Amy Sorlie is the writer of the new shark thriller “Dark Tide”, which stars Halle Berry. “Dark Tide” was the first screenplay from Amy and she took out some time with Media Mikes to discuss working on the film.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about the origin of the project “Dark Tide”?
Amy Sorlie: From a very young age, I was always very fascinated with sharks, especially Great Whites. They’re extremely mysterious creatures and provoke a fear unlike anything else. Like so many others, I was deeply affected by Spielberg’s JAWS and wanted to try and tap into the fear and write a really authentic shark film.

MG: What did you do in order to research sharks?
AS: Halle Berry plays a shark biologist who studies Great Whites. Through knowing their mannerisms and behavior, she has cornered the market on being able to swim outside the cage with them. I did quite a bit of research in the first initial drafts, but it was fun research for me and something I’ve always been interested in. I did a cage dive at the Farallon Islands and that was an amazing experience. I already had a lot of shark knowledge, so most of the research was in dealing with the locations and setting of the film.

MG: This was your first script, what was your biggest challenge?
AS: I think the biggest challenge was just taking it all in when Halle came on board and wrapping my head around the movie actually happening. The ramp up to production was really difficult because it fell apart a number of times and then everything happened so fast. That age old saying is true – once they pay you, they can do whatever they want. I think something that’s hard about the first one is that you’re trying to please everyone while attempting to protect the script, which is a balancing act. In the end, you just have to let go because some things are just out of the writer’s control.

MG: How do you feel the script was represented in the film?
AS: Ya know, this is a tough one. On one hand, I ‘m happy the film got made, but on the other, it’s always really difficult to see your work changed. It’s something every screenwriter will experience in their career and it would be dishonest to say I’m 100% happy with the final script. I think it had a lot of problems and the writer they brought in to do the production rewrite really didn’t have a strong understanding of the material. And unfortunately, some of the financial people involved were making creative choices and that’s always kind of a recipe for disaster. That said, it’s my first produced movie and I learned a great deal of what to do, what not to do and what’s out of my hands. I get compliments on my original screenplay all the time, so at the end of the day, that makes me really happy.

MG: What do you have planned next?
AS: I’m about to hit the market with a new script I just finished. It’s a really fun heist in the vein of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I’m also shopping a cable pilot and working on a wilderness thriller with producer Matt Baer.

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Directors: Jason Woliner, Eric Appel, Jay Karas
Starring: Chris Elliot, Maria Thayer, Brett Gelman
Distributed by Adult Swim
Running Time: 134 minutes

Season 1: 4 out of 5 stars
Extra: 4 out of 5 stars

“Eagleheart: Season 1” tells the story of bumbling U.S. Marshall Chris Monsanto (Chris Elliot) and his equally incompetent partners Susie Wagner (Maria Thayer) and Brett Mobley (Brett Gelman). Together the three carry out justice in a way that can only be found in a show produced by Conan O’Brien and shown on Adult Swim. Filled with slapstick humor, gore and the occasional parody “Eagleheart: Season 1” delivers.

The cast and crew involved with this show have a real top notch product on their hands. Even though most of the 12 episodes included in season 1 clock in at just under 15 minutes each episode is packed full of pure goodness. Chris Elliot and crew turn in some hysterical performances while the special effects department appears to be at the top of their game providing a number of over the top blood filled explosions. It was hard to pick just a few episodes to focus on for my review as I truly enjoyed them all. I found Brett Gelman to be the unsung hero of the show and even though his lines were somewhat limited the ones he did have were nothing but side splittingly funny. Maria Thayer does a good job as the somewhat confused voice of reason that only further compliments Elliot and Gelman throughout each episode.

The Special Features portion of the DVD had everything you could ask for in a Special Features section. Deleted scenes, commentary tracks and a kill reel are just a few of the things found in this section. My personal favorite was the scenes of the unaired pilot which feature a much different storyline coupled with an appearance from Conan O’Brien. If you are a fan of gore filled comedic police dramas then you will surely want to pick up a copy of “Eagleheart: Season 1”.

Starring: Phil Collins
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Blu-ray (1 disc) & DVD (2-disc set)
Total Running Time: 231 minutes

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In the beginning…there was Genesis. And they had a drummer. And he was a good drummer.

