"As Good As It Gets" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 1997 James L. Brook’s Movie Now Reissued Onto BLU RAY In 2013...

"…A Better Person…" – As Good As It Gets on BLU RAY

Melvin is a bit of a boor. And that’s not even taking into account that he’s full of crap too. Ensconced in his plush 5th Avenue apartment  – famous and wealthy author Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) sits in front of his beautifully lit computer. Speaking softly and eloquently to himself as he composes the revelatory ending of his 62nd book - he types warm words about love and deep relationships. The only problem is that in the real world Melvin sucks at both with the ferocity of a gummy budgie on several uppers.

Then there’s the compulsive behaviour he indulges in privately and publicly because he’s a bank account that afford it – foil-wrapped bars of soap he uses only once (tapping the cabinet mirror each time he opens a new one) and leather gloves he bins after one outing. Mountains of expensive LPs all lined up in perfect alphabetical order - luxurious foot platters in the fridge in shrinkwrap that he won’t eat. In fact compulsion dominates his every action – locks on his door that have to be turned back and forth five times followed by the light switches. He can’t cross cracks in paving stones when he’s out on the New York streets and can’t abide anyone touching him ("get a life" one pedestrian cries). He carries plastic knives and forks with him in sealed bags because eating off immaculate silverware is a "judgement call". But these rituals are small beer to his motor mouth - that more often than not - would make an open drain seem fragrant.

"I've got Jews on my table!" Melvin protests when a man and a woman are found sitting where he always sits (early roles for Peter Jacobson and Lisa Edelstein – Dr. Taub and Dr. Cuddy in Hugh Laurie's "House"). He calls gay men "fudge-packers" while a coloured Art Agent has an "accent thick with molasses…" "Sell crazy some place else!" he tells the cleaning lady who wishes him God in his life. He calls an overweight waitress "elephant girl" and screams "Now!" at her to get his food - finally getting himself barred for life from his favourite eating hole to the applause of every single patron. But worse than his uncontrollable verbal diarrhoea is his persistent obnoxious behaviour – acts so unfeeling – they’d make The Hitler Youth tremble with pride.

There’s his gay neighbour Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear) – an idealistic painter who obsessively worships his small fluffy dog Verdell – so Melvin chucks the tiny Brussels Griffin down the garbage chute for urinating on the hall radiator ("wizzed for the last time you dirty dog!"). On a visit to his publisher a worshiping secretary foolishly asks, "How do you write women so well?" Unable to resist Melvin replies, "I think of a man – and take away all reason and accountability…" Even the warm-hearted waitress Carol Connolly (Helen Hunt) who works at CAFÉ (the only restaurant he’ll use in Manhattan) - the one person in the whole wide world who will put up with his God awful mannerisms and impatience - is having a hard time not poking his eyes with a red hot poker after a staggeringly offhand and cold remark about her sick Asthmatic son.

Both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won the Oscar for 1997’s "As Good As It Gets" – and not without reason. They’re simply fabulous in their roles as polar opposite people – weary souls who long for release from their respective personal prisons. But for my money the writing of Mark Andrus and Director James L. Brooks should have pulled a statue too. The movie has a ballbreakingly funny script that relishes in the attack - but also knows when to turn on the heart. Melvin shouts as a cackle of school kids on the sidewalk - "Children Stop!" - and all do in abject terror. When Dr. Bettes (the wonderful Harold Ramis) tells working-mum Carol that her sick son Spencer will now suffer less from his breathing problems and allergies because Melvin has stumped up $61,000 in medical bills to get her back to work and waiting on him – it’s funny, moving and beautiful. It drew tears in our house.

The CAFÉ scene where Carol tries to explain her gratitude for the miracle of life Melvin has given her son - is tender and awkward and genuinely touching – and his response of "lovely" when he just wants her to stop is so utterly on the money for his character’s inner demons. When they do finally have dinner together on a car trip to Baltimore to raise cash from Simon’s rich parents (he’s broke and needs to keep his apartment) – Melvin pays Carol a real compliment for the first time (dialogue above) and a softer better person emerges.

Even as a seasoned watcher - you forget just how good Jack Nicholson really is. In full flight – he’s an awesome thing to see and his character’s awfulness towards all of humanity is a wonder to behold. And yet you love him – monumental prick that he is – he gives his Melvin a beating heart. Not to be outdone on the robbed-of-an-Oscar front – I’d also state that another statue should have been handed out to Greg Kinnear as sensitive Simon in what has to be a career-best performance from him. Having been beaten to a facial pulp by a model that cased his soft touch place for a robbery (Skeet Ulrich) – the scene where he’s out of hospital and breaks down in front of Nicholson in his apartment is stupendous - and was shown at the Oscar ceremonies. It took real boots to go up against a consummate scene-stealer like JN and our Greg pulled it off convincingly. Look closely too and you’ll catch a few lines by the author of Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (and the new one too), Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Big Chill - Lawrence Kasdan - making an appearance as Dr. Green in Melvin’s Fifth Avenue Psychiatric Group.

