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Cinema Scoop  

New out on DVD/Blu-ray this week

New out on DVD/Blu-ray for Tuesday July 16.

     42

This bio-pic tells the story of two men - the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey - whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous colour barrier. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking - ultimately winning over the fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow.

I absolutely loved this movie. This wonderful film isn't exactly a traditional bio-pic in that it doesn't really give us any information about Jackie Robinson's childhood or the events leading up to his recruitment by Branch Rickey. It isn't his life story if you will, but instead a snapshot of a pivotal time period in history. I'm totally fine with this structure because in order to do his life's story justice, you would need a multi-episode mini-series. Here we see him come up through the ranks of the Negro League, the minors, and eventually the moment when he dons his iconic Number 42 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. We also get a glimpse of his whirlwind romance that led to his marriage to his wonderful wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie), who served as the stabilizing force in Jackie's life.

The real heart of this picture, however, is the relationship that Jackie develops with Branch Rickey and the obstacles that he had to overcome to be fully accepted in the white world of baseball. The performances in this film are fabulous. Chadwick Boseman does a really good job capturing the essence of Jackie Robinson and the quiet restraint that he had to exhibit. He was an intelligent man who had no choice but to repress his natural instinct to fight back in the face of horrific prejudice and torment. He showcases a tremendous amount of dignity, grace and humility despite the utter anguish and frustration that he feels inside. At times it was heartbreaking to see the kind of ignorant crap that he had to put up with. The real revelation for me though was Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. He put such a smile on my face as he chewed through the scenery playing the role with so much gusto and bravado. This is easily my favourite performance of his in over 20 years and I sincerely hope that the Academy remembers this film when they are filling out their ballots next year for Best Supporting Actor.

Director Brian Helgeland (Payback, A Knight's Tale) does an excellent job of navigating us through the major points in Jackie's journey to the Brooklyn Dodgers and his place in history. Sure, it has some of the typical sports movie clichés along the way, but I was so emotionally invested that it didn't bother me at all. At times I wanted to cry, then laugh, then cheer, but ultimately the biggest compliment that I can pay the film is that I really didn't want it to end. I would have loved to spend another hour with Jackie, Branch and the rest of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I can totally see why Jackie Robinson was such a hero to the youth at that time, especially young black boys who dreamt of being a part of something that they weren't allowed to be at the time. Heck, maybe he even inspired a young black boy to think that he might become President one day. It's amazing how far society has come since those days and it can all be traced back to one humble man who knew how to play the game of baseball really well.

I sincerely hope that everyone seeks out this superb and important film about the incredible Jackie Robinson because it symbolizes how far we have come regarding tolerance, but also because it might inspire the next generation to realize that we still have a ways to go in regards to today's current social issues. This should be seen by people of all ages.

42 is definitely a home run in my books.

     Evil Dead

Five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

It's been 32 years since director Sam Raimi burst onto the scene with the all-time cult classic horror film The Evil Dead. Being a pretty big fan of that film, as well as its two sequels Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, had my curiosity piqued somewhat for this remake. This new version is directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez, who was hand chosen by Sam Raimi after the famous director saw a YouTube short film that Alvarez had made called Panic Attack! Raimi and Bruce Campbell, who starred in the original trilogy, decided to produce this remake and Alvarez wrote the screenplay with some assistance from award-winning screewriter Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult). Alvarez clearly wanted to eschew the campiness of the original and go for a straight forward horror approach featuring nothing but relentless terror and dread. Ok I thought, sign me up to be shocked, frightened and disturbed. Sadly though, after watching Evil Dead, I was neither shocked, nor frightened, and only mildly disturbed. My instant reaction to this new version was mostly... meh!

The state of horror films these days seems to be on a continuous decline. Perhaps I've become so desensitized to almost everything I see now because I've pretty much seen it all. It seems like today's generation of horror filmmakers think the audience will get off on seeing a bunch of attractive young people put through various stages of torture and self mutilation whilst providing copious amounts of blood and gore in order to shock and horrify them. The problem I have is that I'm never invested in these characters, so when bad things happen to them it has little to no impact on me and it feels empty and hollow. I desperately wanted Evil Dead to toy with my expectations, much like last year's Cabin in the Woods did, or shock and repulse me like 2008's Martyrs did, or at the very least create some type of atmosphere and tension like Sinister or The House of the Devil. Unfortunately, Evil Dead came up short in these areas, but it did provide some spectacular gore effects for those of you who care about that kind of thing.

Look, it's nearly impossible for me not to compare this movie to the original, and even though Alvarez's version is slickly produced with well staged gory set pieces, it lacked the low-budget charm and wit of the Raimi classic, not to mention some of the unique and creative camera work that really gave it some atmosphere and made it stand out. There is no character in this film that even comes close to being as interesting as Bruce Campbell's Ash was in the original. The performances here are acceptable, but each character is essentially interchangeable and no one really grabbed my attention.

I was fairly disappointed with Evil Dead and what I missed most was that sense of fun that I had when watching the originals. I know that the tone of this is meant to be serious but I would have appreciated at least a couple of moments of levity. There were none. Overall, it's just a slicked-up, but ultimately hollow shell of its predecessor's self.

This one is strictly for hardcore horror nuts.

     Bullet to the Head

In this film, based on a French graphic novel, a hitman (Sylvester Stallone) teams with a young Washington D.C. detective (Sung Kang) in a high-stakes investigation that leads from dingy back alleys all the way to the power corridors of New Orleans. The unlikely duo, brought together by two vicious murders, take on all who stand in their way, willing to sacrifice everything to exact revenge.

66-year-old action star Sylvester Stallone stars in 71-year-old director Walter Hill's (Hard Times, The Warriors, 48 Hrs.) latest effort, and to say that this is pretty tired and old material is an understatement. This gritty cop actioner is standard issue fare circa late 80s, early 90s and it really doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Bullet to the Head is a hard hitting, violent film that is short on laughs and heavy on the gunplay, so if you are a big fan of these types of team-up shows then you may garner some enjoyment out of it. The performances are less than stellar though, but I suspect anyone watching this will likely not care all that much. One highlight of the film is a totally badass axe fight between Stallone and the main heavy of the film, Jason Mamoa (Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones). It's not super long, but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

Look, I'm not going to tell you that this is a really good movie at all, but I've seen a whole lot worse, and if you are in the mood for some brutal violence and action then you might want to give Stallone's latest a look. Just keep your expectations in check.

Also out this week is the highly acclaimed British drama Wild Bill, the excellent Korean true story called Silenced, the horror thriller Bad Kids Go to Hell, the 2nd season of Hell on Wheels, the 5th season of Damages, and the 3rd season of the BBC series Misfits.

New out on DVD/Blu-ray is brought to you by Leo's Videos, 2680 Pandosy St. (250) 861-8437

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Just to give you a little background on my qualifications, I've been a film buff my whole life and I enjoy all different genres.

I especially have a passion for classic cinema.

I spent most of the past 17 years working for Rogers Video, so not only have I seen an immense amount of movies, but I've recommended many films to people over the years.



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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