Dressed to Kill (Blu-ray Review)
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson, “Police Woman”) is a sexually-repressed housewife who seeks treatment from Dr. Robert Elliott (two-time Academy Award-winner Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Cider House Rules). While secretly leaving a hotel after a one-night affair, Kate is mysteriously murdered by a tall blonde woman wearing sunglasses. The only witness is a high-priced call girl, Liz (Nancy Allen in a Golden Globe-nominated performance), who becomes the killer’s next target. With the help of Kate’s grown son, Peter (Keith Gordon, A Midnight Clear), Liz discovers that the murderer is connected to Dr. Elliott, and the pair come face-to-face with a shocking surprise. Written and directed by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables), Dressed To Kill is a dark, psychological crime thriller with twists and turns around every corner. Continue reading ‘Dressed to Kill (Blu-ray Review)’
After the Cartoon Network debut of their first-ever original television special, The LEGO Group and Lucasfilm will join forces once again to bring LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace to Blu-ray Disc and DVD. Launching on September 16, the 22-minute original standalone special will feature the charm, action and irreverent humor that have become the signature style of LEGO Star Wars animation collaborations and will include five LEGO Star Wars shorts, as well as an exclusive, collectible minifigure. You’ve probably already bought the Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray so make sure you add this to your collection too! 
Re-live the story of one of America’s darkest moments through superb visuals and a double sided narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The classic film TORA! TORA! TORA! comes to Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on December 6th. The winner of the 1970 Academy Award for Best Special Effects TORA! TORA! TORA! was nominated for four more Oscars including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound. Experience TORA! TORA! TORA! through the superb visual quality of Blu-ray for the first time.
In the spring of 1980, the Mariel boatlift brought thousands of Cuban refugees to the sun-washed avenues of Miami in search of the American dream. From acclaimed director Brian DePalma, Scarface is the rags-to-riches story of Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who finds wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams…at a price he never imagined. Tony Montana’s meteoric rise, lavish life and soul-destroying fall, are the elements of the film have that inspired a worldwide following and changed the fortunes of the movie from a mediocre box office under-performer into a phenomenon. The role of Tony Montana gave Pacino one of his most memorable roles as he blasts his way to the top of Miami’s drug underworld in a bravura performance. 
Not long ago, I had the chance to talk to with some very influential people in Disney about the restoration work done for the upcoming Dumbo Blu-ray. Those people included Sara Duran-Singer, the Senior Vice-President of Post-Production, Dave Bossert, the Creative Director of Walt Disney Studios Animation, and Joe Jiuliano, who is the Director of Film and Video Services The discussion yielded a lot of interesting information on how Disney restores and preserves their films as well as some interesting trivia such as the fact that legendary Warner Brothers animator Chuck Jones got his start working for Disney. We also found out that some of Disney’s classic live action films including (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family Robinson, and Mary Poppins) have already been restored and will be coming to Blu-ray. Ostensibly, we were supposed to talk about the amazing restoration done on Dumbo, but I managed to sneak in a question about the legendary Song of the South which is still locked up in the vault, and I actually got an answer that might surprise you. Read on to find out more… 
Last night I received a very sobering text message from fellow WSB writer Gerard Iribe. It stated that Spartacus star Andy Whitfield passed away. For months I had wondered of the progress of the actor’s battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and last night was not the outcome I was expecting. Instead of focusing on the sadness of his departure, however, I figured it better to reflect on the positive that he brought to us as well as the indirect impact he has had here on Why So Blu.
Celebrate the 20th anniversary of director Joe Johnston’s (Captain America: The First Avenger) action-filled, witty The Rocketeer. Now with state-of-the-art digital restoration and enhanced high definition sound, experience it as it jets off for the first time on Disney Blu-ray. The discovery of a top-secret jetpack hurls test pilot Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) into a daring adventure of mystery, suspense, and intrigue! Cliff encounters an assortment of ruthless villains, led by a Hollywood screen star (Timothy Dalton) who is a secret Nazi spy. With the help of his actress girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) , the young pilot battles enormous odds to defeat his foes who are anxious to use the device in an evil plan to rule the world. This highly anticipated release is now available to pre-order! 
