Any die hard movie musical fan knows that MGM produced most of the greatest musicals of all time in the 1950s. The Arthur Freed Unit became the touchstone of musicals with productions ranging from The Wizard of Oz in 1939 to Bells Are Ringing in 1960. While the 1940s was a productive decade for Freed, the 1950s gave us some of the most beloved, classic musicals of all time.

Now, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has taken two of these MGM classics, plus one from the Warner Brothers library, and has given them a good scrubbing for Blu-ray and the results are astonishing. Best of all, you can purchase your favorite film as a stand-alone disk or get them all in the new Musicals: 4-Movie Collection. The three new titles are The Band Wagon, Calamity Jane, and Kiss Me Kate. Warners has added Singin’ in the Rain as a bonus to the 4-disk set.

The first movie in the collection is The Band Wagon (1953) starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan. The story follows a nearly washed up Hollywood actor (Astaire) who decides to head to Broadway to see if he can untarnish his star in a big stage musical (shades of the Oscar-winning Birdman!). An egotistical director hijacks the frothy musical and turns it into a depressing version of Faust, ensuring a huge flop but the cast bands together to save the show.

The film is very entertaining, and it allows Astaire to take on a different character than we’re used to seeing from him. No top hat and tails this time around, but his dancing is still on point, especially in the scene where he dances with a shoe shine man (who was a real shoe shine man in New York). Cyd Charisse is stunning as always and is simply magnificent to watch in what was her first real starring role. The film also introduced Broadway star Nanette Fabray to movie audiences in what was, surprisingly, her only MGM musical. The movie also has a great score, but it’s most well-known for introducing “That’s Entertainment” as THE song about showbiz, supplanting the standard “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”

The film looks terrific on Blu-ray. The image is bright and colorful but still has a film-like quality to it with an appropriate amount of film grain. The 1080p image(presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio) has not been completely scrubbed of any detail, and the soundtrack has been given a nice DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 remix that keeps the dialog and singing front and center, allowing the orchestra to swell, but never overwhelm, from the surrounds.

Bonus features include:

• Commentary by Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein
• Get Aboard! The Band Wagon (37:09) — A vintage “making of” looking at the production of the film with many behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the film’s stars, crew and family members.
• The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli (58:25) — An episode of the WNET series focusing on Minnelli.
• Jack Buchanan with the Glee Quartet (6:00) — Comedic musical short film starring Band Wagon c0-star Buchanan.
• The Three Little Pups (6:46) — MGM cartoon featuring Droopy Dog in a variation of The Three Little Pigs.
• Theatrical Trailer (3:14)

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After generating a lot of buzz during its theatrical run, and quite a few awards nominations and wins along the way to Oscar night, audiences who may have missed Whiplash in theaters can now check it out on home video. Does the film live up to the hype?

The story is fairly simple: young musician attends a prestigious music school in the hopes of becoming a great jazz drummer like his idol Buddy Rich. The student, Andrew (Miles Teller), doesn’t get much support from his family, is an outsider at school, and is terribly awkward with the opposite sex. Andrew stays focused on his music and thinks he’s on the right path when instructor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) seems to take him under his wing. But the dream becomes a nightmare as Fletcher goes from mentor to monster.

It’s not hard to see why Simmons has been winning every acting award in sight (including the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). He takes what could have been a horrible, one-note character and gives him many complex layers. He may appear to be a bully, but perhaps he just cares enough to want to help a young musician achieve their own greatness … or he could just be trying to show the world that he can create greatness. It’s a challenging role and Simmons shows us a side of himself that we haven’t seen before. Teller also gives a terrific performance that’s been overshadowed by Simmons, showing us Andrew’s insecurities and determination through his facial expressions. With Fletcher, you never really know what’s going on under the surface but Andrew wears all of his emotions on his sleeve. And Teller learned how to drum for the part as well!

The film is directed astonishingly well by Damien Chazelle, who based the story on his own experience, and produced a very accomplished film in the span of nineteen days! The final musical performance is a head-spinning montage of constantly moving camerawork and sharp editing that deservedly won the Best Editing Oscar. (Most prognosticators pegged Boyhood for the editing win, but there was no question in my mind Whiplash had it sewn up based on this one scene.)

Whiplash is now available on home video, and the Blu-ray is a thing of beauty. The image, consisting of mostly warm browns and inky blacks, is beautiful with enough fine detail to capture lines and scars on faces and drops of sweat and blood as Andrew drives himself to perfection. The disk’s 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio favors the center channel for the most part, but when the orchestra kicks in during performances and rehearsals, the surrounds fill with music.

The disk also contains a wealth of bonus material … something that’s been lacking in a lot of home video releases of late.

