(expand)

I’m not sure if it’s the Harry Potter franchise or whether it goes back even further to the Peter Jackson Lord Of The Rings films. Somewhere along the way the studios began to cater to the children’s fantasy genre, and the rewards have often been huge. Just about every literary secret fantasy world either has now been explored or is about to be converted to film soon. Even the Tom Swift books of my childhood are about to join in the box office party. While many of these fantasy stories are older classics, some, like Harry Potter, are far more recent.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I have to be straight up honest here. I have never seen a true western movie. When I say true western, I am speaking about westerns that took place at the height of the western movie making era of the 50’s and 60’s. The Professionals would be my first movie and I have to say right away, after watching the film, my interest is definitely peaked.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I have seen plenty of Clint Eastwood films throughout my lifetime. I have always been a fan of his although I have yet to watch any of his Westerns, aside from The Unforgiven. Eastwood, for most of his career, has been the typical badass who you didn’t want to meet up with if you were doing something wrong. In Dirty Harry, Eastwood’s character was the trend setter of what movie cops were to become; the loaner who does things his own way regardless if anyone else likes it or not.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

It doesn’t seem to matter if the movie is horrible or excellent; Will Smith is just box office money. Every movie he does just seems to generate mountains of cash. I, Robot is no exception. A summer blockbuster when released theatrically, I, Robot grabbed the attention of Sci-Fi fans around the world. The question remains though, even if the movie makes a ton of cash, is it worth you time? In the case of I, Robot, absolutely!

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I have seen just about every Jim Carrey comedy that has come out in the theaters and most of them I found pretty downright funny as hell. Working with the Farrelly Brothers for the first time since Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey is hoping to strike gold once again. Sadly, Me, Myself & Irene falls short.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

Paramount has been late to the Blu party but more than makes up for it with the recent addition of There Will Be Blood on Blu-ray. The film is such a visually visceral experience that I can now no longer stand to see the recent standard DVD version of the film. Now, it’s important that I clarify that this is not to say that the transfer is anywhere near the best I’ve seen. In fact, I’m a bit disappointed. I’m commenting mostly on how much HD in general complements this film. This is now the second time I’ve watched this film in a relatively short span of time.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

It might be hard for me to admit, but there are certain instances where having a high definition transfer of even a modern film is not necessarily a better thing. The recent Blu-ray release of Cloverfield is one such instance. There is no question that the transfer is about as sharp and clean as anything I’ve seen on Blu to date. The problem is that it only helps to accent the stylistic flaws inherent in this kind of film. The most noticeable improvement is in the first third of the film. Of course, that part of Cloverfield is about as entertaining as watching paint dry.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

It is very easy to compare a film like The Longest Day to a more current film in Saving Private Ryan. But where Saving Private Ryan only focused on how the Americans did things, The Longest Day went deeper. Based on the book of the same name written by Cornelius Ryan, The Longest Day is shown from 3 sides; the American/British, German and French.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

For anyone who has read my reviews know, I am not a big fan of the classics. It is just the way I am. But when I received The Sand Pebbles to watch and review, my interest was definitely peaked given what I had heard about the film. This was my first opportunity to watch a film with famed actor Steve McQueen, as well as world renowned actor and narrator, Richard Attenborough. I was very excited to see what all the talk was about.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

Going in, I really had no interest in Shall We Dance? When I was told I would be reviewing this, I knew right away that I would not like the movie. So, when I sat down this evening and watched the film, I actually did give it a chance and I am glad actually I did. I came out pleasantly surprised.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

My exposure to the Justice League (JLA) and to comics as a whole is pretty limited. Sure, I go see Iron Man, Batman and a lot of the other adaptations, and I remember seeing Superfriends growing up, but I was never really a comic book guy so to speak. I do understand and respect the following; it’s just something I never really got into. I also respect the concept of the JLA: you get all of your singular heroes together in one spot and perhaps introduce new villains or have the existing ones get into some epic throwdown? Hell yeah, I say!

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

When it comes to teen high school comedies, I think I have seen them all. They all seem to have the same premise. It is usually a couple of guys who are in high school and are looking to get laid at a prom or party or wherever they can get it. Nothing has changed in the 33 years that I have been watching movies. It works, the premise still works. But not all movies can pull off the perfect teen comedy…but Superbad comes super close.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I give credit to Paul Anderson for being passionate about his material. It doesn’t hurt that, in his short-storied career, he’s directed some of the more memorable films over the last several years, including Daniel Day Lewis in the engrossing and excellent There Will Be Blood. Wait, this isn’t the dramatic director, it’s another guy? Well, OK.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I like TV shows. It seems that most of the time I am always late to the party. It took me a year to watch 24 for the first time, 4 years to watch CSI and so on and so forth. The same thing can be said for Damages. I didn’t watch the first airing of it on FX. I honestly prefer to watch TV shows either on disc or via my on demand or DVR so I don’t have to deal with commercials. So, when I popped in Damages last night, I didn’t expect that I would be finished already. Yes, all thirteen 45 minutes episodes done. It was that addictive.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

It’s year 4 at Hogwarts, and for me this was the best Potter of the first five films. Hogwarts plays host to the prestigious Triwizard Tournament, and that means putting up students from two other wizard schools. Here we get an inkling of just how large the Potter universe truly is. Up until now our experience has only taken us through the world of Hogwarts and its peripheral environs.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

Having never seen A Passage to India before this Blu Ray release, I was not sure what to expect. I did inquire with someone who had seen the film to give me a brief description of what I was to expect. Basically, my taste in movies is of the basic variety, more mainstream type movies. So, I really had to go into this viewing with a very open mind.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I have a cousin who is absolutely in love with the Broadway production of Rent currently playing in New York. To date she’s made the trip to New York from the Philly area no less than 3 times and will likely do so again. I attempted to channel that passion as much as I could as I sat down to watch this Blu-ray version of the production. Unfortunately, I don’t believe I was quite successful. From what I can see there is no doubt in my mind that Rent is a phenomenal experience

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

I remember a few years ago when Closer was released. The cast was very promising and the movie received nothing but rave reviews. The one thing about Closer is that while it is extremely sexy and dangerous, it also can easily resemble any one of our lives. Whether you are single or in a relationship, who doesn’t feel instant attraction at times when they meet someone for the first time. The dilemma is, do you act on those feelings or ignore them? Is it worth the risk?

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

There was first the cloned sheep, Dolly. Now today, cloning is actually very popular in science. Just do a simple Google search and you’ll find many articles on cloning that are occurring or have occurred. Heck, there was even an active website at one time about gene banking a pet. How far is science willing to go? The cloning of humans is not so far out of reach but most likely will not happen in my lifetime. When it does, you can bet that government will try and step in and stop it.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

Cuba? What the hell…?

What’s next Norbit 2? Please noooooo!!!!

I don’t get it, why does this movie exist? What’s the thought process? Let’s take an already mediocre movie (Daddy Day Care) and make a less inspired, poorly conceived sequel. I miss the days when only good movies got less inspired, poorly conceived sequels.

Read the rest of this entry »

(expand)

When Space Ace showed up on my doorstep, I kicked me heels in a fit of joy. OK, maybe I’m not athletic enough to actually do that anymore, but you get the point. I had seen the previous Dragon’s Lair Blu-ray/HD DVD release and was very curious about the quality, but never took the plunge myself. This was probably due to all of the mediocre PC and console releases I’ve seen and played over the years which had left *mostly* a bad taste in my gaming mouth. But I had high hopes for Space Ace and I am more than pleased with the results.

Read the rest of this entry »