edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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November 12

Slumdog Millionaire

November 14

A Christmas Tale

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Dostana

The Dukes

Eden

House of the Sleeping Beauties

How About You

Quantum of Solace

We are Wizards

November 21

The Betrayal

November 30

Purple Butterfly

(Palm Pictures, 2.15.2005)

Directed by Lou Ye (Suzhou River), Purple Butterfly is a formally accomplished, if somewhat plot-muddled attempt at re-creating the events of 1930s Shanghai. Avoiding the conventions of period, political thrillers, the indirect nature of the storytelling can be extremely confusing. With a heavily fragmented plot, resembling something out of an Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu film, and the general moodiness of Wong Kar-Wai's work, Ye's film sometimes feels like a concoction of too many styles and devices. Still, the film has its own unique appeal (at times) that can be quite effective.

The film looks beautiful -- with exquisite hand-held camera movement, framing, cross-fades, and tracking shots -- and there are moments here that work as pure cinematic virtuosity. Cinematographer Yu Wang does a commendable job and creates some truly breathtaking imagery, it's just too bad the narrative had to be sacrificed, in the interest of this imagery. Too often, the film's characters and plot operate like ornaments for shot construction.

Palm's DVD transfer showcases the film's dazzling visuals in a pristine anamorphic widescreen transfer that does an impressive job highlighting its color palette (consisting mainly of blue exterior shots and dimly-lit yellow interiors). Sometimes the blacks look a little blue, which can take time to get used to, but this works with the film's common look. The 5.1 Surround Sound mix is quite impressive with clear music, dialogue, and some nice sound effects: gun-shots, rainfall, explosions, etc.

However, the DVD is unquestionably lacking in the extras department. There is a short trailer for Purple Butterfly -- that remains true to the film's prioritizing of gestures over dialogue -- and trailers for three other Palm releases: Last Life in the Universe, Bright Future, and Reconstruction. The DVD is packaged in a clear amaray case and, instead of an insert, there's a director's statement and some photography inside the case.

Purple Butterfly is certainly a mixed bag. While audacious in both form and content, its plot can be extremely confusing (especially for those not in-the-know about Sino-Japanese relations). Nonetheless, it warrants a rental on visual merit alone. Just try to ignore those plot-twists and elusive flashbacks. -- Neil Karassik

Carrie<< previous | next >>Malcolm X