Killer Elite has a strong testosteroney smell about it, smell, feel, sound, action, everything is manish. I would say manly, but that’s not really what I mean. It’s like Killer Elite was written by MEN who will put an unnaturally beautiful young woman in a flowery dress and boots, throwing hay stacks in a field out of the back of her rugged vehicle while she puffs a short breath from her natural lips  to gently toss the mussed hair from her face. You get the picture. Men write these things, direct these things, envision these things. Women, not so much.

There are a lot of really good fights in this flick, yes, good fights. For anyone who listens to our podcast or reads any of my past reviews of action movies, I get BORED during long drawn out fight scenes. I get it, you are kicking the crap out of each other and someone will be going down….let’s get to the point. Then again, there are fights put together that keep my eyes glued to every choreographed punch, kick, and chair (watch it to see what I mean). There is something about a tussle between two men when it’s severe but not brutal, well planned but not boring. The car chases, however, blah.

There is a lot to this movie that goes a step beyond a dude flick-o-rama. A story of assassins for hire, assassins for the government, killing in a war, killing for big business, it could get confusing, and for me it did. Every once in a while I had to just let go of my slight “HUH?” feeling, but that’s just me. Don’t let it worry you. My husband, the one with the penis in this relationship followed all the lame motivations for the pointless violence and greed and other penis related situations. :)

I enjoyed the cast, even if there are moments of bad accents, bad line delivery, throw away characters, that’s the ups and downs of a large group pulled together to tell the tale. The music feeds the tension in a good full frontal kind of way. The locations are awesome, taking us all around the world in that gritty immersive way. Overall the elements are quality, the combination is solid, the movie is a good time, and even with the slight details that needed to be elevated a bit it’s one of the best popcorn chomping flicks I’ve seen in a long time.


Features: 1/10

• Deleted Scenes – Quite a few deleted scenes here, but that is it for extras folks.
• DVD & Ultraviolet Digital Copy – A digital copy and DVD so you can watch anywhere you like.

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
I would not have this cover as a poster. It’s boring and brain dead in the design appeal department. I think that covers the cover. The menu is completely forgettable since I forgot what it was and no matter how hard I try to dig it from my memory, it ain’t happening.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Another week another great looking Blu-Ray transfer, some might say a KILLER Blu-Ray transfer. Killer Elite boasts one of Universals finest looking discs to date with a beautiful 1080P/AVC encode that really is a level above the actual movie. There are a couple of instances of crush and some minor noise in the image (it sort of suits the films, grimy style anyway). That is all that stopped me giving this transfer a top score.

Speaking of score, the audio presentation is quite nice with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 encode that is quite aggressive and uses the surround speakers a lot. The opening scene with De Niro firing shots from an assault rifle is true showcase material. Unfortunately the movie has a problem with bad ADR it’s quite obvious some of the dialog was rerecorded in a studio then synced with the mouths later and at times it’s very distracting. This isn’t a problem with the disc though, so I cannot take points off for that. Overall Killer Elite is a mediocre movie with a above average presentation on Blu-Ray. If your an action junkie you should give it a spin.


Value: 5/10
With a pretty darn good action flick but no extras this package doesn’t demand much cash. I say if you find it for 10$ on Blu Ray, add it to your collection. If you want to just have a good Friday night at the movies on your couch, rent it and spend the rest on a 6 pack and bag of popcorn from the gas station…come on…you know it’s good stuff!!

Overall Score 6.5/10

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It’s not a crime to dislike a Tom Hanks movie. It’s not a sin to dislike a Julia Roberts movie. Now that we have that clear, we can accept anything that’s not a buttkissing review.

The cast is OK, well, not really. I intensely dislike the youthful college brat who changes Larry Crowne’s appearance and does it in that very extremely annoying way. Her boyfriend was equally ick, and even worse, super boring.

The premise of an aging man losing his job because he’s not got a college degree is fair enough. I get it, it’s reality and it sucks. The thing is, Larry never seems very down and out. He buys a scooter and tries to sell his expensive golf clubs in a yard sale, other than that we don’t see any economic suffering. He mulls over the benefits of keeping his expensive house and big SUV. These are not things that endear a character to me.

Let me just keep on the topic of that annoying young woman who is the one who comes around to untuck Larry’s shirt, get his hair cut, change his style, rearrange his house, beebop around with that endlessly hippy-dippy la la la thing and I do not like that in real life, nor in a movie. She’s the worst part of the movie, and I would even go so far to say that if she had been replaced with a toned down version of an inspiring character I would have liked the whole of the movie much better.

There will be a lot of people who love this movie. It’s mushy and medium and safe and there is nothing gritty or sharp about it at all. If you like happy happy rosey looks at life, this is the one for you. I know I’m not that person so it fell super flat for me.

Features: /10

• Deleted Scenes – A set of deleted scenes presented in HD, they do not add much to the experience but there is a better firing sequence to watch.
• The Making Of Larry Crowne – A short EPK style feature that has quite a few insights into how this movie got made.
• Fun On Set – B-Roll footage of crazy antics on the set. Oh and guess what Julia Roberts does in her downtime? She knits!!!!

Cover Art and Menus: 6/10
The cover is actually alright. I like the slight weirdness of it and after having seen the movie I understand the moment it represents. I would not have this as a poster. The menu is nothing, just the standard blu-ray style with still images.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Larry Crowne comes to Blu-Ray in a barebones disc with very little in the way of extras. The transfer also continues the trend with a ordinary transfer that looks simply OK. The VC1 encode is presented in 240:1 aspect ratio and overall has a very soft look for a movie produced in 2011. There are also a few instances of crush which is surprising as Universal have fared very well this year with new releases (catalog releases not so much).

Thankfully on the audio side of things Larry Crowne comes to life. The DTS HD-Master Audio mix is lifelike and quite accurate. You wouldn’t expect much in the way of surround sound effects in a romantic comedy such as this but in one scene I turned to my wife and said “I heard where that landed right behind your chair”

I am not a huge fan of this movie and the Blu-Ray is also fairly ordinary. I am not sure how two huge stars like Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts could have been interested in such a vanilla smelling product. For my first movie of 2012 I was disappointed hopefully things pick up in the coming weeks.


Value: 4/10
I am not going to be fair. This movie is not worth buying, but if you want to try it, rent it, watch it online, whatever. Invest the smallest amount of cash you possibly can to experience Larry Crowne. It might make it more enjoyable:)

Overall Score 5/10

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One Day starts in the late 1980′s, on July 15. The idea here is that we get to see the interaction between these two characters Emma and Dexter, in various years, but always on July 15. The movie starts off with the two of them graduating University, as they kind of hook up, and fail miserably, but become good friends. Emma is a bit of a homebody, and shockingly Dex is not. He is the life of the party, often times taking things to the extreme, yet they always seem to keep their friendship, and skirt the boundaries of becoming more.

In the early years it is apparent that Em is madly in love with the free spirit Dex, but he does not hold the same feelings for her. We get to see the two of them as they grow older, with Dex parading around with beautiful girlfriends while Em slowly settles for second best, dating a really bad comic who is nothing like Dex, who she obviously pines for.

The years roll by and we get glimpses of the two of them as they stay in touch. Dexter has family issues, and drug and alcohol issues, and Emma struggles with the fact that she hates what she is doing, but as the years go by, they seem to cherish each other more and more. When they both finally grow up a bit, eventually they realize that perhaps they are meant for each other after all, until finally in Paris, they decide to try to out this whole couple thing.

Part of my problem with the movie is that it takes forever to get anywhere in the plot. I understand the build up, but the end of the movie is so strong and abrupt that it does not work with the beginning. It really is a bit predictable also, but the movie just seems to drone on until the last small bit, where things dramatically (for the first time in the film) start to move.

Along with that is the focus change, which occurs at the same time. We spend a majority of this movie from basically Emma’s point of view,band then are forced to see and try to feel things from Dex’s perspective, which is awkward and poorly done. In my view the movie would have been better if it was more Dex centric from the start, but then again, I don’t care for Anne Hathaway.

In the end One Day is a slow, unhappy ending movie with little chemistry, bad accents, and a mediocre story. I really did not care for it one bit, and aside from Jim Sturgess as a decent Dex, there was not a lot of redeeming value to the movie. My wife actually asked if it was named One Day because that is how long the movie seemed to take to watch.


Features: 3/10

• Deleted Scenes -There are a few deleted scenes on the disk that are not missed. There is one with Dexter driving his car precariously while drunk and on cocaine that is interesting, but as a whole these scenes would have just made the movie seem longer.
• Em & Dex, Through The Years -This is just a 4 minute short with interviews and scenes from the movie.
• Anne Hathaway Bringing Emma To Life -This 2 minute feature focuses on Anne Hathaway and her portrayal of Emma, with the changes from the book.
• The Look Of One Day -This 5 minute extra discusses the way that they attempted to make these two actors look both younger and older than they are in real life.
• Director Commentary -Lone Scherfig is passionate about this movie and book, and her commentary shows it. It is just too bad that the movie is not all that great in the end.
• Pocket Blu & BD Live -Universal still is pushing the Pocket Blu and BD Live, which are included here.

Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
Well if there is one things quite like from the movie it is the cover. It is bold and uncluttered, and features a great kiss, and not some posed front view shot of the two main characters. It is a simple, effective cover that speaks volumes without overdoing it. No extra type on the front, just s nice solid cover. The menus are of course the Universal universal menu, with shots of the movie playing and the standard menu choices on the left of the screen.





Audio & Video: 7.5/10
I thought the video was pretty solid, with nice detail and color, and decent contrast where it needs to be to accentuate the scenes of the movie. Presented in 2.35:1 1080p AVC encoded widescreen, the movie looks good. The audio for me was a bit less dramatic, with solid dialogue but scarce use of the rear speakers or bass.


Value: 2/10
There is no real replay value for this movie based on the ending of the movie. The whole thing is not something that I would recommend, even if you are a huge Anne Hathaway fan, as this is not her best movie by any stretch.

Overall Score 3/10

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As Oliver struggles with his father’s passing, he meets the beautiful Anna (Melanie Laurent). Anna is a French actress who is quiet and mysterious, and who Oliver finds solace as he spends time with her. Both have their own issues with intimacy and relationships, and we see the romance slowly kindle, only for their insecurities to drive them apart.

In Director Mike Mills presentation, we see real chemistry evolve between all of the characters. I was truly in awe at the performances of McGregor, Plummer, and Laurent, who really seemed to pour their heart into these roles, which means relying on a subtleness that made everything seem so real. A special nod should be given to Cosmo the Dog, who was lovable and an integral part of the movie, bringing a bit of humor to the sometimes sad film. The movie features a lot of unexpected flashbacks and backstories that are not overly explained, leading you to think, which I love in this type of story. To over explain would ruin the experience for the viewer, and Mills does a great job of making you work to figure out what is happening.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beginners, for it’s heartfelt look at some rough subjects. Death, failing love and sadness are a huge part of this movie, but in the end it is a great journey. Mill’s presentation is at times just quirky enough to make this feel fresh, and with the amazing acting, Beginners is a movie that I highly recommend.


Features: 3/10

• A Short Film About Making Beginners -This is pretty much what you expect, as this is all about the making of the movie. This is a 15 minute long behind the scenes extra where interviews with cast and crew piece together the movie.
• Beginners Promo -This is a 1 minute promo for the movie. I guess this is an extra, but not much of one.
• Feature Commentary With Mike Mills -Mike Mills gives a pretty dry commentary about the movie. You can tell that he really was into making this movie, and that it is a labor of love, but this is not the most dramatic of commentaries.
• Pocket Blu & BD Live -We also get BD Live extras, as well as the Universal Pocket Blu included here.

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
The cover for Beginners features photos of the main characters, and not much else. It is stylish to a point, but it is also muted like the movie. The menu, which is a Universal standard, features the black background and scenes from the movie playing on the right hand side. This is the same format Universal always uses, so is is familiar, but not the greatest presentation ever.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The video for Beginners is very crisp, but just like the slow muted pace of the movie, the video coloring is very muted. We don’t get a lot of bright coloring, and the lighting is the same way. The result works,band adds to the realistic feel of the movie. The 1.85:1 VC-1 encode was decent. The audio left a bit to be desired. The 5.1 Surround Sound presentation was less than stellar. I thought the dialogue was way too low, and for some reason, very muffled. There is very little use of the rear speakers, and I was less than impressed with the clarity of the sound of the movie.


Value: 6/10
Beginners is a slow, thought provoking movie that is definitely worth a watch. There are very few who will want to watch this over and over though, and with a less than impressive extra set, the overall value for the Blu-ray is muted for me. I think this is a rental, and a highly recommended one at that, but you have to be a big fan of Ewan McGregor or this type of movie to want to own this one and watch it again and again.

Overall Score 7/10

Cast members of other Fast and Furious movies join forces this time around, so that’s kind of cool. Even though it’s a nice nod to people who do enjoy the movies, for someone like me who doesn’t, it’s more of the same.

There are some pretty cool directing tricks here and there, however, it would take a lot of style to overcome the  shortage of substance. It’s not a secret, right? Fast Five is a movie a guy like my husband digs. He glosses over the flaws and just watches with a certain kind of Y chromosome sector of his brain that processes it in a way I do not understand. Even with the tiny items that made it entertaining, it took two glasses of wine to lube my tolerance for the rest of it.

Of course there is the top quality acting. No

The plot is complex and interesting. No

Not every movie I like is complicated or smart or a masterpiece of artistic film making, not by a long shot. For god’s sake I have laughed extensively at Dumb and Dumber. It’s just that Fast Five is empty, kind of boring for me. Those fights and car sequences run out of value in about a minute, maybe two, and then my mind wanders and I have a bad habit if then finding more and more things I don’t like.

You aren’t shocked, right? I mean, did you expect a love match between me and a movie with two bulky bald sweaty dudes who offer up way too much machismo to make my heart swoon. In fact, so much macho and poorly delivered, poorly written dialog filled the air that I realized I would rather spend the evening alone with another glass of wine and memories of the long list of movies from my past.


Features: 8/10

• The Big Train Heist – Behind the scenes on the opening scene of the movie. I really thought most of it was CG,but boy was I wrong.
• Reuniting The Team – A short showcasing each member of the crew.
• A New Set Of Wheels - Another short featurette this time focusing on the cars.
• Dom Vs Hobbs – From the moment the Rock shows up you know he will have to end up in a fight with Vin Diesel, this shows what it takes to arrange that.
• Tyrese TV – Tyrese being annoying with a flipcam, file under Youtube promotional.
• Inside The Vault Chase – The finale of the film includes a Heist like you have never seen, the title here will give you a clue.
• On Set With Director Justin Lin – A video diary style look at a day in yhe life of a Director.
• Deleted Scenes – A couple of deleted scenes, that were best left on the cutting room floor.
• Gag Reel – A gag reel, some mildly funny stuff here.
• Dom’s Journey – A look at how Dom has progressed,regressed over the five movies.
• Brian O Conner From Fed To Con – A short look At Paul Walkers storyline.
• Enter Federal Agent Hobbs – I think The Rock is a good addition to the movie. Here is a quick explanation of his charachter.
• Feature Commentary With Director Justin Lin - 
• UControl – A picture in picture mode with great insight into how the movie was made.
• Second Screen – If you have an Ipad chd k out the specs of the cars as the movie rolls.
• Digital Copy & DVD – Your standard DVD and digital copy.

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
I wouldn’t have this cover art as a poster. It does line up with the others in the series, but that’s not saying much. I know, they don’t have to be appealing to the likes of me, the woman who wouldn’t be drawn to these movies if you paid me. They hit their target audience, people who like Vin and Paul and their car driving antics. The menu is what it is, navigation.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Justin Linn has taken the Fast & The Furious franchise and mutated it into something between a James Bond flick and a god old fashioned action movie. And Universal have given the new movie a great looking presentation on Blu-Ray disc. Filmed on location in Puerto Rico (which doubles for Rio in the film) the filmlike transfer captures every bead of sweat on the actors and the sweat on some of the finest cars in film. Much of the movie looks overbaked thanks to the hot sun but like Scarface which we looked at a couple of weeks ago this gives the movie a distinct look. Blacks are black and occasionaly slightly muddy which does stop me giving the transfer top marks. But that being said this is easily the best a Fast & The Furious movie has looked.

Universal have gone the whole hog here with a DTS Master Audio soundtrack that will literally blow you away. Yes the track is full of throaty V8 engine sounds but the highlight for me is a moment when a grenade goes off about two thirds into the movie. You will feel the grenade similar to the blast at the start of the first LOTR movie. Fast Five doesn’t have the greatest dialog but it is crisp clear and centered like it should be.


Value: 6/10
If you have to complete your collection of Fast Furious movies, you won’t care about the price. I, however, will not be. The extras are pretty darn good, I even like them better than the movie. It’s fun to see how they do the car stunts and behind the scenes with the reunited cast. $15 – $20 of my frivolous spending budget would go toward more pencils, paper, and pens, or maybe a few budget movie titles. My husband, however, has already added this to the Blu-Ray collection.

Overall Score 5/10

Annie is in a relationship with a total asshole. She’s looking for someone to love and love her back, but not in a sappy way. She just wants someone who doesn’t call her f***buddy and tells her to leave after having sex. What more can a woman want? She has a failed bakery and it’s knocked the wind out of her. She’s pretty much got her childhood best friend and that’s about it. Now her best friend has found another best friend to be in her wedding and Annie is not going to share her without a fight, or several awkward hilarious adventures in bridesmaidery.

As the maid of honor in her friend’s wedding, Annie now has to face things like paying for an expensive dress, organizing a bridal shower, a bachelorette party, and other wedding planning stresses. All of this in direct competition with the new friend who is super rich, beautiful, organized, creative, and clingy. I don’t want to spoil the best moments, just trust me that when Annie kicks into competition mode for her friend’s attention or affections she is not just determined but so funny my face hurt from laughing every five minutes.

The cast is amazing. Kristen Wiig is, as always, so funny it makes me smile just thinking about some of her crazy wonderful moments. The bridesmaids are all exactly right for their parts. A sexpot mom who’s sick of her kids, an innocent Disney loving young woman who has not experienced much in this life, and a woman who is herself and to hell with the world, oh and the super rich new best friend of the bride. They are all fantastic to watch, to listen to, to soak up all their comic genius as they populate Annie’s world.

There are scenes in this movie that should go down in comedy history. There is a chocolate fountain, a giant cookie, bridesmaid rivarly, food poisoning in a bridal shop, the list goes on and on. I’m not always one for the gross humor but this time I was busting out laughing and for good reason.

The love interest in the story is a very groovy actor who I had not seen before but after this I want to see more. The relationship between Annie and Rhodes builds in a nice way without too much pressure from the story to hurry things along. His character is a nice change of pace for dudes in Romantic Comedies. I hope we see more of this type of character, calm, not taking any bullshit, not manipulative, not a sad sack, just a normal nice guy without any apparent issues to deal with.

I would watch this movie again and again if the opportunity came up. It’s fun to watch with friends and then discuss the whole “but I’M your best friend!!” thing:)

Features: 9/10

• Unrated & Theatrical Versions - Both versions of the movie for your enjoyment, the Unrated version is 6 minutes longer.
• Deleted Scenes - Almost 10 minutes of deleted scenes.
• Extended & Alternate Scenes - A full 50 minutes of extended scenes, including an epic endurance sex scene between Wiig and Hamm.
• Gag Reel - Funny stuff from the girls, some of the stuff here is funnier than the movie.
• Roommates - I hated the roommates in the film so these extended scenes were not on my radar. They are here if you want them though.
• Cholodecki’s - A bunch of scenes that take place in the jewlery store in the movie. Also a funny mock commerical for the store.
• Made Of Honor: Behind The Scenes Of Bridesmaids - A great 30 minute behind the scenes look at the making if the film, including a look a the best dressed director in Hollywood.
• Annie Vs Helen - 8 Minutes of Annie & Helen trying to win over the Bride.
• Drunk-O-Rama - Tons of outtakes from the drunk plane scene, the Blu-Ray is worth the price for this extra alone.
• Annie’s Blind Date With Dave - A whole subplot was removed from the movie which involved Annie having a Date with Dave played by Paul Rudd. Personally I would have left this in and taken the roommates out if I was editing the film.
• Tennis Pep Talk - Lots of alternate takes of the pep talk before the tennis scene.
• Feature Commentary With Filmmakers & Cast - An amazing commentary with just about everybody involved in the movie. Things get a bit hectic at times but you can tell everyone involved loved this project.
• DVD & Digital Copy - Lots of options for those of you on the go.

Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
Do you know what I actually like about this cover? Well, let me tell you. First, my husband was complaining that I never like the covers and I always say the same thing about the value of movies week after week. Well Ascully, as your wife I would like to inform you that you are not correct. I wouldn’t have it as a poster, I’ll get that out of the way, but I do like one thing about this cover, even if it’s a little blah if I’m honest. It doesn’t have the names of the cast or a chosen few names slapped on the front. I dig it when they realize the movie is an ensemble effort and just because you might have one or two more known names you don’t have to shove them on the cover and outshine the rest of the cast. The menu is kind of fun, lots of pictures of the bridesmaids in their dresses and it changes for each feature you choose. I’m not in love with the menus, let’s face it, it’s navigation to what you want to see. However, when they make an effort it doesn’t go unnoticed.





Audio & Video: 8/10
The cover of Bridesmaids announced that it is the best comedy of the year and I usually disagree but this time I think they are right. Universal have a very tight sharp looking Blu-Ray to go along with the high praise the movie is getting. If you are looking for a filmic image that really does the movie justice you have come to the right place, Bridesmaids is a colorful movie and the colors here are simply perfect. The only thing that saves me giving it full marks are some of the nightime scenes are a little crushed.

The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is quite outstanding for a comedy, the rear speakers are used A LOT (listen to the girls stomach growls during the fitting scene). Most of the dialog is kept front and center though and when Wilson Phillips start singing things really move to all the speakers. You might not expect such a bombastic audio affair from a comedy but that is exactly what you get here.

Value: 7/10
If you can find this movie for around $15 I say go for it. It’s a fun one to share with your good friends, to watch at a wedding shower, to have around after the bachelorette party for the wind down period after wine and before sleep. There are tons of extras to laugh at and for a whole evening of fun it’s worth the price.

Overall Score 8/10

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I’ll say I don’t get the whole “life did me wrong now I’m going to kick and scream and bully my way into a gaudy mansion surrounded by thugs and dealing massive amounts of cocaine to fund it all” syndrome. In movie character terms, yea, I do understand. He’s a tragic character. He wants to overcome all the shit he’s seen and done and been through in his life in Cuba. As a human being, this bullshit attitude eludes me. Tony needs to just keep washing dishes, buy the restaurant someday, make an honest living, marry a nice woman and calm the ‘F’ down!! But that wouldn’t make a very dynamic entertaining epic story to tell.

I did enjoy this movie on a huge scale. I love to prove my husband wrong, and this time I can do it in a big way. I was stimulated from the beginning with the explanation about the Cubans being tossed out and sent to the US in the early 80′s. I latched onto the bitterness and anger Tony had brewing from the start and even though I think it’s hogwash, I went with it. Why do men has this thing where they think it’s fair to destroy everything around them to just get want to make them feel better about themselves? Talk about being overly sentimental!!

The story is told with a perfect pace, slow at first and then spiraling near the end into the frenzy it becomes. The characters we meat along the way are all mezmerizing. I felt tension every single time a new person came on the screen. “What’s this yahoo gonna do to stir things up? would cross my mind and I felt afraid of what was hiding behind their accents, their awesome 80′s clothes, and their constant need to stare each other in the eye while they talk. I dig it, intense acting, hard core throwing yourself into the part. It pays off even for the folks who don’t spend much time on the screen at all, but have a big impact while they are there.

I can’t say this will be a movie I feel the need to watch over and over and over through the rest of my life. I would say once a year might be fun. There is no denying why this story and this movie capture people’s imagination and sadly even influence some human behavior. It taps into something very primal, the need to move forward at any cost. It’s just a shame that Tony moved forward with a bullet count of thousands and not enough good sense to keep his nose out of that big pile of cocaine. “Never get high off your own supply.”

Features: 8/10

• The Scarface Phenomenon – A 39 minute look at everything surrounding Scarface, I hate the way rappers and wannabe celebrities are the focus here, otherwise it’s an interesting look at a mindblowing movie.
• U-Control (Scorecard & PIP) – The score card racks up the bulletcount and Fbomb count as you watch. The PIP feature spans the full three hours and features a wealth of information for fans.
• Deleted Scenes – Over a dozen deleted scenes some good some not so good.
• The World Of Tony Montana – A 12 minute interview piece that comes across as an episode of I love the 80′s on VH1.
• The Rebirth – In this 10 minute short we take a look at the 1932 version of Scarface and how it inspired the 1982 version.
• The Acting – Director, Writer & Producer sit down to analyse the performances.
• The Creating – A great 30 minute doc that features De Palma, Oliver Stone and the cast. This is possibly the most informative extra on the disc a must watch.
• Scarface: The TV Version – One of my favorite features on the disc, they had to remove violence and language for a TV version and these clips are hillarious.
• The Making Of Scarface The Video Game – The making of the awful 2006 videogame.
• DVD Of The Original Scarface 1932 – Your probably not that familiar with this 1932 movie, it has very little in common with the newer version but is a nice extra anyway.
• Digital Copy Of Scarface – I think you all know what a digital copy is by now.
• 10 Collectible Art Cards – 10 awesome looking postcards, these are actually fan art chosen from a competition which took place last year.

Cover Art and Menus: 9/10
Every cover or poster I have seen for this movie is awesome, so there ya go. The Blu-Ray does come in a limited tin box, so that’s good for anyone who cares about such things. (that does not include me) I would have any of the promo images on my wall because they are graphic and striking and now that I’ve seen the movie the power of just Tony’s face and the stark black and white and red all makes it that much more cool. The menu has clips from the movie so don’t pay too close attention if you haven’t seen it yet.





