Bad Lieutenant (1992/Lionsgate Blu-ray)/Bad
Boy Bubby (1993/Umbrella Blu-ray)/The
Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer (InterVision DVD)/Nightmare In Las Cruces (2011/Lionsgate DVD)
Picture:
B/B/C-/C+ Sound: B/B/C-/C Extras: B-/B+/C+/C+ Films: B-/B-/C+/C
Abel
Ferrara crafted nothing less than a modern classic with Bad Lieutenant (1992). Though
never a hit, the film features Harvey Keitel in what many now consider to be
his best role. Recently, Werner Herzog
helmed a sort-of remake featuring Nicolas Cage as the bad lieutenant (see link
below), and that has stirred some renewed interest in the original. While Cage can always channel a tremendous
amount of violence and rage into his performance, Keitel has crafted a
portrayal that's hard to top. Although
the movie can be fairly disjointed, his work here makes it an entirely
worthwhile watch.
While the
film has been criticized for a lack of a sensical plot, that isn't really the
goal of the film to begin with. The
audience is to be dragged along for the ride, and not scrutinize the lapses in
real life logic. It makes sense enough
in the film's world, and that's all you need to make it through the hour and a
half.
Bad Boy Bubby is the story of Bubby - a grown
man living with his mentally and physically abusive mother, who never once let
him outside and has convinced him that the air outside is poisonous. He finally escapes out into the world and we
live all of these foreign experiences with him. It's an interesting film, but didn't manage to
hook me as much as I'd initially expected. Some scenes early on of Bubby's abuse both
suffered and unwittingly inflicted are difficult to watch, and might have ended
up marring my experience somewhat.
One of
the more recent offerings from InterVision has been The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer, a mostly accurate account of the
notorious killer's life. This was a
controversial film when it was released, as it was filmed when Dahmer was still
alive, serving out his prison sentence before he himself was murdered. The film is a bit exploitative, as the focus
of the film is almost entirely on is cruel actions rather than delving into his
state of mind. It gets to be a little
much at times, especially when the stylistic options to relieve the amount of
amount of repetitive killing made it to the screen, ultimately robbing the
narrative of a good deal of power.
Another
film about real life murderers is the documentary, Nightmare In Las Cruces, a documentary concerning the unsolved
killings that took place in a Las
Cruces bowling alley in February of 1990. Unfortunately, the studio has chosen to saddle
the title with artwork that seems to exploit the situation and could easily be
mistaken for a modern horror film if you weren't on your toes. While the doc is decent and shines a spotlight
onto a tragedy most of the country has long forgotten, it could stand to be
trimmed down a bit. It plays not unlike
an extended Unsolved Mysteries
segment, so followers of true crime might have an interest in seeing it.
Bonus
content for each of the discs includes an audio commentary as well as a
theatrical trailer. On Bad Lieutenant
a retrospective documentary has been carried over from the earlier special
edition DVD release. Bad Boy Bubby sees the most extras,
with a selection of interviews, as well as a short film, still gallery and the
recording of live Q&A session.
Bad Lieutenant and Nightmare In Las Cruces each have an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and are
anamorphically enhanced. Bad Boy Bubby is presented with an
aspect ratio of 2.35:1, while The Secret
Life is shown full frame at 1.33:1. Both
the Bad Lieutenant and Bad Boy Bubby Blu-rays are in full
1080p, and we're treated to some nice sounding DTS-HD audio on both discs as
well. The former retains its original
2.0 Stereo presentation, and the latter sports a newer mix in 5.1 surround. Nightmare
In Las Cruces is also presented in a 5.1 mix, though in Dolby, while The Secret Life is only in 2.0 Mono.
For a
look at that Bad Lieutenant remake/reboot,
try this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9766/Bad+Lieutenant+%E2%80%93+Port+O
- David Milchick
