Into the Blu

It is not very often that I look at a Blu-ray case and can exclaim “this is crap” even before putting the movie into my Blu-ray player.  However, when I see the film is “by a producer of Righteous Kill”, and features 50 Cent as both an actor and an Executive Producer, I am skeptical.  Then, I notice it is from the wildly inconsistent Lionsgate (home of classics such as Wrong Side of Town).

Be assured, loyal readers, that I have done you a service this day.  Due to my review, I hope that none of you will ever need to subject yourself to this painful exercise in cinema.  While some films are unintentionally funny due to their badness, some are simply unwatchable.  Caught in the Crossfire is clearly in the latter category. Continue Reading

With The Kids are All Right winning the Golden Globe for Best comedy, the film was definitely moved to the top of my “must watch soon” list and upon seeing the many awards this film has been collecting my expectations were raised accordingly. With a very edgy premise and an ensemble cast of great actors it begs the question… Does the film live up to all of this?

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

With a recent remake or sequel depending on how you look at it, it’s interesting to go back and watch the original Bad Lieutenant. The movie came out at one of Keitel’s high points and is one of his most infamous roles. Will this catalogue release be an essential for the fans?

Continue Reading

When I was first given this Blu-ray, my first thought without even reading the synopsis and just looking at the cover was that this movie is perfect for a teenager. Conveniently, my step daughter is 14 years old and just entered high school, so we watched it together. With no “A” list actors, I knew right away this is classified as a “B” list movie. There is nothing wrong with “B” list movies; they are the movies that tend to not reach the movie theatres. Continue Reading

There are some films that sound great on paper, with an interesting cast and story line that just don’t translate well to the screen. The story behind Coco Chanel & Igor Stavinsky sure sounded interesting, involving an affair between two compelling figures from the 20th Century. The question is, would it translate well to the screen? Despite some critical success, I would have to say, no. Continue Reading

Val Kilmer has always been one of my favourite actors, recently his slew of direct-to-video nonsense has caused me to lose some interest so when I saw Wonderland and I hadn’t heard of it I immediately assumed I was going to have to sit through another cookie cutter Kilmer flick. Was I wrong?

Continue Reading

Ah, magic. In a time where films and television shows that deal with the supernatural are so prevalent such as Supernatural, Harry Potter, the Twilight films and so on; it’s always interesting to see some of the older flicks that dealt with the supernatural. How do the films from the last couple decades fare compared to the modern supernatural revival?

Continue Reading

As regular readers know, I cringe whenever the official wife of this reviewer looks at my pile of Blu-rays to review and states “I really wanted to see this one!”  When the case also states “From Nicholas Sparks, author of Dear John and The Notebook”, I want to weep in despair.

Joy of joys, it also stars one of the most annoying teen actresses of our time, Miley Cyrus.  As a father to the two official kids (both of whom enjoyed watching Hannah Montana), I was already (and unfortunately) familiar with her “acting” abilities.

In short, I was tasked with reviewing a Blu-ray based on a story by a ham-handed and manipulative writer, starring an inexperienced actress (I’m being kind here), all the time wondering how desperate for money Greg Kinnear was that he agreed to act in this tripe.  Continue Reading

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. Continue Reading

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? Continue Reading

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?

Continue Reading