Hot Fuzz [Blu-ray]

Hot Fuzz (directed by Edgar Wright, and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward and Paul Freeman) is one of the funniest comedies I've seen in the past decade. It's also one damn cool action flick, too! The action scenes are not only completely amazing to watch. They also pay perfectly loving homage to just about every buddy-cop film made within the past 30 years.The movie itself (rating 5/5):I'll keep the plot synopsis as short as possible:Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Pegg) of London's Metropolitan Police force is one top cop. He graduated from the academy at the absolute top of his class. And, for the past few years, his arrest record has been putting everyone else to shame. So much so, that his superiors decide to transfer him to the sleepy little village of Sandford, to save the rest of the police force from further embarrassment by comparison!In Sandford, Angel's new boss, Inspector Frank Butterman (Broadbent), is a good-natured and likeable old fellow. Butterman's son, Police Constable Danny Butterman (Frost), is a bit of a screw-up. But, he's a loveable screw-up, and he always means well.Almost immediately after Sergeant Angel arrives in town, certain high-profile citizens start meeting untimely, and sometimes-gruesome, ends. Angel suspects that none of them were accidents, and that all of them are connected. Unfortunately for him, almost no one in town wants to believe that a serial killer may be in their midst! It's up to Sergeant Angel and Constable Butterman to figure out what the hell is going on, and put an end to all the mayhem.When the movie is trying to be funny, it's VERY funny! And, when it's trying to be action-packed and no-holds-barred violent, it's very much those things, too! And the best part is: sometimes the movie is all three things at once! Edgar Wright's directing is spot-on! Even though this is only his second major feature film (Shaun of the Dead was his first), if you didn't know any better, you'd think he's been directing comedies and action films for years and years. His directing skill is THAT good! And the acting performances by both Pegg and Frost are also excellent. Funny when they need to be, and surprisingly convincing and effective in all the action scenes, these two obviously have a great time together and a great love for all the action films that this one is lampooning. And, man, Timothy Dalton sure had lots of fun in his role as the snooty owner of the local supermarket! In fact, he has some of the funniest lines in the film.The video quality (3.5/5):Basically, it's good but not great. And the weird thing is it varies from scene to scene. Some parts of the film look spectacular, with nary a blemish to be seen. Other scenes, like the opening shot for example, have noticeable edge-enhancement. I also spotted some compression artifacts here and there. Overall the video quality, while not horrible, is such a crap-shoot that it can get frustrating if you're a videophile like me. I suspect, though, that the erratic video quality is a direct result of all the audio options available. Something obviously had to be sacrificed in order to have enough space on the disc. And, speaking of the audio...The audio quality (5/5):The film's main audio comes in three language options: English Dolby Digital 5.1-EX, French Dolby Digital 5.1-EX and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1-EX. There are also optional subtitles in those same three languages. Damn, this film's audio kicks all flavors and colors of a**! The dialogue comes through the center channel crystal-clear at all times, even during the film's more action-intense moments. And those action-intense moments will make your fronts, surrounds and subwoofer beg for mercy! They may also make all your neighbors pound on your front door, demanding that you turn it down. And it's not just the action scenes that make full use of all your speakers. Even the quieter moments have great aural ambiance to them. Also, the music comes at you from all channels, too. All-in-all, this is one of the best surround experiences I've ever heard on standard-def DVD.The bonus materials (5/5):Five. Count them: FIVE audio commentaries are included along with the main movie on the first disc of this three-disc package! And the best thing is, they're all worth listening to at least once. Here's how the audio commentaries break down:Commentary 1: The filmmakers (actor/co-writer Simon Pegg and director/co-writer Edgar Wright)Commentary 2: The Sandford Police (actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kevin Eldon and Olivia Colman)Commentary 3: The Village people (actors Kenneth Cranham, Timothy Dalton, Paul Freeman and Edward Woodward)Commentary 4: The REAL Police (police officers Andy Leafe and Nick Eckland)Commentary 5: The celebrity commentary (director/co-writer Edgar Wright and his new best friend and fellow director Quentin Tarantino!)In addition to the commentaries on the first disc, there's also the Fuzz-O-Meter optional trivia subtitle track, which I found to be both entertaining and informative.The other extras included in this set include an extended version of The Fuzz-Ball Rally documentary (it's quite a few minutes longer than the version found on the single-disc release of Hot Fuzz) which includes it's own optional audio commentary, "Dead Right" which was one of director Edgar Wright's earliest filmmaking efforts (he shot it on VHS when he was a teenager) and his very first cop film (it features TWO audio commentaries: one with Edgar Wright, and the other with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost making comments and jokes about the film AND about Wright's commentary!), 22 deleted scenes, lots of video blogs, eight other featurettes focusing on various different aspects of the making of the film, outtakes, a special effects before-and-after comparison, "Hot Funk" which hilariously demonstrates how some of the more profanity-laden scenes have been cleaned up for the eventual network television broadcasts of Hot Fuzz, plot-holes and comparisons, storyboards and a few other cool little goodies.Overall rating (4.5/5 for the entire three disc set):Hot Fuzz is a very satisfying film to watch. The comedy is very funny, and the action scenes are some of the best ever put to celluloid! If you're a fan of Hot Fuzz, you should already own this three-disc set. And, if you're a fan of the film, but you don't own this set...what the hell is wrong with you??? Even if you've never seen Hot Fuzz, but you love comedies or you love being blown out of your seat by intense, white-knuckled action scenes, you should still own this set. You'll be in for a real treat! The film alone is worth the purchase price, but the excellent bonus materials definitely sweeten the deal!To sum things up: this Three-Disc Collector's Edition of Hot Fuzz is worth owning, in spite of the sometimes-questionable video quality, and comes highly recommended!

