DVD REVIEWS
STAR WARS: THE DIGITAL MOVIE COLLECTION
1/2 (out of 4) May the Force be with you, now in downloadable digital format.
You can finally legally purchase all six Star Wars films for your various i-thingies, to prepare for the Dec. 18 release of The Force Awakens, the seventh film in the sci-fi series spawned by George Lucas a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away.
This is worth noting in case you’re tempted to go rushing, confused by the hype, down to your local DVD/ Blu-ray store expecting to find a physical version of The Digital Collection, which is a confusing title. Aren’t DVDs and Blu-rays also digital?
The Digital Collection may be all in cyberspace, but it has heft regardless.
It includes all six films, combining the original and prequel trilogies: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. (My favourites? A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Least favourite? The Phantom Menace.)
There are deleted scenes from all six films, including at least a few that haven’t been seen in the many previous iterations of home video release, Blu-ray among them. There’s also a wealth of making-of featurettes and conversations with such important series technicians as concept artist Doug Chiang and sound sculptor Ben Burtt.
THE BABADOOK
1/2 (out of 4) The Babadook is anything but children’s entertainment, even though the film features a bothered young lad, a cartoonish home invader and a story that emanates from a pop-up book.
This simple yet shiver-inducing tale, the auspicious feature debut of Australian writer/director Jennifer Kent, makes for one of the better horror movies of recent times.
With minimal recourse to blood, CGI or jump scares, The Babadook achieves maximum terror. The film inhabits the brain as surely as the title demon subsumes the humble home and lives of widowed single mom Amelia (Essie Davis) and her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman).
A mysterious book titled Mister Babadook shows up at home one night, just in time for bedtime reading.
It contains threatening cartoon images of a fanged and clawed creature, dressed in dark hat and cape, that seems all too real. This is one haunting you can’t get rid of, nor would you want to. Reviews by Peter Howell