UNEMPLOYED NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Unemployed from imdb

Jamal and Dex, out of work actors, come to terms with reality when they realize they've been pursuing their dreams for over ten years and still haven't booked a single speaking role. When the two run out of cash and face eviction they hit the pavement in search of a job. With no experience, no skill set and little ambition, the audience gets a front row seat to this hilarious journey in which these two characters can't seem to catch a break. Written by Anonymous

Here is the direct download for the movie Unemployed.

STAR WARS EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Star Wars A New Hope from imdb

Part IV in a George Lucas epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empires most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star. Written by P. Wong {pwong@nt.net}

In a galaxy far, far away, a psychopathic emperor and his most trusted servant - a former Jedi Knight known as Darth Vader - are ruling a universe with fear. They have built a horrifying weapon known as the Death Star, a giant battle station capable of annihilating a world in less than a second. When the Death Star's master plans are captured by the fledgling Rebel Alliance, Vader starts a pursuit of the ship carrying them. A young dissident Senator, Leia Organa, is aboard the ship & puts the plans into a maintenance robot named R2-D2. Although she is captured, the Death Star plans cannot be found, as R2 & his companion, a tall robot named C-3PO, have escaped to the desert world of Tatooine below. Through a series of mishaps, the robots end up in the hands of a farm boy named Luke Skywalker, who lives with his Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru. Owen & Beru are viciously murdered by the Empire's stormtroopers who are trying to recover the plans, and Luke & the robots meet with former Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to try to return the plans to Leia Organa's home, Alderaan. After contracting a pilot named Han Solo & his Wookiee companion Chewbacca, they escape an Imperial blockade. But when they reach Alderaan's coordinates, they find it destroyed - by the Death Star. They soon find themselves caught in a tractor beam & pulled into the Death Star. Although they rescue Leia Organa from the Death Star after a series of narrow escapes, Kenobi becomes one with the Force after being killed by his former pupil - Darth Vader. They reach the Alliance's base on Yavin's fourth moon, but the Imperials are in hot pursuit with the Death Star, and plan to annihilate the Rebel base. The Rebels must quickly find a way to eliminate the Death Star before it destroys them as it did Alderaan. Written by Derek O'Cain

Luke Skywalker stays with his foster aunt and uncle on a farm on Tatooine. He is desperate to get off this planet and get to the Academy like his friends, but his uncle needs him for the next harvest. Meanwhile, an evil emperor has taken over the galaxy, and has constructed a formidable "Death Star" capable of destroying whole planets. Princess Leia, a leader in the resistance movement, acquires plans of the Death Star, places them in R2D2, a droid, and sends him off to find Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before he finds him, R2D2 ends up on Skywalkers' farm with his friend C3PO. R2 then wanders into the desert, and when Luke follows, they eventually come across Obi-Wan. Will Luke, Obi-Wan, and the two droids be able to destroy the Death Star, or will the Emperor rule forever ? Written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com}

Princess Leia is held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the Galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing Captain Han Solo team together with the lovable robotic duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO, to rescue the beautiful princess and restore justice in the Empire. Written by Robert Lynch {docrlynch@yahoo.com}

In a distant galaxy eons before the creation of the mythical planet known as Earth, vast civilizations have evolved, and ruling the galaxy is an interstellar Empire created from the ruins of an Old Republic that held sway for generations. It is a time of civil war, as solar systems have broken away from the Empire and are waging a war of rebellion. During a recent battle techical schematics for a gigantic space station, code named The Death Star, have been unearthed by Rebel spies, and a young woman who is a dissident member of the Imperial Senate, under the cover of a diplomatic mission to the planet Alderaan, is trying to smuggle these plans to the Rebellion. But her spacecraft is attacked by a vast warship of the Empire and seized. The dissident Senator is captured, but the plans for the Death Star are nowhere to be found. While soldiers of the Empire search the nearby planet Tatooine, a series of incidents sweeps up a young desert farmer with dreams of being a fighter pilot in the Rebellion, as he winds up with the Death Star plans and also the assistance of an elderly hermit who once served as a warrior of an ancient order whose chosen weapons were powerful energy swords known as light sabers. The pair recruit a cynical interstellar smuggler and his outsized alien copilot with an ancient freighter heavily modified for combat to help them reach Alderaan - but the planet is obliterated and now the foursome must rescue the young woman held prisoner by the Empire and lead an attack by the Rebellion against the Death Star before it can annihilate all hope of restoring freedom to the galaxy. Written by Michael Daly