Audio & Video: 8/10
Sometimes I think people will not be satisfied no matter what you do, reading reviews of Scarface on various websites it seems the response to the transfer is largly negative. I am here to tell you to ignore those reviews as Scarface on Blu-Ray was a revelation to me. For the first time ever I could actually see everything Director Brian Depalma so lovingly crammed into every shot. For a movie that is 28 years old this is the best it has ever looked. Fine detail is evident in every close up shot, colors are pinpoint accurate and darker scenes never crush or look murky. Older movies such as Scarface are where the HD formats shine so long as they are given the royal treatment during the tranfer process.

The DTS Master audio 7.1 track is pretty much what I expected from a movie of this age, like Platoon which we reviewed a few weeks ago the audio can only be described as thin. Not that I want them to mess with the audio making it sound modern but be forewarned this does sound like a movie from the 80,s and really makes me appreciate how far audio has come in the last 30 years.

If you are a Scarface fan, this set is a must buy, not only does it come in awesome collectable packaging with postcards and the original Scarface movie on DVD. It is simply the best version of the movie you will have ever seen. Highly recommended and one of my favorite releases of 2011.

Value: 10/10
You can find this special edition right now for around 17 bucks, so I say go for it. That is a great deal for a first timer like me or a long timer who wants to watch it over and over. The extras are good for a true fan so you are getting many hours of quality entertainment (if you can tolerate lots of f-bombs and guys getting shot:)).

Overall Score 9/10

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She is played absolutely perfectly, let’s just say that applies to everyone in this movie and be done with the cast portion.

The music is the Chemical Brothers and it’s amazing. They struck the right tug and pull, push and relax through the whole movie. The raw emotions of some scenes tapped right into with very heart pounding tunes, along with action sequences that made my eyes and ears become completely hypnotized by it all. I don’t mind music that directs us to certain emotions and ideas through a movie, but when it’s so completely seamless and even the beat of the cities, the sound effects, the dialog is used as part of the music, well, without sounding pretentious it does become the heartbeat of the story.

The locations in this story are captivating. From the frozen arctic to the desserts of Africa we get so much life, so much color, so much everything it extends the experience of the movie that much more. My advice, if you are making an action adventure movie, go on an ADVENTURE first and the action can come as a bonus. The vibrant languages and cultural richness that our young heroine encounters truly sweep me away. It’s not often that my aging mind gets a charge from a movie like this.

There is so much to this movie that I enjoyed, the story, the details, the acting, the music, the, the, the, the….really it’s hard for me to focus on a few specific things when I think the whole of the movie is the only way to ‘get it’. There are things I want to talk about, but I don’t want to spoil anything. The moments I want to burst out and just rattle on and on and on about I don’t want to plant in your mind before you see it. It’s so much better to go along the this trip with young Hanna with the same wide eyed wonder that she had……and me too:)

Features: 7/10

• Adapt Or Die – These extras are deceptive. It looks like a good amount and even as you watch they seem hefty, but in fact they left me wanting more. Adapt or Die is a behind the scenes feature, interviews with cast, director and writer.
• Central Intelligence Agency – The world of our leading evil bad woman from the perspective of the performer, Kate Blanchett.
• Chemical Reaction - One Chemical Brother does a phone interview about their new adventure writing a movie score.
• The Wide World Of Hanna – Many locations are plotted through the movie and this is a very very brief run through of them.
• Alternate Ending – This is more of an epilogue than an alternate ending, but it’s still pretty cool. I’m glad it wasn’t tagged onto the movie and glad they put it in the extras:)
• Deleted Scenes - There are several of these little buggers, and a couple do have information in them that would have added to the the movie. I loved the movie so much that I was hungry for more deleted scenes, which is quite rare.
• Anatomy Of A Scene – A TV series that takes us through the making of one scenes, start to finish, special effects, writing, performance, etc.
• Feature Commentary With Director Joe Wright - I like this director, so I like listening to him talk:)

Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
I do enjoy this cover image. It’s mysterious, ever so slightly. It’s intriguing, eyes peeking through with an obvious bow and arrow. I would have this as a poster, framed and featured in my home somewhere. The menu is live action clips from the movie so don’t watch very much of it before you watch the movie.





Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Hanna is a visually stunning movie that cannot be ignored and Universal have brought the A game with this awesome looking transfer. With such different environments and color pallets on offer throughout the film you would think the transfer would have problems somewhere. But no this is as perfect as it gets from the snow covered forest to the hot sands of morocco and the cityscape of Germany. You will be hard pressed to find fault with Hanna on Blu-Ray.

As is becoming the norm with Universal releases of late, Hanna is mixed very LOUD. I had to turn the dial from 27db to 32db to reach a comfortable listening level so be prepared. The soundtrack is as awesome as the picture here with the Chemical Brothers score really amping up the scenes and adding a certain something to the movie. Even normal everyday sounds in the movie are amped up giving the film a otherworldy feel.

I LOVED Hanna, it’s a movie that came out of nowhere for me and really hit all the things I like (strong female lead, action, conspiracy) if any of those subjects wet your whistle you should give this disc a spin.

Value: 8/10
I did thoroughly enjoy this movie. Just re-read the bit above under the “Movie” section. The thing is, it’s 25 bucks and that’s too much for me this time around. Yes it’s awesome. Yes I want it on my shelf. No, I don’t want to recommend that anyone spend that much on any one disc. Therefore, wait a little while for a price drop, or rent it online. Definitely see this movie, just don’t spend your electric bill money on it:)

Overall Score 9/10

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It’s OK, I’ll wait.

While I sat patiently I searched and found enough offerings to satisfy my competitive nature. There is Cindy (1978) a Cinderella story, Frank and Cindy (2007) a documentary about an unusually dysfunctional couple, No Prom for Cindy (2002) a middle aged man plays the part of a teenage girl, Cindy and Donna (1970) a sexual coming of age romp, Ronny & Cindy (2006) a romantic comedy drama about a high strung couple, and one more of many, Cindy Goes to a Party (1955) a 9 minute short movie about a tom-girl who has a fairy god mother. As you can see my charming name is associated with some of the greats.

This buddy road trip alien contact flick surely can’t compare to the greatness of Cindy movies, but let’s look a little closer. Two British ‘nerds’ come to America for Comic Con and to tour the known alien tourist sites across our ET loving country. They rent an RV and head out on their journey packing a wollup of pop culture references, Star Trek, Star Wars, and whatnot. So far it’s worth a slight chuckle here and there.

Suddenly they cross paths with their wettest of dreams, a small gray alien. A pot smoking, cursing, too-cool-for-school, similarly pop cultural referencing alien. He can be invisible, do some cool stuff, and challenges the somewhat fearful duo to take some chances along the way. A few more chuckles slide out and the plot thickens.

There has to be peril, so there are governmental agents, Christians, and rednecks all in hot pursuit of the recreational vehicle. I sound like a IMDB plot summary machine, but it’s the kind of movie that has so much going on that the entertainment sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. The biggest part of the experience is all the clutter of activity with some heartfelt moments tucked in here and there like glue to hold it all together.

There are a lot of fart and penis jokes. When Kristen Wigg joins the party she is unraveling her lifetime of religious restrictions and swears up a storm, which makes me laugh out loud. Shaun of the Dead dudes are pretty fun to watch but they don’t really do it for me. Justin Bateman, now he’s got me hooked. He’s the straight serious agent chasing them just one step behind. Rogan’s voice and manerisms are Paul’s personality covered with a very good CGI alien body. Seriously, it looks awesome. There are good stunts and effects even a few crashes and explosions to liven things up between attempts at giggles.

The more I think about it the more fun I remember having, however, it’s draining from my memory quickly. If I wasn’t writing this review I might not have dredged up memories of it this many days later. Sure, the movie references are awesome and the image of Paul himself isn’t going to leave my brain anytime soon, but as a movie watching experience it’s left only a tiny impact crater.


Features: 8/10

• Bloopers – Funny Outtakes.
• The Evolution Of Paul – A 15 minute piece dealing with the special effects that made the character of Paul come alive. Some really fun insight here from all the special effects crew.
• Simon’s Silly Faces – This extra is exactly what it says on the tin.
• Who The Hell Is Adam Shadowchild – When you see the movie you will understand why you need to see who this character is.
• Feature Commentary – A full length audio commentary with the director and stars, this tends to go off topic everytime Nick Frost opens his mouth it’s kinda flustrating.
• Galleries – Lots of behind the scenes stills.
• Between The Lightning Strikes: The Making Of Paul – A 40 minute making of documentary, very informative stuff if you like behind the scenes.
• Behind The Scenes Featurettes – 63 minutes of various featurettes a treasure trove for fans of the movie.
• DVD, Digital Copy & Free Bonus Streaming Movie – You can choose between Tremors 2 or Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It’s a free one time rental basically. Plus on a second disc you get a DVD & Digital Copy of Paul.

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
The poster is better than the cover image. I would have the poster as a poster, but that’s the end of Paul as decor in my house. The menu has live clips and navigation, blah blah. I will mention the opening credits here, not a normal feature of my reviews. They are pretty cool and more charming and interesting than some of the movie.





Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Unlike my technical ineptitude with this week’s podcast, Paul suffers no such issues. Boasting a 1080P VC1 transfer that looks out of this world (excuse the pun). This transfer is actually about as perfect as it gets on Blu-Ray with perfect color reproduction and shadow detail out the wazzoo.

Audio is also incredible but is mixed way to loud. I usually listen to Blu-Ray’s around 27db but I had to drop this disc to 32db to achieve my usual volume level. This is not really an issue just make sure you crank the sound system down a little if you do not want your ears blown out. Paul has a lossless track you will not soon forget despite the volume, with perfect panning across all the channels during some of the intense chase sequences and clear dialog throughout.

I went in expecting to love Paul given it’s pedigree and left entertained if somewhat underwhelmed. Depending on your penchant for dick and fart jokes your mileage may vary.


Value: 5/10
I would recommend it for a Friday night rental, with adults!! It’s not for the kids. I didn’t count but the f-word ran rampant. We watched the unrated version, so there ya go.  An average value for a middle of the road movie. Yes, it has it’s extraordinary moments and a dabble of laughter, it’s not enough to stretch over 20 bucks.

Overall Score 6.5/10

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We talk about some movies that take us on such epic journeys, around the world, through so many ideas, adventures, excitement and ultimately satisfying. This isn’t Skyline. It’s a journey, yes. It’s an adventure, yes. A journey to the depths of my mind to find the movie lover and bring her back to the movie in the first twenty minutes because she felt betrayed and went to hide. An adventure along the spectrum of all the feelings about a movie from “ugh” to “OK, I’m gonna hang in there for the last third because it’s actually turning itself around.”

It’s not a rave review, I know this. I can’t lie. Skyline is not a great movie, not really a good movie. It does have one thing going for it, and for me that’s enough! It’s unique. In this world and that’s not something you can say about most movies. The story isn’t actually unique, aliens invade while a group of very annoying people try to run or fight the invasion. Right, so that’s not special at all. Even though I do LOVE alien invasions, good or bad. That could be why I had the stop sign in my soul that kept me from checking out halfway through the dang thing.

These aliens look awesome, very awesome!! The action gets more intense and interesting. The visual impact of what was happening near the end of the story is done in a new and captivating way. I would compare it to a nicely composed graphic novel or comic book. That’s a good thing. Aliens scouring LA for scraps of humans leftover, from a bird’s eye view, which is eerie and haunting almost, which is excellent. The story then takes a turn and that perked me up, so these threads of goodness held it in together.

The acting, how to not sound snotty….well, the acting is underwhelming. The more you read about the movie the more you might understand how the quality of the performances suffered, but come on, inject some grit and suck out some of the TV grade dramatics. I won’t even choose anyone to talk about, except the blond. I don’t know her name but she was my favorite. A bitchy character with attitude but played well by a woman who looked kind of familiar but not really…you know the type.

I ended up having a better time talking about this movie on our podcast than I did watching it, but in the end, that might be enough. I would watch it again, but the bad stuff won’t get better. It’s a poorly acted, VERY poorly written with the worst dialog you have ever heard (unless you watch your fair share of adult orientated flicks). It’s distracting and you truly want to just stop the movie and get on with your life, but don’t. Hang in there it gets better and it’s fair to say that ultimately it was almost fun with a touch of sweet bleakness as a bonus. The ideas of the alien invasion are satisfying, even though the humans don’t make me want to win the battle.

Give it a try, but do not blame me if your mind wanders and you start thinking about the yard that needs to be mowed and the trash that needs to be taken out. It might just be a common side effect that’s unavoidable in the first 2/3 of the movie.


Features: 2/10

• Feature Commentaries With The Filmmakers – I didn’t love the movie and the dudes who made it don’t interest me very much, sooooo there ya go.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes - Hmm not much value here.
• Alternate Scenes - Refer to the Deleted & Extended Scenes section.
• Pre-Visualization - If you like to see how special effect scenes are set up ahead of time, these computer simulations are kind of interesting.
• D Box Enabled - I have no D Box, but it might have made the movie more fun if I invited my husband over to my chair:)

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
This cover has a nice color scheme. It’s got some mysterious action going on…but it’s still awful. It doesn’t represent the movie at all. It’s called Skyline people, how about a striking bold image of a skyline with the alien invasion just kind of happening, a hint of the story. The cover is actually kind of confusing now that I look at it more. I would not have this as a poster, in fact if I could convince my husband to let me I would make my own and put it in the box.

The menu is just basic navigation with images of the movie. Do we care about menus anymore? I guess it depends on the movie.





Audio & Video: 8/10
“Amazing special effects with a load of douche bag’s who you couldn’t care less about.” That is how I described Skyline on this weeks podcast and I defy you to challenge that. I still had a little fun with the movie, but not a lot.

So, how does the image quality on this Blu-Ray disc hold up? Has to be better than the film right, well it is. As usual Universal have pulled out all the stops with a high quality AVC 1080P transfer that really showcases the special effects of Skyline. The movie itself has a high gloss almost TV looking sheen to it which is faithfully represented here. Some might call it DNR but I am not totally sure it is. Anyhow Universal have a great transfer here.

From the opening credits (which have a LFE explosion as each and every name appears on the screen), you know you are in for a raucous soundtrack. The Strause Brothers, or Brothers Strause if you are reading the aforementioned credits, do a great job of amping up the action with some ridiculous DTS-HD Master Audio surprises. Some of the sound here is showcase stuff, such as the Ferrari getting crushed and the stealth fighters firing off the nuke. The only problem I did have was some of the dialog gets lost in the action, but really after about five minutes into the movie I stopped listening to the lifeless cast anyway.


Value: 3/10
The value of this movie is all in the fact that the last 1/3 turned me around in a way that I never thought would happen. I was really not enjoying the movie overall, and then wham, it grabbed me!! So, that’s worth a watch. Rent it though, please. Don’t put any more money into than you need to. If you love it, fine, buy a copy, but until you confirm that, just rent rent rent.

Overall Score 3/10

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• The Journey To Forming A Family - None of these extras are much to talk about unfortunately. This is brief, talking heads interviews. How do we make a family not be traditional, but still traditional, and funny, and charming, and sweet, and touching, and etc.
• The Making Of The Kids Are All Right - Another talking heads with nothing much to offer except a hint of how they got the cast together.
• The Writer’s Process - The director is co-writer, and her co-writer is a dude, and they talk about how it was to be “stuck” in a room together to write this story.
• Feature Commentary By Director – I don’t want to be snotty, but I wasn’t interested in what the director/writer had to say about the movie. She does a little talking in the extras and I got what I needed from that.

The Movie: 7/10
I enjoyed this movie a lot. It’s got some of that honest life humor that always strikes some common drum beat in us all. The people are interesting enough, not riveting or anything like that, but comfortable and I wanted to know about their lives, so that’s a good thing. The story is one of those “we wanted to be edgy but mix it up with non-traditional/alternative lifestyle choices to rattle a few cages” types of things. I get it. Life is complicated and we all think we have to adhere to certain rules and when we don’t we are on the fringe, BUT we should all realize we have unique lives mixed with common issues that we share with all humanity. I think that sums it up pretty well.

A family is a group of people who function as a unit, sort of, and always have each other as a foundation. It doesn’t always work out that cleanly in real life, but in the movies we like to hope for the best. A lesbian couple who have raised two kids who were created with the sperm of a donor 15 and 19 years go, face the reality that he is now becoming part of their lives. It opens up a lot of other issues, like the personality of each character. We have the controlling head of family. We have the frustrated housewife. We have the angst ridden teenage son, and the over achieving headed to college daughter. Oh, and let’s not forget the hippish organic farmer dude who rides a motorcycle and hates team sports but runs a successful snooty restaurant. Nevermind the complications of infidelity, heart break, regrets, love, honor, and obey. :)

The performances are the main ingredient in this recipe. Bening, I’m in love with her. Moore has her moments of actorlyness, but it’s more like her character to be expressive so it’s fine. Ruffalo has a few extra hippyish glimpses, but overall it’s one of my favorite roles he’s ever done. The kids are both quality. The young lady was Alice in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. I can’t remember her name at the moment and I’m too lazy to flip to a new tab to look it up, or even scroll up to look at the cover, but you can do that yourself. She’s awesome. The son was in RV (apply laziness again) and he’s got a very tense quality that’s perfect for his teenager with anger issues tone.  The friends of the kids do  steal their scenes, so overall the people make this movie top quality.

The sets are a bit too perfect, the restaurant, the upscale houses, it’s a tad pretentious to be quite honest. I don’t mind, but it’s that very overly manufactured reality that’s pretending to be real reality without the grit or the REALITY.

Hollywood types seem to be in love with pre-fab well built lives complete with gloss and shine, but without the real underbelly.  Teenagers who talk back and spouses who find excitement in the bed of someone else aren’t exactly harsh elements to deal with. They are trying and can be a chance for learning about how families and relationships work, it’s just that in The Kids Are All Right it’s tamed so much I yearn for a bit more. We recently watched Welcome to the Rileys, that has more guts, grit, whatever that makes it all feel more substantial in ways I’m not sure I can put into words.

The Kids Are All Right isn’t a hard look at family life, it’s more like through a filter of cool and Bridget Jonesness. I liked it a lot, so that’s not an insult. There is a place for this story and the characters in our modern world, or any time of the world I guess, people who love each other, annoy each other, need each other, and struggle through life together.





Audio & Video: 8/10
The Blu-Ray presentation of The Kids Are All Right is in line with most modern HD transfers. The 1.85:1 image is crystal clear throughout. The only issue I do have with the transfer is it seems a little grainier than it should be. I know film grain is a good thing but this seems to have more than most films I have seen on Blu-Ray. It might have been a design decision but it’s worth mentioning.

As with most talky movies, The Kids Are All Right will not win any awards for sound design. What it does do though is present the dialog (even mumbly Mark Ruffalo can be understood most of the time) clearly and in the center of the screen where it should be. It also presents a nice ambiance. Twice we had to stop the film as we thought a dog was barking at the garage door.

Overall while this movie might not win Best Picture this year the performances are subtle and moving, if you are interested in actors at the top of their game this is the movie for you.


Value: 6/10
The extras aren’t worth a purchase, that’s for sure. The movie is really entertaining and fun, it’s just not something I need on my shelf forever. I would rent it in a flash along with a couple other heartthrobbing movies like Love Actually, and Bridget Jones Diary. You can have a manufactured reality festival, laugh, cry, eat popcorn, and have a great Saturday afternoon at the movies.

Overall Score 7/10

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• Deleted Scenes – These scenes wouldn’t add to the movie because it’s not really deleted scenes. It is a montage of shots cut out with some music over the top.
• The Race Begins: The Evolution Of Death Race 2 - This is a talking faces interviewed about making the movie, the history of the world of Death Race since the original Death Race 2000.
• Cheating Death: The Stunts Of Death Race 2 – More talking face interviews, but pretty good at showing the many many stunts performed by some crazy-ass folks.
• Fast Cars & Firearms: The Cars Of Death Race 2 – Similar to the others this is the obligatory coverage of the automobiles and guns in this manly action flick.
• Feature Commentary With Director Roel Reine - Reine loves to talk and he has a cool accent, so watch again and listen, it might be worth another watch.
• Digital Copy & DVD – It is what it is.

The Movie: 5/10
I must tell the truth. At about the 15 minute mark I became bored. This is very VERY rare for me. I do not get a solid BOREDOM in life other than waiting to get my car fixed or at the doctor’s office. I had to force myself to keep paying attention to this movie and I’ve been trying to figure out why ever since. The first thing that dropped me out of the realm of interest was a car chase in the first few minutes that snapped me out of “I’m so happy to be watching a movie on our nice big screen in our nice puffy chairs” mode. I friggin’ love movies people!! It takes a pretty special flick to cause my mind to wander to things like what I will be making for dinner later, and when we took a pee break I didn’t rush back. In fact, I took the time to make a cup of tea and have a snack.

As bored as you are reading about how bored I was, is how bored I was. There were a few things that caught my attention. There is some adrenalin pumping music stuck in here and there, but the quality of what I was watching just didn’t fit the mood. The acting for most of the cast is surprisingly poor. I don’t know what the expectations of this kind of movie would be, but other than the leading man and woman everyone doesn’t seem to doing much more than playing pretend.

I always try to find something positive about each movie I watch. Sometimes it’s harder than other times. Death Race 2 has two things that salvage it for me, first it looks really good with good special effects (watch for a crazy fire scene), and last but not least the story really does get good in about the last fifteen to twenty minutes. It was like I was snapped to attention when a certain turn of events took place and I was finally hooked. If I focus on those ‘good’ things it doesn’t leave me with only the memory of being bored out of my mind, but that hopeful excitement near the end wanting more, or another movie to follow through with the story…hmmmm.

Whatever the requirements for digging a movie like this, I don’t have. Maybe on a different day in a different mood it would have been better.  If you enjoy a couple of beers and a pizza on a Friday night with some buddies who like to hoop and holler, this is the one for you.





Audio & Video: 7/10
Death Race 2 looks great for a straight to video release. In fact I think it actually looks better than it’s more expensive Statham powered version. That said, the Blu-Ray release is not without it’s problems with quite a bit of low light banding happening in some of the grimy dark prison scenes. When the movie moves from dark spaces though it looks super impressive. The Shelby Super Snake at the start literally leaps off the screen (no need for fancy 3D here).

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is LOUD if I had to use one word to describe it, you need to lower your levels a little if you want your speakers to survive the onslaught. And once the movie is underway an onslaught it is, the racing scenes sound fantastic. I’m not sure about the generic Linkin Park style music though. At times the rear speakers seem like they are doing more work than the front ones which is a bit odd but if you want to hear some engines rumble the Death Race 2 audio track will not dissapoint.


Value: 3/10
If you crave stereotypical testosterone dripping from your screen, Death Race 2 will satisfy. There is a lot of nothing here to make it worth a purchase. I would recommend a rental, along with Death Race, and Death Race 2000 to make a night of it.

Overall Score 5/10

The menu  is the classic Universal menu with shots of the movie overlayed on the black Universal background.


Features: 6/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are a number of deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray, including an alternate beginning and a few different ending shots.
• Featurettes – There are a number of short features here, including a very short, but very fun time lapse shot of Emma Thompson getting her Nanny McPhee makeup done, and a feature about the cute pigs that were used in the movie.  We also get a bit about the massive amount of mud used in the movie, as well as a bit about the bird that features in many of the scenes.
• A Look Inside – This extra is almost a little commercial for the movie, with Emma Thompson talking about the new movie mixed with shots from the movie itself.  It runs about 2 and a half minutes.
• Feature Commentary With Director Susanna White – There is a commentary that you can turn on as the movie plays featuring the Director Susanna White, which is actually pretty decent.  There are only a few real dead spots, and Susanna White is very excited about the movie and does a good job discussing many of the films major attributes.
• Bonus Movie – In an interesting trick, by accessing the BD-Live menu, you are able to choose a streaming movie to watch.  the choices include Beethoven’s Big Break or Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey.  This is a nice little feature that I can see being used by more movies.  so far this is the best use of the BD-Live technology, which I believe was overhyped and underused.
• Pocket Blu/BD Live – Once again the BD-Live menu takes you  to more trailers and extras.

The Movie: 8/10
Nanny McPhee Returns is the sequel to the Emma Thompson’s 2005 romp Nanny McPhee.  In the return, Nanny McPhee shows up unannounced (as always) to the  country house of Isabel (Maggie Gyllenhall) who is struggling to keep her family of three kids going as her husband (Ewan McGregor) is fighting in  WWII.  Isabel is in danger of losing the farm as the money is tight.  Her kids are out of hand, and when the added stress of two visiting cousins from London arrive, Nanny McPhee shows up to restore order to the unruly household.

Nanny Mcphee is a grotesque looking woman with warts and all, who wields a sort of magic that she uses to teach manners to unruly kids.  She shows up when needed, and leaves when her lessons have all been learned.  Upon the children learning each lesson, magically Nanny McPhee loses some of her ugliness, until all that one can see is her true beauty.   As she tells the children, when they need her but do not want her, she will stay, but when they want her but no longer need her, she has to go.  Basically when the kids have learned to behave, and actually love Nanny McPhee, it is time for her to go elsewhere and help others.

The story, like the last Nanny McPhee is the result of Emma Thompson, who seems to have a knack for these movies, as they are both well done.  This time she incorporates her real life BFF Maggie Gyllenhall, who adds a great bit of depth to the character Isabel.  The overall movie is a delightful little retelling of the original, and I liked it slightly better due t the superb acting by all involved.  the scenery is brilliant, and with the exception of the overused cute pigs, the movie is charming (my wife loved the pigs, so perhaps it is just me who has an issue with the pig-a-thon in the middle).  Nanny McPhee is fun and light and a good family movie that all can enjoy.