Yes…it’s easy to forget that the drummer for Genesis – throughout their Peter Gabriel-fronted early progressive rock era and the subsequent trio-based years – was Phil Collins. In fact, it’s easy to completely forget that he’s a drummer at all, given the incredible number of pop hits he managed to dish out over the course of his decades-long solo career in which he was primarily known for his singing voice and the slew of MTV-era music videos that rarely showed him behind a kit.

“Phil Collins: Live at Montreux 2004” immediately seizes the opportunity to remind us that the guy is a powerhouse percussionist. Instead of starting the show by jumping into the role of the chart-topping solo vocalist, he takes a seat on the drummer’s throne and bashes away at a solo that’s impressive in its own right. But wait…there’s more! Another drummer joins in to make things more rhythmically complex.  And by the time a third drummer joins in, the whole affair has become a joyous bombastic escapade that leaves Phil covered with sweat and a beaming smile.  And he hasn’t even sung a single note yet.

As soon as the drumming circle concludes, Collins takes center stage and the journey through his greatest hits begins. Even though his solo career often produced some corny clunkers (you know the wer-HERRRRD: sus-sus-sudio!) and sappy ballads, it’s undeniable that so many of his hits are damn good songs. (Go ahead. Just try to not get into the groove of “I Missed Again” and “Easy Lover”. I dare you.)

Of course, the delivery of the 24-song live set has a lot to do with a 16-member backing band that is comprised of some truly amazing musicians – some of whom have been with Collins for quite some time. They’re quite a versatile lot that knows how to propel energetic songs and recede during quieter ballads such as “A Groovy Kind of Love” and “Against All Odds”. Collins has a little trouble hitting the highest of highs that were present on the original studio tracks, but he and his musical crew have such a command of solidly delivering the material that it doesn’t matter. Phil’s dynamic energy is invigorating and his ability to jump from being a smooth crooner to a jump and jiver is so effortless that it’s hard not to get engrossed in his performance. But, above all else, it seems like he’s still having a grand time singing songs that he’s performed countless times over the decades.

Even though the 2-hour plus 2004 show easily provides more than enough material to satisfy, a 13-song 1996 show that was also recorded at Montreux is also included. Looking at the track list, it seems that the vast majority of the tracks from this gig are redundant with the ones that are included in the 2004 concert.  This immediately begs the question “Why even bother including it at all?” But, from note one, it becomes quite clear why it has been added: all of the songs are big band-style reinterpretations of Phil’s solo songs along with some Genesis and classic jazz covers thrown in for good measure. As a result, many songs are performed sans vocals and, because it’s a Montreux Jazz Festival show, special guest appearances by legendary performers happen throughout. David Sanborn lends his supreme saxophone skills to handle the vocal line of “In the Air Tonight”, Quincy Jones conducts a group of orchestral musicians and the one-and-only Tony Bennett adds his unmistakable swagger to the jazz standard “There’ll Be Some Changes Made”. Sure, some of the instrumental versions of the slower ballads might better suited for the confines of an elevator, but everybody onstage – including drummer Phil – seems to be having such a blast transforming Collins’ songs, that the program manages to be a lot of fun even during its sleepiest moments.  The audio quality of the entire 1996 show, however, has some MAJOR problems.  But we’ll cover that soon enough…

“Phil Collins: Live at Montreux” is available as a one-disc Blu-ray and a two-disc DVD set. The 2004 show was filmed in high-definition (1080i), so the Blu’s image quality is far superior to the DVD’s. The 1996 show was recorded in standard definition and, as such, there’s not much of an appreciable visual difference between the two editions for this segment of the program. Unfortunately, even though the big band show should be presented in 4:3, it defaults to 16:9 during playback which makes Phil and his cohorts appear short and wide. Be sure to pop your TV/monitor into 4:3 to correct this technical error: those “annoying black bars” on the left and right of the screen help to make the show look more like a concert and less like an Oompa Loompa outtake from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”.

The audio options for the Blu-ray and the DVD are pretty much what we’ve come to expect from live concert discs: Dolby Digital 5.1 for both, DTS-HD for the Blu and standard DTS for the DVD. All are sufficient for the 2004 show, although the drum track (especially the low-end of the kick drum) seems a little less defined and present in the mix than one would hope for and expect and the bass track is rather heavy and is frequently somewhat muddy. On the whole, it’s quite listenable and will probably only bug audiophile listeners. The audio for the 1996 show,  for any set of ears, leaves a lot to be desired as it gets jarringly compressed and distorted – even on the Blu-ray – when the band’s dynamics reach a loud fever pitch.  Just because Phil himself states at the beginning of the 1996 show that “We’re going to play my shit…but differently” doesn’t mean that it should sound like shit. How a glitch this major made it past Eagle Rock Entertainment’s mastering engineers and quality control department is beyond comprehension.

