Watcher
28-11-2001, 02:00 PM
<B><I>UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIDEO.</I>
<center><H2>STICKMEN</h2>
Release Date:</b> Out now!
<B>UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIDEO. </B>
<b>Rating: MA15+</b>
<B>RRP: $29.95 </b></center>
<UL><center><b>Special features and specs…..</b></CENTER>
<LI>Cast & Crew Biographies.
<LI>Director & Writer Audio Commentary.
<LI>Behind-The-Scenes Documentary.
<LI>Music Video.
<LI>TV & Radio Advertisements.
<LI>Photo Gallery.
<LI>Theatrical trailers.
<LI>Running Time: 94 minutes.
<LI> English Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0
<LI>No subtitles available.
<LI>Aspect: 1.85:1 widescreen 16:9 Enhanced.
<LI>Dual Layer/ Single sided.</ul>
<center><b>Cast…</b></center>
Robbie Magasiva, Scott Wills, Paolo Rotondo, Anne Nordhaus, Simone Kessell, Lu-Anne Gordon, John Leigh, Emma Nooyen, Kirk Torrance.
<B>Director</b> - Hamish Rothwell.
<center><B>From the back cover….</b></center>
<I><B>".... squarely in the Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) tradition..."</b>
Thomas, Jack and Wayne are the best of mates. Together they're the <B>Stickmen</B>, playing an on-going stake game of pub pool that sees them touring the dark under-belly of the pub scene.
Each of them lives their life the way they play pool. Thomas is either "on" or "off". Jack is always slick, cool and forever setting up the next shot. Wayne is, well, Wayne. He bumbles his way through life, happy to be the guy who always says the wrong thing at the wrong time.
During the high stakes pool tournament a weird and wonderful collection of players stand in their way of winning the big cash prize. Behind it all is the sinister omnipresence of Daddy, a crime lord who pulls all the strings.
They're playing the shots, covering the angles, but can the <B>Stickmen</B> make the big break?</i>
<center><b>Audio/Visual….</b></center>
STICKMEN has two audio options. Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
I reviewed the entire movie in 5.1, but did make time to have a look with the 2.0 option and found it to be of a high quality for a 2.0 track, with all aspects of the audio being very clear.
The 5.1 audio is also of a high quality and is obviously the better of the two options.
All speakers are used well with this movie and the awesome soundtrack makes sure of that! Have a listen to the music at the 1:12 minute mark of the 2nd chapter and you'll hear the coolest 5 seconds of music beeping around you between the front left and the two rears. The main music in the movie is Techno in style, but there's also a couple of old classics used too. The Techno music is used very well and beats along nicely, giving the sub a good work out with plenty of low level bass.
The front sound stage is strong and combines well with the rears when immersing us in the upbeat soundtrack. The rears are used often with the Techno soundtrack, but do also help to add atmosphere at times with occasional effects such as the pouring rain in the scene where the guys get into the taxi outside the cafe.
Speech is in sync, clear and easy to understand even with some of the thuck....err, thick Kiwi accents.
The various menus are in 5.1 which is a nice touch.
STICKMEN is 1.85:1widescreen that's 16:9 enhanced.
The video quality is also top notch and is very pleasing to watch.
It's a pretty clean and sharp image that shows no real signs of grain, marks, blemishes etc.
There aren't any real bright and flashy colours and they do look like they've been played with to give them a slightly dull and darker look, which really does suit the movie as it's mostly situated at night and darker rooms such as bars. Blacks and shadow detail didn't have a problem with the lower lit scenes and look pretty good on this DVD.
The menu system looks good and has revolving pool balls that can be selected to take you to the various menu options.
The "Scene Selection" menu has full motion scene selection windows with 5.1 audio. Audio loops on whatever scene is highlighted.
<center><B>Extra features…..</b></center>
<LI><I> <B>Director & Writer Audio Commentary </I></b> - Non stop commentary with Director Hamish Rothwell and Writer Nick Ward who are very relaxed and work well together in explaining everything they can about the movie. They offer technical info and don't hold back on telling you about friends roles in the movie or where props came from or where they went after the movie. The commentary is in Dolby 2.0 and highly recommended for everyone who enjoyed the movie.
<I> <B> Behind-The-Scenes Documentary.</I></b> - It is pretty much what you'd expect from something like this, but it is enjoyable and it looks like they had fun making it. It features scenes from the movie as well the occasional behind the scenes video and has major cast and crew talking about the movie and its characters. It runs just short of 22 minutes and is well worth a look.
<I> <B>Theatrical Trailer </i></b> - Two trailers are available for your viewing pleasure here.
Both are similar with the first one being a bit longer. They are both in full frame and although they aren't up with the high quality of the main feature, they are still good. They're in 5.1 audio too.
