Welcome to DVD Diggers which hasn’t been canceled due to snow... yet.
I’m more than a bit depressed as this weekend winds to a close. I had the unenviable task this weekend of calling forty five young actors and actresses, most between the age of six and nineteen, and let them know that the play they had been rehearsing on since November First had been canceled due to snow and ice. Not only did I get to do that Saturday as the precipitation fell, but I then got to repeat that task on Sunday, when blue skies were shining, but parking lots and walkways were still not cleared. *Sigh*... thus is the life of community theatre.
I’ve been involved in community theatre for over a decade, starting as an actor, then moving to designing lights, and more recently directing. I love the opportunity to craft together a story in a way that keeps audiences entertained. Although I’ve had shows canceled on me before, this was the first time I’ve had an entire weekend canceled, and even worse, the first time I had to let other people know their hard work wasn’t going to get its full payoff due to the weather. It’s a task I hope I never have to do again... it’s just too heartbreaking.
But what does this have to do with DVDs?
Give Me a Large Pizza, Double Anchovies
With my weekend plans canceled for me, I was finally able to sit down and catch up on some DVD watching. One of the discs I’ve had waiting for me to find a few minutes is the infamous Pizza: The Movie. As we’ve mentioned before, the guys behind Pizza are a good bunch who frequent the Cinema Blend forums. First writer/director Donald Gregory joined us and later persuaded several members of his cast, Craig Wisniewski and Jason Muzie (and even sometimes Daniela Mangialardo), to join as well. They all took some light ribbing about their film, and even dished some out themselves - after Josh’s review of the film his remark that “It’s better than Torque” became somewhat of a battle cry for the guys.
Well, the truth is Pizza: The Movie is better than Torque. It’s also better than a lot of films Hollywood craps out on a regular basis. Maybe I’m saying that because I suffered through First Daughter this weekend as well, but it feels true. Donald Gregory has written a pretty interesting situation comedy scenario as Craig Wisniewski’s character Kevin tries to earn money for a fancy date by delivering pizzas. The situations Kevin face instantly seem too funny to be true, which makes me think Gregory has probably served some time as a delivery boy himself.
Along for the ride, and sometimes unfortunately leading it is Jason Muzie’s Barry, a character I’d love to say something nice about... but it just isn’t happening. Muzie is exactly like I pictured him to be from our forums, and something makes me think there is more of Barry in Muzie than any of us would like. You have to give some credit to Muzie though - he makes a pretty big idiot of himself at times, removing his shirt from his not-so-handsome frame in the film’s first five minutes. There are Hollywood actors who wouldn’t embarrass themselves this much, but Muzie makes the sacrifice for the film.
The movie has its flaws, as does any amateur film, although this one is certainly a lot more professional then the movies I used to make on my friend’s VHS Camcorder. The visuals of the movie are pretty good, although the lighting creates hard shadows quite frequently and there is one moment of poor CGI-Animation. Bigger problems come when characters like Daniela Mangialardo’s Wendy wear a hat, constantly covering her eyes and face in shadows. The audio is where the movie really has issues, or at least this DVD release, because it seldom sounds like the audio is the problem - just the mix of the audio, which is inconsistent from scene to scene causing the viewer to have to turn the volume up and down. Also the kicking soundtrack makes the movie’s dialog difficult to hear occasionally as well.
What the movie does have going for it is heart, and a lot of bravery and dedication, and some good concepts as well (I particularly like the film’s “people are puzzles” speech). It’s easy to dream about becoming a filmmaker, but it’s a lot more challenging to go out and do it. I should know, I’m one of those people who talks and dreams, but has yet to accomplish anything other than an introduction to a kids show some of my friends came up with. I’ve seen a lot of Hollywood films out there, and a lot of amateur stuff at conventions I go to, and let me tell you, Pizza may not be the best thing out there, but it’s certainly far, far from the worst. While I can’t imagine showing it to many of my friends, I have a couple I’ll probably expose to it, and I can see the film appearing in one of my future “Drunken Movie Night” lineups.
I’m very jealous of what Donald, Craig, Jason, and Daniela have managed to do with Pizza, especially given a weekend of canceled play performances. The truth is when I direct community theatre I get two weekends to show people what I’ve accomplished, take in their applause and enjoy the success of my hard work. While it’s a success I enjoy, it is fleeting. Ten years from now these guys will still have a DVD of their work to watch, and reminisce about the fun and hard work they put into this project. I’m sure Donald will have more of these projects down the road as well, after all, the first step is the hardest one to make. If he learns from the mistakes of Pizza (as well as the good points from it) then he may find himself with a success at some point. After all, the feel of Pizza isn’t that different from Clerks, and look at the career Kevin Smith has had from taking a chance... and being in the right place at the right time.
Good job guys, I look forward to seeing your future endeavors.
What is this column about, anyway?
So lets talk about DVDs... I’m going to try something a little new this week and actually spend a little bit of time talking about the releases coming out this week.
AvP: Alien Vs. Predator I caught AvP in the theaters and was significantly disappointed with it. After four Alien pictures and two Predator flicks, all which were rated-R, a PG-13 endeavor mixing the two franchises just doesn’t cut it. The film shorts any kind of story in preference of its special effects, but then ruins the special effects by using chaotic camera movement and editing. The DVD release attempts to help the movie with some deleted scenes and explanations that make the movie stronger, but as we all say around here, should a movie have to rely on its DVD release to be stronger?
Predator 2 - Special Edition When Alien vs. Predator hit theaters, Fox released a special edition of Predator to cash in on the film’s audience (a logistical choice since the Alien films all saw big releases with the Quadrology Series. Now they do the same thing for AvP’s DVD release with the Predator sequel. Predator 2 trades in Ahnuld for Danny Glover and Carl Weathers for Gary Busey, but this release keeps the same expansive feel of the first film with documentaries, commentaries, and all the things that made the special edition of the first Predator a good thing.
MacGuyver - The Complete First Season I never was a fan of “MacGyver”, a fact that seemed to create chaos and dismay when Josh found out. I’m aware of MacGyver, the genius who could create anything out of some paper clips, a loose pipe, some spare pebbles, and, of course, duct tape. I never got into the show though, a sin that seems to be on the level of never getting into “Magnum P.I.” and “Miami Vice”. This release has all 22 episodes of the show’s first season, but apparently MacGyver couldn’t engineer up any extras. Maybe those will be forthcoming on a future set. After all, the show was around for seven seasons.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Metallica seems an unlikely subject for a documentary, but many critics place Some Kind of Monster on par with Super Size Me, and Farenheight 9/11 for last year’s documentary releases. The documentary focuses on the bands time in therapy... er, with a “performance enhancement coach” as the band members face personal demons and the group as a whole tries to keep Metallica surviving through a lull. The DVD boasts forty added scenes, expanding greatly on the original film, as well as commentary on the film by both filmmakers and the band.
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow Sky Captain seemed to be a film critics were split on in theaters. Personally I’m a big fan of the visuals of the film’s alternate 1940s era, and the “live action” portrayal of the old Max Fleisher cartoons. Of course, it’s not really live action. In a Lucas-esqe move, the actors are the only real thing in Sky Captain, utilizing CGI for the films locations and sets. Lucas could learn a lesson though, as this film makes that CGI work almost seamless. While the DVD isn’t as chock-full of extras as I’d like to see it (come on - give us an option to remove the special effects and see the actors against a green screen), it still looks worth the time of the fans who are waiting for word of a Sky Captain sequel.