• Audio commentary with Damien Chazelle and J.K. Simmons — The two discuss the process of making the film from casting to locations to crafting performances, with Chazelle being the serious filmmaker and Simmons the comic relief.
• Timekeepers (42:56) — A collection of professional drummers talk about how they got started, their careers, education, influences and more. Featured drummers include Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Roy McCurdy (Blood Sweat and Tears), Gina Schock (The Go-Gos), and Wally Ingram (Timbuk3). The film is entertaining to a point, but I lost interest after about twenty minutes.
• Whiplash Original Short Film (17:56) — The “Rushing/Dragging” scene from the movie with J.K. Simmons and many of the film’s actors/musicians in the same roles. Chazelle recreates this scene in the movie almost shot by shot. Also with optional audio commentary.
• Fletcher at Home (1:30) — A deleted scene with optional commentary. The scene was wisely cut from the film because it reveals a lot about Fletcher that could have affected the rest of the film.
• An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival with Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons and Damien Chazelle (7:50) — Q & A at the festival, we learn it took 19 days to shoot the movie, how the director chose the actors and how they prepared for their roles. Best answer is from the director on why he went from jazz drumming to film directing.
• Theatrical trailer and Previews for other Sony titles.

I can’t say that Whiplash is the best film of the year, but it is certainly worth a look. It’s accomplished, the music is great and it features two outstanding performances from Teller and Simmons. The video/audio quality and bonus material on the Blu-ray is certainly an incentive to pick up the title and judge for yourself. And after Oscar night, we can look back on the film and realize that this is the moment Simmons went from more than just a familiar face (and voice of the Yellow M&M) who seems to pop up everywhere.

The Whiplash Blu-ray was generously provided to CliqueClack for review by Sony Pictures Home Video.

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The original 1966 Batman TV series took decades to see a release on DVD and Blu-ray, but the wait was definitely worth it! The first 30 episodes from the series’ second season are now available on DVD and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment graciously provided a copy for my review for this Throwback Thursday installment.

I grew up watching the original Batman series in reruns on cable television. It was always one of my favorites because it was so wondrously colorful and wacky. Everywhere you look in any given screenshot, your senses are bombarded by psychedelic, eye-popping costumes that only a 1960s series could pull off so well. It’s like a live-action cartoon with campy music, zany guest stars and playful puns and punches flying left and right. Don’t get me started on the delightful variety of villains the series also offered! From familiar comic book favorites like The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and Mr. Freeze to crazy, new villainous concoctions such as Egghead, King Tut, The Clock King, The Archer and The Minstrel, the second season is full of fiendish foes and perilous plots. I’m having trouble deciding which villain is my all-time favorite because they’re all so interesting and diabolical in their own unique way!

The Second Season, Part One has many big-name guest stars, including Cesar Romero, Julie Newmar, Burgess Meredith, Vincent Price, Van Johnson, Art Carney, Shelley Winters, Liberace, Walter Slezak, Carolyn Jones, Victor Buono and Cliff Robertson. One interesting thing about the series was that they used various actors to play the same villain from season to season. Season two features Julie Newmar as a purrrrfect Catwoman and Otto Preminger as a space cadet-looking Mr. Freeze with a ray gun. In addition to the main guest stars, there are also numerous cameos from other notable stars, including Dick Clark, Sammy Davis, Jr., Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink from Hogan’s Heroes), Ted Cassidy (Lurch from The Addams Family) and musical group Paul Revere and the Raiders among these episodes. Just don’t blink, or you’ll miss ‘em!

Egghead (Vincent Price) is the only villain I remember being smart enough on the series to almost figure out that Bruce Wayne was Batman, so that makes him credible in my book (despite all of his “eggs-cruciating” puns every five seconds). The Archer (Art Carney) is awesome because he steals from the rich and gives to the poor a la Robin Hood and his Merry Men, while The Minstrel (Van Johnson) oozes charm and romantic lyrics that make you fall in love with Van Johnson and his velvety voice all over again. Not only is The Minstrel a musical genius, but he’s also equally versed in electronics and probably the only villain worthy of facing Batman in a technological showdown of wits.

I was delighted to discover that one of the most memorable episodes from my childhood was included in this set — “The Spell of Tut” — the one in which King Tut (Victor Buono) tries to resurrect ancient Egyptian scarabs to wreak havoc upon Gotham City’s water supply. Also look for horror icon Sid Haig as the Royal Apothecary in the King Tut episodes. Another old favorite of mine, “The Greatest Mother of Them All,” featuring Shelley Winters as criminal matriarch Ma Parker and her gang, is also included. The Parker clan has always reminded me of the Beagle Boys on Duck Tales, another beloved show from my childhood and perhaps the subject of a future Throwback.

