Archive Page 541
November 22nd, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
On Christmas Eve, a high-tech team of elves from an elite unit known as Prep and Landing ensures homes around the world are prepared for Santa’s visit. But after working tirelessly for 227 years, an elf named Wayne is upset when he doesn’t receive a promotion to be Director of Naughty List Intelligence. Instead, he is partnered with Lanny, an idealistic rookie. During their mission, Wayne and Lanny encounter unexpected challenges that push them to their limits and threaten Christmas for children everywhere. Now it’s going to take a great big effort from two mismatched little elves to save the season! Continue reading ‘Disney’s Prep & Landing (DVD Review)’
November 22nd, 2011 by Blu-ray Brian
Winner of the Special Jury Prize & Alfred P. Sloan Film Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Another Earth is the story of Rhoda (Marling) and John (Mapother), two people whose worlds collide after a tragic accident. Their intimate drama plays out against the astounding discovery of Earth 2, a parallel world that poses provocative and fascinating possibilities. Does a new Earth mean a chance at another life? Another destiny? Another self? In his directorial debut, Mike Cahill brings this provocative indie sci-fi film to life with outstanding performances from newcomer Brit Marling (Sound of My Voice) and William Mapother (TV’s “Lost,” World Trade Center). Sound interesting? Want to win a copy of the combo pack? Read on… Continue reading ‘Another Earth: Combo Pack Giveaway – Win a Copy!’
November 21st, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
That high flying duo known as J.J. Abrams and some guy named Steven Spielberg are back with their latest coming-of-age/science fiction story in Super 8. The trailers and promotional material did absolutely nothing to quench the thirst of the uber geeky. All we saw was a bunch of kids making a super 8 film, a train crash, and something that may have been in a top secret government container escape. That’s it. Considering that you have J.J. Abrams directing and Speilberg producing, the stakes would be kind of on the high side. Well, the time has come for you to see what all the fuss is about on Blu-ray. Why So Blu presents: Super 8. Continue reading ‘Super 8 (Blu-ray Review)’
November 21st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Based on the peppy title I have given to this review, audiences should know they should be bracing themselves for doom; although I could be misleading you, were you not to look further. Earlier in 2011, Terrence Malick arose from the depths of wherever he goes in the many years in between his films to bring us Tree of Life, a beautifully made film about the beginning of life and its meaning, presented in an obscure and esoteric sort of way. Now, on the other side of that we have the latest from Lars Von Trier, Melancholia, which is a beautifully made film about the end of times, presented in a slightly less esoteric sort of way. The various elements that make Von Trier films unique are all present here (which also tend to make his films quite divisive among audiences), but I actually found this film to be fairly accessibly, despite it being centered around depressing individuals and moving at what some would consider a languid pace. And with all of that out of the way, I will also add that I loved all of it. Continue reading ‘‘Melancholia’ Is A Beautiful Portrait Of Depression And The End’
November 20th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Given that the HBO series Boardwalk Empire is currently one of the most popular shows on television at the moment, it seemed like good timing to have a new and very thorough, multipart documentary series covering Prohibition. The PBS documentary, Prohibition, is indeed very thorough, but it is also true to form for director/producer Ken Burns, who manages to pile on the information, while also keeping things very entertaining. Over the span of 6 hours, on 3 separate Blu-ray discs, an assortment of topics, all relating to the 18th amendment and its eventual repeal is covered. The “Noble Experiment”, the ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol, lead to a lot of debate during the 1920s and into the 1930s and this Blu-ray set is a great way to learn so much more about it. Continue reading ‘Prohibition (Blu-ray Review)’
November 19th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Arriving in Australia with nothing more than a saddle and his prized six-foot Sharps rifle, American sharpshooter Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) thinks he’s been hired to kill off wild dogs. But when he realizes, instead, that his mission is murder – to “eliminate” the Aborigines from wealthy cattle baron Elliot Marston’s (Alan Rickman) land – Quigley refuses and quickly turns from hunter to hunted. Forced to wage a savage war against his former employer, Quigley proves that no one gets the best of a steely-eyed American gunfighter – no one, that is, except the crazy and mysterious beauty named Cora (Laura San Giacomo) who rides by his side and insists on calling him Roy. Continue reading ‘Quigley Down Under (Blu-ray Review)’