Audio & Video: 8/10
The video for Nanny McPhee Returns is really well done, with hyper realistic color and sharp. detailed close up shots.  The overall appearance of the film is calculated and cartoonish, with colors that pop.  the VC-1 encoded 2.35:1 widescreen aspect is very nicely done.

The audio is even better, with amazing use of the Surround Sound speakers in many parts of the movie.  The bass when Nanny McPhee taps her cane on the floor was a real shock, and the rest of the audio in the movie was exceptional.


Value: 8/10
The sequel in this case is better than the original, but they go together quite well.  It is not imperative that one sees the first Nanny McPhee to enjoy the second, but it does help.  Nanny McPhee Returns features a stronger cast, and a better overall story, even if it does not seem as heart feltas the original.  I really enjoyed this version, and thought that Maggie Gyllenhall and the kids were superb.

Overall Score 8/10

• Interview With The Filmmakers - It’s not much, not even enough to earn the middle of the road 5 out of 10. However, it is meant to reveal to us the ‘reality’ behind the story, the movie, and the filmmakers. I like it. It’s not long enough. The best part is they, the 3 young men who made the film, chat, and answer questions off of cards they may or may not have said where the questions came from, so listen closer than I did when it starts.

The Movie: 7/10
If you wanted to pick some movies that represent each decade, Catfish would definately be one on the list for the 10′s, or 00′s, or whatever you call the beginning of a century, like from 2000-2010. This film follows a young man who meets an 8 year old artist online and developes a friendship with her family. He’s a city fella and she lives on a farm with her mom, older (sexy) sister, brother and father. They are interesting artsy people and the city boy is a photographer who focuses on dancers. They have a lot in common, and the internet offers them the chance to exchange photos, links, music, conversations, well, you know how it works. You are online right now reading this. You probably have a facebook account, or Twitter, or at least some way to communicate with people you know and people you don’t know online.

This story explores the ways we communicate with people we have never met ‘in the flesh’. How do we present ourselves? How do we fall in love with words and photos on a computer screen? Twenty years ago it didn’t exist. Twelve years ago when I met my lovely husband, Ascully, online it was very rare and people thought I was going to the airport to be greeted by a serial killer. These days the TV commercials say that 1 in 5 relationships start online, and why would they lie? How do two people so far apart find a common ground and when face-to-face happens how much have we really revealed and how much have we concealed? I don’t want to say much about their story. This is a documentary style film(I say style because it’s very very very produced and edited and it doesn’t always feel like a straight up documentary film to me). They use real people, real life interactions, and lots of images we are familiar with, files downloading, links to click, facebook, cell phone text conversations, etc. To talk too much about the specifics would crack the tension and suspense they manage to build.

I will say this, I was glued to the screen. There were moments that the tension and anticipation were super prickly. I think I even held my breath once during a particularly intense exchange. As a documentary I’m not sure I take it all for face value. I mean, they can say it’s all 100% as it was, and that’s fine. There is often more interpretation and editing than even the filmmakers can see that interfers with the truth of the matter. Maybe I just like the really gritty documentaries that don’t have all the bells and whistles, but that doesn’t take away from Catfish. It is very enjoyable. It’s a modern film that I can truly say is of my time as an adult. In thirty years when I look back all this facebook and twitter will be gone, dust in the wind making way for new technology that either brings us closer together, or is still bringing up all the questions we have today about our lives being open to the world.

I recommend Catfish for three reasons: 1.) It’s a great story and told well. 2.) It’s entertaining. 3.) It’s well made.

What more can  you ask from a movie on a cold winter afternoon?




Audio & Video: 7/10
Catfish is not the movie you will be showing your home theater off with as it’s a mixture of low quality hand held camera work. This doesn’t mean it sucks though, NO far from it. The shots that were taken on a HD camera look beautiful with some really rich blacks and very high detail. The macro shots of computer screens in particular look amazing right down to every single pixel.

The 5.1 DTS HD Master audio track does it’s job, with little to no action in the rear surrounds or sub-woofer. Documentary’s such as Catfish need to have clear dialog and this uncompressed track delivers clear crisp dialog the entire time. There are a few muffled lines but the filmmakers knew this and decided to subtitle those for your convenience. Again not a stunning soundtrack compared to big action movies but as far as documentary films go this is a standout.


Value: 5/10
It’s a great Saturday afternoon movie to watch, but there’s not much else going on with this disc.

Overall Score 7/10

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Features: 5/10

• Deleted Scenes - There is nothing here that would enhance the movie. There is a little extra time with the women in a couple of scenes, but I think it works best without them.
• Journey To Redemption - This is a pretty good extra. It’s enough for me. Sometimes a movie just speaks for itself. This little behind the scenes does a good job of showing the director, Clooney on the set, and the origins of the story.
• Feature Commentary With Director Anton Corbijn - This guy is an artist of a filmmaker. He has a different perspective on the process so it’s worth another watch/listen.
• Digital Copy – Yes, it’s a digital copy. DO NOT watch it on your small device until you watch it on a big screen.

The Movie: 9/10
I am finding it hard to come up with new and creative ways of saying how much I like a movie. My vocabulary fails me, so I will go for gut reactions that might not be very flowery or lyrical. The American digs up a sense of satisfaction that is hard to come by with modern movies. There have been a few that fill that bucket for me similiarly. It’s not that they are all the same quality or I even like them equally, but movies like There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk Love, Fargo, Broken Flowers, all just made my head spin with movie watching fulfillment.

The American has a steady pace. It’s got moments of in your face action, and then the appropriate amount of time to recover, regroup, soak up the beauty of it all. There are chilling moments, not the scary kind, but during these moments I take a long deep breath and I am thrilled for an instant that I love movies so much. The artistic direction is one of the best things about the movie, of course. I love art, and the director is a photographer so he designs each shot in a way that draws my eyes around kind of in a whirlwind of intentional compositional glory.

I won’t say it’s the best movie ever. The story is about a man seeking redemption. How borrowed and abused can a theme be in this world? The thing is, the man is played by George Clooney, who I don’t have a thing for but this time around my mind has opened. He fits the character so well that there are times I actually lose the Clooneyvision and I’m convinced.

The women in this movie mesmerize me. I don’ t know what else to say. A prostitute and an assassin who might be a bit too beautiful to convince my reality checker, but hey, it’s a movie. They steal the show. The priest is compelling as well, but I don’t have regard for religious figures. I’m more inclined to be moved by the life lessons of the prostitute or the assassin, go figure.

I have read through some reviews, briefly, and that’s not normal for me. I’ll be honest, I never read whole reviews. I just skim comments, and that’s so rare that this might be the first time in years I caught any chatter about movies. I just do not care what people say. The theme of most of these little blurbs is that it’s too lofty, pretentious, dour (That means sullen or gloomy. I had to look it up.) They throw a few intellectual filmish terms, or literary criticism terms, who knows where they get their brainwashing, but it’s like they can’t just enjoy things for what they are. I don’t love every movie and I do find flaws, even with The American. The thing is, that feeling, that satisfaction during those cautiously quiet scenes, watching the landscape and getting that film watcher sense of being there while noticing the smallest facial expressions and gestures, all comes together to make a lovely experience.

The well timed action sequences and their restrained resolutions add the spice to an otherwise already delicious plate of movie. :) I have officially run out of things to say that won’t ruin any part of the movie, so you get a food related comment to finish off my little review.

Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
If ever there was a film that needed to be viewed in high definition it’s The American. Director of Photography Martin Rhue and Director Anton Corbjin (who is a professional photographer) have made a film as that drips beauty from every frame. Take the awesome cinematography in Trainspotting but transplant that into Italy’s scenic countryside and that is what you get here. The transfer on the Blu-Ray disc maintains the director’s vision with a fine layer of grain that is only just visible and lots of detail in almost every frame. Even the dark scenes (which there are few) look incredible with lots of shadow detail and not a sign of black crush.

Audio is magnificent in a really subtle way.  The movie has very little dialog but what it does have is crisp and clear. The amazing part is the subtle sounds of the Italian countryside. One such scene involves Clooney using the noise of the church bell to mask the fact that he is crafting a weapon. As the camera pulls out to show a long shot of the church, if you listen closely you can still hear him smashing down the hammer as each chime strikes. There are also a couple of moments where the audio will make you jump but to avoid spoilers I will refrain from mentioning them here.

Overall, The American  is a movie that will polarize the type of audience that flock to a Clooney flick. I am not usually into Clooney’s smoldering style, but this movie literally blew me away.


Value: 8/10
I’m not sure this is a movie I would want to recommend to just anybody. I mean, it’s really good, really steady, somewhat different from your standard American action type movie. It’s one to save for the right people. I would say though that it’s a good one to watch with a silent partner, or recommend to someone who is a calm movie watcher. It’s well worth having it around for 20 bucks or so. If you are looking for a Clooney buzz, rent it and see how it goes. The extras are slim, so there’s no value for money in the time you will get to enjoy the full package, but overall I say it’s a keeper.

Overall Score 8/10

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• Deleted Scenes With optional Commentary By Director Burr Steers – The deleted scenes last about  10 minutes.  The scenes include commentary by director Burr Steers, and some of the information he hands out is quite good.
• On Location With Zac Efron – This behind the scenes extra runs about 13 minutes, and discusses some of the on-location shots.  A large chunk of this is dedicated to the opening sailing in the movie.
• Zac Efron, Leading Man – This is a rather strange set of interviews all about Zac Efron, and his huge potential as an actor.  The crew and other actors gush about the young star, and it is almost creepy in nature.
• Feature Commentary With Director Burr Steers – The movie also has a full commentary with Director  Burr Steers, which was actually a decent little commentary.  I don;t think I could make it through it again, but one listen was enough.
• The In Between World - This feature focuses on the ghostly, other world aspects of both the movie and the Ben Sherwood book that the movie is based on.
  
  
  
  
  
  The Movie: 5/10
  Charlie St. Cloud is a movie about Charlie, played by Zac Efron.  At the beginning of the movie Charlie is on top of the world.  He races sailboats, and is exceptional good at it.  His first mate is his younger brother Sam (played by Charlie Tahan).  When Charlie is left at home to watch over his little brother by his mother (Kim Basinger), Charlie and Sam are in a car accident, which leaves Sam dead as a result.  Charlie takes the death hard, and in a twist, Charlie, who had promised Sam that he would help him practice baseball each day, ends up seeing an apparition of little Sam.  As a result, Charlie basically puts his life on hold, foregoing a college scholarship in order to stay in his small hometown, so that he can meet up in the forest with Sam to practice baseball.  Charlie is hell bent on keeping his promise. 

  Charlie St. Cloud has good intentions, and the movie, based on the book by the same name by Ben Sherwood, is decent enough.  We get to see Charlie as he struggles with his own demons, as he feels his little brother’s death is his own fault.  Charlie struggles with the “why me” that is so often a part of these types of disasters.  Ray Liotta plays the paramedic who pulls Charlie from the car wreck and brings him back to life, and he poses to Charlie (Liotta is not used nearly enough in this movie) that Charlie survived for a reason, and that Charlie has to find out what that reason is.

  The movie itself takes a turn when one of Charlie’s racing buddies Tess (Amanda Crew) is lost at sea as she herself tests her racing abilities.  Charlie is then forced to decide whether to help find Tess or stay with his brother.  Charlie’s decision is basically whether to move on in life, or stay in his past.

  Zac Efron does a decent job in this movie, and the story and attempt are well placed, but the overall effect is just a bit shallow.  My wife quite liked Charlie St. Cloud, and I didn’t mind it, but it just seemed to rush at times, and I felt that some of the relationships and drama could have been more focused.  It is not as if this was a bad movie, but it just didn’t resonate with me.  This is one of those movies where I think I would have liked the book better.
  
  
  
  
  
  Audio & Video: 8/10
  The video for Charlie St. Cloud is pretty lovely actually.  the colours and detail are amazing (it doesn’t hurt to have great locations for the film either.)  I was more than impressed with the solid 2.40:1 AVC encode on this Blu-ray.  The colors were nicely done and somewhat understated, and the facial details were as sharp as the outdoor scenes.  This movie looks great.

  The audio is also very well done, if not as good as the video.  There is a nice use of the surround speakers with some of the ocean scenes, and the dialogue was decent.  The mis seemed a bit all over the place, as some scenes were too loud, while in other areas it was difficult to hear.  It just seemed a slight bit off, but okay overall.
  
  
  Value: 5/10
  My wife quite liked Charlie St. Cloud, and I too thought it was a decent little movie, if not a but forced.  It is definitely worth a watch, but it is one of those movies that seems a bit too plastic.  There was not enough here to make this a great movie, simply because it seems like they  focused way too much on Charlie, to the point where the story and other characters get lost.  It is a decent movie, but nothing special.  The extras again focus primarily on Zac Efron, which is understandable, but it is a bit too much.  I guess if you are a huge Zac Efron fan, then this movie is perfect for you.  For the rest of us, this Blu-ray is worth a viewing, but probably not a spot on your Blu-ray shelf.
  
  

  Overall Score 6/10

The menu is the classic Universal black background with scenes of the movie playing. 

Features: 2/10

• The Babies Three Years Later – We get to see the babies three years later, when the movie makers return to do a little check up on each of the pint size stars.  It is interesting to see the change, and even more interesting was seeing their reaction to watching the video of the movie.  This is a very nice extra, but it runs only 4 minutes total.
• Everybody Loves… Your Babies Sweepstakes Winners – This is just a collection of photos and home movies that were went in for a contest that ran when the movie was being made.  Cute, but short at just over 2 minutes.

The Movie: 7/10
Babies is a strange little documentary that follows 4 different babies in 4 different regions of the world.  We are introduced to Ponijao from the African nation of Namibia, who is basically raised in the wild outdoor heat of the African desert.  We also meet Bayar from Mongolia, Mari from Tokyo, and Hattie who is being raised in San Francisco.  Of course, location means everything as these babies are shown during their first year of life.

Babies is not given a voiceover, and the video is stark views of daily life.   There are no real “events” staged here,  just scenes as the babies go about their every day routine.  The stark difference in their upbringing is really what is the main focus here.  The stark contrast between the plush surroundings in the United States and Japan, versus the minimum resources in Namibia, and to a lesser extent Mongolia are truly amazing.  Ponijao is raised out in the elements, surrounded by animals and playing in the dirt of Namibia, while Hattie and Mari are left wanting nothing.  Bayar is also without some of the advancements that we in the states take for granted, but all 4 babies are given a warm environment which adds to their development.

Each of these 4 babies are cute and curious, and the charm of this movie is simply in watching them deal with their expanding worlds in their own ways.  The movie at times can be a bit slow, but the joy is in watching these babies as they mature, and are allowed to mature, in their own way.  They (like their parents) know of no other way to raise their babies, and each adapts and takes advanteage of what they are given.  The result is 4 very happy, very cute, little kids.





Audio & Video: 8/10
While the video is stunning in high definition, the audio accompanying the video is adequate, but hardly uses the true depth of the media.  By saying that, I do not mean that the audio was bad, because it is not, but this is a documentary without dialogue, and the sounds of the documentary are not beefed up and their are no explosions or wicked effects to showcase the Blu-ray, which is to be expected.  The audio is simply the audio.  The video is crisp and does showcase the massive differences between the 4 different regions where these babies are raised.


Value: 5/10
This is a neat little documentary to watch.  It is not for everyone, as those who don’t have kids may not want to spend a full hour and a half watching 4 babies, without dialogue or real direction.  I enjoyed the movie, and so did my family, as many will, but overall this is not a movie I will watch over and over again.  The production value is high, and the end result is one where everyone must take stock of where they live and enjoy it to the fullest, as some are not as privileged as we are.  Having said that, it is amazing to see the development of the 4 babies progress basically at the same time and in the same fashion, regardless of their surroundings.

Overall Score 5/10

• U-Control (Storyboard PIP) -I like art. I love art. So, you can figure out that any drawings or storyboards are candy to my candy-lovin’ eyes:)  If I were a kid again I would draw storyboards and act them out instead of just pretending to be a Charlie’s Angel jumping over the back of the couch. Yea, storyboards are good.
• Deleted Scenes – There are a whole lot of deleted scenes for us to enjoy. Some of it’s not that interesting, some extended scenes, but overall it made me like the movie even more. I know, that’s just wrong,but it’s true.
• Scott Pilgrim Vs The Bloopers -Famous people pretending to be other people making mistakes, giggling, goofing on their lines.
• Feature Commentary – So many commentaries, so much to say, so much reminiscing about making the movie, it’s a treasure trunk of goodness if you are in love with Scott Pilgrim. Seriously, you can watch the movie like 4 times with all different commentaries, no kidding!
• Making Of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World – This is an excellent behind the scenes documentary of the making of the movie. We get a lot of the director, the cast, the writer, and how they trained everybody to do their big stunts.  It’s almost an hour long and that’s just right, enough film making jargon and enough fun with an enthusiastic director it did make me want to watch the movie again. Isn’t that what extras are for?
• You Too Can Be Sex Bob-Omb -The lead guitar player for the fictional band is actually an actor!! I know, shocking. This is how to make an actor into a believable rock’n'roller.
• Music Featurette & Music Videos – There are full blown songs in this movie and here is your chance to see and listen to them again, and again, and again. :)
• Alternative Footage – Alternative endings don’t always offer much of a different tone from what’s in the movie, but this time, well, watch for yourself and decide which way you want to see the story end.
• Visual Effects -How do you make the real world melt into a fictional superhero/video game/fantasy world and it not look hokey or too whimsical? Watch this and find out.
• Adult Swim Scott Pilgrim Vs The Animation – An Adult Swim Doc which covers the animation dept.
• Free Streaming Bonus Movie – You can watch Pitch Black or Tremors streaming to the device of your choice. Enjoy.
• Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Copy -Yes, we know what this means.
• And More………..more more more

The Movie: 8/10
Yes, it’s getting and 8 out of 10. Pilgrim was a good time. I like having a good time. The story takes us through the various battles of a twenty-two year old man who must tango (code for fight) with the seven evil ex’s of his new groovy girlfriend. Why is she groovy? Well, she’s got dyed hair, sometimes blue, purple, green, and she acts kind of “too cool for school”. She’s a bit aloof and distant which makes her interesting and desirable. This is from the mind of a man writing a comic book, so I’ll give the story a bit of latitude:)

As our hero falls for the blue haired beauty he avoids dealing with his poorly thought out relationship with seventeen year old Knives. He doesn’t do a good job of dealing with girlfriends, at least we get the hint from enough comments from his friends and ex-girlfriends. It’s all quite innocent and a bit dreamy when it comes to falling in love, living your life, growing up, and being a generally unaware twenty-something who only cares about home grown music, video games, and comic books, oh and dating.

OK, so there is romance in that modern kind of way, but on with the action. The heart of the movie might be the ties between the friends, the boyfriends and girlfriends, etc. but the guts of the movie are the fight scenes. I don’t normally like fight scenes, but in this movie they are just right. There is some silliness, some far reaches, and some tiny little eye rolling that needs to be done, but I was actually excited for every new fight that came long. From the dancing style-over-substance first boyfriend to the smoky dragon vs. beast battle of the bands. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, and it is, but it’s loads of fun.

I know I should have read the comics before I saw the movie, but I didn’t so, there ya go. I am inspired to read the original stories because I really enjoy the only borderline angst that these young people conjure up. Have you had a good time lately? Hmmm There might be an absence of Scott Pilgrim. 




Audio & Video: 9/10
Exciting, innovative, awesome even Bi-Furious are some of the words I would use to describe Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. This is a movie that is right up my alley.

So let’s get down to the Blu-Ray presentation which as expected is simply amazing, I read a few reviews of the technical merits of the disc before I popped it in and a lot of reviewers were complaining about a washed out color pallete and a darker than intended transfer. All I can say is they must have been watching a different disc to the one I have.  Scott Pilgrim is a feast for your eyes and ears, it’s one of my favorite HD transfers (and movies) this year.

The audio comes to you courtesy of an impressive DTS-HD 5.1 track and to quote my wife “The bass is so deep I feel it in lady parts” high praise indeed, and perhaps this Blu-Ray would make a great stocking stuffer for the lady in your life.


Value: 8/10
This is an excellent value. The movie is pretty awesome and the extras are just about as good as extras can get. If you find this edition for 15 or so bucks that’s a true value for money purchase and I say go for it. If you just want a romp in the funpark of fantasy fights and video game references, rent it and watch it a few times to get an even better deal.

Overall Score 9/10

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• Unrated & Theatrical Version - Is this a feature? It’s the movie with the director’s original cut.
• Director’s Notebook - I do like to see all the behind the scenes of action period piece movies. I feel like I’ve seen it all by now, but it’s a good thing to put on the disc for extra viewing pleasure. This is a feature that runs through the movie when you watch it again with screenshots of artwork, behind the scenes, and making of all with some commentary by Scott and others. I like to see how each element of the movie is put together behind the scenes.
• The Art Of Nottingham – How do you create a real place with a fiction flare several hundred years later? Research and lots of mud.
• Deleted Scenes - I don’t really get excited about deleted scenes, and these don’t add much so it’s no big loss that they ended up on the digital cutting floor. There are a couple that show a few seconds of character stuff like maid Marion suiting up for battle, but if it were left in the film it wouldn’t really have much impact except to add a bit of humor that’s not needed.
• Rise & Rise Again: Making Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood – Lots of interviews and talking heads and background on the movie, which is awesome. I loved this one.
• Digital Copy & DVD Version Of The Movie - Uh huh, it’s a digitial copy.

The Movie: 8/10
I won’t pretend to have LOVED Robin Hood. My ‘review’ might be a bit confusing because I really really enjoyed it on one hand and yet it didn’t rock my world on the other. I’ll talk about the best parts and the less than satisfying parts and see if I come up with a balance, a score, and a fair recommendation.

First, the weakest elements of the movie for me are hard to describe. I’m not a huge Russell Crowe fan so I’m always looking to him to rock my world and in this movie he’s just who he is. He does the physical stuff, he shoots a mean arrow. He’s commanding and compelling, but there isn’t much to sink my teeth into in terms of a character who lives up to his legacy, a great speaker, a motivator, an inspiration to the masses.

I sat watching the movie and there wasn’t any big spark for me. I can’t say how it is when a movie just grabs my guts and I’m totally THERE along for the ride. I was compelled by the history and the fiction, but maybe I was too confused by where the line is drawn between the two so my mind is racing wondering what is fact and what is movie magic. I don’t think that’s a flaw, let’s face it, movie maker people want to tell a dynamic story, not cater to my need for either truth or fantasy:0

Now, what’s good? I really dig Kate Blanchett, mostly. I’m not a fan of her actorly ways, and she has a bit too much coy on ocassion, but then again she’s playing a woman who has been alone for 10 years while her husband is off to the crusades. She might be a bit playful when a sweaty dirty stranger crosses her path.

I really do love the epicness of it all. Ridley Scott is a master of the big and beautiful sets, sprawling landscapes and massive numbers of extras to fill the story and the screen with a sense of reality. I would like more grit and blood and guts, but I can accept a more tame version, even though I imagine those fights and battles would have been much more harrowing.

The telling of the tale of Robin Hood is a good change from the frolicking versions we have seen in the past. His origin story is fascinating so that is my favorite part of the whole thing. I have no idea of the reality, but I have to trust that Scott and his writers and producers did a fair amount of research. That’s why it feels so substantial. Even if I still have a hard time skirting the line between real and fantasy, it’s still a great potential rise of a legend.

There is a bit too much humor stuff in  places it doesn’t seem to fit, so that’s a turn off. I like dark, deep, gritty legends with battles and whatnot. So, I have to overlook the tamed version and hope for a really gory version sometime in my life.

I recommend Robin Hood if you love epic stories, history, drama, and action that makes you want to go to the Renaissance festival:) I actually do like all that so it’s a good one for me, even with the little bumps in the dirt road in my mind along the trail.





Audio & Video: 9/10
As always with Ridley Scott movies the cinematography and overall detail of every frame  drips with detail. This is one movie you really should see in high definition on as large a screen as you can get your hands on. The AVC encoded image is really a sight to behold as the movie is mostly candlelit and would be a nightmare for a lower bitrate format. The 2.40:1 aspect ratio really allows for some amazing vista and action sequences especially the final battle on the beach.

Audio is also handled well using the DTS-HD Master Audio codec, this really is an action packed event movie that has sound coming at you from all angles. The only complaint I did have was occassinally you could not tell what some of the actors were saying, I am going to blame it on some of the lame British accents (I am not saying British accents are lame, I am actually British! However, some of the actors in this movie have not quite got the hang of it).

Overall I loved Robin Hood (I am not in the majority though) and eagerly await Mr Scott’s Alien prequels which are coming very soon :)


Value: 8/10
This is a satisfying movie and the extras are substantial, so how can it not be worth the price? If it’s over 20 bucks, that’s too much for me to put it on my shelf, but if you tip the scale down a bit to around 15 I’m happy to have this incarnation of the Robin of Hood in my collection. If all you want is to experience the modernish take on the old tale, rent it and spend the rest of your cash on something lovely like some mead :)

Overall Score 8/10

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• Deleted Scene - Not much to talk about, it’s a deleted scene.
• Gag Reel - Several moments of cast members screwing up, giggling, missing lines, props that don’t work. The gag reel outshined the rest of the extras, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
• Feature Commentary With Cast & Crew - I say watching the movie with this commentary adds laughs where there are none, so go for it. :)
• BDLive - Nothing on offer as of the time of this review.
• Pocket Blu – Ugh

The Movie: 4 (maybe 5 on a beer drinking kind of day)/10
To the best of my recollection there are no fat jokes, so that is one point in its favor. Ryan Phillippe is awesome, another point. Kristen Wiig is, well, her funny self, point number three, and Will Forte does a darn good job of being completely insane most of the time. Beyond these four points theres not much here for me to rave about.

