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Read my review of A SERBIAN FILM

Invincible Pictures isn’t a top distributor, but one wouldn’t know that from the picture quality of this release. As ugly as the subject matter of the film is, the AVC encoded 1080p transfer is not ugly at all. The flawless RED camera cinematography is captured with striking clarity. Details pop to the point of giving the picture increased depth. Desaturation of color is intentional to go along with the grim subject matter. So when it gets bloody the crimson reds are striking.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack is less impressive because it’s not 5.1. However, for 2.0, it does the job. It’s hard to say exactly how clear the dialogue is because it’s Serbian. The metal score and brutal sound effects are aggressive. The soundscape does a good job shaking the viewer just as much as the disturbing imagery.

Unfortunately the disc has no special features at all. If any film calls for some comment from its director this is one. Srdan Spasojevic has defended his sick opus at film festivals around the world. I would have liked to see hear it as well. This is an angry film and it would be insightful to hear from Spasojevic about what inspired him.

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Wayward souls are often the prey of sociopaths. They either turn into victims or accomplices or something in the middle. Cult leaders from Charles Manson to Jim Jones have used the veneer of family and community to twist people’s minds into believing terrible things. They make it too scary to leave. The outside world becomes foreign. So how can one cope if they do get away?

Martha (Elizabeth Olsen, PEACE, LOVE, & MISUNDERSTANDING) is such a young woman. She flees from Patrick (John Hawkes, WINTER’S BONE) a much older man who leads a family of young men and women on a rural farm. She doesn’t really know where she is. The other members follow her. Watts (Brady Corbet, 2007’s FUNNY GAMES), one of the members, finds her at a diner and tells her to come home. He doesn’t force her, but the impression that if she doesn’t something bad will happen to her is strongly implied.

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Coming of age films are common, but one like this one is uncommon. Outcasts are so often the central character. That’s the case here, but this isn’t your nice blameless outcast. He’s selfish and cruel and real. It’s like a British RUSHMORE.

Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts, JANE EYRE) tells us from the start that this is his biography. He even explains where Wales is for American audiences. Oliver is a bit of an outcast. He is smarter than the other kids, but as self aware as any teenager. Maybe even less so. He wants to have sex and believes that Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige, BALLET SHOES) is his best chance. However, his awkward eagerness doesn’t really help his cause. Lucky for him Jordana is more forthright than he expects and isn’t into grand gestures of affection.

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I’ve seen bits and pieces of this over the years since it came to cable. Some of the pieces I caught impressed me, because it seemed the whole thing was a spoof of the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, as well as space horror films like ALIEN. Now that I have seen the film from start to finish, I have come to the conclusion that it is trying to make fun of the series, but the problem is that it was written like one of those late-night softcore spoofs.

In the prologue, Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder, HATCHET) has been captured and is set to be cryogenically frozen, because he can’t be killed. He gets loose in the facility and Rowan (Lexa Doig, TV’s ANDROMEDA) lures the killer into the freezing chamber and accidentally gets frozen along with him. Apparently Earth was doomed with or without Jason on ice because in the future humans live on Earth II. An education mission is sent back to Earth to check it out, discovering Rowan and Jason and taking them back on the ship to thaw them out.

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Read my review of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

I’ve been reading a lot of reviews of this Blu-ray release hating the darkness of it, but then saying that it’s part of the film. When reviewing the quality of a transfer the only thing to really take into account is the intent of the filmmakers and has that been brought to the home entertainment experience. With Disney’s 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer of the fourth PIRATES film, they have done this masterfully. Yes, some of the early scenes are dark and mysterious, but that was director Rob Marshall and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski point. Even in the darkness you can relish in the inky blacks and remarkable detail. It has been described as smoky, which is true, but nothing is lost. When the film sails into the day, the details jump from the screen in the clothing and sets. The color palette is muted, but uber natural, which provides some of the visual awe. Digital anomalies are minimal. There is some faint digital fuzziness in the darker scenes and edge enhancement ringing can be found if you’re looking for it.

