Archive for November, 2009

King Kong [Blu-ray]

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King Kong [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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Click to learn more about the BD-Live Experience


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Kong is Back
 
Review Date: March 11, 2010
Reviewer: Mark Talmadge, Flint Michigan
This review is based on my original viewing of the King Kong DVD and I have to say that while I'm sure that the Blu-ray is gorgeous, I have a problem with Jack Black. The character of Carl Denham should have had a different actor. Jack Black, while I have no reason to doubt that he seems to be a funny comedian, lacks any serious acting skills to pull off this character as being believable.

Hollywood continues to remake classic television shows or remake movies like that of King Kong and Godzilla and end up failing to deliver a quality product. The problem is that Hollywood directors like to transform classic properties into a comedy movie and everytime they do this, they always manage to create a piece of crap that fails to give Hollywood any good standing. Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, The Flintstones ... they were all pale imitations, at best. The problem is that King Kong employs a whole cast of serious actors and Jack Black tries so hard to at serious acting that he often falls flat on his face.

Robin Williams, Jim Carey ... even George Carlin, all serious and very funny comedians, managed to develop a serious acting side and pulled together some very good dramatic movies and they even succeeded at expanding their talents as serious actors. However, Jack Black needed to showcase this side of his acting ability and he simply fails miserably. Here, he seems to be a round peg trying to fit into a square.

The one thing I have to credit is Peter Jackson who producing a very good movie. However, in trying to create a different movie, I think maybe made a bad casting mistake in regards to Jack Black. Two and one half hours was bad enough but now everyone gets to agonize through over three hours of bad acting from Jack Black. I can think of better King Kong movies to watch than his bad acting.
What's the point of promoting such ugly fictional creatures (not talking about King Kong) and the natives
 
Review Date: February 21, 2010
Reviewer: Reza Ganjavi,
This film prides itself for promoting ugliness. Disgusting looking natives on the island and disgusting fictional animals and lots of violence. Waste of time and money. The animation was impressive but I don't recommend this movie.
This KONG is the KING of remakes! Blu-Ray review.
 
Review Date: February 21, 2010
Reviewer: A. Scultore, NY
I am hard pressed to think of any greater remake of a classic film! Peter Jackson pays homage to the original blockbuster film KING KONG of 1933. So many scenes, down to the nuances are remade to perfection in this classic. The acting is fantastic and the action is unbelievable. Some of the greatest CGI work of our time is done in this film. You will believe this 25' ape is living and breathing on screen with Naomi Watts. If you have never seen the original, it is a story of a filmaker that sets sail for a prehistoric island. This place where civilized man has yet to step foot, where mysterious wonders await. When the damsel in distress is captured she is offered up to Kong as a sacrifice. The crew saves her and captures the beast for display and profit. Soon Kong is loose and recaptures the fair maiden. This leads to one of film's alltime great moments as Kong battles bi-planes at the top of the Empire State Building!

King Kong is a classic and Peter Jackson's love for it, is on full display. The movie is long as it should be. Great storytelling should never take shortcuts! A must own for any movie lover!

NOW FOR MY BLU RAY THOUGHTS: Universal does it again! The picture and sound are breathtakingly beautiful. This disc gives you both the theatrical and extended versions. Please watch the extended, it is so worth it. Unfortunately there are no special features. This is upsetting for someone who has the 3 disc extended edition. FINAL THOUGHTS: Even with the lack of special features, this is a must own blu-ray. Demo caliber disc. ABSOLUTELY UPGRADE!