November 18th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
I am a big David Lynch fan, but I have never seen Blue Velvet before which makes reviewing the Blu-ray that much more exciting. The Blu-ray is being marketed as a “25th Anniversary” edition, but what seems to be sealing the deal is that it contains nearly an hour of deleted scenes that were thought to be lost forever. These scenes have been remastered in high definition, but warned, David Lynch’s final cut of the film is what you have already seen, so don’t hold your breath for a three hour cut, because that will never happen. With that out of the way let’s sample the “fabric” that is Blue Velvet. Continue reading ‘Blue Velvet (Blu-ray Review)’
November 18th, 2011 by Mary Welms
It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in San Diego at Comic Con waiting to get into Hall H to see the Twilight cast. I have so many great memories. Standing next to Ashley Greene (Alice) and Nikki Reed (Rosalie). Talking to Elizabeth Reaser (Esme) and Boo Boo Stewart (Seth). Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob) just a few feet away from me as they walked across the stage. It was an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. Continue reading ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Movie Review)’
November 17th, 2011 by Patrick Bellante
If you are a gamer then you know what the scene looked like hours before midnight on Nov. 7, 2011. Video game stores across the country preparing for a massive midnight sale of a very successful yearly title. Doing over $400 million in sales on the first day of it was released, which smashed first day sales records. I have to say I was one of the many that stood outside waiting to get my hands on the highly anticipated title. When I got home that night to start my vacation I skipped my usual of playing through the campaign and jumped straight online to battle foes with my friends. Continue reading ‘Call of Duty: MW 3 (PS3 Game Review)’
November 16th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Buckle up for thrilling edge-of-your-seat action and laugh-out-loud fun in Disney’s G-Force as this elite team of highly trained guinea pigs leaps off the screen and right into your living room. Just as the G-Force is about to save the world, the F.B.I. shuts the secret unit down. But these next-generation action heroes won’t be stopped. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, and with the F.B.I. on their tails, the fur flies as they race against the clock to save the world. From the producer of Pirates Of The Caribbean and National Treasure, G-Force is fantastic 3D fun for the whole family. Continue reading ‘G-Force 3D / 2D (Blu-ray Review)’
November 15th, 2011 by Matt Goodman
Sometimes it’s nice to forget everything, and watch something totally farfetched and profoundly entertaining. That is exactly what the television show Adventure Time is to me. Granted, these 12 episodes are the only ones I’ve seen, but based off of the good time I had watching them, I can’t imagine myself missing the upcoming episodes on Cartoon Network. So enter the tripped out world of Finn the human (Jeremy Shada, Team America: World Police), Jake the dog (John Dimaggio, Futurama) and Lady Rainicorn as they embark on countless epic adventures together, involving magic, love, and action. Adventure Time has been nominated for two Emmy’s for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program. Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People features fantastic video/audio quality, especially for a DVD, but falls apart in the special feature department. Chances are, if you are a fan of the show, this DVD is a must-buy. Continue reading ‘Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People (DVD Review)’
November 15th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
From Gus Van Sant, Oscar
®-nominated director of
Milk (Nominated for Best Achievement in Directing, 2009) and
Good Will Hunting (Nominated for Best Director, 1998), comes the acclaimed love story
RESTLESS, available January 24, 2012, on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and Digital from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Mia Wasikowska (
Jane Eyre,
Alice in Wonderland) and newcomer Henry Hopper shine in this humorous and touching tale of romance between a young man (Hopper) who has given up on life and a young girl (Wasikowska) on the verge of losing hers. Produced by the Oscar
®-winning team of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (Best Picture for
A Beautiful Mind, 2009), actress Bryce Dallas Howard (
50/50,
The Help) and director Van Sant, and co-starring Jane Adams (TV’s “Hung”) and Ryo Kase (
Letters From Iwo Jima),
RESTLESS has charmed and moved audiences since its debut at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Now, film lovers can discover this “uncommonly touching romance” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times) on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, featuring hours of unique and provocative special features, including Gus Van Sant’s Silent Film version of the movie.
