...this picture has enough going for it to be worth at least one viewing.
"Knockaround Guys" would be comparable to the Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn comedy "Made", only without the laughs and with a bit more of the gang movie brutality. The story is predictable but interesting, and the plot is basic yet enjoyable. Many clichés, like father-son tensions, brotherly friendship, and tests of loyalty are used, but it´s not aggravating like it could be. The movie doesn´t have any special messages, and it doesn´t pretend to make any insightful observations about anything--aside from the fact that becoming a mobster nowadays isn´t all that it´s cut out to be. In many ways, this movie is an anomaly because of how rare it is that stale material in cinema ends up being as entertaining as this film is.
Video:
Watching the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture on the "Knockaround Guys" DVD is a very pleasant experience. There are almost no grain issues, and specks are at a bare minimum. The colors tend to be a little cooler when compared to the images on other DVD´s I´ve seen, but that suits this movie just fine.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English soundtrack comes through robustly, and audio technology is very well used. Music and effects resonate clearly and strongly. One of the best qualities of this DVD is the sound production.
A DTS 5.1 English track and a DD 2.0 surround English track are also available along with optional English and Spanish subtitles and English closed captions.
Extras:
The "Knockaround Guys" DVD piles on a nice selection of extras. There are four alternate/deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer, trailers for four other New Line releases, and a very well-done directors´ audio commentary. Many commentaries that I hear on DVD´s end up being pointless or obnoxious to the point that I just want to switch the audio back to the primary soundtrack. Directors Koppelman and Levien insert relevant and unobtrusive commentary about the scenes as they develop on the screen rather than babbling on about their spiritual reasons for making the film while interesting things are taking place behind their voices. That fact alone scores big points with me.
There are some of the usual New Line DVD-ROM features, too, such as "Script-to-Screen" access and Internet links.
--Miscellaneous--
A glossy insert provides chapter listings.
Film Value:
Anyone who likes mob films or even "fish out of water" type films will definitely want to spend 94 minutes watching "Knockaround Guys". As a movie that shows the grim loss of glamour in modern organized crime, it delivers the goods while presenting an intriguing, if simplistic, storyline. A strong cast does volumes to make this happen as the performances are convincing, and the direction is quality, especially for a pair of first-timers. "Knockaround Guys" has much less of the machismo and brutality you´d come to expect from a Scorsese mob flick and certainly does not have near the amount of action you´d expect from a Bruckheimer blockbuster, so anyone looking for a lot of either might want to steer clear. For anyone else, though, this picture has enough going for it to be worth at least one viewing.
Video:
Watching the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture on the "Knockaround Guys" DVD is a very pleasant experience. There are almost no grain issues, and specks are at a bare minimum. The colors tend to be a little cooler when compared to the images on other DVD´s I´ve seen, but that suits this movie just fine.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English soundtrack comes through robustly, and audio technology is very well used. Music and effects resonate clearly and strongly. One of the best qualities of this DVD is the sound production.
A DTS 5.1 English track and a DD 2.0 surround English track are also available along with optional English and Spanish subtitles and English closed captions.
Extras:
The "Knockaround Guys" DVD piles on a nice selection of extras. There are four alternate/deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer, trailers for four other New Line releases, and a very well-done directors´ audio commentary. Many commentaries that I hear on DVD´s end up being pointless or obnoxious to the point that I just want to switch the audio back to the primary soundtrack. Directors Koppelman and Levien insert relevant and unobtrusive commentary about the scenes as they develop on the screen rather than babbling on about their spiritual reasons for making the film while interesting things are taking place behind their voices. That fact alone scores big points with me.
There are some of the usual New Line DVD-ROM features, too, such as "Script-to-Screen" access and Internet links.
--Miscellaneous--
A glossy insert provides chapter listings.
Film Value:
Anyone who likes mob films or even "fish out of water" type films will definitely want to spend 94 minutes watching "Knockaround Guys". As a movie that shows the grim loss of glamour in modern organized crime, it delivers the goods while presenting an intriguing, if simplistic, storyline. A strong cast does volumes to make this happen as the performances are convincing, and the direction is quality, especially for a pair of first-timers. "Knockaround Guys" has much less of the machismo and brutality you´d come to expect from a Scorsese mob flick and certainly does not have near the amount of action you´d expect from a Bruckheimer blockbuster, so anyone looking for a lot of either might want to steer clear. For anyone else, though, this picture has enough going for it to be worth at least one viewing.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]10798[/release]