DVD Review: The Runaways

Rated R for language, sexuality, drug and alcohol use

Starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton

It's the 1970s and a late teenage Joan Jett is a rockin' female guitarist wanting to be in a band. 15 year old Cherie Currie is into the glam rock of David Bowie.

After a chance meeting a teenage hangout, music producer Kim Fowley likes Joan's idea of an all girl rock group and puts her in touch with drummer Sandy West, telling them to put something together. Liking what he hears, Fowley decides to audition a bombshells for a singer and spies Cherie in one of the teen hangouts. Despite her hesitation to sing suggestive lyrics, she gives in to Fowley's demand and lands the gig.

The girls head out on the road for a tour that summer, with Cherie quickly losing her good girl looks and innocence on the road. It's a time the girls - Cherice, Joan, Sandy and Lita Ford will never forget and for some of them a launching pad to even bigger careers.

While this film is based somewhat on the autobiography put out by Currie, it is to be noted that a good bit of the film is fiction, as they cut out certain parts of the band's history and condensed the timeline as well. It was definitely an interesting film to watch, despite it not entirely being an accurate documentary.

Also, even though it is Fanning's movie (and boy does she play jailbait well!) with Stewart backing her as Joan Jett, I do wish they gave a little more screentime to Scout Taylor-Compton's Lita Ford, as she went on to have a bit of a well-known career as well. Lita and Sandy were just background characters, having very little dialogue or screentime in the film.

If you like autobiographical films (regardless of accuracy) or The Runaways, Joan Jett and/or Cherie Currie you might be interested in checking out The Runaways, however put the kiddies to bed first as there's quite a bit of sexual content in this one!

Repo! The Genetic Opera

Rated R for language, gore and a brief scene of sexuality

Starring Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, Terrance Zdunich

I LOVED IT!

If you like musicals and/or rock operas check this one out. The music is really good - a lot of well known rock musicians contributed to it.

It's like year 2050-something, a plague started causing mass organ failure, but a company, GeneCo, arose to mass supply organ transplants, however you miss your payments and they send in the Repoman to repossess the organs. But that's only part of the story. The main plot of the story focus on 17-year old Shilo (Vega) who has been locked away in her room for most her life, as she has a rare blood disease she inherited from her mother's genes - she desperately wants to go outside and see the world, but her father (Anthony Head) won't let her. She thinks her father is a doctor, set on finding a cure for her disease, but she doesn't know his dark secret. Meanwhile, Rotti Largo (Sorvino), founder of GeneCo, learns he has a fatal disease and must soon pick an heir to his fortune and legacy, however he considers his 3 offspring (Hilton, Moseley and Ogre) to be embarassments and disappointments, not worthy of his inheritance.

It's by the guy that did Saw 2, 3 and 4, but it's not much like Saw at all, other than there's a few minor 'gory' scenes, but id say the gore is on par with Sweeney Todd, imo.

I never heard much from Sarah Brightman before, but man can she sing! Yes, Paris Hilton's in it, but she has maybe 15 min of screentime, at most, and is a minor character. Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the tv series) is one of the leads and he can sing really well too, as can Alexa Vega (the girl from the Spy Kids movies, all grown up).

It was a short stage show for years, but they finally we were able to make into the film they always wanted. Lionsgate didn't really do much to promote it though and it was only limited released in 5 cities for 1 weekend back in November and is now on DVD. Universal wanted it when the writers/producers/directors were shopping for a film studio to back it, however Universal said no musical if they backed it. Now Universal's making their own similar film sans singing.

So go rent it!!!!

Mamma Mia

Rated PG13 for sexuality

Starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski

Sophie is about to get married, but has always dreamed about having her father walk her down the aisle and give her away on the big day. Unfortunately, she grew up without a father, and while she doesn't know who her biological father is, after reading mom's diary, she has narrowed it down to 3 who could possibly be her father and invites them all to the wedding festivities, unbeknownst to her mother. When they all arrive at the same time, Sophie spends time with each of them, trying to figure out which one she takes after most, while hiding them from her mother at the resort.

I never saw the Broadway musical, but I did grow up listening to Abba songs. Meryl Streep steals the show in this fun, lighthearted romantic musical. If you're a fan of Abba or just like musics, check this one out.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Rated R for violence, overexaggerated gore, implied rape

Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen

Originally a Broadway musical, Tim Burton's take on this dark tale is quite well done!

Barber Benjamin Barker had it all - a successul job, a beautiful wife and a gorgeous baby girl. That is, until his wife catches the eye of Judge Turpin, who has Barker sent off to an Austrialian prison for false charges, gets the missus intoxicated and takes advantage of her, having his way, which in turn, we learn, causes the poor thing to seek poision to end her pain. The judge adopts their daughter, keeping her locked up in the house to keep her from 'the dangers of the outside world', spying on her regularly.

Fast forward 15 years, Barker has escaped from prison and is heading home to London, Fleet Street to be exact, where he takes up the name of Sweeney Todd and opens shoppe above Mrs. Lovett's dirty ol' meat shoppe. Learning of what has become of his wife and daughter, he seeks revenge and his sights are set on Judge Turpin, with plans of giving him 'the closest shave he has ever had.'