An unexpected surprise was seeing footage from the Indianapolis 500 used as a racing event held in Gotham City in “Come Back, Shame,” an episode with Cliff Robertson as Shame, “The Conniving Cowboy of Crime,” a cowpoke/car thief who looks like he was lifted out of a spaghetti western complete with his sidekick Okie Annie (Joan Staley from The Ghost & Mr. Chicken fame). Of course, Shame and crew don’t look quite as tough as your traditional cowboys with their polka dot handkerchiefs and etc., but that’s beside the point when you can “get angrier than a hyena with laryngitis.” Another hidden gem was “Hizzonner The Penguin,” an episode in which Penguin runs for Mayor of Gotham City against Batman. It was the weirdest political debates I’ve ever seen, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t want all of Penguin’s cute, clever campaign paraphernalia. He had lovable, furry penguins all over his campaign buttons, posters, stickers, etc. I wonder if anyone ever made any of that stuff collectible because I would buy a lot of it for my personal collection of pop cultural oddities!

All of Batman’s gadgets in the Bat Cave, Batmobile and utility belts have never looked better — every detail has been completely remastered in this DVD box set. While reviewing the set, I realized that there are two types of people in this world — those who can appreciate the campiness of this series and those who simply cannot. Neither my mother or boyfriend could make it past more than a handful of episodes before they were begging me to turn it off, but I could have gone on for hours (the set has a total running time of 755 minutes), and my 21-year-old brother and his friends seemed amicably interested as well.

Every “Splatt!,” “Pow!,” “Biff!” and “Zok!” (yes, you read that right: Zok!) practically pops out of the screen at you in amazing comic book color as do the fabulous glittering outfits worn by Chandell (Liberace), and I had a lot of fun reviewing this set. The Season Two, Part One DVD box set features beautiful artwork from the eye-catching covers to the four discs depicting the iconic ’66 Batman logo on each. The only disappointment I had with the set was its lack of bonus features, but that’s what the expensive, all-inclusive Blu-ray collector set is for I suppose. I’ve read the Blu-rays come with an episode guide, Adam West scrapbook, vintage trading cards, digital copies of the episodes and an exclusive Hot Wheels replica of the Batmobile. The discerning collector would be better off saving their pennies for the Blu-ray set, but if you’re yearning to get your hands on some of the episodes in the meantime or if you’re introducing the series to a new generation of fans, this box set is a good starting point. If I’m ever lucky enough to review another Batman set, I’ll catch you at the same Bat time, same Bat channel.

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You have what you think is a pretty good gimmick. And a horror/slasher story to showcase it in. So you make a film to exploit the gimmick with the intent of capitalizing on it.

Wouldn’t you think the film you make be a reasonably decent one, one with legs to stand on? At least a little bit?

That’s not what writer/director/producer Richard L. Bare and executive producer William T. Orr decided to do. They took a budget of $1.5 million, set up camp for 48 days at the Hotel Del Coronado across the bay from San Diego and proceeded to shoot a film with the ploy of “Duo-Vision” (better known as split-screen) and churned out a piece of schlock that’s barely watchable. Actually, calling it schlock is giving it more credit than its due; this is 90+ minutes of drivel. (Note: They actually came in under budget on the film. I doubt utilizing the entire amount would have made it any better.)

At a sprawling California hotel, a killer is on the loose targeting comely single blonds. The action starts off promisingly enough with the demise of one guest shortly after checking in. And it’s here we have the pinnacle of the film’s “Duo-Vision” process. Because nearly everything hereafter goes downhill.

Duo-Vision loses steam quickly. In fact it does the equivalent of a plunge off a 500′ cliff. As the story unfolds (such that it is), the device becomes tedious. It detracts from the story in big, steaming heaps … but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If not for its contrived clicheness, you just might tune this turkey out all together.

It would be an entirely different matter if what was shown in Duo-Vision drew interest, engaged the viewer. But there are so many lackluster, unremarkable scenes on either side of the screen – and at precisely the same moments – the split-screen hype wears thin in short order. You become exhausted trying to keep up with the “nothing going on” constantly going on. Yes … it’s that bad.

Additionally, wouldn’t you think a film with so many familiar faces would have something redeeming? Edd Byrnes (Kookie of 77 Sunset Strip), David Bailey of the popular-at-the-time Mitchum deodorant commercial, the very familiar Arthur O’Connell (Fantastic Voyage, The Poseidon Adventure) and actor/novelist/co-founder of Second City comedy Roger Bowen (M*A*S*H, All In The Family) are all present in Wicked, Wicked, each and every one of them recognizable to some degree. So it had that going for it … right?

Nope. Casting didn’t work either. Try as he might (and it didn’t appear he tried in the least) Bare’s direction, plain and simple, was barely direction at all. Combine his efforts with a limp script to begin with, a dull hook incapable of sustaining interest, snooze-worthy dialog, film-making lacking fundamentals and enough drollness to cure insomnia and Wicked, Wicked flounders utterly.

The kicker is this, though: I’ve seen other reviews of the film and I’m convinced those who wrote about it saw a completely different movie than what I saw. Or they were wearing rose colored glasses. Of course, that automatically made me question what I’d seen … and then, almost instantly, I came back to the real world and to common sense. Yes, I’m sometimes delusional … but not so much I don’t know what a bad film looks like. And this? This is a bad film.

