Archive for the 'Blu-ray Reviews' Category
November 26th, 2013 by Brian White
Plain and simple…this review is going to suck. It’s not because I hated the movie or anything like that. It’s because this review is going to p1$$ off a lot of people and completely contradict everything that’s sane and which makes sense in this universe according to the gospel that is, Rotten Tomatoes. I know this and I completely understand this. That’s why I’m issuing the following disclaimer to anyone brave enough to read the below Blu-ray review. If you never go against the grain, have any opinion of your own contrary to popular consensus or are just a hateful person in general who likes to cause unnecessary drama, PLEASE I want you to stop reading this now. Be forewarned that I’m taking away everyone’s First Amendment rights here because I will NOT entertain or harbor any comments of hate or ill-sentiments against this movie below. Continue reading ‘Getaway (Blu-ray Review)’
November 24th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Paranoia is a film that came and went last summer that you probably blinked and missed it. The film didn’t even place top 10 in the box office on its opening weekend (#13). Its surprising too as the film sports a Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and a fresh young face from a wildly popular film franchise in Liam Hemsworth. The quality of the film didn’t get any buffer from critics as it holds a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So, is this film some lost gem? Were the critics too harsh on it? Or perhaps you’re looking to know “What the hell is Paranoia?” Here at Why So Blu, we’ve got this all covered for you. Continue reading ‘Paranoia (Blu-ray Review)’
November 24th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They’re perfect for each other, except that they’re both in relationships. Luke is in the midst of marriage talks with his girlfriend of six years, Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend Chris. But you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer. Continue reading ‘Drinking Buddies (Blu-ray Review)’
November 23rd, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
The Maniac Cop is back from the dead and stalking the streets of New York once more. Officer Matt Cordell was once a hero, but after being framed by corrupt superiors and brutally assaulted in prison, he sets out on a macabre mission of vengeance, teaming up with a vicious serial killer to track down those that wronged him and make them pay… with their lives! Robert Davi (LICENSE TO KILL), Claudia Christian (THE HIDDEN), Michael Lerner (BARTON FINK), Laurene Landon (HUNDRA), Leo Rossi (HALLOWEEN II), Robert Z’Dar (TANGO & CASH), Charles Napier (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), and Bruce Campbell (THE EVIL DEAD) star in this chilling, action-packed sequel written by Larry Cohen (IT’S ALIVE) and directed by William Lustig (MANIAC). Featuring a brand-new 4K High Definition transfer from the original camera negative, this definitive presentation of MANIAC COP 2 comes packed with exclusive extras! Continue reading ‘Maniac Cop 2 (Blu-ray Review)’
November 21st, 2013 by Brian White
Come on! Let’s be serious here! I initially only saw this movie for two main reasons. First, I had to check out Jennifer Aniston’s banging stripper body (tell me who didn’t) and second, when that boy starts singing “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” in the RV at the end of the film’s theatrical trailer, he had me at hello. I wanted to see more of that! So with that being said and admitted, I flung myself whole-heartedly into the press screening of We’re The Millers this past August. With an all-star cast consisting of Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Kathryn Hahn, Nick Offerman and more, who could possibly resist a screening of this (or a Blu-ray in this case) anyway? Please people, that was a rhetorical question. Now that we have that out of the way let’s momentarily cut the stress cords of life (wish I could do that permanently) and take a few minutes to chat about the lighthearted comedy We’re The Millers…arriving on Blu-ray and DVD everywhere November 19th. Continue reading ‘We’re The Millers (Blu-ray Review)’
November 21st, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Ring in the holidays with a new 30th Anniversary Special Edition of Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Disney’s timeless tale sparkles like never before on Blu-ray and Digital Copy, with fully-restored classic holiday shorts, plus all-new bonus features! Make the season merry as Mickey, Goofy, Donald and all their pals star in a heartwarming retelling of Dickens’ unforgettable holiday tale. Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) is far too greedy to understand that Christmas is a time for kindness and generosity. But with the guidance of some wise ghosts (Goofy and Jiminy Cricket) and a bunch of newfound friends, Scrooge learns to embrace the spirit of the season. Share this wonderful holiday treat with the whole family. Continue reading ‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol: 30th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray Review)’
