Chris Farraday:  You think you’re the only guy with a gun?

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as Chris Farraday, a former cargo smuggler (one of the best in fact), who left that life of crime in favor of going legit and raising a family with his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) in New Orleans.  He and his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) have managed to stay out of trouble for quite some time, but things get complicated in regards to Chris’ brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones).  Despite better advice, Andy has chosen to delve into some crime business of his own, smuggling drugs for a ruthless gangster, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi).  Andy botches a deal, putting himself in debt in harm’s way.  It’s a good thing Chris is such a good guy at heart.

In an effort to stop Briggs from killing his brother, let alone keeping his own family from getting hurt in the process, Chris arranges to pay Andy’s debt by jumping back into the smuggling game for one big smuggling scheme.  He assembles a crew on board a cargo ship and has to head down to Panama in order to pull off the job.  Meanwhile, Briggs is getting restless and makes his presence known to Kate and her and Chris’ children, with Sebastian being the only one back at home who can possibly keep things subdued for the time being.  Chris only has a limited amount of time to bring back enough contraband to get everyone in his corner out of debt.

I had low prospects for Contraband going in, not to the point where I would recommend everyone to keep their expectations low in order to get the most out of it, but given the nature of this story and, again, the January release date, I was basically hoping that the strength of the cast would be enough to have me salvage enough entertainment out of it.  Given that Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi are talented character actors, who always manage to bring something interesting to the table, having them in the same movie was a large part of my interest as well.  Fortunately, in addition to the cast, there was enough going on within this film to keep me engaged throughout, regardless of the amount of suspension of disbelief involved in watching various heist and smuggling aspects play out.  I think the film does a good job at using movie logic to add enough complexity, while being sure that everything works out.

The thing I appreciated most about the film concerns how every part and every minor plot detail feels like it was introduced and appropriately used in the film.  It does not feel like anything has been wasted.  Characters are introduced and serve very specific purposes.  Small details involving the cargo ship, its crew, or things occurring in Panama all manage to come back into play over the course of the story.  The film, which I can’t imagine had a huge budget, overall has a fairly stripped down approach to its proceedings, which leaves it up to the filmmakers to make use of all that they have.

Contraband is in fact a remake of an Icelandic film, directed by the star of the original version, Baltasar Kormákur.  What he does with the film in its direction is commendable enough.   Kormákur balances a lot of handheld and digital photography work in order to deliver the oh so desirable gritty edge that the kids love these days, but the action and more tension-filled scenes are choreographed well enough to not make one feel lost.  The film has the added bonus of incorporating heist elements, which means audiences can get the “aha” moment, as soon as certain reveals come into play.  The real gripes I have mainly concern the opening, which is a bit slow compared to the surprisingly well-paced second act, as well as some issues with the ending, which revolve around how tidy things end up being.

As far as the actors go, I enjoy seeing Mark Wahlberg in films like this, where he can both bring a level of intensity in one second and turn a scene to a more humorous direction in the next.  Given that this film is R-rated, he does not have to hold back much, even as he goes through dialogue that would seem much sillier in a lesser film.  Foster and Ribisi are reliable as ever, with Ribisi adding an annoying accent fitting for the setting and character, but all the more effective in having us hate this man.  Kate Beckinsale does not have a whole lot to do in the film, besides act threatened, but if I really wanted to call back to my Gone in 60 Seconds opening, it’s funny how she dyed her hair blond in this film, just as Angelina Jolie did in the former (oh these little connections I’ve made).

Contraband does not set out to be a great film, but it is a solid genre film.  It is a gritty-ish crime story that works well and efficiently enough.  The premise is given a sort-of fresh take and Wahlberg and company seem game enough to make everything worthwhile.  Don’t set your expectations to low necessarily, but go in on a medium and you will probably be satisfied on an escapist fun level.

Chris Farraday:  I would love to help you but I don’t know what the f**k you are talking about.

Jacob:  I’m gonna make a list.  I got like a million things I wanna do.

Harvey Keitel stars in the film as Duke White.  Duke literally begins the film with a noose around his neck, as he prepares to kill himself.  He hasn’t been an ideal father to his five boys.  Known for being a bad gambler and famous fight fixer, any of the luck that Duke has had has certainly run out. The sons return to their family home in Niagara Falls, for their father’s funeral, only to learn of another terrible thing about their father during the reading of his will.  Years ago, Duke signed up his three eldest sons for unsafe drug tests that turned out to have dire consequences: the boys’ life expectancy have been substantially reduced.  This is news that obviously stirs up things significantly for the boys, who each decide to handle their new found expiration date differently.

