…and justice for all (1979/Image Blu-ray) + Brother’s Justice (2011/Well Go USA Blu-ray w/DVD) + Casino Jack (2010/Fox Blu-ray) + Company Men (2009/Anchor Bay Blu-ray) +
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011/Lionsgate
Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B/C+ & C/B/B/B- & C Sound: C+/C+/B/B-/B
& B- Extras: C-/D/C/B-/B- Films: B+/D/C+/B-/B-
The idea
of justice became a staple of the Classical Hollywood Narrative when sound
arrived along with the Production Code, but there is also the fascination with
criminals and the good/bad split oversimplified in such films has led to “the
bad guys” often becoming celebrated. At
the same time, the search for justice and the belief that America, The American
Dream and a better country that offers a better future has always (especially
since Frank Capra’s films, but sometimes with odd catches) became a Hollywood
standard. The following five new Blu-ray
releases show us how.
After
many key films about courtroom justice including To Kill A Mockingbird and In
The Heat Of The Night, Norman Jewison (who directed the latter) made …and justice for all (1979) with Al
Pacino, a film (like the Pacino/De Palma Scarface)
that was not a big hit in its time, but is now considered important and a
classic by establishing endless courtroom dramas and thrillers. We previously reviewed the film on DVD at
this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6746/%E2%80%A6And+Justice+For+All+%E
It’s
classic status continues and if anything, the film has become more relevant
than ever as DNA and politics have more blatantly shown us how deal making have
ruined American justice and by those who would like to make the whole idea and
function of the country a myth or one of the past for power and profit. Still, not enough people have seen the film
and after disappointing DVD playback, the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High
Definition image on the Blu-ray is not only better with some grain but
surprisingly good color and definition in many shots, but the DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is far superior to the flawed Dolby Digital 5.1 on the
DVD even when the dialogue recording shows its age, so people can finally see
how great a film this is and enjoy it much closer to the original intent of the
filmmakers. Though the case says
“deleted scenes” on the back, there is only one and a trailer, which is sadly
not as much as the DVD.
David
Palmer and star Dax Shepard co-directed Brother’s
Justice (2011) which sounds like another courtroom drama, but when you see
the cover, it looks like a spoof of Westerns or Spaghetti Westerns. However, it actually turns out to be a very
short, poor, would-be satire of filmmaking in Hollywood that is never funny and Shepard’s
mumblecore performance is never funny and well behind the school of Superbad/Knocked Up humor. Like the
awful Burn Hollywood
Burn! years ago, the makers think name people showing up as themselves is
somehow funny in itself and adds credibility to the storyline, what there is of
it here.
Yes, we
get bad Western footage as well, but this never works, is badly edited, footage
and the time frame do not even match and if it were any more self-amused, it
would be smug. Shepard even tries to
look like Bruce Dern, but I’d be much better off rather watch Silent Running and King Of Marvin Gardens continuously than suffer through another
frame of this and so would you. The
biggest problem is that there is nothing of Hollywood left to spoof since the
1980s, as it has been in quality decline ever since and this has nothing new to
show us, tell us or mock therefore not doing “justice” to its subject or
audience. However, fitting our theme, it
shows how the narrative ideas I am suggesting are so ingrained in Classical
Hollywood Narrative. Too bad the makers
are clueless about this too.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is better than the weak
anamorphically enhanced DVD included, but this has much motion blur and lacks
detail, especially in some key shots.
Both format versions come with the same surprisingly poor Dolby Digital
5.1 with location dialogue recording issues and an overall shoddy mix. Extras include Deleted Scenes, a theatrical trailer,
Shepard short Drillin’ Deep Movie
which is not a movie (it was never on The
CBS Late Movie either) and feature length audio commentary by Shepard,
Palmer and Producer Nate Tuck.
The late
George Hickenlooper directed Casino Jack
(2010) before his death telling the story of the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff
(Kevin Spacey), a movie-obsessed Washington
power broker helping the Extreme Right for a profit and even getting involved
in feature film production. Of course,
everything is going well until his schemes start to backfire and too many
people get involved, slowly betraying each other. Barry Pepper (in his best work in years),
Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz (in one of his best performances) and Graham Greene
are a good cast and the true-life events are interesting, but the Norman Snider
screenplay gets carried away with itself and lands up negating important points
about history as it drowns in endless movie quotes, backfiring on the final cut
overall. And in the end, it lands up in
a courtroom and believe it or not, badly reenacts the climax of …and justice for all. It is worth a look at best, but expect
problems.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 AVC @ 21 MBPS digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is on the
impressive side with some demo shots and good color throughout. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix
is also very well recorded and has a good mix of location recording, music and
other elements, so the combination is top rate.
