My Name is Bruce Blu-ray features poor video and decent audio in this still overall recommended Blu-ray release
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!
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.
Next time you unleash an ancient demon, call that Buffy chick!
While B-movie icon Bruce Campbell (Bruce Campbell, My Name is Bruce) is filming his
latest
goldmine, er, B-movie, entitled Cavealien 2, a quartet of trouble-making teenagers
accidentally let
loose the ancient Chinese demon Guan Di on their backwoods town of GoldLick, Oregon.
Fortunately for GoldLick, the only teen to survive the experience is Bruce Campbell's biggest fan,
Jeff (Taylor Sharpe). He travels to Campbell's place of residence, a luxurious broken down trailer
(where else would the world's number one B-movie star live?), and kidnaps the superstar and
returns him to GoldLick where he is met as a folk hero. Bruce believes this to be the set-up for
his next movie. He plays along with the townsfolk, prepares to confront Guan Di, and even falls
for Jeff's mother, Kelly (Grace Thorsen). However, when Bruce discovers that Guan Di and the
danger the town finds itself in is real, he does exactly what one would expect of Bruce Campbell --
he tucks tail and runs! Now, having learned that young Jeff has become inspired to face the evil
alone, Bruce must choose to dig deep and get back in the fight, or begin preparing
for his close-ups in Cavealien 3 & 4.
I've heard some lame pictures in my day, but that takes the cake!
My Name is Bruce screams "B-movie" through and through, and does so passionately
and with tongue planted -- no, cemented -- firmly in-cheek. Not only is it an excellent send-up
on Bruce Campbell and his films, but it weaves an appropriately cheesy story cohesively together
that makes sense in context but leaves plenty of room for visual gags, jokes, gore, genre
references, memorable scenes, and even a sprinkling of romance to lend some credibility to the
story. My Name is Bruce could have been another disastrous movie
that completely forgets that, even when making parodies and B-movies, there has to be some
sort of story to hold it all together. Sure, the story is completely out of left field, but so what? It
gets the job done, allows for Campbell to be Campbell, and ensures that the film offers up more
laughs than most any other comedy around. Genre and Campbell fans will find more to like here
than the average viewer with limited Bruce Campbell and B-movie exposure, but enough of it
works so as to entertain just about any potential audience member. No doubt about it, though,
the film is
tailor-made for people just like the character of Jeff, someone who can quote Campbell all day
long, owns a copy of all his movies, and maybe even collects some Campbell-related memorabilia.
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.
In a time when a musicians' popularity rises and falls more often than the tides, it is somewhat difficult to imagine that a single person could be regarded as "the best", and that people could hold that sentiment over 200 years after his death. I of course speak ...
Image Entertainment has revealed the special features for the upcoming Blu-ray release of the Bruce Campbell film 'My Name is Bruce', which is due to hit store shelves on February 10th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Video will be presented in 1.78:1 1080p ...
Image Entertainment has announced that they with bring 'My Name is Bruce' to Blu-ray on February 10th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The film is directed by and stars cult horror god Bruce Campbell, who plays a person mistakenly identified as his Evil Dead ...
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