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Drag Me to Hell (Unrated Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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Touted as a return to Sam Raimi's horror-movie roots, Drag Me to Hell is indeed closer in spirit to the director's Evil Dead pictures than to his Spider-Man films. You got your gypsy gargoyles with rotted dentures, your upchucking corpses, your flexible two-way orifices--yes, Raimi's definitely back in the saddle. There's even a story: a sad loan officer (Alison Lohman) turns down the aforementioned denture-wearing gypsy for a loan extension, which leads to an evil curse and a date in hell in three days' time. A séance, an animal sacrifice, and a session in a storm-tossed graveyard will make the 72 hours pass very nervously, thank you, along with assorted scares. Justin Long plays Lohman's upper-class boyfriend, and Raimi fills the rest of the cast with some unusual and unfamiliar types. Along with the giddy horror-comedy that bursts out of the movie every 10 minutes or so, there's also an underlying mood of pity: Lohman's character is something of a hard-luck sad sack, who does enough wrong things to make her seem like a truly abject individual, well outside the heroic model of most multiplex offerings. (Lohman's own little-girl-lost quality adds to this feeling.) But don't let that get in the way of the fun-ride aspects of this goofy enterprise: Drag Me to Hell is a bunch of Z-movie gags wrapped in top-drawer production values. --Robert Horton

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Van Helsing [Blu-ray]

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Van Helsing [Blu-ray]
 
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Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, Van Helsing rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens (sans credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled and exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, ever bore you. A sequel is virtually guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon

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2001: A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray]

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2001: A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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When Stanley Kubrick recruited Arthur C. Clarke to collaborate on "the proverbial intelligent science fiction film," it's a safe bet neither the maverick auteur nor the great science fiction writer knew they would virtually redefine the parameters of the cinema experience. A daring experiment in unconventional narrative inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," 2001 is a visual tone poem (barely 40 minutes of dialogue in a 139-minute film) that charts a phenomenal history of human evolution. From the dawn-of-man discovery of crude but deadly tools in the film's opening sequence to the journey of the spaceship Discovery and metaphysical birth of the "star child" at film's end, Kubrick's vision is meticulous and precise. In keeping with the director's underlying theme of dehumanization by technology, the notorious, seemingly omniscient computer HAL 9000 has more warmth and personality than the human astronauts it supposedly is serving. (The director also leaves the meaning of the black, rectangular alien monoliths open for discussion.) This theme, in part, is what makes 2001 a film like no other, though dated now that its postmillennial space exploration has proven optimistic compared to reality. Still, the film is timelessly provocative in its pioneering exploration of inner- and outer-space consciousness. With spectacular, painstakingly authentic special effects that have stood the test of time, Kubrick's film is nothing less than a cinematic milestone--puzzling, provocative, and perfect. --Jeff Shannon

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METHODICAL ATTENTION TO DETAIL PAYS OFF
 
Review Date: March 13, 2010
Reviewer: W. S. Olsen, Hickory, NC United States
42 years after the release of Kubrick's mystical journey beyond the infinite, his near maniacal attention to detail continues to keep up with modern image technology. If it was in the frame, it mattered. Older films on Blu-Ray will continue to reveal painted wood for steel girders, and splattered set walls in the b.g for aging, plus make-up and costuming details never meant to be seen. Kubrick's 2001 on Blu-ray gives us the advantage of seeing details that the Super Panavision 70mm negative captured, but before now were never seen, or never seen well. As an example: in the space station, when Dr. Floyd is talking to the Russians, there is in the far background at the end of the space stations curve, a windowed room with people walking around. This was not visible before Blu-ray. Except for possibly 70mm theatrical situations, this detail could not have been seen on VHS or standard DVD. There are many other examples.

Blu-ray works well for a perfectionist like Kubrick. I'm holding my breath on the hundreds of movies where the filmmaker filled the foreground and let the b.g. go, where, "the audience won't miss what they didn't see," was the common catch-phrase. Blu-ray is unforgiving in that matter. Many new films, and especially ones bullet-riddled with CG, will not hold up to its scrutiny.
Nostalgia
 
Review Date: March 11, 2010
Reviewer: David N. Rich, Titusville, FL
Remember knowing that there was something visionary about this movie and trying to figure out exactly what it was? Remember the Apple computer ad?
Horse and buggy paced Scifi
 
Review Date: March 7, 2010
Reviewer: Marie L. Fontana, Hawaii
By the time (yawn) Hal entered the story, I had not found one likeable character in the whole movie, so Hal did'nt have a chance - I turned off the player and started thinking of how to dispose of the DVD. Shame on Arthur C. Clarke for messing in this one.

