One of the joys of being a movie reviewer is that it forces me to sit down and watch classic films that I just never seem to have the time to watch.  Therefore, I was thrilled when assigned to watch Doctor Zhivago, the legendary Academy award-winning epic from Sir David Lean.  Little did I know that back in the 1960’s an epic meant many things, including an epically long run time (just over 3:15)!

More importantly, how does this film measure up against the “epics” of today, and how well did this translate to Blu-ray?  Although some films receive a loving restoration (The African Queen), how well would Warner Brothers treat this legendary film? Read the full story

I’ve never actually heard of this movie until I was given it to review. I did some research into the film to try and get a feel for what I was in for, so I didn’t go into it with wrong expectations. In doing so I found mixed reviews on the film and a very lacklustre distribution plan from the studios… Was the studio simply just dropping the title and forgetting about it because it’s not a good film or did The Private Lives of Pippa Lee deserve a better release?

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Michael Mann’s crime epic, Heat, is declared as one of the best heist films ever. Utilizing the chemistry between two superstars from the genre and containing one of the greatest shootouts in cinema history, Heat’s résumé definitely has all the right stuff for being an essential Blu-ray to own, but as with the recent Michael Mann film “Public Enemies” sometimes a poor sound mix or poor video quality might make the disc unworthy of a Blu-ray purchase. How does Heat stack up? Read the full story

Making a very popular book into a film is more often times than not, a very tricky business. An author may devote several pages to rather minute detail that is important to the story that just can’t be translated to the screen very easily. The same is true for some plot twists which have to be dropped due to time constraints that just don’t exist with the printed page. However, when the subtle details and minor plot lines are dropped, the flow of the story and our understanding of the characters is often changed, more often than not, to the detriment to our enjoyment of the film. Read the full story

What were they thinking? That was the phrase that was running through my head as I was watching the subject of today’s review, Four Christmases. Every now and then a film comes out that has a great cast but is so bad that you have to wonder why the cast members and in particular, the stars, didn’t walk away as soon as they read the script. Four Christmases is just one of those films. Read the full story

The Cell 2 is the direct to video sequel of the 2000 film of the same name. While the plot somewhat mirrors the original the characters and ideas are mostly fresh. I must admit; while the original film failed to deliver in the overall sense of the word I always had a thing for the unique plot. Some of the visuals in the aforementioned film have really stuck in my mind and the concept as well. While ultimately I found the film to be a disappointment I look forward to seeing the sequel albeit a direct to video I find myself questioning its production value. But I have been surprised before, and I hope that The Cell 2 can deliver where the original failed, already I can guess it will trump the original as the lack of Jennifer Lopez’s name on the credits! Read the full story

Ahh, the campy action films of the 1980′s; when the humor was weak, the music synthesized and the explosions big.  When I mentioned to a few co-workers recently that I’d be watching a certain film from that genre; Tango & Cash, they were surprised to learn that I’d never seen the film before.  Sorry folks.  This one flew under the radar for me.  Now that we have reached the 20^th anniversary of the film’s release, I am finally in tune with the rest of the pop culture society.  Tango & Cash, take it away! Read the full story

I must say, Brendan Fraser has come a long way from Friends, at least insofar as his career in cinema is concerned. He has become somewhat the action film star, with his starring role in the three very successful Mummy films as well as The Journey to the Center of the Earth. While he is certainly no Harrison Ford in terms of either catalog depth or overall on screen persona, he has certainly developed quite a nice little niche, at least in regards to light, humorous action adventure films. Inkheart just happens to be another one of those types of films. Read the full story

Being somewhat of a Sci-Fi buff, I was admittedly anxious about taking this journey into a different era of filmmaking.  Although I must admit, I did hesitate for a moment prior to pressing the play button.  Having never seen Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, I was unsure about how I would I relate to its sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact and I rarely view sequels while not having seen the original.  There was also the slight concern that the film may no longer be relevant to today’s viewing audience considering the future is indeed far different than the filmmakers may have envisioned 25 years ago.  Nevertheless, I sat back and enjoyed the ride into the not so distant future. Read the full story

Back at the turn of the century when I purchased my first HDTV, one of the DVD’s I used to show off the set was the Collector’s Edition of A Bug’s Life, which, unlike the regular DVD edition, had an anamorphic transfer that featured striking detail and depth. It also helped that I loved the film. Since the advent of high def media, I have not had the opportunity to pull out that disc to check it out to see how well it holds up on a bigger screen. I have now with the release of A Bug’s Life on Blu-ray. I had high expectations here given the picture quality of the other Pixar Blu-ray titles. How does A Bug’s Life compare? Well, the old DVD is headed to Amazon for sale as this Blu-ray release puts it to shame. Read the full story

Keanu Reeves has come a long way since the days of Bill & Ted. He really came into his own when given the part of Neo in The Matrix. The film Constantine suits him well as the character is very dark, with not too much emotion. This seems to be the type of character he is used to playing in many of his recent films, including the up coming The Day the Earth Stood Still. Constantine is a film full of action, drama and some scares, which is all a good thing and really is a thrill ride kind of a film. Read the full story

There have been plenty of great action films that have starred Arnold. He was a huge box office draw in the 90s. In the summer of 1996, Warner Brothers made a boad load of cash with Eraser. Box office money does not always indicate a great movie, mind you. Worldwide, the gross was over 220 million dollars. That is an insane amount of cash for a film where the acting is suspect, and the storyline is totally predictable. Definitely not one of Arnold’s best, not by a long shot. Read the full story

There is nothing like a good epidemic or virus to scare the living heck out of you. It happens everyday. Turn on your local news and you’ll see stories about bird flu, salmonella, Mad Cow or killer bees. Sure, all of these things are out there but imagine a virus like the plague, in today’s environment, and you would have a huge panic. Well, in this Blu-ray review of Outbreak, a deadly virus is on the loose on US soil and it is up to Dustin Hoffman and his co-stars to save the day. Read the full story

It’s year 4 at Hogwarts, and for me this was the best Potter of the first five films. Hogwarts plays host to the prestigious Triwizard Tournament, and that means putting up students from two other wizard schools. Here we get an inkling of just how large the Potter universe truly is. Up until now our experience has only taken us through the world of Hogwarts and its peripheral environs. Read the full story

Do you enjoy a little Beethoven with your ultraviolence? Stanley Kubrick’s controversial A Clockwork Orange has arrived on Blu-ray Hi-Def (as the TV adds now like to call our BD format). Often imitated, sometimes misunderstood, A Clockwork Orange is a classic no matter your opinion of the film. Personally, this isn’t my favorite Kubrick film (that would have to be 2001), but it’s essential viewing nevertheless. Whether you choose to view it on this Blu-ray might be another?story….

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This could be either one of the greatest home cinema experiences of your lifetime, or you may be bored to tears. Thus is the dilemma of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Either way, go buy this Blu-ray, that way you can at least feign serious film collector.

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It’s year 3 at Hogwarts, and behind the scenes there have been some significant changes in the Harry Potter universe. Chris Columbus gave up the directing duties to Alfonso Cuaron. While Cuaron was faithful to the traditions established by Columbus, I do believe he did a rather nice job of adding his own dark touches to the Hogwarts landscape. Whether it was a new director or simply greater maturity, there is no question that Cuaron got better performances out of the three major actors. Read the full story