Into the Blu

Most of us are probably only aware of Leo Tolstoy as the author of War and Peace. I know I was not aware of the long and at times turbulent 58 year marriage to his wife Sofya and the political intrigue surrounding the last period of his life. Such a rich story line along with the typical Russian intrigue, has the makings of a great film. Does The Last Station deliver on its promise? Continue Reading

As mentioned in my review for Silent Movie it is a formidable task reviewing all nine (yes, nine!) movies in the Mel Brooks Collection box set, so again I beg for the reader’s patience as I soldier through the movies.  For my second review, I continued to focus on the Mel Brooks movies I had missed.

Second up for review was 1974’s Young Frankenstein, a film from which I had seen various scenes, but never sat through the whole film.  Of all the Mel Brooks movies, this one appears to have the most loyal following, and I was intrigued again by Mr. Brooks making an atypical movie (a horror movie throwback in black and white) in the 1970’s. Continue Reading

As a 10-year old boy, I loved Mel Brooks movies.  To this day, I vividly remember seeing History of the World: Part 1 during its release week and thinking it was about the best movie ever made.  However, as we get older, our tastes mature.  And as viewers, North American audiences are now much, much more cynical about comedy than their counterparts were in the 70’s and 80’s.

Therefore, when The Mel Brooks Collection showed up in my docket for review, I was quite intrigued.  Not only did it contain the Mel Brooks movies I had missed, it also contained movies that I had loved when younger.  However, this is also a formidable task reviewing nine (yes, nine!) movies, so I beg the reader’s patience as I wander through this box set.

First up for review was 1976’s Silent Movie, a film I had never seen before, and one that had intrigued me.  As a boy, I loved both Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy silent shorts, and I was curious to see how well Mr. Brooks could deliver a modern version of this art form. Continue Reading

June 29th, 2010 Releases…

• Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
• Hot Tub Time Machine
• The Crazies
• Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition)
• The Warlords
• The Leopard (Criterion Collection)
• Everlasting Moments (The Criterion Collection)
• Stolen
• Don McKay
• The White Ribbon