TMNT (2007) (DVD)

Twenty-three years after debuting in a Mirage Studios comic, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in their fourth full-length feature film. Unlike the previous three film outings, this one is fully CGI.

Ostensibly taking place after Shredder's defeat in the second film (and very likely the third film as well, due to the appearance of the Time Scepter on the trophy wall), the Turtles must overcome their petty squabbles and familial rifts to battle a new menace in the form of an 3,000-year-old immortal warrior hunting alien monsters and stone statues of his former Generals.

A less-clueless, more pro-active April O'Neil is now living with vigilante Casey Jones, who is chafing at settling down. The Foot Clan makes an impressive appearance, led by Karai, who has taken over from the deceased Shredder. Though hints are given that Shredder may not be as dead as the Turtles think, leaving things open for a follow-up film. Leonardo is off training in South America, Michaelangelo is working as a birthday party entertainer, Donatello is an IT Support guy, and Raphael fills his days with sleep and the nights with vigilante justice as the Night Watcher!

I loved the heck out this flick in the theaters, and loved just as much on the recently released DVD.

The animation is crisp, fluid, and rife with depth of texture, shadow, and light. This is, by far, my favorite CGI movie to date, visually speaking. Very little is static; from natural, life-like eye movements, to the gentle motion of breathing, to the ninja-quick fight scenes, this film just breathes life into the millions of moving pixels. The visual style is less realistic, more anime/manga, yet you find yourself immersed in the story and able to relate to the emotions of the very expressive characters.

The music chosen for the film is fantastic. The well used theme music gets your juices flowing. A version of Black Betty by Big City Rock and Lights Out by P.O.D. pump it up during a couple of the frenzied fight scenes. There are other surprisingly good tunes utilized to great effect through-out the movie. (Soundtrack can be found all over, including at Amazon, who I hope won't sue me for linking to their audio clips. ^.^;;)

The voice acting was top notch, though a few of the tertiary characters were obviosuly voiced by the same few actors. Laurence Fishburne narrates, Sarah Michelle Geller is April O'Neil, Chris Evans voices Casey Jones, Patrick Stewart voices the Immortal Warrior, the late Mako does a phenominal job as Splinter, and you will hear several familair voices from other cartoons and video games through-out. The dialogue is never stilted, often amusing, and fits each character well.

TMNT has a strong story to tell. It is engaging, with a perfect blend of action, humor, and drama. Compared to many other films out this year, TMNT delivers on plot without all the excessive fluff and marketing bloat.

If you want a great action film, one you can safely watch with your kids, or even all by your lonesome, you can't go wrong with four ninja turtles and gi wearing rat!

The DVD has a lot of extras, mostly commentary and few partially completed scenes, including an alternate opening and ending. Some storyboard comparisons, and interviews with Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Geller, Laurence Fishburne and the filmmakers round out the special features. The disc I got has both wide-screen and full-screen versions, always a plus. (I like wide-screen movies, the kids and Mom like full-screen on their smaller TVs). You really can't go wrong with this DVD ... well, okay, I dislike the DVD cover (which I couldn't find a decent pic of on the 'Net). The cover was just too cartoony and belies the fantastic CGI animation awaiting your eyes on the disc inside. (The DVD gets 4 Raivynns).

I give TMNT a solid 5 of 5 Raivynns! You've never seen the Turtles like this!

Raivynn Rating

Open Water (2003) DVD

I am never scuba diving. Ever!

This film is like an 81 minute long public service ad showing you the perils of open water scuba diving. It shows us an unmarried couple who take a spur-of-the-moment diving vacation. They are dive certified and end up on a chartered boat in some un-named tropical locale. A mishap in the head count (why not have a sign-in sheet???) leads to our two protagonists being stranded two hours out from land, in the middle of the ocean.

That's where the based-on-a-true-story begins.

Daniel and Susan, our erstwhile divers, decide to do their own thing and not stay with the group. (There's Public Service Ad #1 - Stay With the Group!) They also spend too much time fiddling with some eels and petting a nurse shark, surfacing right at the 35 minutes dive time allotted for the trip. (PSA #2 - Be on Time!)

The boat is gone, the crew having flubbed the headcount and no one else noticing two people were missing. (PSA #3 - Make Friends Who Will Miss You! and PSA #4 - Don't Trust the Locals!)

Gradually, the two adrift divers realize they are lost at sea. Things begin to get worse as panic sets in, and the sharks begin to circle. If you follow closely, the film follows the Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. It gives an interesting, even emotional, look into their situation.

The duo must deal with dehydration, motion sickness, hunger, fear, jellyfish swarms, and the ever present sharks as they try to survive. Daniel and Susan act like I imagine most couples in love would in a situation like this. It wasn't overblown. It wasn't melodramatic. They love each other, help each other, even yell at each other, but through it all they are there for one another.

The ending is more Perfect Storm than Titanic. It's melancholy, and leaves you a bit disappointed. But it's real. It feels true, like it would happen that way.

The scenes with the sharks were done using live sharks. No CG was used in the film. The whole thing was financed by two people, director Chris Kentis and his wife, producer Laura Lau. It was digitally shot, and often had only two or three crew filming (plus the actors) on weekends and holidays.

For an independent film shot for a mere $130,000, Open Water is a surprising well made movie. Lion's Gate purchased the film for $2.5 million after a screening at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was very well received. It grossed over $52 million worldwide.

I mention all that because while the film itself, while good, is not overly impressive, how it was made is. In this summer's glut of high budget, over-the-top films I've seen, Open Water is a refreshing change of a well-told, well-acted story done on a minimal budget.

For those of you with kids or easily bruised sensibilities, there is one (totally un-needed) scene of sexual nudity, and several places with heavy cursing. Though, in all honesty, I would have said much worse in that situation, and the cursing lent the film more realism than if it were eliminated or cut down.

The DVD I watched (Okay ...bought for my collection) is a Widescreen, 2-Disc set with tons of features. There are two commentary tracks: one with the director and producer, one with the actors. also included are Deleted Scenes, English and Spanish tracks (how do you scream in Spanish?), a Making Of featurette, and a short feature called "The Indie Essentials".

I haven't viewed the extras yet, so cannot really comment on them at this time.

For a bargain bin $5 movie, it was a good investment. I'm sure I'll watch this again a few times, as well as view some of the extra features.

As rental, you wouldn't be wasting your time or money. As a purchase, if you like survival flicks as much as I do, this is a decent one. I give Open Water a very solid 3 out of 5 Raivynns!

Raivynn Rating