Despite these technical shortcomings, the 2004 part of “Phil Collins: Live at Montreaux 2004” is easily the best Phil Collins greatest hits collection on the market and should please long-time fans as well as those two or three living beings in the animal kingdom who aren’t familiar with his music. Given that Collins retired from performing soon after this show, it’s great to have a most-filling (although not always aurally satisfying) retrospective that showcases a truly talented singer and – lest we forget – one hell of a drummer.

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Peter Cilella stars in the upcoming film “Resolution” which will be part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Media Mikes talked with Peter recently about his role in the film.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about the film “Resolution”?
Peter Cilella: This film is about a guy who goes out to a cabin in the middle of nowhere to get his friend clean from drugs. My character takes drastic measures to get him clean. Throughout the course of the movie we each deal with personal demons and without giving too much away there is something else out there. The movie is about different controls in our lives. I think this is something everyone can relate to even when it veers off onto an odd path.

AL: What drew you to the role?
PC: I am friends with Justin Benson who wrote and co-directed the film. I had done a bunch of short projects with him and I had also worked previously with Vinny Curran who is the other lead actor in the film. We felt that we had a good chemistry and everything worked. Justin had wanted to do a feature and I suggested to him about setting this film out in the middle of nowhere. A couple months later he had the script and money. It’s really nice to get to work with people who actually walk the walk. I am very fortunate to have such a good friendship with these guys.

AL: I know you have done a lot of stage work in the past. Did you find it difficult transitioning from stage to screen work?
PC: I think the length of time we were away on location was the hardest part. We shot the film in about 20 days. Being immersed to that degree was different. I had done shorter commercial shoots and short film shoots but nothing like this. We had a pretty lengthy rehearsal process for the film which was pretty unique. Usually that doesn’t happen. I found there were a lot of great skills I could take from theater and apply them to film. It’s really a work ethic. The more you do it the better you get. If you are going to be a professional actor you have to do your training and work at it.

AL: Are there any other plans to take the film to more festivals after Tribeca?
PC: This is just the beginning. However I don’t know anything that is really concrete of where or what the film will be doing next.

AL: What other projects are you working on?
PC: I have co-written an action comedy with one of my good friends. We are shopping that around right now. I am also working through my first solo full length script. That has been a challenging process. I am actually trying to finish the first draft before the Tribeca Festival. Writing is really challenging but also very rewarding.

AL: Do you see yourself going more towards writing than acting?
PC: I would love to balance both. That is when I am the most happy. If I am only doing one or the other I feel like I am neglecting a side of me that needs to be fed. When I started writing years ago it was more out of frustration. I needed a creative outlet. I was between jobs and I had some down time. I needed to express myself and I really got into writing. I love story telling and it’s something that I don’t think I would ever want to abandon.

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Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Jaime King, Deborah Ann Woll, Shawn Ashmore
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Anchor Bay
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Running Time: 112 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

I may be one of the only horror fans but I was never a huge fan of the 1980 Troma horror classic, “Mother’s Day”. It is good but nothing special. This remake easily advances and improves on the film quite a bit. This film is a lot more graphic and in your face. It is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II, III and IV”, “Repo! The Genetic Opera”) and he really gets a chance to stretch his arms and kick some ass. Rebecca De Mornay definitely gets a triumphant return into the starlight as the crazy-ass killer mom.

After a bank robbery gone wrong, three brothers are on the run from the law and seek refuge in their house. They discover though that their mother lost the house in a foreclosure and the house is now occupied by its new owners, a group of friends looking to party. Of course things turn out worse for group of kids when mommy comes home and encourages her sons to torture the current owners of their old home. It gives a new meaning to the term “Mommy knows best”.

Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray is quite impressive and looks great in the 1080P transfer and its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. There is also a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track included with works well with the score and jumps. This release also comes with a DVD copy of the film as well in a combo pack. The bad news is that there is very little special features. In fact the only extra is an audio commentary with Darren Lynn Bousman and Shawn Ashmore. It is decent overall but not enough to hold its own.