Here is a review for the movie Star Wars A New Hope from dvdtalk

The Movie:

NOTE: The top screenshots are from the 'special edition' on disc one and the screenshots on the bottom are from the 'theatrical cut' on disc two. They might not match up perfectly but they serve the purpose of showing the difference in quality between the two discs contained in this set.

In 1977 George Lucas had the novel idea of basically setting the old serials/adventure stories that kids enjoyed years before and placing one in outer space. The film that came out of this idea was, as we all know, Star Wars and with it, George Lucas made history. Ever since then Star Wars has been less of a blockbuster film than a part of the world's pop culture psyche. Everyone in the modern world knows what Star Wars is – they can't help it. It's everywhere around us, from movies to video games to comic books to toys to clothes to any kind of spin-off or merchandising tie in you can imagine. There are fan conventions, online communities, costume contest and even plenty of Star Wars tattoos around – people take the film and it's sequels/prequels very seriously and it stands as the most successful science fiction film franchise of all time, bar none.

So why then, since making history in 1977, has George Lucas been constantly re-writing it? Well, in his defense, these are his films and so he is free to do what he wants with them. That being said, the fans are what made the series the success that it is and what the fans wanted was not the versions of the movies that Lucas has altered to suit his current vision but the theatrical cuts that we all fell in love with in the first place. When the original trilogy was released as a deluxe boxed set two years ago, Lucas said that the 'special editions' (referring to the altered versions of the three original films in the series) were all that we'd ever see again. Fans bought it regardless, Lucas made a bunch of money off of it, and now – surprise surprise – he's given us the option of re-buying the 'special edition' films as single releases (two discs each) to get the original theatrical versions that he should have released in the first place.

Why the change of heart? Only he knows for sure. Granted, no one is forcing us to buy these but the fact that since the advent of DVD technology there have been countless bootlegs of the original theatrical versions making the rounds (some sourced from the laserdiscs, others from VHS tapes) what probably happened is that Lucas decided to make some of that money back for himself with the least amount of effort possible. IF this were being done 'for the fans' then the issues with the audio and video quality on the theatrical cuts (see below) wouldn't be issues at all. If Lucas cared about those who have made him a wealth and powerful figure in Hollywood he'd have done the set right the first time and not pulled a fast one on the Star Wars faithful by dumping out rather unimpressive versions of the theatrical cuts he had previously said we'd never see again. Don't be fooled – this is not a favor to those who have helped Star Wars become the phenomena that it is, this is a cash grab. Lucas wants your money and he knows that a lot of you will give it to him.

With that said, Star Wars is a great film. Not a masterpiece in the same way that something like Citizen Kane is or The Godfather is but for pure, unadulterated action/sci-fi entertainment the first film to debut in the franchise holds up really well almost thirty years since it was born. Luke might be a little too corn-poke for his on good in some scenes and some of Leia's dialogue is a little tough to swallow but there's no denying the sheer coolness of Han Solo and Chewbacca and Darth Vader is still one of the greatest cinematic bad guys of all time. Peter Cushing and Alec Guiness bring a whole lot of class and charm to the film and their experience and professionalism gives Grand Moff Tarkin and Obi-Wan Kenobi some genuinely impressive screen presence while Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker do a fine job of providing the comic relief in the form of C-3P0 and R2-D2 respectively – the Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy of outer space. When the Death Star blows up that first planet it's still shocking even if we know it's all going to work out in the end and the cantina scene that takes place on Tattooine is still fantastic with more alien creatures in it than you can shake a stick at. We can still snicker when Obi-Wan tells the Stormtroopers that 'these are not the droids you're looking for' and we can still get a little misty eyed when Darth Vader strikes him down.

