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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on February 27th, 2008
I am a huge John Woo fan, especially his earlier classics like Hard Boiled. Ill admit its been several years since I last seen Face/Off, but I dont have a reason why, as I remember really liking this movie then. At either rate now I have a copy of the movie to call my own, and a special two disc release at that. Lets just hope that it is what I remember, but as a big fan of Nick Cage I dont think Ill be let down.
In order to catch him, he must become him. I couldnt put it any better myself, Face/Off tells quite the eccentric story of revenge, devotion, and of course crime.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on December 9th, 2007
I must be one of the few people who despite hearing positive things, did not see Transformers in the theatre this past summer. The main reason being Im just not interested in transformers, but then again so were most of the people I know who loved the movie. Regardless, here I find myself holding a copy of this summer blockbuster on HD DVD, Im sure its going to blow me away, but only time will tell.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 31st, 2007
Back around the time I was born, and Tom Cruise had an ounce of sanity, a little movie called Top Gun swept across the globe raking in over $350,000,000 worldwide, as well as sparking an interest in the US Navy and everything Tomcat, Skyhawk, and MiG related. Ever since its original release Top Gun has kept a hold on its audience, being played almost weekly, and now it makes its way into the world of high definition with its release on HD DVD.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 28th, 2007
Very few of us know A Clockwork Orange as the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess, instead we know it as the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film adaptation. Not only did Kubrick direct this cult classic, he also wrote the adapted screenplay and produced it. Theres no doubt that Kubrick put a lot into this movie, and by now we all know the results. A Clockwork Orange is a perfect example of Kubricks career, highly controversial. After the cult hit 2001: A Space Odyssey, it was crucial for Kubrick to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and what better way to do that than adapt A Clockwork Orange. There are those who would call this movie trash, and of course there are those who absolutely love it, then of course theres everyone in between. Well A Clockwork Orange isnt new news to me, its release on HD DVD already looks to impress.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 24th, 2007
Smallville, although well shot and portrayed has never been a favorite series of mine. Growing up I was a Marvel comics fan, I hardly ever crossed into the DC market and if I did, it was for Batman, never Superman. Of course, for those of you that don’t know Smallville follows the life of a young Clark Kent in the years prior to him becoming Superman. Of course it started out in season 1 with Kent in high school, very unsure of his potential but six seasons later he’s very Superman esque.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 9th, 2007
Surf’s Up is Sony Pictures Animation’s second and latest film, and is directed by Toy Story 2 co-director Ash Brannon and Chicken Little’s Chris Buck. Although it was considered a box office failure, Surf’s Up has since been applauded by critics and fans alike. I have to say, normally I’m a sucker for CGI films but lately there has been a flood of them on the market, and frankly they’re starting to decline in quality. But Surf’s Up does something different, it’s actually a CGI mockumentary on surfing documentaries, and with quite a list of voice actors. The list includes Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf, James Woods, Diedrich Bader, and more. So does this film break free from the recent rut the animated film genre seems to have found itself in?
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 8th, 2007
Some portions of this review regarding general show information are shared with the Season 1 and Season 2 reviews.
After watching the first two seasons of CSI Miami I was pleased with the shows story arc, and although the latter season was starting to get a bit dull with regards to the character development, the case loads were just as engaging and bizarre. As I’ve said before, I hope that in Season 3 a few of the weaker aspects form the past two season can be rectified like the sometimes endless dialogue.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 8th, 2007
Some portions of this review regarding general show information are shared with the Season 1 and Season 3 reviews.
Before I saw Season 1 of CSI Miami I was quite skeptical about the shows ability to live up to the original. After watching the first season I was impressed with most aspects of the show, ranging from character development to entertaining and interesting cases. I don’t want to over praise the show though, because it does have its flaws, and can drag on a bit at times, but I’m hoping that Season 2 might just improve on these aspects.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on October 7th, 2007
Some portions of this review regarding general show information are shared with the Season 2 and Season 3 reviews.