It’s a Wonderful Life [Blu-ray]

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It's a Wonderful Life [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Paramount
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Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton

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Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 3 [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Paramount
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Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. The First Officer is Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan. The Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen lead by Khan Noonian Singh. Their mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Blu-ray Features:
- BD Live Portal
- Where No Man Has Gone Before (Rare and Unaired Version)
- David Gerrold Hosts "2009 Convention Coverage"
- Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig
- "The Anthropology of Star Trek" ComiCon Panel 209
- Chief Engineer's Log
- "The World of Rod Roddenberry" ComiCon 2009
- Memoir From Mr. Sulu
- Captain's Log: Bob Justman
- Billy Blackburn's Treasure Cese: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 3
- "To Boldly Go..." Season Three
- Collectible Trek
- Star Trek's Impact

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Star Trek season 3
 
Review Date: March 8, 2010
Reviewer: L. K. Helton,
Arrived promptly in great condition. Just what I needed for a gift for a Star Trek junkie
Good Season of Trek. Great Blu ray deal!
 
Review Date: March 4, 2010
Reviewer: Matthew Vincent,
This is considered the worst season of TOS but the first two seasons were outstanding so its unfair to compare it to them. It is still better than most of what is out there on TV today. This looks incredible on Blu ray. Don't knock this season until you see it. But I definitely recommend it to Trek fans. Finish your collection cause I KNOW you already have seasons 1 & 2.
Climax and Falling Action....
 
Review Date: February 17, 2010
Reviewer: J. C. Holcom, Tampa, FL
While the Original Series hit its peak in the Second Season, that's not to say there isn't anything to enjoy in Season Three. Sure, Shatner's Rug looks terrible. Sure, the tunics aren't velour anymore. Sure, as a whole, the writing isn't what it once was, but we still get gem's like 'Spectre of the Gun' and 'The Empath'. We're introduced to Michael Ansara's Kang and a new hairstyle for Jimmy Doohan. Any real Trek fan who makes the active choice to buy the Original Series on Blu-Ray ain't gonna give a rat's ass ('tribble's ass' just wasn't worth it) about Season Three's short-comings. It becomes an obsessive/compulsive necessity to round out your collection.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 [Blu-ray]

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The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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John Godey's 1973 novel The Taking of Pelham One Two Three boasts a suspense situation so surefire that even the directorial bad habits of Tony Scott can't ruin this latest movie version. Four armed men seize a New York City subway train, isolate one car, and threaten to start killing passengers if a ransom isn't paid within the hour. The ransom was a million dollars in the book and also in Joseph Sargent's solid 1974 movie, in which Robert Shaw played the mercenary leading the hostage takers and Walter Matthau was the growling transit cop trying to outsmart him. In 2009, the title has gone digital--The Taking of Pelham 123--and inflation has jumped the asking price to $10 million. Where Shaw's menace was steely, John Travolta opts for manic, and shamelessly has a blast in the master villain role. His adversary, cagily underplayed by Denzel Washington, has been upgraded in civil-service rank but also demoted on suspicion of taking a bribe. This colors the dynamics of the dialogue between Washington at his control-center console and Travolta on the motorman's microphone aboard the stalled train.

