Archive Page 430
December 28th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Luc Besson made some of my favorite films of the 1990s; La Femme Nikita, The Professional and The Fifth Element. For much of the previous decade he’s either been missing or taken on many smaller or more localized (for him) projects. I was actually intrigued by him having a new American film coming out this year, especially with players like Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro and Tommy Lee Jones attached. The movie pretty much came and went with merely a whimper. So, when it came time for Blu-ray I was eager to give this one a shot and see if maybe it had a weak release date, wasn’t appreciated upon release or was as lackluster as the reviews for it seemed to have suggested. Continue reading ‘The Family (Blu-ray Review)’
December 28th, 2013 by Brian White
I remembered when Don Jon rolled out theatrically this past September I was very nervous going in and partaking in it not because the trailers or television spots looked bad, but because they neglected to screen it for us members of the Austin press. Usually, nine times out of ten, when there’s no screener that’s not a good sign and is frequently an indicator that the film’s a real stinker if you know what I mean. Thankfully, for at least this movie, I’m glad to report that’s not the case and had it not been for the various web clips of the hilarious chemistry between Tony Danza and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s onscreen characters, this Blu-ray would have marked my very first viewing of the flick. Those short clips I found on Fandango virtually sold me on this feature and got me to open up my wallet to see this one theatrically. If you’re reading this marketers, listen up and take notes because everyone in my inner circle that really understands me knows that’s a hard thing to do to get me to open up and spend my hard earned money. So you ready to learn more about Don Jon?! Good, because coincidentally I’m in the mood to talk about it! Continue reading ‘Don Jon (Blu-ray Review)’
December 28th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
We’ve come to it at last…my Top-10 film list for the year 2013. I’ll be upfront about it and say that I did not see most of the major and non-major films of 2013. I am only listing the films that I saw that made an actual impact in my life, for better or for worse. No BS. It’s also kind of funny that since my list is due today, the 28th of December, I had to scramble and watch several movies at the cinema this past week STAT! It was a lot of fun but there are also just so many movies I can watch before a deadline hits. Luckily for me, some of those films that I watched at the last minute were so great that they indeed made my Top-10 list just in the nick of time. So, without further ado, let’s get the party started!
Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top-10 Super Duper Films of 2013!’
December 26th, 2013 by Brian White
The calendar year of 2013 was a tough one for me in the film department. However, unlike my recent Top 10 Blu-ray list over here, where I struggled to even find ten Blu-rays that I really really liked in 2013 (only leaving off Cloud Atlas), I find myself faced with a smorgasbord of films that I now must condense down to just ten mere selections. And I think to myself, hey that’s not fair! Yahoo published an article over a week ago with their 25 greatest films of 2013. Why can’t I do that? Well, it just wouldn’t be a true “Top 10” list then, would it? So here we are, and depending upon where you’re geographically located there may or may not be snow on the ground, it’s that time of again. It’s that time when for one day I get to play God and pummel you with my crude opinion and brute force as to what flicks I think deserve the most critical love, praise and acclaim this year. And I’ll stop you there and get one thing off my massive man chest real quick. Continue reading ‘Brian White’s Indisputable Heavyweight ‘Top 10 Films of 2013’’
December 25th, 2013 by Kori Kemerer
At last, after months of teasing trailers, I was able to sit in on a pre-screening of my most anticipated movie of the year, Wolf of Wall Street. As expected, it did not let me down. I had 3 hours of pure enjoyment. That’s right, I said 3 hours!!! Even without popcorn! Martin Scorsese has truly outdone himself with this film. Clocking in at an impressive 179 minutes, Wolf of Wall Street has set a record as Mr. Scorsese’s longest fictional film by beating out Casino by a mere one minute. Wolf is, in my opinion, by far the director’s most exciting film in years. Second runner up would be The Departed. How this film did not get a NC-17 rating is beyond me. Scorsese has pushed the boundaries of R rating to the absolute limits with a combination of drugs, strippers, sex, depravity and oh so much more. Not that I am complaining about that, because in no way am I. So do I have your attention yet?? Ok, I cannot wait any longer to dive into this brilliant film. Continue reading ‘‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Huffs And Puffs And Blows Away Its Competition (Movie Review)’
December 25th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
It feels like I am already in the minority on this one, but I think it has been clear in my writing over the years that I enjoy enjoying films, as opposed to trying to be negative. Sometimes my enjoyment falls in line with a majority of other folk who watch and write about film and sometimes I am on the opposite end of the spectrum. 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. Now having seen the film, 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.
