Into the Blu

When you look over the mass marketplace of entertainment, it is amazing to see the lack of totally original content that seems to be available these days. From films to TV to music, the mass market seems to regurgitate the same things over and over again, looking to cash in on what they think has been popular in the past or looking to create content on the cheap. You see it in TV with the upsurge in reality TV shows which seem to gather high ratings at low cost. You see it the non reality genre as well. I mean, have many versions of CSI or Law and Order Do you really need? Then there is the recycling of old TV shows that haven’t been on in decades. The same is true for popular music, where act after act does nothing but imitate another. After all, isn’t Lady Gaga nothing but a clone of Madonna? 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

It is amazing how the passage of time makes what once seemed scandalous seem rather mundane. I can recall how they had to show Elvis from the waist on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950′s, how his shaking and gyrating while performing was seen as dangerous for America’s youth. Rock N’ Roll after all was the devil’s music. This came to mind while I was thinking out the subject of this review, Last Tango in Paris. I was in high school, when this film debuted in 1972 and I can recall how it caused quite a stir, with what was for the time, shocking sexuality in a mainstream film. Due to my age, I did not see the film during its initial run and have never seen it before its arrival on Blu-ray. Would its sexuality seem as mundane now as Elvis’ performances on Ed Sullivan now seem in retrospect? In a word, yes. Continue Reading

All college hoop fans are surely aware of the Big 5, the collection of 5 Philadelphia area based colleges that have been playing basketball in their own association since the 1950′s. It is unique and there is nothing else like it in college basketball. There is another Big 5 out there as well, at least according to film historians and that is the 5 films that form the foundation of the Disney Empire. Those films are Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and Dumbo. The first three of this so-called Big 5 have already made their way to Blu-ray. The fourth, Bambi, is finally making its debut on Blu-ray as well. Continue Reading

Some directors go to the same well over and over again, making films with the same basic formula with different settings and actors but the same basic plot. Once a film is successful, the natural inclination is to repeat that formula so long as it remains box office gold. Whether the films are any good or not is irrelevant. The only issue is will it make money. Well, that is the case with the film that is subject of this review, Due Date, which is brought to us by the same team that brought us the widely successful (at least at the box office), The Hangover, looking to repeat that box office gold. Continue Reading

The old saying goes that life is full of missed opportunities. While that is certainly the case from personal experience, the same can just as readily be said about the movie business. You see a great trailer, a film with a great cast and/or an interesting or promising premise and are disappointed when you actually see the film. Sometimes it is the trailer which is edited and presented in such a way as to give the viewer a false or at best a misleading look at the film. In some cases, that great cast isn’t so great and simply mails it in. In other cases, while the idea for the film is a good one, the script is just not up to the task. Sometimes the fault lies with one of these areas and at times a combination or all three. The result, a missed opportunity. Just such a missed opportunity is the subject of this review, You Again. Continue Reading

I was reading an article on the web the other day asking why anyone casts Jennifer Anniston in a movie anymore given that she is box office poison these days. The question asked was just how many more bombs would it take before she has a hard time getting any work. Given that she continues to get work, we clearly haven’t reached that point yet. Maybe soon give the trailer I have seen for her new film with Adam Sandler “Just Go With It”. In pondering this issue, which is not exactly one of the great issues of the day, it quickly dawned on me that Jennifer Anniston was far from the only one to ask this question about. Continue Reading

In the sports world, one often hears that a team is greater than the sum of its parts, that is, the team is better as a unit than the individual talents of the players would have lead you to believe with team chemistry and the ability to work well together being the key elements to such success. In the movie business on the other hand, the opposite is too often true with the whole being is lesser than the sum of its parts would have lead you to believe. Usually a good story concept and even a good cast is undone by poor execution. Such is the case with the movie that is up for review, Takers. Continue Reading

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore is a sequel to the 2001 film Cats & Dogs. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen the original but it definitely isn’t a prerequisite to the sequel. I’ve always had a thing for family films it gives me the opportunity to be a kid again for the duration of the film. What really makes these children oriented movies fun is when there are a few parts for the adults as well. With a cast including Bette Midler, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate, and James Marsden Cats & Dogs instantly has potential. Continue Reading

Lottery Ticket is brought to us by Erik White who has in the past primarily done music videos, this in fact being his first jaunt onto the big screen. While I’m not particularly a fan of anyone in this movie the previews I’ve seen for it appear decent. Will Lottery Ticket be a diamond in the rough, or a bust? Continue Reading

Needless to say, there are many films about famous people or events. The best of these films are able to pull you into the narrative despite the fact that the ending of the film is well known before you enter the theater. It is the back story, the story behind the story that is often the critical element in making such films as captivating as they are. It is the little things about the lives and circumstances of the real life characters that contribute to the narrative and that makes these films so successful. A perfect example of just such a captivating back story is that of Penny Chenery which is the backbone of the film that is the subject of this review, Secretariat. Continue Reading

Romantic comedies are always hit and miss; there is rarely a perfect combination of laughter and believable romance. While the genre seems to be fading away in terms of quality there have been a few winners over the year, but ultimately I just see them as comedies now. While I never was interested in seeing this film in its theatrical run I am looking forward to it now. Casted with Justin Long (Waiting, Live Free or Die Hard) and Drew Berrymore (Whip It, Fever Pitch) it definitely has potential to be a funny movie in that quirky kind of way. Backing them up are Kristina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Ron Livingston. So will Going the Distance go the distance? Let’s find out. Continue Reading