Mystery Team (2009)

Mystery Team is the first feature fim from the internet comedy group Derrick Comedy (the dudes that brought you bro rape). It's a hit and miss affair that works far more often than it doesn't, offering up consistent laughs for an hour and a half.

The Mystery Team consist of  three 18 year old "detectives." Jason, the "master of disguise" (Donald Glover, Community) Duncan, the "boy genius" (D.C. Pierson) and Charlie, the "strongest kid in the town" (Dominic Dierkes). They have been solving low level "crimes" (i.e. who put their finger in an elderly woman's pie) since they were 7 years old. When a murder occurs in their neighborhood they attempt to solve the crime and prove to everyone that they are real detectives.

I'm a fan of Community and NBC's Thursday night comedy in general (there are numerous familiar faces that pop up throughout the movie) but have only seen a few Derrick Comedy sketches. I was interested to see if they could pull off a full length movie. There is a very strong focus on gross out gags with plenty of dumb (but undeniably funny) comedy on display. Not everything works and the pace of the movie drags when they focus on the plot instead of jokes but for the most part the movie is a success. Glover is the most familiar face and he gives the most memorable performance but the whole cast does show some excellent comedic skills throughout. There's not a whole lot of overly memorable stuff and the move is rarely laugh out loud funny but it is consistently humorous and very clever in spots. This is not highbrow comedy by any means but there is enough imagination involved to keep it from being the lowest common denominator too.

Mystery Team is worth checking out for some easy laughs and shows the promise the Derrick Comedy group has overall. It's a worthwhile film debut that should be viewed with limited expectations but could easily establish a large cult following in the future.

Rating: 3/5

Stagecoach: Blu-ray (1939)

John Ford's Stagecoach is one of the most influential films of all time. Orson Welles reportedly viewed it around 40 times while making Citizen Kane in order to watch a perfect example of filmmaking. It's the movie that made John Wayne a star and helped reestablish the western as a commercially successful genre in the sound era (they had become low budget B-movies at this point). Stagecoach features and establishes what would become (for better or for worse) archetypes of the western genre. There's the hero who lives on the outside of the law, the hooker with the heart of gold, the alcoholic doctor, the evil banker, the sheriff who struggles with balancing his personal feelings and his commitment to the law and the portrayal of Native Americans as savage killers.

Stagecoach is also far more than just a historical document. All the characters are brought together in a tightly paced and impeccably shot movie that still ranks as one of the finest westerns off all time. The performances by the entire cast are excellent and Wayne's screen presence is extremely powerful, even in his younger years. The introductory crane shot of his character is legendary and an extended action sequence involving an Cherokee attack on the stagecoach is one of the most exciting action scenes of the black and white era. The characters are all developed and the movie's pace never drags. Ford is one of the most highly regarded directors of all time and this is where his legacy was really established.

The blu-ray is about as high quality as anyone could hope for. It must be kept in mind that the movie over 60 years old and the original print was destroyed long ago. There are plenty of scratches throughout the film and detail is good but not great even compared to other blu-ray's from this time period (M, The General). It still looks pretty damn good but expectations should be kept in check. Audio wise it comes with a standard mono track that doesn't have any annoying scratches and is a clear and faithful representation of the film.

Stagecoach is obviously a very important film but even beyond it's historical impact it's an enjoyable and exciting movie that holds up very well today. The blu-ray is probably as good a presentation that we will ever see and is well worth checking out for anyone interested in film history or great westerns in general.

Ratings:
Movie: 5/5
Blu-ray: 4/5

Mid-Week Video: Drive-By Truckers - "This Fucking Job"

My apologies for the language but I don't fucking believe in censorship. Here's the dirty version of this video from The Drive-By Truckers new album The Big To-Do. In this case dirty means they show the word "fuck" in the beginning and don't edit it out during the song. Anyway it's a pretty fucking sweet video/short film. Well now I'm just being fucking juvenile and crass and it's lost it's fucking luster. Fuck.

Mid-Week Video: The Black Keys - "Tighten Up" official video.

While the Black Keys previously released a video for "Tighten Up" the lead single off the new album Brothers it apparently wasn't official. This one is and it's pretty sweet. I'm a big fan of violent children and beautiful women and it's got both, enjoy. 