Continue reading ‘‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ Is Kinda Special (Movie Review)’
December 24th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Releasing from the Disney Vault in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, creative visionary Walt Disney’s classic shines for the first time on Blu-ray. Starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in her Academy-Award winning role, and featuring iconic toe-tapping songs including “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,”
Mary Poppins is a movie experience your family will enjoy again and again. An all-new digital restoration adds even more magic – helping bring the award-winning songs and amazing picture to life like never before. Share the music; share the magic; share the joy of
Mary Poppins this holiday on Blu-ray Combo Pack & HD Digital for the first time. Julie Andrews (
The Sound of Music, Princess Diaries) as Mary Poppins; Dick Van Dyke (TV’s “The Dick Van Dyke Show,”
Night at the Museum) as Bert/Mr. Dawes Senior; David Tomlinson (
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Love Bug) as Mr. Banks; Glynis Johns (
The Court Jester, While You Were Sleeping) as Mrs. Banks; Karen Dotrice (
The Gnome-Mobile, Upstairs, Downstairs) as Jane Banks;
Mathew Garber (
The Gnome-Mobile, The Three Lives of Thomasina) as Michael Banks.
Continue reading ‘Mary Poppins: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
December 23rd, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
This is not really a post of joy, but every year does see the release of films that are just not good. I do not try to seek out these films, with the majority being ones that I did think could have redeemable elements, but that just wasn’t the case here. This list contains what I think were the biggest misses of the year, which I watched in full and could not handle. I also have a list of disappointing films, which are not necessarily terrible, but certainly far from living up to their potential. I never actively seek out films to hate on and am happy to generally not see all of the truly terrible films that come out every year, but this is the time of year to reflect, so I have. Additionally, I did not see the supposed tragedy known as R.I.P.D. before the year ended, so I’m just going to have to call this the R.I.P.D. Memorial Worst Films List for now (and I just have nothing to say as far as Grown Ups 2 is concerned).
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Top Ten Worst Films Of 2013’
December 23rd, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
47 Ronin is an enjoyable hybrid period action/fantasy movie that was much better than I was expecting. Granted I am generally pretty satisfied with Keanu Reeves action movies, but a lot of the surprise came from how different this very expensive movie played out. Along with putting the money on screen, this is a film that is very much inspired by samurai films and strives to play like one, in terms of its pacing and devotion to portraying the notion of honor. With that, the film also blends into other genres as well, most notably a swashbuckling adventure, with some fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. All of this made for a fun film that felt unlike a lot of expensive action films like it, especially given that its main star is really a supporting character. It is just too bad it will likely make next to nothing in theaters. Continue reading ‘1 Lord, 1 Witch, 1 Shogun, And ‘47 Ronin’ (Movie Review)’
December 23rd, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
Real life can be a funny thing, mainly because it happens differently to everyone and all you can really do is react to the different stories you here. I haven’t read the memoir by Jordan Belfort, but the movie based upon it features a lot craziness that can seemingly only be matched by Roman orgies. Here is a story that is based on reality and can really only be accepted as truth, because the events that take place are just way too wild to have come from anywhere but reality. The Wolf of Wall Street is a Martin Scorsese film that is impeccably made, despite the long runtime, and features enough lunacy to fill in the requirements for another trilogy of Hangover movies. All of this and the film still features some of the finest acting work from its star Leonardo DiCaprio, who was hell-bent on getting this film made.
Continue reading ‘Catch ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (Movie Review)’
December 22nd, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Alan Rickman stars as legendary NYC club owner Hilly Kristal, who during the 1970s, wanted to create a venue for country, bluegrass and blues music (thus the name CBGB). When those acts became difficult to book, he shifted the club’s focus to local bands playing original music, launching the careers of Patti Smith, Blondie, the Talking Heads and the Ramones and helping to define New York’s punk scene and changing the face of music.
December 22nd, 2013 by Gregg Senko
Marvel books usually tend to leave me feeling like I’ve been let down after I finish reading them. There are very few titles from the mammoth comic book publisher that give me any sense of satisfaction. Why is this? Because Marvel tends to flood the market with underwhelming stories resulting in an empty delivery. Leave it to a Spidey spin-off to be the exception.
Continue reading ‘Scarlet Spider Comes to a Close (sort of)’
December 21st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
In an effort to be as fair as possible, this is less a “Top 10” list and more a list of games that I was able to play this year and heartily recommend. Despite being a big gamer, given that I specialize in movies and only have so much time to play video games (while trying to keep a balanced life), it just does not seem fair for me to attempt to rank ten video games, when I may have only been able to play a small portion of the big releases this year. The fact that I have resisted a lot of different genres only emphasizes my process for making this list further. With that in mind, I still wanted to make a post centered on some games that I thought were pretty stellar, so here we go.
