Kevin Smith, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan—an unlikely working trio you say? Yes, well–It does work…in a weird way, anyway; however, this is not where the surprises end in the Warner Brothers release, Cop Out. The on-screen chemistry between Morgan and Willis is undeniable, too!

You can believe they’ve worked together, as actors, as long as their characters have in the film. On-screen and in interviews it is apparent that something clicked between them. Their characters are quite different, and it’s hard to imagine that they could ever actually work together, but then there are the moments where in true buddy cop fashion, one is there to pull the other’s fat out of the fire.

In an admitted homage to buddy-cop movies, Kevin Smith directs action scenes, but may have missed the mark on the careful balancing act between comedy, drama and action that make up the quintessential elements of the genre. The film is lacking a center to tie it all together. Either way, it could not have been an easy film to edit. Allowed to improvise once the scripted portions of a scene were covered, a cast made up mostly of actors that love an opportunity to change things up, went to town. The very funny Kevin Pollack even managed to slip in a quick DeNiro impression. Smith had a lot of footage to work with and had the actors try different lines on the fly; sometimes instructing via radio, carefully hidden out of frame.

Originally titled A Couple of Dicks, the studio wanted to avoid the problems Smith had with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and suggested he try something else. To the chagrin of some cast members, he decided on Cop Out; however, he does at least have someone say “a couple of dicks” at one point. It happens during a scene that was part of the pick-ups shot a couple of months after principal photography had wrapped.

Cop Out is a buddy-cop movie tribute, but not strictly so. Whereas Hot Fuzz was goofier, Cop Out goes all out. If it’s classically been a part of the buddy-cop genre, it’s in there—the partners are chewed out by their captain; they engage in reckless behavior; they cause mass amounts of property damage; there is a rival pair of cops that are always ready to rub their noses in their mistakes; and let’s not forget the all-important ex-wife and over-the-top bad guys. There is action in this movie. This was challenging for Smith, and luckily he surrounded himself with a crack team that helped him pull it off. The action is at a comparable level to most cop movies out there.

Cop Out suffers from some technical issues, image-wise—the image quality is a little inconsistent. The problems may arise from issues with the source. None of this makes the film unwatchable. It just results in a transfer that isn’t what we’ve come to expect from Blu-ray releases. At times, the 1080p transfer looks fine, textures are apparent and the picture is clear with good contrast and colour. But at other times, the visual noise becomes distracting. The artifacts are perceived mostly in dark interior car or night shots. Black levels are passable, but again, not great–Some details disappear into the background.

Sound-wise, the disc’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround soundtrack features a lot of old-school tracks like Beastie Boys’ No Sleep til’ Brooklyn, among others, that pump out of the channels with bass-y goodness. The dialogue is always nice and clear, but there is minimal use of the rear channels, limiting the ambient sound field. The emphasis is on the dialogue.

The special features on this 2-disc edition (the second disc of which is a digital copy) of Cop Out are all bundled in Warner’s excellent Maximum Movie Mode feature included on the Blu-ray. The Interviews, focus points and “Wisdom from the Sh*t Bandit” piece are viewable separately; however, they are best viewed through what Smith refers to as Maximum Movie Comedy Mode. The regular running time of the film is 1 hour and 47 minutes. In MMCM, it’s 2 hours and 55 minutes! MMCM includes the previously mentioned features plus storyboards, deleted scenes and raw footage all delivered (and interpreted) by Smith, himself. He even interrupts his own commentary! Seann William Scott visits the multiple pictures-in-picture commentary “set” occasionally, seemingly still in-character. This feature is extensive and interesting to watch–A thorough look at the making of the film. It was clear that everyone had fun on the set and that “Hey, try it like this…” was a big part of the process. It is definitely worth a look.

Cop Out may not be for everyone–It is definitely a Kevin Smith film and he loves to remind you of that fact, especially when watching the Maximum Comedy Mode feature of the disc; however, the film is entertaining. Also, I’m going out on a limb here, but having seen Tracy Morgan in Death at a Funeral recently as well, I can see that he can act. By the accounts of other actors and having seen him in interviews, he may be “on” pretty much around the clock, but there is more to the guy than the zany, I-may-say-anything-next Tracy Morgan/Jordan.

