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DVD Talk review of 'Hollow Man'

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DVD Talk review of 'Hollow Man'

Old 10-13-07, 09:39 AM
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DVD Talk review of 'Hollow Man'

I read Nick Lyons's DVD review of Hollow Man at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=30971 and I thought it was terrible.

It's rather obvious, Nick, that you're no fan of the film, but some people may have been fans of it when the theatrical cut was released. The review makes no mention in the title that it's the director's cut of Hollow Man and includes around 8 minutes of new footage. And then on top of that you even fail to mention that information at all in your review. Some people might be on the fence about this release simply because they want to know what the new footage is, and your review doesn't clarify anything about that. I'm not expecting every review to be written by someone that's a fan of a certain title, but if you're going to bother doing a review for the movie, at least do the readers some justice and break down the entire disc.

Last edited by islandclaws; 10-13-07 at 09:44 AM.
Old 10-13-07, 01:01 PM
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I did mention it in my review. Here's the quote "Note: The Director's Cut contains an additional 8 minutes, but I couldn't even tell what was added."
Old 10-13-07, 01:13 PM
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Oh, right... so you did. I must have glazed over the line. I only briefly skimmed the review looking for the specific scene extensions since the majority of it was pretty scathing. I doubt it, but do you know if anyone else plans on reviewing this disc since the new scenes are a make it/break it purchase point for me. I suppose I could always check Imdb...
Old 10-13-07, 01:19 PM
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Just me on DVDTALK. I have seen HOLLOW MAN reviews on several DVD sites. If you like this film, I can honestly say this disk is just another double dip that you don't need to buy if you already own the film.
Old 10-15-07, 02:20 AM
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I would agree that the review is a missed opportunity. This site has already reviewed the movie.
Old 10-15-07, 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted by KillerCannabis
Oh, right... so you did. I must have glazed over the line. I only briefly skimmed the review looking for the specific scene extensions since the majority of it was pretty scathing. I doubt it, but do you know if anyone else plans on reviewing this disc since the new scenes are a make it/break it purchase point for me.
I haven't seen the movie and I'm not going to bash you for not really reading the review before taking Nick to task on a point he did cover but I'm curious at the larger issue of what you think makes a title worth a double dip. Had the movie added a single scene lasting those 8 minutes or just re-edited what was there with some minor fluff bits (ala Robocop's extra "blood & carnage"), would a play by play breakdown truly have been your deciding point?

Had he simply listed the changes, which your skimming might not have revealed in the first place, would it have made that much of a difference to the value of the movie for you? I'm not picking on you over it but having watched "Jingle All the Way" three times last week to pick out some of the new footage (my copy not having anything close to the advertised "20 minutes of footage", at least new footage), there is a point of diminishing returns. The only people that are going to watch both versions side by side to detail frame by frame changes are obsessive fans, not reviewer/critic types that are writing for the general audience more than the dedicated fanboy. Expecting any sense of objectivity from such fanboys is foolish, resulting in the type of marketing we're all familiar with ("The best movie ever" says anonymous stranger on the internet in the Bugtussel Gazette)...
Old 10-15-07, 04:42 PM
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Seriously, does anyone think those extra eight minutes would stand a chance in Hell at making the movie any better? I'm not even sure twenty extra minutes would be able to do anything. A new script and likable characters would probably be the only way to improve it.
Old 10-16-07, 01:30 AM
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I dunno, if Rhonda Mitra were running around naked for eight solid minutes, I'd consider spending another $10 on Hollow Man...
Old 10-16-07, 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Houstondon
I haven't seen the movie and I'm not going to bash you for not really reading the review before taking Nick to task on a point he did cover but I'm curious at the larger issue of what you think makes a title worth a double dip. Had the movie added a single scene lasting those 8 minutes or just re-edited what was there with some minor fluff bits (ala Robocop's extra "blood & carnage"), would a play by play breakdown truly have been your deciding point?

Had he simply listed the changes, which your skimming might not have revealed in the first place, would it have made that much of a difference to the value of the movie for you? I'm not picking on you over it but having watched "Jingle All the Way" three times last week to pick out some of the new footage (my copy not having anything close to the advertised "20 minutes of footage", at least new footage), there is a point of diminishing returns. The only people that are going to watch both versions side by side to detail frame by frame changes are obsessive fans, not reviewer/critic types that are writing for the general audience more than the dedicated fanboy. Expecting any sense of objectivity from such fanboys is foolish, resulting in the type of marketing we're all familiar with ("The best movie ever" says anonymous stranger on the internet in the Bugtussel Gazette)...
I completely see your point here. I'm someone who liked Hollow Man, but I certainly didn't love it. An extra 8 minutes of footage can do a lot for a film, if they're the right 8 minutes. If there were significant scene extensions or added scenes that fleshed out certain areas of the film I would be much more interested in double dipping on it than, say, if the extra 8 minutes were needless character exposition and dialogue.

I don't expect every reviewer to be an expert on these extended films but, often enough, the people interested in possibly double-dipping on these titles are reading the review specifically for this information. That's why I think they should be handled by someone that likes the film a bit more and is willing to make that extra effort to see that all bases (and readers) are covered.
Old 10-16-07, 12:22 PM
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Originally Posted by KillerCannabis
I don't expect every reviewer to be an expert on these extended films but, often enough, the people interested in possibly double-dipping on these titles are reading the review specifically for this information. That's why I think they should be handled by someone that likes the film a bit more and is willing to make that extra effort to see that all bases (and readers) are covered.
Thanks for the comments. I think it's fair to expect the topic is covered to a degree; you are completely correct that a review of a double/triple/etc dip needs to cover what was different about it. This is coming into play with the newer format releases (HD/BR) too with people asking how something compared but the studios should be the best sources of such information and typically are not (refusing requests for a breakdown of what added footage was present). Internet resources are notoriously unreliable for this too but I'm on the same wavelength as you in regards to the matter; I think the law of diminishing returns covers exactly how much detail is warranted though.
Old 10-16-07, 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Houstondon
having watched "Jingle All the Way" three times last week to pick out some of the new footage (my copy not having anything close to the advertised "20 minutes of footage", at least new footage)

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