Into the Blu

Lisbeth Salander has been returned from near death but, while recovering in hospital, she is charged with murder. She must rely on her former lover, reporter Mikael Blomkvist to help investigate and hopefully unravel the truth behind the enormous political cover up that has pinned Salander falsely. Continue Reading

The original Swedish title of this film is Man som hatar kvinnor, which literally translates to Men Who Hate Women. Indeed, there is a great deal of brutality and hate within this investigation/revenge plot. The pace can seem slow at points, but it may only seem that way when contrasted against other points that all-too suddenly become so insanely intense that you may not initially believe what is happening on the screen. The term “gripping” comes to mind when trying to express this films overall effect. Continue Reading

I can’t say that I am all that familiar with the Sheryl Crow catalog and have never seen her live in concert. However, what I have heard on record, a little as it has been, I have liked, from her debut hit All I Wanna Do (has it really been 17 years, Holy Cow Batman!) to the other hit I am familiar with, Strong Enough. So, when I got the chance to get a copy of her latest concert release on Blu-ray, I figured I would give it a look to check out more of her music and her live chops. Continue Reading

The Simpsons, to me, had at least 10 seasons of being the best cartoon (and sitcom) on television. By season 11 and 12, it show signs of straining but persevered to put out more solid comedy. By the 13^th and 14^th season, the magic had faded and mediocrity reigned meaning that South Park, with the release of season 14 as well as currently airing their 15^th season, can take over as having more consistently hilarious seasons then those veritable cartoon comedy Gods, the Simpsons. Continue Reading

Some films are so bloated with an undeserving budget it’s sickening. Such is the case with Taxi, a loose remake of a French film of the same name. Somewhere amidst the many exploding cars, flying bullets and random bikini shots is a lifeless script trying to be resuscitated by a feeble cast. Abandon all hope… Continue Reading

Cocaine was the drug du jour in the early eighties, and as stated in this film, if you did some during this time in the United States, there was an 85% chance it came from George Jung’s smuggling. This film chronicles the life of George Jung, as played by Johnny Depp, from his childhood, through his rise as millionaire drug smuggler, to his latest incarceration. Like many drug films, this one rides a fine line between glamorizing the lifestyle and depicting the horrible consequences of it. Continue Reading

Warner Home Video in Canada is releasing Wave II of their Limited Edition Steelbooks (available exclusively through Futureshop).  The first of five releases is Batman Begins (also being released are Goodfellas, Heat, 2001 & The Matrix).  While the differences between this release and the previously released version are slight (same A/V specs with only three new “additional footage” special features), it is the Steelbook packaging (with slick cover art) that makes this release stand out.   Most of this review will be ported over from our original review of Batman Begins (written by Brian White), with the new features highlighted for easy finding. Continue Reading

I know there are some of you out there that hate Billy Joel, well, his music anyway. In fact, a very good long time friend of mine does and I just don’t get it. I have been a fan of Billy Joel’s music since I first stumbled across him, literally, back in April 1972. I was a freshman in high school at the time and a budding audiophile who had just discovered the sonic splendor of music on FM radio. I was tuning up the dial and found myself on WMMR in Philadelphia who was about to broadcast a new artist named Billy Joel, who was performing songs from his new album, Cold Spring Harbor, about to hit record stores. Continue Reading

One of the often far too overlooked aspects of the Blu-ray disc format is the audio. The video is great and all with those beautiful 1080p images but the audio is just as good, giving us the opportunity to experience at home, audio that is bit for bit identical to the studio master. While that is great for films, it is probably even better for music lovers, as it provides a way to get audio in the home that is identical to the studio tape for the first time. As a life long audiophile, I find that fantastic. While there are very few if any strictly audio Blu-ray releases around, there are quite a few Blu-ray concert discs available. Continue Reading

As I had admittedly gushed about my appreciation for Elvis in prior reviews, I could be viewed as somewhat prejudicial in my viewing of Jailhouse Rock.  Although Elvis on Tour was disappointing, I thoroughly enjoyed Viva Las Vegas and was hoping this other “young Elvis” film would deliver an equally lightweight and enjoyable cinema experience.

I was somewhat curious about reviewing my first “true” black and white film (Young Frankenstein was the first I had reviewed), and was equally curious to see how much charisma the relatively young Elvis of 1957 possessed. Continue Reading

It has certainly been quite a stretch since I first began reviewing The Mel Brooks Collection.  Through many movies I had seen before, and more that I had not seen, I gained a true appreciation for the craft of Mel Brooks.

For my last movie, I held back Blazing Saddles, the film that truly rocketed Mel Brooks to fame, and earned him the financial chops to produce atypical films such as Young Frankenstein and Silent Movie.

It has been more than two decades since I had seen this movie, and I was extremely curious to see how much I had remembered about it, and if it was as funny and crude as I thought. Continue Reading

Human Target brings to life the comic book character Christopher Chance. Living in San Francisco Christopher works as a kind of private bodyguard who protects whoever hires him. He completely immerses himself into the lives of his clients, effectively becoming a “Human Target.” Recently the show has been picked up by FOX for a second season which began airing in November, 2010. Prior to this review I haven’t watched the show, but have always been intrigued by its premise. Continue Reading