The sons include Cal (Scott Caan), a womanizer, who decides to hook up with an old flame, Miranda (Tricia Helfer), despite her record for not keeping a husband too long, due to their untimely demise.  Then there is Jacob (Paulo Costanzo), who is known for being bright and cautious, but has now decided to grab life by the…well he’s going to take a lot more risks now, more than ever, and he’ll be accompanied by the youngest brother, Todd (Siam Yu).  Finally, you have Nuts (Jason Jones), the eldest son, who was once a boxer, now helping to train his other brother, the slow witted Juicy (Jared Keeso), despite his reservations about involving himself in a seedy business.  All of the boys will be accomplishing a lot over the course of the next couple of days, so hopefully a little word of advice from their uncle (the always great J.K. Simmons) and possibly some outside interference from Duke will provide some further help.

While enjoyable in a light sort of way, I think one of the main problems I had with this movie is that I could not get past how unreal these characters felt.  These are only people that would exist in a movie.  Now obviously this is a movie, which could make one assume that there shouldn’t be a problem, but I think it is the fact that these characters have been written so overtly as ones who are supposed to be funny, quirky, charming, and witty in the most fitting kinds of ways, that the story does not seem so much to lend itself to naturally progressing as it seems to just be going through its very written structure.  Basically, the film may be trying too hard to have you like these characters, overlooking some of the qualities that would have them be more realistically relatable.

Now, having said that, the actors involved manage to do what they can, mostly very well.  Caan has played this type of character many times, but it is a comfortable role for him to play, as a smooth talking sleaze.  Costanzo has done the know-it-all thing many times, but I like watching him on screen.  I really enjoyed Jason Jones as the eldest son, as his character arc actually had the most weight to it, while enough pathos was effectively created for the character.  And of course, J.K. Simmons can do practically anything, as he is simply saddled with nailing several fitting lines of dialogue, but does so effortlessly.  I did also enjoy seeing Keitel, as his authority in films is generally quite strong, but it only went so far to serve the story, as he was basically a comedic narrator in the background.

As a whole, the film’s story manages to work itself into a fitting tale that involves multiple characters, all intertwining, making chance encounters, and benefiting each other in various ways.  I mentioned Guy Ritchie early on for a reason, as the style is one thing, but the fact that this film functions like a truncated version of Snatch seems very apparent (there is even a climatic Boxing match).  Having received that vibe while watching the film, it is not something that bothered me; it just made the film seem a bit less fresh, as I was very aware of the kind of comic beats I knew it needed to hit.

The direction is another big part of this film.  Writer/director Jonathan Sobol and his crew have gone through large efforts to add plenty of style throughout.  Utilizing split screens, slow motion, rapid editing moments, different film stocks and color grading, this film is all over the place in terms of tackling intriguing adventures in fun cinematography.  It is certainly a way to keep this film from feeling like it was ever slowing down, and at just over 90 minutes, I do give credit to the film having pretty solid pacing throughout.

I also credit the film for its general level of fun.  Despite many things that could be seen as problems, the film is very much a crowd pleaser.  The actors all get along well, Keitel’s voice over and flashbacks lead to some pretty funny moments, and the overall spirit of the film is breezy enough to not mind the lack of stakes that should be present for characters that are basically facing death in their near futures.  I was also happy to see the film take advantage of its location at and around Niagara Falls.  As the producer pointed out before the screening began, it is not an area that I have seen very often in film, let alone the actual city around the water.

A Beginner’s Guide to Endings is a very serviceable comedy.  I am sorry if that comes off worse than it sounds, but despite its flaws, the film does have a nice charm and energy to it, which makes it worth catching at some point.  There are fun moments and I can always appreciate a cast that has good chemistry.  The story is not exactly fresh, but it does have fun with what it accomplishes, and mixed with the relatively speedy pace and flashy direction, it is enough to have kept me entertained.

What the hell is wrong with this family?

Click on the poster below to visit the Newport Beach Film Festival website.  As this was my last screened film for the festival, be sure to find all the Festival reviews I have written at Why So Blu HERE.  One final note, it has been a fun and exhausting week, as I was able to screen many films, meet a lot of good people (filmmakers and others alike), and have a generally wonderful time throughout the festival.  Ideally, I would have written a more in depth article about the festival as a whole, but I just honestly do not have the time to properly assemble an appropriate and substantial article to my liking.  With that in mind, I just want to say thank you to all involved with the festival, as they put on a very solid event that I look forward to attending next year.

Diane:  We may be able to use music as a tool to reawaken parts of his memory.

The film is set in 1986.  J.K. Simmons and Cara Seymour play Henry and Helen Sawyer, a married couple living in New York suburbia.  They receive a phone call, and it turns out to be from the hospital, informing them of their estranged son, Gabriel (Lou Taylor Pucci).  Previously an angry argument turned into a 20 year disappearance, so Henry and Helen are surprised and saddened to learn of his situation.  Gabriel has suffered from a brain tumor that is now benign, but is also preventing him from creating new memories.  Henry is eventually tasked with spending the majority of his time trying to bond with his son, but struggles with the fact that Gabriel is very non-responsive.