When the original CSI was put on the air, I was a huge fan. At the time it was totally unique, entertaining, and to a certain degree educational. Not to say that hasn’t changed over the years, but it has certainly lost its uniqueness over the course of two spin-offs. However I won’t judge the quality of these spin-offs because I’ve never actually watched them before, who knows maybe they still have the integrity of the original show. But when you have a show staring David Caruso, it’s going to be hard to win me over, so I’m hoping for some developed storylines and engaging character arcs.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 29th, 2007
Dirty Sanchez, the Welsh Jackass, or at least its something like it. Like Jackass, this little British show started on TV and has since made its way to the big screen, that of course is not where the similarities end. Dirty Sanchez, They make Jackass look like the Royal Shakespeare Company. Well thats what the say anyways, I disagree but they are definitely just as careless and insane as the Jackass crew.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 22nd, 2007
Its hard for me to believe that Darkman comes from a time when Sam Raimi was fresh off directing Evil Dead 2 and Liam Neeson was a little known Irish actor. A lot has changed since then, but a true classic can stand the test of time, and although I was very young when I first saw this movie, I remember it being very unique. Of course my perspective on films has blossomed since the time I was watching Rugrats, and it has literally been that long since Ive seen Darkman. Nonetheless Im pleased to finally get the chance to watch this Liam Neeson classic, and in HD to boot.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 18th, 2007
Notting Hill is a bit of a spin on a Cinderella type story, only Cinderella is William Thacker (Hugh Grant, About A Boy) the owner of a break even book store. Nothing seems to be going his way until fate would have it that Anna Scott (Julia Roberts, Oceans Eleven) the worlds most respected and loved actress enters his store. William having a hard time coping with his recent divorce cant believe the glimmer of hope placed before him.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 12th, 2007
I love horror movies, but lately Hollywood hasnt done it for me, and Wrong Turn wasnt an exception. So I wonder how a low budget sequel is going to manage to be better than its phony prequel. But I wont judge this one until Ive seen, lets just hope its nothing like The Hills Have Eyes 2, or The Grudge 2, etc.
Wrong Turn 2 takes off shortly after the events of the first film. Right away Ill let you know that other than the mutant freaks of the first film, this movie has no other links to the first installment, i.e. characters.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 8th, 2007
There are those of us who love Will Ferrell and just about everything hes done lately, and there are those of you who cant stand the guy. Read that last sentence carefully and youll be able to determine which one I am, but Im sure you wont have to read much past this sentence to figure it out anyways. Starting back with A Night at the Roxbury and ranging to Old School and Anchorman, comedically I cant get enough of these nonsense full movies. Surprisingly I didnt check this one out in the theatres, but I eagerly welcome the opportunity now.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 7th, 2007
When I first heard the title I was thinking, documentary on celebrities impact on making the planet go green. But now having seen Everyones Gone Green I can assure you thats not the case. Instead this is a low budget Canadian movie about a slacker, which doesnt leave me with much more expectations than when I thought it was a documentary on global warming. As a Canadian I can admit that besides producing some great actors and actresses and supplying some great filming locations, Canadian cinema is about as entertaining as watching the wind blowing around a plastic bag. This movie doesn’t prove to be any different.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on September 7th, 2007
I am a huge John Woo fan, especially his earlier classics like Hard Boiled. Ill admit its been several years since I last seen Face/Off, but I dont have a reason why, as I remember really liking this movie then. At either rate now I have a copy of the movie to call my own, and a special two disc release at that. Lets just hope that it is what I remember, but as a big fan of Nick Cage I dont think Ill be let down.
