halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
11-25-09, 05:40 PM
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11-25-09, 05:55 PM
#28
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
Lol. Exactly. Warner Bros. are the worst when it comes to giving the people the finger. Big Blu-ray bullies is what they are!. Put bonus features on just the Blu-Ray also means a lot of people's work and time on the features will be seen by less people. For nothing. Sad and stupid.
11-25-09, 11:57 PM
#29
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
When TWC became it's own company, they were able to take the Dimension brand with them; but they weren't allowed to take any of the completed films with them, only the options to produce future sequels.
11-26-09, 04:09 AM
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11-26-09, 08:57 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
Why would they release those titles? Buena Vista / Disney still owns the back Dimension catalog and I don't think they'll ever part with them either.
When TWC became it's own company, they were able to take the Dimension brand with them; but they weren't allowed to take any of the completed films with them, only the options to produce future sequels.
When TWC became it's own company, they were able to take the Dimension brand with them; but they weren't allowed to take any of the completed films with them, only the options to produce future sequels.
11-26-09, 09:24 PM
#32
DVD Talk Legend
Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
If they're the discs in the gray-ish box that Wal-Mart has carried for years, but other retailers just have started to carry, they're still released by Buena Vista; not Sony.
With the exception of the Anchor Bay / Criterion deal in the beginning of the DVD era; Buena Vista isn't a company just to be giving the DVD/BD rights away. However, TWC is.
12-02-09, 12:59 PM
#34
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
A Genius investment that Harvey Weinstein publicly once valued at more than $400 million is now worth zip.
The Weinstein Co., the film studio founded by Weinstein and his brother Bob, quietly terminated its 70 percent stake in home-video distributor Genius Products yesterday, The Post has learned.
The parting was a result of Genius' decision to exit home-video distribution business. It's selling the rights to distribute home-video releases from World Wrestling Entertainment, Sesame Street, Classic Media and RHI Entertainment to Vivendi Entertainment.
The price was not disclosed.
Genius held distribution rights to Weinstein Co. releases for a few more years, but let the studio out of its contract early as part of the separation settlement, say sources close to the situation. The Weinstein Co., in turn, struck its own deal with Vivendi, which will distribute Weinstein movies on the home-video channel.
While it lost $400 million on paper, a source said The Weinstein Co. is "not out any money."
That's partly because the studio made only a small financial investment in Genius; it got the bulk of the 70 percent stake in exchange for distribution rights to its movies.
Several factors conspired to sour Genius' prospects over the last two years. DVD sales dried up, the retail sector consolidated, costs of managing physical distribution soared and Sarbanes-Oxley accounting requirements took a toll on the tiny company.
Plus, the initial movies made by the four-year-old Weinstein Co. weren't all that good, making for low DVD demand.
Almost from the beginning, critics considered the investment a black eye for the studio, charging that it was a poor use of financial resources. It also gave Harvey-haters ammunition to claim that he was more concerned with empire building than moviemaking.
The Weinstein Co., the film studio founded by Weinstein and his brother Bob, quietly terminated its 70 percent stake in home-video distributor Genius Products yesterday, The Post has learned.
The parting was a result of Genius' decision to exit home-video distribution business. It's selling the rights to distribute home-video releases from World Wrestling Entertainment, Sesame Street, Classic Media and RHI Entertainment to Vivendi Entertainment.
The price was not disclosed.
Genius held distribution rights to Weinstein Co. releases for a few more years, but let the studio out of its contract early as part of the separation settlement, say sources close to the situation. The Weinstein Co., in turn, struck its own deal with Vivendi, which will distribute Weinstein movies on the home-video channel.
While it lost $400 million on paper, a source said The Weinstein Co. is "not out any money."
That's partly because the studio made only a small financial investment in Genius; it got the bulk of the 70 percent stake in exchange for distribution rights to its movies.
Several factors conspired to sour Genius' prospects over the last two years. DVD sales dried up, the retail sector consolidated, costs of managing physical distribution soared and Sarbanes-Oxley accounting requirements took a toll on the tiny company.
Plus, the initial movies made by the four-year-old Weinstein Co. weren't all that good, making for low DVD demand.
Almost from the beginning, critics considered the investment a black eye for the studio, charging that it was a poor use of financial resources. It also gave Harvey-haters ammunition to claim that he was more concerned with empire building than moviemaking.
12-09-09, 09:49 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
I loathed the 2007 movie but I'm going to give this a chance when it hits. I didn't think twice about it and ignored the theatrical release and didn't give it another thought until a friend of mine (who swears by the originals like me and also hated Zombie's 2007 movie like me) told me how in his book this is the closest thing to the original Halloween in feel since Halloween IV. I normally trust his instinct when it comes to these type of movies so I am curious to check this out.
