Archive for the ‘HD-DVD’ Category
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Keefer on August 4th, 2007
(Non-format specific portions of this review are culled from my review of said film, so enjoy or read elsewhere.)
In watching Being John Malkovich again recently, for the first time in awhile, the thing I was struck by is how unique it is (duh!). It doesn’t try too hard at being different, to the point that it’s going to suck, everything is matter of fact, and it’s hilarious. Its characters are flawed, but we feel for some of them a great deal. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s dramatic, it works on many levels.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on August 2nd, 2007
The War tells the story of newly returned Vietnam soldier Stephen Simmons (Kevin Costner). Steve is the father of Stu (Elijah Woods) and Lidia (Lexi Randall) and wants nothing more than to show them the meaning of life and what it (really what HE) can provide them. The only problem is that Steve isn’t getting the adequate funds a soldier should receive. Bouncing from job to job because of his mental history (he’s had numerous flashbacks to the war), the family struggles daily to survive. The children seem to be mixed on their father with Stu loving him, but Lidia calling him a loser.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on July 31st, 2007
Disturbia looks to potentially be a classic thriller; it has the elements of a classic Hitchcock film, and a noteworthy cast. Although I’m not and never will be a fan of Shia LaBeouf I will admit he has sold me with his performances several times before, but does he have the talent to carry this movie? Regardless there are some other semi-reputable names cast in Disturbia including Carrie-Anne Moss and David Morse, so here’s to hoping that this flick isn’t a waste of time.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 30th, 2007
Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) are best of buddies who share a flat with another roomie. Shaun works hard at a local electronics store, while Ed doesn’t really accomplish much besides playing games. Shaun has recently become despondent after breaking it off with his girlfriend Lizzie and fails to notice that London is slowing being taken over by zombies. When Shaun realizes what’s occurring, he and Ed must work together to fight these creatures off as well as now travel to save Shaun’s mum and his ex/girlfriend from these zombies.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Keefer on July 29th, 2007
I’ve been in this run lately where I’ve seen quite a bit of Brad Pitt’s dramatic work from his earlier days, before he decided to funk himself up (and earn the respect of young males everywhere with Fight Club), and in the sprawling film Meet Joe Black, he tackles a different take on a character with a respected cast and crew behind him.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 28th, 2007
What is it about British comedy that is so damn funny? I suppose the humor behind it is their use of language and pronunciation (similar to how us in the Boston area add ‘r’ to everything like idea). When I heard about the creators of Shaun of the Dead (a film I still have yet to see but have heard a plethora of positives about), I became interested. When I heard that the film was going to be based on the police force in London, I knew this one would be a classic. Luckily, I was completely correct.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 26th, 2007
Actor Matt Damon, ever since his big burst into our homes via 1997’s Good Will Hunting, has always been a gem of an actor for myself. The man, quite possibly, hasn’t really made a bad film.. In his second trilogy (the first being the Ocean films), Damon plays Jason Bourne, a former government agent whose running all over the place trying to figure out why the government wants to kill him. And the fact that he has amnesia doesn’t help one bit either.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 26th, 2007
Billy Madison (Adam Sandler) is the son of the founder of Madison Hotels. The company is on the Fortune 500, having started from a few hotels in PA and now has become a huge company. Like many fathers he wants to pass the business onto his son. The only unfortunate part of this equation is that Billy is a complete and utter moron who does nothing but drink beer, get high and basically act like a child despite being 27. After learning that his father basically paid his way through school bribing his teachers, Billy is determined to repeat the 12 grades he never completed. The only catch is that Billy must pass each grade within a 2-week grace period and by June 15th.
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on July 25th, 2007
Ok, I’ve got to give some credit to Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)for putting together the film American Me. Rather than just glamorizing gang violence as in many other gang related films, he surprises us by giving us a realistic view of the harshness of gang life and the difficulties of trying to escape the life of a criminal. Olmos directs and stars in this film as Pedro Santana, a drug lord who has gained power during an extended stay in Folsom Prison. While this movie has been dubbed “the Mexican Godfather” or called a Carlito’s Way rip-off, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall tone and message of the film.
