Gregg’s Album of the Year
December 26th, 2009 by Gregg Senko
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. Continue reading ‘Gregg’s Album of the Year’
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. 
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a professional hatchet man. When businesses have to downsize, he’s the guy who gets called in to deliver the bad news. Bingham has no close friends or family, and loves having a job that keeps him constantly on the move from one city to the next, living out of airports and hotel rooms. He finds a kindred spirit in businesswoman Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). 
After the death of his twin brother, Paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) voyages to the alien world of Pandora to complete the mission his late sibling had signed up for. The mission involves transferring Jake’s consciousness into an artificially grown body called an avatar via some futuristic gizmo. These avatars have been created to look like the native humanoid population, known as the Na’vi. 
Don’t worry. I am not posting this to make a shameless plug to capitalize on Brittany Murphy Blu-ray sales, but instead I simply wanted to express my condolences for Hollywood’s loss of a much-adored actress on Sunday. Brittany may not have been a favorite of mine, but I always respected her for her talent and unique acting style that lent itself well to the vicious tales told in one of my most revered films of all-time, Sin City. 
Finally the release date for Avatar arrived. The street lamp-hung signs at July’s Comic-Con now fulfilled their advertising destiny. The autumn-released teaser trailers and strategically placed glimpses were no longer needed as the real deal had landed. Rumors had swirled for months as to how much the film cost. Some said it was the first $300,000,000 film ever made, the most expensive to date. 
For nearly three hours tonight I sat in the movie theater and completely forgot about all of my troubles, all of my worries and nothing else even mattered to me in the world except the universe James Cameron masterfully created in Avatar. I even forgot I was part of the human race as I sat there in captive bewilderment. Not even the rude patron kicking on the back of my chair could distract me. 
Ever since I recently attended the musical of the same name, a few months back, I have eagerly wanted to watch Young Frankenstein on Blu-ray. I was almost ready to pull the trigger on a Blu-ray purchase when all the sudden The Mel Brooks Collection was announced and I got news that I would be getting the chance to review the film. Talk about coincidence. Thank you for listening God! 
Looks like Warner Home Video is following Universal’s take on providing their Blu-ray customers with a DVD copy of the film they just purposely bought on the Blu-ray format. While it’s not the same flipper technology Universal is using, Warner will be packaging each Blu-ray in 2010 with an additional DVD disc and a Digital Copy disc. Can you say wow? Is it necessary? I guess that depends upon the customer in question. 
Before you blast me for bad grammar contained within my post’s title, take a sigh of relief and know that yes I have checked with the Internet’s #1 authority, 
This past week, a very rare thing happened in U.S. cinema. A film was released for one week. Yep, that’s it, seven days. On December 11th, Director Lawrence Jordan’s concert film, Larger Than Life in 3D hit theaters making anything but a big splash. Filmed at the three-day long Austin City Limits music festival in Austin, Texas this past October, Larger Than Life in 3D features the musical work of Gogol Bordello, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and last but certainly not least, Dave Matthews Band. 
I have to admit to being late to the scene when I first discovered Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, or Lady Gaga to the layperson. I remember hearing the name before, but I knew nothing about the brains behind the woman who is responsible for orchestrating that infectious “Just Dance” track that seemingly always blasted from my wife’s KISS FM listening habits in the car. 
