Archive Page 551
September 2nd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
After a year long delay, The Debt has now arrived in theaters. While at one time thought to be a possible Oscar contender, it now seems that it has been dumped into the end of summer release period. While this is not something that necessarily matters in relation to my thoughts on the film, the positioning of this film’s release does seem expected at this point. Despite its potential to have been something better (I should add that it is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film), it ultimately amounts to having some strong moments and a good cast, but does not manage to bring things together quite well enough by the end. I was intrigued enough by the 70s-style espionage elements early on, but less so by the film’s conclusion. The Debt maybe didn’t deserve to be dumped into theaters; it just doesn’t match its assumed prestige status. Continue reading ‘‘The Debt’ Is A Decent, Late Summer Distraction’
September 2nd, 2011 by Gregg Senko
Yes, yes, I know. This isn’t the typical Why So Blu movie review. We focus on pop culture flicks, usually consisting of comedies, science fiction, and kick-ass action films. The Help does not fall under any of those three categories. Yet, like last year’s The King’s Speech, this movie is too good not to talk about here. Just like the article’s title says, watch for this film to be nominated for at least Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards.
Continue reading ‘‘The Help’ on Path for Oscar’
September 2nd, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
I just celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary and for the past 10 years, I’ve been joking that my husband and I need to get an extra wife. Get your head out of the gutter; I’m not talking about becoming swingers and inviting others into our bedroom. I’m talking about the rest of married life. My husband and I both work full time, and we could use a stay at home mom to take care of our son, cook our dinner, clean our house, etc. I actually don’t care which wife I am. I can be the working wife or the stay at home wife. As long as I don’t have to do both, I would be happy. Turns out, I’m not the first person to think of this as the Mormons thought of polygamy a long time ago. And wouldn’t you know it, TLC made a reality show about it, specifically the Brown Family. As the DVD begins to play I realize that there are endless possibilities for reality shows – especially after watching a preview for something called Punkin Chunkin, which I may watch just because I love the title. Continue reading ‘Sister Wives 2 (DVD Review)’
September 1st, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
When Southern California storage unit bills go unpaid, the contents go up for auction. Storage Wars is a reality show on A&E that follows four professional buyers and their teams as they gamble that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. When the lock on the unit is cut, they have five minutes to look without entering or touching any of the units contents. Then an auctioneer takes the bids. Sometimes they bid because they think they have spotted something worthwhile, sometimes they bid each other up, and sometimes they bid just so another guy can’t have it. Storage Wars is as much about the bidders as it is the stuff they find and by the end of season one, you will definitely find you have favorites. Continue reading ‘Storage Wars Season One (DVD Review)’
September 1st, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Take a journey back in time with the romantic tale based on Sara Gruen’s New York Times #1 Best-Seller novel of the same name, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, coming to Blu-ray and DVD on November 1st from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Starring Academy Award®-winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line), Robert Pattinson (Twilight series) and Oscar®-winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), the film presents an epic tale of forbidden love in a magical place filled with adventure, wonder and great danger. Showcasing the decadence of a bohemian circus and the majesty of its animals against the backdrop and beauty of a bygone era, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS makes the ideal holiday gift idea for your favorite film buff, fashionista or book-lover! Continue reading ‘Discover the Beauty of ‘Water for Elephants’ on Blu-ray and DVD November 1st’
September 1st, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
The Beaver tells the emotional story of a once successful man named Walter Black (Mel Gibson) so plagued by his own demons that he resorts to the use of a beaver hand puppet in order turn his life around and reconnect with his family. Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) also co-star in the film which is both a darkly comic journey of self-discovery and the importance of family and the strength they can provide. Continue reading ‘The Beaver (Blu-ray Review)’