I wasn’t looking forward to the movie, I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of any movies that have some from Saturday Night Live. None that I can think of anyway. That’s not why I didn’t really dig the movie though, it’s just not funny to me. I had a few laugh outloud moments, almost all for Kristen Wiig. But as quickly as they sneaked up on me they left in a scurry back to eye-brow lifting that amounted to the question “Huh? Really? This is supposed to be funny and not just idiotic?”

The cast does the movie justice in the zest with which they offer up some of the actual humorous moments. Ryan Phillipe with a ________ in his ________, now that’s funny stuff. Kristen Wiig dressed up as ________ and ___ing her pants is a moment that must be lived to be laughed at properly. There aren’t enough knee jerk funny lines and moments for me to feel like it was satisfying. It had some “oh my GOD, they did not just do that”, which aren’t really funny, just “oh my GOD” and that can only take you so far.

Kilmer is pretty darn good, in his way. He’s loopy and menicing, arrogant and unapologetic. One might wonder if he was playing a role at all…(ba dum bum, clang). He won me back over though and now  I want to start my Kilmer apprecation from the beginning to find out if he’s really all he’s cracked up to be or if he put all his skills into The Doors and a very select few other movies. In other words, did he get lucky? Is he a nutball who gets parts because he’s so strange it just works? Is he truly a mastermind performer who can tug the strangenes out of characters as they are written and when the audience watches we just think “wow, Kilmer is soo good.”? I just don’t know. I need to go back to the beginning and recalculate my guts for Kilmer.

Will Forte is funny, no doubt about it. I do think, however, the material for this one is extremely limited, short changing his options. I know it was a sketch from Saturday Night Live and it deserves its due, or whatever, but a 3 minute sketch turned into a 2 hour movie has a lot of brething room, maybe too much. It’s like taking a flyer and trying to make a 1000 page novel out of it, filling in with lots of extra words that don’t make it better, just longer.

The special effects are mostly awesome, sometimes the bad and the good intermingle and it’s hard to tell if something was supposed to look cheap and lame or if it was just poor planning.

The music can be nostalgic, but it’s not always used to its full potential, but then 80′s music is near and dear to my  heart so any misuse or lack of use feels like a personal insult of sorts. Or not.

Overall I say I sat waiting for the next scene and finally for the end more than I was laughing and enjoying it for what he was, not the kind of movie I usually enjoy.





Audio & Video: 7/10
I really cannot recommend the movie to normal sane human beings so with that out of the way how is the Blu-Ray presentation? Actually since you ask it’s quite good we are not talking Wizard Of Oz/Pixar transfer good but for a 2010 movie it looks above par. I may have dozed off during the movie once or twice but from what I remember it looks pretty good and I saw no signs of DNR or edge enhancement.

Audio is brought to you via the magic of the DTS-HD Master Audio codec and is just about what you would expect from a comedy. There is not a ton of action in the movie despite what the trailer would lead you to believe, but what action there is comes across loud and clear. Dialog is crisp and centered, there are a couple of times when the looping is off but that is nothing to do with the disc. Overall like last years Land Of The Lost a disappointing movie that is best forgotten :)


Value: 4/10
I chuckled a bit now and then but that’s not worth much hard cold cash. It’s a great rental along with some other wacky flicks like Top Secret and Real Genius, two of Kilmer’s early offerings. If you have a brain that works beyond the yucks of some pretty basic jokes and odd behaving characters you might find this one not in your league at all so don’t hesitate to watch Airplane. It’s cornball humor at its best.

Overall Score 4/10

The Universal menu is here in its utilitarian glory.  The black and silver background, with the choices on the left, and scenes from the movie playing on the right.


Features: 6/10

• Casting The Children – This 11 minute long feature spotlights the frantic search for the 7 children that make up the Brown family.  We get to see the kids on set, both in and out of character, and we get a glimpse into director Kirk Jones’ take on the casting process.
• Village Life – This short piece focuses on the Brown house, which was built for the movie.  At about 4 minutes, we get to see what went into such a strange and charismatic part of the movie.
• Nanny McPhee Makeover – Just as the title states, we get to see the transformation of Emma Thompson, warts and all.  It is truly amazing the amount of work that goes into making someone so incredibly ugly.
• Deleted Scenes – Director Kirk Jones introduces us to 13 minutes of deleted scenes that run the gamut from an alternative opening sequence, to various other extended scenes that did not make it into the movie.  there really is quite a lot here to see.
• Hilarious Gag Reel – The gag reel is short, and we get your standard mess ups and goofs.
• How Nanny McPhee Came To Be – I quite liked this bit, as Emma Thompson takes us through a bit of how Nanny McPhee was developed off of the Nurse Matilda books, which I am not familiar with, but which seem to have the same heart as this movie.  We get  a bit of comparison between the two, as well as some introduction into how the movie was adapted from the ideas of the book.  This was a very interesting watch, and ran about 8 minutes long.
• Feature Commentary With Kirk Jones & The Children – The commentary features Kirk Jones with several of the cast chiming in.  It is an interesting commentary, even if it is not something I would normally watch with this type of movie.  The kids are a bit over-rambunctious at times, but the commentary moves at a good pace overall.

The Movie: 8/10
When I told my family that I had to review Nanny McPhee, they had two questions.  Was it the new sequel, and could they watch also.  While this is (of course) is not the new movie that is hitting theaters soon, I was happy to share my Blu-ray with them.  This is one of those movies that just seems to hit a chord with so many viewers, and while I remember watching this 2005 release on DVD, this viewing was quite nice also.

Nanny McPhee focuses on the Brown family, with Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) heading up this British family of 7 kids, who have lost their mother soon after the birth of the youngest child.  The kids have chosen to rebel, and are doing a great job of running out just about every nanny that the local agency has to offer.  As the movie starts out, Mr. Brown declares that the children are very, very naughty, and we see just how far they go when they convince the last nanny that they have eaten the baby, when in fact it is just a cooked chicken.  Nevertheless, they achieve their goal by running her off, much to the dismay of Mr. Brown.

It appears that only Evangeline (Kelly MacDonald), who is the scullery maid, seems to cherish the misguided kids, who are worried that their father is planning on marrying again.  while it is true that Mr. Brown is considering marrying again, the only reason is that Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) has promised to cut off Mr. Brown’s allowance, which is the only thing keeping him and the 7 mouths that he has to feed in their current house.  Mr. Brown is trying to save his family, but the kids not only are hell bent on him never remarrying, but they seem to resent his seemingly disinterest since their mother’s death.

When all seems lost, suddenly Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) shows up on the Brown’s doorstep.  With her one buck tooth, and several moles or warts, she sets out to teach the children 5 lessons.  She tells them that when they don’t want her there, but they need her, she will be there, but when they want her there and don’t need her, she will leave.  With her magic cane, she goes about transforming the kids into ladies and gentleman, who use words like “please” and “thank you”, which seem not to have been part of their vocabulary.

When the transformation begins, we see them blossom into perfectly behaved kids, who still do not want their father to remarry, and actually ask Nanny McPhee not to stop them from trying to stop their father from marrying the gold digging, overly made up Selma Quickley, who astoundingly comes off as being more ugly than the transforming Nanny McPhee, who loses some of her hideous traits as the children learn her lessons.

Nanny McPhee is a wonderful tale that really seems to be a favorite of many people of all ages.  Like I said, my family was excited to watch the movie again, and I can say that after seeing the presentation again, this time in beautiful high definition, I am still a fan also.

Audio & Video: 9/10
The color has been jacked up to high on this little movie, and the presentation on Blu-ray is electric.  The Brown’s house is like a box of crayons, with greens and blues and reds simply bursting from the walls and scenery.  This is obviously done on purpose and the result is a kind of cartoon-like feel to the movie.  The 2.35:1 VC encoded high definition video is bright, and crystal clear.  It is over-saturated and the effect is amazing.

The audio was quite bright with lots of clarity and a lot of room shaking bass, which was kind of unexpected.  It was very well done, and added a bit of kick to the movie itself.


Value: 7/10
There is not a lot of exclusive material here on the Blu-ray that was not available on the regular DVD, but the overall presentation is quite good.  The movie looks great, and for this movie, which seems to hit people of all ages, it is a nice addition to your Blu-ray collection.  It really has every member of my family looking forward to the upcoming sequel, so the timing is perfect.

Overall Score 8/10

The menu is another story. It’s not super fancy or anything, but they did make an effort. In face, the image on them menu, kind of an x-ray diagram of a human body and some kind of electronic read out like on a cellphone or computer over the top is pretty cool. I would have THAT as a poster, or mini-poster maybe.


Features: 7/10

• Unrated & Theatrical Cuts Of The Movie - The unrated version has more blood and a bit more gore, but other than that it’s not really that big of a deal. I like that they offer you the option though.
• U-Control (PIP/Tech Specs) - I like this feature. It’s fun to look at the different body parts you can buy , what they are made of, their prices, what they can do for you, etc. It’s got a lot of effort behind it and I appreciate that.
• Deleted Scenes - There is nothing here of much substance. Even the director and writer talk over the scenes and claim they find them often boring or too long…I disagree,but you cna understand why they didn’t make it into the movie.
• The Union Commercials - These are really a good little bonus. The Union is the big bad wolf of the story and these are their seemingly weird and uncomfortable commercials for body parts you can buy from them, or wives you can download for your virtual reality when you are in a coma. I would take a whole disc full of these little gems.
• Inside The Visual Effects - This is a brief look at some of the shots before the CGI is added, and added commentary by the director and special effects dude. They are kind of smart asses, but it’s a good way to see how things are created in the virtual movie making world.
• Feature Commentary With Director & Writers - I’m not a fan of the buddy buddy boy’s club thing, but they do a lot of talking. So, if you like lots of words in your commentary, this is the one for you.

The Movie: 4/10
I fall to my knees crying and screaming to the skies above, “I want to like it!! I want to like it!” This is the scene anytime I watch a movie that I was looking forward to for whatever reasons and then as I watched my hopes and dreams of slipping away into movie-watching bliss were dashed for, whatever reasons. I should make up a name for this condition. I’m sure it’s some kind of emotional disfunction. I mean, I like Sci-Fi, particularlly futuristic shit. I like Jude Law. I like stories in which the big corporations are the ‘bad guy”. I like a lot of elements that are present and accounted for in Repo Men, and then as a whole movie it just didn’t give me the zen happiness I crave on my weekends.

Why didn’t I like it completely and with all my heart? The editing seems choppy at times. I felt like there was a lot of being cool for cool’s sake and I could almost hear distant conversations of 20-something dudes with millions of dollars at their disposal saying things like, “oh yes, that will pop!” “Or, that will be so dynamic.” ugh. The music was hit and miss. The futuristic city was a bit overdone. Hmmm other than that, and those aren’t like horrible crimes against movie watchers everywhere, but bad enough to take the shine off for me.

What DID I like? Jude Law is compelling to me. I have liked him, not loved him, in most of his movies. He comes off a bit too cool for school sometimes, but overall he’s a plus in this movie. The premise of the story is what gets most of my attention, in a good way. A society that is so vein or afraid to die that we buy replacement parts and get in debt so much we can’t possibly pay for it all…well, need I say more? The company that takes advantage of this weakness in the humans is the bad guy, however some could argue just a cog in the machine keeping people alive and beutiful which is what they want. So what if you send repo men around to remove their livers, hearts, lungs, eyeballs, etc. when they can’t pay?

The absolute star of the show for me is Alice Braga. She came in on a shaky sappy sleazy bar singer scene, but after that I was into her performance,  her attitude, not so much her limping abilities, but other than that I really enjoyed watching her through each scene. She is the best ‘thing’ about this flick and I would watch it again just to see if I missed anything about her character the first time around. She’s kind of in a bad position with some questionable antics that had to be dreamed up by the aforementioned 20-somethings, but other than that she’s my reason to like Repo Men.

RZA, a recording artist I had never heard of, had what I would almost go so far as to say was the best scene in the movie. He was a down and out recording star (?) waiting for the IRS or whoever else needed to come repo something he couldn’t pay for. His performanace was genuine, subtle, believable. I would like to see him again in a movie that gives him more to do, more to say.

I want to like it! I want to like it! I did LIKE it, but on the lower end of like. I would recomend it for some fun action, lots of blood, the very free flowing rip-offs of lots of other action movie scenes, and a hard to swallow sound track, if you go for those sorts of things. I might seek out other stories, books, movies, that have a similar premise and see if I can explore it with a bit more class, or satisfaction, or just whatever Repo Men was lacking.





Audio & Video: 8/10
Repo Men is presented in 1080P using the AVC codec on a 50GB DL disc. The presentation here is just what you would expect for a 2010 HD release. The movie was shot on traditional 35MM film and the theatrical presentation is preserved with a smooth layer of grain and no DNR applied. The movie is quite dark in parts and the black levels are good throughout.
The 5.1 DTS-HD audio is alive from the very moment the credits roll, surrounds are used throughout the movie and bass is exceptionally active. This might not be demo disc material but the audio is something you want to crank up LOUD and really annoy the neighbours.

I wasn’t that into Repo Men to be honest. It has a cool premise but I think the movie was trying to hard to be something it was not. Still, for a rental on Blu-Ray it’s not a total wash.


Value: 4/10
I find myself hovering between liking and disliking the movie, but I can’t ever say it’s worth buying and keeping on my shelf forever. I wouldn’t even go so far as to say it’s a must see while the rental price is full-whack. If it hits the $3.00 range on any format for rental, go for it. It’s a fun kind of action flick you can get a few oohs and ahhs from with the blood and ideas, but other than that I would recommend renting Repo MAN, or if you are in the mood for some future action drama thriller kind of flick go for Minority Report, or I Robot, or A.I. or Terminator, or Aliens…etc.

Overall Score 5/10

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• Behind the scenes – It’s not much of a behind the scenes, more of a promotional commerical type thing. There are a couple moments with the director and with Stiller, but it’s more flash over substance.
• Greenberg Loves Los Angeles – This is a brief look at how the director wanted to show LA as a prominent part of the movie, not the glitzy glamorous Hollywood, but just the lived in look.
• A Novel Approach – How to tell a story

The Movie: 8/10
Ben Stiller does a fine job of playing a 40 year old man reassessing his life after having a nervous breakdown. I’m not sure this is much of a stretch in the acting neighborhood, but the final result is a good one. I’m not a hard core fan of him, even though he’s one of those mega-famous folks in my age group who I have been looking at my whole adult life. In Greenberg he’s not whacky or goofy, just unstable, bitchy, hateful, insecure, and unable to let go of his past. That past doesn’t seem like it was very good, so it’s hard to understand why he wants to keep dredging it all up, except that you get a very strong vibe this guy is just a misery guts.

Through his stint as house/dog sitter for his brother in LA he meets the brother’s assistant. She’s 25 years old and seems to be as lost in her life as he is in his. Gerwig is charming and sweet but real to the point of making me get lost in her character. Some of the looks she gives Stiller, or just expressions in general are engaging, understandable, and honest (in that acting kind of way). That semi-lost mid-20′s gal with a messy apartment, strings of sexual encounters, and a very loving heart is so believable she becomes the foundation for the whole movie.

Stiller’s character is a jerk, that’s for sure. He’s hateful to anyone who comes around, even old friends, new love interests, anyone there for the verbal abuse, he’s dishing it out. The thing is, he’s oblivious to just how sharp his tongue can be, then again, I get the feeling he is weighted down by it all. All that misery is hard to carry the older you get. He has dropped out of the whole rat race of life, just to do nothing for a while. He’s a carpenter so he has a trade to fall back on when his head gets straight, but in the meantime he finds some love for and from his brother’s dog, the assistant, even an old friend who has lots of reasons NOT to bring the fondness back into his life.

I like a movie that makes me think about what I’m doing with my life. I like movies that dig a little deeper than just surface laughs, explosions, or romantic hoo-haa. Greenberg puts the question out there, “What are you doing with your life, and why?” which is a fair question when you are like me. I don’t have kids. I don’t plan my life around my retirement. I dwell a bit in the past, but have hit that time when the here and now feels better than the martyrdom of a sorrowful past. I like this movie for all that.

OH, Rhys Ifans is so sexy….and he gives one of the best performances I have ever seen him give. He steals the scenes he’s in for sure. There is a clever subtlety to his reactions, expressions, body language and how he works with Stiller that brings a credibility to their relationship. The cast really does make this movie what it is. The writing is quality, the dialog is believable, and the look all come together to accent the people who make up Greenberg’s little, very little, world.

Audio & Video: 8/10
Greenberg has an almost 70′s style of cinematography that really comes across well in HD. Baumbach’s style is often very real looking then switches to an ethereal looking shot, both of these styles are represented well here. Some may argue the level of black is off in this movie but it’s obvious to me they were going for a real life look where quite often black is more grey and light coming through windows washes out scenes. Still overall this is a great transfer that is very Film-Like even blown up to 104 inches on our projector.

Audio is delivered using the DTS-HD Master Audio standard and like most drama/comedy is mostly front loaded. There are occasions where the rear speakers light up but that is mostly reserved for musical interludes. The soundtrack of the movie is quite awesome scored by James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem. The music gives the movie a pretentious LA kinda vibe see the film and you will know what I mean.

Overall I really enjoyed this story of a man who really does not have his shit worked out yet. Face it most of us have not, I am on the eve of my 41st Birthday and I still have no idea what is going on in this crazy place we call Earth. I highly recommend Greenberg it’s not for everyone but the ones who do get it will love it.


Value: 5/10
I like the movie. It’s good solid entertainment. I don’t feel the need to own it though. I say rent it for a calm Friday night movie-in at home. The extras are minimal, but that’s no big deal on a movie like this, so 3 or 4 bucks is reasonable for this Stiller offering.

Overall Score 8/10

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• Alex Ross, Renowned Comic Artist On Flash Gordon – I like art. I like artists (mostly). I like people who love a certain movie most of their life and defend it to anyone who wants to find fault. This guy is an artist, he painted/drew the artwork for the DVD/Blu Ray and more, AND he’s a fan of the movie claiming to have seen it dozens of times and goes on to explain why it’s good and why it’s not good for everyone. It’s a good extra.
• Writing A Classic Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr - He talks about the truth about the cult classic. He says people take it so seriously and he doesn’t understand why. So, those serious cult fans have probably paid for his big boats and houses a few times over…but he’s cool and he tells good stories.
• First Episode Of The Flash Gordon 1936 Serial – Need a look at the past to stick your nose up at how superior we are in every way? Well, this serial, and so many other productions in the late 30′s and 50′s, it was ahead of it’s time. It’s well worth a watch. I preferred to watch after the movie, but you choose.

The Movie: 7/10
It’s a movie with a mission. Fun. It’s a cinematic gem with a purpose. Be outrageous. There is no pretending to be a polished action flick or serious nod to an All-American football star turned superhero. I loved it.

Colors abound in this richly decorated little movie. It’s crazy with shapes, color, over design, too much cash in the hands of the people who liked to have sets built…you get the picture. It’s got a look that can only be found on Sigmound and the Sea Monster:)

I had no idea about this movie so it was all new to me and I loved it that way. It’s stimulating and fun to see very fight, every fake fall, every strange character from scratch, without having it cemented into my mind from childhood. I find the costumes and sets to be some of the best sci-fi ones around. They are basic, and strangely ambitious for the times. The vision of the future by movie makers of the 80′s, that’s the 1980′s kids, is eye happiness.

The acting is hmmm hmmmm you know, it’s what it is. Von Sydow though, come on!!! He took that shit seriously and he was awesome. Flash and his lady friend were both total sports about it all, that’s for sure,. They both put in great performances for the content and times and it makes the movie that much more fun. No one is stand out bad, everyone made this movie exactly what it was meant to be, a romp. The Book of Eli (another review we did a couple weeks ago) was heavy in theme and style, Flash Gordon is heavy in color and crazy, so it’s a nice balance.

SO, what do I REALLY think of this movie? I’m a 42 year old woman, white (except for the tanning bed pretend color on my skin), heterosexual, not an idiot, not driven by the testosterone in my 11 year old body….get where I’m gong here? When this movie came out and all the audience became pre-teen, teen, and goodness forbid, grown men who swooned over the sexual innuendo, the skimpy princess outfit, the tight pants and whip, the grunting initiation ceremony by a group of dudes in a tree with a giant stump with many holes in it….there are too many to  mention! If I were a grown boy who needed a movie to titilate him, this would do the trick.

That being said, I still loved it. It’s great exciting stage-like fun with wild induced aliens and strangeness along with that blond hair muscle bound American football player who, if his shirt had been any tighter I’d have to pretend not to be looking at that chest, that stomach, that 1980 body style with the chest out/stomach in quality of Kirk along with the flowing hair of Farah Fawcet, and the steel determination of, well, Flash Gordon :)…where was I. Oh, I loved it.

Yes, there are dudes with wings on wires. Yes, there is a churing pre-greenscreen sky that is suspect. Yes there is a space version of a jet ski. Yes, there are chicks so objectified it’s like taking a stroll in the late 20th century for goodness sake. I love it.

Get over your snotty attitude and just have a good time. I know you have a snotty attitude about it because you went to see Avatar and either think it’s the greatest thing ever and anything else just won’t measure up…OR you went to see Avatar and had the nerve to complain about the special effects. Get over yourself, watch Flash “He’s a miracle!!” in action and have a great time.

(Editor’s Note: 7 in 1980 should be adjusted for economic downturn tomfoolery, current inflation of billion dollar special effects, and plot loopholes the size of Jupiter. Thereby the 2010 score would be 13.876)





Audio & Video: 7/10
Flash Gordon has some of the most outlandish visuals you will ever see in a movie and Universal have really pulled out all of the stops translating the movie to Blu-Ray disc. This is one of the most detailed sharp looking transfers I have seen of an older back catalog title. The picture is a little soft on occasion mostly during some of the special effects sequences (Hawkmen flying sequences) but for the most part Flash looks like a modern day transfer not something that is 30 years old.

I am not saying this transfer is on par with Warners awesome Wizard of Oz restoration but I did get the same feeling of “Wow I have never seen this amount of detail in Flash Gordon”. Let me point out this was one of my favorite movies as a teenage boy so my viewing count on VHS is in the double figures. (Note from Cidtalk, the wife, his viewing was about figures alright, but it was more about tight red pants and leather whips added to the count, not the picture quality. )

I was not as impressed by the audio which has been remastered into a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Don’t get me wrong it sounds good but the punch I was expecting from the awesome music track (the movie is scored by Queen) was lacking. There is hardly any sub-woofer activity during the movie at all I had to check it was turned on. The dialog though is crystal clear and has that old movie type feel as though it was all recorded through a mono microphone.

Universal have done a great job here the only thing lacking for me is more punch in the audio and some better extras and a commentary. Maybe we will get those when the 40th anniversary rolls around?


Value: 7/10
I want it on my shelf. If it’s twenty dollars fair. If it’s more, well, I’ll still pay the money, I just won’t feel good about it since there aren’t more extras that fill in the whole history of Flash. If you are a curiosity seeker, rent this little gem and you might just have the urge to purchase as well. It’s a fun one to have to watch with friends, big bowl of popcorn and maybe a jug of moonshine to crank up the plausibility factor.

Overall Score 7/10

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Being a Universal release, we get the now well known menu with scenes and the Universal set-up.  I waiver back and forth on whether I think this is a good idea or not, but I guess it is a bit utilitarian.  We get scenes from the movie along side the menu itself.

Features: 0/10

• None – The really are not kidding – there are no extras.  For a Sam Raimi movie, this is a bit strange, but it waw made a long time ago, so perhaps with the semi budget release, no real effort was made to include new extras.  If I remember correctly the HD-DVD release was devoid of any extras also.

The Movie: 6/10
This is a somewhat campy movie, with a dark, violent theme that perhaps kept this from hitting the same group of comic book viewers as some of Sam Raimi’s later work, like Spiderman for instance.  Made in 1990, the movie features Liam Neeson as Peyton Westlake, who is a scientist who is working on creating synthetic, living skin tissue.  His main issue is that he is only able to keep the tissue. which can be formed into any shape or face, alive for 99 minutes before the tissue breaks down.  When he discovers by accident that light is the catalyst of the skin breakdown, he is attacked by a group of thugs who are looking for a document that has been discovered by Westlake’s attorney girlfriend Julie (Francis McDormand).

The document links one of Julie’s clients, who is developing a huge riverfront property, to a notorious gangster Robert Durant (Larry Drake).  Julie threatens to turn the document in (even though in real life that might cause an attorney-client privilege to be broken, but I digress), hence the attack on Westlake.  The thugs leave Westlake thoroughly deformed, with his hands and face mutilated.  Westlake then seeks revenge by using his skin creation to take out the baddies one by one, in 99 minute increments.

Confined to the shadows. Westlake becomes Darkman, who is forced to try to find his way back to Julie, while extracting revenge until he meets up with Julis’s developer client.

Darkman is a funny little movie, that by today’s standards is not nearly as dark as it may have been 20 years ago.  The acting is sometimes overdone, in a 1990′s sort of fashion, and mixed with the colors and somewhat (again, by today’s standards) goofy special effects, makes viewing this movie today seem somewhat campy.  It is a fun little watch, even if it is a bit of the past.

The use of the synthetic skin and strange, Sam Raimi visuals just seems to date this movie.  It really probably was darker when it was made, but the overall feel now borders on being over-the-top.  It is not bad, but it is a strange mix of violence with bright colors, goofy special effects, and overacting.  Sam Raimi went on to direct big blockbuster movies, and you can see his development in this movie, as it does present some hints of action hero genius, but it is just a fledgling attemp.   Darkman is fun to watch if you remember the 1990s and this type of movie, but it is not a great movie by any stretch.  It has garnered a bit of a cult following, which is understandable, but it is not something that will blow your  mind.

