Archive for the 'Blu-ray Reviews' Category
April 24th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
The cops can’t control him. The mob wants him dead. And time is running out. Donnie Yen is Detective Chen Zilong but the criminal underworld knows him as Dragon Chen, a dangerous but effective enforcer. When rivalries explode with the reappearance of an old enemy and a brutal murder, the Triads close ranks and unleash a series of executions with Chen at the top of the list. Undercover and under attack, he has no choice but to rely on a new partner (Jing Tian) and his knowledge of the streets to get out alive. It s the only chance he s got.
] Continue reading ‘Special ID (Blu-ray Review)’
April 24th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
An assumption about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is that it appears to be a light-hearted adventure comedy made for a trendy crowd, due to the use of various elements in its trailers. I would not necessarily agree, but that seems to have inspired a lot of ire in the film from some, for reasons that are beyond me. Having seen the film a couple times now, I was very happy to enjoy it for what it manages to accomplish. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a film about one man’s journey that may not have a whole lot of depth, compared to the scope of the film or others like it, but it worked for me in a very crowd-pleasing kind of way and I liked that. Now the Blu-ray is available for people to enjoy the journey at home.
Continue reading ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Blu-ray Review)’
April 24th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Danny Trejo (Machete) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) deliver twice the Bad Ass action in this hard-hitting, butt-kicking sequel to the original cult favorite! Vietnam vet Frank Vega (Trejo) now runs an East L.A. community center where he trains young boxers to survive in and out of the ring. But when his prize student falls in with the wrong crowd and turns up dead, Frank teams up with his pal Bernie (Glover) to take matters into their own fists and prove that justice never gets old.
] Continue reading ‘Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (Blu-ray Review)’
April 21st, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
When Baton Rouge police detective Bud Carter (Dafoe) busts contract killer Jesse Weiland (Dillon), he convinces Jesse to become an informant and rat out the South’s most powerful crime ring. So when the syndicate orders Carter’s death and Weiland’s ID’d as a snitch, the two team up to take down the mob and the crime boss (Berenger) who ordered the hit. Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Neal McDonough. Amy Smart, and Tom Berenger star in Bad Country, a gritty action thriller from director Chris Brinker, a producer of The Boondock Saints. Continue reading ‘Bad Country (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Before the West entered World War II, a Japanese death cult called the Temple of Hades is ordered to aid in the spiritual destruction of China. Their method: abduct their enemies’ children and train them as killers for the Emperor. Young Vajra was especially gifted, but swears a secret oath of revenge when his brother dies. Now the greatest assassin in the temple, Vajra escapes to China and begins his quest to protect the innocent, and destroy the ones responsible for making him a living weapon. A former Shaolin monk, martial arts action star Xing Yu (aka Shi Yanneng) stars as Vajra in his first leading role. Continue reading ‘The Wrath of Vajra (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
LA playboy Dean (Skylar Astin) is fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships – he wants more out of life than just a party. With a little inspiration from his nine-year-old nephew and his best friend Tess (Camilla Belle), Dean decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time – which proves to be much more difficult than he thought in modern-day Los Angeles. Continue reading ‘Cavemen (Blu-ray Review)’
April 16th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Just before he directed The Italian Job, Peter Collinson helmed Up The Junction. This tale of a rich woman deciding to leave that life behind and try and slide into the ranks of the working class was based upon true events. Nell Dunn wrote a book of the same name that chronicled herself sliding in and observing the culture and life of the people in the slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. Before coming to the big screen, the story was adapted into a BBC miniseries 3 years prior as a part of an anthology series called The Wednesday Play. That version had a big audience and apparently plenty of complaints about its content. While the film didn’t do too well in the US, its soundtrack did. And this movie’s title may indeed be more known as a song than it is a film, but I think the film deserves a second look. Continue reading ‘Up The Junction (Blu-ray Review)’
April 15th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Emanuel (Kaya Scodelario), a troubled young woman, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious new neighbor (Jessica Biel), who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. When an unexpected discovery results in a shared secret between the two, their relationship intensifies, and Emanuel’s already-fragile world begins to spin out of control. Continue reading ‘The Truth About Emanuel (Blu-ray Review)’
April 15th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Legendary director Sidney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker is a landmark in American filmmaking. This was the first Holocaust/World War II film to tell it from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor. And its an unrelenting and ruthless film for the times in terms of the suggestive events in the flashbacks. Its also the first mainstream film to have nudity approved by the Production Code. The Production Code was something that was in place before we had a ratings system. A pair of breasts is what is on display, but due to the manner in which its used it was given the OK. The film also features the role that landed actor Rod Steiger on the A-list and launched him into stardom. Olive Films has taken this landmark film and restored it and will be releasing it to the lovely Blu-ray format. Continue reading ‘The Pawnbroker (Blu-ray Review)’
April 14th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Crossing another feature off my list of modern classics that are favorite films mine, which I have now written a review for, Fargo has returned to Blu-ray once again, with a new remastered transfer. This Oscar-winning Coen Brothers film has had its share of releases in the past and even if there is still bound to be another release in the future (its 20th anniversary is a couple years away), the film is still as strong as ever, with a great new transfer to make it look and sound better than ever. You betcha can read on to learn more about this new Blu-ray release.
