Jean-Claude Van Damme Keeps His ‘Enemies Closer’ on Blu-ray
February 10th, 2014 by Blu-ray Brian
If you cannot tell, as a childhood fan of action movie icon Jean-Claude Van Damme, I’m pumped about the announcement of Enemies Closer, which will be arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD UltraViolet), DVD (plus Digital Ultraviolet) and Digital HD March 11th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. I saw this movie’s trailer on iTunes trailers weeks ago and immediately texted my fellow reviewers about it. Needless to say, we are all kinds of curious about this feature. So armed with that information, why don’t I let Lionsgate do the rest of the talking below. What do you say? Hell yeah! I knew it. Check it out below! Continue reading ‘Jean-Claude Van Damme Keeps His ‘Enemies Closer’ on Blu-ray’
This is one of those situations where I’m “easy”. Dolph Lundgren Vs. Zombies. Sure! Dolph Lundgren Vs. Zombies AND ROBOTS! Sign me up now! Battle Of The Damned promised me just that. And going in, that’s what I really expect and no more. Give me the vintage Dolph Lundgren goofy goods. Give me the gore vicious Zombie treats. Now, lets blend them. I’m not going to lie to you, when I first saw the trailer for this one I got pretty excited. I put on my “need to see” list, believe it or not. With such little aspirations, it would seem hard for this film to fail. But, Battle Of The Damned manages to make some choices behind the camera that doesn’t do it any favors on the viewers eyes and processing of the film. The story is just fine, it’s the way its told that does the disservice. Keep on reading and I’ll explain myself further. 
CJ Entertainment imports another South Korean film to the United States. This time its Fists Of Legend. While its not even relatively close in subject matter, using the vice of reality television to tell this story reminded me that of Slumdog Millionaire. But, anyway, this film is one that showcases the popular fighting of MMA as a centerpiece to this story of longtime friends with a troubled history reunited after many years of being estranged. The film features some well directed action pieces and a great set of characters that will have you the viewer well invested fight-by-fight antsy to see who will win as if it was an actual match. I was quite surprised at not only the quality of the film, but how much I was into it. 
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER, the music of “Frozen” was celebrated with live performances at Los Angeles’ Vibrato Grill Jazz club last night. Kristen Bell (voice of Anna), Idina Menzel (voice of Elsa), Josh Gad (voice of Olaf) and Santino Fontana (voice of Hans) took the stage, accompanied by a live orchestra conducted by David Metzger, to perform songs from the Oscar®-nominated, Golden Globe®-winning film, including the Oscar-nominated “Let It Go.” The packed house included songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, composer Christophe Beck, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho and executive producer John Lasseter, in addition to a host of celebrity guests. In theaters since Nov. 27, 2013, “Frozen” has earned more than $900 million worldwide. The “Frozen” soundtrack has held the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 chart for four non-consecutive weeks, and is the longest-running No. 1 film soundtrack since 2003. Worldwide, the album has sold more 1 million units and 3.4 million tracks. At iTunes, the album has peaked at No. 1 in more than 30 countries. 
We have given away some pretty big Blu-ray prizes here on the site over the years, but nothing compares in my opinion to what’s up for grabs in today’s BIG announcement. When I think of America, pride in my country and the ability to rise up against all odds and become the greatest you possibly can be in the face of utter adversity, nothing cinematically is more synonymous in my mind than the Rocky movie franchise. I’m not sure how you feel about that opinion of mine, but I’m hoping some of you at least share in my sentiments and are PUMPED about this Blu-ray giveaway our friends at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are making possible here for one lucky reader of Why So Blu! You ready to learn more? Follow me and let’s step into the ring! Ding! Ding! 
For all the great things The Monuments Men brought together in an effort to make an exciting war picture, with a good-natured twist, the film certainly felt pretty lifeless and dull. I tend to make it no secret that I am happy to embrace the marketing of films, in an effort to get me excited for them. A well cut trailer and a solid list of actors and talent behind the camera is plenty to have me happily anticipating a film. The Monuments Men had all of that and even after the film switched from its awards-friendly release date in December to February, I was still prepared to give the film the benefit of the doubt that I would at least find it quite enjoyable. The problem, as it turns out, is that screenwriter/director George Clooney and his co-screenwriter/producer Grant Heslov could not find a way to make this particular WWII story into something with more dramatic weight. There is a good cause being fought for, which is different than the norm in a war movie, but even with A-list talent, the results felt rather inert.
Let’s get one thing straight from the start. Even going into the press screening this past Saturday I was against this movie. While it looked unique and looked like it could be fun, I just did not want to invest the time in it and regret it later because you know life’s too short, yada, yada, yada. But then again, what if this was really good? What if I would be missing out on something really special? That’s a lot of what ifs, huh? Well, I guess it’s whatever it takes to get me in the seat, but I must admit that I had a small glimmer of hope that I just might like this one because like the tagline says, it’s the story of a nobody who save everybody. Aren’t all great movies like billed this? Well, most of them at least. So I figured as long as The Lego Movie can take me on a journey through the eyes of a hero and I fall for his character arc then just maybe…maybe…I might be able to have a good time with this one. If not, then there’s always popcorn to be had! So as nonsensical as this first paragraph really is, what do you say we talk about some Legos? 
Welp, here comes the big mean Warner Brothers machine repackaging another big title for its big anniversary. We saw them do this for The Exorcist and All The President’s Men last year. This one looks to be leaning toward that of The Exorcist‘s release with a nicer case and collectibles inside. And as is par for the course, there’s a new bonus feature in the form of a DVD that comes with it (because the disc with the feature on it is likely the exact same one you can get in stores currently). This is something collector’s are surely going to want to have to replace their previous copy of the film. For me, I wish they’d turn their focus onto stuff they HAVEN’T put out yet and are sitting on instead of repackaging movies that they’ve already put out, but we can’t win them all. This one comes out May 6th and you can pre-order below. If you’ve not seen Blazing Saddles, get on that, its one of the greatest comedies of all time! You’ll laugh pretty hard! 
Planes: Fire & Rescue is a new comedy-adventure about second chances, featuring a dynamic crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from raging wildfire. When world famous air racer Dusty (voice of Dane Cook) learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of aerial firefighting. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his courageous team, including spirited super scooper Dipper (voice of Julie Bowen), heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter, ex-military transport Cabbie and a lively bunch of brave all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero. Directed by Bobs Gannaway (“Secret of the Wings”), “Planes: Fire & Rescue” hits theaters in 3D on July 18, 2014. Check out the new trailer below! 
Walking With Dinosaurs was a release this Christmas that failed to catch on with audiences in the US. Some might not have even heard of it. This was a big project that opened with a whimper a midst all the Oscar buzzed film and popcorn flicks. It did manage to recoup the budget overseas without factoring marketing. Featuring the voice talents of Justin Long, Karl Urban (yay!) and John Leguizamo, this film didn’t manage to please critics or audiences too much according to online film scoring websites. Those of us who missed it can find out for ourselves next month when it arrives on Blu-ray just in time for Easter. Below you can check out all the details of this release as well as the ever so helpful pre-order link! 