Henry is able to begin a healing process of sorts when he brings in a music therapist, Dianne Daley (Julia Ormond), who begins to play old rock albums, which Gabriel was obsessed with during his days as a teenage hippie.  When songs by such groups as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and especially The Grateful Dead begin to play, Gabriel suddenly springs to life, recalling many events that transpired in his past.  While Gabriel has a hard time determining the time he is now living in, it is a step closer for he and his father to reassemble their relationship after a falling out.

I will get to why this film falters for trying too hard to make the audience cry, but one big problem came in the form of Pucci’s performance as Gabriel.  This is a central performance for the film, but unfortunately, I was not very affected by the portrayal of either version of Gabriel in neither flashbacks to his young hippie days or in his later days under hospital care.  I would not necessarily say he was bad, but the performance called enough attention to itself that I found it distracting.  I needed to warm up to what he was bringing to the film, which is not a good place for an actor to find themselves.

The film also suffers from being overstuffed with drama in a very overt way.  Of course this film needs to communicate its story, but many scenes felt too much like they were hitting the same points again and again, while many others seemed to be shot and edited in the way that would best get an emotional reaction out of its audience.

Henry:  You’re using music to bring him back to a time when he fell apart.  Find some music to bring him to a time when things were right.

Diane:  It doesn’t work that way.

Fortunately, I am not soulless, because as much as I could see through what this film was playing at, it was, at times, effective in the way some of these dramatic moments played out.  At its core, this is a film about a father and son rebuilding their relationship, and by the end of the film, the payoff to this notion has the qualities that made it feel right.  Certainly helping this aspect is the work from J.K. Simmons.  Many will recognize Simmons instantly, as he has many credits and a recognizable face and voice.  In this film, he gets a chance to really pull off many different states of this father character.  He has a warmth to his performance, which has him both making you laugh and feeling effected by how unfortunate he is for not being able to have kept his son in out of harm’s way.

Good work in this film from several supporting characters as well, including Cara Seymour as Gabriel’s caring mother, Ormond as the therapist who never gets wrapped up in her own self importance, and Mia Maestro as Celia, a kind worker for the hospital.  The film is also indebted to its wonderful soundtrack, which includes many songs from many rock groups from the 60s and 70s.  The fact that so many musicians would allow their music to be featured in this film certainly suggests that they are very appreciative of the story, as this is not a film with a large budget in tow.  Finally, I have to point out that with all the drama, this film does have a good heart and features a number of tension breaking comedic scenes as well.  The film may have a problem of wearing its heart on its sleeve, but some choice moments do a good enough job of keeping a sense of humor for the film present.

While this is a fairly heavy handed, PG-rated, family drama, I can admire the story that is being told.  It presents a situation that is tough to deal with, yet grounded in reality.  Knowing about the true story behind this film was helpful, as is, once again, the presence of Simmons, who rarely gets to headline a cast.  I still wish the film was not so deadest on making sure you understood how heartfelt everything was, but it comes with the territory for these types of films.  Certainly not a film for cynics, but I do see this as a fine watch for families and some couples.

Gabriel:  This is my first Grateful Dead concert.

Henry:  Mine too.

Film   

First, let’s be perfectly honest with ourselves.  The main draw of Jennifer’s Body is Megan Fox’s body.  Oops! I meant to say actress Megan Fox.  Is there really any dispute in the fact?  Would the opening box office turnout even have been so high with only Amanda Seyfried in the starring role?  I would like to think not.  I, like probably half of the moviegoers here, was really interested in one thing here.  No, it wasn’t to see what if anything more would be shown of Megan Fox’s sexy body after the leaked production photos last year.  That’s what Google Search is for.  C’mon guys!  Get your perverted minds out of the gutter.  I simply wanted to know whether Miss Fox could sink or swim in her first leading role or if she was just another pretty face destined to become just a Hollywood fad after her 15 minutes of fame had expired.  However, I personally don’t think Michael Bay would let that last part happen as long as he is still making movies.

 So just how awful was Megan Fox in her first starring role?  I am going to go out on a proverbial limb here, hoping not to go out too far and risk a branch breaking and boldly say that she truly was the charm of this film.  From her quirky, adolescent delivery of corny one-liners to her sh#$-eating, bloody grins, I found myself engaged, amused and entertained throughout.  While her performance is hardly good enough to warrant any Oscar nods, it was exactly the kind of deliverance that I was expecting from her in this juvenile role.  Actually I did not know what to expect, but let me state what I just said in a different way you all can understand.  Simply put, if you were satisfied with her performance in the Transformers films, then there is no way she can disappoint you here.  I believe Miss Fox deposited a sincere portrayal of the yuppie high school cheerleader, we have all come to know and love, that just so happened to have a need for feeding on the flesh of the living and practicing male population control.  But what else is a succubus to do? 