The action and adventure is still rich and exciting, the heroes are still likeable and the villains are still sinister. The outer space battles and chase scenes remain exciting and the film is one of those rare movies that is literally fun for the whole family – you can watch it with your kids and your grandparents in the same room and it's almost a sure thing that everyone will get a kick out of it. One of the most beloved space epics of all time and a cultural behemoth was born with this film, it's difficult not to love it particularly if you grew up on the material as so many of us did.

The crass exploitation of the film movie and its fans does not take too much away from the enjoyment that Star Wars still offers those who love a good adventure story. It might hurt to see a part of your childhood that you do sincerely love used in commercials and merchandising tie-in's at fast food restaurants or reissued in various home video formats over again but when the opening scrawl tells us about that 'It is a period of civil war' the nostalgia and fun do come rushing back, particularly when Han shoots first.

The question lies not in whether or not you should fork out the cash for the original theatrical cut of Star Wars, but when you should. Having already lied about making these films available one has to wonder if next year, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the film, if we won't see a proper release. Though there's been no official announcement Lucas' track record indicates that at some point there will be yet another release, possibly a boxed set of all six films with the theatrical cuts of the original trilogy included – who knows. This release, along with the releases of The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi are supposedly going to be available for a limited time only – if you don't get them know you run the risk of not owning the original cuts on DVD (or having to make do with the bootleg releases which isn't ideal at all). On the other hand, if you buy them, you run the risk of having to (or at least wanting to) upgrade down the road if and when proper releases emerge. With that in mind, what is the consumer to do? It's a fairly underhanded marketing strategy designed to milk Star Wars fandom for all its worth and obviously it all comes down to personal choice and how bad you want the original cut of the film. You've also got to take into account the technical specifications of the presentation, and with that in mind…

The DVD

NOTE: For the record, the 'star ratings' to the right of this review reflect the second disc which contains the original theatrical cut of Star Wars, the reasoning behind this being that the inclusion of this version is really the only reason anyone is interested in it in the first place, which is why that version of the movie is not being included in the Extras section of this review.

Video:

The 'special edition' of Star Wars contained in this two-disc set utilizes what is essentially the same transfer that was included in the boxed set release from two years ago, which is fine as it looks great. We already know that it's a fantastic transfer and that some would even go so far as to call it reference quality. It's been painstakingly cleaned up, it's got a lot of really nice fine detail in both the foreground and the background of the image and the color reproduction is gorgeous. Going into any more detail would be redundant – the tinkered with version of the movie looks great.

So what about the theatrical version? In a nutshell, it's not bad for what it is, but unfortunately what it is happens to basically be the laserdisc slapped onto DVD. The image is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35.1 but no one has seen fit to give it anamorphic enhancement, which, to a lot of us, is a very big deal. Let the record show that the movie is perfectly watchable here but the differences between the loving restoration afforded the 'special edition' version compared to the theatrical cut is definitely very, very noticeable.

Going into a bit more detail, the first thing that you're likely to notice is the grain. While it's all but been completely removed on disc one, on disc two it is very noticeable. Some scenes suffer from this more than others do, but one need only to look at the scene where the Millennium Falcon takes off from Tattooine to see it in all its glory. The colors are also fairly uneven. Some scenes are pretty bright, others look flat and almost dead in spots.

