During the various debates on the issue of torture and its effectiveness in eliciting useful information to prevent impending terrorist attacks, the question of the ticking time bomb was often raised. Would you torture to prevent the the use of a nuclear bomb in an American city? Well, that is the central issue raised in the film that is the subject of this review, the suspense thriller Unthinkable. Read the full story

One of the benefits of doing reviews of Blu-ray releases is being exposed to films that I would otherwise not otherwise have the chance to see. This can be a bit of a double edge sword as for every little gem of a film I see, I have to experience other films that I wished I would have been able to avoid. The subject of this review, A Single Man, is one of the films that I probably would not have had the chance to see were it not for the opportunity to do this review. Would I find it to be one of those little undiscovered gems or would I be lamenting the loss of the two hours taken up in viewing the film? Read the full story

Having not seen Crazy Heart during it’s theatrical run I was excited to review this one after the Oscar buzz began hyping the film. Jeff Bridges is one of those actors with a catalogue of work that contains some great hidden gems., from his portrayal as the Dude from The Big Lebowski to the villainous War Monger from Iron Man, the man has dimensions that really aren’t displayed enough in the mainstream. With Crazy Heart receiving an Oscar nod for Bridges’ performance and this film being as popular as it was, is this Bridges’ tour-de-force performance?

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Most of us are probably only aware of Leo Tolstoy as the author of War and Peace. I know I was not aware of the long and at times turbulent 58 year marriage to his wife Sofya and the political intrigue surrounding the last period of his life. Such a rich story line along with the typical Russian intrigue, has the makings of a great film. Does The Last Station deliver on its promise? Read the full story

Showgirls will always be a cult classic favorite of mine.  I have owned this film on all available video formats as they have been released.  I imagine when holographic movies are released; I will be the first person standing in line eagerly awaiting this title.  I remember having to sneak this VHS rental home from Blockbuster back in late 1995.  I gave it a very quiet basement viewing after my parents went to sleep one night. I just had to see what was so controversial about the performance of Saved By The Bell’s sweetheart teen actress Elizabeth Berkley.  And wow, was I ever surprised at what I saw.  That wasn’t the Jessie Spano I knew and loved all these years.  My girl had grown up fast and oh, what moves she has learned.  And that word “moves,” can take on many different contextual meanings here. Read the full story

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

With the World Cup starting this week in South Africa, I thought i appropriate to get back into the swing of things with a review of a film that is centered around another World Cup that occurred in South Africa, the Rugby World Cup in 1995 which was much much more that a sporting match and which helped reunite a county that had been torn by racial violence. That film is Invictus. Read the full story

When I heard Hamlet was coming to Blu-ray, I was immediately asking myself whether it’d be Kenneth Branagh’s version or Mel Gibson’s… or perhaps Ethan Hawke’s modern telling. I was surprised to find that the first Hamlet to get the Blu-ray treatment was none of the above, but rather a screen adaptation of a recent stage version starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. How does this modern retelling of the classic Shakespeare play hold up to previous incarnations?

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One of the unfortunate staple’s of the 90’s was quasi-erotic thrillers that had threadbare plots and story and tried to rely on the philosophy of ‘sex sells’. Of course the reason these films were popular was that the philosophy held true, thus an influx of these films poured in for our poor eye’s to see… Jade is no exception and unless there’s some amazing picture and audio quality to show off our home theater systems, then there’s simply no need to see it… Does Lionsgate pull off a save with one of its lesser known catalog releases?

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There is no question that many in the UK as well as the US find the British Royal Family fascinating. This is true whether it is the present group of royals or those from days gone by. There are certainly enough films dealing with latter, with two very compelling films about Queen Elizabeth I staring Kate Blanchett coming easily to mind. When most of us thinks about Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, we think of the staid old Queen Victoria, not the vibrant young Victoria which almost seems to have disappeared from the pages of history, at least from the pages of movie history. Into that void comes the film aptly titled The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Prince Albert which just so happens to be the subject of today’s review. Read the full story

Opportunities lost. I kept coming back to that concept in my head as I watched the subject of this review, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. The film certainly features and interesting and compelling lead character and some excellent acting performances but in the end falls die to the film;s script and direction. it is too bad as there is a kernel of a find film here. Read the full story

Every winter, especially ones as rough as this past one, you are bouyed by the thought that Spring is just around the corner when you hear that it is time for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training. As a kid, I just couldn’t wait for the start of spring training and the start of the baseball season. In fact, I still can’t. With the season now upon us, what better film can there be to make its debut on Blu-ray than The Natural, which is the subject of today’s review. Read the full story

It had been a very long time since this author saw The African Queen for the first time, 29 years to be exact.  So going into the review of this Blu-ray, it was like seeing the movie again for the first time.

The African Queen also has an intimidating pedigree.  Nominated for four Academy Awards, it has become legendary for the danger and hardships director John Huston exposed the cast and crew to.  Filming in wild parts of the Belgian Congo, legend has it that Bogart and Huston avoided the sicknesses that afflicted all other cast and crew by drinking only Scotch.  Legend also has it that Huston stalled production in his obsession with hunting an elephant, later fictionalized into “White Hunter, Black Heart”.

As a film, The African Queen continually appears on AFI’s “100 years, 100 movies” list, has been selected for preservation in the U.S. Film Registry, and was the source of Humphrey Bogart’s only Academy Award.  How well does it survive its restoration to Blu-ray?  Read the full story

When word came out that the film An Education was headed for Blu-ray, I jumped at the chance to request a review copy. After all, the film received excellent critical reception, three Academy Award nominations including one for Best Picture (albeit it in an expanded 10 film field) and has shall we say, very interesting subject matter. What more could one want in a film? Well, An Education arrived this week. Was it worth the accolades? In a word, yes. 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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Usually with the passage of time, we get a little better perspective on the Oscars and whether a particular winner was really the right one. Look back on some of the past winners and you just may scratch you head and wonder, “What were they thinking, they should have picked X”. I was thinking that this year on Oscar night when The Hurt Locker received seemingly all of the awards. While a fine film, I can help but wonder if the vote was swayed more on the subject matter than the actual merit of the film, as for me, the film doesn’t hold a candle to the subject of today’s review, Up in the Air. Read the full story

They say that truth is stranger than fiction and in the case of The Blind Side, that is certainly true. Had the book and the film been a work of fiction, we all would have rolled our eyes and said, you’ve got to be kidding me! What a tall tail! However, die to the confluence of too many improbable circumstances to count, The Blind Side is true. While it is a an enjoyable film featuring several wonderful performances, the question to be answered today is how well does it look and sound on Blu-ray? I guess you will just have to keep on reading. Read the full story