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We’re back! You might have noticed a lack of posts in the last few days. Well, we’ve been out west in Winnipeg attending the wedding of our good friends Angie and Tyson (see the incredible photos here: http://kampblog.com) and have just returned back to Montreal. It was a fantastic trip with some really fantastic people. But now we’re back and there’s a shit-ton of Blu-ray news and reviews to catch up on. And since this Top 5 New Release column is now officially a day late, I’ll just blast through most of the commentary and give you a quick overview of all the goodies now on store shelves…

1. THE RED SHOES

This is it. This is the disc I’ve been waiting all year to get my hands on. And after you watch that trailer above and check out the features of Criterion‘s new The Red Shoes Blu-ray disc, if you don’t dash out right away and grab up a copy for yourself…well, there’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re beyond film-fan hope…

Okay, in all seriousness, this release is a landmark one for Criterion, for Blu-ray fanatics and for film fans everywhere. The print used to create this transfer, the restoration work that went into making every perfect detail and colour ring out is absolutely beyond reproach. This is what the format is all about – presenting film as film, as best and true as it can look and sound in a home theatre environment. The Red Shoes is the best thing going this week, potentially this year on Blu.

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin Scorsese
• Introductory restoration demonstration with Scorsese
• Profile of “The Red Shoes” (2000), a twenty-five-minute documentary
• Video interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell’s widow
• Gallery from Scorsese’s collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
• The “Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards
• Readings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Christie

Amazon: $29.49

2. BLACK NARCISSUS

Not satisfied with bringing one truly stunning Powell & Pressburger masterpiece to Blu-ray this week, Criterion has seen fit to unleash the auteur duo’s Black Narcissus on an unsuspecting Blu-ray crowd – another truly gorgeous, colour-rich transfer that will make you fall in love with Blu all over again. This is an amazing time to be film fanatic!

Amazon: $35.99

3. MOTHER

My good pal, Matt Forsythe claims that this is the best film of the year. The best film he’s seen in ages. And though I haven’t had a chance to check it out myself, I hold his opinion in such high regard that I’m willing to take a chance on Bong Joon-ho‘s (The Host) Mother – a noir-ish South Korean thriller where a downtrodden mother is tasked to exonerate her mentally challenged son of a murder he didn’t commit.

Amazon: $26.49

4. THE RUNAWAYS

Chris has got a Runaways review coming up for us shortly here in The Blu-ray Blog. It’s director Floria Sigismondi‘s stylish take on the early career of rocker Joan Jett and her pre-solo career band with band-mate Cherie Curry. The disc features a commentary track with Jett and lead actors Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

Amazon: $19.99

5. THE LOSERS

I’m not sure why The Losers didn’t do better box office. It’s the kind of fun popcorn-y film that audiences generally eat up. Based on the popular DC Comics book featuring some amazing art by illustrator Jock, the film adaptation plays as an entertaining alternative to this summers A-Team, with which it shares a great deal of concept and plot. A great cast and lots of action make this a sure bet for summer movie fun.

Amazon: $19.99

ANIME OF THE WEEK:
RIN – DAUGHTERS OF MNEMOSYNE: THE COMPLETE SERIES

The twisted Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series Blu-ray boxed set is another collection of extremely imaginative anime from FUNimation, this time with an adult angle. Rin follows the story of an immortal detective who is perpetually and literally dying to solve mysteries. There’s a lot of blood, gore, nudity, torture, alcohol…generally, a lot of nasty stuff you want to keep from the eyes of the innocents. To be honest, it’s not my thing. Rin feels like it’s pandering to that demographic of the comic-store crowd who enjoy a healthy dose of sadistic misogyny in their animated fantasies. It’s got some nice ideas and some great visuals but ultimately leaves me cold.

The Blu-ray is another decent upconvert from FUNimation, appearing quite detailed, with solid colours and deep blacks. It’s not native HD so you’ll notice some aliasing and stair-stepping in the line-work but keep in mind, this is most likely the finest presentation that Rin will ever see on home video.

With two impressive lossless audio tracks (Japanese and English) and a handful of decent extras, Rin puts in a solid showing on Blu, even if the content isn’t for everyone.

Amazon: $34.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

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I’m not even supposed to be here today.

I have been salivating over this disc set and dreaming about its review for awhile. I really like Kevin Smith movies and here’s why; he knows exactly what he has to offer. And he gives it all to us. Yes, there is crass humor that sometimes borders on stupidity, but have you looked around lately? There’s more than a grain of truth in what Smith offers in his movies. I’ve always enjoyed his pacing and his simple sense of visual storytelling – clear and concise without reliance on complicated tricks. He’s there to tell a story, whichever one that might be, and isn’t worried about impressing us with how pretty he can make it.

But being put on Blu-ray has somewhat taken care of the lack of visual pizzaz we’ve been used to in our old DVD versions of the films! These 1080p transfers of the films bring out the best of the source material. And while it would have been nice to see this collector’s set include EVERYTHING worth collecting (add in Clerks II, Mallrats, Jersey Girl and Dogma and you have a complete SET!) this big box of Blu-ray does just about everything you can ask for from these three titles, with one notable exception. I’ll get to that in a moment.

The other thing I really love about Kevin Smith is how much he seems to have to say, be it in the movies or in the commentary, interviews, conventions and documentaries that enhance them on the discs. And this set gives it all up. These Blu-ray discs are packed to overflowing with content, and lots of it is new!

