Dinosaur 13 (Blu-ray Review)
An incredible true story 66 million years in the making, Dinosaur 13 “is a tale of plucky, underdog success, ‘the stuff that dreams are made of,’” (McClatchy-Tribune News Service) and arrives on Blu-ray this week from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The documentary is also available on Digital HD and On Demand. The Dinosaur 13 Blu-ray features a new director’s cut of the film along with bonus material that includes deleted scenes plus numerous featurettes that provide more insight into the restoration and research completed on SUE along with a prior Larson excavation. The “awe-inspiring” (Variety) documentary will leave you feeling pretty bad or this group of paleontologists and pretty peeved at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Continue reading ‘Dinosaur 13 (Blu-ray Review)’
When Scream Factory announced they were releasing Supernova many moons ago, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the distributor’s most celebrated announcement of all time. The film came out back in 2000, wasn’t liked at all and bombed at the box office pretty hard. Director Walter Hill allowed it to have some sort of historical significance by removing his name for the picture and making it the first film to use the Thomas Lee moniker as Alan Smithee had been laid to rest. Taking a quick look at Rotten Tomatoes, its one where the audiences and critics both healthily agree actually, sporting 10% critic and 16% audience appraisal. The one thing that I think made sense for Scream Factory on this release wasn’t the film itself, was likely bringing back some of its players to tell the story of what exactly happened with this release. Now, that is something that did peak my interest when they announced their extras. No Walter Hill, no Angela Bassett, nor Francis Ford Coppola – but Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Forster, Jack Sholder and Daniel Chuba are enough to suffice. 
Writer Leigh Janiak makes her directorial debut with Honeymoon. Per the film’s interviews, she found herself inspired and felt she could be able to do big moments on even the lowest of budgets having just viewed the film Monsters. She even got to hand pick one of her cast members, Rose Leslie, because she was such a big fan of hers on Game Of Thrones. The film shot in 2013 and debuted last year at the South By Southwest film festival. The film received plenty of positive acclaim and got a small release in theaters last September. It was a film I marked that I wanted to see once I heard about it, but honestly it escaped my mind until this Blu-ray was announced. Sometimes it just sort of works that way, I suppose, but I got to see it and here’s my review. 
Girls, Girls Girls. You hear a lot about this show, whether it be good, bad or “controversial”. Having watched the show…I really don’t understand how this show is controversial at all. Just because Lena Dunham doesn’t have a supermodel figure and gets naked? Lame. There are some moments push limits, but its HBO. I think Game Of Thrones is more edgy with its sex and stuff, personally. I haven’t been with the show from the beginning. I watched an episode during its first season and was completely turned off. But then last January I sucked it up and got completely caught up. Once you get on the show’s wavelength and totally understand what it is and how to watch it (Its not for everyone I get that), its quite an enjoyable time. Part of the fun is facepalming yourself at these 20 something girls and guys making dumb decisions and choices like people during that time in their lives do. Hannah Horvath may be one of the most toxic and frustrating characters on TV, but getting pissed at her is part of the fun of watching this little dramedy show. 
On Golden Pond was a sort of swan song for legendary screen actors Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn back in 1981. The film was critically heralded and come awards season, handsomely rewarded. The film received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It wound up taking three home, but two of them being the important “farewell” awards for Fonda and Hepburn in their respective roles. The film was also well represented at rival awards ceremonies The Golden Globes and BAFTAs as well. On Golden Pond was a film that was a pretty big deal back when it arrived and for some time after, but I think has sort of been lost in the conversation over the years and I’m not sure if today’s youth or up and coming film buffs would even know what you’re talking about if it was brought up. Maybe its just one of those “in the moment” or “of its time movies” that are hot in awards season and are quickly forgotten as the years move on and because they didn’t win the big one, we become foggier on them. I had always heard of it and knew what it dealt with, but until now for this review, I’d never had the pleasure of viewing it. 
One of my absolute favorite horror films of all time is the original Candyman. Its quite possibly my favorite thing that Clive Barker has ever been associated with when it comes to film. That film still works today, and is an absolutely engaging and terrifying endeavor. When I was a kid I had trouble looking in mirrors for a while after seeing that movie. The film also created one of the last great and iconic horror villains before the Scream era, in Tony Todd’s Candyman. I still find it this way, but back in the 90s when the sequel was announced, I had found the original film so perfect, that I was against this follow up as that I thought it would taint the legacy of the original. So, I didn’t see it til later on VHS when it came out for rental. My only memory of it was that it was nowhere near as good as the first one, but I found further respect for it once they dropped that third one years later. Scream Factory has given me the opportunity to revisit this follow-up to the my perfect original, and I couldn’t think of a better guide. 
