When you hear that a classic true story that is beloved in Japan was re-imagined in a westernized setting and released straight to video… What immediately comes to mind? The original story always pulled at my heart strings and was about one of the most loyal dogs around. Does this new film breathe new life into the actual dog’s tale or is it another sugar coated Hollywood cash grab?
“Promise me no one will get hurt.” “No one will get hurt, I promise.” Once those two sentences are uttered near the beginning of Armored, you knew just how this film was going to unfold and that despite the promise, there will be quite few fatalities. Armored, the subject of today’s review, is a heist film that is rather formulaic and predictable. Be that as it may, is is still worth a look on Blu-ray? Sort of. Read the full story
I guess with the economy being what it is, I can’t begrudge anyone for taking any job they can get to get by. The difference between Hollywood and the rest of us is that when actors take whatever is offered irrespective of quality, millions of dollars are involved. There is nothing like cashing in on your name in Hollywood to fatten up the old bank account. Exhibit A of such a practice is the subject of today’s review, a mildly humorous and forgettable comedy starring Robin Williams and John Travolta, Old Dogs. Read the full story
Making a movie out of a popular book is hard enough. Having the condense several hundred pages of text into a coherent two hour film can be quite a daunting task. The list of great books being made into mediocre films is long indeed. Even more difficult I would imagine is taking a very popular short illustrated children’s book and fleshing it out into a full length motion picture, while keeping true to the spirit of the book. Well that is just what director Spike Jonze has accomplished with the subject of today’s review. Where the Wild Things Are. Read the full story
One of the problems with the study of history is that it can get rather dry when you limited yourself to the printed page. Movies on the other hand, can really help to bring historical characters to life, offering a glimpse into the lives of those figures that you wouldn’t otherwise get to see, even though films often times take a bit of liberty with the facts for the sake of a more interesting film. Such is the case with the film that is the subject of today’s film, Amelia, which gives us a glimpse into the life of the famous aviator, that one may not have been able to appreciate from the pages of history. Read the full story
The old joke about The History channel was that the H stood for Hitler, as it seemed that every time you turned on the channel, there was a show about World War II. Recently, the History Channel has changed its focus, from actual history to what I will charitably refer to as pseudo-history. One of the staples of that “pseudo-history” is the fixation with end of the world prophecies, and in particular, the claim that the Mayan calender ends on 12/21/2102 and that somehow, this fact portends the end of the world. Read the full story
For some time, Trailer Park Boys has been a guilty pleasure of mine. Although I did not find the show appealing when it first aired, subsequent viewings made me a fan of its unique style of humor. Although the show appears simply crude on the surface, there is a lot more going on with the characters than superficially appears.
However, no-one would compare Trailer Park Boys with M*A*S*H or The Simpsons. Whereas the other shows became legendary for their subtlety, heart, and humor, the Trailer Park Boys possesses little of these qualities.
And although this works in 30-minute slices on their TV show, can a feature length movie be carried by this sort of nihilistic and profane humor? After its viewing I can say yes, but only if you are already a fan of the show and its “acquired taste” type of humor. Read the full story
The pairing of Jack Lemon and Walther Matthau was a staple of 70’s and after the two had basically been declared retired from acting; they headlined Grumpy Old Men together. Surprisingly it became a financial success and was received fairly well among critics. The film gave new life to their careers and the pair went on to make a series of films together, including a sequel to ‘Grumpy’; Grumpier Old Men. How do the two films hold up on Blu-ray and is this double-feature release a worthy representation of the milestone in these actors’ classic filmography?
Being a science fiction fan, it is sort of odd that I had never seen any shows in the Stargate pantheon. Although I had seen the tail end of the odd show every now and then, I had not actually seen the original movie with Kurt Russell, nor seen any of the TV shows. This is even more surprising when an ad at the beginning of the Blu-ray highlights that Stargate SG-1 had been on TV for ten seasons! Read the full story
As mentioned in my review for The Princess Bride, it is nice to see older titles now being made available on Blu-ray at attractive prices. Not only does it allow the collector to affordably upgrade their collection, it also allows them to fill in holes where they’ve missed a movie in a previous format.
There are some actors who are natural born bad guys, a real heavy, ones that just have that edginess that makes you believe that they are ready to step over the edge and do something very dangerous. I can’t say that I ever thought of Meg Ryan as that type of actress. However, that is the type of role she is cast in in the film that is the subject of today’s review, Serious Moonlight. Can she pull it off? Read the full story
I can’t really say that I am fan of country music. In fact, I try to avoid it as much as I can as it is not really my cup of tea. However, I am a big fan of well written and acted films with compelling story lines regardless of the subject matter. yes, even if it involves country music. One of those films is the subject of today’s review, Walk The Line, the bio pic that tells the story of the early career of Johnny Cash and his life long love affair with June Carter Cash, which has finally made its way to Blu-ray. Read the full story
William Fridkin has had quite a career to say the least with great films such as The French Connection and The Exorcist on his resume. One of his best films and for me, one that is every bit as good as the more well known The French Connection, is the subject of today’s review, To Live and Die in L.A. which has made its debut on Blu-ray. Read the full story
Wow. I am now officially less smart than I was at the same time yesterday, all due to watching this movie. Seriously, this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen; it made The Marine 2 look Academy-worthy. Bad sets, bad acting, bad plot, unbelievable characters, bad script, bad cinematography, bad, BAD! Read the full story
The Music Man started off as a Broadway musical and became a hit in 1957, winning five Tony Awards. Due to the film’s success the usual route was taken and a film adaptation was made in 1962. Does the Blu-ray release breathe new life into the classic musical or does it simply try and inflate a time weathered ruin? Read the full story
It is incredible to consider that almost eleven years has passed since The Sopranos debuted on HBO. Generally regarded as one of (if not) the best American television series in the history of the medium, it blazed a groundbreaking trail for subsequent edgy cable dramas like Mad Men, Rescue Me, and The Shield. Read the full story
Black Dynamite follows in the footsteps of Grindhouse, resembling and satirizing exploitation films from the past, however Black Dynamite covers the blaxploitation films of the 70’s. Does it pale in comparison to similar films such as Jackie Brown or does its comic nature make it a whole new breed of cool? Read the full story
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