Alpha Dog (STRONG LANGUAGE & ADULT CONTENT)

domesticelefant · 25 Apr 07 :: 17:42

Wow, Congratulations.

TeeJay · 25 Apr 07 :: 22:33

Thanks. I'm sure gonna have it sent to you, Deb, since they want $48 for shipping to Germany. That's more than I paid for the damn item!

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 25 Apr 07 :: 23:44

LOL! No problem.

Illinoisguy1 · 26 Apr 07 :: 09:39

Found a review about the DVD at http://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/Alpha-Dog-2257.html

The Disc:
The special features for Alpha Dog consist of eleven minutes of the actors talking about what the film was supposed to be about. They have great points to make and if the movie really "showed" that, well, there wouldn't be a need for this making of. If the intention came across just by watching the movie that this is a story about absent parents, kids forcibly growing up too fast, and what drugs and violence do to families, it could have been a great film. Unfortunately, for twenty bucks, that's all there is aside from a really uncreative witness timeline with fake quotes and button that jumps to the section in the movie where they appear. That's all. More alpha doggie do-do.
What the disc should have had at the bare minimum was an audio commentary by someone. That's for starters. It wouldn't have hurt in 2006 to have put a little more effort into making a longer making of featurette, a real life documentary about the stolen boy or the kidnappers, a behind the scenes showing how long it took to give everyone fake tattoos, bloopers and outtakes, more interviews with the "name" actors (Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, Alan Thicke), audition videos - egad, more than one audio commentary, a fold out timeline of events, a T-shirt, a stapler (worked for Office Space), anything else to give this disc value and purpose.
Great movies are made to stand alone and stand the test of time. The not-so-good ones need a ton of extra features to give the viewer something more to hold onto to make it worth their money. If there isn't a Director's Cut of Alpha Dog in the near future, then there's money to be made on Ebay.

As you can tell the reviewer didn't care for the movie.

I agree that the DVD should have had more extras, especially audio commentaries and featurettes.
See what I'm going to do is go through my tapes and find all of the Alpha Dog stuff that I could find, especially the documentary on the real-life case and the court tv segments and transfer those to DVD and then put that in the AD case. While not as good as a regular "Special Edition" it'll carry me over until (if) one is released.

I PM'd Deb on IMDB about the deal I'm going to get. Through coupons that my store is giving this week I'll be able to save $15 off the DVD. So I should be able to get the AD DVD for around $5 or so.

domesticelefant · 26 Apr 07 :: 11:20

Seriously, who had the idea about that witness timeline? It already exists in the movie! We don't need an extra about that too!
Well, I could go on and on with ranting about the DVD and the lame extras, but I'll stop here. I'm not going to buy it.

Just one question: Name actors? Who is Alan Thicke? Never heard of him. :clueless:

TeeJay · 26 Apr 07 :: 11:33

As if we didn't already know the extras would be lame. Nice to know they really are as lame as we thought. I'm not holding my breath for that special edition. Right now I feel like I don't even wanna buy the DVD for 5 bucks, althought it would be great to have it to make better screencaps.

-TeeJay

Illinoisguy1 · 26 Apr 07 :: 12:55

I went through my tapes and here is what I am going to be putting on the DVD.

Original airing of the Dateline documentary on the real life case
Hollywood Justice (about the legal trouble to get it to theaters}
Showbiz Tonight (about the legal trouble to get it to theaters}
Updated 2007 airing of the Dateline documentary
Court TV - Catherine Crier show
Court TV - Hollywood Heat
Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno (JT interview about AD
MTV/VH1 - interview junket
Alpha Dog news from various news shows (Extra, E! News, Ent. Tonight, Access Hollywood)
TV Spot
Dean Richards review
Reel Talk review
Ebert & Roper Review
Premiere footage from (Extra, E! News, Access Hollywood)

There may be more footage laying around.
Now all I have to do is time all of these and figure out what speed to record them at. I want good quality, so I may need to spread it to 2 dvd's.

TeeJay · 26 Apr 07 :: 16:02

Sounds great, Illinois. I wish I had a DVD recorder. I think that self-made extras DVD of yours will rock, good idea.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 26 Apr 07 :: 16:08

Hey, Illinois, who was the guest reviewer on Ebert & Roeper that week? And what did he/she and Roeper have to say? I missed it.

OhGnarly · 26 Apr 07 :: 19:43

Despite the sucky extras, I know I'll be celebrating my last day of school by grabbing this from Best Buy on the 1st. I'll chance having to sell it back if a special edition releases at a later date.

TeeJay · 26 Apr 07 :: 20:16

Okay, one word, Brenna: Screencaps? LOL (Take your time, you know I'll be out of the country and we won't have more webspace until end of May anyway.)

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 26 Apr 07 :: 20:18

Well, I can upload them too. But yeah, take your time, Brenna.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 26 Apr 07 :: 20:26

Yeah, BIGGER, CLEARER naked torso pics. I'm all for that!

OhGnarly · 26 Apr 07 :: 22:49

TeeJay wrote:

Okay, one word, Brenna: Screencaps?

