6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Something evil is stirring in the small mining town of Gold Lick, and it's not happy. Guan-di, the Chinese protector of the dead with a strange affinity for bean curd, has been awakened by reckless teenagers, and now his bloody crusade to wipe out the town's entire population can only be stopped by one man - Bruce Campbell (the guy who starred in all three Evil Dead movies and Bubba Ho-tep), B-move star and deadbeat ex-husband extraordinaire, who's recruited to be their unwitting savior. Thinking the whole scenario's a publicity prank, Bruce is distracted from his mission by a hot mom and fan boys aplenty-- but when our hero has to face off against a dark force more fearsome than a Hollywood agent, the laughs and screams start flying!
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Grace Thorsen, Taylor Sharpe, Dan HicksHorror | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bruce Campbell is the greatest actor of his generation!
Cult hero and B-movie superstar Bruce Campbell, "America's Actor" (OK, maybe not), stars in
My Name is Bruce, a parody film of all things B-movie and, of course, Bruce Campbell.
Known for chainsaws, boom sticks, battles with the living dead, and a gargantuan chin, the star
directs himself in a dead-on romp through the world of B-movie stardom. My Name is
Bruce
is a terrible movie, objectively, but when a film sets out to be terrible, and it unequivocally succeeds
in being so, is it then above criticism? In this case, the answer is undoubtedly "yes." Made on the
relative cheap and relishing every minute of it, My Name is Bruce understands its place, its
audience, and most importantly, its material. The film offers everything a Bruce Campbell fan might
expect of this sort of movie, and more. It's got plenty of Campbell references, comical amounts of
gore, lousy yet endearing dialogue, a chainsaw, a boom stick, and, of course, Campbell being
Campbell. What's not to love?
Since the movie's title just calls him "Bruce," they apparently had to guess on the last name.
Image Entertainment presents My Name is Bruce with a hit-or-miss 1080p transfer, framed inside a 1.78:1 window. This is a nice looking transfer on the surface. It's a bit soft and somewhat lacking in its presentation of fine detail in places, but it looks nice for what it is. Black levels are fine, but not overly deep or natural, coming off as slightly too bright. The graveyard scene early in the film, for example, looks all right, but is definitely lacking in the finer nuances. Colors are pleasing and bright throughout, though like the rest of the film, maybe lacking that last bit of nuance to push it over the edge and into the realm of the upper-echelon transfers. Flesh tones, too, are sufficient but not perfect. Considering the low budget nature of the film and its intention on being a B-movie through and through, detail, blacks, colors, and flesh tones are about as good as one might expect. Unfortunately, the transfer sees a tremendous amount of heavy blocking and light banding all through the movie. It's distracting at best, and bordering on unwatchable for hardcore videophiles. Fortunately, the strength of the movie is enough to overcome this shortcoming, but it is definitely a major hindrance to the transfer. There is also quite a bit of noise over the image. My Name is Bruce could have looked worse considering the low budget nature of the production, but even as it stands, the transfer is mostly disappointing.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that accompanies My Name is Bruce manages to outclass the video presentation. This is by no means a fantastic mix, but it sounds good in all areas and offers no single glaring weakness. Dialogue is clear and robust, and music at times plays out almost like it is live, particularly the down-home acoustic Guan Di-focused folk song heard during various parts of the film. The entire soundstage is used to full effect during the action scenes with a fair amount of play from the subwoofer and rear channels. Gunshots are crisp and loud, not all that precise but fun. The track features some decent atmospherics, too; chapter seven, featuring Bruce's arrival in GoldLick, makes some good use ambient effects, including birds chirping, insects buzzing, and wind blowing. This is a blue-collar soundtrack that won't impress in any one area, but one that simply gets the job done to good effect.
My Name is Bruce features plenty of bonus materials, beginning with a 22-page color
comic
book included as an insert inside the Blu-ray disc case. As for the material on the actual disc,
things
get started with a feature-length commentary track with Actor/Director/Producer Bruce Campbell
and Producer Mike Richardson. The track almost completely eliminates the sounds of the movie
while the participants are speaking. Campbell and Richardson discuss shooting locations (mostly
on
Campbell's own property), the casting, the crew, the gags, keeping the Evil Dead
references
to a large minimum, and more. There is plenty here recounting the work that went into the
shoot,
and the track is somewhat more technical in nature than one might expect, but it is still a
winner.
Heart of Dorkness (480p, 1:00:02) is a fine "mockumentary" detailing he making of the
film. Despite the title, the piece does play as a very good making-of piece, but with a bit of a
comic
edge. The piece features plenty of interview clips, beginning with a look at the genesis of the
project, the shooting locations, and moves on to focus on the day-by-day creation of the film with
behind-the-scenes footage and cast interviews galore.
Awkward Moments With "Kif" (480p, 1:59) features various cast members engaged in
small talk. Kif's Korner (480p, 2:44) features Associate Producer Craig
Sanborn showing viewers the phony movie posters and DVD artwork seen in the film. Bruce
On... (480p, 4:06) features Bruce Campbell, well, being
Bruce Campbell, sharing his thoughts on various, mostly inconsequential, tidbits, including film
budgets, DVD extras, rap music, and more. Beyond Inside the Cave: The Making of
'Cavealien 2' (480p, 8:02) is a farcical piece that looks at the making of this "movie within a
movie" and also pokes fun at all of the standard "making-of" pieces found on DVD and now
Blu-ray releases. The Hard Truth
(480p, 3:52) is another less-than-serious piece featuring the cast and crew discussing their
thoughts on the man Bruce Campbell. Love Birds (480p, 1:07) looks at the relationship
between two of the characters in the film. Also included are three galleries -- "Poster Art," "Props
Art," and "Photo," and two trailers, one for My Name is Bruce (1080p, 2:19) and another
for the fictitious Cavealien 2 (480p, 1:42). There are also a few "easter eggs" to be
found by
maneuvering around the main menu.
My Name is Bruce will make for an excellent addition to the Campbell cannon. It's almost the perfect spoof, capturing the essence of the actor, the characters he's played, and the films he's played them in. The movie is full of laughs that both fans and non-fans will appreciate. It also features plenty of gore, cheesy dialogue delivered in true B-movie fashion, and Bruce being Bruce. What's not to love? Well, the video quality accompanying the film, unfortunately. It looks good at a glance, but is hindered by an obscene amount of blocking that drags it down considerably. The audio is surprisingly efficient and entertaining, and like any good Bruce Campbell movie should, there are plenty of bonus features to dig through here. Despite a few reservations about the video quality, My Name is Bruce -- based on the strength of the film -- earns a hearty recommendation. Groovy.
2015
2013
Collector's Edition
2006
2015
2015
2013
2011
2007
2009
Hatchet IV
2017
Collector's Edition
1988
Remastered
1992
1986
Braindead | Unrated US Cut
1992
2006
1958
Standard Edition
1953
1958
1959
WolfCop II
2017