Defaulted to Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 – the picture fills the entire screen and is gorgeous throughout. Only on a very few occasions do faces go slightly out of focus – mostly it just looks like quality all the way.
I bought the German Region B version (Besser Geht’s Nicht on Barcode 4030521707481) that has the Region ABC Logo on the rear - meaning it’s all regions or region free. A very real let down however is the complete absence of any Extras – not even a Trailer for God’s sake. I say this because I’ve long raved about the commentary that accompanies the whole film on the DVD release where Nicholson gives it some seriously informative and funny raconteur throughout "I'm upstaged by a fucking dog!" What a shame it isn’t on here. Subtitles are extensive too (details available from Amazon).

There are some Directors I will seek out – Terry Gilliam, Wes Anderson, Nadine Labaki, Peter Howitt, John Borman, Peter Chelsom, Mira Nair, Paul Haggis, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Paul Greengrass, Nadine Lahti and James L. Brooks are among them. They produce movies of depth, wit and hope – and the brill "As Good As It Gets" is right up there.

"You make me want to be a better person…" Melvin says to Carol in a rare moment of genuine breakthrough.

Make your home a sweeter place too by adding this dysfunctional nugget of love to your shopping basket…

"Corman’s World – Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 2011 Alex Stapleton Documentary Film...

Here is a link to AMAZON UK to get this great BLU RAY at the best price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005ZD5Q6U

"…Hassled By The Man!" – Corman's World on BLU RAY

Take a look at this list of Actors – Jack Nicholson, Tommy Lee Jones, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern, William Shatner, Lee Van Cleef, Dick Miller, Charles Bronson, Vincent Price, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, David Carradine, Pam Grier and Mamie Van Doren… 

Or this list of Directors, Writers and Producers – Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, John Sayles, Joe Dante, Paul W.S. Anderson, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd and Francis Ford Coppola…

What have they all got in common? The answer is Producer, Writer, Director, Mentor, Career-Break Giver, Cheapskate and Sordid Exploitation B-Movie Legend - ROGER CORMAN. So why don’t you know this? Well that’s what Alex Stapleton’s 2011 documentary film "Corman's World" is about.

It begins in the late Forties with two horrid years in the American Navy where Cadet Roger William Corman from Detroit, Michigan wilfully goes up against every order and gets a ludicrously high amount of demerits. He cannot stand authority of any kind. Roger then takes a job for 8 weeks reading crappy scripts at 20th Century Fox – says screw this – and decides in 1954 to make a film of his own – a black and white called "Monster From The Ocean". He does everything himself and on a budget of nothing minus zero (they show hilarious footage of his glowing one-eyed monster) and our boy’s off and running. Some decades later and at the sprightly age of 82 - there’s a staggering 384 more films where they came from (and he’s Directed 55 of them). And in between all that our heros has managed to procure a loving and talented wife Julie and four kids…and millions of movie-going admirers (many of whom are now Industry giants).

What’s fascinating about this fabulous story is the huge number of genuine stars Corman knew and gave a break too – and who take time out to acknowledge this. Jack Nicholson in particular - who seems to owe his stunning career to the man – is so witty and self-deprecating that he’s worth the price of admission alone. Ron Howard is characteristically generous too (got his first Director’s spot under Corman) and has hilarious anecdotes about dangerous stunts in borrowed cars. Genius Writers and Directors John Sayles and Peter Bogdanovich give insightful glimpses into Corman’s sometimes cavalier yet utterly driven personality – always sticking it to 'the man'. While "Boxcar Bertha" gave Martin Scorsese and his troop of stunning actors an outing and the maestro his first Director’s Chair.

But what really tickles the funny bones is the endless parade of film clips - exploitation movies you haven’t seen in decades – or not at all. Most were made without safety or permits - where an explosion is pretty much mandatory – where crass is good – and if it can be made for less than the dollar price of Scrooge’s underwear – then that’s even better. Blood spatters, cleavage pops, hoodlums do what hoodlums do, monsters invade from outer space (Lee Van Cleef sorts out a mutant bug with a canister blowtorch), crocodiles chomp on limbs, massively endowed ladies ponce about on the planet Venus with telepathy but very few clothes…and cars eat people…all of it thoroughly delightful.

But in between all this B-Movie/Drive-In fodder are moments of breakthrough – 1962's "The Intruder" – a serious film about racism down South starring a first part for William Shatner that nearly got all involved killed. And while his flicks might have been the wrong side of pump-action nudity drivel – his tastes were for proper art-house films of the European and World schools. So Corman used his distribution company ‘New World Pictures’ to give Fellini, Bergman, Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa movies their only American releases.

Corman also made eight Edgar Allen Poe films with Vincent Price including "The Pit And The Pendulum", "The Masque Of The Red Death" and "The House Of Usher" which are now revered as classics of the Horror genre. He used genuine Hells Angels in the biker movie "The Wild Angels" (the character Heavenly Blues gives the quote that titles this review), spoke to the teenagers of America with the Sixties culture flick "The Trip" (popped LSD to be authentic) and followed that nugget with the biggest independent cult film hit of all time – "Easy Rider" - which made global superstars of Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.

