Many of the special features on this top-notch Blu-Ray release of thrilling and pulpy sci-fi epic John Carter focus on the prescience and influence of Edgar Rice Burroughs's century-old source story. As notable as that is, the compulsive parroting of this information by the filmmakers smacks a bit of proprietary desperation. Yes, every massive scale space opera, from Star Wars to Avatar, has borrowed, or outright stolen, from the stories of a civil war vet who's mysteriously transported into the middle of a similar conflict on Mars. Even the character of Superman is obviously informed by John Carter ― an alien who gains physical advantages due to the environmental conditions of the foreign planet he finds himself on. But reminding audiences that this story is the goose that laid those golden eggs just undermines the entertainment value of this exhilarating and wonderfully comic production. Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) displays a gruff charm akin to young Harrison Ford, being convincing as both an emotionally wounded, reluctant hero and sarcastic, quip-slinging lady-killer. His comfortable on-screen presence is an essential anchor point for audiences becoming familiar with the overly dense mythology of Barsoom (the native designation of Mars). Handling the glut of names, races and historical conflicts of the red planet is an area where director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) errs on the side of over-explaining. Do we really need to know the entire story set-up and planetary jargon before the protagonist does? Front-loading exposition dilutes the sense of mystery inherent in discovering this alien environment along with Carter. In the deleted scenes, there is an entirely different and even more dialogue-heavy introduction, showing that at no point was less mythological handholding considered. Stanton provides commentary for these residents of the cutting room floor, speaking as openly (about the transition from animated to live action filmmaking) and hopefully (for an unlikely sequel) as on the feature commentary track with producers Lindsey Collins and Jim Morris. "Barsoom Bloopers" shows the jovial on-set vibe, with Stanton engineering spontaneous dance parties, sometimes mid-take. The supplemental highlight is "360 Degrees of John Carter," a look behind-the-scenes during a full 13-hour day, covering everything from catering to costuming, stunt work to stilt training ― Willem Dafoe is impressively nimble at the height required to play Thark chief Tar Tarkas ― and, most amusingly, some of the games extras invent to keep themselves entertained between takes. A little brief, but absorbing while it lasts is "100 Years in the Making," in which Stanton and the producers discuss how they first discovered Burroughs's books, interspersed with cynical audio bites from the author detailing his emergence as a pulp writer and quick looks at the various failed attempts to get this story on screen over the years. I would assume that "Explore John Carter's Journal with Disney's Second Screen" is an info-packed enhanced viewing experience, but since it requires the downloading of an app to a computer or Ipad, it feels like an unnecessary step that'll discourage many viewers, such as this one. Even so, John Carter is a well-above-average Blu-Ray package to complement an exceptional piece of broadly enjoyable and exhilarating popcorn cinema. (Disney)
Attempting to decipher the music on Demons Dance Alone, in which its melody, structures and sounds point towards its creators being the Residents is like trying to summarise the meaning of life. Their company, the Cryptic Corporation, states that the album had "been written for the most part in the days following September 11" and that "the album captures a quite different side of the Residents - a vulnerable, uncertain Eyeball asks questions that have no answers." The album, with its references to cows, tongues, Robert Graves and Plutarch, might explore the concept of a shocking event whereby its witness is left speechless. Instead of painfully trying to place song titles, subtitles and lyrics into some sort of "safety net" of understanding, it is best to listen to Demons Dance Alone as often as possible to get what you want from it. The entity's spokesperson (business and otherwise), Hardy Fox, states a similar sentiment. "I think the album is to reflect the Residents' state of mind as they look at the world, and also as they look at where they are in their lives. With that in mind, they don't really talk to any of us about 'what it means,' and have always been pretty clear that 'meaning' needs to be assigned by the listener, not by the artist." In reference to the musical landscape of the disc, the group touches upon a more melodic structure, one reminiscent in terms of pop catchiness to their earlier albums, and it may very well be their best effort in years. And a balance between their "light" (The Commercial Album) and "dark" approaches (Wormwood) to feelings and sounds are met as well. "If 'light' and 'dark' is defined by the familiar versus the unfamiliar," explains Fox, "then this has more familiar musical moments. The Residents always reference and refer to pop forms, but this album dips into some more literal references, which of course is met with mixed reactions. The Residents like for people to react." Indeed they do, and in true dichotic form they are both cryptic yet planned. Perhaps it isn't music they make, nor a statement, it could very well be an art form so highly evolved that it doesn't have a name yet, except that for our sakes they're called the Residents. (East Side Digital)