The amount of grain coupled with the lower resolution stemming from the non-anamorphic transfer directly results in a significantly less detailed picture. Depending on how large your set up is, results are obviously going to vary a fair bit. For comparisons sake, the disc was sampled on a 20" set, a 32" flat screen tube set and a 78" screen by way of a projector and – though this should go without saying – the flaws were definitely more noticeable on the larger sets than the smaller ones, particularly the print damage and the over saturated reds in a few scenes. It's never overpowering and the movie is watchable even on a larger display but the fact of the matter is that this version of this movie deserved better than this. The video quality is okay, when really it should have been as good if not better than the 'special edition' version. These transfers were fine in the laserdisc days, but those are long gone and by today's standards they are just not up to where they should be.

Sound:

The 'special edition' of Star Wars on disc one has a fantastic Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound mix in English and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mixes in English, French and Spanish with optional subtitles available in English. The 5.1 mix is very active and makes excellent use of all channels. The subwoofer gets some serious action during the combat and space battle scenes although there are a few spots where the dialogue fluctuates a little bit. Even with that said, this is still a nice mix, even if it isn't quite perfect.

One disc two, the theatrical version of Star Wars contains Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mixes in English, French and Spanish with optional English subtitles. The same fluctuations in the dialogue that are on the first disc are here as well though they don't seem to be as pronounced. There's some nice channel separation contained throughout and even with the ups and downs of the dialogue there aren't any problems understanding what anyone says at any given time. A true surround sound mix would have been nice to see here, but again, this is basically the laserdisc on DVD and in defense of Fox/Lucas, it's close to the original mix that played in theaters decades ago - so flaws or not, that's a good thing.

Extras:

The first disc, which represents the 'special edition' of Star Wars contains only the audio commentary that was provided on the last DVD release that came out via the boxed set release in September of 2004. The participants on the track include George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher and if you haven't heard it, it's a pretty decent discussion even if you can tell that they weren't all sitting in a room together and were likely recorded completely separately from one another. Regardless, their collective comments have been edited together quite nicely and we do get a well-rounded talk about the history of the film, what it was like on set, where some of the location shooting was done and how some of the effects were pulled off. Lucas has a bit more to say than anyone else, which makes sense as this really was his baby from the start (whether we like it or not!) and what you get out of this track will directly relate to your tolerance for the man. There isn't a whole lot of enthusiasm to be found in his comments, and that can be a bit off putting. One can't help but be left thinking that the commentary could have been stronger than it is, but on the flip side, it could have been a lot worse. There's also a web-link included here for those who care to put the disc into their DVD-Rom and be whisked away to the official Star Wars website.

The only extra feature included on the second disc which houses the theatrical cut of the film is a playable demo and a trailer for Lego Star Wars II game, which admittedly looks very cool but is nothing more than an advertisement. Aside from that we get chapter stops and a menu screen. It might irritate some to learn that the menus for the theatrical version don't match those designed for the special editions and the three prequels and oddly enough, though the feature isn't anamorphic the menus are. Figure that one out, kids.

Inside the packaging is an insert that contains chapter stops for both discs and some nice artwork from the movie in addition to an advertisement for other Star Wars DVDs.

Final Thoughts:

It's hard to recommend a release like this when it seems like such an obvious cash grab. Granted, by non-anamorphic standards the unaltered Star Wars doesn't look bad here but there's no excuse for the lack of enhancement on such a popular and important film and the fact that fans are pretty much being forced to re-buy the 'special edition' version of the film in order to get the theatrical cut is, quite frankly, lame. Unless you're a completist, rent it.

Ian lives in NYC with his girlfriend where he writes for DVD Talk and for AV Maniacs. He spends a lot of time wandering around exploring and generally wondering what to do with himself.

Here is the direct download for the movie Star Wars A New Hope.