September 1st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Win Win is the kind of movie I hope remains looked at as one of the early pleasures of 2011. I do not think it will necessarily be one of my favorites of the year (honorable mention, sure), but it has the kind of charm and humor that makes for a movie I want many people to see. Paul Giamatti leads a talented cast, in a film that is a comedy-drama about family, teenage angst, and wrestling. While plot complications may pile on top of each other, it is the natural human qualities that makes this film work and feel authentic, especially with its humor. I’m glad to have now had a chance to give the Blu-ray a look as well. Continue reading ‘Win Win (Blu-ray Review)’
September 1st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Finally, the much delayed Why So Blu review of the Arthur Blu-ray is here! One of the best things I can say about Arthur is that a lot of people laughed really hard when I saw it in theaters, and that does not make them wrong. However, the percentage of those people who had seen the original 1981 Arthur was probably very low. That film is superior, but this update has some genuinely funny moments. Honestly, taking away all of the comparisons and mindsets one may feel they need to be in to watch this film, what it comes down to is how much they like Russell Brand’s comedic antics. There are other factors too, but the film will ultimately rely on how you view this good-natured, drunken billionaire. The scant extra features certainly don’t do much to help either Continue reading ‘Arthur (Blu-ray Review)’
August 31st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
I guess I have to start this off with mentioning how biased I am on this, Swingers is one of my favorite movies. Regardless of whatever flaws some may see in it; be it the meandering plot, the balance of not having Mike seem too annoying, or its popularizing of common phrases such as, “Vegas Baby!” or, “You’re so money,” I unabashedly love watching Swingers. It’s incredibly funny, features great turns from younger, skinnier versions of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, has a great sense of capturing the Hollywood nightlife scene thanks to the visual eye of Doug Liman, and is all around lots of fun to watch. Now the Blu-ray is out, which made me plenty anxious to revisit the film once again. Given the film’s low budget, it was interesting to see how the high def format would work for the film. Fortunately, it is suitably money. Continue reading ‘Swingers (Blu-ray Review)’
August 31st, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Venture behind the true story of one of the world’s most famous assassinations as Oscar-winning director Robert Redford (Best Director, Ordinary People, 1980) gives viewers a front-row seat in the thrilling courtroom battle waged against Mary Surratt (Golden Globe nominee Robin Wright), the only female charged in the murder of President Abraham Lincoln. The film costars Golden Globe nominee James McAvoy as the attorney who reluctantly takes on Surratt’s defense, and who becomes her biggest ally as government forces align to bring her down. Featuring an all-star supporting cast including Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Evan Rachel Wood (HBO’s “True Blood”), Justin Long (Going the Distance) and two-time Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, The Conspirator is now available on this Deluxe Edition Blu-ray.
Continue reading ‘The Conspirator (Blu-ray Review)’
August 30th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Bring home acclaimed writer/director Terrence Malick’s (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World) thought provoking film experience THE TREE OF LIFE, available exclusively on Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack October 11 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Through stunning cinematography and raw emotional power Malick’s hymn to life excavates answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope of the intimate and the cosmic, from the raw emotions of a family in a small Texas town to the wildest, infinite edges of space and time, from a boy’s loss of innocence to a man’s transforming encounters with awe, wonder and transcendence. Continue reading ‘‘Tree of Life’ on Blu-ray Combo Pack October 11′
August 30th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
Last night MTV featured the premiere episode of the new horror-comedy Death Valley. Take a little True Blood, some of The Walking Dead and a pinch of Underworld, then mix it with a whole lot of Reno 911…Viola! A perfect formula for comedic success, right? No.