So does the inclusion of Megan Fox make Jennifer’s Body a Blu-ray movie worth plopping down your hard earned Benjamin’s for?  If you were initially curious like me, a Megan Fox fanboy, or just a fan of Cody’s quirky writing style, then I think this Blu-ray warrants a purchase.  However, if you are easily annoyed by the slow moving nature of Cody’s writings or a Megan Fox hater, then your time may be better spent scouring ebay looking for a still sealed mint condition Hordak figure.  I am not saying this because Jennifer’s Body is a bad movie, but on the contrary I believe it to be much of an acquired taste like beer first is in your youth.  It was just the right mixture of homogenous ingredients to get me over the hump of some of the bad movies I had seen in the August/September 2009 timeframe.  The film is a dark, brooding horror-comedy that feeds on your brain much like the undead zombies feed on fresh flesh.  Aligning perfectly with the split mixed critical reviews, you are either going to find this movie appealing in a guilty pleasurable kind of way or you will simply be appalled by it.

If you found the vomit scenes in Drag Me To Hell too gross to handle, then just keep moving on, as this is not the film you are looking for (as I make my Jedi-like wave).  Although the film is violent in nature, much of the gore is kept to a minimum.  In retrospect, if you cut out the very infrequent F-bombs that were used, I really cannot see a reason as to why this film could not have achieved a PG-13 rating.  The R-rating is probably what kept the box office numbers low.  But who does not like a good, abrasive, cutting edge R movie anyway?  The movie studio is really going to hate me for this, but I feel this is my civic duty to let all the fanboys know that Megan Fox does not have any nude scenes.  You have actually seen more nudity of her on the Internet (hence my reference to Google Search before), during production of this film, then you will ever see within the movie’s 102 minute runtime (or 107 minutes depending on which version you are viewing).

It has been said that writer Diablo Cody wrote Juno at Starbucks in a Target store.  So don’t be alarmed when you hear a random shout out to Super Target within the movie.  Little inside jokes like this are what I find clever in filmmaking; with the exception of Revenge of the Sith’s lightsaber handle swaps.  Besides the eye candy of Megan Fox, Jennifer’s Body also stars Mamma Mia!’s Amanda Seyfried and everyone’s favorite newspaper editor, J.K. Simmons.  In addition to the well-known cast members, the film also rocks a sonic soundtrack that will appeal to even the broadest range of alternative fans.  If you are like me and you enjoy a hot female lead, a campy B-movie storyline/feel and essential horror gore, then you will probably like Jennifer’s Body.  Notice, I used the word ‘probably.’  As I stated before, this film will not appeal to everyone.  You just have to keep an open mind, accept the fact that you have bought this Blu-ray for Megan (or Amanda if she is your cup of tea) and be able to appreciate the mundane from time-to-time.  If I had to break the film down in mathematical terms, I would quantify a statement that Jennifer’s Body equals the quirkiness of Juno plus the horror comedy elements of Drag Me To Hell.  Take that for what it’s worth. 

Before we move on to the technical aspects of the Blu-ray release I guess it would be nice of me if I gave you a very brief synopsis of what Jennifer’s Body is even about other than spending 5 paragraphs talking about that fact that Megan Fox stars in it.  Cody is on record saying that she wanted the film to speak to female empowerment and explore the complex relationship between best friends.  I find it hard to digest the word ‘complex’ in Cody’s statement.  There is nothing about Jennifer’s Body that is complex.  Yes, the film does explore the affinity between best friends (Fox and Seyfried), but I would hardly call this relationship complex.  They wear BFF necklaces.  How much more juvenile can we get?  In case you are wondering, BFF stands for Best Friends Forever and is pronounced ‘biff’ with a short ‘i’ (as a tribute to Back to the Future I have read).  But think about this.  What if your best friend was so completely the opposite of you that no one outside of your relationship really understood you or why you two were friends in the first place?  Now, what happens if your best friend all the sudden transforms into an unstoppable flesh eater that will stop at nothing until her male appetite is relinquished?  Will you stand by her or would you put a stop to the killing even though you know she would never harm you?  Jennifer’s Body never markets itself as a true horror film, but in my belief that won’t stop the film from achieving a modern day cult classic status due to its sometimes witty and clever dialogue and brilliantly fun performances (in which Megan Fox really does deliver the goods).  All right, enough fluff, let’s get move on to the Blu-ray vitals!

Video     

Jennifer’s Body sinks her teeth into Blu-ray with a delectable 1080P video presentation that will leave even the most petite succubus wanting seconds.  The nectarous video transfer sees an AVC MPEG-4 encode celestially filling your entire HDTV screen real estate with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.  The seductive Megan Fox never looked better as every delineated shadow is accounted for.  The video presentation is almost perfect as the exceptional transfer is consistent throughout and exquisitely captures Diablo’s vision and moody undertones.  The movie looks exactly the way I saw it in the theater, minus the annoying teenagers kicking the back of my reclining chair.  After much internal debates with myself, I finally settled on a score of 4.  While this presentation is hardly reference quality, it does however faithfully reproduce the theatrical exposition of the film in the privacy of your own home.  Isn’t that what the Blu-ray format is supposed to do?  If the answer to that question is a Rob Zombie “Superbeast”-like hell yeah, then Jennifer’s Body is a bloody victory. 

