Archive for the 'Editorials' Category
December 30th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
It started off kind of weak and had a slightly mediocre summer (for mainstream movies), but overall 2013 was a really great year for movies. I say that because this Top 10 list was an incredibly difficult task to put together. One of the most challenging things every year is we are so hyped up and “in the now” with the December Oscar hopefuls rush that I think we forget or discount films from the first ¾ of the year that are just as worthy, we just haven’t had them in discussion for so long or watched them in almost a year that we tend to forget them when it comes to the end of the year list. We seem to go off the buzz we just got. In culminating my personal list I sat and focused real hard on trying to not let that aspect of end of the year list making consume me. I factored in what films I’d watched the most times this year, what films I thought were truly just well done, what I had actual “fun” with, what ones grabbed me an never let me go. I wanted my list to reflect all of those things and not just sit and pick the expected prestigious films that make every critic’s list look the same and have no personal flavor to it. Now, yes, my list will contain a few of those, because those films are just that good. Continue reading ‘Brandon’s Rendition Of The Top 10 Films Of 2013′
December 29th, 2013 by Kori Kemerer
So another year has come and gone way too quickly, bringing with it a long list of great movies as well as some I wish I could get the hours of my life back. So with this being said, if you are anything like me, then you have a hard time choosing which movie to commit hours of your life to. Well I know your time is precious, so being the nice person that I am, I want to help your decision making go a bit smoother. I have compiled my list of Top 10 movies that I was lucky enough to see during this wonderful year of 2013. I want to give you some of my rules for this list though. They really are quite simple. I chose from the movies released theatrically in 2013 that I saw. This does not include any older movies that I may have finally caught up on and watched this year, and obviously, nothing that I did not have the chance to see. Continue reading ‘Kori’s Top 10 MUST-SEE Films of 2013′
December 28th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
We’ve come to it at last…my Top-10 film list for the year 2013. I’ll be upfront about it and say that I did not see most of the major and non-major films of 2013. I am only listing the films that I saw that made an actual impact in my life, for better or for worse. No BS. It’s also kind of funny that since my list is due today, the 28th of December, I had to scramble and watch several movies at the cinema this past week STAT! It was a lot of fun but there are also just so many movies I can watch before a deadline hits. Luckily for me, some of those films that I watched at the last minute were so great that they indeed made my Top-10 list just in the nick of time. So, without further ado, let’s get the party started!
Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top-10 Super Duper Films of 2013!’
December 26th, 2013 by Brian White
The calendar year of 2013 was a tough one for me in the film department. However, unlike my recent Top 10 Blu-ray list over here, where I struggled to even find ten Blu-rays that I really really liked in 2013 (only leaving off Cloud Atlas), I find myself faced with a smorgasbord of films that I now must condense down to just ten mere selections. And I think to myself, hey that’s not fair! Yahoo published an article over a week ago with their 25 greatest films of 2013. Why can’t I do that? Well, it just wouldn’t be a true “Top 10” list then, would it? So here we are, and depending upon where you’re geographically located there may or may not be snow on the ground, it’s that time of again. It’s that time when for one day I get to play God and pummel you with my crude opinion and brute force as to what flicks I think deserve the most critical love, praise and acclaim this year. And I’ll stop you there and get one thing off my massive man chest real quick. Continue reading ‘Brian White’s Indisputable Heavyweight ‘Top 10 Films of 2013’’
December 24th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Releasing from the Disney Vault in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, creative visionary Walt Disney’s classic shines for the first time on Blu-ray. Starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in her Academy-Award winning role, and featuring iconic toe-tapping songs including “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,”
Mary Poppins is a movie experience your family will enjoy again and again. An all-new digital restoration adds even more magic – helping bring the award-winning songs and amazing picture to life like never before. Share the music; share the magic; share the joy of
Mary Poppins this holiday on Blu-ray Combo Pack & HD Digital for the first time. Julie Andrews (
The Sound of Music, Princess Diaries) as Mary Poppins; Dick Van Dyke (TV’s “The Dick Van Dyke Show,”
Night at the Museum) as Bert/Mr. Dawes Senior; David Tomlinson (
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Love Bug) as Mr. Banks; Glynis Johns (
The Court Jester, While You Were Sleeping) as Mrs. Banks; Karen Dotrice (
The Gnome-Mobile, Upstairs, Downstairs) as Jane Banks;
Mathew Garber (
The Gnome-Mobile, The Three Lives of Thomasina) as Michael Banks.
Continue reading ‘Mary Poppins: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
December 23rd, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
This is not really a post of joy, but every year does see the release of films that are just not good. I do not try to seek out these films, with the majority being ones that I did think could have redeemable elements, but that just wasn’t the case here. This list contains what I think were the biggest misses of the year, which I watched in full and could not handle. I also have a list of disappointing films, which are not necessarily terrible, but certainly far from living up to their potential. I never actively seek out films to hate on and am happy to generally not see all of the truly terrible films that come out every year, but this is the time of year to reflect, so I have. Additionally, I did not see the supposed tragedy known as R.I.P.D. before the year ended, so I’m just going to have to call this the R.I.P.D. Memorial Worst Films List for now (and I just have nothing to say as far as Grown Ups 2 is concerned).
