David Galindo
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,264
[c]Hollow Man (UMD)
Region 1 • R • Subtitles: English, Korean • Available Now
[/c]
Hollow Man comes from Sony Pictures Entertainment…if anyone knows about the UMD format, it’s this studio. So how does their UMD compare to that of other companies on the PSP?
Thoughts on the Movie
Hollow Man was a film missed by me when it was in theaters, and I quickly forgot about it until a few days ago. I knew I had to pick it up for one reason: Paul Verhoeven. He’s the master director behind some of my favorite sci-fi films, such as Total Recall and Starship Troopers. When you watch a Verhoeven movie, you can be sure of many things: there will be lots of blood, lots of nudity, lots of explosions, and some great special effects. I certainly wasn’t let down in that regard…but there is something else I come to expect from Verhoeven: weird kitschy dialogue. A sample:
”Hmmm…I wonder…I wonder how he talked us into proceeding with phase 3.”
“Can we talk about this some other time? I’m trying to make love to you.”
If you can appreciate those kinds of lines, then you’ll feel right at home in this movie. Kevin Bacon is Dr. Sebastian Crane, who has perfected an invisibility formula on gorillas. He proceeds with “phase 3”, without the Pentagon’s permission, and turns himself invisible. When his science crew can’t bring him back, he gets a bit crazier as the days go on.
The special effects are amazing. The way people turn invisible, as their flesh peels back to reveal their muscle tissue, then veins and organs, etc. is a real sight to behold. When Bacon goes invisible, it’s pretty great how the crew tries to make him visible by turning on sprinklers, splashing blood on him, etc.
The thing is, there isn’t much you can do as an invisible person in the first place to let this movie go anywhere but it’s finale. It’s a one way road. I mean, the most obvious things you can do as an invisible man would be to pull pranks (he does) and spy on naked women (which he does, and not more than 2 days into his invisibility). And you could kill people relatively easy, of course.
One death in particular really unnerved me. When the veterinarian (Sarah) tries to tranquilize Sebastian, he turns the gun on her and puts her to sleep. Then he caresses her head for a bit as she falls asleep…and then he snaps her neck in half. Holy freaking crap!
Verhoeven never fails to come up with new and exciting ways of killing people. More power to him.
While I’m a huge fan of Verhoeven, this definitely isn’t his best movie…but I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I’m glad I saw it (and will definitely see it again). The excellent score by the late Jerry Goldsmith is icing on the cake. I’d recommend it for those who enjoy slasher/sci-fi/thriller movies…but the entry movie to Verhoven’s films would have to be Total Recall. See that first and you’ll know whether to get this movie or not.
Video Quality
The outside of the case had a sticker exclaiming, “Full Length Movie! DVD Picture and Sound! Widescreen Presentation!” Well, they have a lot to live up to…but in this regard, they delivered.
Hollow Man was filmed in a 1.85 ratio, which fills up the PSP screen without any cropping necessary. The black levels are right on, and the movie looks sharp, which is important for some of the best special effects in the movie (like the invisibility transformations). The colors look a bit muted, but I think that’s the style of the film moreso than the transfer, since some explosions looked more colorful than anything up to that point.
While it didn’t wow me like Spider-Man 2, it is still a great looking transfer, and makes for a fine showcase of the PSP movie playback ability.
4.5/5
Audio Quality
The sound quality is great, and the voices come out clear and loud. The score by Jerry Goldsmith sounds smooth, and when the film kicks it into high gear, the audio doesn’t disappoint. I would have liked more directional audio, though- there were many moments that could have used it (such as all the sprinklers turning on), which made it sound a bit off. The music that played in Sebastian's car was a bit louder than anything else in the movie…strange. Otherwise, solid audio.
4/5
Extras
When the UMD format was introduced, it was pretty much accepted that we would not be getting any bonus content, as the UMD barely had room for the movie itself. The first four releases from Sony seemed to confirm that as they only had trailers for other movies.
But Buena Vista upped the stakes by providing great picture and sound quality with a few extra features to boot. The menus of the BV titles were excellent as well…but the tradeoff was the higher prices of the UMDs.
Hollow Man has no extra content, just trailers for Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Resident Evil 2, and Boogeyman. While I can accept that there are no extras, what really makes me angry is that there is NO CHAPTER SELECTION MENU. Why??? Are they really saving that much money by not including it? Now if I want to skip to the end, I have to slowly scroll through a dozen chapters before getting to it (and the UMD drive access is a bit slower than a DVD drive). The menu for Hollow Man is OK, but the looping Goldsmith theme makes it better than it really is. The insert in the UMD case is for other Sony movies.
I dunno…I mean, why on earth does Sony continue to do this? Is it because of the lower price of their movies? I’d gladly pay three bucks extra to get a chapter selection…but I shouldn’t have to. Hopefully Sony will turn this bad habit around.
0.5/5
Overall…
I think I would be even more upset with the lack of chapter selection menus if it weren’t for the price. You can pick up Hollow Man for as low as $13 at Circuit City.
I suppose you could reason that Sony offers older budget title UMDs and Buena Vista offers premium UMDs. But still, Buena Vista gave us a taste of what UMDs can and should be…whereas Sony seems to be throwing these films on UMD just in case anyone wants to buy them.
I’m glad I picked up Hollow Man, as I enjoyed the movie and want to watch it again. The lack of extras doesn’t bother me too much… but I don’t think I’m being unfair by asking for a meager chapter selection menu, am I? At least the sound and picture, which is the most vital component of course, looks and sounds fantastic. I just wish Sony threw in a teensy more effort into this UMD.