Audio & Video: 6/10
For a 20 year-old movie, I thought the presentation of the video was decent.   There were some issues with what  I would call clarity, as some of the faces seemed washed out at times, but overall I thought this was a decent 1080p, AVC-encoded 1.85:1 transfer.  The colors were a bit bright (almost over-saturated at points) for the movie, but the black levels were decent.

The audio was not what I would call a real Surround Sound workout, and the use of the rear speakers was a bit muted for my taste, but the levels were good, and the soundtrack was well represented.  It seemed to be mixed low overall, but it was quite well done.

Value: 5/10
For the Darkman fan, this Blu-ray is a must have, regardless of the lack of extras.  For many, this high definition release is an instant add to a collection, but for most of us, this is simply a rent to walk down memory lane.  The movie itself is not bad, but there is nothing here that is going to keep the non-fan coming back.  To me this movie just felt dated at this point.  It was fun to watch, but not necessarily a must own.

Overall Score 5/10

• U-Control (Video Commentary/Picture In Picture) - There is a lot of information packed into this U-Control thingy. I am liking it more and more with each movie it comes with. It’s a movie based on true events, real people, and that Hollywood magic tossed in for good measure so it’s got some hefty behind the scenes action to offer up to people like me who like to know where my stories are grown, fresh, organic, stuff like that. There are some of the actual folks talking, the director, Mr. Damon, etc. It’s worth watching the movie again to get the full bits and pieces.
• Deleted Scenes - These scenes are well done, really seemingly important stuff, but the director makes the final call and they hit the digital floor. I think it makes the movie better when you watch through these, so do it.
• Matt Damon Ready For Action - He’s just your average everyday mega-star who wants to blend in with the guys :)
• Inside The Green Zone - How do you make a place look like a place that’s currently having a war without going to the place that’s having the war? Go to Spain. The movie looks so awesome and I could swear it was in the middle of the war for real, but nope, just that good old magic movie dust, and lots of it.
• Dbox Motion Enabled - Hmm my chair doesn’t move.
• Digital Copy – OK
• Pocket Blu - OK

The Movie: 8/10
Movies do something for me that I can’t describe. Unless you are like me you wouldn’t understand. I know that Hollywood twists and adds and subtracts from “based on true events” type stories. I get it. The thing is, there is at least a grain of truth in every story, and that’s what trips my trigger and the rest is just sweet bonus movie magic goodness.

Green Zone is one of those movies that’s based on some true life events, real people, real questions about hard issues surrounding the current war in the Middle East. Going in you must sort out the truth from the fiction, or the jazzed up bits at least. The heart of the story is based on a small team of soldiers in the early days of the hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction. These were real man, doing a really dangerous, and as it turns out, questionable task of finding something that just wasn’t there.

Now, you can make a movie that’s totally on the truth and telling the tale kind of trail, however we might be better to watch a documentary for that kind of truth. I appreciate the combination of that little grain of truth, mixed with lots of research and working very hard to make it all as accurate as possible, and then also mixed with some big budget action. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you are getting an unbiased, correct version of events that have taken place. You can trust that the team did exist, they did not find WMD’s and the true guts of the story show that a man, a soldier driven by doing the right thing becomes a pillar of ethical, respectability in the middle of a confusing, complicated war in this world.

I really did enjoy this movie. It’s hard to say that about something that’s so intense and awful as war, especially so current. It is a powerful action flick if you just like that aspect. It does give you food for thought, that’s for sure. What do we REALLY ever know about wars, politics, the goings on of the world around us? Green Zone drops you some things to consider like what are the motivations of every person involved in the machines of war around the world? Are we all being manipulated for reasons we will never understand? Is it all about individuals who want power or money? This movie doesn’t answer those questions of course, or even directly attack them, but the whole of the story makes me think these things. I like that about this movie.

I won’t even single out anyone in the cast who isn’t just amazing. It’s well played, well directed, with excellent sets, amazing stunts and special effects. It’s a very well made movie, that’s something that makes it that much more gutsy. It made me think about some political, war, life, issues, that doesn’t mean it can’t be a kick ass flick. That’s a hard balance to strike, but I think Greengrass, the director, has a certain talent for this kind of story telling and I am a fan.

You can turn off your brain and watch the soldiers doing what soldiers do, or you can soak up the deeper issues, or you can do both. I choose both.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Green Zone was a bit of a flop in it’s theatrical run which seems odd to me as I enjoyed the movie a lot and it was quality from start to finish. Perhaps it will be one of those flicks that goes on to sell well on DVD & Blu-Ray. Talking of Blu-Ray Universal have given Green Zone the red carpet treatment with a 50GB two disc BD set that does not dissapoint.

Director Paul Greengrass uses the Red One HD camera and standard 35mm film to give his movie a realistic feel, I could always tell which camera was being used as the extra space on the Blu-Ray disc renders the scenes perfectly even down to the coarse grain in the low light scenes. Some people will complain that the movie looks bad I think it looks perfect and just how the director intended.

The 5.1 DTS Master audio track is everything you want from a modern day action movie. It’s aggressive, full of explosions and bass and the dialog is crisp and clear. The opening sequence got some applause from me (much to the dismay of my wife) as the explosions and tracer fire in the distance sounded so realistic. Overall I really enjoyed the movie and once again Universal have a top notch disc here to add to their growing collection.


Value: 5/10
Green Zone is a well made, impactful movie. Or, it’s a ‘popcorn’ movie (as described by Matt Damon in the extras). Either way the Blu-Ray version has some excellent extras, but it’s not one of those movies I need on my shelf. It is one of those movies I would recommend to several of the people I know, so it’s kind of a mixed bag of value. For over 25 bucks it’s too too too much, but if you could find it for say, $10-15, I’d think that’s worth it as long as you share it with a friend:)

Overall Score 8/10

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• Deleted Scenes – The only extra here is some deleted scenes, that are superbly dull.  the only one that I thought should have been included was a scene with John Lithgow that set up the reason that anna freaks out in her apartment after her engagement.  It really would have been good to see just why she freaks out, which needed a bit more set up.
• Pocket Blu, Social Blu, and BDLive - We again get the extras that are included on all universal releases, with Pocket blu, for information about the movies on your smart phones, Social Blu which is the online way to interact with your friends or random people who are also into movies, and of course BDLive, which has a link to Universal’s BDLive site, with trailers and such.

The Movie: 6/10
I love Ireland.  Let’s just get that out there at the beginning.  I studied law in Ireland, and spent a good amount of time there.  I spent time in Dublin, but also in Dingle, which is where part of this movie is (supposedly) set, and I will admit that I was excited to watch this movie.  Even a romantic comedy set in Ireland has to be decent, right?

Well, I did not hate Leap Year, but it was very disappointing to see the movie languish and stutter in what could have really been a clever movie.  Amy Adams was decent, even though it seemed strange that her character was portrayed as a clever, sharp witted “stager” of apartments in Boston, yet apparently as soon as she hits the shores of Ireland is incapable of moving a bed to get to an outlet.  For someone as highly put together as Anna starts off to be, she sure is given a strange demeanor in another country.  Regardless, Amy Adams does a decent job and is believable to a point.  Her relationship with her initial boyfriend  Jeremy is appalling from the start, which of course is a classic romantic comedy heavy handed trick, which unfortunately is not the only recycled romantic comedy bit in this movie.

Leap Year seems to want to imagine itself as a new style of romantic comedy just because it is set in Ireland.  There is not enough here besides the backdrop and accents to make this any different than most of these types of movies.  The chemistry ended up working between Anna and Declan (Matthew Goode), but then again, wasn’t it always going to be that way?

Matthew Goode does a good job of playing the collected Declan, but even he is a bit one sided.  Overall leap year is just too predictable, and I thought there could have been even more Ireland charm included that might have added to the movie.  Instead, we got too little John Lithgow and too little Ireland, with just some of the same old predictable romantic comedy bits sprinkled in between.  I definitely liked this more than I liked Valentine’s Day, but it just floundered too much for me to love it.

And for the record, there seemed to be very little of Dingle (my favorite Irish town) in the movie.  And also, the last time I checked, the Cliffs of Mohr (or whatever massive cliffs were shown at the end of the movie) are not right out front of a Dingle pub.  At least they could have shown the beautiful Bay of Dingle.

Audio & Video: 7/10
The video was decent for this type of romantic comedy.  The shots in Ireland are gorgeous, and the colors are very well presented.  The VC-1 encoded 2.39:1 widescreen is very nice, and looked pretty solid throughout.

The audio was bright and cheerful, and dialogue was well done.   There were moments of rear speaker use that quite frankly shocked me for a romantic comedy, and I thought it sounded better than it looked for the most part.


Value: 4/10
As an admitted lover of Ireland, it is hard to see a movie that has such potential be so drab.  Leap Year should have been great, but it flounders and relies on cheap romantic comedy gimmicks that seem stale, even though the surrounding backdrop is sublime.  This scaled down Blu-ray does nothing to help the movie’s cause, as the extras are bare bones.  It just feels as if this could have been grand, but the idea was handed over to someone who just didn’t care about the movie.

Overall Score 5/10

• 2 Alternate Endings – Two fully fleshed out (sorry, had to do it) endings that seem only slightly different from the one they used, but then again, the subtle differences totally change the whole essence of the end of the story, so that’s cool.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes – This is a collection of scenes that I say would work fine in the movie but you know how those editors and directors can be, picky picky.
• U-Control (Rick Baker Special Effects/Legacy,Legend, Lore) – This is a very extensive collection of tid bits about the original story, the making of the movie, warewolf lore, and lots of behind the scenes goodies. A very good U-Control offering, and I don’t even like U-Control. See the short clip below for an idea of what this feature has instore.
• Pocket Blu – Take the movie on the go some how, some way. It’s a miracle of modern technology.
• Digital Copy – Take the movie with you on your laptop, another miracle? Not really.
• Original 1941 Version Of The Movie Via BDLive – You can log into BD live, or just go on the site to watch the full 1941 flick, which is AWESOME.

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The Movie: 7/10
I almost thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Almost because it does have it’s low moments. Overall I was intrigued, interested, captivated, and genuinely entertained. I love creature features, or old school horror flicks, monster movies, whatever you call them. I like that stilted kind of acting, those awesome early days special effects, and the newness of the idea of using monsters in movies to scare audiences, to thrill and amaze us. The original Wolfman movie was in 1941. It wasn’t dark and brooding. I think it was meant to be more of a show case for the latest special effects, like many movies today. It had an almost cheery look and feel about it. This Wolfman isn’t like that at all.

From the very beginning with the darkness filling every frame, this is not the creature feature of the 40′s. This is more of a sullen, serious look at the torment of man, the struggle between good and evil. Oh, you do know that’s what the Wolfman is all about, right? Just like Jeckle and Hyde, Frankenstein, Dracula. Men struggle with their inner beast, tortured by their natural instinct to be a beast, but pushed to be civilized by the world…etc. Or so it seems to be the heart of these stories. I felt that whole idea very very present in this movie.

The father is hold up in a decaying old mansion while one of his sons has been gruesomely murdered by some kind of animal attack, or a lunatic. The ‘prodigal son’, a famous actor, returns upon the request of the fiancé of the dead brother. I know the vibe is supposed to be from the old time flicks, but this relationship is fairly flimsy. They have a lot of stolen glances, intense moments, but it’s hard to grasp the bond, for me anyway.

So, the son returns and soon the rural people are being mutilated by the same beast. The actor son is bitten and slowly starts to feel the changes inside him. We all know the story, so it’s not like you are on the edge of your seat, however, I was so compelled by the mood of this movie, it didn’t matter that the story is a retell. I liked Del Toro, and Hopkins, they had their moments of over-actorlyness, but they are professionals so I’ll give them a break. The woman though, she steals the show for me. Emily Blunt was engaging and subtle but with enough of that big drama to hold the dark brooding mood together in every scene. She kept me interested even when there were eye-rolling moments of questionable CGI.

I won’t go into the specifics of the occasional poor special effects. Let’s just say if you choose to like this movie just get over the missteps. It will serve you well.

I really did enjoy this movie. It was creepy without being spooky. The scene with Del Toro in the medical chamber changing from man to beast before our vary eyes, that’s pretty intense and one of the high lights for me. Then again, it might be because I wonder how many strange and horrible things really did happen back in those days when medical science was trying to “learn” more about the human body..ick.

Overall I really do recommend this to any classic horror fan. It’s not perfect, but it’s got enough goodness to be a quality 21st century telling of the story of a man bitten by a beast who can’t control his urges and succumbs to the darkness…or does he?





Audio & Video: 8/10
Director Joe Johnston uses a stylish Noir style palette to bring The Wolfman to life, or should I say too dark. This is a really dark movie that is full of atmosphere and the Blu-Ray does not disappoint. Super dark looking movies such as The Wolfman used to look a mess on DVD given the limited amount of data on the disc, but on Blu-Ray the shadow detail and black levels are simply stunning. There are many scenes here with smoke and fog rolling across dimly lit shots and there is not one instance of ringing, macro noise or edge enhancement it really is a treat for the eyes.

The DTS-HD Master audio track ranks amongst the top tier of audio presentations this year. Dialog is always clear and up front where it matters. Special mention should be made to Danny Elfman’s score which really sets the scene and uses the surround channels accordingly. The final battle in the movie has some really subtle sound cues that shift around the room. It really is a treat and you will probably find yourself demoing your sound system with that scene alone. Overall while I liked The Wolfman I feel the technical presentation is slightly better than the movie itself. If I had to recommend a Wolfman film myself grab “An American Werewolf In London” also available on Universal Blu-Ray.


Value: 8/10
If you are a huge classic horror fan you will buy this movie no matter what and if you do you are getting a pretty good deal. Lots of extras, a solid creep show, even access to the original movie. If you are just a fan of monster movies I say rent it and the old flicks to feed the need for blood…mowaaahhhahahaha

Overall Score 7/10

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The menu is the classic Universal menu, with the black background and choices along the left side, with scenes form the movie playing over the top of all of this.  I have stated before that it is getting a little bit old, after I first found the common set up nice.  I guess at this point I might just be bored with the menu, but at least it looks okay.


Features: 4/10

• The Making Of It’s Complicated – At just over 20 minutes, this promo piece is the kind of thing you will find on your on demand channel.  It is a look at the making of the movie, complete with interviews with the main characters.  It is a good little feature, if not predictable.
• Feature Commentary – The commentary here is mainly run by Director Nancy Meyers, who does a decent job of talking us through the movie.  I am not sure I would sit through the whole thing again, but Meyers is at least passionate about the movie and working with this cast, as she should be.
• Pocket Blu – This is the mobile version of the movie, which Universal is touting on almost all of their Blu-rays.
• Social Blu – Social Blu is Universal’s attempt at luring us to watch movies and interact with others who are doing the same.  I am not a big fan of this, but like the Pocket Blu extra, Univeral is pushing this.
• BDLive -As always the BDLive experience is in full effect for this release.  I am still not sold on this feature either, as the trailers and extras included in most of these Blu-rays are not enough to make me want to hit the internet every time I put a movie in my player.
  
  

The Movie: 7/10
It’s Complicated is geared towards a different group of people than I am used to reviewing for, as a good deal of the movies I review for the Boss Ascully are children’s movies.   It’s Complicated is geared towards the other end of the spectrum (well “other end” makes it sound like those who would like this movie are octogenarians, and in fact I just mean older adults.  Think 45-65 years old, and you will have the target group here.

That is not to say that younger viewers won’t enjoy It’s Complicated, as the acting and story are good and funny, but it really hits home for those who have adult kids and who either have gone through a divorce (or know someone who has).  The main part of It’s Complicated deals with finding a nice niche where you are comfortable with your adult life as you start your empty nest phase, especially if your ex is still in your life.  This is a group that is growing by leaps and bounds these days, with divorce so prevalent, and the baby boomer generation hitting its stride as the kids are heading off to college.  I am old, but I am only old enough to “kind of” relate to this movie.

Having said that, I really liked It’s Complicated.  Meryl Streep plays Jane, a mother of three who has been divorced from Jake for 10 years.  Jake (Alec Baldwin) is married to a much, much younger woman who is demanding and demeaning to him, and when Jane and Jake head off to New York for their son’s college graduation, a verbal boxing match of  having drinks in the hotel bar turns into an alcohol spurred, blast from the past encounter in bed.  The result horrifies Jane, who knows that she should know better than to sleep with Jake, who finds the experience exhilarating.  Baldwin plays Jake wonderfully, as the smarmy lawyer type, who so badly wants to rekindle things with Jane that the affair continues when they return back to California.  Jane, who is somewhat happy about finally being the “other woman” for once, struggles with the fact that she is sleeping with her ex. who has convinced her that this was meant to be, as they finally have reached the spot in their lives where they are both comfortable, and able to make their once doomed relationship work.

Jane however is not sold on the affair, as she slowly is falling for her architect Adam, who is played discretely by Steve Martin.  The result is a complicated ordeal where everyone is forced to deal with their mistakes and emotions as they present themselves.  Meryl Streep is amazing in this role, as her emotions are on full display throughout the whole complicated situation.  Alec Baldwin is funny and smart, and fits his role perfectly, as does the understated Steve Martin , who plays the hurt Adam, who is afraid to deal with a new relationship as he is just grappling with the loss of his old relationship, albeit to a cheating wife who has left him.

It’ Complicated is definitely geared towards an older crowd, with situations that only they can truly identify with.  I thought the acting and story were well done, and while the pace was a bit slow for me, overall it was a fun movie about getting old and dealing with it the best way you can.





Audio & Video: 8/10
I was very impressed with the video for It’s Complicated.  The scenes are sharp and colorful with excellent black levels.  Universal has really nailed the presentation here, as the 1.85:1 widescreen 1080p VC-1 encode is stellar.  All of the scenes, either indoor or out, were very well shot and the experience was solid throughout the movie.

The audio was good, but there was not much use of the rear speakers.  The dialogue was very sharp and clear, and overall for a movie like this, it was better than average, with the exception of the lack of real punch from the rear speakers.


Value: 7/10
It’s Complicated is a very funny movie that really grew on me.  It is not the type of movie that will appeal to everyone, and I would say that those in their teens and twenties may not appreciate the acting and humor presented here, as it really is geared towards an older crowd.  I found myself several times laughing because of the situations that us slightly older individuals can find ourselves in, with kids getting older, and things falling apart.  I am by no means old enough to completely fall in line with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin, but I am getting there, and I think the older crowd will really love this movie.  The Blu-ray presentation is excellent, and when mixed with this top notch crew, It’s Complicated is a great movie that examines the intricacies of getting older and trying to get comfortable with who we have become.

Overall Score 8/10

• Song Of Africa – This is a 1:15 minutes making of feature, that is really very good.  It really spends a good deal of time going into the story, and the filming and acting that makes up this epic movie.  It is quite good for an older movie.
• Deleted Scenes – There are quite a few short scenes that don’t really add much to the story, but it is a decent watch.
• Feature Commentary With Director Sydney Pollack – This is by far my favorite of the extras.  Sidney Pollack, the late Director and excellent actor, really goes into detail about his vision of the movie and how it developed.  It was a really great feature and excellent commentary from such a brilliant mind.
• BDLive – This is of course the feature that sends you across the Internet to the Universal site, complete with trailers and info on new releases.  I still am not 100% sure that BDLive is useful, but we get the links here.
• More – There are a few included trailers included here for Universal, and a few were quite odd for this type of movie.

The Movie: 8/10
Out of Africa won seven academy awards 25 years ago, and it has been named as one of the greatest movies ever made.  the soundtrack was stunning, and the acting is quite spectacular.  At 161 minutes it truly is an epic in terms of length, but the movie and pacing really helps make this seem much less of  a painful task.

Out of Africa features Meryl Streep, as the Danish Karen Finecke, who is getting up in years when she and her friend Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandhauer), who also happens to be her lover’s brother, hatch a scheme to become married.  For her it is for the name recognition and to avoid looking like an old spinster, and for Bror it is a way to get money, which he seems to have run out of in his escapades in Europe.  The couple decide to set off for Kenya in Africa, where they will become married and raise cattle.  When Karen arrives the wedding commences and the friends become married.  It is only then that Karen learns of Bror’s decision to try to grow coffee instead of cattle, a decision that does not sit well with Karen, as the money has come from her parents, and the decision was made without her approval.

On the train to Kenya, Karen encounters Denys, (Robert Redford) who is portrayed as a good looking hunter who is accustomed to Africa, and seems to relish in her sights and sounds.  Denys asks Karen, who is enthralled with Denys, to take some large white ivory tusks to his friend in Kenya.

Out of Africa is set around the first World War, and deals with the war at a distance, through the eyes of Karen, who ends up falling in love with Denys, as her relationship with her new husband Bror, seems destined to fail.  The acting is quite well done, as is the story, which could have been too long and drawn out, but plays out nicely.  It is a story about Karen finding her way in the new African wonderland where the locals see her as a strange enigma, who will get her hands dirty tending to the coffee trees, as well as taking care of scrapes and injuries of her workers.  She is portrayed as a smart and savvy female, who is not afraid to speak her mind, in a time when this was not exactly something that was done.

Out of Africa is one of those movies that movie lovers have to see at least once.  It is a solid movie, and a great example of what movies can be, with a great mix of a strong story and excellent acting mixed into one package.





Audio & Video: 6/10
I was not overly impressed with the transfer of out of Africa.  Now I admit I might have been expected too much from such an old movie (25 years ago is a long time – just ask Meryl Streep) but this was not really the high definition experience that I expected.  It looks good, but it seems fuzzy and less sharp that it should be, and that might be the film itself and the cameras that were used, but I still expected more.  The movie is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, but it was filmed in 4:3, before widescreen got big.  Some of the cinematography is sweeping and breathtaking , but it was just not what i wanted it to be.

The audio was better, with beautiful epic music and sharp dialogue.  The music by John Barry won an Academy Award, as did the movie for best sound.  It is quite a nice presentation considering the age of the movie, but it was well done in DTS-HD 5.1.

Value: 7/10
A great movie, that deserved to win so many awards, but it was not as good as I remembered it to be.  This is acting at its finest though, with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford putting in excellent performances.  There are some decent extras included on the Blu-ray, and it is cool to see that they have found a way to merge the Blu-ray and a regular DVD onto one disk.  For those who like classic, Academy award winning films, (and lets be honest, who doesn’t) Out of Africa on Blu-ray is a fine release, and a great movie.

Overall Score 7/10

• Deleted Scenes (3 Exclusive To Blu-Ray) – The writer/director likes to get a lot of footage (is it still footage these days?) and with these additional scenes the movie would have been about 4 hours long, which might be a bit much. They are well finished and pretty fun, but they are fine to be left behind.
  
• Featurettes – Talking heads revealing some behind the scenes through interviews and discussions, but nothing very elaborate and they seem more promotional and less interesting.
  
• Feature Commentary - For more telling of tales about pirate radio from the 60′s and stories abut making the movie, this is your extra.
  
• Pocket Blu – Whatever.
  
• BDLive – Nothing to offer except new trailers.
  

The Movie: 7/10
I was neutral about this movie. I know, it’s getting worse and worse these days. I see a trailer or hear a movie mentioned on the radio and I think, “hmm sounds ho hum” or the trailer completely tells the entire story, shows what are arguably the best bits, and then ruins the experience of the movie in the end. I’m the type who likes to know absolutely nothing about the movie I’m about to watch. I mean, if I don’t even know who’s in it or what it’s about, I’m thrilled.

So, The Boat that Rocked, or Pirate Radio, depending on which side of the pond you are from,was all but laid out on a silver platter for me. I knew the cast, the story, the director and his style. Clips in the trailer and online ads seemed to sum it up so completely I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I loved Love Actually, by the same writer/director, so there was hope.

The movie opens and it’s like Introduction of Colorful Characters 101. It moved fast and furious to establish a potentially pretentious collection of raucous individuals who had taken to the wide open seas in the 60’s while Great Britain was not open to airing Rock and Roll or Pop on mainstream radio. It sounds like an eye roller. I don’t mean the story. The whole thing sounds like it has the heart of rebellion, individualism, fighting against the powers that be, and all that good stuff I love so much. The problem is that the market made this movie seem like a throw away little trendy flick and I don’t respond well to those things….and then it is British, so I am bound by lifelong infatuation of all things British and marital obligation (married to a Brit) to give it a fighting chance.

After meeting the characters and settling in, I had a change of heart. It was slow to brew, but that feeling of good clean grown up heartwarming fun began to kick in. That’s what the Curtis seems good at and it was true this time around. Feel good, it’s not a crime. That’s pretty much a theme in the movie.

It captures time in our modern history when music ‘rocked’ the world. I’m sure there were some old timey composers back in earlier centuries, but that’s a whole other movie. From our perspective, this movie tells the tale of a time when a line got blurred. The people in the movie who are listening to the crazy degenerate rock music vs. the people who despise self-expression for fear it might lead to chaos and anarchy.

The characters grew on me, one by one. The naughty DJ who talks down and dirty to the listeners and the token American brash loud brooding DJ. The young man who has come to the boat to find his way…questionable since the boat is full of sex, drugs, and rock music. There’s the nerdy news man, the nervous comedy guy, the lesbian who cooks for the whole bunch, and a few other colorful folks who make up this sea bond family.

Through the story we get the slightest vibe that this boat of music is doing its civil duty by giving people who are back home in England a great time with their music and chatter to get them through their otherwise mundane jobs and lives. And isn’t that what art and leisure does for us all?  The evil government official who wants to bring them down is the exact opposite of all things relaxed and fun. He’s bound and determined to destroy their self-expression. Will he succeed?

