Archive Page 407
April 22nd, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
From what I can tell, both Comic Con and WonderCon have proven to be great venues to debut the latest DC Universe Animated Original Movies and I am sure the other cons do it too. The past few years have seen the debut public screenings of films such as Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, and Superman: Unbound, among others. It makes perfect sense, as the people attending these cons consist of the exact type of audience that would seek them out. For WonderCon 2014, audiences were treated to the debut of Son of Batman, which was screened on Friday and had an encore screening on Sunday. The film introduces the Damian character, the child Batman learns he has, which leads to a battle with some old and new foes. As a Batman fan attending WonderCon, I of course had to check this out for myself.
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: Son of Batman (Movie Review)’
April 21st, 2014 by Brian White
First things first, I wouldn’t even be writing this review if it wasn’t for the generosity of fellow Why So Blu reviewer Gerard Iribe. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a brisk March morning in Austin, TX, the 18th of the month, and Gerard texted me a snapshot of the vinyl album cover he just received via Amazon Prime. And yes, for anyone that noticed, I did say vinyl album cover. You know those bulky Frisbee-like discs your parents (if your my age) used to rock back in the days? Well anyway, let’s just say the picture of the dust jacket that housed the round platter had me at the tri-tone text chime. Holy Frankenstein its alive! If The Pretty Reckless accomplishes nothing the rest of this year, the album artwork alone is a divisional conference clincher. Thankfully, the buck doesn’t stop there. Oh no! Taylor Momsen and her boys mean business and are in my opinion a force to be reckoned with in the rock world. Come on. I’ll show you around because we’re all “Going to Hell” anyway. Continue reading ‘The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell (Album Review)’
April 21st, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
So here is the second half of 20th Century Fox’s presentation at WonderCon. Be sure to check out Part 1 HERE, but this post will cover a number of films presented by Fox in the Anaheim Convention Center’s Arena on Saturday at WonderCon. The popular young adult book, The Maze Runner, has a feature film on the way and the cast and crew were on hand to discuss it and show off some clips. A surprise presentation of the upcoming Matthew Vaughn/Mark Millar reteaming, Secret Service, took place as well. Lastly, some more light was shed on one of the most hotly anticipated films of the summer, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Once again, there were plenty of reasons to have fans excited, so read on to learn more about what people seemed to be losing their minds over (there’s probably a Professor X joke in there somewhere).
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: 20th Century Fox Presentation Part 2: The Maze Runner, Secret Service & X-Men: Days of Future Past’
April 21st, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
When Baton Rouge police detective Bud Carter (Dafoe) busts contract killer Jesse Weiland (Dillon), he convinces Jesse to become an informant and rat out the South’s most powerful crime ring. So when the syndicate orders Carter’s death and Weiland’s ID’d as a snitch, the two team up to take down the mob and the crime boss (Berenger) who ordered the hit. Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Neal McDonough. Amy Smart, and Tom Berenger star in Bad Country, a gritty action thriller from director Chris Brinker, a producer of The Boondock Saints. Continue reading ‘Bad Country (Blu-ray Review)’
April 21st, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Legendary actor John Wayne demonstrates his comedic side in the uproarious Western classic MCLINTOCK! on Blu-ray May 20, 2014 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Scanned in 4K for the first time, this official Batjac release presents “The Duke” at his two-fisted best with the beautiful, fiery Maureen O’Hara as the proverbial thorn in his side. The MCLINTOCK! Blu-ray also includes commentaries by Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson, Maureen O’Hara, Stefanie Powers, Michael Pate, Michael Wayne and Andrew McLaglen, an introduction by Leonard Maltin, The Making of McLintock!, plus featurettes, a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer. Continue reading ‘MCLINTOCK! Comes To Blu-ray On May 20!’
