Into the Blu

Futurama was the brainchild of Simpson veterans Matt Groening and David X Cohen. With the growing popularity of their iconic cartoon, it was no surprise that Fox would tap the team to bring another show to the network. When Futurama premiered in 1999, it was a combination of The Jetsons and The Simpsons. That would be ironic for those of us who think the Simpsons theme is a direct knock off of The Jetsons. It was 1000 years in the future, and the joke was that no matter how much things changed, they hadn’t really changed at all. The space age series would use many of the writing and art team from The Simpsons. That meant the character designs, at least the humans, would look exactly like the people in the other show. The writing would include that same subtle wit that implanted tons of references for the adults who were watching. Continue Reading

“When I raise my flashing sword and my hand takes on judgment, I will take vengeance upon mine enemies and I will repay those who haste me. O Lord, raise me to thy right hand and count me among thy saints.”

The prayer is a fitting prologue to The Boondock Saints. Continue Reading

For the most part, movie trilogies are a mixed bag. While there seem to be many, there are only a few where the third installment is at least as good as the original. The top two that come to mind are the Bourne series and Indiana Jones, where, at least in this writer’s opinion, the third installment betters the first. I am sure there are some of you out there will also want to add the Lord of the Rings given that it was the third installment, The Return of the King, which garnered the Oscar for Best Picture. Not me as I felt The Return of the King to be the worst and most ponderous of the three films. Now we can add High School Musical to the list of film trilogies. How does High School Musical 3 Senior Year compare to the wildly successful first installment? Continue Reading

Gary Marshall is perhaps best known for his golden television era. He was the mastermind behind such shows as Happy Days, The Odd Couple, and Laverne And Shirley, going so far to cast his daughter as Laverne in two of the shows and as a secretary in the other. What appears to get lost in that part of his resume is that he created what has been described as the ultimate chick flick. I don’t mean the term in a derogatory manner, but just like guys love to see Clint Eastwood making our day or Bruce Willis shouting yippee kiyay, women love fairy tales. Continue Reading

The Pink Panther…um…what can I say?  It wasn’t that the movie was terribly awful, but it wasn’t particularly great either.  This one is definitely a fans-only release.  I think I lied when I wrote my Blu-ray review of The Rundown. I said that was going to be my shortest review, but I think this one might.  I find it hard to write a review about a movie that dulls the senses so much (that statement sounds strange coming from a guy who likes Dumb and Dumber so much).  I do admit to chuckling a few laughs during the film.  One scene in particular, I let out a muffled chuckle and my wife turned to me and said “Seriously?”  She has no patience or tolerance whatsoever for The Pink Panther, although she also admitted to having never seen the beloved 1960 Pink Panther classics. Continue Reading

One of the benefits of being able to review Blu-Ray discs is that you are often exposed to very good films that you not have otherwise been aware of. Getting to the theater with kids can often be difficult, so the ability to view films with high def video and lossless audio at home can be a wonderful experience. However, for every great title you get to enjoy, you have to sit through a few clunkers. I guess you have to take the bad with the good. Vanishing Point is the type of film that I would likely not get the chance to view were it not for the review process. The question is, whether it will prove to be one of those nuggets that I am happy to have come across or one of the clunkers. Continue Reading

In the year 1420, King Henry V of England and King Charles VI of France signed the Treaty of Troyes.  This treaty arranged the inheritance of the French throne by Henry V upon the death of Charles VI.  The events that would ultimately undermine this agreement were the deaths of each man in 1422, just two months apart from one another.  In years soon to follow, both empires would be plunged into war as England invaded France and a tumultuous history between the two would ensue.  It wasn’t until the rise of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl steeped in the Catholic faith, that the English would soon realize she was a force to be reckon with.  Continue Reading

Saw IV initially left a sour taste in my mouth, but nonetheless I drudgingly went out and bought the Blu-ray release of it when it came out that first week.  Of course, I justified that purchase with the notion that I had a $25 Target gift card burning a hole in my pocket.  On a cold October day, with great reluctance, I was dragged to the theatre to check out the latest installment of the Saw horror franchise, Saw V, despite hearing so many friends and co-workers tell me how horrible it was.  Despite my lack of desire to see how the rest of the Saw franchise played out, my wife had scheduled a couple’s night out at the movies with her co-worker.  I kindly asked my wife to pay the price of admission for us, as I was not the one who initiated wanting to see this.  After all, I have strict principles to uphold.  Anyway, every time she does pay for a movie, I end up loving it.  I think I am starting to see a trend here.  Hmm…I wonder if that would have worked on the latest Friday the 13^th movie, if I had let her pay.  Let’s get back on subject, shall we? Continue Reading

Let me set the record straight. I don’t like to “move it move it”. That song and irritating beat is one of the most obnoxious sounds I’ve heard in a film in a long time. Unfortunately, not only is it included in this film as well, but it’s also repeated over and over again during the menu options. I’ve never been more motivated to make my selection this quickly before. You might want to familiarize yourself with the options presented for this film via my handy review. I promise you it has life saving properties. Even a second less of listening to that inane chant might be the second that keeps you from going into “Move It Move It” rage. The damage to your screen could be considerable. With that slight tirade out of the way, there is a lot to Madagascar’s second outing to recommend here. It’s a sequel every bit as good as the original film. Continue Reading

At first glance this computer animated feature film looks very much as if it came straight from the diabolically twisted imagination of Tim Burton. The style is highly influenced by such classics as A Nightmare Before Christmas. Even the idea of a culture that thrives on horror and evil traditions appears uncannily familiar to Burton’s fans. You’ll find the characteristically almost stick figure designs and lifeless large eyes eerily and comfortably reminiscent of Burton’s morbid leanings. The differences are there, but they are at first quite subtle. This world is a bit brighter, and due largely to the difference in medium it displays more color and sharpness. And, of course, there’s no Johnny Depp to give life to these undead machinations. Still, there can be no denying the influence on this work. If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, somewhere Tim Burton must be feeling pretty flattered. He may get the homage, but we get a delightfully devilish film to enjoy before the next Burton stop motion feature. Continue Reading

Anyone who is a parent of a teenage boy is very familiar with the film Napoleon Dynamite. Released in theaters in 2004, this film rapidly developed a cult following and continues to be popular among the high school and middle school crowd. This is a film I have viewed with the the entire family several times on DVD. When this disc arrived, we were all anxious to see how the film looked and sounded on Blu-ray in comparison to the DVD. Were we disappointed? Continue Reading

February 24th, 2009 Releases…

• Akira
• The French Connection
• French Connection 2
• Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
• Pirates 2: Stagnetti’s Revenge (Rated R)
• Sex Drive Continue Reading