November 19th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Before we get into this review, I must make a confession. I’ve never seen Saturn 1 or Saturn 2 before viewing Saturn 3. I may not be the best person to have tackled this. Okay, lame joke, this isn’t a sequel or anything. Its title could mean a few things. For one, it takes place on the 3rd moon of the planet Saturn. The film deals with the inhabitants of a research facility there and there’s only 3 of them. So they could, in turn, be the “Saturn 3”. What you get here is an interesting look at a highly stylized and wonderously imagined film in the wake of Alien’s success. The cult film plays upon terror and horror in the emptiness and loneliness of space, but isn’t near as successful of stirring up those emotions as they are some of the relationship ones. Aside from plot this is a spectacle of a film to look at, so lets get right down to it. Continue reading ‘Saturn 3 (Blu-ray Review)’
November 19th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
After scaring up big laughs in theaters, the in-home release of Monsters University opens its doors to the movie in stunning high definition Blu-ray, and provides hours of all-new bonus material, in-depth behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, the animated theatrical short “The Blue Umbrella” and much more. Ever since college-bound Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) was a little monster, he has dreamed of becoming a Scarer. Mike’s plans are derailed when he crosses paths with hotshot James P. Sullivan, “Sulley” (voice of John Goodman), a natural-born Scarer. The pair’s out-of-control competitive spirit gets them both kicked out of Monsters University’s elite Scare Program. To make matters worse, they realize they will have to work together, along with an odd bunch of misfit monsters, if they ever hope to make things right. Monsters University bravely explores themes of self-discovery and the revelations that come with growing up. Joining Crystal and Goodman as part of Monsters University’s monstrously talented voice cast are Steve Buscemi (voice of Randy Boggs), Helen Mirren (voice of Dean Hardscrabble), Alfred Molina (voice of Professor Knight), Charlie Day (voice of Art), Sean P. Hayes (voice of Terri Perry), Dave Foley (voice of Terry Perry), Nathan Fillion (voice of Johnny Worthington) and Aubrey Plaza (voice of Claire Wheeler).
Continue reading ‘Monsters University 3D Ultimate Collector’s Edition (3D + 2BD + DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray Review)’
November 18th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
By now, people should know whether or not they are into Mad Men. Sure the show could perhaps gain some new followers at this point too, but Mad Men has a unique style and handle on how it proceeds, so getting into the 6th season, I was happy to continue on with the journey of these characters. Coming off the heels of the fantastic 5th season, which may or may not be the show’s best, but still easily has some of the series’ best episodes, this latest season no doubt had to keep up with the high bar this acclaimed series sets, but fortunately creator Matthew Weiner was up to the task at hand.
Continue reading ‘Mad Men: Season 6 (Blu-ray Review)’
November 17th, 2013 by Brian White
When I first found out they were attempting to go down the road of reinventing, rebranding and rebooting the legendary Superman franchise I just flat out laughed. However, if you think that was rude, you should have heard the expletives I said when I found out that Watchmen’s Zack Snyder was helming the project. I have nothing against the looks and visual style of his Watchmen, but my God was that one of the most boringly long, tearjerking films of recent years filled with too many frames of big blue @#$%. However, I know Snyder has more potential than that. After all he did do 300 and created one of the most stunning movie intros ever, in my opinion, in Sucker Punch. So the cat has talent, that much I can’t deny. But then it became to be known that Christopher Nolan was going to be serving as a producer and I thought maybe, just maybe, under the tutelage of King Nolan, Snyder could possibly nail it on the head and get it right this time out. After all, there’s no doubt that this franchise needs a hero. Continue reading ‘Man of Steel (Blu-ray Review)’
November 16th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
When I initially saw the poster and title for Blackfish, I was convinced it was a horror movie. Upon learning more about the film and watching it, I was not too far off. Blackfish presents the story of a notorious performing whale, locked away in captivity, along with the tales of other killer whales in various sea parks and their capacity to kill. The film is a documentary with a clear stance, but it also functions as an emotional thriller at times, given what we learn about these animals and the situations they are placed in from others who tell their stories. While not a warmer documentary like the ones I have previously written about, it is certainly a film worth taking a look at, which you can now do on Blu-ray.