You got it TeeJay!

TeeJay · 26 Apr 07 :: 22:54

Thanks, Brenna. You da bomb!

-TeeJay

Illinoisguy1 · 27 Apr 07 :: 00:36

Found another review of the DVD.

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_review … ate_posted

If any of you watch America's Most Wanted or have followed the news over the past few years, chances are you know about Jesse James Hollywood, the notorious twenty-year-old drug dealer. Alpha Dog is based upon Hollywood, his crew, and their unlawful activities. Of course the names are changed due to the fact that there are trials pending, but the story is a chilling tale of how young men can push each other too far trying to adhere to a "tough guy" image.
Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch, The Girl Next Door) isn't your typical twenty-year-old; the owner of a nice home, numerous exotic vehicles, and the head of an expanding drug empire. He runs a tight crew with a few close friends shadowing his every movement - Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake, Black Snake Moan), Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy, The Faculty), and Tiko Martinez (professional middleweight boxer Fernando Vargas). When the group isn't peddling drugs they spend their time partying, which is exactly what they are doing when Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster, Hostage) comes over to settle a debt with Johnny. After a disagreement, Johnny attacks Jake, but ends up submersed in his own pool after being thrown threw the patio window. Jake returns home to his girlfriend and is shortly thereafter visited by his brother Zach (Anton Yelchin, House of D). After a few beers and joints Jake drives his fifteen year old brother home to distressed parents.
The following morning Zach wakes up, and hoping to delay the inevitable argument with his parents, leaves through his window and kills time walking around the neighborhood. Little does he know that his life is about to change forever. Johnny Truelove and his crew are out looking for Jake but instead see Zach walking alone. They chase Zach down and kick him around a little before throwing him into their van and driving off. The group keeps Zach pretty docile, constantly feeding him beer, pot, and introducing him to girls. He is even given several opportunities to escape captivity but refuses to so he doesn't cause his brother any more problems. The good times start to spiral with doubt over Zach's future and everyone is starting to get a little paranoid over the situation.
Alpha Dog is a solid and mostly factual look into the story of the notorious Jesse James Hollywood (Johnny Truelove in the movie). Surprisingly well cast, it proves to be a powerful representation of what people are capable of when pushed into a corner. Nearly the entire cast made worthy performances especially the short-lived role of Sonnny Truelove by Bruce Willis. At first inclination one might think that Justin Timberlake would be better suited as a singer, but as an actor he wasn't all that bad, although his role wasn't very challenging he came through quite well. The characters were all pretty straight forward; young males so caught up in their tough guy wannabe gangster image it spelled their own demise. Characters like this aren't awfully challenging to play but the entire cast did quite well doing so.
Alpha Dog was one of the better new movies I've seen this year; although it was far from being perfect, it was surprisingly well put together and well directed by Nick Cassavetes. The story of all these young men is really compelling and powerful, at times you sympathize with the characters and at other times you hate them. Like I mentioned this movie isn't a masterpiece like Goodfellas, but manages to be a good teenage alternative.
Video
Alpha Dog is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen format. At times it looks rather impressive, but most noticeably in the blue-screen shots the facial features lack detail and the night scenes include some compression artifacts. For the most part, the details were quite nice from the sandy dunes of California to its vibrant streets. Maybe the most impressive details were in the characters tattoos, which were always very sharp and clear. In the end, Alpha Dog satisfied my video needs and left little to be desired except for the odd scene.
review continues below...
Audio
Universal has included a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track on this release, and present the film's material well – especially the numerous party scenes (the shouting crowds and music). The rear channels and bass are continually in use as the film contains a soundtrack that is predominantly hip-hop music. The dialogue remains consistently clear throughout the duration with no noticeable faults, which is a good thing considering this movie is dialogue drive. Overall a fairly impressive audio section makes for an enjoyable listen.
Special Features
Universal hasn't packed much into the special feature department of Alpha Dog, and the two features we are given aren't that impressive.
* A Cautionary Tale: The Making of Alpha Dog – A ten-minute feature on the making of Alpha Dog, includes interviews with the cast as well as director Nick Cassavetes.
* Witness Timeline – Quotes from real witnesses throughout the duration of the kidnapping.
Final Thoughts
The film is better than I originally thought it would be, and the cast meshed together well and put out solid performances. The story is captivating, and although it drags on a little bit longer than it could have, Alpha Dog proves to be a rather good movie. Unfortunately, if you're into special features, you won't be blown away with what you're given, but the audio and video should make up for it. Overall, Alpha Dog is at minimum worth the rental, and if you're a fan of the movie you don't get much extra so make you're decision based on how much you enjoyed the movie.

I'm a little busy right now, but I'll look at the Ebert & Roeper review and let you know who it was and what they thought of it.

Illinoisguy1 · 27 Apr 07 :: 11:21

I'm starting to dub the tapes over to DVD now. I'm using a Magnavox MWR 10D6 that I bought from Wal-Mart for around $100. Great recorder that works great and records to all the DVD+R discs I've used so far. Not a bad recording so far.Most of it I'll record at the 2 hours speed, towards the end I'll switch to the 2.5 or 3 hour speed.