Continue reading ‘Fargo (Blu-ray Review)’
April 14th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Olive Film’s will release another title from the classic film noir era on April 15. This time its 1948’s Sleep My Love, starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, Don Ameche and Raymond Burr. It’s helmed by German director Douglas Sirk, later known for his Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s. The film received a lukewarm response upon its release, with some complaints and criticisms that still hold up on it today. Douglas Sirk even acknowledged the film as a failure. Looking back, its not a perfect film, but its definitely not the catastrophe its director made it out to be. Most of the pleasantries come from a great hook and some wonderfully nightmarish photography from the film’s DP Joseph Valentine. So, now, let’s take a look at this 66 year old film. Continue reading ‘Sleep My Love (Blu-ray Review)’
April 13th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Nelly (Felicity Jones) is haunted by her past. Her memories take us back in time to follow the story of her relationship with Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) with whom she discovered an exciting but fragile complicity. Dickens – famous, controlling and emotionally isolated within his success – falls for Nelly. As Nelly becomes the focus of Dickens’ passion and his muse, for both of them secrecy is the price, and for Nelly a life of “invisibility.” Continue reading ‘The Invisible Woman (Blu-ray Review)’
April 13th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Cry Freedom was the film directorial debut of child star Robert Parrish. He shot the movie over just twenty two days back in 1950-51. As anyone can tell you, that’s an incredibly short amount of time. However, when you see how concise and focused the film is, you can tell Parrish set out and knew exactly what he was doing and precisely what he was wanting. In 2011, the film received a newly restored print from two 35 mm negatives courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation (in cooperation with Paramount and Warner Brothers. The film then premiered on March 14, 2011 at the UCLA Festival Of Preservation. This well reviewed piece of classic film noir is coming to Blu-ray courtesy of our friends over at Olive Films. Continue reading ‘Cry Danger (Blu-ray Review)’
April 12th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Olive Films has brought 1968’s sci fi cult classic, The Bamboo Saucer to Blu-ray. I tried to do some research on this film for this review because I’d never seen it. But, to no avail, there’s not a whole lot of information regarding this film’s production on the usual legitimate movie researching tools found on the web. And after seeing the film, it became even more of a bummer that there weren’t and supplemental materials (even if it were just film historians and fans discussing it) provided on the disc. But, as I always say, at least its on Blu-ray. Just getting a film to this glorious format is triumph enough! Continue reading ‘The Bamboo Saucer (Blu-ray Review)’
April 11th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Get your head out of the gutter, pervert! This is a kids movie! The Nut Job was a little animated feature that came out in the behemoth of “soon to be classics” release month of January. It hopped over its budget but didn’t really make a massive intake like a lot of animated gems do nowadays. Whatever your thoughts, its apparently getting a sequel aimed for the year 2016 in its stronghold month of January. Universal brings this family friendly affair to Blu-ray on April 15 making for a quick quick turnaround. I’ll be reviewing the regular Blu-ray combo release of the film, but there is a 3D version coming out the same day if that’s your cup of tea.
. Continue reading ‘The Nut Job (Blu-ray Review)’
April 9th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
A couple’s son and daughter inexplicably reappear after being lost overnight on a desolate, cave-riddled mountainside. Becoming withdrawn and beginning to exhibit strange behavior, their parents quickly assume something sinister happened to them. But after hearing an ominous local legend, the concerned mother and father begin to realize that their children may have fallen prey to something inhuman and that this dark, unstoppable evil has now returned home with them.
Continue reading ‘Here Comes the Devil (Blu-ray Review)’
April 8th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
A little side note to my Blu-ray review of Norma Rae to start off. My screenwriting professor in college’s big claim to fame in his movie making career was working on this movie. It was an Academy Award nominated film and the one that nabbed Sally Field her first Best Actress statue. While I don’t think the university was happy with him (he was usually 20 minutes late to a 50 minute class), for the short time we did have him he had terrific stories and was a very positive and informative when it came to writing. I wrote a sitcom pilot for one of my projects in his class and he kept e-mailing me throughout his read to tell me how much enjoyed it. Anywho, while Norma Rae is the prestigious one he can flaunt, I think the coolest credit on his resume is being the assistant director on the Chuck Norris epic, THE OCTAGON! Continue reading ‘Norma Rae (Blu-ray Review)’
April 8th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I am sure The Weinstein company is proud to release Philomena on Blu-ray, now that it has scored tons of acclaim, including 4 Academy Award nominations (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay). The film had an unassuming way about it, which is what ultimately won me over, but it was still surprising to see it get that amount of prestige put upon it. That said, this is a human interest story that is quite interesting to watch, as it features some strong performances in a movie that has dark elements, but still feels like a pleasant watch overall. With the Blu-ray now available, everyone will be able to see it for themselves and consider how far they are willing to go with Philomena.
Continue reading ‘Philomena (Blu-ray Review)’
