Hated (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Featurette-Making Of-(4.42) Trailer-Multiple
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	90:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Lee Madsen
Studio Distributor	Accent Film Entertainment	Starring	Genevieve Padalecki Ellen Woglom Matthew Hutchinson Augustus Prew Chris Riggi Ryan Donowho
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	?	Music	John T. Degraye

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

Hated by many, loved by a few when you live by your rules

Ari Up

    Fans of old school punk will get a buzz or two out of Hated, a 2010 film about the music industry directed by Lee Madsen. Not only does the craziest woman in punk Ari Up make an appearance, the last before her untimely death in 2010, but American punkster John Doe of the band X plays a sizeable role. There are a few pleasures to be had beside these moments of nostalgia however the film is no great shakes.

     The story is as old as time itself. Veronica (Genevieve Cortese now Padelecki) is the publicist for a small-time New York punk band The Enemies of Jaromir. She hangs with the band and gets them interviews with underground indie press, and makes sure they don't stuff up too much. There is the constantly spaced out bass player, the dedicated and serious guitarist and front man, the sensitive drummer and the jealous guitarist.

     Once they start getting noticed the feeding frenzy begins. In steps manager Sam, played by John Doe, with plans to make the band big. With his heavily coiffed, definitely non-punk woman Belinda in tow they plan to get the band signed up to the big time.

     If there's one thing that rock 'n' roll movies have taught us it's that once the pony-tailed brigade move in those who saw the band from nothingness to on the cusp are quickly forgotten. Unfortunately, the script for Hated spends too much time jumping from snub to snub that it becomes repetitive. The audience can see a mile off that Veronica will become superfluous to their needs and the band, who spend most of their time offstage drunkenly and druggedly carousing, don't seem to care that much.

     Still, enjoyment is to be had from the performance of Cortese as the well-meaning publicist who sticks with the band and puts up with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from the new management with the best of grace she can muster. She also has to negotiate the semi-romantic feelings that band members have for her, not wanting to overstep the boundaries of their professional association.

     As said, there is also the interest in seeing Ari Up although, to be fair she just turns up and hangs out with the band without having any lines. John Doe is suitably oily as manager Sam (I imagine he had a lot of experience with industry types to sculpt his performance) and the band guys all play their character types pretty well.

    Come to the film without expectations and it provides a pleasant diversion.

Video

     Hated comes to DVD in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is consistent with the original cinematic aspect ratio. It is 16 x 9 enhanced.

     Despite what seem to be low-budget origins, the film looks good throughout. This is due in no small part to two factors. Firstly, the use of the RED camera can pretty much make anything look good and the second is the use of Werner Hertzog's cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger. There are a variety of styles on offer and the DOP is not afraid to mix things up, working with different textures particularly in the nightclub scenes where the film emulates the spaced out characters.

     The level of detail is good throughout. The colours are strong and clear. There are no obvious defects in the transfer.

    There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
Colour
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Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The sole soundtrack for Hated is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track running at 448 Kb/s.

     There isn't a great deal of surround sound work going on in this film however the chief benefit of both the surround sound and the sub-woofer is to raise the excitement level in some of the live music scenes. It all sounds pretty good throughout.

     The dialogue is clear and generally easy to understand. The exceptions are in some of the nightclub scenes where the background noise drowns out some of the conversation.

     Music comes from a variety of sources though predominantly from indie punk bands though Ari Up provides the title tune.

    There are no technical problems with the sound.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There is one extra with this DVD. The DVD also features what appears to be the entire catalogue of trailers for Accent Films.

The Making of Hated

     In this short Making of featurette key cast and crew members get a few soundbites in which to talk about their characters and the production. A director’s commentary track would have been nice!

     This is a Region 0 (All Region) DVD.

     Hated follows a traditional plot line - a true believer gets pushed aside for the glitz and glamour of success. It is not a bad film but doesn't have an awful lot to recommend it.

    The sound and vision are very good although the extra is extremely slight.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall