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Blast From The Past - DVD
Director: Hugh Wilson
Writers: Bill Kelly and Hugh Wilson
Producers: Renny Harlin and Hugh Wilson
Studio: New Line Cinema
Characters:
Brendan Fraser - Adam Webbers
Alicia Silverstone - Eve
Christopher Walken - Calvin Webbers
Sissy Spacek - Helen Thomas Webbers
Dave Foley - Troy
Features: Interactive Menus, Animated Menus, The Love Meter Game: How Do You Rate?, Original Theatrical Trailer, Cast & Crew Biographies, Filmographies, Widescreen 2.35:1, ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC], ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC]
Review:
Blast From the Past is a pretty entertaining little movie, I must
admit. Though the premise
really isn't strikingly unique, the story is one I haven't heard before.
Calvin Weber is a brilliant
but whacked out engineer guy living in a nice home with his wife in the
sixties. He is, however,
paranoid enough to have built a massive bomb shelter (in secret, of course)
under their back yeard,
which (oddly enough) sees some use when they mistake a plane crashing into
their house for a nuclear
attack by the Russians. Cut to thirty-something years later when their
born-in-the-shelter son is
sent out to see if the world has recovered.
It's just another way to get a good-hearted kid out of his element so he can
charm the ladies, or
whatever. Oddly, the good-hearted kid they chose for Blast From the
Past is the same good-hearted
kid chosen for Encino Man, the deservedly-ignored Pauly Shore
vehicle. This is, of course,
Brendan Fraser, who gives a perfectly acceptable performance. Alicia
Silverstone also performs
reasonably as the girl that he more or less courts during his stint in the
overworld.
There really isn't much more to say about the story -- everybody knows
pretty much where it's going
to go, but there are a few minor surprises along the way. One of these
surprises is Troy, the gay
web designer played amusingly by Dave Foley. A definite un-surprise is
Walken. He's probably the
funniest thing in the movie, though at no point is it really a source of
bountiful laughter.
I don't really think anybody goes to movies like this to see the two leads
not end up together,
and I think the studios know this, so everybody should pretty much know what
to expect from the movie
itself. As for the DVD, New Line has delivered a product consistent with
their normal stamp of quality.
Both Full Frame and 16x9-enhanced Widescreen versions are available (chosen
via menu on a dual-layered
disc). Both 5.1 and 2.0 sound tracks are present. There is a trailer, some
bios, and some not-terribly-
interesting DVD-ROM content on there as well. Not exactly a Platinum
Edition, but not bad.
Blast From the Past is light, mildly funny, and pretty entertaining.
Good for a rent if you want
to stay away from American History X or Leaving Las Vegas.
Good for a buy if you are
unnaturally fond of Alicia, Brendan, or forgettable romantic comedies...
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