The spirit of rebellion is alive and well in the story, but it is a bit tame to be honest. The original boats of pirate radio stations must have been a whole lot more grungy and stinky, or at least I would imagine. We are getting a washed down version, but that’s OK, Rock and Roll can be a bit hard core for some people :)

I came away from the movie feeling like “down with the man!” and that’s what I like about it the most. It invigorates that seed of anti-authority that lives in most of us right under our crusty surface. It gave me a jolt and I had a good time watching, that’s well worth a couple hours and a few laughs. I started neutral and ended up loving the feeling, loving the story, loving that ‘give ‘em hell’ attitude. :)





Audio & Video: 9/10 (by Ascully)
What a refreshing movie Pirate Radio is, it’s basically fun all the way through and it tells a story that not much of the planet is aware of. Video quality on this Blu-Ray release is actually very good and right up there with the best of 2010 HD releases so far. The picture is razor sharp at all times and color and brightness levels never waver.

Audio uses the DTS-HD Master audio codec and for a movie that deals with the music of the 60′s sounds awesome. You could say some of the music here will be the best you have ever heard it. Alongside the music the soundtrack itself is quite lively for a comedy movie, the final scenes actually come off just like a blockbuster action movie in the audio department.

Overall I really enjoyed Pirate Radio. I am a big fan of Richard Curtis though so that might have something to do with it. The movie is a little long and takes it’s sweet time getting to where it’s going but the ride or should I say voyage is well worth taking.


Value: 5/10
I don’t need to own this movie, however, I would watch it again. Therefore I’m torn. I say it’s a good buy at around 12 bucks, but anything more and I’m ready for a rental. If you must own it, invite a load of fun loving’ friends around to have a movie party and make it worth your investment.

Overall Score 7/10

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Before I get to the menu, I think that I have to at least mention the atrocious loading time for this Blu-ray.  It is by far the longest loading Blu-ray yet, and it doesn’t help that half-way through, I was presented with an invite to join a social network called “Social Blu.”  Enough with the long load-outs and extras – put them in the extras section of the disk.   Please don’t get me mad before I sit down to enjoy a movie.  In a new twist, I was also a bit surprised to see ads for other movies while I sat at the main menu, which was the classic black background that Universal uses, with the choices on the left, and scenes from the movie running in the middle of the menu.

Features: 6/10

• Lost Moon: The Triumph Of Apollo 13 – Lost Moon is a behind the scenes documentary of the making of  Apollo 13.  This extra includes interviews as well as behind the scenes shots of the action as it unfolded on the set of the movie.
• Conquering Space: The Moon & Beyond – This 50 minute long extra is a kind of documentary that talks about the space race as it occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union.  It is a very informative look back at the days that lead up to the U.S. putting a man on the moon, and what it meant to the world at the time.
• Lucky 13: The Astronauts Story – This feature focuses on 3 of the main characters that are portrayed int he movie.   It checks in at about 20 minutes or so, and focuses on Lovell, Fred Haise, and Gene Kranz, and it is a decent little watch.
• Feature Commentaries – We get two commentaries on this release, which include Director Ron Howard’s commentary, which is exceptionally informative and good, as well as a second commentary, featuring Jim Lovell and his wife Marilyn.  The second commentary is equally as good, with a bunch of information about the real life version of the movie.
• D-Box Motion Enabled – For those of you lucky enough to have D-Box enabled home theaters, this is one of the movies that will rattle your seat and your brain as the rockets blast off in your home movie palace.  I am not so lucky, so I can only tell you that this movie is supposed to do exactly that.
• Pocket Blu – Pocket-Blu is basically access to information from your iPhone or blackberry, which is a bit new and strange.
• U-Control (The Apollo Era/Tech-Splanations) – We get the return of U-Control, which is Universal’s pop up video type of set up, which brings up facts about the movie and the science in this case behind the Apollo 13 space flight.
• BDLive – BDLive is included here, and even though I did not delve too far into it, it seems to be your standard online Blu-ray experience.

The Movie: 8/10
It was 15 years ago???  It is hard to believe that this little movie was released 15 years ago.  It kind of makes me feel old to be honest.

Apollo 13 was the movie that followed Hanks after Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and he was every bit as good in this one as he was those movies.  Hanks plays Jim Lovell, the captain of the Apollo 14 spacecraft, who gets bumped at the last minute with his crew to Apollo 13.  Lovell, who watched as Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, was dreaming of doing the same, and was handed the Apollo 14 mission in which he thought he would get to join Armstrong as one of the few men on earth who have had the opportunity to do so.  Apollo 13 does a wonderful job of showing the rush of the mission to get back to the moon, and how the whole situation turned from a routine  voyage to a complete nightmare in the matter of a few minutes.

Hanks is joined by Bill Paxton who plays Fred Haise, as well as Gary Sinise as Ken Mattingly, who was bumped off the flight for Jack Swigert, played by Kevin Bacon.  the cast is phenomenal, and really bring an heir of truth to the movie itself.  The space flight turns into a rescue mission as Gen Kranz, played exceptionally by Ed Harris drives his team on the ground to find ways to bring back the astronauts, who are sitting in the spacecraft as oxygen pours out of it, as they learn that not only are they not going to get to walk on the surface of the moon, but that they are in serious danger of not making it back to earth.

The movie is quite well done, and like I mentioned, the cast has a lot to do with it.  Overall Apollo 13 is a great little movie, and the mere fact that it came out 15 years ago, and is now being re-released is great, until you (if you are as old as me) start to realize how old that makes you feel.





Audio & Video: 8/10
While you have to take into account that Apollo 13 is 15 years old, the video and audio are very good overall.  The 2.35:1 1080p AVC encode is nice, but the movie is not as sharp as one would expect if it were made today, simply due to the way it was shot.

The audio is well done with great use of the rear speakers.  The DTS-HD audio is nicely preserved and sounds very good especially during all of the shots of the rocket and space.


Value: 7/10
It is nice to see some of these types of movies being released on Blu-ray, and a movie like Apollo 13 is a great addition to your collection, but it is getting hard to recommend buying everything again on Blu-ray.  If you have not seen the movie in a while, it is a great one to watch, and you really get to appreciate just how good Tom Hanks (and the rest of this cast) really are, but overall I would say rent this one.

Overall Score 7/10

• Becoming Serious – A good 30 minute look at the making of the movie. Interviews with cast and crew along with an overall good vibe from the brothers who seem to keep cranking out these ‘down to earth’ movies. I would like to see more about the process, but then again, sometimes too much background can fuzzy the star of the show, the film itself.
• Creating 1967 – Making a period movie takes some time and effort…then again, I”m sure there’s lots of vintage clothing and knick knacks sitting around. I mean, yes, it’s a great effort to reproduce the feeling of a certain period of time, but it’s the 60′s people, it’s not like they have to wing it and hope to get it right. It was only 42 years ago! :) (I know this because I was born in the year the movie was set it, 1967)
• Hebrew & Yiddish For Boys – If you are not Jewish or speak Hebrew, like me, you will like this extra that plots out several of the terms used in the film. It’s always good to learn something new.

The Movie: 9/10
I love this movie. It’s funny, entertaining, it’s poignant, and lovely. I can’t say more good stuff than that to be honest. Where do I start? The story is about a middle aged Jewish Physics professor in a suburb in the Midwest. He’s finding out that life wasn’t what he thought. His wife proclaims she’s had enough of things as they are. He seems like a nice enthusiastic guy so it’s hard to figure why she’s over it, but as the story goes he finds in himself that he might have been a bit blind to his life and in the process the wife just got tired of not being in the kind of marriage she must have once thought they would have.

It’s not an acrimonious kind of separation, they all act like grown ups while he, our leading man stays in a motel with his seemingly unstable brother. All this is while he’s facing a Tenor hearing about his position, and the threat of a student who wants a grade changed at any cost….it all sounds so blase, but it’s not at all. It’s dynamic, and exciting and funny and so engrossing because of the cast and the art design of the whole movie I just got lost in it.  The problems he’s having all pile up on him and he turns to Rabbi’s for guidance. He goes through a series of meetings and consultations, and even kind of seeks advice from a semi-sleazy divorce attorney, but no one seems to have any answers. He’s on his own and he will either let it all bury him in misery or he’ll find a way to see it all from a new perspective. That’s one of the themes of the movie, that your life is what you make it. Things that come your way are what they are and you decide how you act on them and then move on with your life.

His son is about to have his Bah Mitzvah and is finding his own path, amidst some teenage swearing, pot smoking, fighting with his sister and a general numbness to his parents’ troubles, this kid steals the show for me. He’s awesome. It does make the story seem a bit unbalanced, so much attention on the father and son, and less on the mother and daughter, but hey, the Cohen brothers might not be diggin’ on telling that side of things this time around. I’ll wait patiently for another movie pursuing more female tales of life discovery.

I would say my favorite part of the movie is when he’s on the roof fixing the antennae and catches a glimpse of his neighbor nude sun bathing. It’s not pervy or weird, it’s like he’s truly seeing something he’s never seen before, a woman, just a woman laying there exposed to the world hidden only by a fence but still, brave, bold, free. I think in that moment we see on his face utter amazingment and envy and only a hint of sexual desire. The main thing about that moment is that it’s like he’s looking out a window at a world he’s never been to and he’s only slightly afraid of it, more interested and driven toward it, but in a somewhat old fashioned repressed way. It was the last 60′s after all.

If you are looking for the meaning of life, or some meaning in life, or anything meaningful in your life, a movie might not be the way to fill the riddle for you. However, A Serious Man will stimulate something in your brain, your view of life, if you’re lucky, that you will take away with you and maybe ponder down the road….or not…it is just a movie.

Audio & Video: 8/10
A serious man is presented in 1.33:1 & 1.85:1, why is that you ask well the small intro scene is shot in full frame and the rest in wide screen. The transfer here is simply gorgeous, cinematographer Roger Deakins who also did the cinematography for the superb “The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. Deakin’s uses a wonderful lens technique in A Serious Man and in Jesse James that sees the characters as though they are through sheet glass, it’s impressive and here is almost a progression of what he achieved in Jesse James. The parts that are not through glass are sharp, black levels are pitch perfect and there are no signs of DNr or edge enhancment.

Audio is kept subtle with the DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 track keeping the dialog front and center where it should be, there is the occasssional sound pan including an impressive one where a boy runs across the street. Jefferson Airplane’s music also sounds incredible here with a title sequence that actually takes place inside a boy’s head (you need to see it to understand it).

Overall this is an impressive movie (it’s nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year) and the Blu-Ray presentation preserves the vision perfectly. highly Recommended!


Value: 8/10
Get it, buy it, rent it, watch it, however you can legally get your hands on this movie, go for it. It’s a wonderful movie watching experience at any price as far as I’m concerned. The extras are slim pickings, but that’s not a big deal when the movie is so satisfying.

Overall Score 9/10

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The menu is strangely loud and not themed with the movie. It’s functional, and that’s about it.

Features: 5/10

• Deleted Scenes – This is a sizable collection of deleted scenes introduced by the writer/director. The original movie would have been 3 1/2 hours long, so at just over 2 hours you have to imagine a lot of digital bits on the cutting room floor. I didn’t see anything in the deleted scenes that would have made the movie better, in fact, I think it would have been pretty poor if it was presented in its original state.
  
• The Music Of Love Actually – I get it, the music is emotional and we all react to it accordingly. I guess I figure it’s pretty obvious why certain music is chosen for certain parts of the story. Sometimes too much inforomation takes away the romance.
  
• Kelly Clarkson “The Trouble With Love Is” Music Video – Ugh, (awesome song though)
  
• Billy Mack “Christmas Is All Around” Music Video – Ugh again, although this is pretty funny. I still don’t need music videos.
  
• The Storytellers - How the different relationships of Love Actually come to be stories from the mind of Richard Curtis? He explains how he used some real life tales, and a bit of romantic fantasy love stories tossed in for good measure.
  
• Feature Commentary With Director Richard Curtis And Actors Hugh Grant, Billy Nighy And Thomas Sangster – I can’t deny that I love this movie enough to NOT listen to the commentary. It must be good, with the gang of folks involved, but I say leave the lovely movie as it is for me :)
  

The Movie: 8/10
Ohhh to score this movie is so unfair. I love it. I can’t have a holiday season without it. I am not a romantic, but it happens to bring out some hint of that kind of vibe for me so I truly enjoy it every time I watch it. That would be about 20 or more times by now. The thing is, it’s not a brilliantly made piece of story telling. It’s not original or bold or clever, well, a little bit here and there. It’s just plain old fashioned love-sick mushy fodder, and that’s fine with me.

I get a nice feeling every time I watch Love Actually, that has to be a good thing, right? I mean, the world is harsh and has a mean edge, this kind of movie can take me away from that for a while.

I do know that it’s sappy, it’s soft, it’s mushy, it’s trite, old school romance, over the top ‘sweet’. I have no problem with that, in this case. Any other time and I’d be rolling my eyes like crazy! It might have something to do with being married to a British man, the charm, the accent, it all kind of brainwashing of the international romance situation. Whatever the reason, I love the movie and will continue to do so until I do not love it anymore.

That’s what happens with “love” it can fade. They even touch on that little sad point in one of the stories. That marriage, however it might look on the outside has it’s flaws that maybe, just maybe the idea of love cannot mend. The movie needs something that’s not so happy happy, and Emma Thompson does a tremendous job of bring her character and her situation directly to the heart of me. Love it.

I don’t believe in a lot of things, but I do believe that if you find someone, for a little while or a long while, who you feel deeply, madly, passionately in love with, well, it makes life worth living. Even if that falls away and you are left with memories, you can’t tell me it’s better than never loving anyone at all. (I think someone might have said that before with different words and more skill.)

I will say that as much as I love the movie, the director talking about how he came up with the stories and the whole of the project, it didn’t endear me to it at all. It’s fine on its own, no extras, no explanations, just as it is, soppy, romantic, lovely, and sweet. It’s a nice way to spend a couple hours each year around the holidays.





Audio & Video: 9/10
Love Actually looks and sounds quite amazing for a older back catalog title. Universal really have a great looking 2.35:1 wide Screen VC1 transfer here which looks sharp and best of all vibrant. I have watched the DVD version many times over the years and it’s safe to say the Blu-Ray is a major step up in quality especially the depth of color.

The movie has an amazing soundtrack which is quite well presented.It’s not standout material but the DTS-HD Master Audio codec does its job delivering the speech clearly and the musical tracks have a richness the DVD soundtrack doesn’t.

Overall this is my absolute favorite romantic comedy/Christmas movie and will be dragged out around here each and every year so I say it’s totally worth the $17 bucks or so you can find it for online.


Value: 7/10
I might not be objective on this topic, after all I do think this is a MUST HAVE movie for my collection. That being said, if you can find this movie on Blu-ray or DVD or VHS or scratched into the side of a rock for a pocketful of your holiday gift cash, go for it! The extras are so-so, it’s the movie that is well worth the purchase.

Overall Score 8/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
As much as I appreciate that Depp face, I do not like the cover featuring his face. There is the matter of a gun, some boring design choices, and over all it’s bland and unappealing. The 30′s have such potential for graphic design and Dillinger was quite the character. They could have done so much more. As for the menus, well, be prepared to see scenes from the movie, always a bad choice.

Features: 7/10

• Larger Than Life: Adversaries – The war on crime was a new concept in the 30′s in America with Herbert Hoover leading the way. The combination of organized crime, cheap thugs, and punk criminals like Dillinger sparked a change in law enforcement that lives on even in this new century.
• Michael Mann Making Public Enemies – Michael Mann likes to talk about his actors, his story, his movies, so this is a good talking head kind of extra. It’s good, it’s got bulk and a fair amount about the making of the movie. It just seems a little bit packaged.
• Last Of The Legendary Outlaws – Who was John Dillinger and why did a convicted criminal who stole money from banks during the great depression raise such public support?
• On Dillinger’s Trail: The Real Locations – Everything that happened in the movie isn’t necessarily what happened in real life, but Michael Mann does like his locations. This means that all the places in the movie are the real places where some events did take place.
• Criminal Technology – Make a better gun and the criminals will be one step ahead. That’s the idea for this extra. As history rolls on, so does our need to keep up with the crimes that some humans are compelled to commit. This extra shows us the guns and other technology used in the 30′s to capture criminals, and even start the FBI.
• Feature Commentary With Michael Mann – He likes to talk, so let him. It’s a good reason to rewatch the film and hopefully find more good stuff the second time around.
• U-Control (PIP/Timeline) – There are a lot of picture-in-picture making-of segments for several chapters along with historical time lines to follow along with the fiction. THe problem is that most of the sound from the small picture isn’t loud enough to drown out the movie that’s always playing. If you can hear the content it’s some very good information about the truths behind the movie tales of Dillinger and his wild days./li>
• Pocket Blu – Turn your iPhone into a remote control..yea yea move along.
• Digital Copy – A copy for your laptop.

The Movie: 6/10
OH my good grief it’s hard to write about this movie. Why? Well, let me tell you. Public Enemies has so much goodness in it’s pocket I keep thinking about moments here and there and it’s very enjoyable. Then again, it’s got problems that are equally as bad as the good parts are good.

First the bad news. The sound is awful. The mixing guy cannot tell me with a straight face that this movie sounds good. Not one scene has a well balanced, comfortable quality or volume level for all the different elements that are happening. An actor might speak and it’s muffled like he’s in a closet, while the guy next to him sounds like he’s got his mouth rubbing on a microphone. The gunfire is so obtuse it’s jarring and I don’t think that’s a good kind of realism. The picture is fair, but the camera tricks and attempts at style are lost completely on what is a fantastic backdrop, the 1930′s in America. There’s so much technically that’s distracting about this movie it was seriously difficult at times to focus on the rest, and the rest is really good.

The cast is awesome, everyone does their thing and I felt like they all fit their parts, the era, the circumstance. It got a bit overly artsy at times with Depp and his leading lady with the glances and the melodramatic moments, but overall I enjoyed every scene in terms of performances. The writing got a bit utilitarian at times, dialogue a bit on the obvious side of things, but that’s fine too. It was a different time, maybe they were reflecting that kind of attitude from films of that decade.

The story is very intriguing. Dillinger was a two-bit bank thief but somehow got tangled up in the middle of an evolving organized crime system, and the development of American’s first war on crime with the then infant FBI. Dynamic times call for drastic characters, and Dillinger sure seems to have fit that bill. Fast cars, big guns, ahead of the law, sexy women, and a streak of ruthlessness mixed with natural charm that endeared him to the public and even swooned some law enforcers. It’s the stuff Hollywood movies are made of…oh, wait…right.

So, I am thoroughly disappointed in the technical flaws and visual choices of the movie. They were distracting and made me want to bail out on the film more than once. However, the people, the history behind the story, the characters, and the quality that came with each of those elements made it a reluctantly enjoyable, entertaining, and memorable. The memory, in fact, is better than the experience of watching the movie. I can weave together a whole other movie as I replay it in my head. It will have better sound, better editing, better cinematography, and let the best part shine through it all.

I’m so confused. I need a flower with lots of pedals, “I love it.” “I love it not.” “I love it.” “I love it not……???”

Audio & Video: 4/10
Michael Mann filmed Public Enemies on a variety of different cameras and it shows throughout the movie. Sometimes the clarity and definition is simply breathtaking with fine lines on skin and lots of detail and depth. Occasionally though, the image becomes murky and two dimensional. Public Enemies is presented in 1080P 2.40:1 wide screen using the VC1 codec.

I think the director put an intern in charge of audio mixing duties on Public Enemies. The resulting mix is that bad. It’s not a problem with the Blu-Ray transfer, it sounded the same theatrically. The mix is just totally off. Dialog comes across low and muffled and music and atmospheric effects are really loud. You struggle to hear what the characters are saying most of the time. The first 15 minutes are the worst. It does get a little better after that, but never in my days of watching movies have I heard such an inconsistent mix in a high budget Hollywood movie. There are a few instances of the voice levels changing volume in the same sentence. One example sounds like Christian Bale actually moved closer to the ADR microphone in post. It’s all very strange and I wonder, why was this not noticed before the films release?

Overall I enjoyed the film but the technical distractions made me drop a few points off the audio/video quality score.

Value: 3/10
This is a hard movie to recommend for all the reasons I have mentioned. It’s a great story, good cast, etc. The thing is it’s just not  a satisfying movie watching experience. I wouldn’t buy it and I’m not sure I would rent as a new release. It’s definitely a budget evening kind of romp, sadly, even with the extras tagged on for good measure. I would say it’s like laundry liquid, you get what you pay for, and these days I’m all about value for money. I’m more than willing to pay extra for my clothes to get clean and smell good:) I’m not willing to pay big bucks for a movie that is falling apart at the seams.

Overall Score 5/10

Features: /10

• Extended and Alternate Scenes – A little bit added to a couple of scenes that were most likely cut for time.
  
• Nation’s Pride – The film within the film Inglourious Basterds can be seen it its entirety – This is a 6 minute movie that is the propaganda flick made by the Nazi’s inside Basterds. It’s an homage to classic films, and has a bit of that student/early film history look.
  
• Domestic and International Trailers – Trailers ho hum.
  
• Roundtable Discussion with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and film historian/critic Elvis Mitchell – Good questions, sort of, but better answers and Tarantino just can’t answer, he always elaborates with that passionate quirk he has for films. A substantial extra.
  
• The Making of Nation’s Pride - This is more of a Mocking-of feature. The fictional director talking about the fictional movie from inside the bigger movie. Pretty fun, but not that interesting for me.
  
• The Original Inglorious Bastards – a salute to the original 1978 film – This is interviews with original cast and crew along with a long montage of scenes from the movie. I think that’s enough of the original movie for me :)
  
• A Conversation with veteran actor Rod Taylor – Mr. Taylor talks about being asked to be in a Tarantino movie. He’s a big fan of Mr. Quentin and has a genuine heart for film making.
  
• Rod Taylor on Victoria Bitters, the Australian beer – More discussion with Taylor.
  
• Quentin Tarantino’s Camera Angel – A montage of the young woman who marked the beginning of each scene with her very funny, very interesting blurbs. An excellent extra!
  
• Hi Sallys – Gag Reel – Sally is the editor. These are moments during filming when cast and crew say hi to her randomly. Imagine how lonely Sally might be without their greetings.
  
• Film Poster Gallery Tour with Elvis Mitchell – A good overview of all the movie posters that make up a very important design element of this version of WWII France.
  
• Inglourious Basterds Poster Gallery – Photos.
  
• Digital Copy of Inglourious Basterds – Yea.
  
• BD-Live – A trivia game about the movie is fun, but that’s about all you get with BD Live this time around.
  

The Movie: 8/10
There’s a lot going on with any story told by Quentin Tarantino. Inglourious Basterds might seem like a ‘war film’ on the surface, but let’s face it, this ain’t like any war film we’ve ever seen. Even through epics like Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, and Saving Private Ryan, there just isn’t that intangible THING Mr. T brings to the screen. Mr. T = Tarentino. I never spell his name right, so I’m taking the lazy way out. Then again, if you look at the title of this movie he might not even care if I don’t spell his name correctly :)

A young French woman who’s family is killed by Nazi’s, a band of American roughnecks dropped into France with one mission, to kill Nazis, and a high ranking Nazi who embodies the worst elements you can imagine for a man who is given license to hunt and kill humans, these are the who. Murder, war, revenge, ego, uncomfortable humor, and unforgiving violence make up the what. France is the where. WWII is the when. That gut feeling of satisfaction when Mr. Q.T. let’s us tag along through his telling of a story is the why. I can’t really do more than lay out the basics on this one. I mean, it’s a movie experience for those who dig the growing body of work from one of the most distinct writer directors of our time.

The best parts for me are those moments when the pulp quality of a scene, costumes, dialogue, rewriting history, whatever, fall away and I found myself thinking more about the people behind all the stories of WWII movies. I know, it’s beyond the call of duty for a cheeky Hollywood flick to give anyone perspective on history or life or anything, but I can’t help it. Tarantino has a way of building a scene, a dynamic between two or three characters that is so intense and personal that I’m not watching a movie. I’m watching real human drama. (listen to me, I’m gushing) The opening scene got me hooked right away. I was tense and afraid and uncomfortable the whole time the Nazi officer was in the French farm house. It’s a masterful few moments of performances, writing, directing, editing, the whole package.

The cast is, well, you can read the list and imagine, or better yet, watch the movie. There is a tongue in cheek to some of the scenes, yes. Then again, there is such a deeper place to go with this setting, the people, place, time, events. Each and every person fills the bill for both effortlessly.

The music, it’s as important as every word of dialogue. It’s bold, appropriate, mixed modern and era specific. There is something about directors who use music as the pulse of their storytelling. It’s not pushy, it’s more like it drags you through some scenes, in a good way.

I don’t know how to edit my thoughts on the movie without giving away too much of the nooks and crannys that are best experienced as you watch. I do know I love Inglourious Basterds for the experience of watching it the first time, and rewatching it in my mind over and over and over. It’s brilliant, that’s about it.






Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
First, what an absolutely amazing movie. I was in awe from start to finish. Tarantino delivered a more mature film to the screen this time around. On the audio/video front, the movie on Blu-Ray really delivers. Presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio you would swear the movie was shot with a HD camera which isn’t the case. As with most of Tarantino’s movies it was actually shot on film and the very light film grain is preserved throughout the entire movie. The transfer is rich, colorful when it needs to be (the Nazi memorabilia in the theater is a great example) and blacks are spot on perfect throughout (check out the scene where the “Bear Jew” leaves his cave to see how black blacks actually are.)

Audio which is really really important in any of Quentin’s movies is faithfully reproduced. One detail I noticed was the opening theme tune which was LOUD and actually included the scratches & distortion as though it was being played on a early record player. Most of the movie is dialog driven and everything comes across clear and precise. When the action scenes do happen they really rock the room. One of the highlights for me was the way they mixed David Bowie’s ‘Cat People’ into a full 5.1 mix that rebounds around you in really interesting ways. I have heard that song a million times but this time it felt new and fresh and is defiantly on par with how Quentin used “Son of a preacher man” in Pulp Fiction. The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and is just about a perfect mix.