Continue reading ‘‘Death Valley’ Makes MTV Debut’
August 30th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Academy Award winner Yul Brynner stars in the landmark Western that launched the film careers of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Tired of being ravaged by an army of marauding bandits, the residents of a small Mexican village seek help from seven American gunfighters. The only problem? It’s seven against 50! Also featuring Eli Wallach and Robert Vaughn, and set against Elmer Bernstein’s Oscar-Nominated score, director John Sturges’ thrilling adventure belongs in any Blu-ray collection. Continue reading ‘The Magnificent Seven (Blu-ray Review)’
August 30th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
The animals at the Franklin Park Zoo break their time-honored code of silence and reveal that they can talk in the family-friendly comedy Zookeeper, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, single disc Blu-ray, DVD and Digital October 11 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Kevin James (Grown Ups, Paul Blart: Mall Cop) is loveable zookeeper Griffin Keyes, who finds true love with a lot of help from his talking animals. Zookeeper also stars Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds) and Leslie Bibb (Iron Man 2). The bonus features on the DVD include deleted scenes, a blooper reel and multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes, including “Creating the Visual Effects,” which shows how filmmakers created talking animals. The Blu-ray Disc™ contains everything included on the DVD, plus additional featurettes, including “The Cast of Zookeeper,” a look at some of the star voices in the film, including Judd Apatow, Jim Breuer, Jon Favreau, Faison Love and Maya Rudolph, as well as movieIQ+sync. The Blu-ray Combo Pack includes all the added value from the single DVD and Blu-ray versions. Continue reading ‘‘Zookeeper’ Arrives on Blu-ray, Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack, DVD and Digital October 11′
August 29th, 2011 by Brian White
If you have not seen a single episode of last year’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand, then you’re in the right place. Keep your eyes glued to your iPad, iPhone or iMac screen (of course I’m assuming because you are reading about this incredible show here that you are cool and down with the Mac family of products) and get your trigger finger ready to click that “pre-order now” link below. Yes! The following television show I’m about to drop in your laps is the sh!t and anyone that thinks or tells you otherwise, although your entitled to your opinion, is just blatantly mistaken about everything in life. There are no if and or buts’ about it and speaking of fine a$$es…Spartacus: Gods of the Arena people! Continue reading ‘Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (Blu-ray Review)’
August 28th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
If A Fistful of Dollars began the Eastwood legend, then its sequel, For a Few Dollars More, cemented it. Clint Eastwood makes his return as “The Man With No Name,” this time teaming up with a rival bounty hunter (Lee Van Cleef as “The Man In Black”) to take down a ruthless outlaw and his band of renegades. But all is not as it seems in the hard-hitting second installment of Sergio Leone’s trilogy starring Eastwood as the famed “Man With No Name.” This gritty, western masterpiece would be followed one year later by The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to complete director Sergio Leone’s brilliant Spaghetti Western Trilogy. Continue reading ‘For A Few Dollars More (Blu-ray Review)’
August 27th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
A lone gunfighter, the man with no name, rides into town on his old mule. He’s a cynical loner with a clouded past and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. He’s as fast as the devil with a gun and he kills for money. But this isn’t the ideal town to ride into. Two rival families are against each other in a cut throat war. The one is led by their powerful mother mostly and the other by a blood thirsty criminal, Ramón, who has kidnapped a local man’s beautiful wife, Marisol. When the steely blue-eyed mercenary arrives in the dusty border town where these two rival bands of smugglers terrorize the impoverished citizens, he pits the gangs against each other in one of the most influential westerns in cinema history. Can the stranger remain neutral, or will he end up doing the right thing and helping the town? Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood blends a quiet steadiness with a palpable ferocity as the iconic gunslinger “The Man With No Name” in Sergio Leone’s first gritty “spaghetti Western.”
Continue reading ‘A Fistful of Dollars (Blu-ray Review)’
August 27th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
In Our Idiot Brother, Paul Rudd is able to do something few actors can in the opening minutes of the film. He makes us instantly like him. His character’s hippy-ish, Dude-like persona is non-grating and adorable, despite the fact that his character, Ned, makes some poor choices. It is just too bad he has to deal with three nearly-shrewish sisters. Ned’s siblings tend to make him a punching bag of sorts in a film that is not quite biting, but is certainly meaner in spirit than it is in actually watching it. The film does manage to be quite funny and features a great cast, but its incredibly laid back attitude and willingness to rest all of charm on Rudd’s shoulders makes the film a bit uneven. Our Idiot Brother has a very 70s way of keeping its meandering story watchable, even when its fairly trite wrap-up comes into play. Continue reading ‘‘Our Idiot Brother’ Is A Pretty Nice Guy’
After a year long delay, The Debt has now arrived in theaters. While at one time thought to be a possible Oscar contender, it now seems that it has been dumped into the end of summer release period. While this is not something that necessarily matters in relation to my thoughts on the film, the positioning of this film’s release does seem expected at this point. Despite its potential to have been something better (I should add that it is a remake of a 2007 Israeli film), it ultimately amounts to having some strong moments and a good cast, but does not manage to bring things together quite well enough by the end. I was intrigued enough by the 70s-style espionage elements early on, but less so by the film’s conclusion. The Debt maybe didn’t deserve to be dumped into theaters; it just doesn’t match its assumed prestige status. Continue reading ‘‘The Debt’ Is A Decent, Late Summer Distraction’
