Blu-ray Review: Grease (Rockin’ Rydell Edition)
Grease is the word, baby. One of the most celebrated movie musicals ever, Grease has managed to find an audience across all gender race and age boundaries and maintain its tremendous popularity some thirty years after the film premiered in the United States on June 16, 1978. The enduring popularity of Grease is fairly easy […]
Blu-ray Review: The Da Vinci Code (Extended Cut)
Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has been translated into over forty languages and sold over 60.5 million copies worldwide, so the plot is likely a familiar one. The film begins with an old scholar being murdered in the Louvre. American Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), an expert in symbolism and in town for a lecture […]
Blu-ray Review: Sin City (Unrated, Recut and Extended)
Robert RodrÃguez is an intriguing filmmaker. Not only does he take on the typical tasks of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves as editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, and sound editor. Never too concerned with differentiating it all, he often just abbreviates […]
Blu-ray Review: American History X
Written by David McKenna (Blow), 1998’s American History X is one of films every adult should see. However, like Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple and a few others it’s likely a film you won’t rush to see again. Directed by first timer Tony Kaye, American History X is an unsettling story that […]
Blu-ray Review: Notorious – Unrated Director’s Cut
Notorious tells the story of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls/Big Poppa, the multi-nicknamed Brooklyn rapper who rose to fame in the mid-1990s and was murdered in 1997 at the age of 24. His killer(s) remain at large but the focus of this film is not to examine his mysterious death but rather explain […]
Blu-ray Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
As a student of film history, I’m generally pretty leary of remakes. However, I try not to dismiss them out of hand because while some are terrible (1995’s Sabrina), others turn out to be a cut above the original (2006’s The Departed). As a huge fan of the true 1950’s science fiction classic, The Day […]
Blu-ray Review: The Last Kiss
A remake of the popular 2001 Italian film L’ultimo bacio, The Last Kiss is yet another tale of generational angst. Written by Paul Haggis (Crash) and directed by Tony Goldwyn (A Walk on the Moon), A group of thirty-year-olds are forced to deal with the issues that arise around friendships, relationships and commitments. At the […]
Blu-ray Review: Last Chance Harvey
This modest story has been told a million times–loveless singles who find each other. However, that age old tale still works as a film when it’s done with the right details and fine actors. Such is the case with Last Chance Harvey; written and directed by Joel Hopkins (Jump Tomorrow) has all the nuances that […]
Blu-ray Review: Strange Wilderness
I feel kind of bad as I type this review, because it was less than a week ago I was fairly negative about Adam Sandler’s latest film, Bedtime Stories. Now, I have even worse things to say about a movie put out by his production company, Happy Madison Productions. This won’t come as a surprise […]
DVD Review: Into the Blue 2 – The Reef
Back in 2005, Into the Blue was released to unfavorable critical response and lukewarm box office receipts. However, the presence of Jessica Alba in a swimsuit and the star power of Paul Walker and Josh Brolin, did make the film a bit of a cult classic beach movie. Though not directly based on it’s predecessor, […]