Archive Page 573
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’
April 26th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
One of the biggest movies in Disney history, Beauty and the Beast is now in 3D and finally coming to Blu-ray in a new Diamond Edition release! If you are interested in the non 3D version of the film, you can read my review of that set right here. Beauty and the Beast is the only animated movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for eighteen years until the Disney/Pixar release of Up. It did however win a ton of awards including Oscars for its music and the first Golden Globe Best Picture (Comedy or a Musical) win for an animated film. Continue reading ‘Beauty and the Beast 2D/3D Five Disc Combo Set is Available to Pre-order!’
April 26th, 2011 by Sean Ferguson
The highest grossing hand drawn animated film in history, The Lion King is now available to pre-order from Amazon! The Lion King is the 32nd animated film from Disney and was a huge critical and commercial success and it won two Academy Awards, and the Golden Globe for Best Picture (for Musical or Comedy). It also benefited from a great soundtrack from Elton John and Tim Rice and a score by Hans Zimmer. The movie was also the start of a new direct to video franchise with The Lion King II and The Lion King 1 ½, which are also included in the Trilogy Box Set as well as both 2D and 3D versions of the original film. Hakuna Matata! Continue reading ‘The Lion King 2D/3D and the Lion King Trilogy Box Set is Now Available to Pre-order!’
April 26th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Blood Out delivers what it can, but that is not very much. I do not tend to put much stock into films like this for good reason; they tend to suck. A direct-to-blu-ray action flick implies a few things – the distributors could not find a way to properly market the film, a good enough deal could not be made to obtain a theatrical release, or the realization of how bad the film is was enough to cancel plans to move further with getting the film out there for wider marketing. Continue reading ‘Blood Out (Blu-ray Review)’
April 25th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
April 23rd saw Rocktagon delivering its fifth amateur mixed martial arts event, this time back in Elyria, Ohio. With a nine-bout fight card, things were sure to be rockin’ and rollin’ as soon as that opening bell rang. The multi-faceted fight night featured a little international flare with one of the fighters hailing from Canada. There were also rookie and amateur veteran aspects with some first-timers as well as those fighters looking to turn pro in the near future.
April 25th, 2011 by Jami Ferguson
If you enjoy the musical numbers from Glee but don’t want to sit through the rest of the show, this is the Blu-ray for you! If you are a big fan of the show (the whole show) and do own the Blu-ray season set already, I don’t see this being a very necessary purchase. It would be redundant since the Blu-ray set from Season One already has a music jukebox that allows you to skip straight to the music. This would however, be a great purchase for someone who watches the show on TV and would just like to revisit the musical numbers or for someone that only cares about the music. If that’s the case, then Glee Encore will save you quite a few bucks. Continue reading ‘Glee Encore Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
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’
