Archive Page 571
May 3rd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
It was a Monday night Asian showcase on May 2, 2011, for the Newport Beach Film Festival. The films featured as spotlight screenings were all products of Asian filmmakers. To continue to mix up the types of movies I have seen so far, I chose Redline, the first anime film to be featured as a Spotlight Screening for the NBFF. I ended up making a fantastic choice, as Redline was a hugely entertaining film. The film is a sci-fi auto racing-themed work of art, featuring incredible animation, a knowingly over-the-top style & story, memorable & hilarious characters, and some slick animated racing action. I had a ton of fun watching this film, especially in my drive to appreciate anime more. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Redline’
May 2nd, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Blue Underground continues to show mad love for Dario Argento on Blu-ray as do we in reviewing Dario Argento films on Why So Blu. The latest offering from the Italian master of horror is his film Deep Red which is separate from his “Animal” trilogy and came before Suspiria. Argento was busy during the 70’s for sure! Blue Underground has remastered and produced BOTH versions of Deep Red. There is the 105 minute English version and the 126 minute Italian cut of the film. The following review of Deep Red will contain information of what both cuts of the film have to offer as opposed to two separate reviews. Come on in and take a stroll into darkness with Deep Red on Blu-ray! Continue reading ‘Deep Red (Blu-ray Review)’
May 2nd, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Serving as a warm-up and placeholder for the upcoming Avengers movie, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes airs on the Disney XD channel and has now been released on DVD. This action-packed superhero series features Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Wasp, Black Panther, Nick Fury, and The Hulk. There’s also appearances from the Fantastic Four and some of the other heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. These two volumes offer a continuing storyline and true to character portrayals. While the animation could be better, this new series is the best animated show Marvel has released to date. Continue reading ‘The Avengers – Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Volumes 1 and 2: Heroes Assemble/Captain America Reborn! (DVD Review)’
May 2nd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
For my screening on the fourth night of the 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival, I managed to be pleasantly surprised by A Bag of Hammers. Going into the film, I was expecting to maybe have a good laugh at a simple comedy; however, I was delighted to see that the film not only accomplished having a comedic touch, but found very solid footing in balancing what turned out to be a comedic drama. This was a very good film that I was happy to have enjoyed deeply and I attribute many of the film’s charming qualities, such as its strong writing and dialogue, solid performances, and great chemistry between all of the actors, to that conclusion. While the film may reach a few points of being a tad too dark, with a story that is not entirely unpredictable, these minor issues hardly effect a film that is very well crafted and highly entertaining. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: A Bag of Hammers’
May 1st, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Cue the synth theme! Don’t try to play it off, you know exactly what synth theme I am talking about. It’s the theme that once you hear it it stays in your head and you begin humming or whistling it all day long. That would be the Beverly Hills Cop theme, and you can now listen to it in all its lossless glory! Eddie Murphy stars alongside a who’s who of crazy and eclectic characters dispensing his own brand of streetwise justice on the glitzy streets of Beverly Hills. Besides 48Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop was one of the first films to define the wisecracking-buddy cop films that were soon to follow in abundance. It’s actually no surprise that Beverly Hills Cop was a Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson vehicle. How does the Beverly Hills Cop Blu-ray stack up to scrutiny? Come in and find out! Continue reading ‘Beverly Hills Cop (Blu-ray Review)’
May 1st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival’s screening of Project Nim was one of the screenings I was most anticipating. Project Nim is the new documentary from director James March, who previously made the Oscar winning documentary Man on Wire. Since Man on Wire was both an incredibly well crafted documentary and also one of the most enjoyable docs I had ever seen, his latest feature about Nim, a famous chimpanzee from the 70s, was one I was going to give the benefit of the doubt to and hope for the best. Once again, Marsh has made a film that is incredibly well crafted, but the enjoyable factor is replaced by a story that is somewhat comic, but more revealing, and fairly unsettling at times. All of this is to say that Project Nim is another great film from Marsh, not as a crowd pleaser, but as an emotional journey. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Project Nim’