Everything is done right in this transfer (skin tones are “dead” on, Megan’s tattoos are flawlessly covered, detail is staggering, colors are vivid when required and the print is cleaner than a fat kid’s plate after eating cake), but what really stands out the most are the exceptional black levels. For a movie that is consistently drenched in dark shadows and horror-like atmospheres, the black levels are unrivaled.  One scene that comes to mind takes place near the end of the movie where Jennifer is laying in bed and then she turns out the remaining lights in her teenage bedroom.  Even with all the lights off, the subject matter (Megan Fox) and all her surroundings are brilliantly captured and visible just like I was there on the set seeing it through my own set of 1080P eyes.

Audio   

Jennifer’s Body is even more bodacious and infectious on the Blu-ray format thanks to the rocking and thunderous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track.  The surround track is sumptuous on a number of accounts.  Sure, the track will never be a true reference quality that rivals the great action movies on the Blu-ray format, but the quirky and brooding atmosphere of Jennifer’s Body is faithfully intact here thanks in large part to its impressive audio.  I never thought I would have ever been reaching for my remote control to turn the volume down.  I initially thought the other way around.  When the action heats up on the screen the surround track kicks it up into high gear and encompasses you in the center of it all.  The dialogue always remains loud and clear throughout.  But most of all, it is the score and alternative pop songs that are truly the masterpiece here.  You want to talk about a film soundtrack?  I bought it as a blind buy weeks before the movie’s theatrical release last year and it is still a heavy hitter in my car’s CD library (and in Gregg’s iPod).  The songs rattled my Onkyo subwoofer and gave it an exhausting workout like it has not had for a long time.  Just like the movie is to many fans, I think they will be pleasantly surprised here with a Blu-ray audio track that deserves to be recognized for what it is…killer.

Special Features   

The Blu-ray debut of Jennifer’s Body is outfitted with a pretty succulent supplement package.  The succubus tale of Jennifer’s Body is accompanied with quite an arsenal of Hi-Def goodies.  Unfortunately, most of these extras are quite short in runtime, thereby preventing me from awarding a higher score in the special feature category.  The real crown jewel of this Blu-ray release is the inclusion of a Director’s Cut version of the film, which appears in addition to the theatrical one.  The Unrated version of the film adds an extra 5 minutes of runtime to the feature.  Make no exception here; the inclusion of this extra footage is a much welcomed addition to an already tantalizing film.  Usually, unrated editions add unnecessary footage and end up burdening the overall viewing experience, but that’s definitely not the case here.  The seductive story of Jennifer Check only benefits from the add-on treatment.  How often can you say that?  Anyway, let’s get down to business and check out every special feature of Jennifer’s Body.

Below are some pictures I took of the back cover art, the inside packaging of the 2-disc set (Digital Copy on the left and the Blu-ray disc on the right) and the paper insert with the Digital Copy activation code on the flip side (valid until December 28, 2011).  Click on the below images to enlarge for maximum viewing pleasure.

Below are some screenshots I took of the Blu-ray disc main menu selections. The menu choices remain static on the bottom of the screen as different movie scene images cycle in the background.  Click on the below images to enlarge for maximum viewing pleasure.

• Unrated Version – As stated before, you can choose between the theatrical version of the film and an Unrated Director’s Cut.  The runtimes between the two differ by only 5 minutes (theatrical – 102 minutes & Unrated – 107 minutes).
• Audio Commentary on the Theatrical Version – The audio track features Director Karyn Kusama and Writer Diablo Cody.
• Audio Commentary on the Unrated Version – This audio track features only Director Karyn Kusama.
• Deleted Scenes (HD) – Here you will find 6 polished deleted scenes clocking in at a total runtime just shy of 14 minutes.
• Jennifer’s Body: The Dead Pool (HD) – This 14-minute featurette takes a quick look behind-the-scenes into the production of the film, set locations and special effects such as the unhinged jaw of Jennifer Check used during her feeding scenes.  This was really worth it for me.  I recommend checking this one out.
• Cast & Filmmakers’ Behind-the-Scenes Video Diaries (HD) – There are near 13 minutes worth of short video diaries from various members of the cast and crew.  There’s nothing of real substance here so let’s move on.
• Gag Reel (HD) – I was kind of surprised this one lasted as long as it did clocking in at almost 5 minutes in length.
• Megan Fox is Hot (HD) – When I first heard about this special feature I thought what a great way to market to the Megan Fox fanboys and move Blu-rays.  Naturally, this was the first extra I watched.  I hate to say it, but it was nothing special.  Heck, it does not even last one minute in length.  Boo!  Give me more!
• Megan Fox Peer Pressure PSA (SD) – I was actually quite bummed that this 40-second charm was not present in Hi-Def.  The quick satire was fun and right to the point.
• Fox Movie Channel Presents Life After Film School with Diablo Cody (SD) – The longest special feature on the Blu-ray disc features a 26-minute interview of Diablo Cody by three film school students.
• Trailers (HD) – There are trailers for Gentlemen Broncos, All About Steve, Whip It and Fame.  Sadly, there are none for Jennifer’s Body.
• Digital Copy (SD) – Last but not least, the included DVD disc in the set contains a portable copy for your favorite media player.  Enjoy it on the road!