About 90 minutes will be the two recordings of the Dateline piece.

Illinoisguy1 · 27 Apr 07 :: 14:45

Sisterdebmac wrote:

Hey, Illinois, who was the guest reviewer on Ebert & Roeper that week? And what did he/she and Roeper have to say? I missed it.

Sorry it took so long to get back about this.

The guest reviewer was "Govindini Murty" an actress/ Film Columnist

Roeper said that he liked Justin's performance. The film was shocking. It had many outstanding performances. Sharon Stone gave one of her best performances of her career in this film. That the film teeters on being a cautionary tale and exploitation. He gave it a Thumbs Up

She didn't like it at all. She called it emotionary pornography. That the film condones their behavior, that it glamorizes it. And that "We have enough films like this." She gave it a thumbs down.

The review maybe on their official site.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 27 Apr 07 :: 22:55

emotionary pornography

What? That's not even a word. Who is that woman?

LOL!

Illinoisguy1 · 27 Apr 07 :: 23:19

I have no idea who she is, never heard of her before. But I found this site about her.
http://www.libertyfilmfestival.com/inde … &Itemid=30

The Liberty Film Festival was founded in July of 2004 by Govindini Murty and Jason Apuzzo to celebrate free speech, patriotism, religious freedom and democracy by providing a forum in the heart of Hollywood for conservative and libertarian filmmakers.

Seems like she may be a right wing, conservative nut, which may explain why she didn't like the film. It also would explain why at the end of the review she brought up why didn't they make a film about a young guy going to Iraq and fighting for his country.

You can see the review at the following link, click on "Review Archive" at the bottom of the page and then go back up and scroll through the list until Alpha Dog shows up and click on it.
http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenav … androeper/

domesticelefant · 27 Apr 07 :: 23:36

Emotionary pornography? Hahaha. What's that supposed to be?
I mean, the pornography isn't that bad, is it? I've seen movies with a lot more.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 00:37

LOL! Thanks, Illinois. That explains a lot. She needs to go review movies with Michael Medved and leave Roeper the hell alone! Glad he liked it. Pretty smart man. I miss Roger.

Deb

Illinoisguy1 · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:16

I don't know if you saw the footage of Ebert attending the film festival recently, but he looks very different than before. I don't think he'll ever return to the show again. Don't want to seem mean or anything, but I wonder why they keep his name in the show's title. He hasn't been on there for a very long time now and it's likely he'll never be able to return to it. Do they keep it in the title because of contractual reasons or is it just name recognition.

Getting back to Alpha Dog, someone on the home theater forum posted this about Universal and their lack of good extras on their DVD's.

Why is Universal releasing many newer films with so few extras?
Here are some of the extras on some newer films released by Universal.
Because I Said So:
· The Making Of Because I Said So.
· Designing a Wilder World.
· iVillage Ad.
· Music Video World Spins Madly On By The Weepies
Alpha Dog:
A Cautionary Tale:
·The Making of Alpha Dog
Witness Timeline
·Get detailed information on each witness as the shocking events unfold.
Smokin' Aces:
Alternate Ending and 18 Minutes of Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
Shoot 'Em Up: Stunts & Effects
·Uncover the secrets behind some of the film's most action-packed scenes!
And Much More!
The Good Shepherd:
16 Minutes of Deleted Scenes
Let's Go To Prison:
Includes Deleted Scenes and Original R-Rated Theatrical Version.
Man of the Year:
Robin Williams: A "Stand Up" Guy
·Get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the hilarious improvisational genius of Robin Williams.
Commander And Chief
·Go on-set to see how acclaimed director Barry Levinson got the most hilarious performances out of his all-star cast.
And then we get lame extras on the upcoming Flash Gordon special edition, even though we've been waiting for it for years and other regions have a better special edition.
Then the recent re-release of Brokeback Mountain was also nothing special at all.

Seems that very few of Universal's releases of new films have many good extras anymore. Seems most don't have audio commentaries at all, or even deleted scenes. Seems that all they do is putting one or two featurettes on the DVD and releasing it.

I remember that Universal used to put out some very good DVD's, but for over a year they have released some very lame DVD's in terms of extras.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:21

Roger is not permanently disfigured. He will be back to "almost" normal one day. And he wants to return to the show. His name is in the title because he basically "owns" it. If he can't return, Disney will probably end it.

The whole AD DVD things just depresses me. And now I have to wish for deleted scenes on the eventual DVD for The Invisible.

Deb

Illinoisguy1 · 28 Apr 07 :: 01:31

He'll need another surgery to replace the part of his mandible (sp?) that they had to remove due to his cancer, so it'll be a long time until he'll be able to return.

I just wish they would pick a permanent "guest reviewer" then having all of these people that most of us never even heard of. This past weekend they had the singer John Cougar Mellencamp on as the guest reviewer, and he basically liked everything.

Don't get me wrong about Ebert. I want him to return and of course get better first. But sometimes I think he should retire because of his health, but then again I admire his strength to want to continue.

Chris Marquette Message Board

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