Overall I loved Inglourious Basterds (granted I might be Quentin’s number 1 fan)  The movie blew me away. It’s almost like Quentin grew up, took all the film-making tricks he has learned throughout the years, and delivered a real work of art. Brad Pitt has a line in the movie “I think this might just be my masterpiece” I think it’s Mr. Tarantino’s for sure.

Value:9 /10
If you are a fan, you have to have it so it doesn’t matter how much it costs. If you do go shopping for bit of QT, you will find it’s a good deal here and there, even as low as 20 bucks. I’ll be watching it again someday at the tail end of a marathon, so it’s good to have it on the shelf. The extras are awesome, the movie is incredible, that’s what you need to get your value for the money.

Overall Score 9/10

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• Stand Up Including Funny People Live – Segments from the movie showing the main characters doing stand up are actually from full acts, shown in this extra. This is an excellent extra adding to the character build up for the story even more.
• Funny People Diaries Documentary – Judd Apatow makes a daily diary while he makes movies and this is a documentary made by cutting together lots of clips, interviews, and it feels very personal for some reason. Apatow puts his all into these movies and this is one of those windows through to the people behind the big screen, and I like it.
• Gag Reel – You know what a gag reel is. I know what a gag reel is. We all know a gag reel is NOT an extra anymore, it’s just something that should be on the disc as a staple.
• Feature Commentary With Apatow, Sandler & Rogan - Commentary with three men all from different stages and perspectives of being a famous Hollywood dude, which makes it a very interesting re-watch of the movie.
• From The Archives Early Footage Of Adam, Seth & Judd - You might not know it, but Adam Sandler wasn’t always a famous actor/comedian..I know I know, how strange!! This is footage from early antics of the two friends before Hollywood leaked into their blood.
• The Films Of George Simmons - George Simmons, Sandler’s character, has made some of THOSE movies and this is a collection of bits of each, which were cut down as snippets in the film.
• More Line O Rama - Jabbering ad lib from line to line to line in so many scenes as the cast work through the best ways to deliver the loosely written script. It’s fun, but I’m kind of over it.
• James Taylor Live - In the movie Taylor does a song for a corporate event for a big networking site and this is the full performance.
• 5 “Yo Teach…!” Episodes & Behind The Scenes - In the film one of the young actors has a gig as a young teacher in a somewhat cheesey sit com and these are the snippets from scenes cut down and stuck in the film here and there. You might think it’s really bad fake TV, but dig deeper and you will realize, this sit com isn’t any worse than so many we have on TV forever and ever.
• Deleted Scenes – Oh come on, you know what deleted scenes are, right? Stuff they cut out of the movie because it was too long, not funny, boring, rehashing the same idea that’s in the story in another scene. Still funny though.
• Prank Calls – I’m not a fan of these prank calls, seriously, how lame. This is a bunch of such calls that the famed Sandler and Apatow made when they were young men….I use the word “men” loosely. Whatever. If you love this kind of thing, well, here ya go.
• Pocket Blu App For Iphone Or Ipod Touch – Do you have an iPhone? This is your chance to use it as a remote control for this movie. I do not have and iPhone, therefore I don’t know how it works, magic probably, but you can find out by exploring the disc instructions.

The Movie: 8/10
Some say size doesn’t matter. I disagree. Size, length particularly, is one of the most important factors when it comes down to pure satisfaction, total enjoyment of the act. The act of watching a movie can be less entertaining if someone along the road decides to cut out enough to keep the idiots happy. Oh, did you think I was talking about the size of something else? Naughty. I’m talking about one of many reasons I really had a good time with this movie, it’s more than a couple hours long, that’s value for money people!

The length isn’t the only reason, obviously, that I liked the movie. It’s a good, well made, well played, almost a page turner of a flick. It doesn’t feel like I ever knew exactly where each portion of the tale would go or how each character would find their way. I appreciate a movie that doesn’t lay it all out on a plate for me.

The story is about a middle aged actor/comedian who’s been a bit of a jerk in his life and now has to deal with some re-assessing of his choices. It’s not new, I get it. It’s not life changing enlightenment packaged with several big named stars including the one and only Adam Sandler, a few punchy lines, a touch of romantic drama, and lots of stand up comedian homage paying. It’s “Yes, I identify with that guy and those feelings because I’m THAT age too…….” kind of pseudo-enlightenment with a lot of dick and fart references tossed in for good measure.

I like everyone in this movie except that Jonah somebody. He’s annoying to me beyond belief. I have tried, but he just makes me want to grit my teeth and throw a fit of rage because I’m wasting my life watching him, listening to him…ugh. Whew, I’m glad I got that off my chest.

George Simmons, Sandler, gets some bad news and reflects back on his career and lonely life. He hires a young comedian, Rogan, to be his assistant. Through a not so original series of events, including a montage or two, I still felt like I was on an almost epic ride with these characters. There was enough originality, enough little twists or bumps or whatever you want to call them, along the way that made me think, “Oh, I didn’t see that coming.” and that’s incredibly satsifying for me.

The lead female character is played by an actress I happen to like a lot, Leslie Mann. She skirts that line between almost overly sensitive and needy but then always tips it back enough my direction to be a woman I can sympathize with or understand, maybe even root for. She’s not my type, the married with 2 kids trendy in a big house,etc. but her sincerity comes through all that and I look forward to seeing her from scene to scene.

Adam Sandler, people overlook something about him that I happen to like and that’s fine with me. He’s one of those people of my generation who I am convinced that no matter what he does, whether I hate or love his movies individually, I’ll always find him intriguing for some reason. Could be a crush, who knows at my age. He has more than just that clown goofball character in that mind of his and I do enjoy it when that’s what we get. Punch Drunk Love, an awesome example of just that.

I was not a Seth Rogan fan, and still on the fence, but it’s getting better. I think this time he pulled back on the dippy dude act because he was intimidated a bit by Sandler, but it served him well. By not being overtly dippy or yucking it up constantly like the stoner he usually plays he had a certain charm that got me in the door. I can only hope for better and better from him, fingers crossed.

Judd Apatow has only made three movies as a writer/director. Not bad Mr. A, you have begun the road to a new kind of genre hybrid collection of movies that I’m liking. We cannot deny the time and effort he puts into his movies. Like them or not, he puts his signature on them all so far that makes them stand out with his sensibilities and point of view. I dig a director with that kind of focus.

Overall I enjoyed Funny People so much I would watch it again right now, if it wasn’t 5:45 am on Thanksgiving morning and I wasn’t on my 24th hour of awakeness, at work, freezing cold, wondering why I’m writing a review on a holiday when no one will be reading it because they are eating, watching sports or movies and being forced to socialize with family members they do not know nor like….:) It just goes to show how much I liked the movie, suffering for my little review.

Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Funny People is far and away the best looking Judd Apatow movie to date, filmed under the watchful eye of Janusz Kaminski Director Of Photography on such greats as Munich, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler’s List. The high definition 1080P AVC transfer preserves the look and feel of the film and delivers an astounding amount of depth and color. That’s not to say this is a perfect transfer. Film grain has a tendency to appear uneven in some scenes and I did see a couple of cases of banding but nothing that detracts from the movie.

Audio is pretty typical for this kind of “Talky” movie. It’s not elaborate in the sound department but the dialog is clear and some instances where music is used sound great. Universal chose to use the DTS-HD Master Audio codec which I always prefer over TrueHD so kudos to them for that. But overall the audio won’t win any awards even though it is serviceable.

Overall for me Funny People is my favorite comedy of the year. I shouldn’t really call it a comedy though as its more a drama than anything. Whatever it is though I really liked it and it’s a shame the public didn’t when it hit theaters. Perhaps it will see a new lease of life now it’s on DVD & Blu-Ray.

Value: 10/10
This is an awesome value for money!!! I don’t say that very often when it comes to DVD’s, Blu-Ray, or any kind of entertainment to be quite frank. This 2 disc set is completely and totally worth the price. It’s hours of good extras, as listed above, and I really enjoyed the movie. A great packaged deal and I’m happy to have it on the shelf with all of the “not such a good bargain” flicks :)

Overall Score 9/10

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The menu is pretty standard, so nothing to write home to mama about.


Features: 5/10

• U-Control Production Photos - Photos don’t do much for me, but if you like to see some old school movie making, special effects, etc, this is the album for you.
• Creating The Deadites - The writers, and special effects gurus who put the crazy antics of our man Ash on the big screen way back in the day do interviews and discuss how it was done. They reminisce about the long hard days and nights, looking back at a day and age when making a movie with tons of special effects meant no CGI, just back breaking creativity and lots of plastic skeletons.
• Alternate Ending - I have only ever seen the “American” ending, so this is a good little extra to tag on the disc. As for my British husband, well, the European ending is THE ending and should have been an option on the menu, “Watch movie with original European ending” or “Watch movie with original crappy American ending.”
• BDLive – There’s nothing here to see people, move along.

The Movie: 8/10
I’m not a long time fan of the Evil Dead series. That just means that my opinion isn’t glossed over with many years of glowing love for the franchise. That doesn’t mean I don’t LOVE Army of Darkness. It’s a blast. It’s crazy bad in so many ways, and yet completely and utterly a joy. Yes, I said it’s a JOY. I know it sounds fluffy, but trust me on this. If you are someone who doesn’t have youthful memories of Ash in the woods with his friends fighting the evil drudged up with incantations from the Book of the Dead, well, you might not be inclined to watch Army of Darkness at all. If you appreciate a kick ass old school hero who has a chainsaw for a hand and drops into the 1300 hundreds through a portal from hell or to hell (I’m still not sure) get it, watch it, enjoy!

Ash worked in an S Mart store, in Housewares. That makes him an “everyman”, which is exactly how he comes across SOME of the time. His wise cracking ways, one-liners like “Give me some sugar babeeee.” and often psychotic acting style mix things up a bit. Don’t expect anything other than a version of comic book action coming to life when you sit down to Army of Darkness, and the campy Bruce Campbell that comes with it.

There is a damsel in distress, which annoys the crap out of me, but I see why it’s such a friggin’ fantasy for dudes who would want to battle an army of skeletons, save the world from evil, all vicariously through the tales of an S Mart employee on the big screen. I don’t think it flies in the 21st century, but then again, there are still lots of stories out there about women who are put in the position of being helped, saved, assisted by some brave and noble guy….it’s a fantasy dudes, give it up.

The special effects are so bad sometimes you have to remind yourself of the time 1992, and the budget, 11 million. it sounds like a lot of money, but by the standards of today’s CGI price tags it’s astonishingly low. I think they got their money’s worth on this film. They worked hard for all in-camera effects, some stop frame animation, mixed with basics like slow motion, puppetry, rear projection with action in front, and lots more tricks of the trade. This is why it’s so charming. Yes, charming. I know it’s a boring over used word, but this time I mean it.

I have to give credit to the simple story telling, basic effects, bumbling but effective hero, pouty chick, often questionable costumes and props, because it all adds up to a fantastic movie watching experience. I loved it. The classics stand up to the test of time, and I have no problem giving Army of Darkness some extra scoring love just for being what it is….kick ass movie lover indulgence.

Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Before I start with the audio/video portion of this review I have to say bare in mind that this is an almost 20 year old low budget movie. That said Army Of Darkness Screw-head edition looks quite good on Blu-Ray if not a little uneven. Some of the shots particularly the outside vista shots near the start of the movie look stunning but other shots look murky and almost low def. There is also strong use of DNR and a slight sharpening effect that makes the movie look a little unnatural, overall though I don’t think the transfer is as bad as other reviews might lead you to believe, but I am sure this is not the last version of this movie we see on a HD format.

Audio fares a lot better than picture featuring a uncompressed DTS-HD Master audio soundtrack that really restores the old stereo track and brings Army of Darkness to life. The sound is quite rich and way better than any other release you may have listened to. Overall this is the best presentation of Army Of Darkness to date but I am sure fans who buy this now will be double dipping somewhere down the line.

Value: 7/10
It’s not a bad value to get your cult favorite on Blu-Ray for around 18 bucks….however, if you are looking for lots and lots of extras that have been offered through the years on standard DVD, you won’t find them here. You might have to pay for an older version AND this new one to get all the details of how this classic was made. I’m not a die hard fan of the series, but my husband is so we MUST own it. I’m sure he’s not alone in his need to have it on the shelf for spontaneous Deadite viewing. :)

Overall Score 8/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
For the first time in a long stretch of DVD’s, this cover art doesn’t stimulate my ugh reflex. This is a ‘fun’ movie, clucks and chuckles with action adventure tossed in a thoroughly tongue and cheek manner. The cover and menu display that very vibe.


Features: 9/10

• 12 More Minutes Of Deleted Scenes With Commentary By Director Brad Silberling – Most of these deleted scenes are fine in or out of the final movie. There is a whole new introduction to the main characters, which I like better than the one they used, but that’s how it goes.
  
• Dr. Marshall’s Food Diaries With Commentary By Director Brad Silberling -Will Ferrell being Dr. Marshall on location in another dimension, chronicling his fondness for and absences of food (except for the hidden Twinkies he has stashed) sources for he and his travel companions.
  
• This Is Not A Routine Expedition: Making Of Land Of The Lost – A standard but not overly produced making of documentary style extra with interviews and behind the scenes clips. This is a good one, even though I wasn’t that interested to be honest, it was fun.
  
• Brad, Sid & Marty: A Conversation With The Kroffts – This is the best extra by far. A pretty lengthy interview with the dudes who brought my childhood such classics as Witchy Poo, Sigmund, Puff n Stuff, and more.
  
• BD-Live – Nothing, not an extra people!
  
• Deleted Scenes – More deleted scenes as per the first extra on this list.
  
• A Day In The Life Of A Big Time Movie Star – Ugh, Danny McBride behind the scenes with the cast and crew pretending that he’s a social pariah. Whatever.
  
• Devil’s Canyon Gift Shop Commercial & Tour – Danny McBride, once again, this time in character as the owner of the place the film crew is making the movie. Some ‘witty’ interaction with Ferrell and the showing of various strange objects for sale in his gift shop.
  
• Feature Commentary With Director Brad Silberling – I don’t find Silberling that interesting to be honest. He’s on a different plane from me in how he remembers the original Land of the Lost show. He’s laid back and does a good job of explaining things, but just a bit dry for me.
  

The Movie: 5/10
Blah blah blah, joke joke joke, Ferrellism Ferrellism, big special effects….that’s about the run down of Land of the Lost for me. I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s neutral. I need to say something though, I was a HUGE fan of the original Land of the Lost TV show in the 70′s and this ain’t MY show. It’s a “re imagining” for a new millennium, so my view is a bit askew. I know, I know, I shouldn’t judge it as if it were supposed to be the holy grail of TV to big screen treasures, it was just a slip of the brain and by the time I was a few minutes into the new telling the damage was done.

Ok, I’m not a huge fan of the movie. I laughed a few times. I did think the special effects were awesome for a comedy. I love the leading lady, she’s awesome. The look of many of the scenes really caught my eye, with cool dessert shots, dimensionally challenged motels, viking ships, and ice cream trucks. I guess it balances out for the most part.

The story is lame, too lame for me to retell the tale. Let’s just say everything in the script is a tool to get Ferrell into a strange scenario in order to capture some residual comedy.

Whoa, I sound a bit harsh. I’ll expand on my neutrality. I found my mind wandering to things like the sets, the backgrounds, the special effects, and anything else that was beyond the dialogue. This was just at times, not the whole way through. When I did like the scenes I was totally there, giggling, rolling my eyes in wonder at the balls it took to pull some of those things together.

The thing is I would watch it again. Weird isn’t it? I didn’t really like it, and yet it was a good time. That must prove or disprove some movie watching theories.





Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Land Of The Lost being a 2009 movie looks great on Blu-Ray. It’s one of those well lit detailed movies that really shines on the HD format. You could argue that some of the well lit scenes have a overblown white balance, but I think that was the directors intent. Overall the image is stunning enough that even if you do not like the movie you won’t be able to fault the transfer.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is the highlight of the disc, from the first moment a dinosaur comes onscreen you know you are in for a treat sonically. Most comedy soundtracks are upfront and center. Land Of The Lost knocks that idea on its head and delivers some of the most enveloping surround sound you will have heard this year. From the murmur of whispering Sleestack to a blood thirsty mosquito the soundtrack delivers from the quiet to the extremely loud end of the spectrum. Overall I really enjoyed the movie. It’s not the best comedy ever, but if you check your brain at the door and sit down for a fun ride you will find something to like here.

Value: 4/10
I say rent it, therefore the price for the Blu-Ray isn’t going to register in my ‘buy it’ range. It’s a fun enough flick to spend a weekend evening indulging in, but don’t think I would spend the big bucks to have it on my shelf. The extras are pretty darn good, so it’s not a matter of value for money, it’s more of a non-memorable movie experience for me.

Overall Score 5/10

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• Production Diaries – This is a good look at the production of the movie. It’s not really a diary, it’s just a collection of clips and interviews from behind the scenes. I’m not criticizing. I think it’s the perfect extra amount of information about the movie. We get to see how some of the grossest scenes are made, stunts are done, and how Raimi does his movie magic.
  
• Unrated & Rated Version Of The Film – Hmmm you get about 9 seconds more of blood in the unrated version. I’m not convinced that’s enough to give us a whole other version of the movie.
  
• BDlive – Trailers and links to other upcoming DVD’s….not very interesting to me.
  
• Digital Copy – I am considering putting this movie on my laptop for future viewing when the urge for some creepy curse stuff hits me. Keep the digital copies coming.
  
• Universal Ticker – This isn’t an extra, it’s advertising. A ticker rolls in the top right corner with upcoming movies on DVD. Nice way to sneak in more ways for us to buy their stuff.
  

The Movie: 7/10
Drag Me To Hell is more fun, more entertaining, and better as an experience than it is as a movie. That confusing sentence will be followed by this one: As a movie it’s scratching at an above average score, as a way to spend an evening watching a crazy fun movie, it’s awesome.

It has a few of those  moments when you might roll your eyes and the goof factor hits you square in the jugular, HOWEVER, that’s part of the fun people! Our leading lady, a young woman working in a bank who wants a promotion makes a poor decision concerning a particular customer. Think gypsy, witch, evil old lady with a gross eye, that kind of customer. Now, I like gypsies. I don’t think we should automatically associate the idea of evil curse giving old ladies with a whole people, i.e. Gypsies. In this case though, it happens to be the case.

A curse is cast and the creepiness begins. I love it. I have always liked the idea of some evil force out there in nature, something lurking, waiting to be unleashed by a collection of words. Then again, who decided that these spirits have to obey this rule. What if I were some long dead remnant of something evil and the association of curse casters says I can’t come back to torment humans unless they say something like “Shombo azlo iperious”. I might think that’s a bunch of superstitious hoohaa and just do what I want. In Raimi movies however, the spirits follow the rules and when a human mumbles the right words evil comes to us, taunting, haunting, tormenting, like in the case of our sweet little banker chick.

Ultimately she chose to further her career over helping an old lady save her house from foreclosure, therefore we have to all agree that she has it coming. The curse is a classic version of others we have come across in these stories, it takes three days for it to come to full power when our ‘victim’ will be dragged to hell. Those three days are fraught with panic, fear, and some really good all around scary moments when the sound and special effects are subtle but troubling enough to get me sitting up in my chair with that worried look on my face. That’s not an easy task, I’m not easy frightened, so hats off to Raimi and his crew. I enjoy those fleeting glimmers of the days when I was a kid and got the crap scared out of me by movies. Nothing compares to The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby, but that feeling, even if it’s only for a second or two, is exciting and it makes me want more.

Our leading man is banker woman’s boyfriend, a harmless, helpful, protective type who doesn’t really believe in the curse but he’s willing to go along to make her happy and to get rid of whatever is tormenting her. I like the guy who plays the boyfriend, he’s got moments of “just right” when he’s not the star of the scene and needs to really give that feeling of sceptically boyfriend but not jerk who doesn’t believe her.

The gypsy woman is awesome! She’s appropriately gross, rude, gaggingly icky with her false teeth and dodgy eye, all of her character is just right. I was convinced that if she were to be right around any corner I might be turning I would crap my pants and crumble at the site (and smell) of her.

Overall I enjoyed Drag Me To Hell a lot! It felt a bit old school, moments of quiet creep factor mixed with almost comic book fight scenes and gore offerings. I only hope I find a few more of these gems this Halloween season. So, the score might be a 7 out of 10, that’s because it’s not a GREAT film by any means..but in my heart, as an experience I’d say it’s an 8.5 :)

Audio & Video: 9/10
I will start this section by saying I am a big fan of this movie on Blu-Ray, but have to say the picture quality leaves a little to be desired. It’s not that its bad it’s just not what I expected from a movie made in 2009. Colors are muted and detail seems limited. The image lacks the 3D look some of the better Blu-Ray transfers showcase. Like I said earlier it’s not a bad looking movie I just expected a little more.

That said it’s the audio that is the star of the show on this new film by Sam Raimi. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is truly impressive with lots of the scares actually coming from the soundtrack not the visuals. On some of the recent movies we have reviewed we may as well have unplugged our surround speakers but Drag Me To Hell uses those rears in almost every scene. This is a showcase disc for the kind of Audio Blu-Ray does best. Check it out.


Value: 5/10
Raimi fans, you know who you are, you have to have it so the price isn’t an issue. It’s not outrageous, but at nearly 30 bucks it’s too steep for me to recommend buying it. If you like a bit of modern old school horror flickness, rent it and enjoy. There aren’t many extras to make an evening of it so a couple dollars for the movie and the rest of your cash to rent some old Raimi classics, that’s the way to go.

Overall Score 7/10

• The Making Of Away We Go – This is a talking heads type of deal with the cast and crew talking about making the movie. Yea, not much of a description, I agree, however, it is what it is. You do learn about how the movie was written, how the cast was chosen, etc. It’s well made, not too flashy, and no stupid crazy camera tricks that seem to plague these types of extras these days.
  
• Green Filmmaking – Don’t get your hopes up you environmentalists, this is not a GREEN movie, but they tried. They talk about how they hired a company to come tell them how to reduce their (UGH) carbon footprint, and they made some adjustments. It’s a good thing to work on, but let’s not pretend any movie set is really green just yet.
  
• Feature Commentary With Director Sam Mendes, David Eggers & Vendela Vida - I like Mendes, he’s interesting and seems to love the whole process of making films. The writers are a little more pretentious than I enjoy, but that’s how it goes in old TinsleTown.
  
• BD-Live -hmm

The Movie: 9/10
I laughed a lot with this movie. That’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I am remembering it. The laughs are honest and clever and often a little painful when it comes to showing human weaknesses. But enough of the mushy stuff, this movie is about a couple finding a way to live their lives that makes sense for them and their new baby on the way.

They take a road trip, of sorts, to different cities to see if they should plant their roots among their various family and friends. What do they learn? Well, that every family is freakin’ nuts and no matter what you do you will be nuts too…yea, that’s about the whole of it. What they are looking for is THE way to be good parents, to be good grown ups, and not be “fuck ups”. What they find, it’s simple enough, is that no matter what other people choose to do with their lives, nothing compares to the kind of relationship they have created as a couple.

They come to find that the people they thought they knew are, um, dysfunctional in ways they never imagined. That’s a kind of story, finding yourself, coming of age (even though they are in their 30′s), looking at the world around you to find out where you fit in, all these themes apply. What makes Away We Go special for me is the cast 100%. There is not one single low point in any of the performances. I can’t even single any out as the best, they all fed something different into my satisfaction meter.

It’s quiet, yes. It’s calm, yes. It’s well crafted, well written, well edited, directed, designed, shot….and everything else that makes a movie. If I could name one thing that didn’t meet the high standards of the rest of the movie it would be that the sequence with Bert’s parents is too short. That’s the only thing I felt cheated out of, other than that I pretty much rolled around in every scene happy, thinking, smiling or laughing.

The characters we come across are somewhat exhateraged, but not so much that they are caricatures. Bad parents, bad bad parents are around every corner of their itinerary, so there is a range of interesting characters which is the heart of the film.

I will be so bold as to say it’s one of my favorite movies this year, and there’s not much year left…so it’s a pretty high contender for my top 10 movies for 2009…no kidding!





Audio & Video: 8/10
While there is nothing wrong with the video quality on Away We Go on Blu-Ray disc. It’s nothing that will set the world on fire either. These types of low budget movies are never showcase HD material anyway. The movie is presented in 2.39:1 wide screen which is perfect for Burt & Verona’s adventures across America (& Canada).

Audio is mostly anchored to the center speaker and appears to mixed a little louder than normal. The rear channels are only used a couple of times during the film. The 5.1 DTS-MA track does not disappoint though and the haunting music of Alexi Murdoch is mixed into the side speakers to avoid overpowering the dialog.

Overall I love this sweet little movie. It has some powerful observations about life and the “fucked Up” species we know and love as humans. Recommended!


Value: 7/10
Great movie, so-so extras, that about sums up this disc. I really really enjoyed the movie and recommend it highly. I just don’t need it on my shelf forever. I say rent this lovely story, laugh, eat some popcorn, and save the extra cash for a down payment on your limited edition Wizard of Oz on Blu-Ray. :)

Overall Score 9/10

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The menu is not good if you haven’t seen the movie. It flashes through scenes from the entire movie, basically showing you what is going to happen. Granted, you might have seen it a hundred times by now, but there is still a new audience out there that deserves the element of surprise throughout the film.

Features: 10/10

• I Walked With A Werewolf – Rick Baker talks about doing the special make up for the movie, and how he became involved with the project.
• Beware The Moon -This is an awesome retrospective look at the entire process that brought American Werewolf to our budding 80′s culture so long ago. Almost current interviews with everyone in the movie, Landis, Rick Baker, and more. It’s a full length dive into so many details it will fulfill any die hard fan of the movie, that would be me. :)
• Making An American Werewolf In London – This is a short but semi-sweet little blurb that came from the 80′s. It’s one of those mostly promotional looks at the movie heavy on the promotion of the John Landis as director angle.
  