From the celebrated film-making team of Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Raising Arizona), comes this visually stunning tale of a double-cross—and murder—in a small town. When the owner of a backwoods bar hires a man to kill his cheating wife and her boyfriend, he opens a door into the criminal world that he’ll never be able to shut. Blood Simplemarked the debut of the Coen Brothers and also represented the big break for Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, and it gave M. Emmet Walsh the biggest role of his career. 
More astonishing and spectacular than ever before, Academy Award nominated writer/producer Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is now available for the first time ever to own on Disney Blu-ray 3D and/or 3D Movie Download! The Nightmare Before Christmas is produced by Academy Award nominated writer and producer Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) and Denise DiNovi (Edward Scissorhands, James and the Giant Peach), directed by Henry Selick (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach) and written by Michael McDowell (Beetle Juice, Thinner) and Caroline Thompson (Corpse Bride, The Addams Family). And the spectacular charactersare voiced by the talents of Chris Sarandon (The Princess Bride, Fright Night) as Jack Skellington’s speaking voice, Danny Elfman (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Jack Skellington’s singing voice and Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, Best In Show) as Sally, to name a few. 
The Beaver tells the emotional story of a once successful man named Walter Black (Mel Gibson) so plagued by his own demons that he resorts to the use of a beaver hand puppet in order turn his life around and reconnect with his family. Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) also co-star in the film which is both a darkly comic journey of self-discovery and the importance of family and the strength they can provide. 
Academy Award winner Yul Brynner stars in the landmark Western that launched the film careers of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Tired of being ravaged by an army of marauding bandits, the residents of a small Mexican village seek help from seven American gunfighters. The only problem? It’s seven against 50! Also featuring Eli Wallach and Robert Vaughn, and set against Elmer Bernstein’s Oscar-Nominated score, director John Sturges’ thrilling adventure belongs in any Blu-ray collection. 
If A Fistful of Dollars began the Eastwood legend, then its sequel, For a Few Dollars More, cemented it. Clint Eastwood makes his return as “The Man With No Name,” this time teaming up with a rival bounty hunter (Lee Van Cleef as “The Man In Black”) to take down a ruthless outlaw and his band of renegades. But all is not as it seems in the hard-hitting second installment of Sergio Leone’s trilogy starring Eastwood as the famed “Man With No Name.” This gritty, western masterpiece would be followed one year later by The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to complete director Sergio Leone’s brilliant Spaghetti Western Trilogy. 
A lone gunfighter, the man with no name, rides into town on his old mule. He’s a cynical loner with a clouded past and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. He’s as fast as the devil with a gun and he kills for money. But this isn’t the ideal town to ride into. Two rival families are against each other in a cut throat war. The one is led by their powerful mother mostly and the other by a blood thirsty criminal, Ramón, who has kidnapped a local man’s beautiful wife, Marisol. When the steely blue-eyed mercenary arrives in the dusty border town where these two rival bands of smugglers terrorize the impoverished citizens, he pits the gangs against each other in one of the most influential westerns in cinema history. Can the stranger remain neutral, or will he end up doing the right thing and helping the town? Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood blends a quiet steadiness with a palpable ferocity as the iconic gunslinger “The Man With No Name” in Sergio Leone’s first gritty “spaghetti Western.”
Collecting the first twelve episodes from the show’s second season, the two-disc Batman: The Brave and The Bold Season Two, Part One DVD collection is the latest home video release for the acclaimed Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series. This is the first of two planned DVD releases to collect the entire 26-episode second season of Batman: The Brave and The Bold with the next one scheduled to be released in early 2012. The show has benefited from some great guest stars including: Morena Baccarin, Xander Berkeley
Celebrating twenty-five years of the need for speed, the action-packed, sexy and breathtaking thrill-ride Top Gun is now available on a Blu-ray/Digital Copy Combo from Paramount Home Entertainment. The story of an elite group of pilots competing to be the best in their class and earn the title of “Top Gun” captured the imagination of a generation and earned a worldwide box office of over $350 million. Tom Cruise is superb as the cocky but talented pilot known as Maverick and Kelly McGillis sizzles as the civilian instructor who teaches Maverick a few things you can’t learn in a classroom. Featuring a sensational soundtrack with unforgettable songs from the 80s including Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” and Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”, the film also stars Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan. 