<I><b> Photo Gallery.</I></b> You are able to view 12 different still shots from the movie when clicking on the 1 ball. Clicking on the 2 ball will give you a single screen with the same poster shown in 3 different colours (blue, green and orange).
<I><B>Cast & Crew Biographies.</i></b> - Here you get to chose any of the major stars as well as Director-Hamish Rothwell, Writer- Nick Ward & Producer- Michelle Turner. You get a still shot of the chosen person along with text that can go for a couple of screens in some cases.
<I><B> Selecting Pool Balls.</i></b> - Various menus feature and 8 ball on the bottom right of the screen that you are able to click on.
Doing so in the various menus will allow you to see a large revolving Pool Ball on screen which will have the voice of a woman offering a pool tip that is one huge sexual innuendo.
Other extra features include a music video and TV & radio advertisements, but I'll be honest with you and say that I haven't seen them due to not being able to find them through the menu system.(Once I find them, I'll let you know where they are and what they're like.)
This would be my ONLY minor criticism of this very, very good DVD.
<center><B>Overall…..</b></center>
STICKMEN just recently scooped the pool at the 2001 New Zealand Film Awards, winning their awards for Best Director (Hamish Rothwell), Best Actor (Scott Wills), Best Supporting Actress (Lu-Anne Gordon) and Best Screenplay (Nick Ward).
This comes as no surprise after watching STICKMEN as it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie that's well presented, performed and written.
It grabs your attention from the unique opening titles sequence and then immediately sets up the story of the three guys who are best mates with different lives away from eachother, but regularly meet up at "Dave's" for drinks and games of pool. Things soon develop into the guys taking part in a Pool Tournament run by a local crime boss.
The movie has the style and look of other titles such as Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, but it is very much its own movie and has its own unique characters and story.
As far as the DVD goes, it's easily a winner with high quality sound and vision and an audio commentary that really does deserve to be listened to.
STICKMEN on DVD is real value for money and whether you decide to rent it or buy it, you should close the curtains, turn up the volume a notch or two and sit back and enjoy a DVD that has an outstanding movie and some entertaining extra features.....
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" ALIGN="center" BORDER="1">
<tr><td><B>VIDEO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>9.5/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>AUDIO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>9/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>EXTRAS</b> </td><td><B>8/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>THE MOVIE</b> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr>
<tr><td><B>OVERALL</B> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr></table>
Thanks for reading…
<center><H2>STICKMEN</h2>
Release Date:</b> Out now!
<B>UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIDEO. </B>
<b>Rating: MA15+</b>
<B>RRP: $29.95 </b></center>
<UL><center><b>Special features and specs…..</b></CENTER>
<LI>Cast & Crew Biographies.
<LI>Director & Writer Audio Commentary.
<LI>Behind-The-Scenes Documentary.
<LI>Music Video.
<LI>TV & Radio Advertisements.
<LI>Photo Gallery.
<LI>Theatrical trailers.
<LI>Running Time: 94 minutes.
<LI> English Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0
<LI>No subtitles available.
<LI>Aspect: 1.85:1 widescreen 16:9 Enhanced.
<LI>Dual Layer/ Single sided.</ul>
<center><b>Cast…</b></center>
Robbie Magasiva, Scott Wills, Paolo Rotondo, Anne Nordhaus, Simone Kessell, Lu-Anne Gordon, John Leigh, Emma Nooyen, Kirk Torrance.
<B>Director</b> - Hamish Rothwell.
<center><B>From the back cover….</b></center>
<I><B>".... squarely in the Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) tradition..."</b>
Thomas, Jack and Wayne are the best of mates. Together they're the <B>Stickmen</B>, playing an on-going stake game of pub pool that sees them touring the dark under-belly of the pub scene.
Each of them lives their life the way they play pool. Thomas is either "on" or "off". Jack is always slick, cool and forever setting up the next shot. Wayne is, well, Wayne. He bumbles his way through life, happy to be the guy who always says the wrong thing at the wrong time.
During the high stakes pool tournament a weird and wonderful collection of players stand in their way of winning the big cash prize. Behind it all is the sinister omnipresence of Daddy, a crime lord who pulls all the strings.
They're playing the shots, covering the angles, but can the <B>Stickmen</B> make the big break?</i>
<center><b>Audio/Visual….</b></center>
STICKMEN has two audio options. Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
I reviewed the entire movie in 5.1, but did make time to have a look with the 2.0 option and found it to be of a high quality for a 2.0 track, with all aspects of the audio being very clear.
The 5.1 audio is also of a high quality and is obviously the better of the two options.
All speakers are used well with this movie and the awesome soundtrack makes sure of that! Have a listen to the music at the 1:12 minute mark of the 2nd chapter and you'll hear the coolest 5 seconds of music beeping around you between the front left and the two rears. The main music in the movie is Techno in style, but there's also a couple of old classics used too. The Techno music is used very well and beats along nicely, giving the sub a good work out with plenty of low level bass.
