The Screengrab : the signal

DVD Digest for June 10, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

The run-up to Father’s Day continues with more dad-friendly DVDs, including a handful of the most acclaimed films of 2008 to date.

DVD of the Week: After last week’s wide selection of testosterone-heavy actioners, this week finally brings a DVD for the thinking dad- HBO’s critically-feted seven-part miniseries John Adams. Based on the book by David McCullough and starring Oscar nominees Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, John Adams is a prestige project through and through. But the big surprise is how exhaustive and complex a portrait of the man and his time this really is. Some highly unpleasant events take place on the way to revolution, and the film doesn’t shy away from this reality. Likewise, in addition to Giamatti and Linney’s accomplished turns as John and Abigail, the film also boasts some note-perfect supporting work from the likes of David Morse as George Washington and Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin. As far as founding fathers go, Adams has long taken a backseat in popularity to these two men as well as Thomas Jefferson, but if nothing else, John Adams is invaluable in helping to pin down his importance in the history of this nation.

Other new releases this week include: Doug Liman’s Jumper (Fox, also Blu-Ray); Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in Meathead’s The Bucket List (Warner, also Blu-Ray); 2007’s Funny Games (Warner), the film so nice Michael Haneke made it twice; Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson in the historical bodice-ripper The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony, also Blu-Ray); Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days (IFC Films); the Exquisite Corpse-styled indie thriller The Signal (Magnolia); and of course, the best-reviewed theatrical release of 2008, Larry the Cable Guy in Witless Protection (Lionsgate, also Blu-Ray).

In classics on DVD, this week’s big news is Lionsgate’s High Noon Two-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition, which brings the guy-movie favorite back to DVD with a number of new features. Included among these are a number of documentaries and featurettes, along with a video of Tex Ritter performing his Oscar-winning song from the film. But if dad’s tastes run more to looking at babelicious European actresses of yore, Lionsgate’s got that covered too, with the Catherine Deneuve 5-Film Collection (including Le Sauvage, Hôtel des Amériques, Manon 70, Le Choc and Fort Saganne) and the Sophia Loren 4-Film Collection (which includes I Girasoli, Carosello Napoletano, Attila, and Madame Sans-Gene).

Finally, being released this week exclusively in Blu-Ray: Broken Trail (Sony), Natural Born Killers (Warner), and The Professionals (Sony).

"The Signal": Now in Stab-O-Vision

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Here at the Screengrab, we’ve always regretted missing out on the golden age of horror movie gimmicks. You know, the William Castle movies of the '50s and early '60s, with such added-value enhancements as "Emergo," an inflatable skeleton that floated over the audience during the climax of House on Haunted Hill, or "Percepto," the giant joy buzzers that shocked selected viewers when The Tingler attacked.

Well, the audience at a Fullerton, California screening of The Signal got a frightening bonus attraction on Sunday night, but in this case the producers can’t take credit for it — not that they’d want to. According to the Orange County Register, officers were dispatched to the theater "after someone reported finding a bag with what appeared to be illegal substances." Soon after they arrived, people started fleeing the theater showing The Signal. Sure, some of them may have been reacting to the movie itself, but two men covered with blood indicated that something more sinister was happening in the theater.

According to Fullerton police Lt. Tom Basham, the two men were sitting in separate areas of the theater, and were apparently stabbed at random by an unknown assailant. "He started stabbing at the theater seat and then he stabbed the victim," Basham said. "As he fled, he stabbed another victim sitting near the exit." Both men were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive, but their attacker is still at large.

The movie concerns an electronic transmission that turns people into homicidal maniacs. The Register reports that "Basham said the film was paused while police conducted their investigation. When it was resumed, the first scene was a stabbing, he said." We’re not sure William Castle would approve, but even he would have to admit it tops "Emergo."

Trailer Roundup: The Signal

John Constantine — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:59:00 GMT

The apocalypse is a delicious narrative confection I find hard to resist even when it’s packaged in garbage. More often than not, garbage is what you get. Just look at Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Woof. While the new trailer for The Signal, out in February, doesn’t look especially interesting this older trailer from last summer is brimming with tasty paranoia and panic in the face of sudden and inexplicable disaster. One to look forward to.