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Top Ten Worst Films Of 2013’
December 21st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
In an effort to be as fair as possible, this is less a “Top 10” list and more a list of games that I was able to play this year and heartily recommend. Despite being a big gamer, given that I specialize in movies and only have so much time to play video games (while trying to keep a balanced life), it just does not seem fair for me to attempt to rank ten video games, when I may have only been able to play a small portion of the big releases this year. The fact that I have resisted a lot of different genres only emphasizes my process for making this list further. With that in mind, I still wanted to make a post centered on some games that I thought were pretty stellar, so here we go.
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s List Of 2013 Video Games That He Thinks Deserves Your Attention’
December 20th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Making a top ten list of Blu-rays is always a difficult thing for me to do. The fact that there’s so many excellent releases that I haven’t seen yet just makes it even harder because I know a lot of them would be on my list, not to mention that the year isn’t over yet and I still have more movies that I haven’t even reviewed yet. Plus, I’ve spent most of the year focused on just watching the movies I need to review so there’s a stack of movies that I’ve bought that I haven’t had a chance to watch yet. So with that in mind, I’ve decided to make a list of the Top 10 Blu-rays that I’ve actually seen and most likely reviewed, and another list of Blu-rays that I probably would have included on this list if I had seen them. For my top ten I’ve decided to rate them based on a variety of reasons including: my affection for them, their audio/video quality, and what kind of special features were offered. I’ve also grouped several of them together to free up slots because if I added every awesome Star Trek set that was released this year they would take up most of my list and they are all equally good. That being said, all of these movies would make excellent holiday gifts: Continue reading ‘Sean’s Top Ten Blu-rays of 2013′
December 19th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Here we go again. Kicking off my Top 10 year-end lists for 2013, here are my Top 10 Blu-rays. These are films that I have been able to really dig into and see them as easy recommendations for anyone with the greatest home media format currently available. The following list is a set of films that I consider to be some of the best that the Blu-ray format has had to offer for this year. Much like the previous years, I stayed true to some rules; I have to have actually watched the movie on Blu-Ray, recognize it for its quality video and audio transfers, delved into the special features, and attempt to keep off any film on this list that may also be on my “Top 10 Films of the Year” list. This year that may or may not be the case (with one big exception). I followed these rules for the sake of keeping my list interesting, so here we go:
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Astounding Top 10 Blu-rays of 2013’
December 18th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
From the creative team behind “Pillars of the Earth,” “The Mentalist” and “Heroes,” “Being Human” is Syfy’s re-imagining of the acclaimed BBC original series created by Toby Whithouse. “Being Human” follows four paranormal, 20-something roommates living in a Boston brownstone – vampire “Aidan” (Witwer), werewolves “Josh” (Huntington) and “Nora” (Hager) and ghost “Sally” (Rath) – as they struggle to resist the temptations of their true natures. As the third season of “Being Human” returns, the four learn that there is a price to pay for getting what they want. Watching the characters hide their dark secrets from the world, while helping each other navigate the complexities of living double lives and trying to be human, viewership for the third season averaged 1.8 million viewers, making “Being Human” a Top 10 Cable Program in its time period among adults 18-49 and 25-54. Season 4 of “Being Human” premieres January 2014 on Syfy. Continue reading ‘Being Human: The Complete Third Season Comes to Blu-ray This January’
December 18th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
It’s my turn! No need for a preamble as to what goes into the generalities of crafting these Top 10 lists as the gents before me all did a fine job of explaining. 2012 provided what seemed like all the remaining “Must Have” box sets, leaving 2013 seeming kind of empty handed on the surface. Now there have been new sets, but many just prove to be repackagings of the older discs and calling them “new” (like the new Star Trek box set, The Exorcist 40th and the Hitchcock Essentials Collection). Universal would have had #1 on this list at “Hello” had they released a 2nd volume companion to last year’s Classic Monsters Collection (Yes, I’m still whining about that). 2013 was no slouch though, as there were still a set or two to release and plenty of titles that have never been on Blu-ray before finally making the jump. What I love about this period we are in now is that so much of the big name films from yesteryear seem to be out that others and many cult items are getting their turn at the plate and that makes things even more exciting as these are the ones people watch all the time and have been double dipping format to format on for years. Continue reading ‘Brandon’s Bodacious TOP 10 Blu-rays Of 2013!’