The Black Keys "Tighten Up"

The Black Keys | MySpace Music Videos

The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street Remastered Edition (1972, RM 2010)

As I noted in my Rolling Stone album ratings earlier this week, I think Exile on Main Street is one of the 5 greatest albums of all time, by any artist. It's a messy, shambolic run through a batch of styles that run together in an amazing fashion to create an album that is the definitive "grower" in rock history. The sound of Exile is one of it's most distinguishing features and also a reason that a full blown remaster of it is tricky. Cleaning the album up too much could easily rob it of some of it's mystique. For these reasons I was excited but skeptical when this remastered version was announced. I do have to admit that I have never heard an original vinyl pressing and all of my experience comes from the 1994 CD mix so that's what I'm basing my everything on.

The album is noticeably cleaner and longtime fans my cry foul. Jagger's vocals are predominantly higher in the mix throughout and from when female backup singers are used (at least half the tracks) they can almost overpower everything else. Guitars are definitely crisper and in general individual instruments are easier to pick out than before. That's not to say they ruined the album or anything, the songs are all far too great for the mix to be of great importance. If anything they have made the album sound much more immediate and I can easily see newcomers and casual fans preferring this mix to the old muddy one. As for me, I don't think at this point there's much that could diminish Exile in my eyes. The remastered version is probably what I'll put on my Ipod as the volume will now be closer to most everything else.

In addition to the remastered proper album there is a bonus disc with 10 "undiscovered" songs. There have been some overdubs made to all of them but the band claims to have tried to leave them as found as possible. None of them are on the level of what made the album but they are all more than just curiosities as well. "Pass the Wine (Sophia Loren)" has been heavily bootlegged for years and it is the vein of War's "Spill the Wine." "Plundered My Soul" is a decent mid-tempo rock song with newly recorded backup vocals that was the choice for a "new" single. "I'm Not Signifying" (also heavily bootlegged) is a pretty sweet country-blues that probably wouldn't have fit on the album but should have been revisited before now. The slow gospel of "Following the River" doesn't approach the Stones best ballads but it's not a bad tune by any means, though it does feel terribly overproduced. "Dancing in the Light" is a fun track that features the Stones at their most loose. "So Divine (Aladdin Story)" is basically a slow version of "Paint it Black" with horns substituting for Brian Jones' sitar. Alternate version of "Loving Cup" and a Keith sung "Soul Survivor" offer interesting vies of the songs development. "Good Time Women" is an early far lesser version of "Tumbling Dice." Finally "Title 5" is an apparently unfinished instrumental that is short but fun.

Exile on Main Street is a masterpiece no matter what mix you're listening too. Whether it's worth people buying is hard to say. Hardcore fans will want the bonus tracks but may be put off by the cleanliness. Newcomers will likely find it more immediate and closer in line to what they expect the Stones to sound like. Either way anyone with a interest in rock and roll should a copy of at least some version.

It Happened One Night (1934)

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert star in this early Frank Capra screwball comedy/road trip film. It Happened One Night swept the big five categories at the Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay). Overall the movie has aged pretty well and the chemistry between the leads is undeniable. Gable in particular shows off great comedic skills that were rarely seen throughout his career. The famous hitchhiking scene is worth the price of admission alone and even if the movie isn't a laugh riot from start to finish, it's always entertaining. Also notable is that Bugs Bunny creator Friz Freling was a big fan of the film and some characters and scenes are very likely the inspiration for Bugs.

Rating: 4/5

Ranking the Albums: The Rolling Stones Version

If it seems like The Rolling Stones have been around forever it's because they have. The self-described "Best Rock and Roll Band in the World" have gone through numerous stylistic and lineup changes in their storied history. They've managed to stay at least somewhat relevant for almost 50 years, while reinventing themselves on numerous occasions. The core of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts have been mainstays but the three main second guitarists, Brian Jones (who also played a myriad of other instruments), Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood all made extremely valued contributions while longtime bassist Bill Wyman laid down the bottom end for all of the bands classic period. I believe the Stones are the ultimate pure rock band. Even with the experimentation that would hold back (in my eyes) much of their post 70's work they've always maintained a strong sense of pure straight forward blues based rock. I know a lot of people of my age and younger don't care for their music or simply think of them as a overplayed nostalgia act but I would guess most of those opinions are based on 20 or songs that are classic rock radio staples. There's a lot more depth to their best work than what gets played on the radio and that will be the focus of this entry. With Tuesdays reissue of their classic album, Exile on Main Street this is as good a time as any to rank the best of their studio work. It should be noted that the Stones early discography is complicated. There are a lot differences between the American and British releases and for this post I will be going off the American versions.

