Into the Blu

The Duke has made his way to Blu-ray.  The John Wayne classic The Green Berets recently hit store shelves on Blu-ray disc, which for many, was a long awaited arrival.  It’s a positive thing to see studios focusing not only on current films, but those from the past as well.  Let’s not waste any more time on an introduction and find out the verdict on John Wayne in 1080p! Continue Reading

Two Girls and a Guy is a 1997 independent comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Heather Graham, it focuses on love, lust, trust and everything in between in modern relationships.

It tries to examine and reflect on some sort of universal truths about new age relationships. However with an ambitious script and the expectations that come with a pitch like that, if done poorly the film just has a higher height to fall from… Let’s see what happens. 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

As I am sure anyone could glean from my prior review of the Star Trek films on Blu-ray, I am a real Star Trek fan, although I won’t go so far as to consider myself a Trekker or Trekkie or whatever the current nomenclature is these days. However, I am old enough to have watched all 3 seasons of the original series that ran on TV in the 1960′s and then again in syndication and loved when the first few films made it to the big screen. Continue Reading

Life magazine once hailed Quo Vadis as “The most genuinely colossal movie you are likely to see for the rest of your lives.”  Having always been partial toward epics and period pieces, I must say, the thought of 30,000 live extras certainly sounded colossal.  With films such as Gladiator, Troy, and Braveheart already a part of my permanent collection; it would be interesting to see whether Quo Vadis could withstand the test of time, and match up against the use of modern day CGI in films.  Continue Reading

In the realm of classic musicals such as An American in Paris (a previous review of mine), next on the critique agenda was Gigi.  Released in 1958, Gigi has been billed as “A stylish triumph from start to finish,” but can it withstand the test of time and the transfer to Blu-ray?  Let’s find out. Continue Reading

Friday the 13^th is one of the most memorable franchises in horror, there no doubt about that. While the first film didn’t even include the now famous Jason Voorhees, we learnt that his psychopathic mother had a blood lust on camp councillors. In Part 2 we are introduced to the infamous Jason who brutally ends the lives of a group of young adults. While all character developments and interesting back stories were covered in the first two films, we aren’t left with much for Part 3, other than a barrage of pointless murders… sounds good to me!  Released in 1982 Paramount didn’t waste any time shooting out these sequels (the first film being released in 1980), but the public was falling in love with the psychopath and the series quickly became a cult favorite. Continue Reading

There are some very memorable horror movies from my childhood, and the years before and since. When I think of villains of these movies amongst Chucky, Mike Meyers, and Freddy Krueger there is of course one name that is synonymous with brutal murders and horrifying chases, Jason Voorhees.  In fact when I was a kid I was afraid of going near the water in the fear that Jason would emerge, just as we were left at the conclusion of Friday the 13^th. So it goes without saying that the series is creepy, and has a lasting effect on its audiences. But I’d hardly call it debatable that the series tapered downhill after its initial film (as is the case with most sequels) but at which point does it really decline? Some could say that Friday the 13^th Part 2 is where it all begins, because we are first introduced to the real villain, Jason. So where does Part 2 rank in the midst of a long line of Friday the 13^th sequels? Continue Reading

I am not a fan of musicals.  That’s my pessimistic intro and when I found out I would be reviewing An American in Paris, I was apprehensive but moved forward with an open mind.  After all, it does star Hollywood legend Gene Kelly.  Growing up, I remember my mom frequently watching musicals such as The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Oklahoma! and Meet Me in St. Louis.  Meanwhile, my dad was listening to Black Sabbath and Lynard Skynard.  I drifted toward the latter.  Guys in cowboy hats smiling and singing in a circle just didn’t do it for me.  Open mind, here I come.  Let’s review the classic musical, An American in Paris. Continue Reading

I really hadn’t recognized the historical significance of the film, The Robe, prior to its release on Blu-ray. Oh, I knew it was an important film alright, but generally thought of it as the film that appeared all chopped up and panned and scanned on TV each December as Christmas approached. 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

Looking back over the last twenty or even thirty years of horror films, we’ve been on a downward slope with the occasional spike of decency. In a market filled with remakes, blood and guts, and redundancy, there’s a bit of solace thinking back on movies like The Omen. An undeniable favorite in the Christian end times corner of the horror universe. Packaged along with Richard Donner’s classic are two sequels and a remake, will they follow the overall downward trend? Or are we going to see a spike, maybe even a spark in inventive and horrific film making? Continue Reading