|
|
The Movie:
Almost completely overlooked at the box office (the $20m film never reached more than 144 screens, and ended up making less than $1m), "The Yards" brings a fine cast to the proceedings for director James Grey and the director himself knows perfectly how to display them as well as move the characters around in the story in this suprisingly good crime drama. Mark Whalberg plays Leo Handler, a young man who has just gotten out on jail after serving time for car theft - taking the rap for his friends. One of those friends, Willie(Joaquin Phoenix) is there to greet him at the party held for him when he returns.
Leo would like nothing more than to start over - get a good job, take care of business, and not spend anymore time behind bars. Leo's cousin Erica(Charlize Theron, looking gothic) is dating Willie, and it's Willie who connects Leo with Uncle Frank(James Cann), who presents him with job opportunities. Only, not the kind of opprtunities that one trying to get out of trouble would want in on.
The job is supposed to be related to working on the railyards and subways, but instead of working, Leo finds himself a part of Willie's group, who go around sabotaging the equipment of competitors. As with all movies like this one, there's going to be a point where things go wrong - and it happens rather quickly, as a job at the local yards goes very badly. Although things seem like they can be taken care of at first, that thought proves wrong as evidence begins to pile up and backs turn as Leo finds himself forced to take the blame yet one more time.
The performances are perfectly underplayed - the somber atmosphere of the movie is perfectly done as to make the more intense scenes even that much more tense. The characters engage us, and the tension keeps us hooked - it's a working combonation here. And again, the film's cast is wonderful. Whalberg is excellent - really one of his better works - as Leo, a man who finds himself up against more he can handle. He makes the character not likable, certainly, but at least sympathetic and engaging. Phoenix is also excellent - a fantastic actor who is displaying even finer performances lately in films like "Gladiator", he and Whalberg work perfectly together here. Supporting cast members like Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn, Caan and others provide unsuprisingly good work. Charlize Theron, a fine actress, does superb work, enough so that I wished Erica was a bigger character.
Overall though, "Yards" was a suprise that really should have gotten a bigger audience in theaters - great characters, realistic events, strong tension and atmosphere as well as a good screenplay are all highlights of a fine film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although this certainly isn't the worst presentation I've seen in ages, it definitely ranks as one of more dissapointing looking anamorphic transfers for a new film in recent memory. Sharpness and detail are sometimes off, as many scenes seem rather soft and some of the dimly lit or darker scenes seem hazy or noticably murky. Some of the brighter, outdoor scenes appear noticably more well-defined and crisp, but the presentation overall is not consistent.
Problems are not apparent throughout the movie, but they make for some irritation when they do appear. Some scenes have a rather "harsh" or "digital" look to them, as shimmering sometimes appears. Pixelation is not visible throughout the movie, but there are scenes where it's apparent and annoying. Although print flaws were not a massive problem, there were more marks and minor speckles/dirt than I would like to see in a very recent picture.
Colors vary throughout the movie - there are some scenes with warmer, bolder colors that once or twice appeared somewhat oversaturated, but there are also scenes that are intentionally colder and more subtle looking than seemed fine. Miramax has shown they are capable of better. The layer change is badly placed in the middle of a central scene, about an hour and 14 minutes into the picture.
SOUND: "The Yards" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. While the film is mainly dialogue-driven, there are some touches that take it beyond that. With the involvement of subway trains in the plot, they rumble through the frame every so often, sounding fairly convincing with some fairly deep bass. There's also some slight ambient sounds throughout the outdoor scenes, although nothing agressive - simply a lot of slight and subtle touches courtesy of the best sound designer in the business - Gary Rydstrom. Although this film definitely doesn't give Rydstrom the opportunity to contribute stunning and agressive sound (like his work on "The Haunting"), it does fine for the material.
Surrounds aren't put to a great deal of use. Howard Shore's elegant, moody score is re-inforced by the surrounds occasionally, but they really don't have a great deal of other work to do. Dialogue remains clear and fairly easily understood. A decent presentation, but not a film that relies heavily upon audio.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with very basic images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director James Grey. I'd already enjoyed watching the film by itself, but listening to the director's discussion won me over further. His comments are intelligent and he is an extremely well-spoken fellow who has a seemingly very vast knowledge of film. I quite liked the tone of the commentary - Grey is not only energetic, but he does not have an ego about the work. Although he seems very pleased with the final product, he mostly discusses what he attempted - whether or not it works is up to the viewer. He seems to be saying that he can understand where people may find fault with the film, and then gives his opinions on what he tried to accomplish by what he did. Although there are some slight pauses of silence throughout the track, I would definitely catagorize this track as "quality, not quantity." The director's comments are informative, insightful, and to the point. He doesn't ramble - just delivers a very solid discussion of the intentions of the characters and the story as well as working with the actors and achieving the look of the film. It's a track well worth a listen.
Featurette: A fairly lengthy featurette turns out to be pretty promotional, as the actors talk about the story and how pleased they are to be part of the project. There's a few little informative bits and pieces, but not a great deal to it.
Original Concept Art: This is actually a gallery of paintings that were important to director James Grey during the making of the film, which inspired the look of the picture. At the end of the group are a couple of poster art concept images.
Trailer: The film's trailer, in Dolby 2.0/1.85:1.
Sneek Peaks: Trailers for "A Hard Day's Night"(the re-release DVD still seems to be delayed), "Hamlet", "Cider House Rules", "Immortality", "Copland", "Jerry and Tom" and "Reindeer Games".
Final Thoughts: A solid, largely unseen crime drama, the $32.99 retail price and only decent video quality keep me from recommending the DVD - but if you're into crime dramas (and this one has good performances and a great cast), "The Yards" is worth checking out as a rental.
Film Grade
The Film *** 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 77/C = (308/400 possible points)
Audio: 87/B = (348/400 possible points)
Extras: 82/B = (246/300 possible points)
Menus: 70/C- = (140/200 possible points)
Value: 80/B- = (240/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1282/1600
DVD GRADE:B-/80%
FILM GRADE: *** 1/2
DVD GRADE: B-
|