Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Comedy > Mumblecore > Independent > High School Reunion > Liberal Arts (2012/IFC/MPI Blu-ray)/10 Years (2011/Anchor Bay DVD)

Liberal Arts (2012/IFC/MPI Blu-ray)/10 Years (2011/Anchor Bay DVD)

 

Picture: B-/C+     Sound: B-/C     Extras: C/C-     Main Programs: C/C-

 

 

Now for two of the lamer mumblecore independent releases of the year…

 

 

Actor Josh Radnor is back as a writer/director again with Liberal Arts (2012), a lame follow-up to his tired, forgettable, and (when it got kudos) overrated 2009 dud HappyThankYouMorePlease.  This time, we get scene after scene after scene after scene of talking non-stop that says little in a work that really goes nowhere.  He plays (himself again?) a 35-year-old college admissions advisor who is debating everything with everyone (including a former professor played by Richard Jenkins) when he meets a pretty 19-year-old gal (Elizabeth Olsen) in what is essentially an HD recorded stage work that takes place in many outdoor locations.

 

However, everyone talks so much that it really is all talk and little to no action.  This eventually leads to repetition, overlap and pointlessness in its approach, plus the ending is abrupt and this all starts loosing credibility early on never to recover.  Even the great Allison Janney shows up, but she cannot save this mess either and I sat there wondering what Radnor was trying to say, if anything.  It certainly was not anything we never heard of or have not seen before.  And you see why real liberal arts are in trouble.  The title is even bad and does not fit.

 

Extras include a feature length audio commentary track (yawn), Original Theatrical Trailer, featurette and Deleted Scenes that all should have stayed in versus what we got.

 

 

Even worse and more pretentious in the mumblecore sweepstakes is Jamie Linden’s 10 Years (2011) which can sometimes feel like it is going on that long, but also plays like a stage show in several locations, but this one is more restrictive and seems more desperate.

 

Some famous and mostly semi-famous younger actors play character they could be and are part of a high school reunion that you know will not go too well.  Channing Tatum is here, but even the new Hollywood box office champ could not sell this mess to the tune of a hit, joined here by Rosario Dawson, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Kate Mara, Brain Geraghty, Justin Long, Max Minghella and some other faces you might recognize, but could not necessarily name.  I blame the flat script, but it reminds me that many talented actors of this generation are not stars because no one can seem to write and/or direct a full length feature that anyone can remember anymore.  As a result, all this talent is trapped in an indie hell like this.

 

The actors do their best to overcome the material, but it is a losing battle.  Hope they find better work next time, save Tatum, who does not need the well-wishings after having three blockbusters in 2012.

 

Extras include Deleted Scenes that are as lame as the final result.

 

The 1080p 2.55 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Arts is obviously going to be better than the anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Years, though both are HD shoots.  However, not by much as both have motion blur, dumb shaky camerawork, softness and detail issues that only add to their troubles.  The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Arts is dialogue-driven, so its quiet spots are expected, though it is clear enough to hear the non-stop talking.  The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Years is weak, spreading out simple stereo that is not always well recorded to begin with and weaker than expected to the point that we recommend caution when volume switching.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com