If people have been nitpicking the picture quality, they are not doing so with the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 because you can’t. This is one of the Blu-rays of the year to rock the surround sound with. Directionality is masterfully done to the point that it actually made my head turn — hey what’s that behind me. Pans across the soundscape and the general ambiance make for a very immersive experience. Dialogue, score and sound effects are balanced precisely. Every sword clash, pistol fire, explosion, splash or snarky line is given its proper due.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger faced off against these skilled hunters in the original film and now Oscar-winner Adrien Brody picks up the big gun. Too bad Brody didn’t get the better role. This sequel goes back to the essence of the original, but loses all the suspense.

Brody plays Royce, a special ops soldier who is dropped from the sky into a jungle. He doesn’t know why he is there. All he remembers is a flash of light. Others start joining him. They’re all killers from various locations on Earth and it becomes clear quickly that they are not the hunters in this scenario.

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It’s kind of like SIDEWAYS crossed with MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. In the former, we have old friends on vacation. In the latter, the two friends do spend a great time talking over dinner. Sounds kind of boring. But wait. The dinner guests are Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Coogan and Brydon play exaggerated versions of the own personas. Coogan has been asked by The Observer to tour fine restaurants in the North and write about the experience. He wanted to take his girlfriend Mischa (Margo Stilley, HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE), but she has decided to put their relationship on a break. Steve misses her, but that doesn’t stop him from bedding hostesses, waitresses and a female photographer.

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The tag line for the film is that it will do for skiing what JAWS did for swimming. Now in no way is it in the same league as Steven Spielberg’s classic, but it’s certainly on the same field with films like OPEN WATER, which found a couple left behind in shark-infested water on a scuba trip. The action for this tense horror/thriller moves the action to a ski lift in the sub-freezing cold.

Joe Lynch (Shawn Ashmore, X-MEN) and Dan Walker (Kevin Zegers, DAWN OF THE DEAD) are best friends who have planned a snowboarding/skiing trip. Joe is upset that Dan has brought along his novice girlfriend Parker (Emma Bell, FINAL DESTINATION 5). Dan is too cheap to pay for lift tickets so he has Parker charm the lift operator to let them on. Big mistake. Tensions were running high from the start and they only come to the breaking point when the threesome is accidentally left on the lift after closing.

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Despite having the superhero in the title, this animated feature seems less like the Dark Knight’s story and more like that of James Gordon, who at this time is new to the Gotham police department. Based on what is hailed as a seminal comic series from writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli, the transition from the page to the screen is faithful, but also highlights the differences between mediums.

Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie, TV’s SOUTHLAND) was returned to Gotham from training abroad. He has begun the preparation for becoming the vigilante, but hasn’t found his identity yet. Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston, TV’s BREAKING BAD) is the new lieutenant in town, having been exiled to the most corrupt city after smoking out police corruption in his last post. His wife Barbara (Grey DeLisle, TV’s THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS) is pregnant and he is guilty to bring a new child into this dirty, grim world.

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Read my review of BATMAN: YEAR ONE

Visually this is one of the better looking DC Direct animated titles. The 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer contains a muted color palette that sets the somber mood. Neon signs pop, while not creating digital interference. Banding issues that have been on all of the DC Direct titles are reduced and are only visible if you’re really looking for them. The 2D animation is cleanly presented, but the integration of cel-painted CG does stick out because of the sharpest (and movement). Other digital problems are minor and like I said of the banding, you really have to be looking for it.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is a solid mix of dialogue, music and sound effects. These direct-to-DVD features never have the cinematic score of a theatrical feature, but this one used the entire soundscape pretty well. City ambience is brought into the rear speakers, which helps create a realistic setting, an important element of the film. Gun shots, heavy fist smashes and explosions utilize the LFE track in dynamic fashion. It makes you pay attention. The only real disappointment came in an iconic moment where a swarm of bats flies over Batman and take over the screen. The swoosh of the creatures doesn’t wash over the viewer as much as it could by keeping the back speakers focused on the score.

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