What I'll be doing August 14th 2012

love the classic cover!

With my upcoming busy summer (wedding, honeymoon, etc) I really am not sure how much time I will have to myself. One thing I can always look forward to is seeing a movie to give me a small 1 to 2 hour break from reality. I have just learned that one of my top three all time movies is making its bluray debut. JAWS has long been a favorite of mine ever since I went on the tram tour an Universal Studios and was scared half to death when the shark would pop out of the water. To be the best horror has to be something you are actually scared of, and a huge man eating sharks has always been tops on that list for me!

JAWS will be released August 14, 2012. Universal is doing a pretty cool tie in coinciding with the companies 100th anniversary by releasing (or re-releasing) a lot of their classic titles on bluray. I have long been waiting for JAWS on bluray especially with many of Spielberg's other movies recently being released in the format. I received the Jurassic Park trilogy as a Christmas present (2 out of 3 of the movies being good and one average). I have also heard rumblings of E.T. being released on bluray soon with possibly both versions of the movie. If you weren't in the loop Spielberg went all Lucas on E.T. and changed some things with CGI. Two notable changes were that police officers guns were replaced with walkie talkies and E.T. was made all CGI in some scenes. Spielberg eventually admitted he made a slight mistake with the changes and would make the original (and unaltered) version available on bluray. The Indiana Jones collection (all 4 movies...3 out of 4 ain't bad!) is also being released on bluray and is on amazon but with no exact release date yet.

I read a great article about the JAWS bluray on Entertainment Weekly's web site. They go more in depth on how they really fixed up the old negatives of the film to make it look extra awesome and original. The bluray will be remastered and restored. There will even be a feature about how Spielberg fixed up the old negatives of the film to make them look their best for the bluray release. They have a video on the same page but I decided to save it to watch when the bluray is released in August. If you cannot wait click HERE and check it out, it looks like a really cool process. The bluray also has 4 hours of extras, including the documentary The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of JAWS. I have long heard of this documentary and am really happy they decided to include this with the bluray. If you want to join me watching it on August 14th come on over, but I'm gonna need a bigger couch!

what a difference

Underrated Movies Presents: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I thought it was time to shed light on some of my personal list of movies which I think are underrated. What does underrated even mean to me? I am saying that the movie was not a big financial success and was not nominated for many awards. Also these movies might have a following because they are so well done and if you are a movie fiend like me I am sure you already know about the movie.

From the mind of writer/director Shane Black (writer of Lethal Weapon, Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and Monster Squad....Black is also set to write/direct Iron Man 3!) came this little movie in 2005 starring a then not yet Iron Man famous Robert Downey Jr. Downey was on his come back trail at this point. He has been in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Good Night and Good Luck in 2005 both 3 years before he would star in Iron Man. The cast also includes the ever so cute/hot Michelle Monaghan as well as Val Kilmer who goes back to his comic roots and gives one of his finest performances.

The actors all do very fine jobs and the movie but with the amazing script even Hayden Christensen couldn't mess up this movie. You have a very fast paced dialogue that never really stops. The dialogue is so fast paced and full of good moments that a repeat viewing is a must. It sort of reminded me of an old Bogart detective movie. If you ever go back and watch those the dialogue is very fast and full of information.

You also get a really nice mystery/ detective movie here. Black seemingly took his time fleshing out the characters. Downey Jr. is Harry Lockhart (the name just sounds like someone from an old pulp fiction paperback). Harry is not a cop but an actor who gets mixed up in a murder case and is getting help from real cop Gay Perry (Kilmer). The duo have instant chemistry and shine together. It's rare lately in cinema to have such a good buddy cop movie that doesn't come off cheesy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of those movies.

The movie also has a great payoff, you are not let down in the final act of the movie in any way. I am glad I somehow saw this movie. I think I was able to see it at the theater but no matter how make sure you can find this movie and see it. Shane Black is a writer who doesn't do too many films and takes his time when he writes. Since Kiss Kiss Bang Bang he hasn't written or directed for 7 years! I think he can really make Iron Man 3 something special. He knows how to get the best out of Downey Jr. and I can see him instantly becoming a famous director if Iron Man 3 is the hit we all know it will be.

Whatever you do go and see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you can thank me later. In fact I think I am going to go put the movie in my DVD player right now.

More Underrated Movies to come...