Into the Blu

Did you hear that gasp?  That’s me trying to catch a breath after watching Peter Berg’s The Kingdom.  What a ride!  I gave myself three words or less to describe this movie and that’s what I came up with.  From the very moment the film starts, we the viewers are strapped in as we watch a video collage with narration briefly describing the history of Saudi Arabia (known as ‘the kingdom’) up through its uneasy-at-best relationship with the United States.  Immediately I was thrust into a sense of urgency as the quick opening showed just how sensitive of a situation it is in the Middle East.  Continue Reading

Hitting the streets today (January 27th, 2009)…

• The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum)
• Lakeview Terrace
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Pride and Glory
• Zodiac
• RocknRolla
• Groundhog Day
• Open Season 2
• Any Given Sunday
• The Rocker Continue Reading

I have been a life long fan of action films with a particular emphasis on science fiction. However, I have not been that big of a fan of Vin Diesel as an action hero, finding his bad guy angle a little too predictable. However, when this title came in for review, I was intrigued by the subject matter and thought I would give it a spin. How was it? On the whole, better than I thought. Continue Reading

“I don’t believe in Heaven. I believe in pain. I believe in fear. I believe in death”.

Now is your chance to believe in Payne, Max Payne. This explosive Blu-ray release will give your senses an overload of spectacular images and sounds. Max Payne resides in a stylish world that appears more a Frank Miller graphic novel than video game. There’s no question that Blu-ray is likely the only way to see this film the way it was intended to be viewed. Only high definition can bring such an artistic universe to our television screens. The question then becomes, should you watch it at all. Continue Reading

For such a recent film, Zodiac has had quite a few releases to date. Because Paramount was one of the last supporters of HD DVD back ion the day, this is actually the second high definition release of the film to date. I never jumped on the HD DVD bandwagon so I can’t really compare the two, but I suspect Paramount simply used the same transfer of the film for Blu-ray. You do have to give them some credit for a likely upgrade on the codec and bitrate. Continue Reading

Being an animal lover, it pains me to have to sit through the story of King Kong.  To see him get shot down from the top of the Empire State Building is just gut wrenching.  My wife asked me why I feel the way that I do.  She said that the military had no other choice because he was destroying everything and everyone in his way.  You want to know how I responded to that question?  Regardless of whether you do or not, I will tell you anyway.  I said ‘good.’  I was rooting for the beast in Peter Jackson’s King Kong even though I well knew what the tragic outcome would be.  A boy can hope can’t he?  I said, “What did they expect when you bring such a savage and untamed beast back to the States and keep him in captivity within the city?”  Sure Kong is smart and loving, but did they really expect him to just become a model citizen? Continue Reading

Hitting the streets today (January 20th, 2009)…

• King Kong (2005)
• Max Payne
• Saw V
• Repo! The Genetic Opera
• The Notebook (Limited Edition Gift Set)
• Henry Poole Is Here
• Igor Continue Reading