But not to leave crass behind - for the Seventies - we get the Downton Abbey pleasant "Women In Cages", the University Challenge brain-teaser "Death Race 2000", the very nice boy clean-haircuts of The Ramones in "Rock & Roll High School" and vein nibbling fishy in the artistically fulfilling "Piranha". What a man and what a life!

The 30-minutes of Bonus Features have extended interviews and special messages to the great man. Aspect ratio is Full Screen and of course varies with the Source while Audio is a Basic 2.0. There are no subtitles.

In some respects - to blab and reveal more - is to do you the viewer - an injustice. Suffice to say that "Corman's World" is one of those cool insider peeks at the history of 'alternate' movies and the independent side of Hollywood. But perhaps like the chipper curmudgeon himself – this wonderfully uplifting and funny documentary is largely unknown and criminally under-appreciated.

Juts don’t let this BLU RAY gem go unacknowledged in your household…or we may have to send some killer vixens around with chainsaws and open blouses…

"The Bucket List" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 2007 Rob Reiner Film...

"…Joy To Others…" - The Bucket List on BLU RAY

Car mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is at the garage tinkering with a Chevrolet Camaro – cigarette in his gob like it always has been for 45 years. He smiles as his younger co-worker quizzes him on five former American Presidents whose surnames begin with H (Carter has a thing for accumulating knowledge). He of course gets their names right. But then mid explanation on the next question (which man actually invented the radio) - his Doctor phones with test results - and the cigarette that was placed between Carter’s fingers to take the call falls to the greasy floor…

Meanwhile in a courtroom far away – four-times married multi-millionaire Edward Penniman Cole (Jack Nicholson) is assimilating hospital number 16 into his privatized portfolio. Sipping his Indonesian Kopi Luwak (the most expensive coffee in the world) from a Gold mobile dispenser - he asks his puppet assistant to give the panel of trustees "the spiel…" Their financially failing Hospital needs him and no matter what their 'moral posturing' maybe - in his moneymaking medical palaces there are two beds to every room for patients (no exceptions). But in the middle of another crass speech about how he’s running a hospital and not a health spa - Edward suddenly starts to cough something into his handkerchief that isn’t phlegm…

Next both wildly different men find themselves lumped together in the same room of a Hospital Edward Cole owns. But because of bad PR – the grouchy Cole can’t get a private room to be away from “the living dead over there”. Gradually across chemo, operations, puking and diarrhoea - they become reluctant buddies of sorts. One day Edward finds a yellow jotter page on the floor on which Carter has written "The Bucket List". It’s what his former college tutor told him to write as a young man – things you want to do before you 'kick the bucket'…

Recovered momentarily and now with a diagnosis of 6 months and one year respectively – Edward persuades Carter not to go home to his Nurse wife Veronica and his three kids to be swallowed by pity and grief – but to take a shot at all the things he’s wanted to do. After all money is not a problem. And despite his wife’s misgivings – Carter knows Edward is right. It’s now or never. So they skydive, get a tattoo, drive a Mustang Shelby 360, laugh until they cry, kiss the most beautiful woman in the world, witness something majestic…and so on.

Part of the joy of "The Bucket List" is watching two acting giants given great material - let rip with it – and that’s what you get here. The chemistry and obvious respect between Freeman and Nicholson leaps off every frame and Director Rob Reiner never interferes – even when the film is being silly and a little preposterous. In fact in the first 30 or 40 minutes as they navigate the physical and mental agonies of terminal illness in a Hospital – “The Bucket List” is truly touching movie-making - with a razor-sharp script and life observations that don’t feel obvious nor too cutesy.

Even in the second-half where the story demands they do their comedy party pieces – the conversations between them on Cole’s private jet and in a luxurious hotel bathtub are filled with classy one-liners and power delivery (beautifully scripted by Justin Zackham). And it’s funny too (most of which is provided by the incomparable Jack Nicholson). By the time it gets to The Shawshank Redemption Morgan Freeman voiceover end - when a Chock-Full-Of-Nuts tin is being carried up a mountain - you’re a willing convert.

This is major Hollywood movie and the picture quality on the BLU RAY is simply glorious. Defaulted to 1.85:1 Full Aspect – the frame fills the entire screen and there isn’t a shot that doesn’t look immaculate and impressive. Even the CGI of the chat about his daughter Emily on top of the Pyramids is convincing (title above) - as is the motorbike ride on the Great Wall of China and their walks around the Taj Mahal. Audio is Dolby Digital English, French and Spanish 5.1 for each - while the Subtitles offered are English, French and Spanish.

The Extras are delightful – interviews with both leads, Director Ron Reiner, the Screenwriter, a Making of and John Mayer’s gorgeous acoustic balled "Say".

As he treks through snow keeping a promise to a man he first despised but then grew to love - Carter Chambers says of Edward Cole - "When he died…his eyes were shut...and his heart was open…"

"The Bucket List" has been a joy to re-watch on BLU RAY. Do yourself a solid – and open your bruised ticker to this modern-day nugget...