JAM Reviews Machete from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Machete: Blu-Ray/Digital Copy Combo: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Machete is truly B-movie violence at its greatest. The start of the movie is an amazing bloodbath in which a man (Danny Trejo) and his machete cut a swath through the evil henchman of the drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal) only to find himself on the business end of an ass-whupping. Left for dead with the headless corpse of his wife and a daughter whose fate is unknown, Machete survives and becomes a man who tries to blend in without a name. Hired unknowingly by those who had destroyed his life before, Machete becomes a pawn in a violent game of chess between a corrupt senator and his team and the “Network” a loose contingent of immigrants and their leadership. Bullets fly, fires burn, but in the end will Machete stand tall?

Machete stars an excellent cast that joins in with the B-movie craziness including Danny Trejo and Steven Seagal as the main protagonists but also with Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Lindsey Lohan, Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Michelle Rodriguez, and the ageless Don Johnson.

JAMS Ink on Machete

A director with a penchant for violence, a star known as “that guy” in a ton of movies, and a group of stars came together to make a movie that keeps you on your seat and yet can also laugh at itself and its ties to long ago history. Much like Robert Rodriguez’s collaboration with Quentin Tarantino in the Grindhouse double feature, Machete at its heart is a true B-movie with connections to the 70s B-movie craze and the pulp action movies from the Asian markets. It is unapologetic for its violence, its nudity, and its farcical over-the-top characterizations, and that’s half the fun with this movie. Danny Trejo makes the perfect anti-hero in this action romp with his tough as nails character who truly looks tough as nails and the addition of Steven Seagal as his nemesis connects the passing of an action hero torch in some ways especially as the movie’s end promises the coming of at least two sequels for our friend Machete.

Robert De Niro played Senator John McLaughlin as a crazed version of his fatherly pass in Meet the Parents. The facial expressions that he possesses as he delivers these crazed lines give credence to the two-faced politician aspect of his character, a protector at all costs front for a man who only cares about his own future. His crazed smile while laughable dialogue is expelled makes his character into a politician of interest even as Machete works towards his revenge.

I just realized that this was a Nash Bridges reunion. Both Don Johnson and Cheech Marin play underutilized characters that strengthen the story during their time onscreen. And having Cheech reprise the scene from the Grindhouse trailers in which he responds to his brother’s request to seek revenge upon those who stand against him with a diatribe extolling his holy ways followed by a simple acquiescence is truly B-movie splendor.

I was a little confused during the movie as to whether Machete’s daughter had been killed as well during the beginning of the storyline. That fact made the interactions of Machete with Michelle Rodriguez’s Luz and Jessica Alba’s Sartana Rivera seem kind of strange as I wondered if they were the long lost daughter. I am not sure if I made a mistake in assuming it, or if the filmmaker wanted to add to the B-movie mystique by leaving the question in the air. With the deleted scenes at least, Sartana is revealed as a twin so she is definitely not Machete’s daughter at least.

Finally, Jessica Alba is hot. That is all.

EXTRAS

Deleted scenes and the digital copy dominate the extras on this offering. And I have to say that the 10 minutes of deleted scenes are actually worth the check out. They involve plotlines that were cut from the movie (along with characters) but they are actually intriguing to watch. Jessica Alba gets to play two sides of the same coin with her “Twin”, Robert De Niro’s Senator is fleshed out a little bit more, and assassins that did not make the final cut make an appearance. I cannot say that the deleted scenes make or break the movie, but they are a fun little addition to the campy B-movie totality of the film.

Machete from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment slices through the border and into your store on January 4, 2011. Grab a copy and slice open a night of campy ultraviolent comedy, B-movie style.

MACHETE Blu-ray and DVD
Street Date: January 4, 2011
Screen Format: Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (BD) / English 5.1 Dolby Digital (DVD)
French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish and French
Total Running Time: 140.93
U.S. Rating: R
Closed Captioned: YES

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews Predators from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Predators: Blu-Ray/Digital Combo: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

In honor of the recent Glee release and the rerelease of the Rocky Horror Picture Show to Blu-ray, I felt the crazy need to set this review in poetic form. I do not know why I felt the need to, but I figured I would let it flow and see where we end up.

