Archive Page 375
October 1st, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Part mystery-thriller, part sly commentary, Gone Girl finds director David Fincher working hard to bring Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel to life. The result is a very entertaining feature that is able to straddle the line of darkness thanks to its many twists and turns, strong performances, a great amount of dark humor, and the sort of technical excellence expected from David Fincher and his crew. For whatever reason, just because this film seems to stem from the more serious, prestigious side of Hollywood, many want to stack it next to its Oscar potential. I do not quite see that, but what I did see was a modern film imbued with the spirit of pulpy crime novels, resulting in a fine example of what can come out of Hollywood, when a great amount of talent is involved and put to good use.
Continue reading ‘‘Gone Girl’ Is Wicked Fun (Movie Review)’
October 1st, 2014 by Brandon Peters
The fourth season of Cartoon Network’s hit show Adventure Time comes to Blu-ray this Tuesday from Warner Bros Home Entertainment. This show has proven to be a ratings champion for the network and is currently in this sixth season. Adventure Time will go longer than that, though, as its been renewed for a seventh season next year. By that time the show, still early in its life (premiered in 2010) will impressively have collected over two hundred episodes. The show produces its episodes in eleven minute increments which allows it to climb to such a eye poppingly large number. However high that number is currently (172 to be exact), this show has shown no real signs of losing and steam and continues to keep its audience invested as shown by its solid and increasing ratings. Continue reading ‘Adventure Time: The Complete Fourth Season (Blu-ray Review)’
October 1st, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Lukas Moodysson directs We Are The Best!, a film adapted from the graphic novel Never Goodnight authored by Coco Moodysson. Coco just so happens to be the wife of Lukas, so I’m sure this was an easy deal to make. The film screen as a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. It was released in limited capacity in the United States at the end of May this year, following releases in its homeland of Sweden and one in Denmark. We Are The Best! has received high marks from critics as well as scoring very well on popular films sites like Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic.
. Continue reading ‘We Are The Best! (Blu-ray Review)’
October 1st, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
It is great to go retro, when being guided by filmmakers who know what they are doing. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett clearly have plenty of retro inspirations for their films. Having found success in the realm of genre filmmaking, particularly with their previous collaboration, You’re Next, playing as a slasher film with a twisted comic edge, The Guest is another dip into familiar territory, enhanced by the sense of style and humor that oozes throughout the film. Making note of which films have been mined for ideas may be going a bit too far, but suffice it to say that The Guest has surprises up its sleeve that come less from the reveals and more from what underlines those reveals, as this film is a lot of fun.
Continue reading ‘‘The Guest’ Was Polite And Awesome (Movie Review)’
September 30th, 2014 by Blu-ray Brian
The fun, visually-stunning and riotously entertaining blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes out of its shell onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, DVD and VOD December 16, 2014 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The film arrives three weeks early on Digital HD November 25. In this eye-popping reimagining of the legendary heroes in a half shell, New York is under attack by the sinister Shredder, but fearless leader Leonardo, brilliant and brainy Donatello, rough and rebellious Raphael and wild and crazy Michelangelo take to the streets to defend their home with the help of intrepid reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and their brilliant sensei, Splinter. I saw it theatrically and enthusiastically enjoyed myself with it because it’s packed with dope turtle action and special effects and also loaded with the franchise’s signature humor. The film stars Will Arnett, Whoopi Goldberg, and William Fichtner and features Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo and Tony Shalhoub as the voice of Splinter. Check out the full press release below! Continue reading ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Come Out of Their Shells on Blu-ray This December’
September 30th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
To Be Takei is an entertaining and moving look at the many roles played by eclectic 77-year-old actor/activist George Takei whose wit, humor, and grace has allowed him to become an internationally beloved figure. The film offers unprecedented access to the day-to-day life of George and his husband/business partner Brad Takei and chronicles George’s fascinating personal journey, from his childhood in a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII, to his iconic and groundbreaking role as Sulu on Star Trek to his rise as an internet phenomenon with over 7-million Facebook fans. The film shows what it truly means To Be Takei. Continue reading ‘To Be Takei (DVD Review)’
September 30th, 2014 by Blu-ray Brian
Make no mistake, as I boldly mentioned here back in July, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of my favorite films of the year. Now, I did not see it as many times as I did Guardians of the Galaxy in the theater, but that’s only because opportunity did not present itself like it did numerous times for Guardians. However, I digress because I want to thank the Gods for the email I found in my inbox today. That’s right! Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is coming home to my beloved Blu-ray format on December 2nd and I stand here waiting with open arms. Make sure you pre-order your copy now and check out the full press release below from Fox. Get to it! Continue reading ‘‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Unleashes on Blu-ray’
September 29th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the premier next generation global content leader, today announced that it has entered into an agreement withSaban Brands, a strategic brand management company that acquires and builds global consumer brands, to acquire the home entertainment distribution rights to new top-rated animated preschool series Julius Jr. Lionsgate will serve as the exclusive distributor of Julius Jr. product for all packaged media, EST and transactional video on demand rights in the United States and Canada. The announcement was made by Lionsgate Executive Vice President of Marketing and Family Entertainment Anne Parducci and Saban Brands Senior Vice President of Global Distribution Frederic Soulie.