Final Thoughts   

I am sure by now you have grown tired of me singing nothing but praise for Jennifer’s Body.  Ordinarily, on a movie such as this one that is split equally amongst critics, I would be obligated to give this one a rating as a rental.  However, due to my over poignant fondness of this film, the Blu-ray’s sonic audio surround track and an equally impressive video transfer, I am going to whole-heartedly recommend a purchase of this title.  For the fans who somewhat enjoyed it during its theatrical run, give it a second chance on the Blu-ray format, and I am confident you will be pleasantly surprised like I was.  For all the Megan Fox fanboys out there, well then this goes without saying.  I was so surprised to see that by 7 PM all the Best Buy stores in my area were completely sold out of this Blu-ray title.  Either there were only a few copies to go around or the cult following buzz that was missed as an opportunity in the film’s initial marketing is taking off faster than I expected.  Whatever the case is, you will definitely get your money’s worth here.  If nothing else, you always have good eye candy (I can just hear Gregg snarling at me now as he is reading this).  For what it’s worth, I am in love with Jennifer’s Body, the Blu-ray of course.  Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoyed my review of the Fox’s Jennifer’s Body Blu-ray release.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.  I look forward to receiving any and all feedback from my readers. 

Jennifer’s Body was released on Blu-ray December 29th, 2009.  If you like what you read in the review above, then please show your support for our site by clicking the shopping cart link above to order and save with Amazon’s Everyday Lowest Prices.  Thanks!

Ryan’s freewheeling lifestyle gets put in jeopardy when young computer programmer Natalie (Anna Kendrick) comes up with a way to do his job over the internet.  Dreading the thought of being tied to a desk, Bingham convinces his boss (Jason Bateman) that Natalie needs to see what it’s like to do the job face to face before implementing her plan.  The two then set off to relieve hundreds of American workers of the burden of employment, stopping at various famous locations along the way to take pictures of a cardboard cut-out of Bingham’s sister and her future husband for a wedding present. 

While it is Bingham’s job that drives the plot forward, the movie is more concerned with the idea that happiness is impossible without meaningful relationships.  That’s fine, but then the movie takes it further to say that happiness is impossible without a spouse and children.  This is most clearly expressed by Natalie, who looks at Alex and Ryan as though they were insane for not wanting a more traditional relationship. 

At times the movie shows some ambivalence towards this idea – Natalie is dumped by her boyfriend, one of Ryan’s sisters is shown having separated from her husband, and there’s a final twist regarding Alex that I won’t reveal.  But that ambivalence is undermined by the film’s closing montage of (real) fired workers talking about how their wives and children gave them the strength to cope with their situation.  Look, whatever helps a person deal with something as serious as losing a job, I’m for it.  But the implication here is that those without family, like Bingham, are somehow worse off than they are.  Ah yes, poor little rich boy.  This is the film’s final word on the subject.  It kind of reminds me of the scene in They Live where Roddy Piper puts on his special sunglasses, looks up at a billboard, and instead of the ad that should be there sees simply the words “marry and reproduce”.  No doubt the evil aliens from that film would approve of Up In the Air’s message.

Still, as Roger Ebert often says, it’s not what a movie is about, but how it’s about it.  And for the most part, Up In the Air is a well made, enjoyable, and funny film.  Clooney is perfectly cast.  I can’t imagine any other actor making this character likeable as he goes about destroying lives while bragging about his fancy hotel and rental car membership cards.  Vera Farmiga is excellent, as well.  With this film she should make it onto the ‘A’ list, and hopefully won’t have to star in crap like Orphan again anytime soon.  The one weak link for me is Anna Kendrick’s Natalie, though I blame writer/director Jason Reitman rather than the actress.  As written, the character is a comic relief caricature that just doesn’t seem to exist in the same universe as Clooney and Farmiga’s nuanced, believable characters. 

I’ve already mentioned my distaste for the film’s trite message that marriage and kids are the only road to happiness.  I also can’t help but think, given the current economic climate, that more of substance should have been said about all the people Bingham fires.  Mostly, though, the movie just plays being fired for laughs.  And yeah, watching Zach Galifianakis and J.K. Simmons respond to the loss of their jobs is funny.  But losing a job in real life isn’t.  The movie only offers one moment in which we see just how serious that can be, when we learn that one of the people who lost their jobs committed suicide.  The scene does have some power, but its main purpose seems to be moving the plot in a new direction rather than any sort of serious commentary.  And then we’re on to the montage of happy jobless people.  Up In the Air is still a good movie; it’s just not a great one.  3 out of 4 stars.