DEATH RACE NOW AVAILABLE

DEATH RACE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVE DEATH RACE FROM IMDB

In 2012, the United States economy collapses and life for everyone is not the same. Once a NASCAR champion, Jensen Ames, (Jason Statham), hits rock bottom and spent several years in prison. His life was improving and changing for the better after meeting and marrying Suzy (Janaya Stephens) and having a baby girl. Then the steel mill closes, and he loses his job. But that was not the worst thing to happen to Jenson that day. Suzy is brutally murdered, and he is framed for her murder. Jenson is sent to Terminal Island, the worst and toughest for-profit prison in the country run by Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen). She has created the country's most popular pay-per-view sport, a kill-or-be-killed car race where the inmates race to win their freedom from prison after 5 wins. Every inmate driver is driving a monster car that they built which is loaded with machine guns, missiles, flamethrowers, napalm, and no rules. Warden Hennessey convinces Jensen to secretly take the place of the late 4-time superstar winner, Frankenstein, and wear his metallic mask in the race. If Jensen wins just one race, he can go home to his baby daughter. To get to the finish line, Jensen must kill his competition before they kill him. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

HERE IS A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE DEATH RACE FROM DVDTALK

While I won't pray at the altar of the 1975 cult film "Death Race 2000," I definitely enjoyed its satiric spit-take on outrageous violence and media-fed bloodlust. It was an innovative and enormously entertaining exploitation picture, blessed with a brain to compliment the body count. The remake takes everything that was imaginative about the original feature and reduces it to an ear-splitting energy drink commercial, topped off with some of the worst filmmaking decisions to be found at the multiplex this year. Yes, that's right: Hollywood has allowed Paul W.S. Anderson to make another movie.

Framed for the murder of his wife, former race pro Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is sent to prison, where corporate overlord Hennessey (Joan Allen, in full boat-payment mode) is waiting for him. Forced to partake in the brutal "Death Race" sporting event, Jensen must don the mask of deceased champion Frankenstein (David Carradine, in a voice cameo) and combat his fellow inmates on a private roadway. Armed to the teeth with weapons and defensive gadgets, Jensen, his pit crew (including Ian McShane and Frederick Koehler, Chip from "Kate & Allie"), and his navigator (Natalie Martinez) battle to stay alive as Hennessey unleashes the full wrath of her prized track, provoking the other racers (including Tyrese Gibson) to go after Jensen/Frankenstein to secure their freedom.

Of course, when dealing with a remake (or "reimagining"), there's bound to be a certain level of disappointment with the upgraded results. However, the new "Death Race" is a sickening reflection of today's wretched filmmaking standards, eschewing robust satiric drive for a brain-dead romp around mortifying base sensibilities. Anderson is awfully good at shaping crud ("Aliens vs. Predator," "Mortal Kombat"), but "Death Race" is his Mona Lisa as far as I'm concerned. It's an outrageously irritating, mouthbreathing spectacle, dripping with loathsome, pandering machismo, which often clouds the most basic filmmaking functions one would think Anderson could've mastered by now.

The updating is immediate: the year is now 2012, and the dystopian world is ruled by corporations. The public demands blood to mask unemployment and environmental fears, leaving "Death Race" the profitable focal point for the masses. However, if the world is falling to pieces, how does Hennessey find 75 million subscribers willing to shell out $100 a pop to watch the races? Why does Jensen's crew use VHS tapes to monitor chase mishaps? Why does Jensen, having recently lost his wife and infant child, openly flirt with his navigator? Asking questions of "Death Race" is a waste of time, since Anderson is only fascinated with the bewildering visceral whack of the premise, not the goofy, fascist futureworld conceived in 1975 and promptly dumbed-down for 2008.

This "Death Race" is all about the testosterone. Now the cars are souped-up murder machines with explosive accouterments for every whim, the navigators are all busty model-types to help boost ratings (do you really need assistance to drive around in a circle?), the musical score by Paul Haslinger offers a headbanging mood, the villain of the race is a homosexual (zing!), the trendy camerawork is set on permo-zoom to lazily generate tension, and the event itself is an over-edited (to a nauseous degree), violent jaunt around an island prison backyard, not the cross-country design of the 1975 film. Also missing is the point accumulation contest, racked up when the contestants ran over pedestrians with their automobiles; why Anderson stopped short of that delicious idea is a mystery, considering the rest of the film is a gory, excitedly immoral production.

