The Screengrab : jim broadbent

Trailer Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Trailer #3)

Paul Clark — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

A few months back, Warner Bros. decided to delay the push of the latest Harry Potter adventure from this past weekend to next summer, much to the dismay of fans of the books and movies (including Hitler). So when they unveiled a new trailer for the film on the same weekend the movie had been slated for release, I wasn’t sure whether it was an olive branch to devotees or simply a giant tease. But what the hell- this trailer’s actually pretty cool. My Potterphile girlfriend was geeking out over this once it hit the Web- she loves the idea of Broadbent as Slughorn, and was jazzed about the brief glimpses of the battle sequence. As for me, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Potter movies, but I’m liking this darker direction the series is taking, especially as the action looks to be having more real-world (rather than just wizard-world) ramifications. I’m guessing there will probably be another trailer sometime next spring to further whet the appetites of Potter fans, but this one is plenty for me.

DVD Digest for November 4, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

This week is a big one for classic TV on DVD, plus an old-school sci-fi franchise gets the Blu-Ray treatment.

DVD of the Week: My pick this week is only applicable if you have a Blu-Ray DVD player, which exempts a number of Screengrab readers including myself. However, if you have a Blu-Ray player, nothing this week can touch the release of Planet of the Apes: 40 Year Evolution Blu-Ray Collection (Fox). Of course, even fans of the series acknowledge that the Planet of the Apes films are widely uneven. Yet unlike most franchise box sets which pile the lion’s share of extras on the classic films and leave little for the others, Fox has lavished plenty of care on all of the Apes films, regardless of quality. The biggest news for fans is the newly-restored cut of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, which went largely unseen since the 1972 studio test screenings. According to Screengrab’s own Scott Von Doviak, the new version of Conquest is much more darker and violent than the version that was eventually released in theatres. The set also contains a number of new extras, including new making-of featurettes for each of the sequels, a documentary on the evolution from Pierre Boulle’s original novel to the screen, and isolated score tracks for each of the sequels. In other words, everything that one could possibly need to satisfy even the most ravenous Planet of the Apes fan, although for the rest of all the movies are also sold separately.

For us non-Blu-Ray types, the big news this week is the release of the Fraggle Rock Complete Series Collection (Lionsgate), which collects all 96 episodes of Jim Henson’s classic HBO series in a massive 20-disc box set. In addition, the collection includes an exclusive new Fraggle Rock short directed by Cory Edwards, who will direct the upcoming Fraggle Rock feature film, which I hadn’t heard about until today. Other notable TV on DVD releases include: Batman: The Complete Animated Series (Warner), Futurama: Bender’s Game (Fox, also Blu-Ray), Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Television Series (Lionsgate), and Reaper Season 1 (Lionsgate).

The highest-profile recent release coming to DVD today is the big-screen update of the classic series Get Smart (Warner, also Blu-Ray). This week also brings the indie trifecta of Brad Anderson’s Transsiberian (First Look, also Blu-Ray), Luke Wilson in Henry Poole Is Here (Anchor Bay), and Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth in When Did You Last See Your Father? (Sony). And for the kids, there’s Alvin and the Chipmunks Special Edition (Fox) and Shrek the Halls (Paramount).

The annual onslaught of holiday DVDs continues this year with the A Christmas Story Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Warner, also Blu-Ray), although for my money nothing beats watching this over and over on TNT. Also of note this week is the re-pressing of two John Cassavetes classics, A Woman Under the Influence (Criterion) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Criterion). Finally, there’s the Waterworld Extended Edition (Universal), in case that’s your kind of thing.

Finally, this week’s non-ape Blu-Ray only releases include Monster’s Ball (Lionsgate) and Universal Soldier (Lionsgate). And honestly, I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more unlikely pairing. Satantango and Rush Hour? Pretty Woman and Irreversible? I’ll have to think about this one…

Kid-Lit Juggernaut Continues Conquest of Realm

Peter Smith — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:00:00 GMT

Determined to crank out as many Harry Potter films as possible before the lead actors have mid-life crises, Warner Brothers has announced casting for the sixth installment. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will add Jim Broadbent and Helen McCrory to the franchise's collection of Notable Brits, as well as introducing four new child actors (all of whom, unlike Daniel Radcliffe et al, are still actually children). David Yates of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix fame will return as director, dashing our dreams of Alfonso Cuaron coming back to the fold. The film is slated for November 2008 and is projected to make fourteen hundred bazillion dollars on opening weekend. — Gwynne Watkins