Continue reading ‘Aaron’s List Of 2013 Video Games That He Thinks Deserves Your Attention’
December 21st, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
This matters very little in terms of my thoughts on the film, but I do not much care for the way this film is being marketed. August: Osage County is a lot of things. It is a well-acted drama, with some comedic moments. It is based on an award-winning play by Tracy Letts. It involves a family coming together to mourn the death of a loved one. It is not the kind of film where family members bicker, but manage to all come together in the end and celebrate the “true meaning of family”. It is not about a sassy, fire-spitting matriarch who is also loveable, with her children standing behind her in the long scheme of things. I like this film and the actors in it, but it is not the feel good comedy-drama that is being sold to audiences.
Continue reading ‘Dysfunctional Family Fun, Minus The Fun In ‘August: Osage County’ (Movie Review)’
December 21st, 2013 by Brian White
Let’s get one thing straight. Ordinarily, this is not a film I would watch. Right off the bat it has a couple strikes against as far as movies that I would find appealing. Let’s take this flick’s trailer for instance. Yawn. I was bored out of my mind when I first saw it and I think it carried the tag line of movie of the year or some nonsense like that. I wanted nothing to do with it and scoffed at the press invite for this film. However, then the reviews started to pour in. First my eccentric neighbor where I used to live a few months back stopped me and told me how amazing Fruitvale Station was. I nodded my head and pretended like I was interested in what he had to say, but in the back of my mind I know this guy only likes all those independent art house films I could truly care less about. Then came Aaron Neuwirth’s 5-doggie theatrical review which can be found by clicking here. Suddenly, I started to take notice and thought to myself, am I missing out on something truly special here? So when Anchor Bay offered me the chance to review this Blu-ray title, I jumped as soon as I read the words “Hi Brian.” I want to see what all the buzz is about regarding this title firsthand. So here goes nothing. Continue reading ‘Fruitvale Station (Blu-ray Review)’
December 20th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
The week of Valentine’s Day we’re being treating to some blood, babes and high dollar man, Kevin Sorbo in Sorority Party Massacre. The folks over at Anchor Bay have sent us a teaser poster which seems to show they know the holiday their film is coming out around. Also included are two promotional images of the cast. I think one or two of them people might classify as “attractive” (that’s sarcasm for those who take everything too literal). No pre-order is available yet, but be sure to check back here when one does. From the images, it looks like this movie might be somewhat aware of what it is and going for a campy horror-comedy tone which I think would be for the better. I also feel good that Anchor Bay seems to be really behind this one with the promotions. We’ll see though when it arrives on February 11th. Below you will find the poster and images! Continue reading ‘The Girls Of SORORITY PARTY MASSACRE Tease A Poster & 2 Images!’
December 20th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
If anything, I should be mad at Her for upsetting my list of best films of 2013. Here is a film that I was excited for, as Spike Jonze is a force to be reckoned with, when it comes to directors of wildly imaginative original films (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation), and it turned out to be everything I wanted it to be and more. Her is a fascinating film about love, loss, the state of technology, and the complications that come with different kinds of relationships, among other things. It is an inventive and soulful film, with a concept that is taken about as far as it can go, without crossing the line into too far out territory. It features a strong lead performance, a strong lead vocal performance, and some rather effective and affecting supporting ones as well. This is a film that has just about everything I would like to see in an alternative type of romance-drama and it only helps that it is occasionally very funny.
Continue reading ‘He Likes ‘Her’ A Lot (Movie Review)’
December 20th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Making a top ten list of Blu-rays is always a difficult thing for me to do. The fact that there’s so many excellent releases that I haven’t seen yet just makes it even harder because I know a lot of them would be on my list, not to mention that the year isn’t over yet and I still have more movies that I haven’t even reviewed yet. Plus, I’ve spent most of the year focused on just watching the movies I need to review so there’s a stack of movies that I’ve bought that I haven’t had a chance to watch yet. So with that in mind, I’ve decided to make a list of the Top 10 Blu-rays that I’ve actually seen and most likely reviewed, and another list of Blu-rays that I probably would have included on this list if I had seen them. For my top ten I’ve decided to rate them based on a variety of reasons including: my affection for them, their audio/video quality, and what kind of special features were offered. I’ve also grouped several of them together to free up slots because if I added every awesome Star Trek set that was released this year they would take up most of my list and they are all equally good. That being said, all of these movies would make excellent holiday gifts: Continue reading ‘Sean’s Top Ten Blu-rays of 2013′
