Armored Attack / The North Star (Blu-ray Review)
Today we have an interesting circumstance. Something that doesn’t really happen frequently anymore. A film that was cut because of its message and redistributed to try and look like it had a different one. Olive Films is releasing Lewis Milestone’s The North Star, but under its other title Armored Attack. Don’t worry, both films come with this release and have been given fresh high definition transfers. Armored Attack is the 1957 reissue of The North Star that featured a less positive focus on the Russian uprising as they were now American enemies of the time. Its finale features a narration about Hungarians fighting the Red Army during the Hungarian uprising of 1956 instead of what it really is…Soviets rising up against Nazi soldiers. Continue reading ‘Armored Attack / The North Star (Blu-ray Review)’
Going into 2014, Transcendence was on my “movies to check out” list. I didn’t really know all too much about it. Mainly, it was the prospect of seeing longtime Christopher Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister make his directorial debut. It was the notion of seeing someone from the Nolan tree branch out was attractive enough to me. The man shot Memento, Inception and the modern Batman trilogy under one of the best working modern directors. Unfortunately, as it got closer to release it looked a bit less interesting. Then the reviews started piling in and it wasn’t pretty. So, I decided to pass until it came to Blu-ray. And now, its here.
“Welcome to Mayberry” is a phrase my good friend Clint’s stepfather tells me every time I come to visit in Seymour, Indiana. Mayberry has become synonymous with that comfy, cozy, charming lifestyle. And it all derived from The Andy Griffith Show. Its a show that was an iconic piece of American television and still plays through reruns to this day. You know you can whistle the theme song (which in itself is a whistle) like its second nature. I don’t know how familiar the youth of today is with the show, but for my generation and prior at least, its something that comes with your upbringing just like learning to ride a bike or something. 
Took long enough, eh? Well, you’re finally getting your wish, THE WONDER YEARS is REALLY REALLY happening. Shame its only on DVD though, but really, who can argue. Its a television show from the 80s, so I think DVD will be fine enough to capture the quality. And remember with getting this set right, it was the music in the content that was the most important factor. Video and Audio quality come in 2nd. Well, its finally being done and being done right. Today is the day the pre-ordering begins. I’ll quite yapping so you can scroll down and read the details. This is very exciting as I know tons of people who wanted this complete series out since they started putting TV out on DVD. You can now rest easily at the expense of $249.95, that THE WONDER YEARS is on DVD! 
I approached Open Grave completely blind, not knowing really what to expect aside from Sharlto Copley being in the movie. I didn’t really read the plot synopsis or look at the cast list or who directed it. I knew it was a horror movie based on the title and the box art, but that was about where my knowledge of the film ended. In essence, I think this sort of helped kind of get in with its set of characters as they were all trying to figure out who they were and why they were there. I knew just as much about them as they did. With this in play I think I was roped in a bit more for this film than had I read what likely described the entire first act on the synopsis. But where would it all lead, and would I stay just as invested for the entire run time. Well, that’s not something I’m gonna play my hand on in the first paragraph of the review, so keep on reading to see. 
As it goes to start off, I was sort of in the dark regarding Blue Ruin back in 2013. It wasn’t until I started seeing actor AJ Bowen Tweeting such high praises for the film and its lead performer Macon Blair, that I became aware and intrigued. Upon looking the film up, I noticed it was the long awaited next film from the guy who did Murder Party. Murder Party was a little cult classic dark comedy that completely surprised me many moons ago. Blue Ruin was looking on the up and up for me. Finally it got a release on VOD where I was able to see it and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. As you can see from our ‘Top 3 of 2014 So Far’ lists we had compiled last week, I kinda liked it. Enough of that, lets get into the how and why I loved this movie so much. 
So going into this Blu-ray review of Under The Skin I knew the following four pieces of intelligence: Scarlett Johansson is an alien, she gets naked in this, the film’s a little out there with its wild imagery and my peers here at Why So Blu absolutely love it. Armed with that knowledge how bad can this really be? I was dying to find out because unfortunately in Austin, TX it only screened in two of the dumpiest theaters that reside in the area. I was not going to fork over my hard earned money to have my feet stick to the floor, not be able to see in case some Andre the Giant sat in front of me because of no stadium seating and watch it on a screen that’s barely any bigger than my HDTV at home and that has probably been around in age longer than I have. Are you picking up what I’m dropping here? I want my money’s worth. And that’s why I salaciously waited for this flick on Blu-ray. Was it worth the wait? Read on and find out.
The Toronto International Film Festival particpant, All Cheerleaders Die is coming to Blu-ray after its short, limited theatrical run this past June. A collective effort from Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, this horror-dark comedy feature is actually a remake of a super low budget film the duo made back in 2001. Of these two directorial names, one name interested me in the film and the other frightened me of it. Lucky McKee had made an indie horror film I really liked in 2002 called May. He also did a Masters Of Horror episode and a film I didn’t see but generated some buzz called The Woman. Chri Sivertson on the other hand, directed the abysmal Lindsay Lohan vehicle, I Know Who Killed Me. While the film is terrible it did contain one of my favorite all time bad movie lines, “Sometimes people get cut. That’s life”. Would good balance out evil here? Or was this going to be another I Know Who Killed Me. 
Olive Films continues stocking its library with A-titles of Hollywood yesteryear with 1959’s Operation Petticoat. This comedy stars two of the era’s biggest male leads in Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It also contains a few actors who would later find success in TV land in the years to come. While I may not be a fan of everything they’re putting out, Olive Films really should be commended for saving films of the era they are plucking Blu-ray releases from. As time marches on, these are the films that could be left in the dust and they are films that still have fans and a history. Its nice to be able to have something at your disposal as opposed to waiting and hoping it pops up again on Turner Classic Movies sometime in the near future. 
Wow! What can I say about this feature(s) that hasn’t been said before? There’s a million and one ways I can spin this. Was I curious about it? Hell yeah I was. Was I scared of it? Honestly, I was a little bit. I really didn’t know what to expect when I first popped this Blu-ray title into my PlayStation 4 except for what I guessed would be a whole lot of graphic nudity. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing is it? Haha! I guess it all depends upon who you are, how you are raised and what your opinions and beliefs are on how tasteful and/or delicate nudity should be depicted and handled within a motion picture. That’s a safe and borderline way to say it, isn’t it? I think so. And that’s what I’m sticking to as I press straight ahead with nothing but forward progress in tackling this two-part Blu-ray review fully clothed. Wish me luck! 
This is going to be a hard one to write about because HBO broke some serious ground when they aired these eight episodes of I guess what can be best described as an anthology series. If you have a better way to describe it, then by all means please chime in below in the comments section. True Detective, for lack of a better explanation, is a slow building dual-character study from the moment you turn it on until the final seconds as we follow the trials and tribulations of two detectives assigned to a grisly and cultish murder case in the Louisiana bayou country, which takes place over a lengthy period of time. You know how they say everyone gets their day in court eventually? Well, I guess you can say this one’s all about redemption and getting past those seemingly unmovable barriers no matter how much time passes. However, that’s just a very high level look at the critically acclaimed show. What you’ll find under the surface, should you decide to scratch that, is so much more complex and intricately woven that it yields such a great case in being called some of television’s finest hours. 