The front sound stage is strong and combines well with the rears when immersing us in the upbeat soundtrack. The rears are used often with the Techno soundtrack, but do also help to add atmosphere at times with occasional effects such as the pouring rain in the scene where the guys get into the taxi outside the cafe.
Speech is in sync, clear and easy to understand even with some of the thuck....err, thick Kiwi accents.
The various menus are in 5.1 which is a nice touch.
STICKMEN is 1.85:1widescreen that's 16:9 enhanced.
The video quality is also top notch and is very pleasing to watch.
It's a pretty clean and sharp image that shows no real signs of grain, marks, blemishes etc.
There aren't any real bright and flashy colours and they do look like they've been played with to give them a slightly dull and darker look, which really does suit the movie as it's mostly situated at night and darker rooms such as bars. Blacks and shadow detail didn't have a problem with the lower lit scenes and look pretty good on this DVD.
The menu system looks good and has revolving pool balls that can be selected to take you to the various menu options.
The "Scene Selection" menu has full motion scene selection windows with 5.1 audio. Audio loops on whatever scene is highlighted.
<center><B>Extra features…..</b></center>
<LI><I> <B>Director & Writer Audio Commentary </I></b> - Non stop commentary with Director Hamish Rothwell and Writer Nick Ward who are very relaxed and work well together in explaining everything they can about the movie. They offer technical info and don't hold back on telling you about friends roles in the movie or where props came from or where they went after the movie. The commentary is in Dolby 2.0 and highly recommended for everyone who enjoyed the movie.
<I> <B> Behind-The-Scenes Documentary.</I></b> - It is pretty much what you'd expect from something like this, but it is enjoyable and it looks like they had fun making it. It features scenes from the movie as well the occasional behind the scenes video and has major cast and crew talking about the movie and its characters. It runs just short of 22 minutes and is well worth a look.
<I> <B>Theatrical Trailer </i></b> - Two trailers are available for your viewing pleasure here.
Both are similar with the first one being a bit longer. They are both in full frame and although they aren't up with the high quality of the main feature, they are still good. They're in 5.1 audio too.
<I><b> Photo Gallery.</I></b> You are able to view 12 different still shots from the movie when clicking on the 1 ball. Clicking on the 2 ball will give you a single screen with the same poster shown in 3 different colours (blue, green and orange).
<I><B>Cast & Crew Biographies.</i></b> - Here you get to chose any of the major stars as well as Director-Hamish Rothwell, Writer- Nick Ward & Producer- Michelle Turner. You get a still shot of the chosen person along with text that can go for a couple of screens in some cases.
<I><B> Selecting Pool Balls.</i></b> - Various menus feature and 8 ball on the bottom right of the screen that you are able to click on.
Doing so in the various menus will allow you to see a large revolving Pool Ball on screen which will have the voice of a woman offering a pool tip that is one huge sexual innuendo.
Other extra features include a music video and TV & radio advertisements, but I'll be honest with you and say that I haven't seen them due to not being able to find them through the menu system.(Once I find them, I'll let you know where they are and what they're like.)
This would be my ONLY minor criticism of this very, very good DVD.
<center><B>Overall…..</b></center>
STICKMEN just recently scooped the pool at the 2001 New Zealand Film Awards, winning their awards for Best Director (Hamish Rothwell), Best Actor (Scott Wills), Best Supporting Actress (Lu-Anne Gordon) and Best Screenplay (Nick Ward).
This comes as no surprise after watching STICKMEN as it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie that's well presented, performed and written.
It grabs your attention from the unique opening titles sequence and then immediately sets up the story of the three guys who are best mates with different lives away from eachother, but regularly meet up at "Dave's" for drinks and games of pool. Things soon develop into the guys taking part in a Pool Tournament run by a local crime boss.
The movie has the style and look of other titles such as Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, but it is very much its own movie and has its own unique characters and story.
As far as the DVD goes, it's easily a winner with high quality sound and vision and an audio commentary that really does deserve to be listened to.
STICKMEN on DVD is real value for money and whether you decide to rent it or buy it, you should close the curtains, turn up the volume a notch or two and sit back and enjoy a DVD that has an outstanding movie and some entertaining extra features.....
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" ALIGN="center" BORDER="1">
<tr><td><B>VIDEO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>9.5/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>AUDIO QUALITY</b> </td><td><B>9/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>EXTRAS</b> </td><td><B>8/10</b> </td></tr>
<tr><td><B>THE MOVIE</b> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr>
<tr><td><B>OVERALL</B> </td><td><B>9/10 </b></td></tr></table>
Thanks for reading…