2.5/5
Region 1 • R • Subtitles: English, Korean • Available Now
[/c]Hollow Man comes from Sony Pictures Entertainment…if anyone knows about the UMD format, it’s this studio. So how does their UMD compare to that of other companies on the PSP?
Thoughts on the Movie
Hollow Man was a film missed by me when it was in theaters, and I quickly forgot about it until a few days ago. I knew I had to pick it up for one reason: Paul Verhoeven. He’s the master director behind some of my favorite sci-fi films, such as Total Recall and Starship Troopers. When you watch a Verhoeven movie, you can be sure of many things: there will be lots of blood, lots of nudity, lots of explosions, and some great special effects. I certainly wasn’t let down in that regard…but there is something else I come to expect from Verhoeven: weird kitschy dialogue. A sample:
”Hmmm…I wonder…I wonder how he talked us into proceeding with phase 3.”
“Can we talk about this some other time? I’m trying to make love to you.”
If you can appreciate those kinds of lines, then you’ll feel right at home in this movie. Kevin Bacon is Dr. Sebastian Crane, who has perfected an invisibility formula on gorillas. He proceeds with “phase 3”, without the Pentagon’s permission, and turns himself invisible. When his science crew can’t bring him back, he gets a bit crazier as the days go on.
The special effects are amazing. The way people turn invisible, as their flesh peels back to reveal their muscle tissue, then veins and organs, etc. is a real sight to behold. When Bacon goes invisible, it’s pretty great how the crew tries to make him visible by turning on sprinklers, splashing blood on him, etc.
The thing is, there isn’t much you can do as an invisible person in the first place to let this movie go anywhere but it’s finale. It’s a one way road. I mean, the most obvious things you can do as an invisible man would be to pull pranks (he does) and spy on naked women (which he does, and not more than 2 days into his invisibility). And you could kill people relatively easy, of course.
One death in particular really unnerved me. When the veterinarian (Sarah) tries to tranquilize Sebastian, he turns the gun on her and puts her to sleep. Then he caresses her head for a bit as she falls asleep…and then he snaps her neck in half. Holy freaking crap!
Verhoeven never fails to come up with new and exciting ways of killing people. More power to him.
While I’m a huge fan of Verhoeven, this definitely isn’t his best movie…but I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I’m glad I saw it (and will definitely see it again). The excellent score by the late Jerry Goldsmith is icing on the cake. I’d recommend it for those who enjoy slasher/sci-fi/thriller movies…but the entry movie to Verhoven’s films would have to be Total Recall. See that first and you’ll know whether to get this movie or not.
Video Quality
The outside of the case had a sticker exclaiming, “Full Length Movie! DVD Picture and Sound! Widescreen Presentation!” Well, they have a lot to live up to…but in this regard, they delivered.
Hollow Man was filmed in a 1.85 ratio, which fills up the PSP screen without any cropping necessary. The black levels are right on, and the movie looks sharp, which is important for some of the best special effects in the movie (like the invisibility transformations). The colors look a bit muted, but I think that’s the style of the film moreso than the transfer, since some explosions looked more colorful than anything up to that point.
While it didn’t wow me like Spider-Man 2, it is still a great looking transfer, and makes for a fine showcase of the PSP movie playback ability.
4.5/5
Audio Quality
The sound quality is great, and the voices come out clear and loud. The score by Jerry Goldsmith sounds smooth, and when the film kicks it into high gear, the audio doesn’t disappoint. I would have liked more directional audio, though- there were many moments that could have used it (such as all the sprinklers turning on), which made it sound a bit off. The music that played in Sebastian's car was a bit louder than anything else in the movie…strange. Otherwise, solid audio.
4/5
Extras
When the UMD format was introduced, it was pretty much accepted that we would not be getting any bonus content, as the UMD barely had room for the movie itself. The first four releases from Sony seemed to confirm that as they only had trailers for other movies.
But Buena Vista upped the stakes by providing great picture and sound quality with a few extra features to boot. The menus of the BV titles were excellent as well…but the tradeoff was the higher prices of the UMDs.
Hollow Man has no extra content, just trailers for Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Resident Evil 2, and Boogeyman. While I can accept that there are no extras, what really makes me angry is that there is NO CHAPTER SELECTION MENU. Why??? Are they really saving that much money by not including it? Now if I want to skip to the end, I have to slowly scroll through a dozen chapters before getting to it (and the UMD drive access is a bit slower than a DVD drive). The menu for Hollow Man is OK, but the looping Goldsmith theme makes it better than it really is. The insert in the UMD case is for other Sony movies.
I dunno…I mean, why on earth does Sony continue to do this? Is it because of the lower price of their movies? I’d gladly pay three bucks extra to get a chapter selection…but I shouldn’t have to. Hopefully Sony will turn this bad habit around.
0.5/5
Overall…
I think I would be even more upset with the lack of chapter selection menus if it weren’t for the price. You can pick up Hollow Man for as low as $13 at Circuit City.
I suppose you could reason that Sony offers older budget title UMDs and Buena Vista offers premium UMDs. But still, Buena Vista gave us a taste of what UMDs can and should be…whereas Sony seems to be throwing these films on UMD just in case anyone wants to buy them.
I’m glad I picked up Hollow Man, as I enjoyed the movie and want to watch it again. The lack of extras doesn’t bother me too much… but I don’t think I’m being unfair by asking for a meager chapter selection menu, am I? At least the sound and picture, which is the most vital component of course, looks and sounds fantastic. I just wish Sony threw in a teensy more effort into this UMD.
2.5/5
