Archive Page 548
September 18th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
To escape the Vietnam-era chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner (Hoffman) moves with his British wife Amy (George) to an isolated English village. Their presence provokes antagonism among the village’s men. Escalating from routine bullying to the gang rape of his wife, David finds his pacifist self being backed into a corner and responds in the violent and gruesome manner he abhors. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale from legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) stars two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate, Little Fockers) and Susan George (Mandingo, The House Where Evil Dwells).
Continue reading ‘Straw Dogs (Blu-ray Review)’
September 18th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson, “Police Woman”) is a sexually-repressed housewife who seeks treatment from Dr. Robert Elliott (two-time Academy Award-winner Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Cider House Rules). While secretly leaving a hotel after a one-night affair, Kate is mysteriously murdered by a tall blonde woman wearing sunglasses. The only witness is a high-priced call girl, Liz (Nancy Allen in a Golden Globe-nominated performance), who becomes the killer’s next target. With the help of Kate’s grown son, Peter (Keith Gordon, A Midnight Clear), Liz discovers that the murderer is connected to Dr. Elliott, and the pair come face-to-face with a shocking surprise. Written and directed by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables), Dressed To Kill is a dark, psychological crime thriller with twists and turns around every corner. Continue reading ‘Dressed to Kill (Blu-ray Review)’
September 17th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
After the Cartoon Network debut of their first-ever original television special, The LEGO Group and Lucasfilm will join forces once again to bring LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace to Blu-ray Disc and DVD. Launching on September 16, the 22-minute original standalone special will feature the charm, action and irreverent humor that have become the signature style of LEGO Star Wars animation collaborations and will include five LEGO Star Wars shorts, as well as an exclusive, collectible minifigure. You’ve probably already bought the Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray so make sure you add this to your collection too! Continue reading ‘LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace Arrives on Blu-ray Sept. 16th!’
September 17th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Re-live the story of one of America’s darkest moments through superb visuals and a double sided narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The classic film TORA! TORA! TORA! comes to Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on December 6th. The winner of the 1970 Academy Award for Best Special Effects TORA! TORA! TORA! was nominated for four more Oscars including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound. Experience TORA! TORA! TORA! through the superb visual quality of Blu-ray for the first time.
Continue reading ‘Tora! Tora! Tora! Hits Blu-ray December 6!’
September 17th, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
Discovery Channel’s MythBusters Collection 7, The Emmy-nominated series MythBusters aims to uncover the truth behind popular myths and legends. MythBusters Collection 7 takes on risky experiments as the team dives into dumpsters, attempts to crash and burn an out-of-control racecar and accepts challenges from YouTube fans, such as using a household match to light a homemade cannon. The Mythbusters are Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman and they are the coolest science guys I’ve ever seen. They are supported by the rest of the Mythbusters team, made up of Kari Byron, Grant Imahara and Tori Belleci. Through all means necessary the Mythbusters will separate any myth from any time period into the categories confirmed, plausible, or busted. Sometimes they guess correctly ahead of time. Sometimes they are wrong. No matter what, they are always entertaining.
