Into the Blu

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the third film in the Ice Age trilogy and is making its way to Blu-ray this month. While I enjoyed the first film, Ice Age a lot, I found the second installment, Ice Age: The Meltdown, to be a bit of a let down although is sure did well at the box office. Will the third installment continue the downward slid or match the level of the first? Continue Reading

There is no denying that Woody Allen has an incredible body of work from some incredibly funny comedy albums before his film career and, of course, his amazing film career. However, for the most part, his best films date back to the earliest part of his career with the films that he has made in the last 10 years or so, pretty much a hit or miss affair. However, one of his better recent films is the excellent Vicky Christina Barcelona released in 2008 which ranks up there with some of his best work. On the heels of Vicky Christina Barcelona comes Whatever Works which is the subject of today’s review. Can Woody make it two winners in a row? While the film has its moments, the answer is not quite. Continue Reading

There are movies that are timeless for their ability to touch audiences over the generations, regardless of the time period in which they were made. These films have several things in common, including a great script, a perfect cast and a message that inspires hope and inspiration. One of these films is Miracle on 34th Street, which made its debut in theaters in 1947 and is making its high def debut on Blu-ray this month. Continue Reading

Has Toto really been around for 30 years? Wow, how time flies! As I recall the band back in the day, they were know for some well crafted pop songs that featured excellent musicianship and even better sonics. Perhaps a bit too polished for some, their recordings really sounded great, whether on the radio or on a serious home stereo system. When I read that Toto would have a live concert release on Blu-ray featuring lossless audio, I was interested in seeing if that same attention to detail that made their studio recordings sound so good would make its way to the Blu-ray release. I can thankfully report that it does, and in spades. Continue Reading

I am always wary when I see little snippets of film reviews declaring a particular film to be “The year’s best Comedy…” or “Laugh-Out-Loud Funny…” as they are usually indicative of just the opposite, especially if they are from film reviewers I have never heard of. Well, such is the case with the subject of today’s review, The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, which is declared to be “The Years Best Comedy” by Pete Hammond and “laugh out loud funny” by Leonard Maltin (who I have heard of!). While the film does have its moments, it is hardly the year’s best comedy. Continue Reading

There is one particular movie that must have flown under my radar when it was out in theaters.  When I saw that The Siege originally came out in 1998, I was really surprised as to how I missed this one.  I’d like to say “Let me be the first to tell you…” something about this film but at 11 years old, I think most folks have come across this title before.  With an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, Annette Benning and Bruce Willis, how could anyone miss (beside me, of course)? Continue Reading

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That may be the case but it sure doesn’t usually lead to good films. Hollywood has a tendency to copy films that are successful at the box office in the hope that something similar will have to do well, right? That leads them to copy both good and bad films with predictable results. This year it was the mall cop genre that received the copying treatment. With Paul Blart Mall Cop doing so well at the box office, you just knew that another film featuring an overweight and intellectually challenged mall cop would be following and it did, namely Observe and Report, which is the subject matter of today’s review. Continue Reading

What to you get when you cross Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a chic flick? If you throw in a lot of Matthew McConaughey, a bit of Elizabeth Garner and a pinch of Michael Douglas, you have today’s reviewed film, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Frankly, I was not expecting much when I read over the press release which accompanied the review copy. Would the film itself prove to be a diamond in the rough? Continue Reading