Continue reading ‘Blackfish (Blu-ray Review)’
November 16th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Here’s a weird thing to celebrate and commemorate. While I understand we SHOULD award and appreciate the journalism and work done to uncover the Watergate scandal, its still a very dark spot in American history. Its something I do think is good to look back on and learn from but an All The President’s Men “Yay! ‘40th Anniversary Of This Horrible Event Edition!” is a little odd, but Warner Bros wants a way to repackage this movie and sell a documentary, so here we go. They’re also “celebrating” JFK’s assassination later this month with a new edition of JFK, but that’s another thing. Anyway, the good thing is a I got to review one of the greatest thrillers in film history for Why So Blu. So, if odd circumstances grant me that high honor and privilege, then thank you, Warner Bros! Continue reading ‘All The President’s Men: Two-Disc Special Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
November 16th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
The Indianapolis 500 hasn’t had a film with it as the subject in over 40 years. The last time was the Paul Newman film Winning. And even that one was the first film about the Indy 500 in 15 years. Its one of the biggest events in the world and racing creates a whole lot of action and drama you’d think there’d be more cinematic tales of it. There are legendary drivers and big time stories of incredible finishes. Alas, this past summer the Indy 500 returned to theaters in the form of the animated film Turbo (hook ‘em while they’re young, eh?). The Ryan Reynolds and Paul Giamatti voiced film opened to a checkered flag of maybe too many competitors as 3 other films opened the same weekend. Box office numbers aside, how was the film? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out, now isn’t it? Continue reading ‘Turbo (Blu-ray Review)’
November 14th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
D.W. Griffith changed the course of film history with his 1915 Civil War blockbuster
The Birth of a Nation, and spurred on by its colossal success, he went even bigger on his next epic. The ambitious and still awe-inspiring
Intolerance, in which the Father of Film masterfully links four centuries-apart stories of universal suffering, remains a signal achievement by any measure. Stung by charges of glorifying racism in
The Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith decided to make his next film a plea for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. An epic like nothing that came before it or has been seen since, the monumental
Intolerance remains as powerful today as it was almost a century ago. This major innovation in screen narrative tells four stories in parallel about social injustice and the effects of intolerance through the ages. “The Modern Story,” about a working man wrongly accused of a crime, was later issued as a separate film
(The Mother and the Law, 1919). “The Judean Story” tells of Jesus’ conflicts with the Pharisees and Rome. “The Medieval Story” is about the effects of the massacre of 16th-century French Huguenots. “The Babylonian Story,” about the conquest of Babylon by Persia, also was issued later as a separate film
(The Fall of Babylon, 1919). Skillful cross-cutting (Griffith was the technique’s most renowned practitioner), and linking shots of a figure representing Eternal Motherhood rocking a cradle, bring all four stories to a tense climax. Cohen Media Group’s Cohen Film Collection proudly brings this canonical 1916 work to DVD and, for the first time ever on Blu-ray as well.
Continue reading ‘The Cohen Film Collection: D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (Blu-ray Review)’
November 13th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
I am always fond of a darker sort of comedy based around the holidays. When I say that, it is not to imply that I seek out nothing but bitterness during what is considered a time of joy, as I am just as big a fan of something like Love, Actually, but a film with darker themes also tends to have more interesting ideas, given the struggle against the norm. All is Bright falls into this realm of holiday film, but as opposed to being a darker laugh fest like Bad Santa, it really plays as a drama, with sprinkles of comedic moments. It is well-acted, which is the film’s biggest positive, even if it happens to meander a bit too much, while dealing with a thief finding his way during a particularly bitter holiday season.
Continue reading ‘All Is Bright (Blu-ray Review)’
November 11th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
American director Joshua Marston broke out in 2004 with his jolting, Oscar-nominated Maria Full of Grace, about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule. In his remarkable follow-up, The Forgiveness of Blood, he turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania, a place still troubled by the ancient custom of interfamilial blood feuds. From this reality, Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother and sister physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence, a result of their father’s entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land. The Forgiveness of Blood is a tense and perceptive depiction of a place where tradition and progress have an uneasy coexistence, as well as a dynamic coming-of-age drama.
Continue reading ‘The Forgiveness of Blood: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 10th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Sean S. Cunningham is the man that brought us Friday the 13th and exploited Halloween to open up the gates of horror to numerous copycats. All sorts of masked killers and teen murder mysteries became abound and dominant throughout the horror genre. Sean only did the one film though, he never returned the franchise opting to try and make “regular movies” and not horror films. However, he wound up back in the fold producing them within no time. With The Horror Show, Sean seemed to be trying to groom a new famous face in movie killer history with “Meat Cleaver Max” using his House franchise as a gateway to bring him to life. The film didn’t become the hit they wanted it to be and it even didn’t achieve much of a cult status like another film that year of similar subject matter. But I think it’s really great the film has resurfaced through Scream Factory as its actually not too bad and many horror fans should have a lot of fun going back and rediscovering it. Continue reading ‘The Horror Show (Blu-ray Review)’
November 8th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall lead a star-studded cast in this World War II classic based on Jack Higgins’ best-selling novel. A Nazi Strike Force plots to kidnap Winston Churchill while he is resting in a desolate Norfolk village. Colonel Radl (Robert Duvall), Colonel Steiner (Michael Caine) and Liam Devlin (Donald Sutherland) are enlisted to carry out the operation, which if successful, would irrevocably alter the outcome of the war. Disguised as Polish airmen, these paratroopers descend upon England only to be interrupted by an unforeseeable incident which threatens to derail their treacherous mission. Packed with action and suspense, this unrelenting thriller was the final picture directed by the great John Sturges (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven). Continue reading ‘The Eagle Has Landed: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