JAM’s Predators Review in Poetic Verse

Hunter or hunted, predator or prey
What’s that big old alien going to do to me today
Dropped into a warzone, parachuting down
Just a former Pianist was falling to the ground
Black Ops trained in violence was needed for this day
As many different people were all dropped in the same way

Drug cartel, Yakuza, death row inmates too
All wondering what they’re doing there and what they have to do
Soon they are all hunted, no matter who they are
And they must band together or they won’t get too far
Each has special skills they bring to this big fight
As Predators are tracking them throughout the day and night

Searching for the chance to learn more skills it seems
I’m sure those freedom fighters wish it was a dream
You’ll have to watch the movie to see how this one ends
But I bet we’ll have a sequel soon enough to rent.

Adrien Brody plays Royce, a man out for himself on a planet in which he does not belong. Dropped there with a plethora of bad asses, he fights to stay alive against a small group of Predators out for blood on their game preserve, where the game they hunt are some of the strongest craziest humanoids and animals in the universe. Now the question is, who survives?

JAMS Ink on Predators

Topher Grace. For a guy that played a pothead 70s teenager for so long, he throws himself into so interesting roles. For much of the movie, you question why this unassuming doctor would be included in the ranks of the professional soldiers, mercenaries, hardened criminals, and the rest but he truly has a reason for being on a planet full of predators. Kind of funny to watch as it goes, because you know there has to be more to his back story, but they make you wait… and wait… and wait for it.

I like the ending of the movie which allows for an easy transition to a sequel. Adrien Brody has already said he would like to reprise his character, so I hope he gets the chance. I liked the ensemble cast setup for the movie, but also liked the emphasis that was placed on Brody as the best of the best. I would definitely enjoy a sequel and look forward to the release of one.

BUT… I do have a bone to pick with the movie, and I am sure many others would not have my same issues. The use of Mother F-er for the myriad of times it is used in the movie is really a turnoff for me. I understand the need to show how “real” it is out there, but I do not see the need to drop mother f-bombs nonstop in the movie. Makes it real hard to watch a movie with little kids in the other room unless you watch it on mute, which lessoned my enjoyment overall.

EXTRAS

PREDATORS 1-Disc Blu-ray Special Features
• Commentary by Robert Rodriguez and director, Nimród Antal
• Motion Comics
Moments of Extraction: Robert Rodriguez presents exclusive prequel vignettes voiced by the cast of Predators. Witness the secret adventures that turned our world's most ruthless killers into the ultimate Predator prey
o Noland Intro (part 1)
o Isabelle
o Cuchillo
o Hanzo
o Mombasa
o Noland Ending (part 2)
 Crucified
• Evolution of the Species: Predators Reborn
 Bloodline
 De-cloaking the Invisible: Alien Terrain
 Intelligent Design: The Hunting Camp
 Predators as Prey
 Yuatja Transformed
 Rite of Passage
• The Chosen Featurette
• Fox Movie Channel presents Making a Scene
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
 Dead Man’s Parachute
 Cuchillo and Isabelle
 Team “Orientated” Group
 Third Most Wanted
 Cuchillo Unleashes
 “Why Are You Here?”
 “They’re Smarter Than That”
 Stans and Isabelle Naked
 “They’re Still Coming”
• BD-Live Extras
 Exclusive Predator Features
• Live Lookup – Powered by IMDB

PREDATORS DVD Special Features
• Commentary by Robert Rodriguez and director, Nimród Antal
• De-cloaking the Invisible: Alien Terrain
• Motion Comics
Moments of Extraction: Robert Rodriguez presents exclusive prequel vignettes voiced by the cast of Predators. Witness the secret adventures that turned two of our world's most ruthless killers into the ultimate Predator prey
o Isabelle
o Mombasa
 Crucified

Motion comics, deleted scenes, and evolution of the Predators features all contained on the Blu-ray disc. I think I have found near perfection on Predators Blu-ray. I like the character background that is provided in the motion comics on the disc, both because of the cool look into their former lives and because they are frickin’ comics! Woohoo!!

Throw in some deleted/extended scenes involving Cuchillo (Danny Trejo from Machete) and I am even more of a happy camper. And finally fulfill the sci-fi geek in me with the evolution of the Predators extras and you have made the perfect guy movie Blu-ray disc to buy for me.

And the Blu-ray version of the film is beautiful. It is not Avatar with the computer generated landscaped, but a lot of the natural beauty of the jungle is translated well onto a Blu-ray bigscreen in the comfort of your own house. It is a fun guy movie with cinematic beauty (which is odd to say but true).

PREDATORS
Street Date: October 19, 2010
Screen Format: Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (BD)
English 5.1 Dolby Digital (DVD)
French, Spanish and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 1:46:30
Closed Captioned: Yes

Predators from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment stalks its way onto shelves on October 19, 2010 so grab a copy, find a safe place and try to check out this new sci-fi action filled movie.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.