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 25th, 2007
Streets of Fire is yet another welcome addition to the ever growing number of high def titles. This movie, self-described as a rock and roll fable, was first made in 1984 and stars Diane Lane, William DaFoe, Michael Pare and Rick Moranis in a rare serious role. Diane Lane plays Ellen Aim, who has returns to an old haunt that looks much like the Battery of New York City, to give a charity concert. After the conclusion of her first song, Ellen is kidnapped by a biker gang. Her manger, Billy Fish wants her back. Enter the film’s hero, a soldier of fortune named Tom Cody (Michael Pare).
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 25th, 2007
In Good Company is a 2004 film from the director of About a Boy. It tells the story of Dan Foreman, an experienced 50 something head of an ad agency. His comfortable and familiar world is torn apart when a young executive impresses and is promoted to the job Dan held, despite the agency having its best period in 20 years. That young man is Carter Duryea, played by Topher Grace. Upon his arrival, he tries his best not to upset the balance, attempting to befriend Dan and his family. Corporate politics force his hand into firing people for profit balancing. Eventually he invites himself over to the house of Dan for dinner and meets his daughter, Alex.
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on July 23rd, 2007
Shooter is based upon the Stephen Hunter novel Point of Impact, and although there are multiple similarities, readers of the book can look forward to a modern rehash of the Hunter story. Since the release of the trailer I have been looking forward to this one, especially now that its being released on HD DVD, how does it turn out?
Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg, The Italian Job) is an elite Marine sniper and patriot. But that all changes when his commanding officer abandons him behind en…
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on July 20th, 2007
Waaariorrrrs… Come out to playeeeaaayyy! in HDeeee! What else needs to be said?
Synopsis
The Warriors has arrived on HD-DVD. For the uninitiated, The Warriors is a film from 1979 that caused controversy because of gang depiction and violence. Looking back, we now see that The Warriors is about a bunch of grown men in various goofy makeup and attire running around looking “bad” (in the Michael Jackson sense of the term) and just trying to make peace in the streets. It is …
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on July 20th, 2007
Life is hard for a pimp, who knew? And prostitutes have it rough too. So is there hope for a better life? Craig Brewer’s Sundance Festival favorite Hustle & Flow comes to HD-DVD.
Synopsis
Hustle & Flow is the story of a pimp named DJay (an inspired Terrence Howard) who is looking to break into the music business to escape his difficult life. While this may sound an awful lot like Eminem’s 8 Mile, this film easily stands on its own. Upon hearing that local rapper turned mega…
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Keefer on July 15th, 2007
Synopsis
The Watcher is a groundbreaking piece of cinema. It takes the crime thriller film genre, employs a few recognizable stars, and proceeds to waste them by boring the absolute beejeezus out of me with performances and a story that is so holistically unoriginal that I didn’t feel good about myself after watching the film.
For the sake of plot synopsis, the movie’s concept is pretty simple. Based on a screenplay by Clay Ayers and David Elliott (Four Brothers) and directed by Joe …
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on July 10th, 2007
Although romantic comedies aren’t my forte, I have admitted to liking a few in the past, and surprisingly a good number of the ones I have found tolerable or even likeable star Hugh Grant. So I go into watching this film with an open mind and hopefully we’ll see some results out of Music and Lyrics.
Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant, Nine Months) is a founding member of the hit 80’s pop group appropriately named PoP! And although he surmounted to a considerable amount of fame during his prime, he is no…
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 5th, 2007
Disaster films are nothing new in Hollywood. While most disaster films tend to focus too much on destroying random objects, there’re are a film good disaster films that come around every so often that actual try to explain the film instead of giving us two hours of random explosions. One such film is 1997’s Dante’s Peak.
Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) works for the US Geology Survey Team. Four years after experiencing a volcano eruption, Harry and a few other scientists are called to a town named Da…
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on July 5th, 2007
Eddie Murphy, where have you gone? And why have you taken dear brother Charlie with you? Seriously, how in hell did we get Norbit from the minds that brought us Axel Foley and Rick James muddy boots? You know those reviews that say, “It’s not really that bad…” this isn’t one of those reviews. This movie IS THAT BAD! Borat had more fun with his rubber fist than I had watching this garbage. How can I, my readers, protect you from watching this? I think the surgeon general should issue a statement that vie…
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on July 5th, 2007
Eddie Murphy’s memorable comedy comes to high-def. Is it worth it for the 1080p upgrade? Better yet, is the movie still funny?
Synopsis
Eddie Murphy hasn’t really been at the top of his game lately. I have no problem with the fact that he has resorted to more family friendly fare. The problem is that most of it isn’t any good (see Norbit. Better yet, don’t see it). But in the 80’s, Murphy was one of the more inspired and hilarious performers. He mixed some of the crazier antics o…
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 5th, 2007
Adam Sandler plays Archie Moses, a man who works for drug lord Frank Colton (James Caan). Rock Keats (Damon Wayans) is Archie’s best friend and, secretly I might add, an undercover cop who’s trying to infiltrate Colton’s business. Archie, as per the typical earlier Sandler role, is completely oblivious to anything going on around him and doesn’t suspect Rock. Keats is ready to infiltrate Colton, but is mistakenly shot in the head by Archie. Keats, after learning to walk again, realizes Archie must testify against Col…
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on July 2nd, 2007
I wrote a few weeks back that it’s an odd feeling when you finally see that film that everyone and their brother has been exclaiming about for years. That is the exact feeling I felt after seeing The Big Lebowski. I knew for years that this film would be great, especially after seeing Fargo before. Boy was I right as The Big Lebowski was a huge humor trip.
Jeffrey Lebowski a.k.a. “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges) is your run of the mill slacker. He doesn’t really do much with his life besides …
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on June 27th, 2007
After the fantastic high-def restoration we received of The Searchers, Warner Bros. has brought us another John Wayne classic, and one of my favorites: Rio Bravo. Rio Bravo was directed by the very prolific Howard Hawks (Scarface) after a self-imposed exile from Hollywood. During his break from filmmaking, he grew fond of television westerns and was inspired to bring one to the big screen.
Synopsis
Rio Bravo is light on story, but a classic nonetheless. John W…
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on June 25th, 2007
You know it’s an odd feeling when you finish watching a film only to think that if you loved the film, audiences must have enjoyed it on the level you did too right? Well, it’s a sad note to see that a film like Breach massively underperformed at the box office this past winter as the film is smart, intelligent and reminds me of why films were created in the first place.
Breach is a 2007 film that deftly tells the story of the greatest security breach in the history of the United States. The breach …
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on June 25th, 2007
Previous to receiving this copy of Happy Feet for review, I have wanted to check it out but never got the chance; the animation appears to look spectacular and the cast of voice actors seems really impressive. The list includes one of my favorite actors Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Nicole Kidman, and more. So on paper Happy Feet sounds like a winner, how does it turn out?
Happy Feet revolves around the lives of a colony of emperor penguins on…
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Disc Reviews by Ryan Erb on June 25th, 2007
Yet another Samuel L. Jackson movie containing the word snake in it, but unlike Snakes on a Plane, Black Snake Moan is a dramatic picture delving into dark issues like abuse. I’ll come out by saying that I though this movie was going to be a good laugh, seeing the trailer I though it would be a bearded Sam Jackson shouting out profanities at an unwilling captive in his home. Although this does happen it is a small portion of the movie, and not as comedic as I had supposed.
Black Snake Moan…
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