The greater good!

Gets better with every watch

I like a variety of film types, but I generally prefer realistic ones. Hot Fuzz is not even remotely realistic, and if I were some kind of anal, emotionless reviewer (I've read things from many of those), I would slaughter the film for its inconsistencies.But, I'm not. I'm a normal human who likes to laugh, and this movie makes me do just that...over and over and over. I have watched Hot Fuzz probably 10 times and I am STILL catching new little details that I missed before. If I could use one word to sum up what makes Hot Fuzz so good, it would be the fact that it is "CLEVER." Yes, the acting is pretty good, the filming is excellent, and the story is...if not probable, entertaining...but the film's coherence, irony, and subtle puns are where it really delivers.A couple of things are needed to really enjoy this movie (provided you enjoy funny movies even when their premise is silly). The first is a good knowledge of British slang, and the second is subtitles, at least the first time around. Due to my choice to not use subtitles, I am still, as I said, catching tidbits here and there of dialogue, not to mention visuals. Once you can understand and comprehend what's being said, though, you'll love this film.Since I hope we can all agree the movie isn't meant to be realistic, I'll just laughingly mention the few glaring flaws in common sense (which I believe were intentional). The final gun battle was hilarious. Nobody could aim well enough to hit the broad side of a barn, and the sheer scale of the battle was mere audacity. The ease with which Angel turned the other cops from being rude and dismissive (especially the detectives) to joining his side enthusiastically, in the face of their screaming Inspector, was quite ludicrous. And, of course, the entire premise of "killing people for the slightest possible construed offense" (such as Tiller, for planning to leave town and "share her horticultural expertise with other villages") was nonsensical. Yes, the film's ENTIRE PREMISE was a joke.Did that make me scoff and roll my eyes? Not at all. I did wish there was a little more development of Angel turning the cops to join his cause, but otherwise, epic gun fight and silly central theme included, I thought the film was spectacular. Again, the clever dialogue and the intricate cohesiveness are what really give this a 5-star rating in my book. It's hard to verbally describe what I mean, but the way events and comments are timed, and the subtle background details that accompany them, work together like a puzzle or a fine clock. Quotes from early in the film are repeated later in a completely different context. One of my favorite details is the dual reference to "Aaron A. Aaronson"; watch the film and you'll see what I mean.Irony also finds a strong use in the film, be it the subtle irony in each person's name (Angel is a near-flawless do-gooder, Butterman Jr. is obese, Tiller is a gardener, Hatcher delivers babies, etc.); the irony that each "action cop" stunt that Danny wishes to perform, he gets to later on; or the irony that Skinner is finally stopped by the only TRUE "accident" in the film (tripping over the toy truck). The screenwriters here were masters of clever tricks and I loved it.What's more, the filming is delightful. I really like the style employed here, as in Shaun of the Dead, with fast montages of various simple actions leading from one regular-paced scene to the next (such as in Angel's journey, via trains and taxi, from London to Sandford, or his initial entry to his hotel room). Other film tricks that I enjoyed were fast compilations of various camera angles, such as when Doctor Hatcher pumps his shotgun during the gunfight, in which I counted 6 or 7 layered camera angles that actually made the action somewhat "slow-mo" as it contained a repeat of the same scene, all within the span of 2 seconds or so.In summary, Hot Fuzz is a brilliant movie that reflects hours of careful planning, stunning acting and delivery, innovative and snappy filming, and of course a ludicrous, overly crazy plot that only adds to the fun rather than making the movie suck. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good laugh, is not offended by profanity, and can handle considerable gore.

