Saving Private Perez
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 15th, 2012
Mexico’s most powerful crime lord, Julian Perez, wishes to redeem himself in his mother’s eyes. Her wish is for him to find his estranged younger brother and return him home to Mexico. Julian agrees before knowing that his brother has been taken hostage while he was serving with the US Army in Iraq. A misfit team of mercenary types are assembled to infiltrate Iraq and fulfill Julian’s vow to his mother.
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Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D Limited Edition) (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2012
Back when I reviewed the original Blu-ray/DVD combo release, I said that those wanting special features should wait for the inevitable double-dip. Well, here it is, and so loaded with features that they get a Blu-ray to themselves.
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Cold Mountain (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on February 14th, 2012
It really does seem like certain movies are created for the sole purpose of winning a boatload of Oscars. I don’t really have a problem with this: I’d personally rather see studios and filmmakers make a shameless grab for prestige than make no attempt at all and revert to their de facto sequel/prequel/reboot mode. The problem is — despite that one clueless, rude person who insists on taking phone calls and texting during the feature presentation, and is somehow always seated directly in front of or behind you
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Father Dowling Mysteries: The First Season
Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on February 14th, 2012
Catholic priests are used to hearing confessions, but for one particular pastor in Chicago, the usual confessions about using the Lord’s name in vain or stealing a couple of paperclips from the office just weren’t exciting enough. Father Dowling loved reading mystery books, and it appears to have sharpened his own powers of observation and deduction. As luck would have it, crimes and mysteries would simply fall into his lap. With the help of Sister Stephanie, better known as Sister Steve, he would step away from his pastoral duties to track down clues that were elusive to the Chicago Police Department.
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Ancient Aliens: Season Three
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 14th, 2012
“Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?”
Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory. The idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations.
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Manhattan (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on February 12th, 2012
It followed Annie Hall by two years, once again reshaping the mass market’s notion of serio-comic romance. With its bittersweet plotting and cynical one-liners, Woody Allen’s Manhattan was an even bigger commercial success than its Oscar-winning predecessor. Its current incarnation on Blu-Ray offers the best chance yet to revisit its eccentric brilliance.
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The Hammer
Posted in No Huddle by J C on February 12th, 2012
People — especially nerds like me, who have been writing about movies for years — often complain about the predictability and clichés that seem to be permanently embedded in certain types of movies. However, the not-so-dirty little secret is that we enjoy wrapping ourselves up in that comfortable blanket of familiarity more often than we’d like to admit. Horror movies and romantic comedies are certainly among the most notorious offenders, but I’d make the case that sports movies belong at the top of the list.
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Safe House
Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on February 10th, 2012
“Remember rule number one: You are responsible for your house guest. I’m your house guest.”
I know a few ladies out there, and maybe even a few guys, who wouldn’t mind it at all if Denzel Washington were their houseguest. But for Ryan Reynolds and the rest of the cast of Safe House, Denzel is going to be more than a handful of trouble. It’s the latest in the prolific career for Denzel Washington, who continues to find new ways to reinvent himself on the screen.
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Annie Hall (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Bob Ross on February 10th, 2012
This April will mark 35 years since Woody Allen emerged as a world-class comic filmmaker. Although Annie Hall was his seventh feature (if you include the voice-over spy-spoof What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, which you certainly should), and although Allen already had a sizable group of admirers (including this longtime fan), his 1977 mainstream smash gave him commercial clout and a little something called the Best Picture Academy Award.
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Meet the Browns – Season 4
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 8th, 2012
First was the play, then came the film, and now we’re 140 episodes deep in Meet The Browns sitcom. Like a lot of Tyler Perry projects, the family dynamic can be a bit bamboozling at times. So…it’s an elderly man living with his daughter and his niece and her husband and their adopted kids, with regular appearances by his neighbour who is also Aunt to…oh heck, let’s just get on with the review…
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The Doors – Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman (Blu-Ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 8th, 2012
Some music due to my age and music exposure, I just do not quite get. Led Zeppelin, Eagles (once I got out of college) or Black Sabbath, I love. Rush? I can not stand them. Pink Floyd? Way over-exposed to the point where I just do not want to listen to them except one in a while and only to certain songs. The Doors? Hrmmm, well I do like some of their songs. As it just so happens, the Blu-Ray review I have for you today involves my favorite Doors song, L.A. Woman.