April 21st, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
After she is drugged and abducted, Jamie (Rachel Nichols, Continuum) awakens to find herself in a concrete bunker where she meets fellow abductee Sabrina (Zoe Bell, Death Proof). Before long the two women discover that they are in a modern-day coliseum, where they and 48 other women have been selected to fight to the death in order to save both themselves and their loved ones. Co-starring genre favorites Doug Jones (Hellboy) and Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), director Josh C. Waller s RAZE is a no-holds-barred assault on the senses featuring some of the most brutal action combat ever put on film. In this contest, may the best woman win. Continue reading ‘‘Raze’ the Roof on DVD May 20th!’
April 20th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
20th Century Fox had the biggest block of time to work with on Saturday at WonderCon and they used it to deliver presentations for four of their upcoming, big budget movies, with one surprise look at another film as well. Because of the expansive line-up of films presented, I figured it would be best to split this post in two, so for ‘Part 1’ I am focusing on How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, arriving in June and July this summer. As How To Train Your Dragon has many fans, this is a hotly anticipated animated sequel that is sure to be a big (possibly the biggest) hit this summer. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is coming off of much love received both from audiences and critics, who were surprised to be quite pleased by Rise of the Planet of the Apes back in 2011. Continue on to read about the presentations for both films. Note: Updated with first 5 minutes of How To Train Your Dragon 2.
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: 20th Century Fox Presentation Part 1: How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’
April 20th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
With the panel for the upcoming EuropaCorp-produced, Universal Studios-distributed film Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, I believe I found myself more intrigued by the fact that writer/director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Leon, The Fifth Element) would be at WonderCon, rather than being psyched about the film itself. That said, the trailer premiered a few weeks ago and many have seemed pretty psyched about it. I can say I was fine with the trailer that initially debuted, especially since it looked like a film Besson may have actually put more of himself into it, like his earlier films, rather than the last few features we have seen from him (The Family), but I was not necessarily blown away in the same way others were. Having said that, this was a fun presentation, complete with an enjoyable (and sometimes awkwardly humorous) conversation with Besson and some clips that have really turned me around on looking forward to the film. Read on to learn more about this film panel presentation.
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: Lucy’
April 20th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Saturday was the big day at WonderCon, as far as the big studio films were concerned, as the Anaheim Convention Center’s Arena had a back-to-back-to-back-to-etc. lineup of movie studios showing off some of their upcoming big action/sci-fi movies. The morning kicked off with Warner Brothers, who were proud to show off new footage from Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, Into The Storm 3D featuring The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage, and lastly Godzilla, which looks like it could prove to be either one of the biggest films of this summer or at least the one with the biggest creature(s) involved. Read on to learn more about this presentation.
Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: Warner Bros. Presentation – Edge of Tomorrow, Into The Storm, and Godzilla’
April 19th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Before the West entered World War II, a Japanese death cult called the Temple of Hades is ordered to aid in the spiritual destruction of China. Their method: abduct their enemies’ children and train them as killers for the Emperor. Young Vajra was especially gifted, but swears a secret oath of revenge when his brother dies. Now the greatest assassin in the temple, Vajra escapes to China and begins his quest to protect the innocent, and destroy the ones responsible for making him a living weapon. A former Shaolin monk, martial arts action star Xing Yu (aka Shi Yanneng) stars as Vajra in his first leading role. Continue reading ‘The Wrath of Vajra (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
LA playboy Dean (Skylar Astin) is fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships – he wants more out of life than just a party. With a little inspiration from his nine-year-old nephew and his best friend Tess (Camilla Belle), Dean decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time – which proves to be much more difficult than he thought in modern-day Los Angeles. Continue reading ‘Cavemen (Blu-ray Review)’
April 18th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
So I am attending WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend and while the big guns are being saved for Saturday, I did manage to do a few things on Friday, which may be of interest. Aside from walking the exhibit floors and interviewing the folks from Son of Batman, which I wont be able to see until Sunday, I did manage to check out the panel for Salem, the upcoming supernatural period drama, which airs its first episode on WGN Sunday, April 20th. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2014: ‘Salem’ Panel’
April 18th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Scream Factory is putting another modern horror film out. This time, they’re bringing to North America, the festival indie darling House In the Alley to DVD. Yeah, I know, “boo it’s not Blu-ray”. From what I gather though, they only could acquire the rights for a DVD release on this one, so better than nothing at all. I don’t know much about this one myself, but I kinda don’t want to know anymore and go in blind. As a video store geek of the 80s and 90s, that cover looks chilling enough for me to give it a spin in my player. Below you’ll find some more details as well as that lovely lovely Amazon pre-order button that no one seems to like to click. It works, trust me 🙂
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. Continue reading ‘Popular Overseas Haunted House Thriller HOUSE IN THE ALLEY Arrives On DVD May 27!’