. Continue reading ‘Lionsgate Acquires Home Entertainment Distribution Rights To Delightful Animated Preschool Series Julius Jr.’
September 29th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company are proud to announce the home entertainment release of the feel-good film BEGIN AGAIN, featuring the multi-talented ensemble cast of Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine,James Corden and Catherine Keener. Music fans can also catch some of their favorite stars, including hip-hop acts CeeLo Green and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) in the film hailed by Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair as “a love letter to New York.” With powerful musical performances byKnightley and Levine, including the hit song sensation “Lost Stars,” the film will be available for digital download on October 17, 2014 before heading to Blu-Ray™ and DVD with Digital HD UltraViolet™ on October 28, 2014. Continue reading ‘BEGIN AGAIN: Starring Keira Knightley, Adam Levine & Mark Ruffalo On Blu-Ray October 28’
September 29th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Robert Rodriguez’s episodic version of he and Quentin Tarantino’s classic From Dusk Till Dawn seems like it fulfills many trends going on in television at the moment. Easily, it covers the fascination with vampires. That’s a given. And with that it also is another horror television show which is all the rage. Thirdly, its taking a feature film and elongating it into a television series, attempting to enrich a familiar story with more patience, plot and character development. It was the flagship program for Robert Rodriguez El Rey network that launched this year. El Rey is a sort of network devoted to many things Grindhouse. Or, the type of obscure or exploitation films that inspired and continue to fuel he and Quentin Tarantino’s film careers. Seriously, watching commercials for some of the movies they air on the network just makes me want to sit and watch a lazy Saturday marathon of the cult classics they’re showing. From Dusk Till Dawn the series definitely wants to fit into that mold. Continue reading ‘From Dusk Till Dawn – Season One (Blu-ray Review)’
September 29th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
We have the info about Woody Allen’s latest, which comes to Blu-ray this September: Love is written in the stars, and the events are indeed magical in Sony Pictures Classics’ romantic comedy MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT, available Dec. 2 on Digital HD, and on Blu-ray™ and DVD Dec. 16 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Written and directed by Woody Allen, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT is set in the 1920s against the beautiful and opulent Cote d’Azur in the south of France, starring Colin Firth as an Englishman and master magician who helps expose a swindler, played by Emma Stone. Read on to learn more about this upcoming release.
Continue reading ‘Woody Allen’s MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT Finds Its Way To Blu-ray This December’
September 29th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
One certainly cannot accuse the V/H/S series of not wanting to evolve. Each film serves as a horror anthology based around the idea of genre directors using the ‘found footage’ to put together some extremely messed up films, but this series has also attempted to grow its mythology and find new and wilder approaches to the short films. The first V/H/S was marred by its long runtime and general nastiness as far as a majority of the characters, both protagonists and antagonists were concerned. V/H/S 2 was a major step up, as it was shorter, scary, well-produced, and still very extreme. Now we have this third feature which is a bit of mixed bag. On the one hand, it is very well-produced and shows a lot of creativity. On the other, a large focus on the connective tissue between the individual films really brings things down, along with the very evolution of the central conceit, which may be controversial to ‘found footage purists.’
