Nobel Son Meets Friday the 13th Part 2 and 3
Three movies. 2 classic slashers on Blu-ray, one of which is in 3-D, timed to release with the relaunch of the franchise. And another movie by the director of Bottle Shock- Nobel Son actually was created first, but is only now coming out on DVD.
With Friday the 13th, you know what you’re going to get. Fun, campy movies featuring everyone’s favorite slasher Jason- seen for the first time in full glory exactly 1:00:00 into Part 3. Both parts offer some interesting extras and bonus features- including a featurette (Inside Crystal Lake Memories, on both parts) that explores the background in a pretty interesting way, and “Legacy of the Mask” which explores (in sometimes excessive detail) the creation of Jason and the mask.
The transfers are fairly good, though the video on both parts shows some age and Friday the 13th: Part 3 is especially fuzzy and marked in parts. The 3D (two pairs of glasses included with the third outing) is fun, if not as sophisticated as newer films. The audio though has held up quite well, with a strong Dolby TrueHD mix that sounds great in 5.1. These movies are over twenty years old, and though occasionally show their age, manage to be enjoyable even for those not familiar with other parts. After all, the fun is not really in the story, and plots and characters aren’t exactly the reasons to see the movies. Blu-ray is worth the extra premium here, for some excellent audio, reasonably good transfer, and 3D treatment- and especially since each can be found for only around $20.
Nobel Son, on the other hand, isn’t really worth watching even at the $14 standard DVD price. Some of the cast from the excellent Bottle Shock shows up here as well, in a Guy Ritchie-like movie that suffers from unlikeable characters, too many head-snapping twists, and uneven tone and writing. The first few minutes are dreadful, with Alan Rickman doing an excellent job acting irredeemable and insufferable and the rest of the pretty good cast (Mary Steenburgen, Danny Devito, Ted Danson, Bill Pullman, even Dollhouse’s Eliza Dushku) doing their level best but managing to barely hang on as the director winds a overdone tale.
It’s dark, brutal, and features a character named, seemingly without irony or reason, City Hall. And it whipsaws around so many characters that it can’t decide who is the protagonist and who we are supposed to care about. Actions and motivations are often frustratingly mysterious, and nothing quite gets wrapped up to anyone’s satisfaction. The music is similarly odd- Paul Oakenfold’s score is unfortunately disorienting and distracting. In short, sit and let the story unfold if you must, as it does go somewhere- just nowhere particularly good.
