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Skulls: Collector's Edition, The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I really like director Rob Cohen's work. Films like "Daylight" and "Dragonheart" are examples of good, old-fashioned entertainment, in my opinion. And yet, there is a time in the career of every filmmaker where things don't go quite right - "The Skulls" is Cohen's error. Inspired by what apparently was or is a Yale secret society - I'm not sure - "The Skulls" stars "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson in a film where, calling it silly would be an understatement.
Luke MacNamara(Jackson) is the main character in the film, a poor kid who "grew up on the wrong side of the tracks" who works in the dining hall of the school. A secret society (those nutty Skulls) think Luke would be a good addition to the team, and one night he goes through their "initiation" ceremony, which involves being drugged and waking up to start "their new life". There's a girl he likes named Chloe("Popular"'s Leslie Bibb) and his friend who he hangs out with - together, they take this new event so seriously it seems like a "Scooby Doo" episode where they must solve the mystery.
The problem is that the film expects us to believe that a lot of things, from the subtly illegal up to murder can happen without anyone noticing, because the group is so powerful. The tone of the film works against this for much of the film, because it takes it all so seriously that we have more than enough time to ponder the film's flaws. Had it lightened up a bit with at least the occasional bit of humor, it might have worked a lot better. Pacing is a problem, as well. Action scenes don't grip the audience, and often the pace pauses for oddball moments such as a character who teaches her computer how to paint. This doesn't do anything to advance the plot - and there are a number of these points throughout the map of the film.
I almost don't want to go into the dialogue, which is sometimes simply irritating, but often goofy enough to get unintentional laughter. The Skulls get everything - money, power, flashy cars and even girls. Any moviegoer knows that what goes up - often comes back down, and we find that again here as Luke begins to ask too many questions when he finds his friend dead as it just might be those Skulls covering up.
The performances are not particularly good, although as I've seen better from the cast I'll mark the awkwardness here down to the fact that the dialogue by writer John Pogue is definitely not enjoyable, and characters here are paper-thin, at best. The only performer here who elevates their character above the material is Bibb, whose Chloe is the only character who seems at least somewhat natural and as a result, engaging. Technical credits don't really fare any better here - cinematography here is often dull and the musical score is as heavy and takes the whole thing as seriously (if not more so) as the rest of the picture.
Unfortunately, I can't say that the film gets any better as it goes along. It's all the more dissapointing because Cohen's work as a filmmaker has otherwise been very enjoyable.
The DVD
VIDEO: I was not always pleased with the look of "The Skulls". Some shots have warm colors that seem to be a bit much, and scenes occasionally seem soft to a point where they lack clarity. Otherwise, sharpness and detail are fine although not remarkable in any way.
Other problems add to the sometimes soft nature of the picture. Slight, brief instances of pixelation appear although these aren't very distracting. The print is clean and pleasantly free of any noticable flaws - no marks, no scratches and generally it remains crystal clear.
Again, colors remain warm - sometimes a little too warm - and generally are decent in appearance. Although not unwatchable, this remains a mediocre presentation at times.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is often as uninspired as the film itself. Quality is generally appealing, with a clean, crisp sound that never has any problems. The score is really the main element of the entire presentation, and although it's not the most effective score, it certainly does sound strong here.
The majority of the film's audio comes from the front. Surrounds do get some use now and then, but there are other opportunities during the movie where they could have been put to use and aren't. The only mildly entertaining audio scene is a car chase. Not much at all in the way of bass. Dialogue is generally clear and easily understood although in this case, that may not be a good thing.
MENUS:: As with many Universal DVDs, the main menu is nicely done with animation and background audio - the sub-menus are not animated, but have film-themed backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Cohen, and I believe it's now the 4th audio commentary that the director has contributed to one of his films. After watching the movie, I was almost eager to hear what he had to say about the film and the reaction of audiences. His commentary generally keeps towards a positive attitude towards those involved in the making of the film and the final product in general. I've always found his commentary tracks enjoyable in the way that he seems to enjoy the process of discussing the film, but there are times when his talks get a bit slow as he occasionally just talks about the on-screen events. Thankfully, that is less apparent here, and although I didn't enjoy the movie, I found being led through the details from the set by Cohen to be a fairly entertaining experience. Not one of the best commentaries I've listened to lately, but in this case, the commentary is more entertaining to listen to than the movie was to watch.
Spotlight On Location: Another edition in Universal's documentary series, this time, much like the effort included on the "U571" DVD, it's mainly a promotional documentary. Through interviews, we're offered details on the production and viewpoints on the stories that inspired the film. May be worth a look, and runs 14 minutes.
Deleted Scenes: About 12 minutes worth of deleted (and definitely unneeded) footage that was rightly taken out of the film. Can be viewed with commentary from director Rob Cohen.
Also: The film's theatrical trailer (Dolby 2.0), production notes, cast/crew bios and additional notes in the insert.
Final Thoughts: Those who are a fan of the two leads or a fan of unintentionally funny bad movies might want to take a rental of "The Skulls". Universal's DVD isn't bad, but remains pretty unimpressive.