Weekend Video: The Jayhawks "Let The Critics Wonder"

Legendary Minnesota band The Jayhawks long-lost 1986 debut record The Bunkhouse Tapes is being reissued on Tuesday by Lost Highway Records. In a quick preview they have also released a couple old videos of the band playing a pig roast (yeah, a pig roast). Check out the band rocking "Let the Critics Wonder" in all it's low quality live glory.

Edge of Darkness: Blu-ray (2010)

It's hard to believe that Mel Gibson hadn't starred in a movie since 2002 before Edge of Darkness hit theaters earlier this year. Between directing The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto and his personal issues he was never really out of the public spotlight. Edge of Darkness isn't going to reestablish Mel as a major star but it does show that he can still carry a movie pretty much by himself.

Boston cop Thomas Craven (Gibson) has just picked up his daughter Emma (Bojana Novaovic) as she returns home for a rare visit. Emma immediately becomes ill but on the way to the hospital she is shot and killed right in Thomas' arms. Everyone assumes that the shooter was intending to kill Thomas and missed but the investigation into the crime does not go exactly as planned.

Edge of Darkness is a decent but ultimately unremarkable revenge thriller/conspiracy movie. It's adapted from the BBC TV series of the same name and it really feels like director Martin Campbell (who directed the TV series as well) tried to fit far too much into a 2 hour movie. There's just too much going on to really get into any aspect of it. For a movie that's billed as a action oriented revenge thriller, it really is quite talky. There is just far too much exposition going on at almost all times and the pace can really drag. Cutting one or two of the subplots could have really benefited the film.

With all that aside the movie is defintaley not a total loss. Gibson hasn't lost his acting ability at all. He gives a very strong performance and is still a commanding presence on screen. He is in nearly every scene and shows no ill effects of his time away from being on screen. Ray Winstone also shines in a supporting performance as a "consultant" who may or may not be on Craven's side. Another big positive is that the action scenes are very well done and exciting. Campbell has a good eye for delivering effective action sequences and the movies bursts of violence can be jarring in a very good way.

The blu-ray is a solid but unspectacular representation of a solid but unspectacular film. The video style is dark and representative of the overall mood. Detail is strong throughout and any softness in the video would seem to be the result of the shooting style. It's not a movie that is going to be a visual marvel but it does fit the overall feel of the film. The audio track is surprisingly front heavy. Dialogue is always the focus of the film and it comes through clearly. The action sequences do open up with heavy surround use and strong low end. The power behind these scenes is in direct contrast with the quieter nature of the track and are very effective when their eruption occurs.

Edge of Darkness is worth seeing for Gibson's return to a starring role but the film is held back by inconsistencies in the pacing and by being stretched too tin overall. It's good enough for a rental but hardly necessary.

Ratings
Movie: 3/5
Blu-ray 4/5

Saving Private Ryan: Blu-ray (1998)

What can really be said about Saving Private Ryan at this point? Anyone with an interest in seeing it already has (likely multiple times). It's one of the best war movies of all time. Harrowingly violent, emotionally involving, superbly directed by Steven Spielberg and exceptionally acted by the entire ensemble cast, there's no denying it's lasting power and appeal. That's why the recent release of it on blu-ray is a giant occasion.

The disc does not disappoint. The video transfer is impeccable. The look of the film isn't going to blow you away with bright colors or it's a extremely accurate representation. The intended style of the video is very gritty and realistic and the transfer represents that extremely well. Colors are generally washed out, leaning toward gray's and there is a fair amount of grain present throughout the film. Detail is far more revealing than past DVD versions, with individual rubble from destructed buildings and previously unnoticeable uniform components being notable. The few times bright colors are present they stand out exceptionally well. There are a few instances in the movie when clarity is a bit soft but that is how Spielberg intended it to look. Perhaps most importantly black levels are very strong and there is no noticeable bleeding that takes place at any point.

