DTS HD 5.1 MA (English)

Escape from New York (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 18th, 2010

Some of you are aware of this but my favorite movie of all time is Escape from New York. To me, John Carpenter and Kurt Russell represent the perfect director/actor combination. The director knows how to play the actor’s strengths (and minimize weaknesses) and the actor knows how to bring out the best in the direction. It is my sincere pleasure to cover this film on its first trip to the Blu-ray format.
Read More

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 10th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“Okay, first of all, let me get something straight. This is a journal, not a diary. Yeah, I know what it says on the cover. But, when my mom went out to buy this thing, I specifically told her not to buy one that said ‘diary’ on it. This just proves that Mom doesn’t understand anything about kids my age.”

I guess I missed out on the phenomenon. Apparently in 2007 a guy named Jeff Kinney created a sort of crude comic book. The figures are little better than stick men, and the wit is something from the sixth grade.
Read More

Parasomnia (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 9th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

I recently reviewed Parasomnia on DVD. I was a bit disappointed that we hadn’t been given a chance to see the full in high definition. The director, William Malone, arranged for us to get the film on Blu-ray, and I am thankful. I say this so that there will be full disclosure.
Read More

Ghost Writer, The (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 9th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

A good thriller is something that has been absent from my recent viewing experience. One of my favorite thrillers of all time is a movie named Ninth Gate. This movie is directed by Roman Polanski. As luck would have it, Roman Polanski also directed the thriller I am bringing you today, The Ghost Writer. My fingers are crossed and I can only hope that this film is just as good.
Read More

To Save a Life (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 5th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

For most of you who read my reviews, I can be rather harsh when reviewing movies of a Christian nature. One needs to look no further than my scathing review of Fireproof. More than often they tend to be too preachy with messages and heavy themes that suggest a way of life too strict for many people’s tastes. Naturally, I was a little skeptical when I received To Save a Life. But as the movie teaches us: one should not be judged on appearances alone.
Read More

James and the Giant Peach (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 4th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“This is James Henry Trotter. He lived with his mother and father in a cozy little house by the sea. It was a wonderful life. They had each other, and they had their dreams. Then, one day a terrible thing happened. An angry rhinoceros appeared out of nowhere and gobbled up his poor mother and father…”

Pretty bizarre for a kiddie flick, wouldn’t you say? Not when Roald Dahl is penning the story. Roald Dahl was no stranger to children’s movies. Some of the most beloved classics in that genre were once just a thought in Dahl’s rather eccentric and delightfully twisted head
Read More

Stargate Universe – SGU: Season 1.5 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 3rd, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

For ten years we watched Jack O’Neil, Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and the Jaff’a Tealc’ enter the Stargate. Others would join the team over the years. Each week we would follow their adventures, first on Showtime and finally on the Sci-Fi (now Sy Fy) Channel. We watched with awe as they stepped through a portal that was in reality a wormhole transporting them instantly to another world, brought online by dialing the device like an old fashioned telephone. For another five years we traveled not only to another planet, but to the Pegasus Galaxy itself to the Atlantis Base, a bright floating city left behind by the ancients, the people who created the Stargate system millions of years before. On this show we met new friends, new bad guys, and had new adventures.
Read More

Ip Man (Collector’s Edition) (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 28th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen have done a lot of movies together in the last five years including Dragon Tiger Gate, Kill Zone, and Flashpoint. This duo has had a knack of combining strong stories with fantastic martial arts. In 2008, they decided to take on the story if Ip Man, the grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun. Ip Man also had a few famous students including the legendary Bruce Lee. Can Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen produce another quality martial arts flic?

Read More

Cop Out (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

I get this terrible knot in the pit of my stomach whenever I discover that I have to review a Kevin Smith film. I know there are a core of solid fans out there who appear to get the inside joke. It’s long been my belief that he must have the best blackmail file in the industry to keep getting studio deals to release films. It’s not like any of his films have broken any box office records. Still, he keeps getting work. So, it was with that admitted prejudice and knot with which I approached my viewing of Cop Out. My shoulder had developed this nasty twitch as the disc menu took forever to load.
Read More

Lock Up (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“This is Hell, and I’m going to give you the guided tour.”

There have been a lot of great prison and prison break films over the years. Who can forget Dustin Hoffman in Papillon or Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz? Of course, more recently we had The Shawshank Redemption. Lock Up won’t ever taste the rare air of those classic films. In fact, it’s not really a prison break film at all. There is an attempted break, but it’s not quite the focus of the film. I almost felt like I was watching the sequel to a break film.
Read More

White Collar: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

USA Network has certainly found a little niche for themselves, milking their “characters wanted” run of television shows. It all started with Monk and has progressed through several successful reincarnations of the quirky character-driven shows. In some cases the quirky nature of the characters gets pretty out of control, and while I liked Monk a ton, his OCD was significantly over the top at times. This tends to draw too much attention and minimize whatever might be happening in the episode itself. That’s not the case with White Collar. This series has a ton of potential to be the next big breakaway hit for the cable network.
Read More

Our Family Wedding (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

There was a time when racial stereotypes on television and in the movies could be very funny. Shows like All In The Family and Sanford And Son brought an entire generation to their knees with laughter. Today audiences are a little more timid when it comes to that kind of humor. This is the kind of movie you end up looking both ways before you think about letting out even the slightest giggle to make sure no one is watching, or worse, training their cell phone camera on you.
Read More

The Stoning of Soraya M. (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 21st, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“Don’t act like the hypocrite, who thinks he can conceal his wiles, while loudly quoting the Koran.” – Hafez (14th Century Iranian Poet)