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Notorious (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 8th, 2012
“Gentlemen, I assure you she’s the perfect type for the job. She’s good at making friends with gentlemen, and we want somebody inside his house who has his confidence.”
Say what you will about Alfred Hitchcock, but one thing he never lacked was confidence. Today filmmakers and film fans alike still worship at his altar. His church was the darkened neighborhood cinema, and no one held court better than the man fans affectionately refer to as Hitch. The flicker didn’t come from candles as you might expect in such a place of worship. They emanated from the silver screen.
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Texas Killing Fields (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on February 7th, 2012
Recent Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain famously appeared in a whopping six movies released in 2011. These include two Best Picture nominees (The Help, The Tree of Life), and two other movies that briefly generated a small measure of Oscar buzz (Take Shelter for Michael Shannon’s performance, and Coriolanus for Vanessa Redgrave’s work). Unfortunately, when people try to recount Chastain’s outstanding breakout year, Texas Killing Fields is destined to become the sixth movie no one can remember.
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The Whistleblower (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on February 6th, 2012
“I was dumb enough to think I’d be joining some elite police officers here. I don’t know who these people are.”
Those words come from Kathryn Bolkovac (Oscar winner Rachel Weisz), a Nebraska cop who accepts a high-paying gig as a United Nations peacekeeper. The film, inspired by true events in 1999 post-war Bosnia, follows Bolkovac as she discovers a human trafficking/sexual slavery ring with an insidious connection to International Police Task Force personnel, including some from the United States.
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Another Happy Day
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on February 6th, 2012
It would be nice if we were to get films as good as The Graduate from time to time. That’s asking a lot, but it would be nice. Another Happy Day is no The Graduate, but nothing is. Nothing could make such a seismic hit to a generation again. At least, I don’t think so. Another Happy Day did win the Best Screenwriting award at the Sundance film festival, and it seems well deserved. The film has a great cast, and you usually only get that if you have a great script or you spend a billion dollars.
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The Double
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 6th, 2012
Evidence has revealed the possibility that a Soviet Assassin code-named “Cassius,” thought to be long dead, is still at large after a US Senator is murdered. A veteran CIA operative (played by Richard Gere) is teamed up with an enthusiastic young FBI agent (played by Topher Grace) who has studied and obsessed over Cassius’ actions since his days at Harvard.
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Owl City – Live from Los Angeles
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 3rd, 2012
Owl City’s popularity was born out of social networking websites such as Myspace. From the days of uploading songs while living in his parent’s basement, to going #1 on Charts in an astounding 24 countries, Owl City (aka Adam Young) continues to ride his hysterical success into his inevitable, first concert film.
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The Woman in Black
Posted in The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on February 3rd, 2012
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“Have you seen her? The Woman in Black? She once lost a boy, and now she’s come back. Our parents all worry, they make such a fuss: For if she can’t find him, she’ll take one of us.”
Now this looks like a Hammer film. A subdued cool color palette, stunning Gothic set pieces, a wonderful location ripe with grieving and decaying symbolism, and genuinely scary ghosts make The Woman in Black an impressive throwback to old fashioned horror. Having been a fan of the original 1983 novella by Susan Hill and the 1989 TV teleplay for Britain’s ITV network, I looked forward to Hammer’s adaptation. I was not disappointed.
