DVD/Blu-Ray Review - Iron Man: Ultimate 2 Disc Edition

The Film:

Iron Man is a new big screen adaptation and stars Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire weapons developer Tony Stark who finds himself in captivity in Afghanistan, but after managing to escape his captors, he returns home and finds he’s a changed man, one wanting to protect the people he put in harm’s way.

Iron Man ranks second behind The Dark Knight (look for extensive coverage of that release soon) as the best film of the 08 blockbuster season, one that sadly misfired more than anything else, Downey is very solid as Stark as is Jeff Bridges though some might have trouble picturing The Dude as a villain but the real surprise was Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, after many misfires with female roles in these kinds of films, Paltrow hits every note perfectly as does director Jon Favreau and the late great Stan Winston with his effects work, one could not ask for a more fitting end to an amazing screen legacy sadly cut very short: 3 and a half out of 5.

The DVD:

Iron Man comes in a new single disc and 2 disc DVD edition as well as a 2-disc Blu-Ray edition, what I am looking at here is the 2 disc DVD edition and I suppose all of you reading this are probably asking themselves this: how do I feel about it?

Well first off, lets start off with the video quality and sadly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, certain scenes such as exterior shots look very good and have a real sparkle to them but some of the scenes in Afghanistan look very rough and some of the night scenes look too similar to last year’s Transformers, one last note is the use of player generated subtitles for the Afghan spoken in the film instead of the ones burned onto theatre prints, although its not that bad this time, I do wish this practice would cease, all in all the video gets a 3 out of 5.

Despite my problems with the video, the audio is a huger step up, excellently capturing the feel of the sound mix as it was heard in theatres, from the ear device used by Jeff Bridges to the feeling of flight created by Iron Man, this mix is a very good one and should please fans: 4 and a half out of 5.

And now, onto the extras which I will breakdown disc by disc:

Disc 1:

Deleted and Extended Scenes: Presented here are 11 deleted scenes which for the most part are good and there are a couple of gems to be found here, but like most deleted scenes, these were wisely left out as the film would become bogged down and overlong if they were left in.

Disc 2:

Featurette – I am Iron Man: This is a seven part look at the making of the film similar in style to the Beginning making of on the Phantom Menace DVD, this is actually a rather solid making of as it nicely goes into the shoot in a way that isn’t normally covered on most discs for newer films, one sad note however was the interview footage with Stan Winston who died not long after the film’s release and this film rightly serves as a fitting end to an amazing legacy, this legend and titan will be truly missed.

Featurette – The Invincible Iron Man: This is a six part look at the history of the Iron Man character as well as the famous villains, heroes and storylines that have come with him throughout the years, while I enjoyed this extra I wish that the “Demon in a Bottle” segment was longer, as I would like to have known more about that story.

Featurette – Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man: This is a near half hour look at the creation of the main visual effects of the film, whilst this feature was okay, watching people sitting in front of computer monitors does get tiresome after a while.

Robert Downey Jr. Screen Tests: Here are three screen tests with Robert Downey Jr. testing for the role of Tony Stark; personally I thought Downey’s casting was spot on so thumbs up for including the tests that got him the job.

The Actors Process: Here we see Downey as well as Jeff Bridges showing us rehearsals in their roles before shooting begins, I’m actually a little indifferent to this feature for while it’s a good inclusion pits a pity that we don’t get any between Downey and Paltrow, as they made a great pair.

The Onion “Iron Man Trailer” Segment: This is a weird extra concerning a faux E! style segment discussing the buzz to the film’s trailer, just like the actors feature, this left me indifferent.

Still Galleries: Presented here are four still galleries, concerning concepts, tech, production and posters, this is actually one of the better extras on this set as you get to see some of the original concepts devised for the movie.

The Blu-Ray version:

We aren’t done yet folks for I have now had a chance to look at the Blu-Ray version and in terms of comparing it to the 2-disc DVD version, there is actually a slight tilt in favor of the Blu-Ray version as the Video Quality to me anyway, felt more natural and less filtered as the DVD version, the audio was pretty much the 5.1 track from the DVD version but remixed for HD resolution, so only a marginal increase there.

On the extras front, there are only a couple of major exclusives, first is the hall of Armour which gives viewers a chance to examine up close the various Iron Man suits in the movie, personally I think this extra does not do the suits justice as they don’t have the same element of beauty that they had in the film.

Next is a BD-Live trivia quiz, which I have not looked at and last but not least is the teaser and theatrical trailers made for the film on Disc 2, the teaser and main trailers are good but the international trailers aren’t, one gets the feeling these were left off the DVD version due to disc space reasons.

Final Thoughts:

Iron Man is a great entertainment with top notch casting and effects but whilst the current DVD and Blu-Ray versions are good, they aren’t great, one gets the feeling that there will be a better release down the track but the film itself is the reason you should buy this.