Continue reading ‘Mythbusters: Collection 7 (DVD Review)’
September 17th, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
Animal Planet’s top-performing series ever returns as biologist and extreme angler Wade travels worldwide to solve freshwater fish tales and lures in watery culprits that allegedly attack mankind. This season, Jeremy finds himself in places he’s never explored as he travels to the far reaches of the globe – from serpentine underwater caves to remote rivers filled with freshwater crocodiles. In the first episode titled “The Mutilator,” Jeremy searches for the giant cousin of the piranha that – with its gnarly teeth and gnawing jaws–has turned from vegetarian to meat eater, with a particular interest in male genitalia. The second episode features “The Flesh Ripper,” a fish with toxic blood. In order to test his hypothesis, Jeremy has to use himself as human bait and lure the fish by covering himself in fresh fish guts. I’ve long been a fan of Billy the Exterminator who takes on gators and other creatures in the Louisiana area, but I am convinced that Billy would soil himself and run like a little girl if he ever went on one of the fishing trips seen in River Monsters. Continue reading ‘River Monsters Season 3 (DVD Review)’
September 17th, 2011 by Scott Wampler
Wes Craven’s Scream— with a script by Kevin Williamson– was supposed to be a snarky take on the then-stale horror genre (note: the horror genre has since slipped back into stale-ness, thanks to the “torture porn” subgenre, the “found footage” subgenre, and the rise of “Sparkling, Ladyboy Vampire” films), a scary movie for people who’d grown bored with the slasher films of the 80’s and early 90’s. Scream wanted to subvert the genre’s tropes and trappings, and it ended up doing so with panache: It was equal parts parody and slasher film, and it was successful enough to warrant three sequels (all with diminishing creative returns). The Scary Movie franchise, on the other hand, wanted to subvert the subversion already happening in the Scream movies, and it did so with the Wayans Brothers behind the camera. I repeat: the Wayans Brothers. Continue reading ‘Scary Movie 2 (Blu-ray Review)’
September 17th, 2011 by Scott Wampler
Over the past decade, Will Ferrell’s taken a spin on the same ride that Eddie Murphy, Mike Meyers, and Chevy Chase took before him: he came out of nowhere to become an MVP on NBC’s SNL (whoa, that was a whole bunch of acronyms), appeared in a handful of smallish roles in other people’s comedies (not to be confused with another acronym: OPP), starred in a few of his own, found massive success in a few more, tried his hand at dramedy, had the public fall out of love with him, and is now in the “taking more chances while considering a sequel to his most popular character” phase of his career (that’d be Ron Burgundy, if you’re curious). Personally, I’ve always enjoyed Ferrell’s work, even when I haven’t particularly enjoyed his films, and I’m one of the few people you’ll find that’ll aggressively defend Stranger Than Fiction. But with Everything Must Go, I didn’t know what to expect: would I enjoy the dramedic talents of Ferrell…or fall in line with the 24% of critics who panned the film? Continue reading ‘Everything Must Go (Blu-ray Review)’
September 17th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
I was surfing Amazon.com for some random stuff to buy when lo-and-behold I ran into one of my favorite band’s latest musical offerings. Powerman 5000 just released a cover album of tunes, and I didn’t even know about it. How could this happen? I’m usually in the loop. I proceeded to quickly scoop up a copy and have been jamming out the last few days with the latest tunes. That was also the catalyst for me to write this review. Considering the band had just released a full length album not even two years ago, how does Copies, Clones and Replicants measure up to their past releases. Come with me to Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere and find out. 😉 Continue reading ‘Powerman 5000 – Copies, Clones and Replicants (CD Review)’
September 16th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
What a way to close out the week than with a sneak peek at some stills and the brand new trailer for one of the scariest franchises of all time: [REC]! Well, here’s the entire press packet from Filmax International. [REC] 3: Genesis is not only the third film in the franchise, but will serve as the prequel to the first film. Anyways, I cannot wait for this to hit theaters and Blu-ray. American horror filmmakers need to take note and see how it’s done by this creative Spanish team! Continue reading and check out the pictures along with the killer first trailer to what sure looks to be another scary @$$ entry into the world of [REC]!!! Continue reading ‘‘[REC] 3: Genesis’ Preview and Trailer!’
September 16th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Seeing the pieces fall together in a film all so perfectly is a beautiful thing. The right combinations can sometimes still make for chaos, but at other times work in perfect rhythms. Drive presents this very positive latter angle. Taking a standard crime-story and turning into a piece of neo-noir art makes for a great cinematic experience. This film accomplishes that. Drive is stylish, pulpy fun. The type of inventive film that makes an old plot feel very fresh; and its lead by Nicolas Winding Refn’s fantastic direction and Ryan Gosling’s quiet cool as the lead. Continue reading ‘Buckle Up And ‘Drive’’
September 16th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
AMC announced today that Emmy Award-winning make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero has been a named co-executive producer of “The Walking Dead.” Nicotero has also inked a first-look deal with the network, which gives him the opportunity to bring his own passion projects to AMC. At Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Nicotero won Best Prosthetic Make-up for AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Nicotero directs a series of webisodes this season and is also set to direct an episode. “Greg’s talent extends well beyond the word of special fx makeup,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s SVP of original programming, production and digital content. “He is also a truly talented director, and has an incredibly comprehensive understanding and appreciation for great storytelling. His knowledge and respect for the genre is unparalleled, and we are looking forward to expanding our relationship with him with an eye towards developing more great original series.” Continue reading ‘Greg Nicotero Named Co-Executive Producer of ‘The Walking Dead’’
September 15th, 2011 by Kellen Boyle
Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, based off of the book written byJames Sallis, is a movie that’s hard to throw into a genre. It’s about a Hollywood stunt driver who works part time as a mechanic and a wheelman for the criminal underworld, until a failed heist means he has to kill everyone…you know, that old chestnut. The film isn’t as advertised…..and I mean that in the best possible way. Seeing early previews of the film, I entered the theater expecting to see some sort of cross between The Transporter meets Fast and the Furious meets some romantic hub ub utilizing the sex appeal of Gosling. What I got was blood….lots of it. Continue reading ‘‘Drive’….To The Movies!’