Still, there are a few items of note. Not enough to make you sit up straight though. Just little asides to induce a chuckle or two.

There’s an organist in the film who Bare thought, inexplicably, needed to make multiple appearances for effect. Why? I haven’t the slightest idea. But her wide-eyed, comical look is a welcome distraction to the story, if nothing more than to call out the dippy tunes she plays as background fare.

Plus there are a couple cringe-worthy lines of dialog. As example, late in the film after singer Lisa James (Tiffany Bolling) is swamped by reporters after being rescued from the killer, this gem crops up:

“What does it feel like to have your throat cut?” – Reporter
“It hurts …” – Lisa James

And then there’s James’ singing itself:

“Wicked, wicked that’s my ticket … you make me feel so wicked
Let me do what I love to do … make wicked, wicked love to you …”

Yeah. Really.

I’ll give the film two positives, however. 1) Randolph Roberts, who plays killer Jason Gant, does manage to convey a strange, child-like naivete on the one hand while doling out his inner knifing-bearing, evil cad on the other. And 2) the disc offers a trailer for the film. And believe me when I say it is infinitely more engaging than the actual product itself.

Technical information: 16 X 9 letterboxed edition with the original aspect ratio 2.40:1. Stereo sound is evident, but there is no back up information verifying what type of enhancements to the sound were involved. Was there noise reduction? Rerecording? And what kind of stereo sound is involved with the print? I have no clue. Nor is there any information regarding restoration either. The print is rumored to be restored (with some sources stating there was a process encompassing a couple year’s worth of effort) and I’m certain it is but I didn’t find any concrete evidence to back it up. Viewing the disc certainly doesn’t reveal anything indicating such.

I wanted something to come out of Wicked, Wicked. Something camp … something guffaw-worthy … something worth the effort of giving up an hour and a half of my time. Instead, I was left with a viewing void, time spent I will never, ever get back. And that, dear reader, is the truly wicked, wicked thing about this sad vehicle …

Wicked, Wicked was generously offered to CliqueClack for review by the fine folks (who obviously have a wicked, wicked sense of humor) at Warner Bros.

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As we come to the end of the holiday season, the winter breaks for many of the current season shows has given us time to perhaps catch up on some of last season’s shows that Santa may have left under the Christmas tree. Or you may be considering a purchase with some cash or gift cards you received. If you’re a fan of television – and you probably wouldn’t be here if you weren’t – we have some reviews/suggestions of a whole crop of last season shows that might be worth your interest.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season

After a sizzling summer with Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Elena (Nina Dobrev) leaves Mystic Falls and moves into a dorm with her roomie Caroline (Candice Accola), ready for new adventures and new friends. But dark thoughts gnaw at Elena, and soon familiar faces are back in the girls’ lives. There’s Stefan (Paul Wesley) with his shadow self Silas, plus Katherine, with a diabolical agenda and a jaw-dropping transformation. As the Doppelgangers test destiny, tearing lovers apart and pitting the Salvatore brothers against each other, the student body count rises, evidence of powerful forces on campus. Anchors, Rippers, Passengers and Travelers struggle to survive alongside witches and werewolves, teaching our favorite vampires painful lessons along the way.

Season Five of The Vampire Diaries arrives from Warner Home Video in a deluxe Blu-ray/DVD combo package that also includes a Digital HD version of the season. If you’re a fan of the show, you know the formula and season five is sure to not disappoint. The Blu-ray image is sharp and clear, looking as good if not better than the broadcast version with an outstanding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround audio track. Dialog is clear, and surrounds are used to envelop you in the scene.

The 22 episodes are spread over 4 discs (5 on DVD). Disc 1 contains episodes 1-6, deleted scenes for episodes 2 and 5, and a 30-minute video presentation from the 2013 Comic-Con panel featuring the cast and creator Julie Plec.

Disc 2 contains episodes 7-12 and deleted scenes for episodes 8, 11 and 12. Disc 3 contains episodes 13-18 and deleted scenes for episodes 14 and 18. Disc 4 contains episodes 19-22 and the bulk of the sets Special Features:

• “I Know What You Did … In the Last 100 Episodes” (10:15) — The cast, producer and writer play a fun game of trivia to see how much they don’t know about the show capped by a thank you to the fans for watching.
• “The Vampire Diaries: To the Other Side and Back” (10:35) — Featurette exploring the mythology of “the other side.”
• “A Day in the Afterlife with Kat Graham” (7:02) — Kat Graham escorts viewers through a day on set.
• “Second Bite” (5:03) — Gag reel

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Slowly but surely, things are starting to change at Syfy. The network that once eschewed its roots in science-fiction programming in a move to grab ratings – and admittedly stability – is finally coming back around. Gone are the days when there was more wrestling than shows like Stargate: Universe (admittedly the WWE still has a place on the network, but sci-fi fans will take their gains where they can). Continuum and Defiance begat Dominion and Helix which are shepherding in 12 Monkeys and The Expanse (!!!). Depending on your opinion of the Sharknado franchise, Syfy has done a solid job at creating event television; Ascension, a mini-series premiering this week, hopes to continue that tradition.