In 1984, the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw the start of what would be a year long strike from the National Union of Mineworkers after the government closed down twenty coal mines. With the picketing came a surprising amount of violence related to the topic as well. Hell, I mean there’s even a part of this story called the “Battle Of Orgreave” which was between picketers and the police. The view on the miners was sort of indifferent publicly at the time, but support of them came from an unlikely source that viewed their troubles as similar to their own. Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners became one of their biggest backers, which shocked a town, but also managed to enlighten them through the trials and tribulations of it all. The film we’re here to discuss today is about this very piece of history and bond between two very different peoples to link for common causes. 
Boyhood is a film that I was very interested in seeing this year, but for some reason or another I just did not get around to seeing theatrically. I kind of feared it as more of a documentary rather than a moving story. However, it’s hailed as “a moving 12-year epic that isn’t quite like anything else in the history of cinema” (Andrew O’Hehir, Salon), “a breathtaking achievement” (Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post) and “a profound viewing experience” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times). So the real question in my opinion is not why I, but why would anyone not want to see this one? For a movie that’s filmed over a period of 12 years utilizing the same actors, and that breaks free from the conventional three Act of storytelling, write in permanent ink that I’m interested. And so here we are… 
You know that expression that says “you had me at hello”? Well the same train of thought can be applied here with this title, The Guest, because it is billed as “from the creators of You’re Next.” They really did have me at hello there – hook, line and sinker. Even though I have never seen The Guest as of yet before this Blu-ray viewing, that one line “from the creators of You’re Next” was all it took to make me want to see it almost like a tantalizing dish of your favorite food placed in front of you. It was a craving I could not deny and I just had to give myself to it. Call it brilliant marketing, call it what you want. It worked on me! So before we move on here I just want to take a quick moment for a word from our sponsor and say that The Guest Blu-ray Combo Pack will be released on January 6th from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Now we can begin! 
Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon stars alongside Corey Stoll and the Lost Boys, a group of real-life Sudanese refugees. Together, against the backdrop of their shared losses, the Lost Boys and these unlikely strangers find humor in the clash of cultures, and heartbreak as well as hope in the challenges of life in America. 
We’ve come to the end of an impressive run of Blu-rays from CBS and Paramount with the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 7. A three year mission, that is. Now, the complete Original Series, Next Generation Series and Enterprise Series are all available on Blu-ray with glorious and stunning high definition picture quality. Seriously, one look at the remastering on these and you’ll be pretty stunned, especially with what they’ve done to The Original Series (We’re talking almost modern quality here). The big question now is whether or not they will go forth and start bringing the “ahead of its time” Deep Space Nine faction to Blu-ray. That is something that is in the air. Apparently CBS and Paramount are really eager and wanting to pull the trigger on it, but its a risk as the show has a big following, but not as much as the first two series. From what I’ve read, the way you can let them know you want it is by speaking with your wallet and purchasing the Blu-rays that are already out there (Petitions do you no good as those are pretty much “false promises” by many who sign). As I close out this fine series, I cross my fingers hoping Deep Space Nine is coming soon, and with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek right around the corner, it’d be the perfect treat. 
From what I can tell, Horns is going to be like Jennifer’s Body. It carries that same tone and vibe, but what I’m really getting at is the fact that you’re really going to love it or you’re going to absolutely hate it. I really can’t see anyone stuck in the dead middle here. However, that’s just my initial thoughts after having just watched Horns for the first time. I know and have read many accounts of people praising Horns for daring to be something different and bold. Regardless, I am a huge fan of what Alexandre Aja has brought us in the past so I decided to tackle Horns on Blu-ray this holiday season, if for nothing else than just utter curiosity. 
Truth be told I wanted nothing to do with The Equalizer when it came out theatrically. I even went as far as to not make any plans to attend the press screening of it when it dropped in my area. What kind of reviewer does that? I can tell you. It’s a bad one. I guess it all harkens back to the fact that whenever I heard this film being tossed around while in production my mind instantly drifted to an elder white man (Edward Woodard) from the television series back in the mid 80’s, not the bada$$ that Academy Award winner Denzel Washington really could be circa his Oscar-winning Training Day era. If it wasn’t for a bad day this past November, which resulted in a trip to the cinema to see The Equalizer, I may not have reviewed this Blu-ray, but instead passed it along to another reviewer to cover because of my stupid arrogance and ignorance. It’s funny how fate works in mysterious ways. 
Tusk is one of those rare gems where if you never heard of it before and accidentally stumble upon the film’s trailer you secretly say to yourself I just got to see it, if for nothing else, the shock value. However, I know what you’re all thinking. Is it worth 90-minutes of your life? To some people that’s quite an investment in time. The parents of the world will understand what I’m rambling on about and questioning here, but fret not! The answer to my question is exactly what we are all gathered here to talk about today. Seeing Tusk on Blu-ray was the first time I viewed the film so down below you’re going to learn everything you’v ever waned to know about the movie and its production history, plus my valuable insights on the topic too. 