Terrance Zdunich is known best for playing the Graverobber in “Repo! The Genetic Opera”, his first collaboration with Darren Lynn Bousman.  The duo recently re-teamed on their new film “The Devil’s Carnival”.  Media Mikes has a chance to chat with Terrance about the film, it’s music and their city tour.

Mike Gencarelli: Where did you come with the idea for this film?
Terrance Zdunich: After Darren and I collaborated on “Repo! The Genetic Opera” 4 years ago, we knew we wanted to do another musical project. We looked around for awhile and eventually came up with this idea that really stuck with us. We knew that this was something we were now going to invest the next few years of our life creating and promoting. As far as the concept for I think it came out of a love for amusement park dark rides. Rides like Disney’s The Haunted Mansion where you get a really cool immersive experience. I thought of how cool it would be to create a world where it felt like you’re moving through one of those rides. That was the emphasis and “The Devil’s Carnival” grew out of that.

MG: Can you tell us about your character Lucifer in the film?
TZ: Who doesn’t want to play the devil [laughs]? I think it’s a character I sort of sympathize with in some ways. He is the ultimate rebel. He was punished for questioning authority and as an artist that kind of spoke to me. I wanted to do a take on the character that maybe has not been done before. I thought that what if hell tries to do what heaven does and offer redemption. That would be the most rebellious act of the dark world. Put heaven out of business.

MG: Can you give us some background on the soundtrack?
TZ: Like with “Repo”, you can listen to it and get one experience or idea of the world. When you see the songs attached to the imagery they will take on new and hopefully better doings. When you are doing a film where music is part of narrative it comes down to what are the stories, which are the characters and what is the heart of what they are doing? We then try to put all that to music. We had to distill what a song would sound like for each element in the film. The song “Trust Me” takes the theme of the Aesop’s Fable story “The Scorpion and the Frog”. We knew that character had to be seductive in gaining ones trust.

MG: Can you tell us about the song “In All My Dreams I Drown”?
TZ: That song is one of the last ones we wrote. Up until about two months before filming there was only going to be nine songs on the album. We had originally envisioned a world where only the carnies sang. Darren and I thankfully changed that idea. It was a challenge to write a song for the Tamara character to where it seemed like she was singing in a dream. We came up with the idea of Lucifer representing all the men in her life. He really is the ultimate bad boy. We did a lot of research when writing that song.

MG: How do you feel this film compares to your work on “Repo! The Genetic Opera”?
TZ: We knew that this was going to get compared to “Repo” no matter what we did. On one hand we wanted to live up to what fans love about that film. While on the other hand we really wanted to do something new. With “Repo”, the music was really a futuristic industrial sound. We used a lot of modern instrumentation and sounds. With “The Devil’s Carnival”, we decided to make everything sound like it was from the past. We used no electronic instruments. Everything is acoustic. I think tuba is the main instrument featured on the songs.

MG: Is there any truth to this film being the first in a series?
TZ: That is absolutely true. This film is a little over an hour. Even though this film is a contained story we left it open to grow. The second film is actually already written. This story just continues to grow. The fact that we are using something like Aesop’s Fables gives us some 600 story lines to use. If the tour ends up being successful and the people respond we are chomping at the bit to do another one.

Darren Lynn Bousman is known for directing films like “Saw II, III & IV” and “Repo! The Genetic Opera”. Darren is reuniting with Terrance Zdunich from “Repo” on his newest film “The Devil’s Carnival”. They are also currently touring with this film to over 30+ cities. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Darren about the film and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us about the origin of “The Devil’s Carnival”?
Darren Lynn Bousman: Terrance and I have been trying to find another project to work on since “Repo! The Genetic Opera”. We just couldn’t find the right one. We knew the project had to be great and not just good. We threw ideas back and forth but nothing struck us as being great. All of a sudden this idea hit and we knew this was what we had to do. When you know you know and we jumped on this immediately.

MG: What do you feel is the hardest part of shooting a horror musical?
DLB: Every aspect. This is a self funded thing. We actually received funding from Empire Film and Entertainment Group in Florida. I met them through one of the producers and they are great guys. There was no studio behind us. It was basically just us doing this thing. We had a real lack of support. This was just a bunch of friends making a movie together. It’s sounds awesome but it was really hard because there was no infrastructure. Doing everything from the soundtrack to the posters was the hardest part. We recorded an entire album without the help of any outside system. We shot the film which should have taken a month in just seven days.

MG: How do you compare this production with that of “Repo! The Genetic Opera”?
DLB: This production I think is a little more mature. I will always love “Repo” as it is one of my favorite things. I just feel “Devil’s Carnival” is more mature and accessible. This film is equally bad ass and out of the box as “Repo”.

MG: Can you tell us about the cast?
DLB: It’s as extremely diverse and equally crazy as the Repo cast. Emilie Autumn, who is my favorite person in the world now, plays the painted doll.  Clown from Slipknot, Nivek Ogre, Sean Patrick Flanery and Paul Sorvino to name just a few. This cast just is extremely diverse. I think that makes it awesome! It gives the film that “What the fuck” factor. To me that’s my favorite thing about this movie. It is just so crazy and out there. This casting on this film was very unsafe.

MG: Can you tell us about the 30 city tour you currently have going on?
DLB: It’s fucking insane! I am in a van right now with seven other people and it smells like feet and farts. It’s punk rock film making. The good people at Empire Film and Entertainment Group are funding this and we are doing this on the cheap for the art. Hopefully when people come out to the shows they see something they have never seen before. We want to make going to the movies and experience. This is a rock and roll concert in a movie theater.

Directed by: Garry Marshall
Starring: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Ludacris, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Héctor Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, Sofía Vergara
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 118 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Garry Marshall’s “Valentine’s Day” was my first review when I started this site back in February 2010. I was one of the only critics to actually really enjoy the film. This film is not a sequel but follows the holiday theme and even includes similar repeat cast. It doesn’t have that same romantic factor as “Valentine’s Day” but it is also not as bad as all critics have said. It is sweet and definitely captures the spirit of the holiday. I say this being a native New Yorker and there is nothing in the world like a New Year’s Even in NYC. My only issue is no idea when Warner Bros. is releasing this film now, I would have thought November/December would have been a more ideal time.

This Blu-ray combo pack also comes with a DVD disc of the film, as well as an Ultraviolet digital streaming copy. The video looks sharp in its 1080p and its aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The audio also works well with the film’s music using an DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The special features are decent but nothing amazing. With everyone from this amazing cast, Garry Marshall was not able to get anyone to join him on his audio commentary. There are two six minute featurettes, including the first “The Magic of Times Square” and “New Year’s Eve: Secrets of the Stars”. My least favorite feature and part of the movie as well is “Jon Bon Jovi and Lea Michele Rock New Year’s Eve”. Movie would have been a 5/5 stars without them. Lastly there are numerous deleted scenes with introduction by Garry Marshall and a very long, though funny, gag reel included.

Director/producer Garry Marshall brings together an stellar ensemble cast to celebrate love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

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Directed by: Todd Graff
Starring: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Warner Home Video
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 118 minutes

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I must confess, I do have a sweet spot for Dolly Parton.  Queen Latifah is really hit or miss for me, mostly miss.  It is crazy to believe that both of these actresses are in fact Oscar® nominees.  Unfortunately the film runs way to long at 118 minutes.  The only saving grave for this film is the music.  The productions are fun and quite large but not even for keep my interest for the rest of the movie. I feel that this would have been a lot better running at 90 minutes.  Though fans of Latifah and Parton should enjoy this musical comedy.

The Blu-ray presentation looks great with its 1080p transfer and aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Since the film is all about music the audio is very important and doesn’t disappoint with its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Besides the Blu-ray, this combo pack also comes with a DVD disc of the film, as well as an UltraViolet Digital Copy. The special features though are well like the film. There is a brief “Spotlight on a Song” for Dolly Parton’s “From Here to the Moon”. Then there are three also brief behind-the-scenes featurettes: “Inspiration of Joyful Noise”, “Make Some Noise” and “Leading Ladies”. Lastly, there are few extended songs.

Oscar® nominees Queen Latifah (“Chicago,” “Hairspray”) and Dolly Parton (“Transamerica,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Nine to Five”) star in Alcon Entertainment’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Joyful Noise,” a funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal. The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old. Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G.’s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose’s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks between the two teenagers are causing even more heat between G.G. and Vi Rose. If these two strong-willed women can overcome their differences and find a common voice, they–and their choir–may make the most joyful noise of all.