Syfy President Dave Howe told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week that they don’t invest in miniseries programs without the potential backdoor for a series run, and what I’ve seen of Ascension thus far (the network has released the first two hours out of the six total), that is a really good thing. At San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, I had the opportunity to sit down with the show’s creator Phillip Levens and members of the cast: Brian Van Holt (Ascension’s captain William Denninger), Tricia Helfer (Denninger’s wife Viondra), Andrea Roth (Doctor Juliet Bryce) and Al Sapienza (Councilman Rose). Between those conversations, and viewing the first two hours, this is what we’ve learned:

The Ascension and its crew are a product of their time

The ship was launched in secret in 1963, on a course for the Proxima System. The mission was intended as a post-Cuban Missile Crisis lifeboat for humanity: a 100-year journey to establish a colony that can avoid the threat of the world’s destruction in a nuclear war.

Levens quotes a line from the script that talks about how technology might have developed separately from “our” timeline, “If you take 600 of the best and the brightest and put them in a tin-can for 50 years, you’d be amazed with the things they’ll come up with.” But the culture on the ship maintains a distinctly 1960’s personality, most specifically evident in the way gender relationships have developed (or more-specifically haven’t) since the mission began.

The crew isn’t able to communicate with Earth; the challenges of time and space (and the plot convenience of their engine-technology’s interference) prevent it. They aren’t even aware if the planet survived the Cold War; but the story spends enough time on present day Earth to confirm that we all still exist in this universe. At home, the existence of the ship and its mission is fodder for conspiracy theorists.

There are many characters that question the mission

We find the Ascension as it approaches its metaphorical Rubicon, the point at which the ship’s resources wouldn’t allow for changing course and returning home. Fifty years into its journey, none of the crew is there by choice. Their parents and grandparents, in effect, made that decision for them. Some are beginning to doubt the mission, “Some people [think] maybe their grandparents made a mistake, maybe they were conned by the government,” Levens explains, “Maybe they bought into something that wasn’t real.”

In closed society, segmented classes are unavoidable

Inevitably, one of the themes of the story looks at the distinction between the ship’s leaders and the manual laborers. Denninger’s second in command, Oren Gault, is promoted from the lower decks. Instead of being the example that the society can rise above its stratification, seemingly everyone on the ship not named Oren Gault sees his position as a move to mollify those lower-level folks that want to do more than tend to the livestock.

Dr. Bryce expects her daughter Nora to follow in her footsteps and becomes the ship’s physician. The events of the first episode (a murder on board is the series’ inciting incident) change her motivations

There is 5-6 seasons worth of story to tell if audiences respond

Ascension is just six hours for now, but Levens and the team already have multiple seasons worth of story if audiences and the network respond favorably. “It was always designed to have a much larger, five or six year arc. It has lots of surprises … it’s not what you expect.”

Love triangles, relationships and threesomes, oh my!

Ascension isn’t family viewing – at least not in my family. The ship’s interpersonal relationships are a mess. While a computer chooses mates based on optimal genetic conditions (a death has to occur before a life is allowed to be conceived), the characters sure do get around. Helfer adds, “In Viondra’s case it’s not so much about desire, it’s much more about power.” Her relationship with her husband is one of love, but is as much a partnership invested in maintaining the power the captain’s position includes.

Ascension is in for a bumpy ride

Things aren’t going to be easy for the crew — admittedly, that would make for a crappy narrative. From the murder that kicks the story off, to the growing friction between the classes (informed by the desire of some — if not many — to turn the ship around and head home) to the mysterious entity that seems to haunt one of the crew’s children, a thread of danger weaves its way throughout the ship. Monday’s installment presents interesting questions about the motivations of the crew and the many secrets they keep from each other. Some of those questions are likely to be answered on nights two and three, but I hope the story will get a chance to develop beyond what we see this week.

Historical biopics are tricky, as I’ve mentioned several times before. I don’t much care for ones that screw it up, and I care even less for ones wholly meant for getting some awards. And perhaps, just perhaps, I’m a bit sick of Benedict Cumberbatch everywhere. The man is a good actor, but I did not like his performance in Star Trek Into Darkness or August Osage County, plus he was unrecognizable CGI in The Hobbit movies. Now he’ll be starring in a new Marvel movie as comic book magician Dr. Strange? He’s getting on my nerves a bit. But on the other hand, that doesn’t mean I should necessarily judge the movie he’s in based on his Jude Law penchant for being in movies.  No, no, it’s just better to judge the movie instead.

