Into the Blu

It is not often that one sees a movie as divisive as The Lovely Bones.  Criticism has focused on the subject matter, its presentation, the CGI, and Peter Jackson’s treatment of Alice Sebold’s book.  Others have praised the tenderness that was used in the treatment of the subject, how it was handled with real emotional intelligence, and the quality of the cast. Continue Reading

Back in 2008, there was a lot of buzz about this film. Buzz in a good way as in the film is an Oscar contender, not only as best picture but for the performances of the two lead actors, Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. However, that buzz seemed to die down after the premier of the film was put off into 2009, missing the Oscar cut off date. When the film finally premiered this year, it did so to rather tepid reviews and a lackluster box office take. I was familiar with the subject matter of the film due to Steve Lopez’ book and columns in the LA Times about Mr. Ayers. While this is clearly a compelling story, I was not expecting much in the way of a great film in light of the fact that the film opened to mixed reviews. This was one film I was waiting to see on Blu-ray, to see of it could match the pre-release buzz back in 2008. Thankfully, I am pleased to be able to report that while flawed, The Soloist is a much better film that I had been lead to believe by the movie press. Imagine that! Continue Reading

Earlier today, my brother-in-law and I went to the theater to see the new Star Trek film.  I have never been a Trekkie, but both of us were quite pleased with the film.  Knowing I would be watching this movie called Things We Lost in the Fire later today, I was having a difficult time getting motivated to put on my review hat after watching the action-packed Star Trek.  Was I really going to follow up that bit of adrenaline with this possible cure for insomnia?  That was not to be the case.  By the end of the day, it turned out to be a positive experience for my Sunday double-feature.  Continue Reading

Let me set the record straight. I don’t like to “move it move it”. That song and irritating beat is one of the most obnoxious sounds I’ve heard in a film in a long time. Unfortunately, not only is it included in this film as well, but it’s also repeated over and over again during the menu options. I’ve never been more motivated to make my selection this quickly before. You might want to familiarize yourself with the options presented for this film via my handy review. I promise you it has life saving properties. Even a second less of listening to that inane chant might be the second that keeps you from going into “Move It Move It” rage. The damage to your screen could be considerable. With that slight tirade out of the way, there is a lot to Madagascar’s second outing to recommend here. It’s a sequel every bit as good as the original film. Continue Reading

See how this works for you. One day you’re pretty much a loser. You’re broke. You can’t pay your rent, and you’re stuck in a crappy job at Kinkos. Your brother has just died, serving in some unknown military operation. Life pretty much sucks. Just when you think it can’t get any worse…. Continue Reading

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that two little known brothers from Rhode Island decided to put a spin on the typical and arguably tired romantic comedy genre. That was nearly fifteen years ago, and the launching movie was Dumb and Dumber, which has since etched the Farrelly Brothers into the upper echelons of comedy screenwriters and directors. Over the years their slapstick antics and gross out humor has been a staple in the comedy corner of Hollywood. With classics like There’s Something About Mary, Kingpin, Shallow Hal, Me Myself and Irene, and many others, I eagerly anticipate their latest films. But it hasn’t always been laughs, and like with all things good come the well, not so good. With flops like Say It Isn’t So and the short running TV show Unhitched, the Farrelly Brother’s reputation isn’t completely unscathed. Is this film going to break out hearts, or captivate our minds like kids? Continue Reading

In the Winter of 1969 an elite force of the U.S. Army was sent on a top secret assignment in South East Vietnam. The objective: rescue Sgt. Four Leaf Tayback from a heavily guarded NVA Prison Camp. The mission was considered near suicide. Of the 10 men sent, 4 returned. Of those 4, 3 wrote books about what happened. Of those 3, 2 were published. Of those 2, just one got a movie deal. This is the story of the men who attempted to make that movie: Continue Reading

The CG animation craze has no shortage of lovable and cute animals these days. It seems that the animal kingdom has become the greatest fodder for these family animated blockbuster films. Dreamworks might be in the lead with these kinds of efforts. They’ve given us bears, penguins, and lions among others. Now they deliver perhaps one of their better ideas in a lovable Kung Fu Panda. As much as anything else, you really have to give most of the credit for the film’s success to Jack Black and the wonderful voice cast that support him here. Honestly, the script is pretty simple, and like most children’s films it tends to be oversimplified and rather silly throughout. But give a cast like this an even average script and you can pretty much sit back and watch them go. Okay, maybe sit back and hear them go. Continue Reading

OK…so yes…the premise of The Love Guru is about as ridiculous as the name of the movie sounds. Couldn’t you tell just by looking at the diverse characters on the Blu-ray Disc cover art? But there is just something about the movie that I find charming and it has become quite a guilty pleasure of mine. I can almost guarantee, out of all the reviews you will read on The Love Guru, mine will probably be the most kind. Many critics and reviewers will claim this movie is devoid of any laughs but I humbly disagree. Continue Reading

When Madagascar came to the box office in 2005, I took my young niece to see it. She’s kind of an animal nut, so I expected her to have a pretty good time. What I might not have expected was that I would have a good time. The whole talking animals routine can get pretty tired after a while. With the advent of CG animation on such a large scale there has been a little overload these days. Everybody wants to be Pixar, and while Pixar has found some unique story and character ideas, most studios have resorted to the old hand drawn animation standbys. I’m happy to report that Madagascar was better than I expected, and both of us had a really good time. Continue Reading

With the release of Shrek The Third on Blu-ray, Dreamworks has continued a rather aggressive slate of films on the Blu-ray format. You may remember that Dreamworks and its distribution partner Paramount came late to the Blu-ray party and had a lot of ground to make up. This was one of those films originally released in HD-DVD and eagerly awaited by many in the surviving format. The video transfer is actually the same master and so will not look any different in Blu. Still, with the addition of a TrueHD soundtrack the new release is an absolute step upward. Continue Reading

If you are going to steal material, it doesn’t hurt to take from the very best. It also helps if the target of your appropriation is no longer with us. If you update the material enough so that it appears to be a more modern story, you have a better chance no one will notice. Unless, of course, the original is somewhat of a classic; then you simply fall back on the Hollywood tradition by using the magic password: homage. The director I refer to is Alfred Hitchcock, and the film is non other than the Jimmy Stewart classic Rear Window. Continue Reading