Movie was funny.

Like super troopers but NOT.

I don’t even remember buying this movie, but this movie is awesome so I’ll review it anyway

Well you know, it's British humor. God save the Queen, drink lots of tea, don't own a sharp knife, commit suicide if you own a firearm because only a sick twisted monster would ever own one of those, etc. You know, that typical type of degenerate British mentality. But hey, they can still make some good laughs!Simon Pegg plays a lead role in this film and he's a great actor. I've hardly seen a film that he's been in that I didn't like.An important thing to mention about this movie is that despite coming from the UK, all of the actors spoke in proper English tongue (with only scant few exceptions, explicitly for the purpose of comic relief). You'd probably expect to have to avoid this film due to Brits confusing the letter 'h' for a vowel ("I'm an historian!") or inexplicably appending the letter 'r' to the ends of random words, but I can say with a rather large sigh of relief that I didn't hear any of that in this film. All brits refrained from their ebonics and stayed classy, and it was quite refreshing.

Exactly what you'd expect. It's the same sort of tone to all the other Pegg and Frost films, the world's end, sean of the dead etc etc. If this is your first Pegg and Frost film then...how? :OSo I'm going to assume you've seen at least one Pegg and Frost film, if by some miracle you haven't go watch sean of the dead then come back to me. But anyway, yeah, although the tone might be the same the quality isn't...it's better.I'm not a massive fan of this series of films, in my opinion this and sean of the dead are by far the best in this series of films. And I think that's all I really need to say. I'm not sure if I prefer this or sean of the dead, but at the absolute bare minimum it rivals sean of the dead in quality.It's hilarious, Frost plays basicly the same character from sean of the dead, fat, stupid and hilarious, whereas Pegg is thoroughly professional, married to his job but his character is just as amazing. The soundtrack, just like sean of the dead's is just amazing and feels perfect for this film.Do I really need to continue? It's sean of the dead...but about the police instead, and it's amazing. Though like I said, for me sadly the later films, the worlds end, the one where they meet an alien just pale in comparison.

With Shaun of the Dead it is the best film from the couple (forget World's end, funny but quite weak).Another brilliant revisitation of the genre, that passes through parody intended as a way to refresh the genre and not just to make fun of it (or at least to make fun of it in a very serious and committed way, british way I'd say), with of course lots of laughs but also a careful attention to details and to style and language. What's great about these films is in fact that they are so well done, with some innovative editing and a breathtaking rhythm that come from a brilliant script, editing, performances and direction.It is not just a matter of fast cut and adrenaline scenes, but of perfect comical timing and a tasteful unfolding of the story and revelation of characters' personalities, always swinging between caricatures and real people, with their tics, goofy behavior, secrets and funny attitude.Hot fuzz is released on an excellent blu ray which truly expose its video quality (that is strange to say about a comedy).