April 30th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) has begun, and with that I have now been to my first screening. Friday, April 29, 2011, saw the west coast premiere of the film Lucky, starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margaret, and Jeffrey Tambor. Lucky is a comedy that relies on two very quirky performances from its leads, Hanks and Graynor. The story involves a shy man (with a secret) who wins the lottery and the results it has once a girl he’s had a crush on factors more heavily into his life. While I certainly found there to be humorous things about this film and its concept, I had a lot of issues with the tone and handling of these characters. I did not want to end up with negative feelings about this film for my first screening review, but unfortunately that has to be the case here. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Lucky’
April 29th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Vroom! So this isn’t supposed to happen. The fifth installment of a movie series is not supposed to be the best one yet, with actual anticipation building up for another. That is not what should happen, but dammit, Fast Five delivers just that. Somehow, this film series decided to go all out and deliver a fantastic ride, built for speed, action, and some slick style. Regardless of previous opinions about this franchise, Fast Five hits its marks very well, evolving the story of the franchise, while bringing in many familiar faces from the previous films. Continue reading ‘5 Fast 5 Furious 5 Stars (Minus 1)’
April 29th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
This is more of a preview of things to come, but I just wanted to point out that from April 28th to May 5th, 2011, the 12th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will be in full swing. The festival takes place in Southern California, within the city of Newport Beach. About an hour away from Hollywood, this beautiful coastline city will be a wonderful place to find classic and contemporary cinema being shared by both accomplished and new filmmakers to the public. Over 350 films from over 40 countries will be screened during the week, in addition to 17 spotlight and special events, including discussions and Q&A’s with directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and more. Continue reading ‘The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival Has Begun’
April 29th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
This DVD set marks the beginning of a series of episodes that were later combined into films, that tell the tale of C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower, a fictional Royal Navy officer whose exploits were spread across eleven books. This set contains the first two adventures which were The Duel and The Fire Ships. Starring Ioan Gruffudd (The Fantastic Four), Robert Lindsay (Wimbledon), Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), and Paul Copley (Queer as Folk). These first two movies show the start of Hornblower’s career as a seasick midshipman who later becomes a decorated Admiral. Forester’s Hornblower character was also an inspiration for Gene Roddenberry’s own Captain James T. Kirk for the Star Trek series. Continue reading ‘Horatio Hornblower – The Original Adventures (DVD Review)’
April 29th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
I have spoken with a handful of celebrities over the past few years, but none have been as cadid or relaxed as that of my discussion with Don Jeanes. If you don’t recognize the name, let me fill you in. The guy’s got a fairly lengthy resume’ that includes stage work, television and now the big screen. This summer, you’ll see Jeanes in the role of historic astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. During our half hour conversation, we covered topics ranging from from his early days as a struggling actor to working under Michael Bay, and somehow He-Man even got involved. Continue reading ‘Interview with Don Jeanes from Transformers: Dark of the Moon’
April 28th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
I missed this one in the theaters, but I know my wife really wants to see it because of Nicolas Cage. You’ve got to hand to Cage for starring in so many genre films despite the odds against them. This time, he also has another genre favorite with him as Ron Perlman stars as a fellow soldier who helps transport a woman who has been accused of being a witch. This movie is being billed as a supernatural action adventure but the trailer for it seemed to be marketed differently. This film also marks another collaboration between Cage and director Dominic Sena who last directed Cage in Gone in Sixty Seconds. Here is the early notification of the movie’s release: Continue reading ‘Season of the Witch is Coming to Blu-ray June 28th!’
April 28th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That is how the classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities” begins. It’s also an accurate description of the most recent Lady Gaga concert I attended. This past Wednesday was the final U.S. concert in Lady Gaga’s acclaimed Monster Ball Tour. Last year, I was also in attendance when she came to town though my seat was on the opposite end of the arena. This time, I was 15 feet from the stage. How was this latest delivery?
