Shou (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Death Race) and Talisa Soto (Don Juan DeMarco, License to Kill). Directed by Paul Anderson (AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Death Race).

Here’s <a href=”

target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>a link to see the film’s trailer and remind yourself of the fun and excitement.

Meantime, ComicMix has one free digital download to give away. Tell us who your favorite character from the film is and why. The best answer received by Sunday at 11:59 p.m., as determined by our esteemed panel of judges, will win the download. Good luck.

[[[Empire State: A Love Story (or Not)]]]
By Jason Shiga, color by John Pham
144 pages, Abrams ComicArts, $17.95

Jason Shiga is an acclaimed artist, currently best known for his previous offering [[[Meanwhile]]]. Now he has a brand new semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Empire State. Told in either red or blue monochrome to differentiate timelines, it tells the story of a sad sack slacker, Jimmy, who finally screws up the courage to visit his best friend and object of affection, Sara, in New York City. Thinking he could see America, he buys a bus ticket where his companions and the sights are far from the idealized trip he envisioned.

The story is all about expectations, reality versus fantasy and growing up. The subtitle, A Love Story (or Not) has everything to do with Jimmy and Sara and nothing about the world either inhabits. Sara has gone to New York to work in publishing and live a glamorous life but winds up in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, unhappily reading slush. On the other hand, she has found a boyfriend, Mark, an older graphic designer she found via J-Date. When Jimmy arrives, unexpectedly as it turns out, he has to rapidly adjust his expectations.

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It’s fascinating to see the enduring appeal of C.S. Lewis’ [[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]] at a time when people poo-poo the heavy-handed religious imagery and pales in comparison to the far richer world of Middle Earth as envisioned by Lewis’ friend J.R.R. Tolkien. The films based on both series have their fans and detractors and the success of Tolkien’s trilogy paved the way for the long-overdue big budget adaptation of Narnia.

Unfortunately, Walden Media, which has been spearheading these films, has decided to aim squarely for the religious and family audiences, which has led to a look of cheapness and familiarity that has robbed the three films to date of their specialness.

Walt Disney bailed on the series after the so-so reception and box office to Prince Caspian, which many involved felt may have strayed from their targets. 20^th Century Fox stepped up and is now the studio behind the franchise and last fall released [[[The Voyage of the Dawn Traeder]]]. That film is coming to DVD on Tuesday in a variety of formats including the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy or component parts. The standard DVD was sent out for review and you will have to decide for yourself if you want the more involved versions.

Picking up three years after the last film, we find Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) packed off to stay with family, including their annoying younger cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). They long to be in America with Susan and Peter and their parent and chafe at being the youngest, notably Lucy who is on the cusp of womanhood, yearning to be pretty and attractive to the older boys in town.

As has happened before, circumstances in the land of Narnia require their attention and they are summoned through a painting of a boat at sea hanging in their dingy quarters. Eustace, of course, comes along complaining all the way. It’s mildly amusing that he continues to journal about his adventure without acknowledging that any of this is real until he inevitably accepts the situation and embraces it. But first, he has to be turned into a fire-breathing dragon.

The story hews fairly close to the third book in the series but it has a look of cheapness about it, notably the CGI dragon and some of the visual effects. The acting is adequate but none of the leads are given much of anything to do. The thin script by an army of writers provides little substance to the characters so we just move from situation to situation in a quest story to assemble seven swords and lay them at Aslan’s table.

Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) remains the comforting deus ex machina Christ figure, a part that is emphasized in the final 15 minutes as we see the barrier between Narnia and Aslan’s lands where the dead reside. Lucy and Edmund, he says, have completed their role and yet what did they really do? It was Eustace who braved the fires of Mount Doom– I mean the less imaginatively named Dark Island.  Frankly, much of the Narnia material pales in comparison, from story to character to film adaptation.

This most decidedly family fare and keep that in mind when deciding to see the film or not. While the Blu-ray disc comes loaded with extras, all you will find on the standard DVD are a commentary and a handful of deleted scenes, none of which were missed.

We have fallen in love with Natalie Portman again and again. Beginning with her debut in [[[The Professional]]], we have seen her take on a wide variety of dramatic roles that demonstrates a young woman with acting gifts. Even in the wretched [[[Star Wars]]] trilogy, she brought a gravity to Princess Amidala that went far beyond the meager scripts.  All of this seems to have prepared her for the Academy Award winning rile in [[[Black Swan]]]. At 29, she has achieved a level of depth in her work that few peers can match.

Most of her work, such as roles in Closer, Cold Mountain, and even V for Vendetta, show a somber side to Portman, almost as cold and controlled as her Nina in this film, now out on disc from 20^th Century Home Entertainment. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film is a visual treat and the psycho-sexual assault on the sense that one comes to expect from him.

Nina is a technically-perfect but emotionally cold ballerina who wins the role of the Swan Queen. Much of the film chronicles Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell) and his attempts to unlock Nina’s emotions. He does this by seducing her by degrees and telling her to seduce herself. Nina, though, can’t let go, largely because she has been raised by Erica (Barbara Hershey), who stopped dancing when she gave birth to Nina and has lived through her ever since. Nina has had issues in the past that manifest themselves anew as the pressure mounts in the weeks leading up to her premier performance.

She sees threats, she watches her body change in unimaginable ways, and even has a real or imaginary one-night stand with her perceived rival, Lilly (Mila Kunis). Her descent into madness or elevation to a higher plane of existence is masterfully portrayed by Aronofsky.

Portman makes this her signature role and despite the current kerfuffle over how much of the dancing she actually did, that’s secondary to the character she brought to life. Dancing doubles have been a fact of filmmaking for decades and this is just another tempest in a teapot. Jennifer Beals made us believe in [[[Flashdance]]] as Portman does here and that’s really what matters.

The movie looks fabulous in high definition with strong sound, which fits the subject matter. You might notice a grainy quality to some of the film that you may not have noticed on the silver screen. That has to do with Aronofsky’s choice to shoot the movie by blending 16mm Arriflex cameras and two Canon 1080p video-capable DSLRs.  It all meshes quite well, adding to the unusual feel of the story.

The Blu-ray disc is packed with several extras, beginning with “Black Swan Metamorphosis” (48:50) is the detailed production process. Bringing the dancers and characters to life is carefully explained during the three-parts, complete with plenty of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. You also get “Ten Years in the Making”, a shorter piece on the lengthy development process as told by director and star; along with a useless look at Ballet (2:33), Production Design (4:00). Star and directed each get roughly three minute profiles and short snippets on “Preparing for the Role” and “Dancing with the Camera”. There are also five cast profiles; all culled from featurettes that originally ran on Fox Movie Channel.

The harrowing viewing experience that is at turns titillating, exciting, terrifying, and moving, shows moviemaking at its finest. An original concept, well-handled, can entertain and enlighten. This one is well worth your time and attention whether or not you like ballet.