The Audio is even better than the video. When Saving Private Ryan was released on DVD in 1999 it set a new standard for an audio track on home video. While the DTS-HD MA track included here isn't going to blow away other newer flicks available on the format it's still of reference quality. First and foremost the action scenes are entirely engrossing. Surround use is constant and low end is powerful. Directionality is always accurate and bullets whiz by at a almost non-stop pace. Dialogue can get lost a bit during the most hectic moments but that is more than likely attributed to the realistic way the movie is presented. The quieter moments of the film are just as fantastic. Here dialogue is never lost in the mix and is always extremely clear and audible. Even in the non action sequences surround use is still very heavy. There is almost always something happening in the way of atmosphere, whether it's the sound of voices being heard in camps or bullets in the background or even just the sounds of nature the viewer is always involved in the middle.

There's not enough good things to say about the movie and the blu-ray certainly does it justice. Well worth the upgrade from DVD, Saving Private Ryan is a must own disc.

Ratings:
Movie: 5/5
Blu-ray: 5/5

Tetro: Blu-ray (2009)

Tetro is the newest movie from acclaimed writer/director Francis Ford Coppola. A far cry from his 70's masterpieces like The Godfather 1 & 2, Apocalypse Now and The Conversation, it's an intriguing but flawed look at familial relationships.

18 year old Bennie (outstanding newcomer Alden Ehrenrich) hasn't seen his brother Tetro (Vincent Gallo) in years. Tetro disappeared long ago and hasn't been in touch ever since. When Bennie gets a chance to unexpectedly drop in on Tetro and his girlfriend Miranda (Maribel Verdu) he does so hoping to find the reasons behind Tetro's departure and to reestablish a bond that was broken long ago. Tetro's life is a mystery and that's the way he wants to keep it. It's up to Bennie to find out what he wants to know without upsetting his volatile brother too much.

Coppola the director is in fine form throughout the movie. The camerawork is exquisite with numerous beautiful and inventive shots scattered throughout the movie. The entire film is wonderful to look at, from simple inside areas to large pans of the Buenos Aries landscape. Unfortunately Coppola's work as a writer is much more of a letdown. While the characters are all well rounded and fully realized, there is just no real emotional connection to any of them. Tetro's mysteriousness is much more of a turn off than it is intriguing and it's unclear what really makes others so drawn to him. The movie also goes on for far too long, 2 hours and 10 minutes is just too much time for about an hours worth of story. Add in the character development and the movie would have worked far better at an hour and a half.

The performances are uniformly excellent. Gallo is not one of my favorite actors by any means and I found his performance to be hit and miss but with what he's given I thought he was fine. The real star is Uhrenreich, he portays wide eyed and innocent very well but also goes to darker places with great effectiveness. It's easy to see why his performance is compared to a young DiCaprio (plus they really do look alike). The rest of the supporting cast is excellent as well.

Much like the movie the blu-ray is technically amazing. The black and white scenes looks fantastic. Blacks are deep and powerful yet easily distinguishable between background and foreground things like hair and clothing. There is no bleeding at any point. The small amount of scenes in color look fantastic as well but they are heightened beyond realistic levels. Detail is always superb and while there is a light grain visible at almost all times, it is never distracting. For a dialogue driven move Tetro packs a pretty powerful audio punch. The jazz and classical compositions that make up the soundtrack sound great. They are very full and impactful. There is not a lot in the way of surround use but when it does happen directionality is spot on and it sounds very natural. Dialogue is always clear and I did not have to adjust the volume at all during viewing.

There's a lot of really good things about Tetro - mostly falling on the technical side - and it's Coppola's best movie in quite a while but the lack of emotional involvement and the bloated length hold it back significantly. It's probably still worth seeing to see a great director at work but I doubt anyone will be blown away with it.

Ratings:
Movie: 3/5
Blu-ray: 4.5/5

Post Weekend Video: The Hold Steady - "The Weekenders" Live on Letterman

The Hold Steady's new album Heaven is Whenever releases tomorrow, buy it. Here they are playing "The Weekenders" on Friday nights "Late Show With David Letterman." That is all.