Continue reading ‘Gaga Makes Cleveland Last U.S. Stop’
April 28th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
It is the 21st Century, and society’s lust for violence is satisfied by “The Big Hunt,” an international game of legalized murder. But when the sport’s two top assassins (Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress) are pitted against each other, they find that love is the most dangerous game of all. As the world watches, the hunt is on. Who will become THE 10TH VICTIM? **Please take note that the accompanied artwork is from the DVD release. Once Why So Blu obtains the official Blu-ray artwork it will be modified. Big thanks to Blue Underground for providing this early report! **Artwork has been UPDATED!
Continue reading ‘‘The 10th Victim’ is Coming to Blu-ray August 30th’
April 27th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
Back in 1984 a television program came out in Britain called Playing Shakespeare and it starred some of the stars from the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) including Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, Judi Dench, David Suchet, Ben Kingsley, and more. It also featured the co-founder of the RSC, John Barton who hosted the program and helped educate the general public and aspiring actors on how to perform a Shakespearean play. Nineteen years later, a sequel of sorts called the The Shakespeare Sessions came to be except that this time, the actors are American and it was filmed in New York City. Helping Barton this time around is Kevin Kline, Cynthia Nixon, David Hyde Pierce, Charles S. Dutton, Lynn Collins, Liev Schreiber, and Dustin Hoffman. Continue reading ‘The Shakespeare Sessions (DVD Review)’
April 27th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
You gotta love the early 90’s when it comes to films and filmmaking. The fashion sense was still transitioning from the 80’s, so there was that learning curve that we all had to get through. Johnny Depp was nowhere near a superstar back then, but was still seen as one of the few recognizable actors to do his own thing and take the occasional oddball role here and there. Benny & Joon would be one of those roles. How does Benny & Joon stack up to the more mainstream and typical love stories nearly twenty years later? More importantly, how does Benny & Joon stack up on Blu-ray? The second question will be easier to answer than the first one. Enjoy our review of Benny & Joon on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘Benny & Joon (Blu-ray Review)’
April 27th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Would anyone suspect something serious to come out of a film in which a rubber tire comes to life and kills people, using telepathic powers? I would not think so. Why would this happen? As the movie’s mantra suggests, “No reason.” It is fitting that I saw Rubber around the same time that I watched Scream 4. Both films are designed to satirize horror and film culture and subvert audience expectation. While I think Scream 4 only managed to point out these themes without being clever enough to pull off something more meaningful, Rubber is more of an experiment, made to address the tropes and status of horror films and the audiences that watch them. Continue reading ‘Take A Very Strange Bounce With ‘Rubber’’
April 26th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
It is that time again. Mortal Kombat! (Cue theme music) This week’s episode of the popular Mortal Kombat web series steps away from Sonya, Kano, Jax, and the gang; and shifts focus on Johnny Cage. In this version of events, Johnny Cage is an out of work action star, looking to find a comeback. Despite his producers’ doubts, Cage feels he can still kick ass – “Cage Style.” I found this episode to be the weakest in the series so far, but it does move the plot forward, in a way, thanks to a certain appearance at the end (learn more by reading the credits). Continue reading ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy – Ep 3 – Johnny Cage’
It was a Monday night Asian showcase on May 2, 2011, for the Newport Beach Film Festival. The films featured as spotlight screenings were all products of Asian filmmakers. To continue to mix up the types of movies I have seen so far, I chose Redline, the first anime film to be featured as a Spotlight Screening for the NBFF. I ended up making a fantastic choice, as Redline was a hugely entertaining film. The film is a sci-fi auto racing-themed work of art, featuring incredible animation, a knowingly over-the-top style & story, memorable & hilarious characters, and some slick animated racing action. I had a ton of fun watching this film, especially in my drive to appreciate anime more. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Redline’