12-10-09, 01:00 PM
#38
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
the ending in the new director's cut is atrocious. I only mildly liked the film to begin with, much less so now. I only saw the film once theatrically, so i'm not sure off the top of my head what else is added, but i'll view it again tonight and report other changes.
01-11-10, 10:14 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2 Bluray and DVD REVIEW: A Beautiful Frustration
This review discusses story beats and contains SPOILERS.
The film is stronger and more accomplished than reviews suggest. Rob Zombie is an artist, and Rob Zombie made an art film. He crafted one of the more striking looking genre pieces of the last decade, sprinkling in compelling visual nods to Ridley Scott, Dario Argento, Hitchock, and Kubrick into a mix clearly his own. What he did not do is make a commercial, by the numbers, slasher affair because he's obviously bored with that. And any time the film dovetails back into this formula, I got bored too. Here's Michael chasing someone up the steps. Here's characters solely introduced to die. Here's Michael breaking through a door. I've seen it. I get it. I'm bored too.
The truly frustrating thing about H2 is that Zombie is clearly a bright man, yet there are still giant miscues even within his own architecture. The film flirts with brave choices, but seems to abandon said courage as the film sputters in the third act. The biggest case in point, is there's absolutely no reason for Sam Loomis to be in the film. You could remove him completely and lose nothing. If a script is well crafted, you should not be able to remove a major character, and Loomis only underscores the need for a likable lead. When Loomis does make an 11th hour contact with the primary, it's so far from being a satisfying payoff that it hardly matters. The Loomis archetype is Ahab chasing the white whale. And if you're going to alter that, then fine, but make it matter beyond just doing something different. In this work, Ahab only decides to pursue the whale in the last 10 minutes and it falls completely flat. One, maybe two early scenes could have established where Loomis is mentally with his book tour, but instead it becomes 97% of his screen time. Loomis lost nothing but his pride, and since he's sketched as such an arrogant, unlikable man, I didn't care. The film needs someone you DO care for, and while Chief Brackett comes closest to fitting this bill, he is additionally underscored and robbed of any real closure with his character arc. With tighter crafting even within the existing authorship, the baton could have been passed from Loomis to Brackett as the keeper of the flame, and "chaser of the whale." Brackett somewhat blames Loomis for what unfolds, and I would have liked to have seen Loomis fall at the hands of his revenge driven blood lust, via a cathartic ending with a resolute Brackett tracking Myers down through the wet streets of Haddonfield to avenge the loss of his daughter. And anyone else be damned if they got in his way. The potential existed for the ending to be so much more emotional, and all the pieces were there. The film was arguably Brackett's story as the protagonist, since the audience can in no way relate to Laurie beyond her being the screaming mentally ill girl because that's how she's presented. The rickety-port-o-potty-shack in the woods finale is poorly executed in stark contrast to the obvious craftsmanship of what precedes it. The ending would have benefited from a larger set piece, perhaps that great barn setting where the Phantom Jam was, or, bringing the Brackett point home again, literally, at his place of residence. Or honor the fundamental premise of the series, that evil intrudes where we feel safe, and have the finale crash in on a completely innocent family and their home, and heighten the peril by having other lives in jeopardy while still accomplishing the same narrative beats.
Could Rob have made a by the numbers slasher and still made it interesting? Judging by the opening sequence, I'd say yes. It's better than the whole of his Halloween remake. Those scenes are as good as this stuff gets. But I'm happy he tried to do something more courageous with the rest. You have to applaud it. I don't even mind the white horse, although feel there were missed opportunities here as well. The story is established as being in the countryside with farms and open fields. What if, mid-chase, Michael sees horses who have broken out, one of them white. How would he react? Michael is clearly crazy, and the resulting confusion could have provided some much needed humor, or allowed a creative way for the heroine to slip him for a beat. That would be more organic to what was already set up in the film than some of what happens instead. Also, there are a lot of nagging questions which all evidence points to Rob being bright enough to answer. For example, why does this notorious serial killer show up at a raging party only to randomly pick off one couple in the back of a van and then move along? Was he trying to simply isolate Laurie? If so, when is it established he knew this was Laurie's friend? The answer is it wasn't. The scene was a completely random piece of predictable horror carnage. If you want to do something different, please do. I don't need all my horror films to be the same. But "something different" should still operate with it's own degree of internal logic.