So far, so reasonably good. But the director's trademark tactics keep getting between, well, everything. From the get-go, the visuals are subjected to pointless and irritating stutter effects, speeding-up/slowing-down, gratuitous camera movement, and the interposition of dirt- or light-smeared panes of glass between the camera and people we'd appreciate a clear look at. The 1974 movie settled for one police car being wrecked as the ransom is rushed uptown; Scott requires multiple collisions, each the occasion for police cruisers taking Lethal Weapon-style flight. The hostages in the earlier film were wittily individuated, a multicultural group portrait of the city at that mid-'70s moment; the ones on Scott's train--and also Travolta's fellow perpetrators, including that wonderful character actor Luis Guzmán--barely register. On the upside, John Turturro and James Gandolfini shine as two guys who (like the actors themselves) are very good at their jobs—respectively playing a hostage negotiator and His Honor, the mayor. The screenplay by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Mystic River) strives intelligently, if formulaically, to add new dimensions to the main characters and to offer its own gloss on the current economic meltdown. --Richard T. Jameson




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Forrest Gump [Blu-ray]

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Forrest Gump [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Paramount
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The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor Tom Hanks, this unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the 20th century is a funny and heartwarming epic. Hanks plays the title character, a shy Southern boy in love with his childhood best friend (Robin Wright) who finds that his ability to run fast takes him places. As an All-Star football player he meets John F. Kennedy; as a soldier in Vietnam he's a war hero; and as a world champion Ping-Pong player he's hailed by Richard Nixon. Becoming a successful shrimp-boat captain, he still yearns for the love of his life, who takes a quite different and much sadder path in life. The visual effects incorporating Hanks into existing newsreel footage is both funny and impressive, but the heart of the film lies in its sweet love story and in the triumphant performance of Hanks as an unassuming soul who savors the most from his life and times. --Robert Lane

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Public Enemies [Blu-ray]

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Public Enemies [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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Since crime auteur Michael Mann, like his protagonists, plays by his own rules, Public Enemies eschews back story and motivation for a closely-observed, action-packed examination of men at work. FBI supremo J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) kick-starts a nationwide manhunt when he proclaims John Dillinger (Johnny Depp, in top form) Public Enemy #1. Hoover taps Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to bring the Tommy Gun-toting bank robber in by any means necessary (the agency also targets Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson). If Dillinger had split the scene then and there, he might have enjoyed a happier fate, but he falls for beautiful coat-check girl Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard, whose open-hearted performance makes her the most sympathetic character in the film). In the end, though, Dillinger is the captain of his own destiny: his loyalty to his girl and his gang overpowers his desire to live free. Though the director also set his first film, Thief, and third series, Crime Story, in his native Chicago, Public Enemies plays more like Heat in Depression-era garb. In that L.A. policier, Al Pacino's cop develops a grudging respect for Robert De Niro's criminal, but letting a lawbreaker go free isn't an option. In this case, however, the tight-lipped Purvis never develops the same sort of esteem for Dillinger--or Hoover--making him the more tragic figure. If Public Enemies is less overtly commercial than The Untouchables or Bugsy, it's still the best mainstream gangster epic in ages and ranks among Mann's finest works. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The Proposal [Blu-ray]

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The Proposal [Blu-ray]
 
Manufacturer: Touchstone Home Entertainment
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Rom-com favorite Sandra Bullock and the affably charming Ryan Reynolds’s superb chemistry turn The Proposal from otherwise standard romantic-comedy fare to one that is entertaining and sure to garner laughs. Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a workaholic, tyrannical book editor (reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada) who suddenly finds her career in jeopardy as she faces deportation back to Canada. Her solution is to simply fake an engagement to her unsuspecting assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), who in turn blackmails her for a promotion. However, when Margaret is forced to head to Alaska with Andrew to visit his family in an effort to make their story believable to the deportation officers, they soon realize that their plan may not be so simple after all. The supporting cast of Dad (Craig T. Nelson), Mom (Mary Steenburgen), and kooky Grandma (Betty White, still a scene-stealer at 87) is great casting that makes for many amusing scenes. Bottom line: witty Reynolds and Bullock are perfect sparring partners for each other and not half bad to look at either. --Lisanne Chastain

Stills from The Proposal (Click for larger image)





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