The Imitation Game tells some of the story of famed World War II technological innovator Alan Turing’s life, based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Alan Turing, played by the omnipresent Benedict Cumberbatch, is essentially responsible for pioneering advances that led to the first digital computer. The movie utilizes a limp wristed and ill-advised wraparound device, starting in 1952 with Turing’s home mysteriously robbed but seemingly with nothing of value lost. By virtue of a sort of flashback induced by a police inspector interrogating Turing, the rest of the movie is shown. Now, if you ask me, this device did not work. It made no sense, and served no real purpose, because it tried to create a mystery of “why did he get robbed,” but the question is not answered. Instead, we get barely anything on what really happened; but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

During World War II, England is in bad shape. We see several scenes of bombings and crowds huddled in shelters, which does add an interesting level of pathos to the movie. Does it make sense with that narrative device I mentioned? No! Not in the slightest. But I’m harping on that. So the movie jumps back and forth between little scenes of the future investigator trying to discover the truth, a few bits of Alan’s past in boarding school, and the actual content and story of the movie. Alan Turing joins an elite group of men working to break Nazi codes, specifically the Enigma code machine. The military commander Denniston (a superb Charles Dance) does not care for Turing’s awkwardness or odd way of doing things, but his hands get tied when Turing goes over his head. So Alan works, or tries to work, with his group of fellow codebreakers. But he doesn’t get along well with people.

Eventually, he is permitted to hire someone new who might be smart enough to assist, and he hires Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), although in real life several women worked on the Enigma breaking project. In any event, Turing and Joan have a connection of sorts, their intellects, although Turing stumbles and stutters his way through most human interactions. It all leads up to whether or not they actually break the Enigma and help win WWII. SPOILERS! They do. There are others on his team, but they aren’t that interesting. But unfortunately, despite Alan helping to save the world, he is arrested in 1951 on charges of “indecency,” which means he admitted to having a homosexual relationship. The movie barely touches on this terrible tragedy, and basically only hints on how Turing committed suicide after having been chemically castrated. In fact, only in 2013 did the British government finally grant an official pardon. That’s ridiculous.

Now, it is true that there are some excellent performances in this movie. Charles Dance, as I mentioned is great and amusing as the intimidating military officer. And sure, Keira Knightley is lovely here too, even if her part is underwritten, like everything is in the movie. The various other whos and whats in the movie are forgettable and not really important for anything the movie cares about. Cumberbatch does a pretty good job as a man with a high intellect but other problems, although he plays it like a man on the autistic spectrum, which is … debatable about the real Turing. The movie is mostly paced pretty well, but there are very slow parts. There are some really great scenes, building up the tension and despair as they fail and fail again to crack the codes. Although the actual way they figure it out seems … well I won’t give that part away.

In this time of the year, with all the fancy schmancy prestige flicks coming out, The Imitation Game is nothing close to the best of the bunch. Alan Turing may be an important historical figure who deserves to be remembered, but I don’t think this is the movie that will accomplish that.

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Now this is a Broadway musical in every sense of the word. And who would have ever thought that Disney’s flop musical movie from 1992 — starring an 18-year-old Christian Bale in only his fourth theatrical film — would have developed such a cult following that the studio saw enough potential in it to bring it to the stage? Adding music by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, who wrote six new songs for the show while keeping several from the movie, and a book by Harvey Fierstein helped shape the film into the stage extravaganza that has wowed audiences since its Broadway debut (the show was intended to run for only 101 performances, but demand kept it going for 1005).

The story of Newsies is based on an actual event: the “Newsboy Strike of 1899″ which saw a band of orphans and runaway newsies (the kids who sold newspapers on the streets for the major publishers) go on a two week strike against publishing giants Pulitzer, Hearst and others in New York City. The show tells the story of the fictional Jack Kelly, the leader of the ragtag group of newsies, who dreams of a better life in Santa Fe. When Joseph Pulitzer raised the distribution prices on the newsboys in order to sell more papers, Jack rallies the newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right … even when romance, double-crosses and a sweet deal get in the way.

The moment the orchestra hits its first note, you know this is what a big Broadway musical is all about, and when the massive cast of “newsies” takes to the stage and raises their voices together in perfect harmony, it is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. Add to that the acrobatic choreography by Christopher Gattelli and you have something magical taking place before your eyes.

And the cast is massive, led by Dan DeLuca as Jack. DeLuca can put on a tough exterior when dealing with the newspaper people, but he shows us his heart too when he’s trying to look out for his boys. He has a real soft spot for Crutchie (Zachary Sayle), and you believe their brotherly relationship. DeLuca also has a wonderfully unique voice full of emotion and power, depending on the situation. Sayle, whose character sadly disappears for much of the second act, is the show’s bit of comic relief as he has to navigate the stage dragging his leg and hobbling with a crutch (hence his name). But when he’s attacked, we also feel for him because he can’t defend himself. That’s the proof of a good performance.

