Archive for the 'Editorials' Category
December 27th, 2012 by Gregg Senko
Earlier this month I released my worst films of 2012. That was probably one of the easiest lists I ever put together. The good ones from the year the Mayan calendar ended were a little more difficult to assemble. It was another year of superheroes at the box office which brought in super dividends for their studios. Disney lost big with John Carter, but cashed in on Wreck-It Ralph. Channing Tatum had four…err, three films on the agenda for the year, both doing very well. Then there’s the highly anticipated Tolkien work, The Hobbit, which took viewers on another journey through Middle Earth (with some really bad CGI). But while there may be one ring to rule them all, it was the following ten works that were the crowning achievements of film for me in 2012.
Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Triumphant Top 10 Tantalizing 2012 Films’
December 24th, 2012 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 all 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. It is fortunate that I had a much harder time (in a good way) putting together the “best of” list, but for now, here is a list of films I would put at the bottom of an otherwise very good year. Also and unfortunately, I did not get to cross Alex Cross before the year ended, so I’m just going to have to call this the Alex Cross Memorial Worst Films List for now.
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Top 10 Worst Films of 2012’
December 23rd, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
This worst-of list will not be as long as my other Top 10 lists due to the fact that some films that were downright unwatchable weren’t even watched all the way through. I decided not to subject myself to them, so some of these selections will probably just get “honorable worst-of” mentions instead, or a combination thereof. The films that I did watch in their entirety and hated are listed below. There are several big flicks on this list, with massive budgets, but most should not have even gotten made. Some had great marketing, some looked great in the trailers, but they fizzled out at the end. With that being said, sit back, relax, and enjoy my WORST films of 2012 list. Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Worst Films of 2012′
December 23rd, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios take moviegoers up, up and away with a wildly original adventure with their latest comedy-fantasy. Up follows the uplifting tale of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure. Continue reading ‘Up 2D / 3D (Blu-ray Review)’
December 21st, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Kicking off my Top 10 year-end lists for 2012, here are my Top 10 Blu-rays that I have enjoyed and could not pass up giving full recommendations to. The following list is 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 last year, 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 most importantly, I did not put any film on the list that may also be on my “Top 10 Films of the year” list. This means excluding films like Cabin in the Woods (which has a fantastic Blu-ray). I followed these rules for the sake of keeping my list interesting, so here we go:
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Top 10 Blu-rays of 2012’
December 21st, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
It’s that not-so-dreaded time of the year where I unleash my Top 10 Blu-rays of 2012. This year I thought I’d go against the grain the best that I could and just limit myself on picking Blu-rays that actually made a statement in terms of video, audio, and special features, instead of films that were cool that got the benefit of the doubt because they’re on Blu-ray. I think I cheated last year and did just that. Not this year, though. Some of my selections may have tons of special features and some may not. What can be said is that the TLC that went into the Blu-rays themselves is fairly evident and I have taken notice in that regard. I’ve also got a couple of imports that should be noted, so without further ado…I present my Top 10 bad ass Blu-rays of 2012. Kick it! Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top 10 Bad Ass Blu-rays of 2012′
December 20th, 2012 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. 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. Continue reading ‘Sean’s Top Ten Blu-rays of 2012 / Holiday Gift Guide’
December 17th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
In this stunning underwater adventure teeming with memorable comedic characters and heartfelt emotion, Finding Nemo follows the momentous journey of an overprotective clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) and his young son Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould). When the two are unexpectedly separated in the Great Barrier Reef, Nemo is carried far from his ocean home and deposited in a fish tank in a dentist’s office. Buoyed by the companionship of Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish, Marlin embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero of an epic effort to rescue his son – who hatches a few daring plans of his own to return safely home. Finding Nemo is now available for the first time ever in high-definition Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and Digital platforms! Continue reading ‘Finding Nemo 2D / 3D Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
December 17th, 2012 by Gregg Senko
I couldn’t sum up the Blu-ray releases of 2012 better than Brian White’s article in which he mentioned standouts such as the Bond collection, Universal Monsters and so on. It’s almost as if the studios got together and said, “Hey, if the world does end on 12/21/12, we better go out with a bang.” Had that fictional conversation took place, they certainly lived up to their aspirations. It was definitely much easier assembling a list of top 10 cinema releases this year than it was Blu-rays. Now onto the rankings!
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Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Top 10 Bodacious Blu-rays of 2012′
December 16th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
In Iowa, butter carving is as cut-throat as a Presidential election, plagued with scandal, greed, blackmail, and sex – except with butter! When long-reigning champion butter sculptor, Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell), is forced to step down, his zealous wife, Laura (Jennifer Garner), enters the competition herself to fight for their status as butter royalty. A win seems virtually guaranteed for the poised and studied candidate when a formidable contender emerges: the fresh-faced, effortlessly charismatic 10-year-old, Destiny (Yara Shahidi), an African-American foster child of local couple, Jill and Ethan (Alicia Silverstone and Rob Corddry). Suddenly, it’s anybody’s game and Laura will do anything to win – even if it means resorting to sabotage and seducing her foolish ex-boyfriend, Boyd (Hugh Jackman), as a co-conspirator. Continue reading ‘Butter (Blu-ray Review)’
December 14th, 2012 by Gregg Senko
If you’re on the fence about getting into comic book reading or not, now is as good a time as any. In all honesty, this is a great time to delve into the pop culture art form. The stories and artwork that grace the pages of many of today’s titles are entertaining if not exceptional reads. Looking for a few good titles to let your imagination escape? This list will provide the best of what we saw in 2012.
Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Picks – Best Comic Books of 2012′
December 12th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I know I wasn’t the only person bummed that GI JOE: Retaliation was abruptly moved a whole 9 months later from its original June 2012 release date all the way to this March, for a 3D post-conversion no less (with plenty of rumors surrounding other behind the scenes fiddling). Regardless, the newest trailer for the upcoming action-packed sequel has hit the interwebs and still looks to be a lot of fun. Continue on to check out the trailer, as well as the brand new poster for the film. Go JOE!
Continue reading ‘GI JOE: Retaliation Trailer – Round 2’
December 12th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
With Unicron defeated by Optimus Prime, what was thought to be the end of Autobots’ darkest hour is actually proving to be just the beginning. The dynamic second season of Hasbro Studios’ acclaimed animated hit series Transformers Prime digs deeper into Transformers mythology as both the Autobots and Decepticons uncover clues relating to secret artifacts of Iacon, Cybertron’s capital city. Their discoveries could not only change the balance of power in the war, but also potentially revive their dead home planet. Fans of all ages can relive the thrilling adventures of Transformers Prime now that the complete Season Two has debuted on home entertainment shelves nationwide in the U.S on DVD and on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios.
Continue reading ‘Transformers Prime: Season Two (Blu-ray Review)’
December 11th, 2012 by Gregg Senko
I don’t remember being as disappointed by movies during the course of 2012 than I was in any other year. I mean, there were some genuinely terrible productions released this year. Now I try and see as many films as possible, but this time around, I eventually had to put the brakes on because of the seemingly incessant waste of time and money I was spending on them. It wasn’t quite big enough for a top ten list, but it came awfully close. Doom on you, Hollywood. You screwed up a lot this year.
Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Worst Films of 2012′
December 9th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
This year has seen the release of several apps related to the big blockbuster films of the year. Films like The Avengers, The Dark Knight and The Amazing Spider-Man have all gotten apps that directly relate to their Blu-ray releases, giving viewers the ability to sync up their smartphone or tablet devices to their Blu-ray players and access all sorts of exclusive content. It has been an interesting sort of experiment in terms of making the home viewing experience more interactive for the viewer. Now Men In Black 3 has been given similar treatment, but in a slight twist on the idea, the Men In Black 3 Movie Touch app allows you to only view all the exclusive content, while watching the film on a portable device of some kind. Given that I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Men In Black 3 (Review HERE), I was happy to try this experience out. Continue on to learn more about the details of the MIB3 Movie Touch app.
Continue reading ‘MIB3 Movie Touch First-Screen Immersive Experience Now Available’
December 8th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
From Disney•Pixar, the Award-winning studio behind Toy Story, Up and WALL•E, comes a new collection of short films. Experience the revolutionary animation and unforgettable characters with 12 short films together for the very first time. This must-own collection also features seven rarely screened student films from directors John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter. Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital as of November 13, Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2 will delight audiences of all ages. Continue reading ‘Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2 (Blu-ray Review)’
December 3rd, 2012 by Gregg Senko
There are some strong contenders for the title of Album of the Year for 2012. They range from bands that deliver hard riffs and cryptic lyrics to a movie soundtrack that musically enunciated each note to a heart-pounding degree. There were also a few newcomers that brought some refreshing strength to what can be at times a repetitive music industry. Still, at the end of the day, there can only be one.
Continue reading ‘Gregg’s 2012 Album of the Year’
December 2nd, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
They’re baaack! Catch the action for the first time or relive the ups and downs that come with fame as Vince, Eric, Drama and Turtle take you on a whirlwind ride through the high-stakes world of Hollywood with Entourage: The Complete Series. Created and executive produced by Doug Ellin and loosely based on the experiences of his good friend, Mark Wahlberg (who’s among the series’ executive producers), Entourage takes a none-too-serious look at the day-to-day life of Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), a hot young Hollywood actor, and the inner circle of friends he’s brought from his hometown in Queens, NY: manager Eric (Kevin Connolly), half-brother/actor Drama (Kevin Dillon) and enterprising pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). The series also stars Jeremy Piven who garnered three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his portrayal as Vince’s agent Ari Gold, Rex Lee as Lloyd and Perry Reeves as the long-suffering Mrs. Ari. Returning guest stars include Scott Caan as Scott Lavin, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Sloan, Beverly D’Angelo as Ari’s business partner Babs and Debi Mazar as Vince’s publicist Shauna. The set is boxed in a stylishly cool, black casing and features all eight seasons along with more than six hours of bonus content and is the first time seasons one through five are available on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘Entourage: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)’
