Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 18th, 2022
Favorite movies are usually easy to come back to. It's a familiar song, stars you feel at home with, and even if you recite all the lines by heart, you can find something new to come back to. In the case of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, even though I had seen the movie probably around a dozen times or more, I was lured by the promise of new deleted and extended scenes but also a 4K-quality picture. But as with life, you don't always get everything you want. Let's take a look.
Please note that portions of this review came from my 2011 article on the Blu-ray, and I have improved on it where possible (and it makes sense to).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 3rd, 2014
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on August 1st, 2012
Who killed Mr. Boddy? Col. Mustard in the Library with the Wrench? Mrs. White in the Study with the Revolver? Maybe even the butler did it? A talented comedy cast bring the famous board game to life in a slapstick whodunnit where the chuckles mean more than solving the actual mystery.
The fun that is had in this film is created by the great ensemble cast, which includes Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean and Tim Curry as the frantic butler. Each character-actor plays off the others superbly well. There is a plethora of performances that vary from the straight-man persona to outright goofball, being employed as the body count rises and the suspicions reach a fever pitch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 6th, 2012
Roman Polanski's seminal neo-noir finally makes it to Blu-ray. Gino has already handled the previous DVD release, so I'm going to turn the reins over to him for a while, then jump back in.
"Jake Gittes is a Chandler style detective with all of the trappings. From the office to the secretary and the cop friend, Gittes is a cliché. He appears to specialize in tracking down extramarital affairs. When he’s hired to keep an eye on a rich millionaire, the subject turns up dead, and maybe it wasn’t his wife at all who hired him. Gittes now must investigate to save his own hide. His investigation leads him to a corrupt water department taking advantage of a manufactured drought. His client has a dark secret that only complicates Gittes’ efforts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on September 30th, 2011
John Candy has always been one of my favorite movie comedians. Something about Candy, regardless of whether he was doing a sketch in SCTV, playing Uncle Buck, or a private investigator in Who’s Harry Crumb, he just seems like a guy that is the friendly uncle everybody loves. It could be the meanest character on paper but he comes across as a big teddy bear. Today, we explore a title called Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He plays a Shower Ring salesman, that sounds like a teddy bear to me.
New York City, two days before Thanksgiving. Neal Page (played by Steve Martin) is busy waiting on his boss to make a decision about which cosmetics ad to go with. The guy just can’t make up his mind and Neal has a 6:00 plane ride to Chicago to catch. Finally Neal is able to leave and runs out the door and goes down the elevator out to the street. There is a very long line to deal with to get a cab and it looks like Mr. Page is going nowhere fast.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 23rd, 2011
A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner is yet another home video release of perennial seasonal favorite The Ten Commandments. In years past, we got the multi-disc edition, complete with original silent version of the film. This particular version is rather more stripped down, as far as features go, but it does mark the film's extremely welcome arrival on Blu-ray.
The first act of Cecil B. DeMille's epic is as much a tale of Egyptian power politics as it is the story of a man coming to terms with his identity and destiny. We follow Moses (Charlton Heston) as, rising from triumph to triumph, he has the throne of Egypt within his grasp (much to the displeasure of Yul Brynner, the Pharaoh's actual son and rival for the affections of the sinuous Anne Baxter), only to lose all worldly power when he realizes he is actually the son of Hebrew slaves. Cast out of Egypt, he returns to demand the liberty of his people, and comes clutching a fistful of plagues to make sure his former brother pays heed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2010
Having made it through WWII, fellow soldiers Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are now a song-and-dance team. Kaye is worried about the lack of romance in Crosby's life, but that problem seems likely to be resolved when sister act Rosemary Clooney and Ver-Ellen show up. These two pairs of entertainers must pool their talents in order to save the inn run by former general Dean Jagger from financial ruin.
The plot is, of course, very thin, a mere excuse on which to hang the sentiment and the songs. This is, of course, not the film which originated the title track – that was the earlier Holiday Inn (1942), which Crosby was teamed up with Fred Astaire. The holiday this time is strictly the Christmas one, and White Christmas goes its predecessor one or two better in terms of spectacle, thanks to Technicolor and VistaVision. The end result is not really the classic it self-evidently wants to be, but it and its cast are extremely likable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 4th, 2010
Most of my growing up and living occurred in the 1980’s. From ages five to fifteen, I grew up in an era that was famous to many different types of cartoons. It helped to shape my personality, from bad jokes to that unmistakable sarcasm. So, it was easy to attract me to a cartoon set that showcased odds and ends from that familiar era. Join me as we take a step back in history, a history that hits very close to home.
The first toon we find is one called Goldie Gold & Action Jack. They fight by air, by sea and by the seat of their pants. They aren’t kidding. Goldie is a certified lunatic: she rides a helicopter indoors, jumps out windows and talks to hobos. Doesn’t she know that she is blonde and rich? Jack really isn’t all that Action, he’s just good at being lucky. The show is very gadget heavy and has a little Scooby Doo sleuthing thrown in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 20th, 2009
The title pretty much speaks for itself. Here are four episodes of the sequel that surpassed its inspiration in television longevity. They are as follows: “Relics” (which sees Scotty revived in this brave new world, and finding himself redundant), “The Inner Light” (an amnesiac Picard lives out an entire lifetime on a strange planet), “Cause and Effect” (the Enterprise and crew wind up stuck in a time loop, and must struggle to escape their repeated collisions with another ship) and “Tapestry” (where Picard winds up in the afterlife, which is certainly more than Kirk could say). It's a bit trickier yanking episodes of ST:TNG out of their season contexts than with the original show, given the former's greater emphasis on continuity, but these stories here are all good standalone adventures.
An odd thing is happening here. Because the original show has been so thoroughly remastered, ST:TNG is now the one that looks dated. The CGI is prone to aliasing and a lack of definition, and the image is rather soft. The colours are decent, but though I know there aren't many opportunities to get a tan in space, the flesh tones are sometimes a bit too far on the pale side of things. All of this said, the transfer is still perfectly watchable. The aspect ratio is the original 1.33:1 -- the show is still old enough that widescreen wasn't the standard yet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 17th, 2009
For those Star Trek fans who can't afford the complete season box sets, here's an economical alternative: a single-disc collection of four popular episodes from various seasons. Present here are “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (a propulsion expert's change to the Enterprise's engines propels the crew to the edge of the universe), “Space Seed” (the episode, it need hardly be said, that brought us Khan), “A Piece of the Action” (wherein our gang gets to dress up like 20s gangsters) and “Journey to Babel” (a diplomatic mission turns into a disaster when, among other things, Kirk is stabbed and Spock's father has a heart attack). Strong episodes from a strong series.
The show looks terrific. In fact – purists take note – it looks better than it should. Yes, these are the same remastered prints as the last set of complete season releases, complete with enhanced special effects. So the show not only looks better than it did when first broadcast, it is sharper and has better FX than its Next Generation counterpart. The viewing pleasure is high, then, just not historically accurate.
![The Ten Commandments (Two-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-ten-commandments-two-disc-spec-large.jpg)
![White Christmas (Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/white-christmas-anniversary-editio-large.jpg)