But it’s not all men on stage all the time. Stephanie Styles, as a girl reporter who butts heads with Jack and then begins to fall for him, has the perfect pluckiness for the part and a powerful voice as well. Angela Grovey, as cabaret owner Medda Larkin, pretty much steals any scene she’s in (unfortunately, not many) and her one musical number, “That’s Rich,” is a showstopper. Steve Blanchard also stands out as Pulitzer with his deep, powerful voice whether speaking or singing.

Towering over everyone is a wondrous set consisting of three 24-feet towers with three levels that are fully automated and can move 14 feet up and down the stage, rotate 350 degrees and reconfigure to create tenement fire escapes, a theatre’s backstage, the Brooklyn Bridge and the basement of Pulitzer’s building. The towers also have screens which raise and lower for the lighting and special projections that help set the scenes. The 33 cast members run up and down the stairs to perform on any and all of the three levels throughout the show, making this one of the most physical productions I’ve ever seen. It really is a wonder they’re all not exhausted by the end of the first act.

If you like your Broadway musicals big and flashy, then Newsies is the show for you. Great story, great performances, great singing and dancing, great production all around, this is the show to see when it comes to your town. Newsies is at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre through Sunday, December 7 (it will be in Washington, D.C. June 9-21) and will hit major cities across the country including Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Charlotte, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and more (alas, not Santa Fe). To get more details about the show and ticket information, click on the banner below.

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I’ve seen one Hercules movie this year, the Kellan Lutz starrer The Legend of Hercules, so I wasn’t really sure if I was ready for another one. The earlier one was a bit of a chore to sit through, leaning more to the juvenile spectrum than even the 1950s versions that are seen as pure camp today (granted, most US audiences have never seen the original versions of those Italian sword and sandal epics, just choppily edited versions). Lutz looked the part, to be sure, but he really had nothing to work with.

But we knew then that there was another take on the legend coming, this time starring Dwayne Johnson and simply titled Hercules. The only real drawback at the time was that the film was being directed by the almost universally reviled Brett Ratner, who hasn’t made a good film in about as long as the other Herc movie’s director Renny Harlin has. But Johnson oozes enough charm out of every pore to make audiences like just about anything he’s in. Could he actually save this Hercules?

The answer is a surprising yes! We probably know, or vaguely know, the legend of Hercules from movies, TV shows, cartoons and even comic books. The half-god son of Zeus and a mortal woman, embued with amazing strength, set upon with twelve labors that include killing various mythological creatures. That word is key to this Hercules because it treats the character as a real human and the legend surrounding him is nothing put pure myth that he uses for monetary gain (with the help of his band of mercenaries and a silver-tongued nephew who spins his amazing tales).

The story is simple: a kingdom on the verge of attack hires Hercules and his mercenaries to use his legend to scare off the invading army. Of course, there is a twist or two, including one that posits Hercules may have murdered his own family, but the real meat of the film comes from the interaction between Hercules and his “family.” The film is full of big action set-pieces, but some of the quiter moments between characters and getting a glimpse into their loyalty to each other sets this film apart from some of the others. Ratner also handles the action scenes with great skill, actually allowing the audience to see the battles full frame, not in maddening, hand-held close-ups. Dante Spinotti’s cinematography is also gorgeous, and even though there is quite a bit of CGI, it’s used mostly to add scenery and bodies for scale rather than to be the main focus of a shot.

Hercules is a much better film than I expected, and I would have to say I enjoyed it more than my colleague Jeremy Fogelman, who reviewed the film upon its theatrical release. And now that the movie is available on home video, more people who didn’t want to risk a waste of time and money at the movies can enjoy the film in the comfort of their living rooms. And if you have a Blu-ray player, the experience will be even better (and I have to say that seeing this in 3D is the ultimate experience). The movie itself may not be great — although it is entertaining — but the Blu-ray presentation is simply spectacular.

After looking at two other films on Blu-ray this week, Paramount’s Hercules is the hands down winner for visual clarity (and the win comes over two titles from the usually reliable Warner Home Video). The Blu-ray captures Spinotti’s breath-taking visuals and when you watch the deleted scenes, you realize how much work went into the film’s overall look. It is stunning. The video image is sharp with no hint of graininess, even in the film’s many dark scenes. The movie was obviously shot with digital cameras but it always retains a film-like look. The disk’s 7.1 HD Master Audio is also extremely well-balanced. Even during the battle scenes, any dialog is still clearly audible. The music and sound effects never overpower the center channel. As Blu-rays go, this is one of the best as far as presentation. If you have a 3D set-up, the image is just as sharp and the 3D process is one of the best I’ve seen for a home video presentation, bringing depth to the screen and having many objects, from spears and arrows to drifting ash, extend far beyond the edge of the screen.