December 18th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Last week was busy with trailers for many big releases next year (posts can be found HERE and HERE) and this week adds one more hotly anticipated summer film: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. As I recall, the majority of us at Why So Blu were big fans the 2011 sci-fi prequel/reboot, which combined an interesting take on the Apes franchise with some fantastic visual effects work from Weta Digital. Details and images have been fairly light on this film, which no doubt comes from both preserving the surprise and because it takes so long to complete these effects, which look amazing. Now we finally have a trailer for the sequel, which arrives July 2014. From the look of things, nothing is about to get better for the human race, but at least Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Keri Russell are on hand to attempt to deal with Caesar (Andy Serkis) and the rise of his species. Continue on to check out the trailer as well as view some posters and big ape faces from the film. Continue reading ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Trailer Debuts’
December 17th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Created by award-winning writers/ producers Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the critically acclaimed television series HILL STREET BLUES became one of the most seminal drama series by virtue of its powerful writing, gritty realism, emotionally charged storylines and incredible ensemble cast, including Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Weitz and Betty Thomas, among other notables. Throughout its seven year run on network television (1981-1987), HILL STREET BLUES took viewers inside the heart of a racially torn, crime-ridden precinct of an urban metropolis. Each episode charts a day in the life on “The Hill,” balancing the characters’ personal lives with their professional ones. “Let’s be careful out there,” advises Sgt. Esterhaus every morning at roll call, before sending out his officers and detectives to patrol their city’s streets, where the peace is kept thanks to a tenuous trust between the police and the people they protect. Yet as dangerous as their precinct is, the men and women of Hill Street often find that their biggest battles involve protecting themselves from the Public Defender’s office, self-serving bureaucrats … and each other. Continue reading ‘Hill Street Blues: The Complete Series Finally Arrives on DVD This April’
December 17th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
It’s that time again where we come up with our Top-10 Blu-rays of the year. 2013 has come and almost gone and left a path of high definition destruction in its wake. Coincidentally, my Top-10 list features the work of some epic directors, who had a stellar year on the Blu-ray format as most of their back catalog, along with current works, were released in high definition in 2013. My criteria for picking the selections on this list is more in tune with how fully loaded are the Blu-rays chosen, along with demo-worthy characteristics, etc. Film worthiness is also taken into consideration but that it not the main factor. If I want film-worthiness then I will save it for my regular Top-10 list of films, which will post in a couple of weeks. This list is based off of the merits of the Blu-ray for the most part. Without further ado I give you my Top 10 Badass Blu-rays of 2013! Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top 10 Badass Blu-rays of 2013!’
December 16th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
To compliment my best of the year lists I’ve once again compiled a short “worst of” set of selections. The following are films that I saw in 2013 that sucked and/or did not live up to the hype. I’m not going to include a “dishonorable mentions” list like last year, because it would be a waste of time. The films contained here star A-list actors and most had gigantic budgets to work with. It makes it that much more painful to recap why they sucked. I understand the concept of “guilty pleasures,” and I have many, but these don’t even qualify as guilty pleasures, in my opinion. Shall we begin? Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Worst Films of 2013!’
December 16th, 2013 by Gregg Senko
There were plenty of great releases that arrived on store shelves this year, but let’s be honest. Will any year really compare to what came out in 2012? I mean, last year for Blu-rays was like what 1939 was for cinemas. It was only twelve months ago when the year’s releases included E.T., Jaws, Singin’ in the Rain and Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures. I may be starting this article off on the wrong foot, but last year was just too awesome to not tip the hat to again. While 2013 may not be loaded up with the classics that last year had, there are still more than enough great releases to load up your shopping cart with. Let’s get to it!
Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Tremendously Top 10 Blu-rays of 2013′
December 15th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
A treasure trove of hearty laughs is yours when two of the funniest, most action-packed Muppet movies of all time make their Disney Blu-ray debut in a 2-Movie Collection. From the special star-studded lunacy in Muppet Treasure Island to the jewel-heist hilarity of The Great Muppet Caper, these two classic comedy-adventures are packed with mirth, mayhem and, of course, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie, Gonzo and all your Muppet favorites. Jim Henson’s whodunit heist-movie The Great Muppet Caper and the silly and swashbuckling high-seas adventure, Muppet Treasure Island, both restored and remastered, are loaded with unforgettable music and sparkling special effects. Two great movies plus a treasure trove of bonus features make the Collection the perfect holiday gift for Muppet fans and the entire family when it finally makes its Blu-ray debut this December. Continue reading ‘The Great Muppet Caper / Muppet Treasure Island 2-Movie Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
December 14th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Some key terms come to mind when I think new Christopher Nolan film – dark, brooding, auteur, IMAX, Zimmer, nonlinear, and Michael Caine of course. Interstellar is the next film from Nolan and it arrives in theaters November 2014. Those who saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug were treated to a teaser trailer for the film that does exactly that – tease. The teaser is now online and in this post you will be able to view it. There are very few details regarding this film so far, but the basics seems to make sense: solid ensemble cast (McConaughey, Chastain, Hathaway, Caine), use of IMAX cameras, a Hans Zimmer score, and a very secretive attitude revolving around what is really going on here. Continue on to check out the teaser and see the official logo for the film.
Continue reading ‘Christopher Nolan’s 2014 Film – Interstellar Teaser Trailer’
