Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on June 18th, 2012
Take the supernatural comedy of Groundhog Day, merge it with the in-your-face ultra awkwardness of HBO's comedy Extras, then shave away all that stuff I said about “comedy” and you have this film. Oh yes, this film follows the formula of a Comedy, but has none of the fun implied in such a label.
Eddie Murphy plays a successful Book agent named Jack McCall, who makes his living by the way he can spin his words. There is a running gag that he represents authors and yet does not take the time to actually read books for he's too busy talking...but it's about as humorous and the sentence I wrote describing it just now. When McCall tries to reel in a religious guru to sign with his agency, he is soon cursed (or blessed, depending on whether you've guessed there's a happy ending by now or not) with a tree that holds a thousand leaves (mind you, this is not the actual amount but a random guess made at one point), which represent a thousand words McCall speaks. Each time he says a word, a leaf falls off of the tree. What happens to a tree after it loses it's leaves? To a Californian, it is dead...to me (as a Canadian) it simply means it is winter....but here I am trying to be funny when I've got a gosh darn Eddie Murphy film to talk about!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 24th, 2012
Most of us are aware (well movie and comic book fans anyway) that on May 4th, the Avengers movie will be released to the public. For years now we have watched the Iron Mans, Thor, Captain America and even a Hulk movie or two in anticipation of something greater. With that day coming closer all the time, I received a very nice 3 movie set of Avengers, animated style. Avengers might be the best movie of the summer (sorry Dark Knight), but this might be the best animated blu-ray value of the spring.
Ultimate Avengers
World War II among many other things brought us a great hero, Captain America. Steve Rogers with the help of a Super Solider serum became the mighty hero and was very successful in fighting the Nazis. However, after a missile explosion, Rogers crashes into the North Atlantic and is frozen for decades. Years later, Nick Fury and a SHIELD team would find his frozen form and revive him back to full health.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2009
Neither of the Predator vs. Alien films were as successful at the box office as was hoped. And this film has had its share of detractors since its release in 1990. I, for one, find it to be as good as, if not better than, the original film. Watching the two governors Arnold and Jesse take on the Predator in the Columbian jungles was certainly a hoot. Let’s be honest, however. Who didn’t cheer, if only inside, when the big bad ugly started to take on LA’s drug lords in Predator 2? This sequel is more than just a romp with a monster. The story is far more compelling. The cast of Danny Glover, Bill Paxton, Kent McCord, and Gary Busey team up well. The film’s production partner Joel Silver’s influence hangs heavy over the film. Glover’s Harrigan is really just Lethal Weapon’s Murdock without Riggs. The LA street firefights and car explosions are ready-made for the Silver cop buddy series. Don’t get me wrong. This is not great filmmaking here. It is a lot more fun than it has been given credit for, however. Now with the release of the movie in high definition on Blue-ray, I advise you take another look at this one.
An alien warrior is back on Earth for another safari. This time the jungle is the mean streets of LA. The prey happens to be ruthless drug lords. Federal Agent Keyes (Busey) heads a secret government team to track and capture the creature. Det. Harrigan (Glover) wants to avenge his partner’s murder even if it means clashing with the feds.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 12th, 2007
Writer note: Apologies to Brendan who did the fine HD-DVD review for this flic. Some hack had to pick up the slack for the regular DVD and present a slightly alternate view. (and a different interpretation of english grammar)
Ever see Shaun of the Dead? No? Don't worry, not too many people did either. This fine film directed by Edgar Wright was a parody and homeage to the George Romero Dead films. Full of comedy and nods to the genre, it was a very good but mostly forgotten flic. Fast forward to 2007 and Edgar Wright along with Simon Pegg (who would also play the character of Nicholas Angel) decide to write the homeage to action movies: Hot Fuzz.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 6th, 2007
(Supplemental material portions of this review are culled from Gino Sassani's review of said film in the Blu-ray format, so enjoy or read elsewhere.)
I've always enjoyed Hitchcock's Rear Window, and I've gotta say I was more than a little disgusted when I saw that it was going to be remade and modernized, with no less than Shia fricken' LaBeouf in the main role. Oddly enough, LaBeouf carries the role pretty well.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors 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.
It’s a good thing I had no expectations of this one going into it, because otherwise I would have ended up being extremely disappointed. This movie is poorly played out, albeit pretty realistic in some aspects. But regardless I’m getting tired of these day to day struggle movies, they all end the same way, don’t expect anything different here. The acting in this movie was rather disappointing as well, including the one facial expression we are graced with from Gabriel Union throughout. The movie started off as a struggle for a man to get his kids back, but ended up being another horrific and predictable romance. But if you’re into these emotional types of movies about the struggle of Joe everyman, you might find this one worthwhile checking out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 3rd, 2006
The plot of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, although simple, provides a very enjoyable experience throughout its entirety. Johnny Depp does a tremendous job brining his character to life, as does the rest of the cast.
Set in a dark Victorian era city, Corpse Bride is the tale of an arranged marriage between Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) the son of fishmongers, and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) the daughter of aristocrats. Victor is very hesitant of the marriage, of course until he meets the cha...ming and beautiful Victoria. The two seem to genuinely like each other and now the idea of an arranged marriage doesn’t seem so bad. During the rehearsal a nervous and clumsy Victor messes up and in the process sets Victoria’s mothers gown on fire. At this point Victor is banished into the woods in order to practice his wedding vows. Practicing the vows aloud Victor gains confidence and places the ring on a branch resembling a hand. This is where the miscommunication and fun begins, as it turns out it was a hand, that of the corpse bride (Helena Bonham Carter). Throughout the movie there is singing, trips to the world of the un-dead, and of course the classic villain out to make problems even worse.
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