The Blu-ray also contains a host of bonus material:

• Commentary by Brett Ratner and Beau Flynn (theatrical version only)
• Brett Ratner and Dwayne Johnson: An Introduction (5:32) — The director and actor discuss their long-held desires to make a Hercules movie, and how a serious injury to Johnson nearly derailed the production.
• Hercules and His Mercenaries (11:07) — A behind the scenes look at the cast, rehearsals, training and production of the film.
• Weapons! (5:24) — A brief look at the various weapons used in the film. Fun fact: several actors refused to carry the rubber versions, preferring to feel the weight of the weapon while carrying them.
• The Bessi Battle (11:54) — In-depth look at all aspects of shooting the first battle scene from construction of the set (and most of the sets on screen are real with CGI augmentation) to training extras and applying full body makeup and tattoos to hundreds of extras. (Although they never discuss hiding Johnson’s massive tattoos.)
• The Effects of Hercules (12:28) — A look at how the visual effects artists combined on-set practical effects with their CGI magic.
• Deleted/Extended Scenes (14:38) — A collection of extended and deleted scenes, some unfinished and not color timed, that actually don’t seem superfluous.

The Blu-ray also contains the theatrical and extended versions of the film. I do have a slight complaint about these releases now that are calling themselves “extended.” Peter Jackson adding 25 minutes to his Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies is an extended edition. Adding three minutes of footage is pushing the boundaries of what one could call “extended.” Hercules only contains about three minutes so the impact on the film overall is negligible. Aside from that, Hercules on Blu-ray is well-worth the purchase price if you enjoyed the movie on the big screen, and is certainly worth checking out if you had your doubts.

The Hercules Blu-ray was provided to CliqueClack by The Karpel Group/Paramount Home video for purpose of review.

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Big Hero 6 is the funniest movie I’ve seen all year. I love throwing down statements like that; they can be challenged, to be sure, but it’s all subjective opinion, right? The semantics really don’t matter. Big Hero 6 is the kind of film that sneaks up on you; like Toy Story and Finding Nemo before it, children will drag their parents to theatres only to watch their parents laugh at humor that exists appropriately above their head. There’s nothing like sitting in a theatre full of kids and hearing the parents laughing harder than the young ones (though I always love it when the row of film critics sitting in a row are the only ones laughing).

If you have smiled or laughed in your lifetime, you’re going to find something to love in Big Hero 6. It might just be one of these six things that I found particularly awesome.

1. It’s a superhero story you’ve never seen before. Disney Animation Studios wanted to do a big comic book movie, and had the entirety of the Marvel catalog to choose from. That they didn’t choose a super-familiar property was a brilliant decision. The comic version of Big Hero 6 has been in publication since 1998, but it is an obscure enough title that audiences – at least domestically – aren’t going to be familiar with it. Plus, while many of the characters have direct counterparts from the source material, more looks to be changed than the same.
2. Baymax is going to steal your heart. Disney has a long history of creating characters you instantly love: Mickey Mouse, Mary Poppins, Simba, Ariel, Elsa. Now you’re kids (and you, lets be honest) are going to fall in love with an inflatable healthcare companion robot. He’s the best thing in a film surrounded by best things.
3. It’s a vision of the future we don’t have to be afraid of. Sure, there’s an antagonist that is terrorizing San Fransokyo, but the city itself and the world it exists in doesn’t seem so bad. Future worlds in science fiction seem to drift in one of two directions: dystopian or utopian. It was refreshing to see a future that felt normal. The city’s name and its culture are all representative of melting pot ideals. At the same time, though, things aren’t perfect; this is a future we can actually believe.
4. Honey Lemon has the coolest tech ever. Or put it another way: Hooray science! While I think making the device a purse was a bit much (though that is lifted directly from the source material), the idea of mixing different elements to make cool (fake) sciencey weapons is just plain fun. It’s the kind of thing that you hope exists some day, just so you can throw at your little brother … even though he’s in his 30s and owns his own business.
5. This film is full of sci-fi pop-culture references. In a flick like this, animators are always going to fill in a bunch of visual references to other movies. At some point, what you think might be references/homages are completely accidental (I doubt they were going for Contact or Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but I definitely saw them in there).
6. I can’t tell you number six. There’s a running bit in the flick that I think will lose its humor if you know anything about it before you see it. In today’s internet-based society, it will probably be made into a meme before you get home from the theatre. It’s Big Hero 6’s “Just Keep Swimming” (Or Dory speaking whale if that’s your kind of thing, Mom!) from Finding Nemo. This is all I’m giving you: B********a.

And a bonus, just because I love you all:

7. Feast, the short before the film, was totes-adorbs. I really liked Paperman that played before Wreck-It Ralph last year, but it is nothing compared to the wonderfulness that was Feast. I’d be lying if the dog Winston didn’t remind me more than a little bit of my dog Gibbs when he was a wee pup. Regardless, there is more heart in the five or so minutes than there are in most flicks you’ve seen this year.

Editor’s note: Do yourself a big favor and stay for the post-credits scene!