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In Short: Worth a rental, at most.
The Movie:
Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelly pairs up with director Steve Miner for this silly horror/comedy tale about a palentologist named Kelly(Bridget Fonda) who is sent to investigate a tooth. She finds herself paired up with Jack Wells(Bill Pullman), a local game warden investigating the death of a diver. The "creature" in the lake turns out to be a gigantic crocodile, and before long...the characters were getting on my nerves. Oh yeah, and the animal starts attacking again.
It's lucky that "Lake Placid" clocks in at a short 82 minutes. The dialogue and the characters spouting it are both equally stupid. Conversations go on and on and on with no point or purpose in sight. The scenery is about the only interesting thing during the film's running time; the cinematography is consistently goregous(and nicely rendered on this dvd).
Soon, the group, made up of Kelly, Jack, Hank(Brendan Gleeson - great actor, bad movie) and Hector(Oliver Platt) go out in search of the giant beast. Like "The Avengers" or many other recent studio pictures, the film is made up of "one-liners". Some of the ones that turn up in "Lake Placid" are rather funny, but most just sink. Scary? No, not really. Audiences get scared when they care about the characters. By the halfway point, I was wishing that a few of these characters would get taken out by the giant beast. It's a little too lightweight, a little too silly and at 82 minutes, there were still moments when I wished the film would pick up the pace. It's finally towards the end that the action begins. After both "Lake Placid" and "Mystery, Alaska" failed to go anywhere, Kelly should stick with what he does best - write for television on "Ally McBeal".
The DVD
VIDEO:
Again, although Fox doesn't do anamorphic transfers, I find that their non-anamorphic transfers usually are quite good and have little to complain about. Recent editions like "Ravenous" and "Pushing Tin" were quite good and "Lake Placid" is no exception; I found some of it absolutely beautiful looking. Images are rich and sharp with much of the scenery and photography looking quite goregous. I was impressed from the opening frames; images are so clear that they're almost three-dimensional in feel. Colors are vibrant and pure throughout, looking excellent.
There are a few little tiny problems here and there; a mark or two on the print and a few slight bits of shimmer. The positive aspects outweigh the negatives though. If Fox consistently did anamorphic, the results would be incredible. As is, their non-anamorphic transfers are very good, but not quite perfect. Of all Fox's non-anamorphic work that I've seen, I have to say that this is their best.
SOUND: Nothing major; the surrounds are put to decent use throughout and what action there is in the film is handled nicely. Good spooky score by ace composer John Ottman sounds excellent, as does the few songs on the soundtrack. Some pretty solid bass on occasion, as well. Dialogue, the least effective part of the movie, sounds clear and without problems..
MENUS:: A nice job from Fox! Animated main menus and design that's film-themed. Animation also when you make a selection.
EXTRAS: Decent promotional featurette, 3 TV spots, trailer, cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts Maybe a rental if everything else is checked out.
Film Grade
The Film 65/D = (325/500 possible points)
Stars: * 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 93/A = (372/400 possible points)
Audio: 89/B+ = (356/400 possible points)
Extras: 75/C = (225/300 possible points)
Menus 85/B = (170/200 possible points)
Value: 75/C = (225/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1673/2100
Average:79%/C+
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