September 15th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Called “a mind-blowing masterpiece” (FOX-TV), writer/director J.J. Abrams’ (Star Trek) breathtaking adventure SUPER 8 debuts in a Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack with Digital Copy November 22, 2011 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Produced by Amblin, Bad Robot and Academy Awardâ winner* Steven Spielberg, the exhilarating story follows a group of friends in a small Ohio town who witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie. When they realize that it was no accident, they set out to find the truth—something more shocking than any of them could have imagined. Combining action, humor and heart, the film features outstanding performances from a fresh young cast including Elle Fanning (Somewhere), Gabriel Basso (“The Big C”), Zach Mills (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl) and newcomers Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee, along with veteran actors Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) and Ron Eldard (“Blind Justice”). Continue reading ‘‘Super 8’ debuts in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack with Digital Copy November 22nd’
September 15th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
TV Land’s hilarious show returns for more hijinks when “Hot in Cleveland” Season Two debuts on DVD November 29, 2011. The hit series stars acclaimed actresses Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time”), Jane Leeves (“Frasier”), Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me”) and Betty White (“The Golden Girls”) in the role that has already garnered her a SAG Award, a Gracie Allen Award and a 2011 Emmy® nomination. Season two continued to delight audiences, averaging over three million total viewers and posting triple-digit gains over the network’s primetime average. Continue reading ‘‘Hot In Cleveland’ Season Two warms up the shelves on DVD November 29th’
September 15th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
I do not always have a chance to do this, but I have to sort of defend a movie that I am not all that partial to. The original 1971 Straw Dogs, from director Sam Peckinpah, was a film that came out during a transitional time in Hollywood, the New Hollywood period. It was controversial at the time and to this day, presenting a number of difficult scenes to watch, while serving as an exploration of violence in different forms with ambiguous answers to some of the actions of the characters. This 2011 update has nothing to say and feels completely unnecessary. While admittedly well made in places, this is the worst kind of remake, one that does not go the route of reimagining plot elements from the original and instead follows the same path beat for beat. Continue reading ‘You Can Put These Remade ‘Straw Dogs’ To Sleep’
September 14th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
After today, there are only two more Wednesdays of release dates that restart 52 DC titles at issue 1. While I was unable to get my hands on issue 1 of Deathstroke (sold out) or a few of the other DC notables today, I did pick up six other firsts. Read on to see what’s worth a buy and what’s worth leaving on the shelf.
Continue reading ‘Today’s ‘New 52’ Releases from DC’
September 14th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
So now that we have left the summer movie season behind (a recap featuring the Why So Blu crew’s top picks can be found HERE), it is time to get into the big fall releases. There are a lot of great looking releases on their way, including both “prestige” level films as well as those that look to be a lot of fun. Rather than try to rank out a top ten, I have simply put these films in order of their release date, acknowledging that there is only a small chance that any of these would change. Once again, I am using the term “fall” somewhat loosely, as I am applying it to films arriving in theaters post Labor Day and up to the end of the year. With that said, there are enough films on the way that I have even made a long list of other notable releases below these selected titles. Continue on to see what upcoming films have caught my eye. Continue reading ‘Aaron’s Most Anticipated Films For Fall 2011’