Continue reading ‘No Need To Feel ‘Restless’ This January’
November 14th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
In the tradition of Pulp Fiction, Traffic and Go, and from the producers of Machete and 16 Blocks, Anchor Bay Films takes aim with the December 20th release of Catch .44 on Blu-ray™ and DVD. Oscar® winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior”), Bruce Willis (the Die Hard films, Red, The Expendables) and Malin Akerman (Watchmen, The Proposal, Couples Retreat) lead an all-star cast in this suspense thriller where everyone has an agenda…and a Magnum to back it up! Continue reading ‘‘Catch .44’ Debuts on Blu-ray December 20, 2011′
November 14th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Outlaws beware! The gun-slinging action continues when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases Justified: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray® and DVD January 3rd. Timothy Olyphant serves up his own brand of justice as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, in the critically acclaimed FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television series on FX, based on the short story “Fire in the Hole” by crime novelist Elmore Leonard and developed for television by Graham Yost. The second year garnered an Emmy® win for Margo Martindale (Win Win) as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Mags Bennett. The exceptional ensemble cast also features Nick Searcy (Moneyball), Joelle Carter (TV’s “Prime Suspect”), Jacob Pitts (TV’s “The Pacific”), Erica Tazel (TV’s “Jericho”), Natalie Zea (TV’s “Person of Interest”) and Walton Goggins (Straw Dogs). Jeremy Davies (TV’s “Lost”) guest stars. Continue reading ‘Justified: The Complete Second Season arrives on Blu-ray January 3rd, 2012’
November 14th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Despite a strong cast, familiar, but effective indie sensibilities and soundtrack choices, and a story that does a fine enough job playing with its love story conventions and eventual resolution, the fact that the plot of this film hinges on a really bad decision makes me annoyed by it. Like Crazy is a romantic drama that involves two college students, one an American and one a British exchange student, who have their love tested when student visa issues keep them separated for long periods of time. It is thanks to the fact that the personal touches added to this story and the work from both the leads and the very small supporting cast is quite strong, that I was able to appreciate what this film had to offer. If the main plot issue I had did not feel so important to me, I maybe would have liked the film more. Continue reading ‘Deportation Makes Love Difficult, ‘Like Crazy’’
November 13th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
One of my favorite directors of all time has returned to his documentary roots with Cave of Forgotten Dreams which chronicles his exploration of the Chauvet Cave in France that contain cave drawings that date back 35,000 years and are twice as old as any other known to exist. Werner Herzog has been given incredible access to the cave, but this access comes great responsibility and limitations. Only Herzog and a small group of his technicians are allowed into the cave and with very minimal equipment. Cave of Forgotten Dreams also marks Herzog’s first venture into the world of 3-D filmmaking. Yes, this IS a documentary, so you know Werner Herzog will be pulling out all the stops. Get ready to be thrilled and entertained as only incomparable Mr. Herzog can do. Continue reading ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Blu-ray Review)’
November 12th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Biographies tend to run hot and cold for me. Sometimes, like in the case of Gus Van Sant’s Milk, from back in 2008 (which screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter for J. Edgar, won an Oscar for), I can really get into the film, admire all the performances, the ways in which the film presents the era, and appreciate how it dramatizes it’s subject matter. I have seen Milk a couple of times, rare for me when it comes to a film of that genre/type, because I thought it made the best of the biography film genre. Other times, like in the case of J. Edgar, I find it to be a struggle to really engage myself with the material and how it is being presented via dramatization. With these biographies that I am less enthusiastic towards, I tend to question if I could have gotten a more insightful experience out of watching a PBS or History Channel documentary going over the same material. Since Leonardo DiCaprio dominates this film so effectively, among other reasons as well, I can’t say that J. Edgar is a waste, it is just a fairly standard biography that I didn’t take much away from. Continue reading ‘True To Life, ‘J. Edgar’ Can Be Feared, Admired, Reviled, And Revered’
November 12th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The Skin I Live In is a twisted suspense thriller that takes an arthouse approach to a mad scientist story. Leave it to Spanish director Pedro Almodovar to take all of the various trademarks of his usual types of films (strong uses of color, strong female characters, themes involving desire, passion, and family) and apply it to a macabre tale involving a brilliant surgeon going to extreme measures to deal his own past tragedies. Graphic is one term that can be used to describe the film, but it is also strongly acted, very well shot, and certainly unique in its story. The Skin I Live In is the kind of film that starts off with intrigue and goes on to have its characters become more understood as its plot becomes crazier and crazier. Continue reading ‘Many Will Be Creeped Out With ‘The Skin I Live In’’