I guess killing the innocent places last on Anderson's "to do" list, falling behind such priorities as: "offer plenty heart-stopping displays of unreasonable misogyny," "destroy art of drama," and "piss all over Paul Bartel's grave."

Visually, "Death Race" is as hackneyed a film as can be. Performance-wise, it's in REM sleep. It's playing with fire to put Tyrese Gibson, Joan Allen, and Jason Statham in the same room together, and Anderson often leaves the cast to their own devices, each hamming it up in their own special way. I'm concerned most for Statham, an actor of special growly menace who has apparently made it a personal quest to work almost exclusively with dreadful directors (Uwe Boll, Philip G. Atwell, Hunter Richards, James Wong, Mark Neveldine, and Brian Taylor), digging a hole in his career that appears motivated by the highest bidder. Jensen holds no arc, no chance for Statham to find interesting angles to play. It's a paycheck film in a career full of wrong moves. A few more clunkers, and it might lead to an E! reality show before you know it.

Again, "Death Race 2000" was a scrappy Roger Corman B-film, not high art. It contained wit to plug the budget holes, fearlessly crossing the line of taste to make a broader statement of delirium. "Death Race" is unbearable tripe from a worthless director; a hack job to rile up the late summer box office blues. It's a complete affront to the 1975 picture, but, criminally, the target demo of young men and the recently lobotomized won't notice what they're missing.

Here is the direct download for the movie Death Race.

ALL HAT NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie All Hat from imdb

An ex-con returns to his rural Ontario roots and outwits a corrupt and wealthy thoroughbred owner trying to take over a slew of local farms. Ray Dokes, a charming ex-ballplayer, returns from jail to discover the rural landscape of his childhood transformed by urban development. Determined to stay out of trouble, Ray heads to the farm of his old friend Pete Culpepper, a crusty Texas cowboy who trains losing racehorses and whose debts are growing faster than his corn. Sonny Stanton, gambling addict and spoiled heir to a thoroughbred dynasty, is in the process of buying up an entire concession of farmland to build a casino and golfing resort, and the only one brave enough to stand in the way of Sonny is Etta Parr, Ray's old flame, who might be willing to forgive Ray if it wasn't for her pride and common sense. The situation is a minefield, one Ray is determined to avoid. He hooks up with Chrissie, a sexy, sassy and talented jockey and steers clear of Sonny. But when a ten-million-dollar thoroughbred goes missing from the Stanton Stables, Sonny pushes things too far and forces the sale of the community's remaining farms. Ray reacts by coming up with a plan to stop Sonny in his tracks and right a few wrongs in the process. The scheme is unlikely and audacious; the players are as unpredictable as nitroglycerin. One false move and Ray will land back in jail. And the smart money is against him. Written by Anonymous