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Directed by: Emile Ardolino, Guy Ferland
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Romola Garai, Diego Luna
Number of discs: 2
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Lions Gate
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Running Time: 191 minutes

Films: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars

After the 2007 Blu-ray release of “Dirty Dancing” and its terrible transfer, I was hoping this one was going to be a great improvement.  I won’t say I had the time of my life reviewing these…but it was better than carrying a watermelon.  Overall, it is much better and, if you consider this is a bonus, it also comes with the sequel, “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”, which is available for the first time ever on Blu-ray. With two films, a whole mess of special features and a ridiculous low price of $14.99, this is a no-brainer if you don’t already own the film on Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray presentation on both films looks good in 1080p high-def transfer and both with widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio.  The audio on both films are also very impressive boasting a sharp 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.  While it is not the best 7.1 track ever, I am impressed that Lionsgate hooked these films up. “Dirty Dancing” also packs an alternate audio track, Dolby Digital EX 5.1.

The special feature for “Dirty Dancing” are fantastic, though nothing new for this 25th anniversary release. There are two audio commentary tracks from writer Eleanor Bergstein which dates back to the original DVD and the second commentary track from the Ultimate Edition DVD release with Choreographer Kenny Ortega, Assistant Choreographer Miranda Garrison, Cinematographer Jeff Jur, Costume Designer Hilary Rosenfeld, and Production Designer David Chapman.  Both are decent but kind of dated.  There is a text-based copy of the entire “Dirty Dancing” script from writer Eleanor Bergstein.  There is an interview with Miranda Garrison, who played Vivian Pressman and served as assistant choreographer for the film. “Dirty Dancing: Live in Concert” is fun feature just to watch fro the 80’s fashion.

There a bunch of featurettes including on this release including “Kellerman’s: Reliving the Locations of the Film” features crew revisiting shooting locations.  “The Dirty Dancing Phenomenon” takes an inside look with interviews through the success of the film.  “The Rhythm of the Dancing” features Swayze discusses the music in the film. “Dancing to the Music” focuses on the film’s music and dancing. Lastly, there is also a vintage featurette to show take you back to when “Dirty Dancing” was in theaters.

“In Memoriam” looks at the cast that has since passed including Jerry Orbach, Jack Weston, Emile Ardolino, Max Cantor, and Patrick Swayze.  The late Patrick Swayze discusses the impact the film had on his life in “Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze”.   There are some retro interviews with Jennifer Grey, Eleanor Bergstein and Kenny Ortega. There are two “The Life” and “Everybody Dance” presented in “Multi-Angle Dance Sequences” with four different angles. There are Screen Test Montage with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey and also Screen Test Comparisons with Jennifer Gray. There are eleven deleted scenes adding up to about twelve minutes.  There are three alternate scenes and also seven extended scenes. There is also a short outtakes, running only about 30 seconds.  Worth checking out if you love this film but most likely you would have see on past releases.  Easily my favorite feature is the music videos for this including “Hungry Eyes”, “She’s Like the Wind”, and “The Time of my Life”. Lastly there is a photo gallery, a fan reel,  theatrical trailer and full-feature trivia track.

The special features on “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” don’t compare to the first film’s but is not bare either.  There is a decent commentary track from producer Sarah Green and choreographer JoAnn Jansen. We are giving the option for multi-angle on a few dance sequences.  There are a few deleted scenes included.  There are featurettes, the first “Inside Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” including interviews with cast/crew.  The other featurette, “Baila! A Dance Piece” is a split-screen view of the rehearsals to the final scene. There is a music video for Yerba Buena’s “Guajira”.  Lastly there is Facebook credits included for the “Dirty Dancing Facebook Game”.

Directed by: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
Producers: Anish Savjani, Vincent Savino
Tribeca Film Festival
Running time: 80 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“Off Label”, a new documentary from Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, draws its power from getting personal with those most affected by the pharmaceutical industry’s usage of humans as guinea pigs. For some, it’s a financial choice, while for others it’s as a last ditch effort when other means have failed them.