Extras include Deleted Scenes, a Gag Reel and Casino Jack: A Director’s Photo Gallery.
Covering
the same period that leads to the 2008 financial meltdown, Writer/Director John
Wells’ The Company Men (2009) is the
more serious of the two with Ben Affleck as a very successful youngish
executive on top of the world at a big corporation where he is very successful,
but the bottom is falling out as the company is contracting for no good reason
except for quick profits in a business that does not make actual items to
sell. Tommy Lee Jones is one of the
founders of the company, but things get so bad that he is eliminated and bought
out by his old friend and partner, the appropriately cast Craig T. Nelson who
also has a key role in …and justice for
all.
I liked
what the film had to say and additional weight is added to the film by its
decent screenplay and performances by Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello
and Rosemary DeWitt, but Affleck becomes its weak link once again becoming a
distraction by playing his now tired slick stereotypical proto-character that
has been long played out and helped bring him off of the A-list despite actually
being able to act. Still, this is also
worth a look and has likely been censored for political reasons because it is
saying things that need to be said and heard, now more relevant than when hit
first hit theaters.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image offers up yet another solid, nicely
lensed (by the great Director of Photography Roger Deakins, A.S.C., B.S.C.) and
effective presentation that is smooth and a pleasure to watch, also with its
demo shot moments and good color throughout.
The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is a good recording, but
is more dialogue-based and in the center-channel and front speakers than I
would have liked. However, it is still
decent. Extras include Deleted Scenes, a
feature length audio commentary by Wells, Alternate Ending that does not work
as well (compare after watching the film) and featurette Making The Company Men.
Finally
we have Brad Furman’s The Lincoln Lawyer
(2011), a big surprise with the best work Matthew McConaughey has done in years
with a role that he should repeat because it has that kind of potential. He plays a slick lawyer named Mickey Haller,
a defense attorney who owns a Lincoln Town Car (a nice one too) and is
chauffeured around as he takes on whatever his next case or next adventure will
be. Unlike the empty slickness of
Affleck’s performance and character, this is palpable and matches the character
better.
He is
asked to take on the case of a rich young man (Ryan Phillippe) backed by his
rich parents and Haller accepts, but even he starts to wonder what is really
going on when some elements of the case do not make sense and more than a few
people are not telling him the whole truth about what is really going on. As he digs deeper, even his well-informed mindset
has to do some detective work to find out what is really going on, which will
extend far beyond his case.
Based on
the novel by author Michael Connelly, I had not seen a mystery thriller work
this well for a while and am a bit surprised it was not a bigger hit in
theaters, but I believe it will be vindicated in the HD and video market and
will hopefully surprise those who feel McConaughey has lost his way as an actor
and star. This could be a huge comeback
for him and if the quality was kept up and expanded, could be the best such
film series in a very long time.
Marisa
Tomei, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Frances Fisher and William H.
Macy make for a strong supporting cast (they all obviously signed on knowing
how good the script was) and though it may not be as socially relevant as Casino Jack, it is actually more
successful as a full-length work.
However, it is still part of the same lineage discussed and a definite
descendant of …and justice for all. Note that McConaughey became a star with A Time To Kill in 1996, handpicked by
red hot mystery author John Grisham to star in it, putting him on the map. Nice to see him back on track.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is better than the weak
anamorphically enhanced DVD included, but the shaky camerawork holds this back
visually and leads to more motion blur than is necessary. Detail is an issue too. A new visual approach should be used in any
sequel. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1
lossless is better, offering a very well recorded mix and solid soundfield that
even the lesser, lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD retains to some extent. Extras include Digital Copy for PC and PC
portable devices, Deleted Scenes and three featurettes: Making The Case: Creating The Lincoln Lawyer, At Home On The Road and One
On One interview piece with McConaughey and Connelly.
- Nicholas Sheffo