Here is a review for the movie All Hat from dvdtalk

Some movies mosey. This one crawls. Adapted by Brad Smith from his novel of the same name and directed by Leonard Farlinger, "All Hat" is a modest attempt at combining small town drama with a pinch of modern western, which would work if the characters were less numerous and/or more interesting. There's too much going on and none of it excites, and the movie spends nearly half of its 91 minute running time figuring out where to take the story - only to wind up picking the wrong destination. As our film opens, Ray Dokes (Luke Kirby) is fresh from a two-year jail term and has made his way back to his rural Ontario home and the farm of horse trainer Pete Culpepper (Keith Carradine), an old friend, boss, and something of a surrogate father. There, he runs into old flame Etta (Lisa Ray) and firecracker jockey Chrissie (Rachael Leigh Cook, whose presence leaves me calling the movie "She's All Hat"); Luke enjoys a roll in the hay with the latter while passions still smolder for the former. Enter Sonny Stanton (Noam Jenkins), the arrogant son of the tycoon who's been buying up land in the town while Ray was locked up. (Because the plot fails to be very original, the baddie wants to turn the land into a golf course. What is this, "One Crazy Summer"?) Sonny's putting the pressure on Etta, who refuses to sell her farm. Meanwhile, a prize thoroughbred has gone missing from the Stantons' stables, creating a tangled web of deceit in every corner of the plot: Sonny, a gambling addict deep in debt, hopes the missing horse can lead to an insurance payoff, while Ray concocts a plan to use the missing horse to outwit Sonny on a racetrack. The movie has a clean divide between its first half, in which Ray integrates himself back into the small town (with the occasional fight thrown in for fun), and its second, in which the horse goes missing and everyone starts scheming. Both halves are a clutter of half-baked characters and sloppy drama, but at least the pace picks up for the final lap. The first forty-some minutes of the film are longwinded chunks of introduction and exposition that don't create enough of a dramatic kick to keep us interested through Farlinger's lethargic tempo; in trying to create a mood that matches the small town's laidback attitude, the filmmaker loses the viewer. Both the clumsy direction and the iffy screenplay do a poor job of properly introducing all of the characters, so when the second half arrives, we're still playing catch-up on which crony is which, who's doing what and why, etc. Consider a scene in which Ernie Hudson (playing a farm hand, or trainer, or something) gets whacked on the back of the head with a shovel and is apparently left for dead by one of Sonny's henchmen (or something). It's followed by a scene in which Hudson is awake, bruised and achy but otherwise fine, hanging out with the same henchman, continuing their planning. The audience is stuck mentally backtracking the entire picture, wondering if we missed a scene, or misjudged who was who, or, you know, something. By the time the finale rolls around, we're supposed to be grinning with the pleasure of being in on the con. But despite the fact that it receives a set-up worthy of "The Sting," what with multiple scams and tricks being placed all at once, the pay-off it short, flat, and not really complete. Instead of getting that "a ha!" moment, we merely get an "oh, OK, um, sure" moment. (The villain's comeuppance fizzles, and the film tacks on a follow-up scene during the closing credits to make up for the initial underwhelming response of the wrapping of his storyline.) Even the cast barely seems interested - Kirby goes extra-low key and becomes far too apathetic to work as a central character. But why should they get excited about a project as bland and blah as this? There's too little in "All Hat" to earn dramatic thrills, with a screenplay that coasts along on its small-town-drama formula and direction that aims for lethargic in every scene. The DVD

Video & Audio It should be noted that Screen Media sent us a watermarked disc for review, so any comments on video quality may change if final retail product arrives. Fortunately, my best guess is that this review disc is mostly reflective of final product, as opposed to the sort of over-compressed DVD-Rs sent by some studios. If the final product is comparable to my check disc, customers will be treated to a lovely anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer that crisply showcases the film's lush cinematography, notably the rich Ontario autumn landscapes. The image is a little soft, owing perhaps to the film's low budget. Most of the movie's racing sequences and a few quick-pan shots hold up well, with no motion problems. The 5.1 surround soundtrack is a solid, unassuming mix, delicately handling dialogue and music. The DVD artwork states that optional Spanish subtitles are provided, although those were not included on my disc. Extras "Behind the Scenes" (5:07) is a collection of EPK-style cast and crew interviews, offering very little in terms of depth or actual making-of information; film clips are used too often to pad the featurettes run time. Presented in a mix of aspect ratios: 1.33:1 for on-set behind-the-scenes footage; 1.78:1 flat letterbox for interviews; and 2.35:1 flat letterbox for film clips. Six deleted scenes (approx. 9 min. total) add small character details that only clutter up an already overloaded story. Presented in 2.35:1 flat letterbox with time coding. Final Thoughts A somber, meandering tone could work well if story and characters are strong enough to carry the audience through the slow pace. "All Hat" has plenty of slow pace, but no strong story and certainly no strong characters. Skip It.


Here is the direct download for the movie All Hat.