To read more by Bob, visit his movie and music review blog at

I am digging the fresh cover art for the Blu-ray release.  Kudos Fox!  As a treat to my loyal readers I have not only included the full press release below from Fox, but also the full-size Blu-ray box art.  Just click on the box art below to maximize for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

SHE’S EVIL… AND NOT JUST HIGH SCHOOL EVIL…
MEGAN FOX STARS AS A KILLER CHEERLEADER IN

JENNIFER’S BODY

Written By Academy Award® Winner* Diablo Cody, The Wickedly Sexy Horror Arrives On Blu-ray Disc And DVD December 29

Featuring An All-New Unrated Extended Cut Too Sexy and Gruesome For Theaters

LOS ANGELES, CA – (November 6, 2009) In every school there’s one girl, every girl wants to be friends with…and every guy would die for. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents a “student body” with a ferocious bite when Jennifer’s Body arrives on unrated Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD December 29. Sexy temptress Megan Fox (Transformers) is hotter than hell as Jennifer, a gorgeous, seductive cheerleader who takes evil to a whole new level after she’s possessed by a sinister demon. Steamy action and gore galore ensue as the male student body succumbs to Jennifer’s insatiable appetite for human flesh. Now it’s up to her best friend (Amanda Seyfried; Mamma Mia!) to stop the demonic diva’s reign of terror before it’s too late!

Fueled by the satiric wit of Oscar^®-winning writer Diablo Cody (Juno), the sexy horror directed by Karyn Kusama (Aeon Flux) features a strong supporting cast of young Hollywood stars including Adam Brody (“The O.C.”), Johnny Simmons (Hotel For Dogs) and Chris Pratt (Bride Wars) as well as J.K. Simmons (Juno) and Amy Sedaris (“Strangers With Candy”). Killer bonus features include an unrated extended cut packed with more sex and terror in addition to writer and director commentary, deleted scenes, gag reel, video diaries, a Megan Fox PSA and much more. Jennifer’s Body will be available on Blu-ray (BD) as a two-disc release featuring a Digital Copy version of the extended cut on December 29^th.

Blu-ray Features:

Disc One
? Theatrical Widescreen Feature Film
   ? Audio Commentary with Director Karyn Kusama and Writer Diablo Cody
? Extended Widescreen Version
   ? Audio Commentary with Director Karyn Kusama
? Deleted Scenes

   ? Dead Boys
   ? Jennifer Check Is Gross
   ? Needy Confronts Jennifer

   ? Who’s Cindy Crawford?
   ? Needy Faces The Band
   ? Ass, Gas or Grass…

? Gag Reel
? Jennifer’s Body: The Dead Pool
? Video Diaries

   ? Megan Fox and Johnny Simmons
   ? Amanda Seyfried 

   ? Diablo Cody
   ? Dan Dubiecki

? Megan Fox Is HOT
? Megan Fox “Peer Pressure” PSA
? Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘Life After Film School’ With Writer Diablo Cody
Disc Two
? Digital Copy of Jennifer’s Body (Extended Version) 

Miramax has made plans to release the Mike Judge comedy Extract on Blu-ray December 22nd.  Extract features comedic performances from Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons and Ben Affleck.  Iheard good things about this one!

In shocking news, don’t know if you consider this good or bad, Troma Entertainment has decided to go “Blu” in 2010 by releasing a new Blu-ray title every month.  Here’s hoping we see The Toxic Avenger on the Blu-ray format in the near future!

Summit Entertainment has announced that they will be bringing The Hurt Locker to the Blu-ray format on January 12th.  I can’t say I know too much about this one.

This last bit of news was from Friday, but sadly we never got around to posting it until now.  Warner Brothers/New Line Cinema has set a February 9th Blu-ray release date for the Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana drama The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Pre-order your Blu-rays today with Amazon’s pre-order price guarantee and know that 1% of your purchase will go directly to making a difference in the life of a child at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To pre-order any Blu-ray mentioned in the above news article just click on the movie title link.

 So just how awful was Megan Fox in her first starring role?  I am going to go out on a proverbial limb here, hoping not to go out too far and risk a branch breaking and boldly say that she truly was the charm of this film.  From her corny one-liners to her sh#$-eating grins, I found myself partially amused throughout.  While her performance is not going to warrant any special recognition, it was exactly the kind of deliverance that I was expecting from her in this juvenile role.  Not to take her too seriously, I believe Miss Fox deposited a sincere portrayal of the yuppie high school cheerleader, we have all come to know and love, that just so happened to have a need for feeding on the flesh of the living.  For some strange reason Megan reminded me a lot of Mila Kunis’ character from That ‘70s Show, when she wasn’t practicing male population control, of course.

