Quantum of Solace
Rating:
Reviewed by: Eric Alt
The Skinny: Picking up immediately after the end credits of Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace finds James Bond (Daniel Craig) hot on the trail of the shadowy organization behind the death of his beloved Vesper Lynd. Tracking them down involves guns, cars, and globe-trotting like you've never seen. The Good: Unfairly torched by "critics" (let's get this straight: You loved Casino Royale for being a straight-up action movie, but hate Quantum for…being the same thing? Fail), Quantum barely pauses for breath during its foot chases, car chases, and fisticuffs—which makes it a high grade thrill ride all around. On Blu-Ray, everything is gorgeous, from the overcast skies of London to the curves of Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Atherton. Hell, even Dame Judi Dench is breathtaking. This defines "slick."
The Bad: There's not a lot of love in the special features. None of them are what you'd call "bad," they're just kind of routine. True Bond fanatics will lap up every tiny production detail, but the rest will likely skip out on watching them altogether. And won't miss out on much by doing so.
Best Extra: If we have to pick one, probably the "Crew Files." This might be a little too "insider" for the casual movie watcher, but it's nice to see the grunts behind the scenes—your gaffers and your grips—get a shout-out.
Buy, Rent, or Ignore: This DVD is an owner, no question.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood
Rating:
Reviewed by: Eric Alt
The Skinny: You see, in the original Watchmen comic book series, writer Alan Moore interspersed within the main story a comic-within-a-comic (the pirate-themed Tales of the Black Freighter) and pages from an autobiography written by one of the retired vigilantes (Under the Hood). Rather than cram them into the Watchmen movie, Zack Snyder has sent them straight-to-DVD. Freighter gets turned into an animated story, while Hood's content is covered in awful 80s daytime chat show fashion. The Good: Under the Hood, which the DVD cover art treats as an afterthought, is actually the best part of the release. It fills in some of the backstory elements, features characters from the movie (More Carla Gugino? Yes, please), and really nails the look and feel of the era.
The Bad: Unfortunately, even Hood could have easily been a bonus feature on the upcoming Watchmen movie DVD, rather than a shameless attempt to milk even more money from fans (following the release of the "Motion Comic" DVD, which is just a disc of someone reading the comics to you. That is to say, it's exactly like the movie). Freighter's animation is cool and the main character is voiced by 300's Gerard Butler, but taken out of the context of the main story it feels slight. Like the movie, these two shorts are aimed squarely at the obsessives and don't really make an effort to appeal to newcomers.
Best Extra: Well, the "Story Within a Story" is kind of an effort to explain why you should care about these two features, but it feels like too little too late.
Buy, Rent, or Ignore: Even hardcore fans will probably be satisfied with a rental. The rest of you can ignore this one.