It's a great tragic story of what can happen when someone focuses solely on revenge and how it can destroy them and those around them.

Mrs Lovett's idea for a secret ingredient to boost the sales of her meat pies was a bit odd... one of the more humorous numbers in the movie was when they're having a picnic on a hillside, looking completely without color. Mrs Lovett (who had a silent crush on Todd/Barker back when he was married, as she was his landlord back then as well) is completely overwhelmed with the idea of living happily ever after with Todd - imagining them at the beach, enjoying a day on a porch, getting married at a cute little chapel, strolling along on a boardwalk, etc - although we can tell he's only got one thing on his mind - Judge Turpin's revenge.

It was a bit over the top with the exaggerated bloody murders (think "Kill Bill") and especially in the number where he's slitting throats left and right and Mrs Lovett's making meat pies with their 'secret ingredient' but in this day and age, it's not that uncommon in films of this nature to have it as such (I've seen worse).

*hopefully* Johnny Depps gets an Oscar nom for this one or Pirates this year and maybe he'll finally win one, as he definately deserves it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - he's one of the greatest character actors of our time! Why the hell has he not won an Oscar yet?!

On that note, Tim Burton was recently signed on to do Disney's 3D verison of Alice in Wonderland - I can't wait! If we thought Lewis Carroll's story was trippy and messed up enough, I can't wait to see Burton's take on it! Especially if it's gonna be in 3D!

Across the Universe

What better way to depict the Vietnam War era than with tunes by the Beatles?

In this musical, Jude, a lad from Liverpool, jumps ship to America to meet the father he never knew, but that leads to a journey of events and friendships he never expected.

We see how the 60s affects the lives of Max, an ivy league dropout who unwillingly gets drafted into the war, and his younger sister Lucy, as well as their later roommates Sadie, a Janis Joplin-type singer, Jo-Jo, who's sorta like Jimi Hendrix, and Prudence, a little Asian lesbian just looking for someone to hold her hand.

On their adventures thru the 60s we come across Eddie Izzard in an amusing number where he's a sort of psychodelic circus ring leader, U2's Bono as author Dr. Robert (think Hunter S Thompson), and Salma Hayack as an army nurse.

It was amusing - some of it was genius, some of it was trippy, and it was fun too.

Not exactly one for the whole family, as there is some violence and nudity, but definately for those that like the Beatles or the period it's set in and can appreciate it.

Hairspray

This musical remake of the late-80s original had a much deeper plot than I would of thought. Set in the 1960s when schools, among other things, were segregated by color, it teaches lessons of standing up for whats right and acceptance of others, regardless of how they look or the color of their skin.

Altho the values were deep, the songs were pretty bad... and that's coming from my sis who loves musicals... from what I hear the original was better, even though it was pretty bad.

And John Travolta makes one UGLY woman, however Christopher Walken is entertaining as he always is.

This film also stars American Dreams' Brittany Snow, Michelle Pheiffer, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah, James Marsden, Zac Efron and Nikki Blondsky.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 3D

Although I got stuck sitting through this pre-teen torture, the digital 3D quality of the concert was quite amazing! It was very life like and at certain points almost made you feel like you were actually at the show, in the audience. The content seemed like it was more of a made for tv concert special than a big movie production, so don't be surprised to see it airing on the Disney channel in upcoming months. But just the quality alone of the feature... I can't wait to screen the U2 in 3D concert later this month hopefully! If they can make Hannah Montana look that good and real, then it'll certainly be awesome for Bono and the Edge! (as well as Larry and Adam too!).

It is a nice $18 alternative though for those who have kids who love the show and the Jonas Brothers (they do 3 songs in the middle of the show) and were unable to afford the $250 concert ticket prices that scalpers were selling them for apiece. If your kid or yourself like Hannah Montana, they'll definitely love this concert special!

TENACIOUS D AND THE PICK OF DESTINY

If you've heard their first CD or watched the HBO series, you'll know exactly what to expect and they make references to things you've heard/seen in both of those previous medias.

Basically, it starts out showing you JB (Jack Black) leaving his strict family as a teenager, and taking the wisdom of Ronnie James Dio, heads off to California in search of 'the one that will teach him the ways of Rock'. Once he gets out there several years later, he comes across a guitar god in the making - KG (Kyle Gass). They eventually form a bond after a rocky start and realize it was destiny for them to meet and form a band. On their way to becoming great, they notice that all the great bands used the same guitar pick and decide to do a little research into and learn that 'the pick of destiny' is really the tooth of satan with the power to give greatness to those that use it. they head off in search of this pick so that they can create their masterpiece - hilarity ensues. It also shows ya 'that fateful night' that they make reference to in their single 'Tribute'

Part of the movie is in musical form, the other half is just normal movie - the musical numbers are pretty funny though! And 90% of the music is new stuff by Tenacious D.

There's also a short little scene after the credits too, so don't miss that!

if ya like Tencious D, metal/rock, or a comedy, definately go see this one - it was pretty funny and the cameo's are pretty cool too - Meatloaf as JB's strict dad, Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) as Satan, Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins also have funny cameo's also.