Into the Blu

Die Another Day

Posted on 24. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

Pierce Brosnan only got to play James Bond for four films, which is unfortunate when you watch a film like Die Another Day. He’s always had a great presence in the part, but watching this movie gives you tremendous appreciation of what he brought to the character and to the franchise. In such a short time he made the part his own in a way that only Sean Connery had done before. [...]

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For Your Eyes Only

Posted on 23. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

The title of Roger Moore’s 5^th Bond film actually comes from a short story written by Fleming and not a novel as most of the earlier films did. To make up for the limited source material another Fleming short, Risico, was added to the mix and the screenplay would draw from both works. I’ve already said that Moore is my least favorite Bond, but I have to admit that I like For Your Eyes Only quite a bit. Coming on the heels of one of the absolute worst Bond films ever, Moonraker, it was a welcome return to a simpler adventure that relied more on the characters than gadgets and out of this world locations. [...]

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Thunderball

Posted on 22. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

Thunderball was actually the first James Bond story that began life, not as a Fleming novel, but a film screenplay. Long before Harry Saltzman acquired the film rights to the novels, Fleming himself considered bringing Bond to film. He worked with screenwriter Kevin McCoy to write an original James Bond film. Fleming eventually grew discouraged trying to make the film, and the story elements were used to create a new Bond novel instead. When the book was released, Kevin McCoy realized that he had created many of these story elements and sued for his share of the credit and money. This would make the Thunderball story a unique one in the James Bond collection. [...]

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Live and Let Die

Posted on 22. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

Live And Let Die wasn’t Roger Moore’s first brush with James Bond. It wasn’t even his second. When Saltzman and Broccoli first began assembling their team, Roger Moore was their second choice, after Cary Grant, to play the Fleming spy. Moore was doing television at the time and so was unavailable. He did, however, play the spy in a television skit spoofing the character, which is included in the special features of this release. When Sean Connery left the franchise for a second time, presumably for good, the search was on again to fill the role. [...]

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Dr. No

Posted on 20. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

In just a few weeks from this release Daniel Craig will star for his second time in the 22^nd film in the James Bond franchise. A lot has changed over the decades, to be sure. It’s hard to imagine that it was back in 1962 (1963 here in the US) when a relatively unknown film actor named Sean Connery took on the role of 007 for the first time in a film. There was a forgotten television event that was not a part of the official film franchise. Now with the release of another new Bond film, this is an excellent time to go back to where it all began. The Blu-ray release of that original film, Dr. No, is the perfect opportunity to rediscover the roots of Ian Fleming’s super spy. No matter how long you’ve been a fan or how many times you’ve seen Dr. No, I promise this will be a new experience for you. [...]

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From Russia with Love

Posted on 20. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani.

James Bond had finally arrived into the big time with the publication of From Russia With Love. It would become one of Fleming’s most popular books. It didn’t hurt that President John Kennedy gave a list of his 10 favorite books of all time, and this one was on it. It was a natural follow-up for EON to film. There was a surge in popularity of Cold War films and books at the time, and this one fit more than most of them did. Just having Russia in the title was good for a couple extra million at the box office. Fortunately the team of Sean Connery and Terrance Young were on board early for this film. [...]

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Rescue Dawn

Posted on 04. Dec, 2007 by Ryan Erb.

Since its limited theatrical release Rescue Dawn has caught my eye, mainly due to my curiosity regarding the Christian Bale, Steve Zhan combination but also because I?m a fan of the genre. Sure the Vietnam flick has been done a thousand times, but the fact that Rescue Dawn is based upon a real life account makes me feel better about it. Originally German director Werner Herzog made a documentary some ten years ago on the life of German-American U.S. Navy Pilot entitled Little Dieter Needs to Fly. Since then it has gained some notoriety and the compelling story of Dieter Dengler has made its way to the big screen staring arguably one of Hollywood?s finest, Christian Bale. [...]

