Into the Blu

Confession time.  Yes, I am old enough that I saw National Lampoon’s Vacation at a real life movie theatre.  If memory serves correct, it was at the Garrick Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I had orange soda shoot out of my nose when laughing at the hilarious adventures of the Griswolds and their Travel Queen Family Truckster.  Vacation is one of those rare movies that still appeals as much to me today as it did when I was younger. Continue Reading

Half a century ago seems like a long time; but it was around that time that one of Hollywood’s most gifted and eccentric directors was in his prime; making classic films that would set the stage for today’s filmmakers. Alfred Hitchcock was one the kind of director that doesn’t really exist anymore; similar to Orson Welles, his films were carefully crafted masterpieces that were so layered that even today there are countless books and websites dedicated to analyzing his works. North by Northwest was screenwriter, Ernest Lehman’s attempt to create the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures, did he succeed? Continue Reading

One of my favorite memories of when the VHS format gave way to DVD was when a great list of catalog titles were re-released on DVD, and usually at an extremely attractive price.  Not only did it allow the collector to quickly build a collection, it also gave them the benefits of higher quality audio and video of movies they loved. Continue Reading

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

A large blockbuster of its time, much like Transformers is today, The Towering Inferno was released to theaters in December of 1974.  The award winning disaster film married large stars of the era and a well-known producer, Irwin Allen.  Disaster movies were becoming very popular in this time-period, especially after Irwin Allen’s own Poseidon Adventure came out in 1972.  The Towering Inferno went on to win Oscars for cinematography, editing, and Best Song in 1974, deservedly so.  And now…it lives on forever on the Blu-ray format! 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

Few stories are as profound as that of the diary that Anne Frank kept when she was 13 and 14 years old.  Anne was a Jewish girl hiding in the loft of a building with her family, trying to escape the persecution of the Nazis.  If you have been living in a cave for…well…forever, then let me just inform you that this is a true story that went on during World War II in Amsterdam, Holland.  It defines survival, family, fear and patience.  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