DVD Review: Chicago 10
Few would deny that 1968 was one of the most turbulent years in American history. Martin Luther King had been assassinated in April, Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed in June, an unpopular war in Vietnam had be a catalyst in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision not to seek another […]
DVD Review: Dexter – The Complete Second Season
Dexter is a Drama series based on the 2004 Jeff Lindsay novel, Dexter Darkly Dreaming. The novel was adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set in Miami, the series centers the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer who works for the […]
DVD Review: Gossip Girl – The Complete First Season
Gossip Girl is based on the popular novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series revolves around a group of wealthy young adults growing up on New York City’s Upper East Side who attend elite high schools while dealing with sex, drugs, jealousy, and other teenage issues. Creator, executive producer and writer […]
Blu-ray Review: The Sum of All Fears
Although Clear and Present Danger made $207,500,000 worldwide upon its release in 1994, Paramount apparently made the decision to shut down the franchise for awhile. In 2002, the studio attempted to revive the franchise with a much younger Ben Affleck, stepping into the role of Jack Ryan. I’m sure the powers-that-be at the studio felt […]
Blu-ray Review Clear and Present Danger
Harrison Ford, James Earl Jones, Anne Archer, and director Phillip Noyce must have enjoyed making Patriot Games so much that they all decided to return for this third film in the Jack Ryan series. Author Tom Clancy, whose novel was adapted for the screen by Donald Stewart, Steven Zaillian, and John Milius, has shifted the […]
Blu-ray Review: Beowulf – Director’s Cut
Beowulf is the oldest surviving poem in the English language. The epic work was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. In the poem, Beowulf battles three rivals: Grendel who is attacking the Danish mead hall known as Heorot and its citizenry; Grendel’s mother; and later in life after returning to Geatland and being […]
DVD Review: Smart People
Having seen Wonder Boys, The Squid and the Whale and Sideways, I’ve noticed that actors looking to reinvigorate sagging careers or working actors looking to gain some notoriety seem to jump at the chance to play overwrought academics and frustrated male writers. Michael Douglas wasn’t exactly box office gold when he took the role of […]
Blu-ray Review: Shine a Light
As a Rolling Stones fan, I have to admit, I had some my doubts when I heard Martin Scorsese was making a documentary about them After all, the Stones have been around for well over forty-five years now, longer than most folks have been alive. There have been countless documentaries, 1970’s Gimme Shelter and Robert […]
Blu-ray Review: Patriot Games
After The Hunt for Red October earned $200,512,643 worldwide, Paramount saw the makings of a franchise, so the studio decided to make some changes. Most notably, Harrison Ford replaced Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jack Ryan. For Ryan’s wife, Anne Archer as Dr. Catherine Ryan replaced Star Trek Next Generation’s Gates McFadden as Caroline Ryan. This […]
Blu-ray Review: The Hunt for Red October
As a fan of Tom Clancy and the Jack Ryan films, I was thrilled when I heard that Paramount was releasing 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, 1992’s Patriot Games, 1994’s Clear and Present Danger and 2002’s The Sum of All Fears as separate blu-ray titles on July 29, 2008. As an avid reader, I […]