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Usual Suspects, The (Blu-ray)

Posted on 06. Feb, 2007 by Joshua Noyes.

The Usual Suspects is a most unusual movie and in this case, that is a good thing. The Usual Suspects keeps you interested throughout its entirety by making you think and trying to figure out what will happen next. If only today?s movies did the same thing!! As this has been one of my favorite movies of all time, the excitement I felt when I received this in the mail today could only be compared to a young child on Christmas morning.

A boat, thought to have $91 million in cocaine on board, is… [...]

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Flyboys (Blu-ray)

Posted on 29. Jan, 2007 by Brendan Surpless.

War films have always been the type of film that hold a high level of enjoyment for me. Even though I’ve never (luckily I might add) experienced war first hand, I’ve had numerous family members that have. I suppose war films are so important to me because war is an occurrence that will always be occurring regardless of time. World War I based films in particular are usually interesting as this was a tumultuous time for everyone involved. So what exactly happened with Fox’s recent WWI based film Flyboys? [...]

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Windtalkers (Blu-ray)

Posted on 16. Jan, 2007 by Ryan Erb.

Windtalkers is yet another World War II movie, but unlike most others it’s not about the Nazi’s, rather about Americas battle with The Empire of Japan. Prior to receiving this title for review, I had never seen this film. This is surprising since local accomplished actor Adam Beach co-stars, so it was about time I checked it out.

The movie begins as we are immersed into a battle where Joe Enders (Nicholas Cage) is fighting off the Japanese with his fellow Marines. [...]

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Bulletproof Monk

Posted on 22. Dec, 2006 by Ryan Erb.

With a good mix of action, adventure, and comedy Bulletproof Monk is reminisant of movies like The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon mixed with comedy and not so well choreographed fight scenes. But that’s not to say the movie didn’t have some pretty intense action scenes, because it did. [...]

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Rocky

Posted on 16. Dec, 2006 by Ryan Erb.

It may not be a tale as old as time, but it’s darn close. Sly Stallone plays our hero, Rocky Balboa, a down-on-his-luck boxer and collector for a small-time gangster. He?s a nobody, but through the right set of circumstances, he gets a shot at the heavyweight boxing world championship title. Calling it a long shot would be an understatement, and Rocky has to b…ttle against his own self-doubt before he even takes a swing at Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the current champ. In his corner is Mick (Burgess Meredith), a crusty old trainer, and Rocky?s girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire), whose heart he wins on the way. [...]

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Species

Posted on 15. Sep, 2006 by Brendan Surpless.

Species is your typical horror film. Lots of explosions, some plot, actors who don’t belong here but are put in to try to add some credibility to the flick, a relatively unknown woman baring her chest, and lots of killing. Anyhow, the film takes place around 1993. The U.S. government receives a transmission giving us information on how to splice alien D.N.A. with human genetics. Hmm.. Sounds like something we want to do huh? Lots of success will come from this no? After experimenting a few times, the scientist hit the jackpot and the result is ‘Sil’, a woman (played by Natasha Henstridge) who can change from a gorgeous woman to a ‘holy crap I’m about to die’ kick-butt alien in just a few seconds. [...]

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The Terminator

Posted on 16. Jun, 2006 by Brendan Surpless.

If you don’t know what the original Terminator film is about by know, I’ll still tell you. If you haven’t seen the film, for some reason, drop everything right now and go watch. Anyhow, the original Terminator sees our old California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger staring in the main role as the evil, villainous Terminator. The Terminator has been sent back to the year 1984 with one goal in mind. He must eliminate, at all costs, one Sarah Connor so she can’t give birth to the eventual leader of the rebellion against the machines, her son John Connor. Luckily for Sarah, and unfortunately for the Terminator, a protector has also been sent back. Kyle Reese (Michael Bien) is sent back to stop this villainous figure all while trying to convince Sarah that he means no harm. [...]

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