Into the Blu

Much like my recent review of The Love Guru, this will probably be the kindest review you will read regarding the Blu-ray release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I will be the first to admit that I thought this movie was a mistake from the beginning, an abomination to the Star Wars franchise and just plain out wrong. I may have been right in every aforementioned aspect or it may solely be up to the eye of the beholder to judge what he or she likes. I too often find my opinions biased and swayed towards the directions of the critics and to my surprise I end up enjoying the particular film in question. Continue Reading

I’m a fan of the original George Romero zombie films. Let’s face it. These films have left an incredible mark and pretty much created an entire sub-genre of horror film. We get a lot of our zombie rules from these “Dead” films. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that finally the last of the original films has finally been remade. The original Night Of The Living Dead came first to the remake mills. It was a pretty faithful adaptation of the original material, even if it was somewhat updated. It didn’t hurt that Romero was involved as a producer and that original makeup man Tom Savini directed the affair. Continue Reading

I have to admit that when I heard Sly Stallone was coming out of retirement to make another Rambo flick I swear I almost fell out of my chair laughing. I mean who in their right mind at 60+ years old decides to revive a franchise based on a muscle bound action hero?? All I could picture was some old man with cane in hand fighting of gangs of old people at the local retirement home for the last piece of Jell-o…… Rambo: The Geriatric Adventure. With these low expectations I sat down for a viewing of the last Rambo flick Hollywood will ever make… Continue Reading

The only thing I really knew about the Saw franchise coming in was that it was kind of about a guy who would get people in these really elaborate torture devices, and give them a set amount of time to escape, and there would be some form of self-mutilation involved. Now, I don’t know how right or wrong that is, but let me just say that my exposure to the whole “torture porn” genre is limited at best, as I have the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and have seen the first Hostel film. Otherwise, they’re not just my cup of tea. You know why? ‘Cause I’m a married man, not a 18-year-old boy!

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J.K Rowling has created a wonderful world of fanciful creatures and magical wizardry. The most amazing thing about her Harry Potter series is how popular the books have become. Kids are reading again, and in numbers not seen since the 1970’s when it was book series like The Hardy Boys and Tom Swift that captured that generation’s imagination. Those books were likely as popular with us then as Harry Potter is with the kids today. But Rowling’s achievement is a far greater one Continue Reading

3:10 to Yuma makes its way onto Blu-ray disc, a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. Before I even knew what the film was about I was intrigued, as I have yet to watch a Christian Bale film I haven’t liked. Add the always entertaining Russell Crowe and this film has automatic potential. 3:10 to Yuma is directed by James Mangold (Walk The Line,Cop Land) which immediately gives it some credibility, but enough with the speculation, how does 3:10 to Yuma hold up? Continue Reading

House of 1000 Corpses deals with two young couples who are traveling around the country looking for off-the-wall spots that tourists can visit as they journey through America. They stop at a gas station and are treated to a story of a local legend name Dr. Satan. During their investigation of it they were captured by a psychotic family of murderers and cannibals and taken to their home. It was there they were tortured and mutilated as they attempted escape. Continue Reading

As a kid, I always hoped for more attention for my favorite superheroes. Yeah, we had the MEGO action figures, Underoos, and a few cartoons and made for TV movies of questionable quality, but that’s not close to what is available to fans today. With new toys, clothes, and big-budget movies hitting us rapidly, depending on one’s perspective, it is either a very good time to be a comic book fan, or a very bad time. What I mean to say is that with more mainstream attention being paid to our heroes, our expectations are not always met. Continue Reading

Apparently, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Envall (Blue Collar Comedy Tour) made a movie. Who knew? No offense to their fans, but I’ve never quite appreciated their “comedy” so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to viewing this release. Before I’m called a biased yank, let me say I grew up in southern Tennessee and my family lives in Georgia. Also another bit of education: a “hillbilly” was originally a term used to describe a group of farmers who settled in lower Michigan. Guess where I spent my high-school years? So I think I’m quite qualified to make a judgement on this movie. So there you go. And guess what, this movie ain’t half bad neither. Continue Reading

The concept of the film The Condemned deals with a sleazy producer who comes up with the idea of bringing 10 criminals who are on death row to an island with the notion that the last man or woman alive gets to be set free. Of course there is one character who has been wrongly imprisoned and is brought there by accident and as you guessed it, that character is Jack Riley (?Stone Cold? Steve Austin). In order to persuade them, he rigs a bomb to their ankles set to explode within 30 hours. There are hundreds of cameras set on this island, which has been hidden from the outside world as to not alert government presence, and the show is broadcast on the World Wide Web for a meager price of $49.95. It makes for good programming until the realism starts setting in to some of the crew and the U.S. government takes notice. Continue Reading

If you are going to steal material, it doesn’t hurt to take from the very best. It also helps if the target of your appropriation is no longer with us. If you update the material enough so that it appears to be a more modern story, you have a better chance no one will notice. Unless, of course, the original is somewhat of a classic; then you simply fall back on the Hollywood tradition by using the magic password: homage. The director I refer to is Alfred Hitchcock, and the film is non other than the Jimmy Stewart classic Rear Window. Continue Reading

Monty (Idris Elba, 28 Weeks Later) is a father struggling for custody of his three children. This has become of utmost importance to him especially since his ex wife is involved with a local drug dealer. He enlists the help of attorney Julia (Gabriel Union, Bad Boys 2) to get his children back. Of course sparks begin to fly between the two, and the children seem to take the backseat. I’ve seen this type of movie way too many times before, and I would be completely content if I didn’t have to again. Continue Reading