The Exorcist – 40th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)
I’ve been spoiled here lately at Why So Blu? I’ve gotten to cover and write about all the Friday the 13th movies, Norman Bates, Halloween, Romero Zombies and John Carpenter films. Now, oh…nothing real big, just THE FREAKIN’ EXORCIST! Warner Bros is putting out another edition of one of horror’s greatest achievements and a masterpiece in filmmaking in time to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Didn’t they just release something more than substantial not too long ago? Yes. What more could they have done to make this a “must have” release. Well, sadly, the answer to that question is “not much”. There was word from William Friedkin himself that there would be a new transfer of the film for an upcoming Blu-ray release that he said was even better than the amazing one already available. However, this release does not carry said transfer. It’s the exact same two discs they’ve given us before with new packaging. If you read on, I’ll explain. Continue reading ‘The Exorcist – 40th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
Hong Kong cinema is the master at the crime thriller. You can almost pick out a random one and find success. You’ll at least be pleased with a great chase, shootout or suspenseful sequence of events. There’s also some crafty camera work at play or some sort of inventive twist you’ve not seen done before. Johnnie To’s Drug War is no different. This film is a race against the clock that keeps you on your tows and thrills you with its action beats. It’s a film that is surprisingly not very nice toward its protagonists and ends in a action sequence that makes you feel like you’re right in the middle of the events. Well Go USA imports this one in the barest of bare forms, but is the film good enough to recommend on its own, without the enhancement of extras? 
Gravity is an answer to what film can be all about. It charts a journey for a character, while presenting it in a most spectacular fashion. The amount of work that must have went into carefully crafting every aspect of this film, from the story to the tiniest visual detail that rears its head, is practically implausible for me to think about. This is a film that took years to develop, film, and release, but is such a triumph in almost every way that the wait was most definitely worth it. Every now and then there will be a film that I greatly anticipate for reasons beyond just expectation of an entertaining experience. Gravity more than met that level of expectation.
Runner Runner is the kind of trashy B-movie that doesn’t aspires to build a whole lot of expectation for the viewer. It simply wants to be seen as watchable. The film is harmless in what it presents, but it is a shame that no one really seems to care how effective this film turned out overall. It has a mix of good actors and good-looking locations, but the screenplay is so bland and paint-by-numbers that the sense of urgency in a film that literally has people hounded by crocodiles feels completely missing. There is an interesting idea to explore in the world of online gambling and how they are run by offshore companies, but Runner Runner fails to find it.
It’s extremely difficult to walk into a movie like this when there’s so much hype and garnered praise surrounding it. I mean, it has to be good, right? Well, that’s the exact sentiment and question I carried with me into Tuesday evening’s screening of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity shown to all of us in 3-D IMAX. It just had to be epic! And so what?! Even if it sucked, how could you refuse this screening? It’s a space feature presented in 3-D IMAX! You can’t refuse that! No sane person can. It at least has to look breathtaking and gorgeous. However, with all the so very much positive praise and acclaim this picture has been receiving, I was willing to gamble on the fact that my Tuesday evening was going to be filled with something very stellar. And to think…this all began with my first introduction to the flick this past July at Comic-Con in beautiful San Diego at the “EW – The Visionaries” panel (see my coverage 
Up until a few months ago, I never heard of this film. Then a star’s name in the billing credits caught my eye and that’s all it took. Hook…line…and sinker! Yeah, baby! That’s right! My Gemma’s in the house again and it’s time to get this party started! So needless to say when I received the press invite to this one on Wednesday night, there wasn’t even a second of hesitation. Anything lingering on my calendar, as far as I am concerned, can wait. Gemma needs my love and support. This movie can suck for all I care, but as long as Gemma looks good in it, you already have my money…if i was a paying customer. But let’s talk about that. Is Gemma Arterton and her newest flick worth the price of admission? And oh yeah…did I mention Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake also star in this one? I guess you can say there’s a star in this for every one. So let’s take a closer look and see if you’ll be prone to “run” away from Runner, Runner or stick around for me. Shoes all laced up? Good! Let’s hit the ground running… 
When you talk about films that I would potentially do cartwheels over when I hear there are planned sequels for there aren’t too many outside of the Insidious, Star Wars and Fast & Furious franchises that get my motor running other than this little horror title…I Spit on Your Grave 2. However, let’s be fair…the horror tag’s not really accurate here. Yes this is a rape movie, but when you strip away all the animalistic and grotesque moments it’s essentially the finest genre ever crafted…a primal revenge film! So when word was broken that there was going to be an I Spit on Your Grave 2 I did not care if its initial critical reviews would live up to hype the 2010 film or not, my mind was already made up. I’d be seeing this flick and if possible reviewing it on my favorite playback format of choice, Blu-ray. 
I’m excited about this next announcement! Why?! Because I loved it so much! So without further ado let’s get down to business. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set a November 19th Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download release date for the hilarious We’re The Millers starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis and many more. The Blu-ray Combo Pack includes the outrageous extended cut, plus hilarious bonus content with more Jennifer Aniston, more Jason Sudeikis and more laughs. To learn all about it check out the full press release below and 
Just so I can get this out of the way, A.C.O.D. stands for ‘Adult Children of Divorce’. That actually makes the title of the movie sound less important than it is, but it will be tough to predict how often I plan on calling back to the full title of this movie. Regardless, as both a fan of the ensemble comedic cast in A.C.O.D. and an actual A.C.O.D. (though I’m working on the ‘Adult’ part), I had a lot of fun with this film. There is a lot of humor found in the exaggerated situations that this film puts its characters in, but still has a core sense of truth in its comedy. It is not the most laugh out loud comedy of the year, but I did enjoy where a lot of these laughs were coming from, as the film had some fun material to work with.
Here’s a flick that I did not get to see because I was out of town. I had every intention of squeezing this one into my plans on my birthday this past August, but try as I might I couldn’t fit it in. News flash! Come this Thanksgiving, I won’t have that problem because the Ethan Hawke/Selena Gomez vehicle, Getaway, is coming to the Blu-ray format just in time for the holidays with exhilarating behind-the-scenes content and interviews with the cast and crew and more! Check out the full press release below courtesy of Warner Bros. for more information on this one. 
I don’t know much about The Seasoning House. It appears to be a revenge movie in the setting of a military run brothel. It’s got Anna Walton who played Princess Nuala in Hellboy II in it. It also stars the son of the third Doctor Who. And finally the director is an acclaimed prosthetic effects artist known for his work on last year’s hit The Woman In Black. Aside from these small details and the little synopsis, I’ll be going in blind. And I always find that to be a good thing. Its fun in this era of having spoilers everywhere and overdone marketing to be able to sit and watch a film with completely fresh eyes. It harkens back to days of VHS rental stores where you rented something based soley upon the genre and the cool box are it displayed. If you’d like to preorder this title, please use the link below. The more detailed words on this release from Well Go USA follow the jump. 
