Into the Blu

With all the so-called “Bieber-fever” going on, it was inevitable that the token feature film would debut. Here it is, 104 minutes of fan service for those still fawning over his one and only album (no remixes and acoustic version don’t count in this case). Continue Reading

Of the top three baseball based films of all time, only 2 have made their way to Blu-ray, Field of Dreams and The Natural, at least until now. While I love both of these films, the very best baseball themed film is Bull Durham, which fortunately, was finally released on Blu-ray this week. While I was more than pleased with the look and sound of The Natural, Field of Dreams was another matter altogether and was a disappointment in the video department. Would Bull Durham prove to be more like The Natural or more like Field of Dreams. Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release of Bull Durham is as disappointing as Field of Dreams. Continue Reading

There is one particular movie that must have flown under my radar when it was out in theaters.  When I saw that The Siege originally came out in 1998, I was really surprised as to how I missed this one.  I’d like to say “Let me be the first to tell you…” something about this film but at 11 years old, I think most folks have come across this title before.  With an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, Annette Benning and Bruce Willis, how could anyone miss (beside me, of course)? Continue Reading

I remember back in the late 90′s when I saw the trailer for Ronin starring Robert DeNiro.  It looked like an international spy thriller, which, in my mind, was a role that was a bit out of sorts for the actor.  Then again, if the star is a good actor, and DeNiro is one of the best, than he should pull this off, regardless of what we’re used to seeing him play.  I never did get around to seeing it back then, so the film’s release on Blu-ray was my first experience with it…and what a great format to introduce yourself to a film.  Hold on to your seats and strap on the Kevlar.  Ronin is about to take you on a whirlwind tour of France, except on this site-seeing adventure, you are more likely to experience well-placed bullets and a little espionage as opposed to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.  Continue Reading

“Good Evening Clarice.” Have two otherwise innocuous words ever sounded as creepy as they do as uttered by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs? The Silence of the Lambs is one of the all time classic horror thrillers ever filmed and one of my favorite films. This is a film that I was anxiously waiting for release on the Blu-ray format to see what improvements a high def treatment would render both in terms of picture and sound quality over the previously released DVDs. Unfortunately, while an improvement is made, it was not as much as I had hoped. Continue Reading

I’ve said it a hundred times before, and I’ll say it again; horror movies just aren’t what they used to be. I’d like to see anyone debates that, frankly I’d be surprised to have anyone deny it; frankly it’s more fact than opinion. I can’t count the amount of campy, clichéd, teeny horror movies I’ve seen in the past few years, nonetheless they still give us thrills and in our disturbing human nature we just can’t get enough blood and guts. That brings us to the low budget, low release Sundance Festival official select, Salvage. Brought to us by the Crook Brothers, who I have never heard of before, I hope this is a diamond in the rough because I’m sick of ranting on why horror just isn’t what it used to be. Continue Reading

Inspiration seems to be a tough thing to come across, especially during times of a turbulent economy, seemingly unreachable goals and the like.  Many will often find their hope in a little divine intervention.  One film that does an impressive job of portraying this is Saving God.  Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction) headlines a lesser known but talented cast.  Continue Reading

Captain Planet.  That’s what some of my coworkers call me as I’m always on the lookout for discarded plastic bottles and aluminum cans that others throw away when the recycling bin is but a few steps farther.  Yup, champion of the environment.  That’s me.  So when I came across a documentary earlier this year about sharks, I was ecstatic.  To see sharks in their natural habitat in high definition would be a wonderful thing.  Without further ado, I made my online purchase of the film known as Sharkwater. Continue Reading

Like most of you, I have come to expect Will Ferrell in stupid comedy movies that no matter how ridiculous, will always be a guilty pleasure to watch. With Stranger than Fiction Marc Foster (Monsters Ball) broadens the horizon a bit, with a sweet and innocent take on a rather grim premise. The real question is can Will Ferrell escape the shackles of type casting and deliver a movie with feeling? Continue Reading

Jules Verne is perhaps the most sought after writer of Science Fiction, and is undeniably the father of the genre. I am still shocked that more of his writings haven’t made it to the big screen, perhaps the apperception of his stories have been lost in the generations. Back then Verne was writing about things like the internet and air conditioning, of course they were leaps and bounds away, but now being commonplace I really find it hard to dub his writings as Science Fiction. Continue Reading

Did you ever want to like a movie so bad but you just couldn’t find one good reason to like it? That pretty much sums up how I feel about the 2005 film Mortuary. I must admit I was pretty excited when I pulled the Mortuary Blu-ray out of my mailbox, sent to my attention for review. I am quite the sucker for advertising, artwork and hype. The cover art on the Mortuary Blu-ray case just screams out that it is a movie I must love. Unfortunately, that just is not the case. Continue Reading

I get my kicks watching horror films; from spine chillers to hack and slashes I’ve loved them and hated them alike. Sure I find it extremely hard to debate that they make horror films like they used to, but even in a market flooded with teenagers getting murdered I have found some gems amidst the depths of crap. What I hope you take from that preamble is that I love horror films low budget teen thrillers and classics alike, and like any respectable reviewer am unbiased towards what might be preconceived as a horrible movie. Now I’ll just cut to the chase, I say all this so that when you read on and learn just how much I hated this movie you will understand that I speak with the outmost sincerity. Continue Reading