Archive Page 412
April 25th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Opening night at the 15th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival was a nice start to what should be an exciting festival to keep track of. Given the difficulty I have had at nailing down exactly which films to check out on what days, due to interest in so many, it seems like I am in for a lot of good, interesting, or at least entertaining features. With that in mind, I was happy to find the opening film, Lovesick, to be enjoyable enough, for what it is. I say this because the opening night film tends to be a more palatable feature, in an effort to please the general audience as a whole, given the crowded attendance in the Big Newport Theater on Opening Night. The film is simple enough, but the cast makes it a bit more appealing.
Continue reading ‘NBFF 2014 Review: Lovesick’
April 24th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
The cops can’t control him. The mob wants him dead. And time is running out. Donnie Yen is Detective Chen Zilong but the criminal underworld knows him as Dragon Chen, a dangerous but effective enforcer. When rivalries explode with the reappearance of an old enemy and a brutal murder, the Triads close ranks and unleash a series of executions with Chen at the top of the list. Undercover and under attack, he has no choice but to rely on a new partner (Jing Tian) and his knowledge of the streets to get out alive. It s the only chance he s got.
] Continue reading ‘Special ID (Blu-ray Review)’
April 24th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
An assumption about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is that it appears to be a light-hearted adventure comedy made for a trendy crowd, due to the use of various elements in its trailers. I would not necessarily agree, but that seems to have inspired a lot of ire in the film from some, for reasons that are beyond me. Having seen the film a couple times now, I was very happy to enjoy it for what it manages to accomplish. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a film about one man’s journey that may not have a whole lot of depth, compared to the scope of the film or others like it, but it worked for me in a very crowd-pleasing kind of way and I liked that. Now the Blu-ray is available for people to enjoy the journey at home.
Continue reading ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Blu-ray Review)’
April 24th, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Danny Trejo (Machete) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) deliver twice the Bad Ass action in this hard-hitting, butt-kicking sequel to the original cult favorite! Vietnam vet Frank Vega (Trejo) now runs an East L.A. community center where he trains young boxers to survive in and out of the ring. But when his prize student falls in with the wrong crowd and turns up dead, Frank teams up with his pal Bernie (Glover) to take matters into their own fists and prove that justice never gets old.
] Continue reading ‘Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (Blu-ray Review)’
April 24th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Three grown woman find out they are sharing the same guy and become friends with a mission to have their silly revenge. Admittedly I do not have a whole lot of tolerance for these kinds of movies. I am not talking about ‘chick flicks’, as there are plenty of ‘chick flicks’ that I enjoy and would recommend. I am talking about dumb movies that exist to provide some laughs, maybe, but are instantly forgotten and have only one real trick up their sleeve and that’s to convince movie goers to have spent their money on it to begin with. To be completely fair, The Other Woman has a big enough performance from Leslie Mann to likely elicit plenty of smiles and make it feel like harmless fun, but also keep in mind that this film that features three female leads that never stop talking about boys. There are also all the slow-mo boob shots and poop jokes too, which the movie definitely enjoys featuring.
Continue reading ‘The Other Women…I mean ‘The Other Woman’ (Movie Review)’
April 23rd, 2014 by Blu-ray Brian
I guess I’ll go on record by saying Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is probably one of my most anticipated flick’s of the year. I don’t know whether it’s going to be good or bad, but what I have seen thus far has not disappointed me. Quite the contrary! All the footage I have seen just gets me more pumped about this August release starring the likes of Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mickey Rourke, Juno Temple, Jaime King, Rosario Dawson and many others all in 3-D! The Robert Rodriguez production hits theaters on August 22nd and provided I’m not on call that week my a$$ will be in a theater chair fo sho! You can take that to the bank and cash it! I guess you can say this movie is sort of like a 40th birthday present for me. Yep. That’s right! The big 4-0 and I have so much left I want to accomplish yet. Please God help me! LOL. Oh yeah…the new 60-second trailer! Continue reading ‘Frank Miller’s ‘Sin City: A Dame To Kill For’ New 60 Second Trailer’
April 23rd, 2014 by Gerard Iribe
Between love, destiny and darkness comes “Winter’s Tale,” arriving onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on June 24 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures. Marking the directorial debut of Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”), “Winter’s Tale” is the perfect love story. Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin, “Winter’s Tale” stars Colin Farrell (“Saving Mr. Banks”), Jessica Brown Findlay (TV’s “Downton Abbey”) and Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”), alongside Jennifer Connelly (“Stuck in Love”), William Hurt (“Bonnie and Clyde”), Eva Marie Saint (“The Legend of Korra”), Mckayla Twiggs (“Orange is the New Black”) and Ripley Sobo (“Team Umizoomi”). Continue reading ‘‘Winter’s Tale’ on Blu-ray & DVD June 24th!’
April 22nd, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
Here is something I have been really enjoying:
COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY is the spectacular follow-up to Carl Sagan’s award-winning series that explored the remarkable mysteries of the cosmos and our place within it. This thrilling, 13-part adventure transports viewers across the universe of space and time, bringing to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and a deeper understanding of nature. With an updated Cosmic Calendar, dazzling visual effects, and the wondrous Ship of the Imagination, fans will experience an unforgettable journey to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest and smallest scale. On June 10th, everyone will be able to pick up a copy for themselves. Read on to learn more about this upcoming release.
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)’
Opening night at the 15th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival was a nice start to what should be an exciting festival to keep track of. Given the difficulty I have had at nailing down exactly which films to check out on what days, due to interest in so many, it seems like I am in for a lot of good, interesting, or at least entertaining features. With that in mind, I was happy to find the opening film, Lovesick, to be enjoyable enough, for what it is. I say this because the opening night film tends to be a more palatable feature, in an effort to please the general audience as a whole, given the crowded attendance in the Big Newport Theater on Opening Night. The film is simple enough, but the cast makes it a bit more appealing.