Continue reading ‘Beyond Fest 2014: V/H/S: Viral (Movie Review)’
September 29th, 2014 by Brian White
Edge of Tomorrow, not to be confused title-wise with the Blu-ray’s cover art tagline “Live, Die, Repeat,” is the movie we’re here to discuss in length today and I’m not sure who it was, either Aaron or Gerard here, but I remember it like it was only yesterday (no pun to the subject matter of this film), when one of them recommended to the Why So Blu clan members that they needed to check out the trailer for Edge of Tomorrow. Come to think of it, Aaron probably had a leg up on us all last year with his coverage of three Warner Bros. titles here and of course his WonderCon writeup this past April here. And like usual, when I first watched the trailer I refuted that I would ever love it. I mean I loved Tom Cruise in Oblivion last year and I even loved a loophole time jumping flick like 2012’s Looper, but I sometimes get agitated and very antsy when I’m forced to watch the same thing transpire over and over only to get a little bit more info each time (no offense to Groundhog Day). Continue reading ‘Edge of Tomorrow (Blu-ray Review)’
September 28th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Religious films having been making their presence felt at the box office lately with the likes of films like God’s Not Dead. There seems to be a stronger audience than ever that’s willing to bust out their wallet for films with that kind of theme at the box office. Persecuted comes in the form of a religious political thriller. The film was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then premiered at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee in February of this very year. It was also shown at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC. The film impressively sports actors James Remar, Bruce Davison and Dean Stockwell. Continue reading ‘Persecuted (Blu-ray Review)’
September 27th, 2014 by Brian White
Back in April, I penned a “pretty” extensive review of an album that dropped this past March, Going To Hell, which is still one of my favorites of the year. Coincidentally, that review can be found its glorious entirety here. Since then I have been keeping a close eye on Taylor Momsen from her authoring of critical reviews on each episode of the final season of HBO’s True Blood on popcrush.com to her beach, tie-dye infused music video for the tune “Messed Up World (F’d Up World)” that lacks that now infamous anchored cross that adorns her body (and points down to her you know what) in the video for “Heaven Knows,” gunfire and cigarettes, but on the plus side it does have one helluva classic hot rod red Mustang convertible in it. I don’t know about you, but that’s sexy enough for me. And quite honestly, no opening paragraph on a story about Taylor’s band, The Pretty Reckless, would ever be complete without mentioning my never-ending love and affinity for track number four, the haunting “House on a Hill.” I swear I can workout and write non-stop to that track on a continuous loop, but I digress. Continue reading ‘The Pretty Reckless Live at Emo’s Austin (Concert Review)’
September 27th, 2014 by Alan Aguilera
The CW put out a great fun dramatic new series last year, The Originals, but it also put out another new series, Reign. Now while the show is inspired, it really offers very little in terms substance or anything new. It’s essentially just like any of the other teeny soapy shows that they are accused of doing but with a period piece setting to mask it. CW has had a good run with me in regards of being surprised with their programming lately. Instead of being a fun and campy genre piece, Reign just ends up being fluffy teenage camp. This is not my cup of tea, but Warner Brothers continues its excellent home video release reputation and Reign is beautiful. Continue reading ‘Reign Season 1 (DVD Review)’
September 27th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I find there to be a lot of beauty in Los Angeles at night. It is a bit odd, as I find most films that portray LA primarily at night tend to be centered on crime. Something about the way this city is illuminated by its street lights, cars, and various other forms of activity just does something for me. Certain films and filmmakers have proven to have quite the handle on filming this sort of thing. I think of a director like Michael Mann, who seems to understand exactly how to shoot LA at night, given what he brought to films like Heat or Collateral. With Nightcrawler, a dark, satirical neo-noir, writer/director Dan Gilroy and cinematographer Robert Elswit seemed to want to do all they could to capture amazing photography of this city at night. As a result, we watch a slimy character do all he can to get great footage, while in turn finding something sublime in how wonderfully shot the whole thing is.
Continue reading ‘Beyond Fest 2014: Nightcrawler (Movie Review)’
September 27th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
1974 was a year of high achievement for Queen. They had their first two hit singles, ‘Seven Seas OfRhye’ and ‘Killer Queen,’ released two albums, ‘Queen II’ and ‘Sheer Heart Attack,’ and completed major tours across the UK, America and Europe. In the UK, they performed three sold-out shows at the legendary Rainbow Theatre in London’s Finsbury Park, one in March on the ‘Queen II’ tour and two in November following the release of ‘Sheer Heart Attack’. To mark the 40th Anniversary of these shows, fans can finally enjoy Queen ‘Live At The Rainbow 74’, lovingly restored, re-edited, mixed and digitally mastered and including much previously unseen footage. The main show is from November with, as a bonus, the only surviving footage from the March show. This is Queen dazzling their audience with an unforgettable show delivered with a skill and confidence which belied their youth. Continue reading ‘Queen: Live at the Rainbow ’74 (Blu-ray Review)’
Part mystery-thriller, part sly commentary, Gone Girl finds director David Fincher working hard to bring Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel to life. The result is a very entertaining feature that is able to straddle the line of darkness thanks to its many twists and turns, strong performances, a great amount of dark humor, and the sort of technical excellence expected from David Fincher and his crew. For whatever reason, just because this film seems to stem from the more serious, prestigious side of Hollywood, many want to stack it next to its Oscar potential. I do not quite see that, but what I did see was a modern film imbued with the spirit of pulpy crime novels, resulting in a fine example of what can come out of Hollywood, when a great amount of talent is involved and put to good use.
