Top 10 Blu-ray Releases of 2009 – Staff Picks
January 1st, 2010 by The Why So Blu Staff
We thought it would be a fun idea, here at Why So Blu, if a few of us writers got together and wrote a conglomerate review of what we each thought our Top 10 Blu-ray releases of the year were in 2009. I know the anticipation and speculation must be running rampant through your veins right now so without further ado and anymore unnecessary words let’s get down to business and see what we all picked. Continue reading ‘Top 10 Blu-ray Releases of 2009 – Staff Picks’
I waited patiently until after my most recent screening of Sherlock Holmes to compile this list that I have been looking forward to working on all year long. As Gregg Senko kind of mentioned yesterday, it was not until the second half of the year that I was really able to round up a majority of the all-star gems I would be calling upon to complete the below list of my Top 10 films of 2009. 
Up in the Air has been one of the most talked about dramas this winter and with good reason. It has a terrific cast, a genuinely funny script and features stellar performances by everyone involved. Finally there is a movie that critics and audiences can both agree on. Director Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard), proves his ability to handle comedy was not limited to Juno or Thank You For Smoking. 
Now here is a movie I know little about except for the fact that I anxiously want to see it. Every time I had an opportunity to see this film during its theatrical run my chances were nixed. I even had press screening passes to this one and I was unable to use them. However, it seems like my luck is about to change as Anchor Bay just announced a February 16th Blu-ray release date for the Jamie Foxx and Gerard butler action thriller Law Abiding Citizen. I am pumped! 
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are starring in a new movie together, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since the pairing screams “romantic comedy gold mine!” Alas, the two don’t have great chemistry and the premise for Did You Hear About the Morgans? is unoriginal. Grant and Parker play Paul and Meryl Morgan, a high-powered New York couple—she’s in real estate, he’s a lawyer–who have been separated since slept with another woman. 
From November up to now, there has been a lot of buzz on Why So Blu about Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures. This holiday season, we were able to chat with the Captain about his early beginnings in music, his deadliness with a six-string and working with metal magician Rob Zombie. For the faint at heart, here’s your fair warning to beware. Clegg tells it like it is in his no-holds-barred delivery. 
The Young Victoria satisfies the necessary requirements for a movie that deals with the history of the royal family in the 19th century. There are opulent costumes, some political intrigue, repressed emotions and the suffocating rules of social propriety. Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) manages to keep The Young Victoria focused on the title character as she navigates the early years of her reign as queen as well as her romance with Prince Albert, who she later married. 
We hope to be doing a lot more of this in 2010, but in the meantime please give your full undivided attention to video game reviewers Sam Bushman and Dan Morrison of WhySoBlu.com as they give you the low down on their ‘Top 10’ favorite moments in gaming for the year 2009. Check out the 
With Blu-ray Brian yet to reveal his choice for ‘album of the year,’ I have landed on my decision after a review of the 2009 releases. While it’s no small task to cover them all, and no, I’m not going to act like I listened to every CD that came out this year, it is always a difficult but fun category to cover. How can you compare a classical piece to a country tune? Hip-hop to metal? The truth is, you really can’t, but the category calls for one record to stand above all others so that is what will be delivered. 
And the award goes to…okay, we’re not the Oscars, but as 2009 comes to a close, it’s about time to acknowledge Why So Blu’s inaugural Game of the Year award. There have been an impressive array of titles that hit store shelves this year such as highly anticipated sequels Uncharted 2 and Assassin’s Creed II. The competition was neck and neck to say the least, but this year’s pick goes to none other than Batman: Arkham Asylum. 
Even if I used terms such as clever, bright, ingenious, adept, cunning, discerning, quick-witted, resourceful, shrewd, versatile and keen, I could never come close to describing the attributes of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes. And to think, I once thought the television character MacGyver was the most brilliant and quick thinking man I ever known. 
Disappointment is a feeling no one enjoys, especially when it comes to a movie with a good deal of positive buzz surrounding it. So, when it comes to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, a film boasting a great cast and director, it is even more of a let down. Not to be mistaken, Holmes is an action-packed film with some great comedic relief, wit and an all around sense of verisimilitude. 
I was very surprised at the small turnout for the opening weekend numbers of Clint Eastwood’s latest work, Invictus. The term ‘invictus’ is Latin for ‘invincible’ while there is also a famous poem of the same title. Both of which have strong influences on this film starring the astounding talents of Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as South African rugby captain, Francois Pienaar. The film covers a very turbulent time in South Africa’s history. 
Making it all the way to the top is no easy feat. Landing a record deal is hard enough let alone being able to tour and get your name out there. Unfortunately, there are several extremely talented and very entertaining bands out there that are not household names and as a result, are flying under our radar. Do not deprive your ears any longer from their musical brilliance! If a band didn’t make MTV, that doesn’t mean a thing! 
There seems to always be a lot of testosterone around here so I thought I would shake things up for a change and cater strictly to our female audience. I know many female readers who are looking forward with much anticipation to the calendar date May 28, 2010. What happens on that day you ask? Why it just so happens to be the release date for Sex and the City 2! The award-winning HBO series returns to the silver screen to follow-up their $145 million predecessor. 
I thought it would be a good idea to get us caught up on all the Blu-ray announcements that have transpired this week before we get sucked into the unavoidable Christmas holiday vortex. Anyone have a problem with that? I didn’t think so! Anyway, let’s get started and review all the formal Blu-ray announcements that have been made thus far, yesterday and today. As usual, we will break it down by movie studios. 