April 17th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
I never really know how much to say about these Disneynature films. They are not insufficient enough to call them mild distractions, as the footage is generally great, the voiceovers are fun, and there is enough work done to build a narrative that I can get behind what they have to offer. It generally amounts to having a chance to see animals that kids generally grow up being intrigued by and having a new perspective that can be formed by families, in regards to those animals. African Cats worked for me, as it was neat to see a big screen documentary about lions, with the bonus addition of Samuel L. Jackson providing narration. That film also worked due to the stakes that, manufactured or not, presented a real life depiction of what lions go through. Bears finds a way to create similar stakes, which makes the film effective enough in what ultimately amounts to a large format way to see bears in action.
Continue reading ‘Disney’s ‘Bears’ Be Bumpin’ (Movie Review)’
April 17th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
The new “Legacy” featurette, from MALEFICENT, featuring a behind-the-scenes interview with Angelina Jolie, is now available. Also, starting today, fans can enter for a chance to win a trip to the world premiere of the film in the Maleficent “Embrace Your Inner Evil” Sweepstakes. Fans can enter by recreating Maleficent’s laugh and posting the video to Instagram using #MaleficentLaughSweeps. Official Rules: http://di.sn/MaleficentLaugh.
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. Continue reading ‘New “The Legacy” Featurette Available For MALEVICENT’
April 17th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
Directed by Craig Gillespie from a screenplay written by Tom McCarthy, Walt Disney Pictures’ drama “Million Dollar Arm” stars Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell and Alan Arkin. The producers are Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray and Joe Roth. The executive producers are Palak Patel, Kevin Halloran, Bill Simmons and Connor Schell. The film will be release in the United States on May 16, 2014. Here are some clips from the film and a featurette.
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. Continue reading ‘New Clips And A Featurette From MILLION DOLLAR ARM!’
April 17th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
For a techno-thriller about artificial intelligence, it actually seems to make sense that Transcendence does not have a whole lot of emotion to back up its big ideas, aside from Paul Bettany’s cry face, which makes its appearance now and again. This is a film that could have worked as a cheesy B-movie with the words, “When computers fight back!” written on a billboard entrance to a drive-in movie theater. Instead, it feels like a glossy, big-budget studio film with a screenplay that feels like a cautionary tale that has been updated from an original draft written 20 years ago. Not helping is the high caliber cast providing mostly half-hearted performances and a lack of urgency in a dramatic narrative that sets its stakes much higher than they ever actually feel. Even when some of the neat ideas are given some visual lift, Transcendence is still mostly a dull affair.
Continue reading ‘‘Transcendence’ Exceeds No Limits (Movie Review)’
April 17th, 2014 by Brandon Peters
The world is turned upside down when Batman – one of the world’s greatest Super Heroes – discovers he is a father in the newest DC Universe Original Animated Movie, Son of Batman. This all-new, PG-13-rated film arrives May 6, 2014 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack will also include Digital HD with UltraViolet™. Detail and pre-order follow below!
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. Continue reading ‘That No Good, Rotten SON OF (a) BATMAN Comes to Blu-ray May 6!’
