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Matinee
R2 - United Kingdom - Pathe! Distribution Review written by and copyright: Mathew Buck (4th January 2005). |
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The Film
 This review may be a little short as I wish to get to the technical aspects of the disc. Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this tells to story of Gene Loomis (Simon Fenton), who loves to go to the cinema to catch a matinee. Seperated from his father, Gene manages to find a father-figure of sorts in William Castle parody Lawrence Woosly, who is in town to promote his new movie "Mant!". Goodman, while good as Woosly, isn't really the main focus of the movie until half way through the second act. The real lead is Fenton, who does a fairly god job of portraying his character. Director Joe Dante (best known for Gremlins) generally makes it felt that this his love letter to film and cinema. Perhaps most apparent in the scene where Woosly guides Loomis through the cinema, commentating on how the audience feels. This is a nice little film, best for a rainy afternoon.
Video
A pan and scanned 4:3 (or 1.33:1) picture. There are scenes where composition is noticably ruined. It's also very grainy, with constant film grain, as well as poor black and colour levels. There is telecline wobble in the opening credits. This film looks terrible. Surely a widescreen print can be found? There are also no subtitles at all. A very large blot on Fox's copybook.
Audio
It's like video all over again. A DD 2.0 Stereo track in English. While not the most surround heavy movie, there are plenty of moments which could have been helped by a 5.1, 5.0 or even 4.0 mix. This definetly designed for those with just a TV to provide sound.
Extras
A grossly insulting extra - a theatrical trailer. Why is it so insulting? It shows how little effort went into the disc. It's in 1.85:1 widescreen. Funny how they couldn't find a widescreen source for the film itself...
Overall
A good film, unfortunately on the worst disc I've ever had the fortune of getting, budget title or not. I expect more from Fox and Pathe!, who usually can be trusted to bring out a good DVD.
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