Fame (Blu-ray Review)
January 16th, 2010 by Brian White
I’m not sure what everyone’s problem is with this film. I have previously been lambasted for openly writing my feelings about how much I liked Fame during its theatrical run and I have seen and heard nothing but pessimistic and repugnant comments from the critical community. Am I the only one out there who sees the beauty, faith and inspiration that can be drawn from the film? Should I be concerned or seriously ponder anymore why I thought Fame was one of the better movies of 2009? Continue reading ‘Fame (Blu-ray Review)’
There’s a good movie in there somewhere. It just never surfaced. Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis are all impressive in front of the camera, but even their acting abilities could not save The Book of Eli. The film played out in such a lethargic fashion that part of me would rather be a human piñata at a party full of people with violent Tourettes than suffer through this film a second time. 
The first time I was exposed to The Book of Eli was at San Diego 
Every once in awhile a movie comes around that truly tests one’s faith. Spoken like a religious man who understands fate, huh? I can’t even imagine how I am going to react when my dog dies, whether lone how I would truly respond emotionally, mentally and physically should I ever, God forbid, lose a child. The heartbreak must be unimaginable. Thus is the tale of The Lovely Bones. 
Today I braved the harsh Cleveland winter to have some Saturday morning fun at the cinema with everyone’s favorite martial artist Jackie Chan. I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t like Jackie Chan? His onscreen presence usually warrants a marginally safe draw at the box office and he seemingly always delivers good clean family fun. The same train of thought holds true for his latest feature film, The Spy Next Door. 
Jackie Chan just has this unmistakable likeability factor. He’s kind of like the Chicago Cubs of actors. I mean, who out there really hates the Cubs? Even though they haven’t won a Series since Christ was a mess cook, people still adore the team. It’s the same with Chan, who, even after making an abysmal film like Rush Hour 3, still has his followers. As we ease our way into the new year, the masterful martial artist has released his latest film, The Spy Next Door. 
Over time, there have been several upon several World War II and Vietnam films; some good, some not so good. As the war on two fronts in the Middle East continues, we have seen a scattering of films here and there highlighting these new conflicts. As time goes on, we will likely see more. One such film that fills the current void and made it’s Blu-ray debut this week is The Hurt Locker. In short, this picture follows an EOD team in Iraq. 
I am going to sound ignorant here, but I admit to knowing nothing about the film Precious. However, it is billed as deserving a place among 2009’s best films. The film has 3 Golden Globe Nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Actress – Drama and Best Supporting Actress – Drama. It must have done something right! Well anyway, today I got the email in my inbox from my favorite movie studio Lionsgate announcing a March 9th Blu-ray release date for this award winning film. 
It’s no secret that some of here at WSB are huge fans of HBO’s smash-hit True Blood. We provided coverage of the True Blood panel at last year’s 
Perhaps in one of the biggest stories of yesterday we learn that plans for a Spider-Man 4 installment featuring the dream team duo of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have been scrapped. Rumors speculate either a rushed production schedule or a disagreement over the film’s next villian as the primary cause for the duo’s separation from the project. Whatever the case may be, it looks like all signs point to a complete reboot of the franchise. 
If anyone has ever watched Southland, you know that this is not just another cop show. I don’t know how else to stress the second half of that sentence. After a brief stint on network television, TNT had the sense to pick up this dramatic series. Southland takes place in the wonderful, yet tension-filled city of Los Angeles, California. As the opening sequence points out, “Only 9,800 police officers patrol the city of Los Angeles, an area of 500 square miles and 4 million people.” 
Let’s cut straight to the chase here. I realize that I am probably going to lose credibility points amongst the masses for having nothing but good things to say about this Blu-ray release, but today I became something I never thought I would ever be…a “gamer.” Yes, that’s right, today I fell in love with the world of gaming, particularly Lionsgate’s upcoming Blu-ray title, Gamer. 
The Duke has made his way to Blu-ray. The John Wayne classic The Green Berets recently hit store shelves on Blu-ray disc, which for many, was a long awaited arrival. It’s a positive thing to see studios focusing not only on current films, but those from the past as well. Let’s not waste any more time on an introduction and find out the verdict on John Wayne in 1080p! 
True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight and a forthcoming Underworld film. Vampires are indeed hip again. It takes me back to the not so distant days of the 90’s when vampire stories and the occasional production were all the rage. History certainly does repeat itself. Here we are in a very young 2010 and brothers Michael and Peter Spierig have brought us another blood-soaked brick in the wall of vampire masonry, Daybreakers. 
You kind of knew this would be the case didn’t you? Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and New Line Home Entertainment have announced the original classic A Nightmare on Elm Street will hit the Blu-ray format just in time to almost conincide with the remake which hits theaters on April 30th. The classic horror film will hit retail shelves on April 6th giving new fans of the franchise ample time to catch up on the origins of Freddy Krueger before the new movie either botches it up or totally redeems the character. 
You can’t beat this deal! Now through January 29th, Universal Studios is giving away 2,010 Blu-rays to lucky winners. And all you have to do is become a fan today on Facebook and check back everyday to enter their give-away. Yep, that’s right, you can visit their Facebook page 
It seems like only yesterday I was sitting there watching Cameron Diaz and James Marsden talk about their newest upcoming sci-fi thriller The Box. You can read all about it 
Can you believe it? We are now almost 3 months away from one of the biggest movies that will drop this year…KICK-ASS! Yes, Avatar and Iron Man 2 may have been the talk of the town during Comic-Con 2009, but the real hidden gem that made it’s presence known with ferocity and comedic genius was that of Matthew Vaughn’s KICK-ASS, based on the best-selling comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. 