What’s new you ask? Check it out!

On the Clerks disc:

• An introduction By Kevin Smith
• “Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party: The Making of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”

Plus:

• Theatrical Version of the Film
• Classic Commentary (1995)
• Enhanced Playback Track – synchronized trivia and cast & crew quotes
• “The First Cut” Version
• Kevin Smith Intro (2004)
• “The First Cut” Audio Commentary (with New Authoring / 3 viewing modes)
• Clerks: The Lost Scene – Animated Short
• “The Flying Car”
• Clerks Restoration
• Original Auditions
• “Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks”
• Outtakes From “Snowball Effect”
• “Mae Day: The Crumbling Of A Documentary” With Intro By Kevin Smith And Scott Mosier
• 10th Anniversary Q & A
• MTV Spots With Jay & Silent Bob
• Soul Asylum “Can’t Even Tell” Music Video
• Theatrical Trailer

And on the Chasing Amy Disc;

• “Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc”
• “Was It Something I Said?” – A Conversation With Kevin & Joey
• 10 Years Later Q & A – With Kevin Smith And The Cast
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Actor Kevin Smith and Producer Scott Mosier

Plus:

• Deleted Scenes
• Outtakes
• Trailer

The Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back disc has sadly not been upgraded at all. It’s simply the same plain vanilla Blu-ray release as before, but really, there is so much extra content on the other discs in this set it’s hard to complain. But it would have been nice to have seen the inclusion of all the bonus content from the previously available 2-Disc DVD set.

I’m not going to dwell on the technical merits of the Blu-ray presentation of these films. The fact is that Smith’s movies are shot raw, and while the transfers are accurate to the source material, they simply can’t compare to the best looking discs on the market. Don’t get me wrong, this is as good as these movies have looked, but remember that Clerks was shot long ago on 16mm for not much money. These are not movies that are meant to showcase the super powers of Blu-ray.

The real deal with this set is the comprehensive collection of bonus material on the Clerks and Chasing Amy discs. All sorts of really good stuff has been collected into one set, a very thorough set with hours and hours of extras about the movies that you love. Some call them modern classics, some people call them modern fluff. I call them one man’s love letters to film, comic books and his home town of New Jersey. Love letters that he invited his friends and family to help him write.

Over the years Smith has grown. Some might rebut that comment heavily. But if you’re a fan (and you probably are if you are reading this review and thinking about picking up this set) you probably agree. For over a decade of movie making he has worked tirelessly to populate a world with characters who we have watched change and move forward through their lives. Even as they are making fart jokes 10 years later. He gave us Death Star politics, confused lesbians, The Time, corpse sex, gay black pride, beating up your internet critics one by one, and more fast paced, quick wittedly offensive dialogue than you can shake a porch monkey at.

He’s given us memorable movies, memorable characters and memorable moments. These are things all film makers try to achieve. And in this Blu-ray boxed set he gives you a closer look at how he did it, through discussions and behind the scenes featurettes and an openness that allows you to see who he and his friends and crew truly are. There’s an honesty there. Whether he’s “speaking” the truth as he sees it or “speaking” from the pants, Smith’s movies have as big a heart as “Fat boy” Silent Bob.

And as an added bonus, this shit is really funny.

The reasons you should grab a copy of this set are twofold. First, you’ve probably forgotten half of the awesomeness that is in these movies. You owe it to yourself to revisit the films. They still work after all this time. The second reason is the ridiculously bountiful supply of bonus features. They provide a candid look at how one guy put everything he had into making a movie, that managed to spawn more movies that have afforded him the opportunity to interact with hundreds, if not thousands of fans in a personal way. That may not be every artist’s desire, but it’s sure as hell what I consider being a good film maker.

Snooch To The Nooch!!!

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It’s Tuesday and once again we’re faced with a potential wallet-emptying video store/Amazon.com shopping experience! I hope you’ve been saving up because today is a doosey!

If you’ve got $20 and any sense, you’ll haul your ass out and pick up a copy of the Star Trek Blu-ray today. It’s stunning. Damn-near perfect! Every self-respecting Blu-ray owner needs this disc (Except Tony Asta, of course. He’s just not into it.) Add in a little Galaxy Quest to round out your sci-fi experience.

Film enthusiasts will definitely want to get their dirty little mitts on Gone With The Wind. Like The Wizard of Oz before it, Warner has pulled out all the stops, delivering a transfer that will blow your mind! You’ve never seen Rhett and Scarlet like this before.

Television and serial-storytelling enthusiasts will want to grab up the Rome box set today as well. The bigger and higher-res the sword-and-sandal epic the more stunning the experience. And Rome won’t disappoint, looking and sounding better than ever!

NEW BLU-RAY RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 17
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