Blu-ray Review: Nixon – The Election Year Edition
Oliver Stone has pretty much cornered the market on films covering the time during the Vietnam War. His resume is rather impressive: Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven and Earth (1993) are all part of Stone’s Vietnam War trilogy while films including The Doors (1991), J.F.K. (1992) and Nixon (1995), […]
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 […]
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: 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 […]
Blu-ray Review: Dark City – Unrated Director’s Cut
Despite the fact that renowned film critic Roger Ebert called director Alex Proyas’ (The Crow) Dark City his favorite film of 1998, the movie received a lukewarm reception at the box office, and many critics felt the story put forth in Dark City was weak, but some still couldn’t help but admire the film. Peter […]
Blu-ray Review: Top Gun (Special Collector’s Edition)
“I feel the need…the need for speed!” –Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards, Top Gun I was thirteen when Top Gun came blazing on to the big screen in 1986. I absolutely loved the film and saw it three or four times during its original theatrical run. Tom Cruise was buff, the planes were cool and […]
DVD Review: Shutter – (Unrated)
Benjamin Shaw (Joshua Jackson), has just married Jane (Rachael Taylor). Right after the wedding, the couple moves from Brooklyn to Japan for his job as a high end fashion photographer. He is returning there after a two year absence, and looking forward to meeting up with two friends: Bruno (David Denman), and Adam (John Hensley); […]