So does the inclusion of Megan Fox make Jennifer’s Body a movie worth plopping down your hard earned Benjamin’s for?  If you are curious like me, then I think so.  However, if you were among the few in attendance tonight at the theater, your time may have been better spent enjoying the last remnants of summer nights.  I am not saying this because Jennifer’s Body is a bad movie, but on the contrary I believe it to be much of an acquired taste like beer first is.  It was just the right mixture of homogenous ingredients to get me over the hump of the bad movies I have seen over the past couple weeks, but not by much.  The film is a dark brooding horror comedy that feeds on your brain much like the undead zombies feed on fresh flesh.  Aligning perfectly with the split mixed reviews I have been observing ever since last week’s Toronto Film Festival, you are either going to find this movie appealing in a guilty pleasurable kind of way or you will simply be appalled by it.

If you found the vomit scenes in Drag Me To Hell too gross to handle, then just keep moving on, as this is not the film you are looking for (as I make my Jed-like wave).  Although the film is violent in nature, much of the gore is kept to a minimum.  In retrospect, if you cut out the very infrequent F-bombs that were used, I really cannot see a reason as to why this film could not have achieved a PG-13 rating.  The R-rating is what will probably keep the box office numbers low.  Despite the massive appeal that Megan Fox possesses over the male population, I was very surprised to behold a low theatrical turnout for opening night.  I could have walked into the movie, just as it was starting, and would have had no problem finding my favorite seats.  The movie studio is really going to hate me for this, but I feel this is my civic duty to let all the fanboys know that Megan Fox does not have any nude scenes.  You have actually seen more nudity of her on the Internet, during production of this film, then you will ever see within the movie’s 103-minute runtime.

It has been said that writer Diablo Cody wrote Juno at Starbucks in a Target store.  So don’t be alarmed when you hear a random shout out to Super Target within the movie.  Little inside jokes like this are what I find clever in filmmaking, with the exception of Revenge of the Sith’s lightsaber handle swaps.  Besides the eye candy of Megan Fox, Jennifer’s Body also stars Mamma Mia!’s Amanda Seyfried and everyone’s favorite newspaper editor J.K. Simmons.  In addition to the well-known cast members, the film also rocks a sonic soundtrack that will appeal to even the broadest range of alternative fans.  If you are like me and you enjoy a hot female lead, a campy B-movie storyline/feel and essential horror gore, then you will probably like Jennifer’s Body.  Notice, I used the word probably.  This film will not appeal to everyone.  You just have to keep an open mind, accept the fact that you are there for Megan and be able to appreciate the mundane from time-to-time.  If I had to break the film down in mathematical terms I would quantify a statement that Jennifer’s Body equals the quirkiness of Juno plus the horror comedy elements of Drag Me To Hell.  Take that for what it’s worth.  With all that being said, this will be a Week 1 Blu-ray purchase for me. (Grade: B- )

I scoured the Internet and found three different theatrical posters (see below) for Jennfier’s Body.  Hell yes!  Enjoy! 

Feel free to leave some comments below and let me know your thoughts on this review and/or Jennifer’s Body.  Thanks!

Pre-order your Blu-ray of Aliens in the Attic today with Amazon’s pre-order price guarantee and know that 1% of your purchase will go directly to making a difference in the life of a child at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

They are home but they are not alone. Prepare for the ultimate extraterrestrial invasion full of hilarious hijinks and outrageous mind control gags when Aliens In The Attic descends onto Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD November 3 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It’s summer vacation, but the Pearson family kids are stuck at a boring lake house with their nerdy parents. That is until feisty, little, green aliens crash-land on the roof, with plans to conquer the house AND Earth! Using only their wits, courage and video game-playing skills, the youngsters must band together to defeat the aliens and save the world — but the toughest part might be keeping the whole thing a secret from their parents! Featuring a hilarious cast including comedy veterans Doris Roberts (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Andy Richter (“The Conan O’Brien Show”), Kevin Nealon (“Weeds”), Tim Meadows (Mean Girls) and Gillian Vigman (The Hangover), as well as rising young stars Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), Robert Hoffman (Step Up 2: The Streets), Carter Jenkins (“Surface”) and Austin Robert Butler (“Zoey 101”), Aliens In The Attic is the most fun on the planet!

A fun-filled adventure from the writer of Madagascar and the Academy Award^®-winning* Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit, the enjoyable adventure-filled family comedy features the voices of Josh Peck (Ice Age trilogy), J.K. Simmons (Juno), Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways) and Kari Wahlgren (Bolt) as the Zirkonian alien invaders. Boasting bonus features with all-new content including an introduction by Ashley Tisdale, “Behind The Zirkonians” animated short, a gag reel and more, the Aliens In The Attic Two-Disc release includes the Blu-ray (BD), DVD and Digital Copy.