Into the Blu

Yet another big screen adaptation of a novel, Stir of Echoes is a supernatural horror film that was met with minimal success when released in 1999. Kevin Bacon stars as Tom Witzky a hard working family man; he leads a regular life, married with a son and another on the way. They live in a close knit community in Chicago where everyone seems to know each other and get along. One night while at his neighbor’s party Tom has a debate with his sister in law Lisa over the legitimacy of hypnosis and psychic communication. Continue Reading

Rob Zombie, a semi-accomplished has-been or never-was musician, made a jump to the big screen with House of 1,000 Corpses; and The Devil’s Rejects continues that story. I’ve already seen House of 1,000 Corpses and found something to criticize of every single second of its duration, ultimately a horrible movie that was so bad I can’t find the words to describe it. I really doubt that this sequel can be any worse than the original but who knows, this is Rob Zombie were talking about. Continue Reading

A whole franchise of Stargate has spawned from this 1994 motion picture, and over a dozen years later the franchise still remains successful. This film was originally intended to be a franchise of pictures but instead found its way onto television and writings, with a fair sized fan base. If people still like the concept thirteen years later then it must be pretty appealing, myself, I have never seen this picture and am pleased that I finally have the opportunity. Continue Reading

Perhaps one of the best known science fiction authors ever, Phillip K. Dick’s short stories and novels have been the basis for many film adaptations including The Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Blade Runner, and the upcoming release Next. Of course the reason I mention Phillip K. Dick is because Total Recall is based upon his story We Can Remember It for you Wholesale. In the past Total Recall has been known for quite a few reasons – its achievements in special affects, its high budget, the re-launch of Sharon Stone’s career – but ultimately when we think of Total Recall we all think of the big guy himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Continue Reading

Well, Daniel Craig has now made a truckload of cash as James Bond in Casino Royale, firmly entrenching him as a major Hollywood action star. But how many people experienced his prior work, specifically the one film that was probably the gateway into the prime gig he currently holds. And thankfully, Layer Cake has now come to next-generation shelves as a Sony exclusive Blu-ray title. Continue Reading

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon) seems to have started to get into more dramatic fare over the last couple of years, adding to his resume such projects as Remember the Titans and C.S.I.. Black Hawk Down tells the story of the failed military raid on Somali warlord, Mohammed Aidid, in October 1993, which led to the deaths of 19 American soldiers and over 1,000 Somali citizens. It’s hard for me to be impartial on this kind of film, because I’m a war movie geek, and was in the Army at the time of the Mogadishu incident. Continue Reading

Employee of the Month stars Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez, Andy Dick, Harland Williams, and Jessica Simpson. Taking place in a Costco-like store the competition between two employees for the employee of the month award and the affection of the new cashier becomes hostile. In the past Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez, and Harland Williams have all been known to provide a good laugh, so this movie has potential. Continue Reading

I’m sure most of you have seen Crash by now, and I’m sure that there are a handful of you that eagerly awaited its release on Blu-ray. For those of you that don’t know, Crash was the recipient of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture; which was debatable up against movies like Munich, Capote, and Goodnight and Good luck. Ultimately it wasn’t the worst movie they could have chosen, much to my happiness winning over the overrated Brokeback Mountain. Continue Reading

Well, Bond is back… sort of. This latest in the highly successful Bond series takes us back to Bond’s coming of age at MI-6 and gaining his ‘00’ status. Of course, up to date for our times. Ian Fleming’s Bond smoked heavily, drank heavily, had a weakness to women, missions were of the save the world variety from some crazed megalomaniac and on missions always had some sort of Q device that would push the edge of technology and save the day. Well, none of that was present in Daniel Craig’s portrayal of James Bond. The re-invented Bond is more of a Jason Bourne than a James Bond of Sean Connery’s day. Is today’s Bond better or worse than the original? Well, only a few more films in the series will help us know that… Continue Reading

The Sentinel was originally a novel written by Agent Gerald Petievich of the Secret Service, now made into a motion picture starring Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, and Kim Basinger. The tagline of the film is “In 141 years, there has never been a traitor in the Secret Service – Until Now” which pretty accurately describes the premise of the film. Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison the personal bodyguard of the First Lady (Kim Basinger). He is one of the most trusted agents in the field, as he is known for having taken a bullet for Reagan during the 1981 assassination attempt. Continue Reading

The 2000 cult classic American Psycho is finally making an appearance in high definition with its exclusive release on Blu-ray. Based on the controversial book by Bret Easton Elis, many said its transformation to the big screen would be improbable due to its large amount of violence and sexual content. Sure enough it was released to much criticism and as well with much acclaim. Staring then up and comer, now Hollywood star, Christian Bale along with Willem Dafoe, Josh Lucas, Reese Witherspoon, and Jared Leto, this cast alone makes this movie have lots of potential. Continue Reading