In order to catch him, he must become him. I couldnt put it any better myself, Face/Off tells quite the eccentric story of revenge, devotion, and of course crime.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 31st, 2007
I dont care what anyone thinks, A Night at the Roxbury is awesome. Back when Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan would do the skits on Saturday Night Live I loved it, and when the movie came out I pumped. This was back when I was barley a teenager and for me, this one has still got it. The hard part is explaining why this movie is so funny to me and its cult following. It has no real story, character development, etc. But still it manages to keep me laughing, time and time again. Ill get more into that later, for those of you who havent seen A Night at the Roxbury Ill play it out for you.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 31st, 2007
Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) is a successful engineer who recently discovers his wifes infidelity. He becomes aware that she has been sleeping with a police detective, which pushes Ted to the point of shooting his wife. Initially he confesses to the crime, and it looks to be an easy win for rising star district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling, The Notebook). This is of course until Ted redacts his confession and engages in a battle of wits with Beachum.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 28th, 2007
Lets face it, at one point or another weve all watched The Simpsons, and Im sure at points weve all loved it. But I dont think its a matter of debate that as the years went on the show seemed to have lost its touch, its uniqueness. With shows like Family Guy and American Dad pushing the envelope its hard to enjoy The Simpsons as much as we get older. But nonetheless there are millions of you who still love this show. For me its hard to pinpoint when The Simpsons took its turn for the worse, does Season 10 get classic status, or is it on the downside of the slope?
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 24th, 2007
Right off the start Wild Hogs looks to be appealing simply because of the cast which includes John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, and Ray Liotta. However when you get numerous big names together, some of whom arent known for comedy, their meshing on screen becomes quite an issue. Regardless, I dont anticipate this to become a problem with Wild Hogs.
Wild Hogs tells the story of four middle aged recreational bikers who are all going through a personal crisis. Doug (Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest) is a dentist stuck in a rut, he wants to relive his glory days but has too much responsibility and a kid who doesnt respect him.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 9th, 2007
There must be very few people out there who haven’t seen Taxi Driver or at the very least muttered the words, “you talking to me?” Regardless, this thirty year old film is easily a classic, and still on the top of many critics lists. It marked the blooming of an epic and ongoing relationship between Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese, the spawn of Jodie Foster’s career and arguably Harvey Keitel’s as well. At any rate Taxi Driver managed to receive four Academy award nominations as well as gaining a huge cult following. I don’t think it’s a surprise that I’ve already seen and love this movie, but how does the newly released DVD pan out?
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 9th, 2007
Sometime after 1990 when Blue Planet was released, I remember really wanting to see it. Unfortunately I was young and with time my interest in the worlds around our own dwindled. Recently with the advancements in technology my interest in space has sparked up again, making for just the right time for Blue Planet to land in my hands. After nearly 20 years I’ll be able to set my eyes on this for the first time, and in hi-definition. Then of course there’s the additional documentary The Dream Is Alive of which I’ve never previously heard of. The footage on this one is over 20 years old, so my expectations aren’t extremely high.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 3rd, 2007
Monty (Idris Elba, 28 Weeks Later) is a father struggling for custody of his three children. This has become of utmost importance to him especially since his ex wife is involved with a local drug dealer. He enlists the help of attorney Julia (Gabriel Union, Bad Boys 2) to get his children back. Of course sparks begin to fly between the two, and the children seem to take the backseat. I’ve seen this type of movie way too many times before, and I would be completely content if I didn’t have to again.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 2nd, 2007
Having never seen or heard of this program, I had to do a bit of research into the history of this show. I’ll share my findings with you in case you are new to the series as well. Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall, The Breakfast Club) was involved in a car accident that left him comatose for six years. Upon waking up he has a special gift, when he touches people or things he can see into the future, and sometimes prevent awful things from happening.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on August 2nd, 2007
As much of a Bruce Willis fan as I am, I have to admit that this movie has no initial appeal to me. Still I am a fan of thrillers and hope I can be surprised by this one as it has a good enough cast including the previously mentioned Bruce Willis, Halle Berry, and Giovanni Ribisi.
The movie opens with the death of Grace, best friend of Rowena Price (Halle Berry, X-Men).
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