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Styx: Grand Illusion / Pieces of Eight – Live (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2012
“It is generally thought that time travel is impossible. Tonight, however, we ask you to bravely go where no audience has gone before, back in time to the 1970’s”
And that’s exactly what you’ll get to do if you’re smart enough to take my advice and pick up Styx: The Grand Illusion & Pieces Of Eight Live on Blu-ray from Eagle Rock Entertainment. It doesn’t matter if you’re old enough to remember when these albums were first released in 1977 and 1978 or if you’ve newly discovered the band and the albums. In fact, it doesn’t even matter if you’re a Styx fan at all….yet.
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Are You The Real John Carter? Walt Disney Pictures Is Looking For YOU.
Posted in News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2012
If your name is John Carter*, Disney and Andrew Stanton invite you to enter The Real John Carter sweepstakes for the chance to find yourself in another world—on an October 2012 Adventures by Disney trip to Peru! In addition, eligible entrants will be invited to attend a special, advanced screening of “John Carter”.
To Enter:
Step 1: Go to The Real John Carter and sign-in with Facebook or your email address for one entry.
Step 2: Participate in weekly missions (to begin January 23) for additional sweepstakes entries.
The sweepstakes Entry Period begins January 20 and ends on February 17, 2012, at 11:59:59 PM Pacific Time.
Good Luck!
The Darkness II Coming to A Store Near You, And Here To Upcomingdiscs
Posted in News and Opinions by Gino Sassani on February 3rd, 2012
I know that many of you just can’t wait for 2K to release the new video game The Darkness II. Wait no longer. We have some trailers to share with you. There will also be a copy on the PS3 up for grabs in the weeks to come right here. Michael Durr will also deliver one of his exceptional takes on the game. Until then, enjoy a few tastes of the upcoming game.
Bang it here to see the “Torn Apart” Trailer: Darkness II: Torn Apart
Bang it here for for the “Sliced” Trailer: Darkness II: Sliced
Finally, find the launch trailer here: Darkness II Launch
The Tuskegee Airmen
Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 3rd, 2012
Forgive the impending fun-with-words but, hot on the TAIL of the theatrical release of Red Tails is the Blu Ray release of this 1995 interpretation of the same story. Based on the actual group of airmen who were the first African-American fighter pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. This film follows the first cadets through their training and onto their various combat and mission in North Africa and Italy during World War II.
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Crazy, Stupid, Love. (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on February 2nd, 2012
Ryan Gosling’s 2011 made the rest of us look like a bunch of slackers. When he wasn’t breaking up fights on the streets of New York City or inspiring countless memes last year, he was starring in three incredibly varied and well-received movies. The curiously punctuated Crazy, Stupid, Love. is the most commercial of those releases and also features Gosling at his movie star/leading man best. Steve Carell stars as Cal Weaver, a middle-aged man who is blindsided after his wife, Emily (go-to-adulteress-of-the-moment Julianne Moore, of The Kids Are All Right and Chloe), reveals she had an affair with a co-worker (Kevin Bacon) and asks for a divorce.
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Shark Night (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2012
Written by Joe Gause
Here we go again! It’s another movie about something dangerous in the water. I’m not gonna lie here, folks, I wasn’t expecting to much out of this one, but to my surprise I enjoyed it quite a bit. So here’s the short and skinny. A bunch of college kids set off to a lake house to enjoy a much-needed vacation. There is a fair amount of drinking and flirting and tomfoolery (always wanted to use that word). Early in the film we discover that Sara (Sara Paxton) has a dark secret with one of the town locals. As the party gets under way, trouble starts to brew in paradise when one of the partygoers gets his arm ripped off by a shark!
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Rebecca (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2012
Written by Brian Ludovico
To film fans, the clause “Directed by Alfred Hitchcock” has almost become an adjective in and of itself. It has come to mean suspense created by using the viewer’s imagination and mind as a part of the film, first and foremost. These films didn’t have the freedom of CG, and consequently had to invent ways to achieve visual effects (watch the documentary on Birds or Rear Window for example). Besides the lack of freedom of creation that digital filmmaking now provides, the filmmakers had to tip toe around the Hays code
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