I really like director Rob Cohen's work. Films like "Daylight" and "Dragonheart" are examples of good, old-fashioned entertainment, in my opinion. And yet, there is a time in the career of every filmmaker where things don't go quite right - "The Skulls" is Cohen's error. Inspired by what apparently was or is a Yale secret society - I'm not sure - "The Skulls" stars "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson in a film where, calling it silly would be an understatement.
Luke MacNamara(Jackson) is the main character in the film, a poor kid who "grew up on the wrong side of the tracks" who works in the dining hall of the school. A secret society (those nutty Skulls) think Luke would be a good addition to the team, and one night he goes through their "initiation" ceremony, which involves being drugged and waking up to start "their new life". There's a girl he likes named Chloe("Popular"'s Leslie Bibb) and his friend who he hangs out with - together, they take this new event so seriously it seems like a "Scooby Doo" episode where they must solve the mystery.
The problem is that the film expects us to believe that a lot of things, from the subtly illegal up to murder can happen without anyone noticing, because the group is so powerful. The tone of the film works against this for much of the film, because it takes it all so seriously that we have more than enough time to ponder the film's flaws. Had it lightened up a bit with at least the occasional bit of humor, it might have worked a lot better. Pacing is a problem, as well. Action scenes don't grip the audience, and often the pace pauses for oddball moments such as a character who teaches her computer how to paint. This doesn't do anything to advance the plot - and there are a number of these points throughout the map of the film.
I almost don't want to go into the dialogue, which is sometimes simply irritating, but often goofy enough to get unintentional laughter. The Skulls get everything - money, power, flashy cars and even girls. Any moviegoer knows that what goes up - often comes back down, and we find that again here as Luke begins to ask too many questions when he finds his friend dead as it just might be those Skulls covering up.
The performances are not particularly good, although as I've seen better from the cast I'll mark the awkwardness here down to the fact that the dialogue by writer John Pogue is definitely not enjoyable, and characters here are paper-thin, at best. The only performer here who elevates their character above the material is Bibb, whose Chloe is the only character who seems at least somewhat natural and as a result, engaging. Technical credits don't really fare any better here - cinematography here is often dull and the musical score is as heavy and takes the whole thing as seriously (if not more so) as the rest of the picture.
Unfortunately, I can't say that the film gets any better as it goes along. It's all the more dissapointing because Cohen's work as a filmmaker has otherwise been very enjoyable.
The DVD
VIDEO: I was not always pleased with the look of "The Skulls". Some shots have warm colors that seem to be a bit much, and scenes occasionally seem soft to a point where they lack clarity. Otherwise, sharpness and detail are fine although not remarkable in any way.
Other problems add to the sometimes soft nature of the picture. Slight, brief instances of pixelation appear although these aren't very distracting. The print is clean and pleasantly free of any noticable flaws - no marks, no scratches and generally it remains crystal clear.
Again, colors remain warm - sometimes a little too warm - and generally are decent in appearance. Although not unwatchable, this remains a mediocre presentation at times.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is often as uninspired as the film itself. Quality is generally appealing, with a clean, crisp sound that never has any problems. The score is really the main element of the entire presentation, and although it's not the most effective score, it certainly does sound strong here.
The majority of the film's audio comes from the front. Surrounds do get some use now and then, but there are other opportunities during the movie where they could have been put to use and aren't. The only mildly entertaining audio scene is a car chase. Not much at all in the way of bass. Dialogue is generally clear and easily understood although in this case, that may not be a good thing.
MENUS:: As with many Universal DVDs, the main menu is nicely done with animation and background audio - the sub-menus are not animated, but have film-themed backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Cohen, and I believe it's now the 4th audio commentary that the director has contributed to one of his films. After watching the movie, I was almost eager to hear what he had to say about the film and the reaction of audiences. His commentary generally keeps towards a positive attitude towards those involved in the making of the film and the final product in general. I've always found his commentary tracks enjoyable in the way that he seems to enjoy the process of discussing the film, but there are times when his talks get a bit slow as he occasionally just talks about the on-screen events. Thankfully, that is less apparent here, and although I didn't enjoy the movie, I found being led through the details from the set by Cohen to be a fairly entertaining experience. Not one of the best commentaries I've listened to lately, but in this case, the commentary is more entertaining to listen to than the movie was to watch.
Spotlight On Location: Another edition in Universal's documentary series, this time, much like the effort included on the "U571" DVD, it's mainly a promotional documentary. Through interviews, we're offered details on the production and viewpoints on the stories that inspired the film. May be worth a look, and runs 14 minutes.
Deleted Scenes: About 12 minutes worth of deleted (and definitely unneeded) footage that was rightly taken out of the film. Can be viewed with commentary from director Rob Cohen.
Also: The film's theatrical trailer (Dolby 2.0), production notes, cast/crew bios and additional notes in the insert.
Final Thoughts: Those who are a fan of the two leads or a fan of unintentionally funny bad movies might want to take a rental of "The Skulls". Universal's DVD isn't bad, but remains pretty unimpressive.
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