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have done very well for themselves with a series of films taking a modern, humorous look at the films that they (and I) grew up with. Shaun of the Dead was a great pastiche of the schlock horror genre, and Hot Fuzz was a perfect take on action films.Utilising every cliché in the book, we are treated to the tale of one man's mission to bring law and order to a sleepy rural village. Taking off everything from the Bill to Die Hard, and passing through every station in between, it's a rollercoaster of a ride packed with thrills and mystery. And jokes. Lots of jokes. It's hilarious.Added into the mix is a fine roster of British actors. Jim Broadbent is absolutely superb as the commander of the local police force. Sterling work comes from Timothy Dalton in a great riff on his Bond characterisation (crossed with an Agatha Christie villain!) and the late Edward Woodward, who plays an elderly version of the Equaliser with his usual charm. Paddy Considine, Bill Bailey, Steve Coogan, Bill Nighy, Paul Freeman and, basically, anyone who is anyone in British TV and film get a llok in. Central to all of this is the pairing of Pegg and Frost, who's easy going friendship holds the whole film together and stops it being too much of a rambling mess.I absolutely loved this film. It's a funny, affectionate look at films I love, played out with great charm by a cast who are obviously enjoying themselves enormously. 5 stars.

A big "Yarrp" to the very English action movie Hot Fuzz. No, it's not as good as Shaun of the Dead, but it's not really a disappointment either even if the laugh count is a lot lower. Much of the film really isn't that funny, yet it gets by for much of its running time on sheer enthusiastic likeability. At times Edgar Wright's direction tries a little too hard and few of the many cameos have much to do (though a heavily disguised Cate Banchett makes a real virtue of her anonymity and Peter Jackson does turn up as a psycho Santa), but it's one of the very few films where the fun that the filmmakers seem to be having actually seems to translate to the finished product. As with Shaun, it's an inspired bit of gene-splicing, in this case a wonderful yet surprisingly logical cross between Agatha Christie and Jerry Bruckheimer, with a series of very English crimes - motivated by nothing so sordid as monetary gain or as logical as a criminal conspiracy but rather by something infinitely more respectable - culminating in 20 minutes of virtuoso mayhem that sees Simon Pegg and Nick Frost shooting up the kind of quaint and picturesque village more used to the genteel Sunday teatime likes of The Vicar of Dibley and All Creatures Great and Small. Even the casting of the local Neighbourhood Watch is truly inspired, consisting of (among others), James Bond (Timothy Dalton, whose `supermarket slasher' gets my vote for Best Supporting Actor this year), Callan (Edward Woodward), Bellocq from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Paul Freeman), the nanny from The Omen (Billie Whitelaw) and the villain from Lethal Weapon 3 (Stuart Wilson). And there's been some real thought put into the disposal of the bad guys, which mirror the various murders in gruesomely exaggerated fashion via bear traps, model villages and sea mines. Very pleasing indeed - even the extras on the DVD are unusually entertaining. Yarrp.

Hot Fuzz [Blu-ray] [Region Free ]London-based PC Nicholas Angel is unaware of his colleagues' resentment towards him as his efficiency on the job makes them 'look bad'. Therefore, he is exiled to Stanford, Gloucestershire, in the guise of a promotion as Sergeant. Nicholas is amazed by the local police's laziness and people being killed in so-called 'accidents'. Nicholas' sole ally is well-meaning but bumbling PC Danny Butterman. Cinephile Danny is in awe with Nicholas, whom he compares with American movies' super-cops, whereas too-strict Nicholas progressively warms to Danny gentle nature.However, Nicholas discovers a horrid truth: the village's notables murder troublemakers to keep a 'Perfect Village' image. Danny begs Nicholas to leave Stanford but the Avenging Angel will be back, armed to the teeth, to give retribution to wrongdoers!This wonderful comedy has it all: fantastic actors (cuckoos for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Timothy Dalton), hilarious references to movies such as Point Break and Bad Boys II, crazy gunfights and a plot filled with twists and turns. Don't miss it! Hot Fuzz [Blu-ray] [Region Free