With subjects spanning across the country, some of the most devastating accounts come from Andy Duffy, a 22-year-old army medic stricken with PTSD from being stationed at Abu Gharib, and Mary Weiss, the mother of a man who killed himself while in a medical study. At 17, Duffy could not believe that he was being deployed as a medic to one of the war’s most notorious locations and Off Label’s directors rightly make no effort to shield its viewers from the horrors he faced there. Understandably Duffy returned to the country in a real need of psychiatric help. What he found was doctors giving him a plethora of medications for various symptoms and off label prescriptions that fit under their medical plan better than more expensive, perhaps more appropriate, drugs. They’re basically throwing anything at him to see what works. In any case, Duffy is the not the only interviewee who presents a massive stock pile of little orange pill bottles in this doc and that’s the trouble. “I don’t need medication. I need help,” Duffy says. This loss of humanity in the search for the most effective drug mixture is at the heart of the problem examined in the doc. Duffy ultimately turns to other war veterans for more effective support, but other subjects lack such groups.

For me, the film’s most powerful figure is Mary Weiss. Weiss committed her 26-year-old son, Dan Markingson, for psychiatric help. Though he was committed, his personal consent to be put into a closed clinical study for anti-psychotics was irreversible by Weiss as he was not a minor. What resulted was Weiss being incapable of pulling her son from the drug study even though she could tell he was much worse off and eventually he committed a grisly suicide. Weiss became dedicated to fighting corruption within the drug testing system and in the film she is a striking and passionate interviewee. When she speaks to the filmmakers she is composed but the rage she has felt since losing Dan is palpable. Her account of her son’s death is haunting and I suspect will have many viewers rally to her cause. She is truly remarkable.

To counter the stories of those directly affected by prescription abuses, Palmieri and Mosher have also smartly included an ex-pharmaceutical rep, Michael Oldani, to detail the mechanics of getting various drugs into the public’s minds. Reflecting on his past occupation, Oldani dubs the role of drug reps as shady and some of the tactics he reveals to get a patient to prefer one drug over another are eye opening in their simplicity.

Besides Weiss’ fight, Off Label isn’t so much about directly confronting the rampant drug marketing in the United States as examining the human cost of such a culture. Beautifully shot footage of each of their interviewees in their day to day lives—Duffy practicing with his rifle, two of the “human guinea-pigs” celebrating an unconventional wedding— contribute to an intimate look at a massive problem.

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Rip Torn, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 88 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

To celebrate the upcoming release of “Men in Black III”, we get a chance to experience this great sequel for the first time in high-definition Blu-ray. Even though this film doesn’t exceed the first film, as most sequels don’t, this is still a fun movie and looks great on Blu-ray. This release also includes a sneak preview and $10 voucher to go see “Men in Black III” and also a playable demo for the upcoming PlayStation 3 game.

This Blu-ray packs a very solid and sharp 1080p high-def transfer, with its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The audio packs a fantastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Danny Elfman’s score works great again on this Blu-ray. Like the recent new “Men in Black” Blu-ray release, I would have like to seen Sony give this film a 7.1 track but the one included is still solid. Lastly, a real draw for this release is a streaming Ultraviolet digital copy. I love that most if not all Sony releases are following this path.

The special features are also impressive like the Blu-ray presentation though none of them are in high-definition. There is an audio commentary with director Barry Sonnenfeld, which is fun but lacking compared to the great MST3K track from the first “Men in Black”. There is an alternate ending and blooper reel included, which I enjoyed. There are a bunch of featurettes including “MIB: ADR”, “Design in Motion: The Look of MIB II”, “Rick Baker: Alien Maker”, “Squish, Splat, Sploosh: The Stellar Sounds of MIB II” and “Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space” and “Barry Sonnenfeld’s Intergalactic Guide to Comedy”. All of these are decent length and worth checking out.

There are a few short but sweet featurettes on this films creatures including Frank the Pug, Scrad/Charlie, The Worms, Serleena, Alien Esoterica, Jeebs, Jarra, and Jeff the Worm. There is a very short Animatic Sequence on the creation of Serleena. There are five scenes with a “Multi-Angle Scene Deconstructions” including “Opening Sequence: Alternate Version”, “Jay and Jeff”, “Car Chase”, “Jarra Fight Scen, Part 1 & 2. Lastly there is an music video with Will Smith for “Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head)”.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rip Torn
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 98 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

It’s funny going back and watching this film and realizing how young Will Smith looks. “Men in Black” is still one hell of a fun movie though. It reminds me of a live-action comic book. The visual effects are also still amazing especially for a film that is 15 years old. I can’t believe it is that old but here we are approaching the third film this summer. This film is a great collection of comedy, action and science fiction. This release also includes a sneak preview and $10 voucher to go see “Men in Black III”.