Film Review - Tightrope (1984)

Tightrope stars Clint Eastwood as New Orleans police detective Wes Block, who is also quite kinky with women, so much so that he hand cuffs them to the bed, but when a mysterious killer starts killing women from that section of the city, Block must confront his own fears in order to do his job.

Tightrope is an interesting film as it shows Eastwood, normally the action star playing a real slouch but the movie itself I found uncomfortable to watch, its not that I didn’t hate it necessarily, far from it but I’ve never really been a fan of the use of sex in the movies and this did little to change that opinion.

Apart from all that, 3 out of 5 for Tightrope.

Editorial - Blu-Ray Disc: Cutting through the Kool-Aid

Continuing with my annual series of editorial features, I now aim my sights at the new Blu-Ray disc format and debate whether I feel it will succeed DVD as the next new format or not, cutting through the PR kool-aid as it were.

And to be fully honest, my answer actually divides two ways, on one hand Blu-Ray gaming which is in use on the PS3 discs I feel will very much outdo DVD gaming which is used by the PC and Xbox 360 formats due to the larger disc space, GTA IV’s Liberty City on the PS3 to me was very immersive and had some incredible detail and look, especially at night.

But on the other hand, Blu-Ray as a format for films sad to say is not that big of a leap over the current DVD format, which when introduced was a huge leap over VHS and lets face it, VHS was a very limited format, big tapes, a modified picture instead of the true widescreen picture and wear and tear on tapes.

DVD on the other hand, had the widescreen picture as it was in theatres, digital surround sound, interactive menus, chapter selections and for the first time, the ability to see making of documentaries and deleted scenes and other such extra material.

Blu-Ray only really refines that to include more interactive material and take a 2 disc set like the one made for Bonnie and Clyde to use as an example and fit it on one disc, which I like and think is a cool idea but in terms of Audio/Visual improvements, to me it was razor thin between this and an upscaled DVD and as a friend pointed out to me, its also the same movie, whether you loved it or hated it.

And its also how I would describe this format in terms of films, Blu-Ray just feels like a razor thin improvement and not that great big of a leap over DVD as that format was over VHS, I know this won’t win me many friends but its just one persons honest opinion.

Film Review - Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg in the title role of Shaun, an electronics worker in the suburbs of London and whose girlfriend is starting to hate him because of his roommate Ed, played by Nick Frost, but one day things in this suburb start to get a little unusual.

Compared to Hot Fuzz, which would come three years after this film, I didn’t enjoy Shaun as much, I felt that the storyline felt like a movie version of their TV series Spaced but with zombies added in and I also felt that the mix of comedy and horror didn’t quite work, but it wasn’t a bad film by any means, it was one I felt that was a little uneven.

In closing, 3 out of 5 for Shaun of the Dead.

Film Review - Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future was first released in 1985 and stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a teenager who accidentally travels through time to 1955 and also accidentally prevents his parents first meeting, and if he doesn’t get them together soon, he won’t even exist.

Like some other movies I’ve reviewed, this one was 50/50 for me, I really enjoyed the performances by Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as his friend who helps him to get back home and I also enjoyed the brisk pace and sweet yet sincere tone the film has.

But I also felt that the film was a little bit of its time, the film was made in the time where Steven Spielberg and John Hughes ruled the box office and although they’ve made some good films on they’re own terms, the mix of the two in terms of ideas I felt detracted slightly from the film.

Out of 5, I give it a 3 and a half, Fox and Lloyd are great but the story leapfrogged a little too much at times.

Film Review - Doomsday (2008)

Doomsday is a British movie which concerns a lethal virus that spreads throughout the UK so badly that Scotland is quarantined, but 25 years later there are rumors of survivors so newcomer Rhona Mitra is assigned a special strike team to clarify the truth, but what they find is not what they seemed.

It saddens me to say this, but this movie was a huge disappointment, it started it off well but when it went into the Mad Max stuff with one character almost a clone of Wez from Mad Max 2, the film went downhill very quickly and turned into another Mad Max imitation.

All in all, a 1 out of 5, as the film left me very disappointed in the end.

Film Review - Mars Attacks! (1996)

Mars Attacks! stars an all star cast of Hollywood stars including Jack Nicholson in a dual role, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox and Sarah Jessica Parker among others as Martians invade Earth and decide to demolish it as well as kill all humans, including all the sexy mamas.

And by the judging the tone, I actually loved Mars Attacks, it has a great sense of style and humor and it also contains the first instance of the head in a jar later seen in Futurama, although you have a cavalcade of stars, the real stars were Annette Bening as a hippie and Frank Welker doing all of the Martian vocals also helps to steal the show.

All in all, a firm 4 out of 5 for Mars Attacks, great fun.