The Stoning Of Soraya M is based upon a book written by Freidoune Sahebjam. The book is currently banned in Iran as well as other countries. It is based on a true story. The book and now the film have caused quite a bit of controversy over the years. Director Cyrus Nowrasteh is no stranger to controversial topics. He appears to have a flair for significant historical events, and his work has shown some insight into the actual significance of his subjects
Read More

Rambo: The Complete Collector’s Set (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 21st, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

In Florida we have some very large bugs. There’s this one particular spider that is quite a problem in my house. It’s real name is a huntsman spider, and it grows to about 16 feet, not including the legs. It sports 27-inch fangs and tends to move the furniture around at night while it stalks its prey. Yes, it stalks its prey at night in my house while I’m trying to sleep. Years ago I coined my own name for these clever, ferocious killers. I call them Rambo Spiders. The name fits these long-legged freaks perfectly as they perform their recon missions throughout our home. When I find them, I terminate them with extreme prejudice.
Read More

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer: Live at Montreaux 1997 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 20th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend. Come inside. Come inside.”

The rock gods must have been smiling when Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer journeyed from their perspective corners of the music world and combined to form the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, or merely ELP to the fans.
Read More

The Bounty Hunter (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 19th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

In an attempt to win over more of the male viewers into their audiences, filmmakers of the romantic comedy genre have tried many tactics. To date, very few of them have worked to any great extent. The problem appears to be getting the mixture just right. Too much of the guy stuff and you’ll turn away your core “chick” audience. Too little and you’re really not reeling in too many guys. Of course, we go anyway to please the ladies in our lives.
Read More

Hot Tub Time Machine (Unrated) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

The name says it all. With just those four words, you can pretty much figure out everything you need to know about Hot Tub Time Machine. This is very much a party film in the tradition of the Saturday Night Live alumni movies of the 70’s and 80’s. With the release of this movie, you no longer need to travel back in time to 1986 to watch a film that relies almost entirely on sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll for most of its situational comedy. The rest gets filled in with your standard toilet humor. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, or who exactly I should blame
Read More

Ladybugs (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

Lionsgate has as good a collection of catalog titles as any studio out there. Many of these films have not yet been given the high definition Blu-ray treatment for one reason or another. So I’m sitting here trying to figure out how a trivial film like Ladybugs jumped the line and finds itself in a barebones release on Blu-ray this month. I’m sure that the movie has its fans. Of course, I’ve never met any of them, but I gotta believe that they’re out there … somewhere.
Read More

Jimmy Hollywood (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 13th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

I get the impression that things didn’t quite work out for Joe Pesci the way he might have originally intended. There’s a heart of a serious actor buried somewhere deep under the makeup of a clown. Who can forget the dead-eyed killer Tommy from Goodfellas? Most of us have that restaurant scene engraved in our heads where Tommy asked the immortal question “Do I amuse you?” Well … Joe, actually, you do. And putting aside his initial role of Joey in Raging Bull and the aforementioned Tommy with its carbon-copied Casino character, Pesci has made the most noise by amusing us.
Read More

Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 13th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

When I was a kid in the 80’s, Predator was one of those films that you weren’t supposed to watch, but everybody did anyway. Over-the-top action, invincible heroes, cheesy one-liners and big, big explosions made this a film that was a favorite of pre-pubescent boys everywhere. Going into this disc, I found myself wondering if the film would stand up to the harsh tests of time and maturity.
Read More

How the Earth Changed History (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“The Earth has immense power, and yet that’s rarely mentioned in our history books. I’m here to change all that.”

The BBC has a reputation of putting out some very high quality documentaries, particularly recently in the high-definition age. Planet Earth became an award winning series lauded all over the globe for its stunning photography and epic tales. Most recently I watched and reviewed their Life series. Once again the series was dominated by startling images, many never before captured on film, all in wonderful high definition. Now I have a chance to visit yet another recent BBC project:
Read More

Last Station, The (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 28th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

Most people associate the book, War and Peace in the same respects as they do torture. A one thousand, two hundred and twenty five page book that is regarded as one of the most brilliant pieces of historical fiction is a nightmare to most advanced high school and college kids. However, perhaps more fascinating than any single piece of work by Leo Tolstoy is the life in which he lead. Last Station attempts to give us the last few years of the Count’s life in film form.
Read More

Showgirls (15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 23rd, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

Whenever there is a disaster, there are always the inevitable questions that follow. Where did it all begin? Could it have been avoided? What can we learn from this? No, I’m not talking about the oil leak in the Gulf. Hollywood is no exception. You have your disaster movies like Earthquake, and you have your movies that are disasters like Waterworld. Of course there are even disaster movies that are also disasters like the recent 2012. Some disasters you never see coming. But, many such events could have been predicted and possibly avoided if only the right folks had been paying attention. This is the story of one such event: Showgirls.
Read More

Life (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

“Three years of filming. Seven continents. 70 camera crews. 3,000 shooting days. 200 different species. Groundbreaking technology. It all adds up to the most ambitious natural history series ever created.”

The BBC has been at the forefront of natural history documentaries since the 1950’s. Each decade the teams from the British unit have traversed the globe with what has always been, for the time, the latest in technology. The images that have been captured have entertained and educated the world for more than half a century. In today’s high- definition world, the BBC has not failed to impress
Read More

Power Kids (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 14th, 2010

Buy at Amazon.com

I’d like to think that the concepts of what makes a good children’s movie is somewhat international. While cultures may vary, kids all over the world are pretty much the same. They look for the same kinds of characteristics in their heroes. While the martial arts film is somewhat cultural, there have been more than enough child-friendly martial arts films for me to conclude that these kinds of acrobatics and old fashioned good kicking-evil’s-butt themes work for kids of any nationality. The recent Jackie Chan The Spy Next Door outing is one good example of the genre-crossing martial arts children’s movie.
Read More

«< 51 52 53 54 55 >»