I enjoyed the visual of the Deborah Myers ghost, but the more she talked the more she demystified her own image. She should have remained a spectral phantom, haunting the corners of a mind. Her eyes communicate what we don't necessarily need to be told. Also, recasting Daeg was a mistake. He simply pulled off the oscillating, sullen menace in a way the replacement never nears. If we can accept a shot-in-the-head Michael functioning just fine, we can accept that Daeg is now taller. It sounds like I'm finding much fault, but in reality it's only mild frustration because what surrounds is so terrific, and surprisingly beautiful. Impressive shots elevate, only to have the story anchor things back down to earth. It seems Rob likes to create on the fly, and I would argue he should edit while in script mode instead of shooting things he doesn't need, which ultimately eats up the time to shoot what he DOES need.
Bottom line: If you want the cookie cutter slasher mold, it exists x 100. If you want something that at least flirts with being more cerebral, creative, and stimulating on other levels, (something the third sequel, Season of the Witch also strives for) then watch H2 with an open mind. See it for the artistry if not the story, but it's still easily one of the top entries in the series because it's better crafted and more interesting than virtually all that followed Carpenters involvement. John Carpenter is an artist, and the reality is there's mostly a giant absence of artistry until Rob shows up.
The buyers choice: Theatrical Cut, for a re-arranged, and slightly superior ending to that which appears on the Director's Cut, + the inclusion of an eerie hanging scene which was lost in the DC. Additionally, the final haunting seconds of the theatrical cut are scored to Carpenter's ominous "lauries theme" and is potent enough to warrant a purchase from fans of the series. In point of fact, it's one of the strongest moments.
This review discusses story beats and contains SPOILERS.
The film is stronger and more accomplished than reviews suggest. Rob Zombie is an artist, and Rob Zombie made an art film. He crafted one of the more striking looking genre pieces of the last decade, sprinkling in compelling visual nods to Ridley Scott, Dario Argento, Hitchock, and Kubrick into a mix clearly his own. What he did not do is make a commercial, by the numbers, slasher affair because he's obviously bored with that. And any time the film dovetails back into this formula, I got bored too. Here's Michael chasing someone up the steps. Here's characters solely introduced to die. Here's Michael breaking through a door. I've seen it. I get it. I'm bored too.
The truly frustrating thing about H2 is that Zombie is clearly a bright man, yet there are still giant miscues even within his own architecture. The film flirts with brave choices, but seems to abandon said courage as the film sputters in the third act. The biggest case in point, is there's absolutely no reason for Sam Loomis to be in the film. You could remove him completely and lose nothing. If a script is well crafted, you should not be able to remove a major character, and Loomis only underscores the need for a likable lead. When Loomis does make an 11th hour contact with the primary, it's so far from being a satisfying payoff that it hardly matters. The Loomis archetype is Ahab chasing the white whale. And if you're going to alter that, then fine, but make it matter beyond just doing something different. In this work, Ahab only decides to pursue the whale in the last 10 minutes and it falls completely flat. One, maybe two early scenes could have established where Loomis is mentally with his book tour, but instead it becomes 97% of his screen time. Loomis lost nothing but his pride, and since he's sketched as such an arrogant, unlikable man, I didn't care. The film needs someone you DO care for, and while Chief Brackett comes closest to fitting this bill, he is additionally underscored and robbed of any real closure with his character arc. With tighter crafting even within the existing authorship, the baton could have been passed from Loomis to Brackett as the keeper of the flame, and "chaser of the whale." Brackett somewhat blames Loomis for what unfolds, and I would have liked to have seen Loomis fall at the hands of his revenge driven blood lust, via a cathartic ending with a resolute Brackett tracking Myers down through the wet streets of Haddonfield to avenge the loss of his daughter. And anyone else be damned if they got in his way. The potential existed for the ending to be so much more emotional, and all the pieces were there. The film was arguably Brackett's story as the protagonist, since the audience can in no way relate to Laurie beyond her being the screaming mentally ill girl because that's how she's presented. The rickety-port-o-potty-shack in the woods finale is poorly executed in stark contrast to the obvious craftsmanship of what precedes it. The ending would have benefited from a larger set piece, perhaps that great barn setting where the Phantom Jam was, or, bringing the Brackett point home again, literally, at his place of residence. Or honor the fundamental premise of the series, that evil intrudes where we feel safe, and have the finale crash in on a completely innocent family and their home, and heighten the peril by having other lives in jeopardy while still accomplishing the same narrative beats.