This Blu-ray packs a very solid and sharp 1080p high-def transfer, with its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. I feel that this release even trumps the first “MIB” Blu-ray release in 2008. The audio is also different than the prior release boasting a very clear DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track compared to the last release Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. Danny Elfman’s score really sounds fantastic through this audio track. I would have like to seen Sony give this film a 7.1 track but the one included is still solid. Lastly, a real draw for this release is a streaming Ultraviolet digital copy. I love that most if not all Sony releases are following this path.

There is definitely no shortage of special features on this disc, but not really anything new from the 2008 release and more are in standard definition not high-def. There are a few silly extras that are Blu-ray exclusive. Like “Ask Frank the Pug!”, which is like an interactive magic 8-ball. “Intergalactic Pursuit: The Men In Black Trivia Game” is a interactive game which you can play in a single-player mode or online with multi-players. Lastly there is an alien subtitle track, which is cool.

There are two commentary tracks included on this release. There is an enhanced telestrator commentary with director Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones and feels like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The second one is the more focus on production with director Barry Sonnenfeld, makeup effects artist Rick Baker and the Industrial Light and Magic team. There are five extended and alternate scenes but only in in standard definition. “Metamorphosis of Men in Black” is an impressive behind-the-scenes feature, though also in SD.

“Visual Effects Scene Deconstruction” focus on two scenes: “Tunnel Scene” and “Edgar Bug Fight Scene.”. “Character Animation Studies” is similiar to the last but focuses on the film’s character like Mikey, Jeebs, or Worm Guys. Next, we can enter the “Scene Editing Workshop”, which allow to create you own scenes. Of course, there is also the music Video for “Men in Black” included with Will Smith and Mikey. Lastly, there are a few photo galleries consisting of “Storyboard Gallery,” “Conceptual Art,” and “Production Photos.”

Directed by: Eric England
Starring: Ace Marrero, Joanna Sotomura, Katie Stegeman, Nick Principe, Colley Bailey, Matt Mercer
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Running Time: 82 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

When you have a film boasting a killer with a pig on his head, immediately I can’t help but want to immediately watch this. The film doesn’t break any new boundaries in horror but does setup some decent suspense and great kills. Nick Princpie aka Chromeskull from “Laid to Rest” series, kicks ass in the masked role. The rest of the cast is impressive as well Joanna Sotomura and Ace Marrero look to have a great career in the cards. I also look forward to future work from director Eric England. I only wish that there would have been more back story on Madison County itself and its masked killer.

The film follows a group of college kids who travel to a small town of Madison County in order to interview an autho, who authored a book about the murders that happened there. Of course when the kids get there, the author is nowhere to be found and the towns people act like nothing has ever happened. Of course that doesn’t stop the kids, who start investigating but might not like what they find as they may have gotten themselves in too deep.

The special features aren’t as good as the film is unfortunately. There is an audio commentary track with writer/producer/director Eric England, producer Daniel F. Dunn and actor/producer Ace Marreo, it is busy but entertaining and informative. There is a roughly 20 minute Q&A from Screamfest, worth checking out if you enjoyed the film.  Lastly included is a theatrical trailer for the film.

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Actors: Cristobal Barra, Patricio Lynch, Sergio Allard
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Number of discs: 1
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lionsgate
DVD Release Date: May 15, 2012
Run Time: 75 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

“Nobody is immune to fear”…more like nobody is immune to being bored. Zombie films are always welcome in my horror library.  This film barely registers as a horror film, yet alone a zombie film.  If it spent more time trying to be a zombie film and less on an MTV music video, it might have something. I do want to add though, I did like the color effects showcasing the apocalypse and the blood. Though story is just boring and weak and relies to much on flashbacks to help.

With a world that has turned most humans to zombies, caused by a virus, we follow a young girl, Camille, as she tries to find her mother. With the whole world in chaos and all alone Camille sets out to find others like her in order to survive.  Don’t even get me started on the film’s terrible ending.  Holy crap.

The special features on this DVD include a brief featurette “The Making of Descendents”,. There is also some music videos including Voodo Zombie, Los Ninos and Llevane, didn’t interest me at all. Lastly there is a trailer gallery. The DVD does come with a decent audio through it Dolby Digital 5.1 track, wish the scares would have been their to accompany it.