Into the Blu

It was only a few months ago that I would see these posters of garden gnomes all over the local mall advertising for the movie Gnomeo & Juliet. It seemed that they were everywhere, which is normally not a good sign for the ultimate success of the film. It didn’t take a Mensa member to figure out that the film was a take off on Romeo & Juliet, featuring the music of Elton John. However, the film was out of the local cineplex fairly soon due to mediocre box office results, which is not surprising given the short length of time it took for the film to make its way to home video. Nevertheless, the film seemed like an interesting concept so I decided to request a review copy, in 2D. Well, it has finally arrived as has my review. Continue Reading

I always wince a bit when I hear that a particular film, TV show or record is a “Cult favorite”. After all, a particular piece of “media” can’t be anywhere near a commercial hit or it wouldn’t have “cult” status. Therefore, for me, cult status and commercial bomb are often times synonymous. Often times there is a very good reason why a particular piece of media is a bomb, and that is because is wasn’t very good in the first place. That isn’t always the case, as certain films and albums are simply ahead of their times and had they been release later in different times, would have struck more of a chord with the mass audience. Continue Reading

Usually when you approach the big five-oh, you expect something special, whether it is your 50th birthday or your 50th wedding anniversary. One would therefore have expected something very special from the folks at Disney for their 50th full length animated film. That film, Tangled, is the subject of this review. Would it prove to be just as special as one would have expected for such a milestone film? Continue Reading

The good old days. I am sure that we have all at one time hankered back for what we think were the Good Old Days. You know, when life was simpler, the food better and the music too. Perhaps even films? The funny thing about the good old days is that we sometimes look back at them through a filter and they are not really as good as we thought them to be. I was giving this subject some thought before I popped the subject of this review, Dances With Wolves, into the Blu-ray player. Continue Reading

When you hear about a film that takes place entirely within one location that may feel pretty intimate, you’re going to get to know everything about that location and everyone in it… how about when the whole film takes place within a coffin with one guy buried inside? Claustrophobic? Does the film hop the hurdles of making its audience uncomfortable with just the setting alone or does it lack the breathing room?

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I love catalog releases especially of old films, after reviewing North by Northwest months ago and seeing how meticulous the restoration process can be when done properly. Although I’m not a fan of musicals I was anxious to see how this classic film was treated when put onto Blu-ray. How’d it hold up? Continue Reading

Often the brunt of satirical humor, outside of its cult following Highlander isn’t exactly highly sought after. Failing to bring in the numbers at the box office; Highlander has since found enough of a following to spawn several sequels, television spin-offs and a recently announced remake. The installment in question today is the second which reunites Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert in their original roles, whilst bringing the ever talented Michael Ironside and Virginia Madison into the mix. With the new cast improvements can Highlander 2: The Quickening improve upon an already decent movie, or will it completely tarnish the franchise that never really had legs to carry it?

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It has been a long time since I have watched Fantasia or Fantasia 2000. I probably haven’t watched them since their original release on DVD and they have been collecting dust on the bookshelf ever since. I am not sure why that is the case as they are both interesting films featuring some wonderful music and some very interesting video. As I recall, both looked and sounded great on DVD and it was with some anticipation that I awaited their eventual release on Blu-ray to see not only how they looked in high def, but how they sounded with a full lossless audio track. I can report that both films have never looked or sounded better.

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You know when you are getting old when you saw a movie celebrating its 45th anniversary during its original theatrical run. Such is the case with The Sound of Music which is the first movie I can really recall seeing as a kid with my parents. I was wowed by the scope and color of the film as a kid but have been disappointed with all of the previous home video releases of this classic. Thankfully, the first Blu-ray release of this film can only be described as spectacular, both visually and sonically. All I can say is that it is about time! Continue Reading

I may be an old softie, but I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Toy Story franchise. Perhaps it is because my kids were very young when the original Toy Story arrived in theaters. I know we wore out a VHS copy of the film before the DVD came out, the kids loved the film so much. Despite the more recent incredibly good films from Pixar, I still like the 2 Toy Story films the best. It was amazing, but I guess not surprising, that the folks at Pixar could top themselves with Toy Story 2 but they did. I was therefore very curious to see if they could again top themselves or at least match their prior efforts with Toy Story 3. To see if, all these years later they would be able to keep true to the spirit of the first two films. As it turns out, I should have never worried. Continue Reading

 Around 2003 marked a change for the horror genre, a new wave was hitting the scene and it wasn’t coming from Hollywood. France’s horror scene was blooming and one of the most talked about films was “High Tension” with its relentless storytelling and pure terror it was said to impose upon its viewers. Was the hype true or was this simply the opening of the floodgates of over-gory cookie-cutter horror films that would infest the market for the next 7 years?  Continue Reading

There is no question that Beauty and the Beast was an eagerly awaited title when Disney announced their support for the Blu-ray format. That eagerness was understandable, given that Beauty and the Beast is a great film and involved some what was at the time, considered at the time, rather revolutionary animation techniques. Well, Beauty and the Beast is on its way to Blu-ray and I can assure you that it was worth the wait, well worth the wait. Continue Reading