Could Rob have made a by the numbers slasher and still made it interesting? Judging by the opening sequence, I'd say yes. It's better than the whole of his Halloween remake. Those scenes are as good as this stuff gets. But I'm happy he tried to do something more courageous with the rest. You have to applaud it. I don't even mind the white horse, although feel there were missed opportunities here as well. The story is established as being in the countryside with farms and open fields. What if, mid-chase, Michael sees horses who have broken out, one of them white. How would he react? Michael is clearly crazy, and the resulting confusion could have provided some much needed humor, or allowed a creative way for the heroine to slip him for a beat. That would be more organic to what was already set up in the film than some of what happens instead. Also, there are a lot of nagging questions which all evidence points to Rob being bright enough to answer. For example, why does this notorious serial killer show up at a raging party only to randomly pick off one couple in the back of a van and then move along? Was he trying to simply isolate Laurie? If so, when is it established he knew this was Laurie's friend? The answer is it wasn't. The scene was a completely random piece of predictable horror carnage. If you want to do something different, please do. I don't need all my horror films to be the same. But "something different" should still operate with it's own degree of internal logic.
I enjoyed the visual of the Deborah Myers ghost, but the more she talked the more she demystified her own image. She should have remained a spectral phantom, haunting the corners of a mind. Her eyes communicate what we don't necessarily need to be told. Also, recasting Daeg was a mistake. He simply pulled off the oscillating, sullen menace in a way the replacement never nears. If we can accept a shot-in-the-head Michael functioning just fine, we can accept that Daeg is now taller. It sounds like I'm finding much fault, but in reality it's only mild frustration because what surrounds is so terrific, and surprisingly beautiful. Impressive shots elevate, only to have the story anchor things back down to earth. It seems Rob likes to create on the fly, and I would argue he should edit while in script mode instead of shooting things he doesn't need, which ultimately eats up the time to shoot what he DOES need.
Bottom line: If you want the cookie cutter slasher mold, it exists x 100. If you want something that at least flirts with being more cerebral, creative, and stimulating on other levels, (something the third sequel, Season of the Witch also strives for) then watch H2 with an open mind. See it for the artistry if not the story, but it's still easily one of the top entries in the series because it's better crafted and more interesting than virtually all that followed Carpenters involvement. John Carpenter is an artist, and the reality is there's mostly a giant absence of artistry until Rob shows up.
The buyers choice: Theatrical Cut, for a re-arranged, and slightly superior ending to that which appears on the Director's Cut, + the inclusion of an eerie hanging scene which was lost in the DC. Additionally, the final haunting seconds of the theatrical cut are scored to Carpenter's ominous "lauries theme" and is potent enough to warrant a purchase from fans of the series. In point of fact, it's one of the strongest moments.
01-12-10, 01:06 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
I loathed the 2007 movie but I'm going to give this a chance when it hits. I didn't think twice about it and ignored the theatrical release and didn't give it another thought until a friend of mine (who swears by the originals like me and also hated Zombie's 2007 movie like me) told me how in his book this is the closest thing to the original Halloween in feel since Halloween IV. I normally trust his instinct when it comes to these type of movies so I am curious to check this out.
Yeah, I seen the 2007 Remake in the theater with a friend. It was really a big piece of stinking garbage. However, if your friend said that he didn't like the remake either, but liked this new sequel. Well, I might just give it a whirl thru Netflix or Redbox then.
01-12-10, 02:14 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
Would love to see the differences between the Theatrical and Directors Cut (since Sony included only the DC on the Blu-ray)
01-13-10, 01:28 AM
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01-15-10, 01:45 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
I was uncertain about this one, but was going to get it anyway, to complete the set.
But when I arrived at Best Buy and saw that there was nothing special about the release (no interesting slip cover and few extras for which I would actually care), I decided it wasn't worth $17.99, especially for a film that few agree is good.
I'll pick it up another time, when the price has dipped below $10.
--THX
But when I arrived at Best Buy and saw that there was nothing special about the release (no interesting slip cover and few extras for which I would actually care), I decided it wasn't worth $17.99, especially for a film that few agree is good.
I'll pick it up another time, when the price has dipped below $10.
--THX
01-15-10, 04:30 PM
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Re: halloween II (2009) 01/12/10
http://horror-movie-a-day.blogspot.c.../new-game.html
Also, put me in as another one who actually liked the movie. I thought it was refreshingly different and way better than most shit that comes down the big studio horror pipeline lately. I wasn't a huge fan of the 2007 remake but I also didn't particularly loathe it.
One thing about the sequel DC I wasn't big on was:
Spoiler:
I don't get how some people can shout about Zombie's movies as bastardizations but own every one of the weak sequels before it.
