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

When of the benefits of doing reviews of Blu-ray films is the chance to revisit old gems, films that you loved but may have forgotten about or not having seen in a long time. One of those films for me is Cocoon which has recently been released on Blu-ray. It has been many years once I have seen this film and was one I couldn’t wait to check out once it was released on Blu-ray. How would it hold up all these years later? Read the full story

Confession time.  Yes, I am old enough that I saw National Lampoon’s Vacation at a real life movie theatre.  If memory serves correct, it was at the Garrick Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and I had orange soda shoot out of my nose when laughing at the hilarious adventures of the Griswolds and their Travel Queen Family Truckster.  Vacation is one of those rare movies that still appeals as much to me today as it did when I was younger. Read the full story

Half a century ago seems like a long time; but it was around that time that one of Hollywood’s most gifted and eccentric directors was in his prime; making classic films that would set the stage for today’s filmmakers. Alfred Hitchcock was one the kind of director that doesn’t really exist anymore; similar to Orson Welles, his films were carefully crafted masterpieces that were so layered that even today there are countless books and websites dedicated to analyzing his works. North by Northwest was screenwriter, Ernest Lehman’s attempt to create the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures, did he succeed? Read the full story

Words cannot vividly express how honored and excited I am to be the recipient of the following Blu-ray disc and also to be selected to furnish a review of it.  It’s literally a dream come true for me.  To declare the following manuscript of confabulation a mere Blu-ray review would simply be misleading.  Instead, think of it as a testament, according to the Book of Brian, to one of the greatest films ever made.  “Clever, savagely witty and dark” are the catch phrase terms that Fox Public Relations people refer to Fight Club as.  However, I prefer to think of it more as an imperial cultural phenomenon of modern times than as a 10-year film being released on the Blu-ray optical format for the first time.  If I seem like I am embellishing, then that’s because I am.  The 2 hour and 19 minute world of Fight Club is one of the most intellectual and eye opening experiences this 30+ year-old man boy has every encountered in life.  It metaphorically removed the blinders I had donned my entire life and woke me up to other possibilities and alternate realities that I seem to have always neglected in my life and/or never really bothered to experience.  And I owe it all to my friend Erin.  C’mon!  Let’s find out why. Read the full story

Cujo used to haunt my dreams… There I said it! Having to review this movie really hurt my inner-child emotionally. I remember all those years ago, saying “Don’t worry, you’ll never have to watch that lame movie again”. Years later we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary and here I am reviewing the Blu-ray release of the cult classic based off of a story by Stephen King. Let’s see how Cujo holds up after a quarter of a decade. Read the full story

There are movies that are timeless for their ability to touch audiences over the generations, regardless of the time period in which they were made. These films have several things in common, including a great script, a perfect cast and a message that inspires hope and inspiration. One of these films is Miracle on 34th Street, which made its debut in theaters in 1947 and is making its high def debut on Blu-ray this month. Read the full story

There is no question that Stanley Kubrick was a cinematic genius. He has created many amazing films with incredibly diverse subject matters such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange which have really stood up to the test of time, retaining their relevance decades after their release. For me, the best of Mr. Kubrick’s films remains Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a controversial and thought provoking film both upon its release in 1964 as well as today. Read the full story

The origins of South Pacific date back to 1946, in a collection of short stories titled Tales of the South Pacific. This in turn inspired the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein stage adaptation; a simplified and condensed version dubbed South Pacific. That brings us to 1958 and yet another adaptation this time to film in the form of a musical, which always gets mixed reactions from me. I absolutely loved Sweeney Todd, and on the flip side absolutely hated High School Musical. What I’m trying to get across is, within each genre there’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. Will what most refer to as a classic identify with me, or will something have been lost in time? Read the full story

Young or old, and anywhere in-between Sleeping Beauty is commonly regarded as a childhood classic, a comfort film if you will. Like many other Disney films we remember the vintage animation, the songs, and the often compelling storylines. When Disney announced it would begin releasing its vaulted classics on Blu-ray fans met the news with an outmost enthusiasm and anticipation. For the first time ever classic films including Sleeping Beauty would be available in hi definition, with high expectations of crisp animation and solidified audio Disney had better dress to impress. So how does the Sleeping Beauty clean up after nearly fifty years of entertaining several generations of Disney fans? Read the full story

Love him or hate him, Terry Gilliam’s directorial career has experienced more twists and turns than anything I could even imagine. Shoot, a film about a Gilliam production failure was even done and well-received by many, including the former Monty Python cast member himself. When Heath Ledger died, I guess it would only make sense that a film with Gilliam would potentially be thrown into turmoil as a result (Gilliam was directing Ledger at the time of his death), though it does appear to be working fine now. So while he’s dealing with his current production, this year is a milestone of sorts as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen celebrates its 20th anniversary on disc.

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I’ve spent more than a few hours in the company of Ray Harryhausen over the years. I’ve handled many of the original armatures and have seen the original hand drawn storyboards and conceptual drawings he had created for most of his films. We’ve had many talks about this and all of his other films. I treasure those moments as I treasure seeing 20 Million Miles To Earth finally in hi-def. Read the full story

I first saw Dirty Dancing when I was in grade school via VHS with my mother and believe it or not I enjoyed the film as a 10 year-old kid. Since that time I have seen the film countless other times, whether it be on television or DVD. It is one of those films which has matured as I have matured.

Dirty Dancing is the story of headstrong 17-year-old Baby Houseman. Baby hardly expects her family’s usual summer vacation in the Catskills to be momentous. But then Baby spies Johnny Castle, the reso… Read the full story

Reservoir Dogs for the most part got it all started for Quentin Tarantino. This film came to us in 1992 on a tight budget of 1.4 Million dollars and completely changed Hollywood from there on. In many ways it was the Prequel to Pulp Fiction. Reservoir Dogs gave us a breath of fresh air from what Hollywood had been delivering at that time.

This film centers around a jewlery store robbery gone bad. The thiefs, a goup of guys all named after various colors are lying low in a local warehouse afte… Read the full story