• An Interview With John Landis – Just a few years ago Landis did a full whack interview on making movies, and his werewolf project that started when he was just 18 years old.
  
• Make Up Artist Rick Baker On The Film – More of Rick Baker talking about making horror movies, including American Werewolf in London.
  
• Casting Of The Hand - Want to find out how to make a hand transform from human to beast? Here ya go.
  
• Outtakes – These outtakes have no soundtrack, so they put the sound of a projector over the top. It’s a bit weird, and feels older than it really is, not to mention there doesn’t seem to be many bloopers going on, just stalled moments, a bit of a giggle now and then, or someone falls over.
• Storyboards – How each scene would play out, particularly the transformation scenes had to be plotted out for so much special make up and effects. It’s great to see older versions of storyboards, pre-pre-visualizations in the CG world. I like the hand drawn style.
  
• Photograph Montage – I think the name says it all…photos.
  
• Feature Commentary – The more you hear Landis talk about making his movies the more you realize that some people really do have that ‘bug’ of enthusiasm for what they do in life and he’s definitely one of them!
  

The Movie: 9/10
Well, its a marvelous night for a moondance, with the stars up above in your eyes. A fantabulous night to make romance, neath the cover of October skies.

If you know the tune to that lyric and it conjures up images of an 80′s movie shower scene and a man in agony transforming into a werewolf, well, we should start a club. I know I am giving this movie a high score, and it’s not a great movie, so why why why? Let me tell ya…

Way back in 1981-82 I was at the peak of discovering movies, my early teens, lots of nights staying up watching HBO, renting the new fangled VHS movies, it was a very impressionable time. I will admit that any movie with a hint of gore, or sex, or any adult theme was on my hit list. No matter how late I had to stay awake on a school night, no matter how many late fees we got at the local grocery store for kept video tapes, it was worth it.

An American Werewolf in London was an instant love affair for me. The opening title sequence of long shots of the English countryside with the music Blue moon, the combination of that and what little I did know of the movie I was transfixed. Did that feeling change in the past 28 years? Nope. The title sequence comes on, the music starts, and I’m that girl again eyes wide open, smile on my face. Awesome.

Meeting David and Jack for the first time, two young dudes backpacking across Europe, it was like I was seeing someone at a class reunion. It seemed like a more innocent time, but then again, probably just because I was so young and I associate certain movies with that time in my life. In fact, now that I think of it, this movie is pivotal for me. I was young, they were young. I was naive, they were naive. I would soon hit those tough years of changing into an adult, and they are bitten by a beast that transforms them into a zombie and a werewolf. Well, the parallels might not be that clear to anyone else, but I see it clearly.

Now, don’t mistake my fluffy feelings for the movie for John Landis’s intentions. He has never said this movie is more than a story around the idea of showing a more modern depiction of the transformation of a man into a werewolf. I don’t think there is any sentimentality in the origins of the story, so I won’t pretend I’ve stumbled on some long lost meanings. I attached my own experiences, reactions, emotions, and stage in life. All that piled on top is probably why I still love it so much.

The creepy pub in the middle of nowhere with a 5 pointed star on the wall and very over-acted parts of creepy locals, that’s just classic. The super formality of the doctor and nurses in the London hospital, this is definitely the start of my affection for all things British (fast forward to 2000 when I married a Brit :)). A nurse who asks the young American to come stay with her after knowing him just a short while, followed by a very 80′s sex scene, that’s just the kind of life lessons every young girl needs to face the big bad world of adulthood.

I can’t leave out the gruesome and funny zombie friend (Griffin Dunn) who haunts the pending werewolf (David Naughton). Not only is the make-up job excellent, the idea is just plain fabulous. A smart mouthed dead friend coming around to tell his pal that unless he kills himself he will turn into a werewolf and kill people!!! My head spins when I think back to those first dozen times I watched it and bought into it hook, line, and sinker.

The complaints I have about the movie are very few and very common amongst lovers of it. There are things in the story that are unsatisfying, for sure. The characters, while interesting, are very functional and not very deep. Not that I need a deep meaningful dialogue from a werewolf or zombie, but you know what I”m saying. It’s all kind of shallow, something I only notice now that I’ve crossed the 40 year old mark, I never did care before.

I can’t complain about this flick, not really. It’s part of my youth, part of my growing up, part of my life. Yes, movies do mean that much to me to be come woven into my perception of life and whatnot. If you think back on movies you saw as a kid, you might find the same connection. I know this movie will always fill a spot in my youthful memories. I thrilled that it stands the test of time.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
The full moon edition of An American Werewolf In London was actually quite impressive on Blu-Ray disc. At first I thought wow the picture on this movie is really noisy (especially the opening credits) but then you realize that most of the noise is film grain which fortunately has not been digitally removed as it preserves the look and feel of this early 80′s film.

I actually grew up with this movie as it was one of the first VHS tapes we owned in the 1980′s and I have sat through various home video presentations of the film throughout the years, the Blu-Ray is easily the best I have seen and without a full restoration the few flaws that are visible actually add to the experience. One thing I really noticed were how the colors are much better than even the DVD release which came out a few years ago. If you are a fan of the movie you cant go wrong with this release.

Audio while not as impressive as some of today’s blockbusters, still sounds great mixed using DTS-HD Master Audio, the scene when they are walking at night never sounded better with wolf sounds coming from all over the room. The movie features quite a few music tracks (including 3 different versions of Blue Moon and the awesome Bad Moon Rising) which all sound great much better than I remember from the older releases of this movie.

If you were a teenager in the 1980′s I am sure you are already picking this up as we speak, the rest of you what are you waiting for :)

Value: 10/10
It doesn’t matter how much it costs….I want it. You might be in a state of shock right now, that is if you ever read my other reviews. I simply cannot NOT have this classic from my youth at the ready for watching anytime I want to flash back to the days when movies were as much a part of my life education as “real life” wished it could be.

The Blu-Ray is a good deal at just below 20 bucks! So, my need for the movie won’t break my debit card in half! The extras are just that, extras on top of an already super terrific movie experience. :)

Overall Score 10/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
I have always liked the cover image from 12 Monkeys. It’s bold with a little hint of creepiness about it. I don’t usually like images with the stars’ faces plastered all over the, but this one has a bit more thought in it and it gives us almost the right impression of what’s to come when you watch the movie. I mean, the symbol in the eye, the black and white, it’s all a bit melodramatic and almost heavy handed science fiction post apocalyptic. I like it, however, looking at it again and again, it might go too far with the broodiness.
The menu is standard, nothing too fancy, nothing to talk about to be honest.


Features: 10/10

• BD-Live - Nothing to speak of..blah
• Feature Commentary With Terry Gilliam & Charles Roven - It’s always a bit iffy when I want to listen to a commentary on a movie I really really like. It can go horribly wrong and turn me off the movie, which is so very wrong. Terry Gilliam can be moody and a bit unwillingly pretentious at times, but it’s a good way to enjoy the movie again if you want to use that as an excuse:)
• The Hamster Factor & Other Tales Of 12 Monkeys - Yes 10 out of 10 for the extras, and this is the reason why. This is a full length documentary film about the making of the movie. It’s in depth, shows a side of the movie business we don’t always get to see, and it reveals a lot about the man behind the madness, Terry Gilliam. It’s well made, old school style with a bit of narration and a lot of subjectivity when it comes to standing back and watching someone like Gilliam getting a big budget, high profile Hollywood movie made when he wants so desperately not to be that guy who makes big budget, high profile Hollywood movies. This is a must see if you are a fan of this or any of the Gilliam movies.
• 12 Monkeys Archives - This is a collection of concept and promotion artwork from the movie.

The Movie: /10
“There’s the television. It’s all right there – all right there. Look, listen, kneel, pray. Commercials! We’re not productive anymore. We don’t make things anymore. It’s all automated. What are we *for* then? We’re consumers, Jim. Yeah. Okay, okay. Buy a lot of stuff, you’re a good citizen. But if you don’t buy a lot of stuff, if you don’t, what are you then, I ask you? What?”

I don’t think I have ever started with a movie quote before, so this is my virgin voyage into potentially pretentious territory. Bare with me. The above quote from 12 Monkeys stuck in my mind the first time I saw it near its original release date, and it still grabs me just the same. It’s one of those ideas that has formed in my own mind through the years, a base for a lot of my own life philosophies, so you can imagine that if only one line captures me this way, the rest of the movie is sure to follow.

From the beginning we see a dark, future world in which men are cramped in a strange, over crowded, highly automated prison. Jim Cole (Willis) is a prisoner being volunteered for some kind of duty and it’s clear that something is amiss. The conversation with fellow prisoner lets us know that being volunteered and removed from your cell means you won’t be coming back. Thus the mystery of who, when, where, why..etc. begins.

Cole is lead through a stringent process, cleaned, briefed, given a highly protective plastic HASMAT type suit, given a brief case and a flashlight and then follows a map through what look like tunnels, sewers, and other underground paths until he opens a hatch to the outside world. He collects specimens, for what we do know, and as he trowels the abandoned city we see decay, wild animals roaming around, and the realization that there are no people living on the surface of the planet.

OK, the tone is set. We are in the distant future in which something devastating has happened and it will be a journey of finding out what, why, and how it can be fixed……but then Jim ends up in Jail, confused, and in the year 1990. A Psychiatrist, Madeline Stowe, arrives to see about his state of mind. She’s brave right from the beginning as she boldly goes into a cell with slobbering, nervous, violent Jim who is rambling about his mission, the future, the past.

OK, new tone, it’s about insanity, what’s real, what’s not real. What we think we know about reality and what happens when we challenge everyone Else’s reality. I get it. Oh, but just when you do get that little safe place for your movie watching foot to grab onto the wall of imagination, things shift again and again. My advice, don’t try to hold on, just be prepared to hang on to whatever comes along. It’s an awesome ride through the possibilities of mental illness, the potential for futuristic time travel and bizarre scientific research, combined with an over all theme that we, humans, have once again screwed things up with our arrogance and bullish ways.

There is a combination of antique and futuristic technology through sections of the story, and then it’s back to the 1990 era of an attempt at gritty (though very Hollywoodish) reality with that grungy, dark, urban decay feel. There is an unrest reflected in the city, lots of homeless people in the streets, a sense of lawlessness, chaos, a society about to fall apart at the seams. This is probably one of the things I liked originally, the dark view of things.

Contrast that darkness with a few scattered scenes in which the more “stable” or respectible characters live or work and they are pristine, clean, tidy, quiet, aloft, above, away from the fear and chaos. I’m not sure if that’s intended, but it jumped out at me right away. That the intellectuals, the scientists, doctors, the wealthy, they are not subjected to the same social ills as the rest of us, they just want us to buy more stuff, be the good consumers we need to be to keep them safe and away from yet another reality.

Jeffry Goines is like the glue that barely holds things together. He’s a mental patient Jim meets. Jeffry (Pitt) is the one who gives us the quote at the beginning of this review. He’s full of revelatory ideas, rebellion, social commentary, sprinkled with his own brand of crazy. He’s the instigator, and the solution, and the wise man, and the problem, all wrapped up into one nutball wonderful character.

Am I rambling? Good, it’s not a movie I want to make sense of completely. I mean, it maks sense to me and I love it. What it does is throws you into a stream of thoughts about life and our choices to partake in the world as it’s been designed around us, or to choose to separate from it, rebel against it, life peacefully within it, or bring it crashing down. How does one cope with conflicting ideas about animal cruelty in our world? How do we draw a line where sanity ends and insanity begins and what do we do to keep both groups under control?

If the human population is wiped out by a virus, would that be such a bad thing? Why would we need to prevent that from happening, aside from the suffering that would happen during the process. What if the world was freed from our presence? Then again, what if we all just go merrily on about our daily routines, live the way we are expected to live, go out and buy more stuff to distract us from a true inevitability, that no matter what we do, who we are, what we think, there is only one true ending to every story.

This Viewer’s Notes: I found it thought provoking, uplifting, entertaining, enjoyable. It is beautifully acted, filmed, acted, and written. Would watch again.





Audio & Video: 8/10
I was very surprised with the picture quality of 12 Monkey’s on Blu-Ray disc. While it’s not an improvement from the HDDVD version, it looks pretty stunning considering it’s age.

This film was made in 1995 when digital film cameras and computer editing systems were prohibitively expensive. This means the movie has a level of murk and grain that some newer movies do not. Add to that the type of movie that 12 Monkey’s is (bleak & grim to say the least) and you get a image that is faithful to the director’s vision. We viewed the movie on a 104 inch screen in 1080P and the image was satisfying the entire time. I read some reviews that say the print looks quite damaged. I did not notice this and I think some of the murky moments are intentional.

Audio was even better than the picture on this release. The DTS HD audio is an upgrade from the DVD version and from the opening scene I noticed how surround heavy it was. It’s a pretty solid mix, not showcase material like Iron Man or The Dark Knight, but impressive for a catalog title.


Value: 9/10
I need to own this movie for so many reasons. I don’t care what the format is, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-Ray, VHS, digital file on my cell phone..don’t care, have to have it, so the price isn’t an issue. That being said, for 20 bucks you can get this awesome movie, along with the very cool documentary extra about how it got made and that’s a bargain in my world:)

If you are curious, or you saw it a long time ago but might want to try it again, rent it and see how it goes. Get a collection of funky flicks and have a weekend film festival for a few bucks. Hey, I might just try that myself.

Overall Score 10/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
This cover and menu are so boring and inappropriate for this quality movie I won’t even comment……except to say this cover and menu are boring.

Features: 5/10

• U-Control (Picture In Picture/Washington DC Locations) - You will find some behind the scenes making of documentary style bits, along with a mapping feature where you can see the precise points on the map each scene takes place.
• Deleted Scenes - There’s nothing here that makes me want to squeeze these missing scenes back in the movie.
• The Making Of State Of Play - This is a pretty good feature with lots of the director and some cast talking about the making of the movie. They offer some insites about shooting a film in Washington DC, how it was to convert a British TV show into a Hollywood flick, and more. The things that are missing are all the details about the different actors and directors the movie went through before finally getting made.
• BD-Live - OHhh nothing to see here folks, move along.

The Movie: 8/10
State of Play, it’s a good flick. That doesn’t begin to sum it up, but if someone were holding the elevator door, asking me what movie to rent for this long weekend and some snooty guy was looking at us as if to say, “Get a move on you jerks I’ve got a yacht party to get to….” and some lady was fidgeting because she just lost connection on her phone and is desperate to finish breaking up with her boyfriend when the elevator reaches her chosen floor…well, I’d bark out, ”State of Play, it’s a good flick!”

There is a great cast here, just for starters. I liked everyone in the movie, and I didn’t want to like them all. Robin Wright Penn, she’s the top of my list and always will be, so that’s a no-brainer. I”m a fan of Ben Affleck, but then I sometimes think he has some hefty limitations. This time around he has a few isolated moments of “hmmm that’s kind of acting 101″ but other than that he holds his own with THE Russell Crowe. Who, by the way is one of the most watchable actors in recent history, at least for me. I don’t mean that I dig him as a man, just that his style of acting is compelling in every single scene. He plays a rough around the edges reporter and I was convinced from the first time he hits the screen that he is indeed that guy. Sometimes those “big” stars tend to lose their characters in amongst being the famous person, but Crow gets lost and I like that.

Rachel McAdam’s is awesome, there I said it. I really really like watching her. She’s funny and smart, and completely holds up in every scene with all of the other star faces. Mirren, Bateman, they are my dream of movie actors. I could watch just those to duke it out in an act-off any day.

The story takes us one way, then a little bit over there, and a little bit over there, and when you think you have it wrapped up, you don’t. Political intrique, some action, some personal dramas and relationship stuff tossed in for good measure, this is an all rounder for me. It’s not perfect. There are a couple times when I wish a portion of the story was flushed out more, but not enough to become a negative. I would always opt for a longer movie with more substance than a shorter movie with a faster pace.

The look of the movie is a combination of grit and gloss, which fits the lead characters of Crow and Affleck as the rough reporter and slick congressman. Washington DC never has looked so interesting in a movie, back streets, sleezy motels, it’s a lovely art design all around.

State of Play is based on a TV show from England. I think it takes on the Hollywood skin quite well. I would would watch it again actually….pass the popcorn. The quality of the film, the top notch cast, and the fact that I enjoyed it so much really does put the movie (maybe not the BluRay overall) up there for the year of movies, so far.





Audio & Video: 8/10
I was ready to bash the picture quality of this Blu-Ray disc but something in the back of my mind was telling me to investigate further. Let me explain, on first viewing you will see a noticeable difference between the quality of video from scene to scene in State Of Play. Some scenes are soft dark and murky while others are so sharp you can see every detail, this IS intentional and is confirmed if you watch the making of feature on the disc.

In the feature the Director or Photography tells you about how they used two different cameras to film the different scenes, one is a handheld camera which follows the gritty Russell Crowe character and the other is a static HD camera which follows the more polished politician played by Ben Affleck. This creates two very different looks and is a little jarring if you are not aware of the Dp’s intent. Having said that the Blu-Ray disc does look excellent with some fine detail obviously in the Affleck scenes mainly.

Audio is also a little bit of a mixed bag. The opening scene in particular where Russell Crowe’s character is chatting to a policeman at a crime scene, it’s quite hard to hear what he’s saying under the noise of helicopters and police cars. Again I am not sure if this is intentional but it’s worth noting. The score in State Of Play is quite impressive its one of those sweeping orchestral scores that swells up at just the right moments. Overall the audio is pretty great and it’s hard to nitpick.

I really enjoyed State Of Play enough that I am interested in seeing the British Mini Series it is based on. It’s a intelligent, tight thriller that hits all the right notes, also the casting is perfect. Recommended!


Value: 6/10
The movie is really top quality. The extras are ok. Would I buy it for more than 12 bucks? No. I am a renter on this film, even though I enjoyed it a lot and probably will again. Two rents are still less than one purchase:) It’s just not one of those that screams at me to spend the cash, at least not until it’s in that bargain bin at the store.

Overall Score 8/10

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The menu is the classic Universal set-up, with live action on the right side of the screen and options on the left, over that now recognized black background.  Again, nothing fancy, but at least they are consistent.


Features: 3/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are about 8 minutes of deleted scenes, which are odd and not at all missed.  They did no add much and were rather dull.
• Unrated & Theatrical Versions – Fighting features both versions of the movie on one disc.  You are given the choice at the beginning of the load screen to pick which one you want, but the main menu also gives you the option to revert to the other.  The differences seem to be just additions to the fight scenes, and there is only a 3 or 4 minute difference between the two versions.
• BD-Live – The BD-Live section is basically just previews for other movies.  Disappointing, since the other “extras” are so bare bones.
• D-Box Motion Enabled – This is a first for me, as I have not seen a D-Box motion enabled release before.  I do not have a D-Box enabled home theater, but it is nice to see that new releases are starting to incorporate the technology.
• Digital Copy – The standard digital copy is included here on a second disc.

The Movie: 4/10
Fighting looked and sounded great when I learned that I would be reviewing it for Ascully.  I was ready to review an action film, and when I heard that this was coming up, and that Terrence Howard was in it, I was excited.  The reality was not quite what I wanted it to be, and in the end, Fighting was just an average movie that left me underwhelmed.

Fighting is about Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) who is a street hustler who is just too nice to make it on the streets of New York as a con man.  Having said that, when a group of seasoned hustlers tries to take his money, Shawn ends up beating a few of them down, which catches the attention of Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard).  Harvey and his teenage thugs take Shawn’s money after Shawn sells a bootleg Harry Potter book to a young mother Zulay, before all of them scatter as the police show up.

In one of the many turn of events that makes Fighting so hard to identify with, Shawn sees Harvey later that night in a restaurant, and ends up confronting the crew to get his money back.  Harvey doesn’t put up a fight, and enlists Shawn to join him in an underground street fight club, with the enticement of making thousands of dollars with his fighting skills.  Shawn, who has a history of fighting ans wrestling, and is broke and desolate, takes the smooth talking Harvey up on his offer and they embark as fighter and manager on a serious of low level fights that earns small amounts of cash for the crew.

Shawn also ends up running into Zulay again at a club, where she is a waitress (again with the random interactions.)  He apologizes for ripping her off and asks her out, and as the movie progresses the two start a relationship.  Oh, and while at the same club, Shawn runs into a long lost friend/nemesis from Alabama, who was a wrestler with Shawn, and was coached by his father.  The two instantly have issues with each other, and Evan Hailey (Brian White) postures and threatens, and is obviously going to be the “final boss” in this movie, who Shawn is going to end up fighting.

The story pretty much follows the dots at this point, where Shawn progresses through the ranks of fighters until he ends up getting his shot at real money, in a fight against Evan Hailey.  The love story also is pretty much set in stone, and the only real twist (if you can call it that) is the ending, which is also very predictable.

Fighting was not horrible, it just is not good.  Channing Tatum is wooden, and it is nearly impossible to get behind him in the film until the end.  Terrence Howard, who is an exceptional actor, at least plays a different kind of character here, and he is believable and solid in this movie.  He is the only real glue that holds this together, but I have to say that while I loved his soft spoken character, it is almost as if his accent and demeanor at the beginning of the movie disappears by the end.  It is as if he forgot to continue with his soft delivery, which to me was noticeable and annoying.

Overall Fighting was just a run of the mill movie about an underdog making it big, but it has been done before, and done better.

Audio & Video: 7/10
The audio for Fighting was pretty average, and it seemed to me like the bass and soundtrack overpowered the dialogue in many parts, including the scenes that were inside the noisy club.  The fighting sequences were bass heavy and action packed, and the ambient sound of the streets of New York was good, but you can’t overshadow the dialogue, even in a movie like this.  The surround sound was nicely used.

The video was beautiful.  I was impressed with the clarity of most of the movie, and the cinematography was stunning.  New York looked busy and gritty and alive, and the action sequences looked good.  My only gripe was some of the aerial night shots, that seemed a bit out of step with the rest of the movie.  The 1.85:1 1080p transfer is tight, and with the exception of the some of the low light scenes, it was stunning.  The action sequences were well done, and the overall soft grittiness added to the feel of the movie, and was intentional.


Value: 3/10
Fighting was a nice looking movie without much story and without much to connect with.  As a viewer I wanted to get behind some of the characters more than I did, so that I could root for them to make it, and the coldness of the acting mixed with the story left me uninvolved.  There are just too many other movies like this that are better for me to think that someone would be content with purchasing this movie.  If it was on TV in a few months, I don’t really think I would stop changing the channel on this one to be honest.

Overall Score 4/10

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
I like Julia Roberts. I like Clive Owen. I like boxes of images arranged in some graphical manner as to create a somewhat interesting visual feast for my eyes to dine on. This cover has Roberts and Owen, but the feast is nothing more than a crumb on the floor after a truly wonderful visual feast. Therefore, as to wit, I do not like  this cover.

The menu isn’t any better. It’s standard, uninteresting navigation.


Features: 1/10

• Feature Commentary By Writer/Director Tony Gilroy & Editor/Co Producer John Gilroy - From sheer deprivation of other extras this commentary wins a point to fluff up the score. I like commentaries, but at this point I don’t really consider them an extra anymore. Thanks for the effort,but unless you have naked video to go with your discussion, well, I need more more more.
• BDLive - ?? There appears to be nothing on BDLive for this movie.

The Movie: 5/10
A solid mediocre 5 out of 10. That’s right. It’s not a sucky score. It’s not a good score. It’s in the middle of 1 to 10. That’s exactly precisely what I thought of the movie. To be honest, I would say it even dipped a bit under that, but Ill give it the benefit of some of the nameless but ever-present flaws. Why? There is the set of intangible, on-the-tip-of-my-brain things that go wrong with some movies that I can’t explain exactly.

I’ll try. The story is obvious and predictable. The acting is too slick. The writing is too “cool”. The relationship between the leading couple, Roberts and Owen is not convincing at all. Oh, and the editing, or directing, or something is just too hyperactive sometimes with forced tension and overly manufactured dialogue.

That sums up what I didn’t like. I guess they aren’t such nameless reasons after all. I wanted to like it a lot more. I like Julia Roberts. I like Clive Owen. Heists, intrigue, twists and turns, etc. These ingredients are just not all swimming around in the stew with the right seasonings. See, it’s confusing. I feel the same way.

It’s got all the elements of a sexy little flick, but instead it comes off as an “up it’s own ass” Hollywood offering that came from people who like movies like Oceans Eleven (I’m not a fan). Combine this with some other caper/heist movie in a rental frenzy on a Friday night and it will be a good time, just not a fully good movie.





Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
What Duplicity might be lacking in extra’s it certainly makes up for with it’s amazing picture quality. Every frame of this disc looks sublime. Duplicity is a well lit movie with hardly any dark scenes and the picture is so sharp you will be hard pressed to find fault.

I am not sure if this was filmed digitally or some kind of DNR was used but fine grain is not visible at all giving the movie a shot on video look. Audio is fairly impressive with some deep bass mostly coming from the jazzy soundtrack. Some dialog is a little hard to hear (the opening scene in particular) but apart from that I noticed no issues.

Duplicity is presented in a 1080P 2.40:1 aspect ratio and audio uses the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 codec.


Value: 4/10
A movie that hits just above average with no extras and no rewatchability for me, well, guess what, it’s not a great value at full Blu-Ray price. I would recommend it as a rental, along with any other caper/heist flick to make an evening or afternoon of it. I think it’s one of those movies that comes and goes without a reason for me to spend much on the experience.

Overall Score 5/10

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• Deleted Scenes – These are very brief little bits of scenes that were cut for time and content. From what they say, you don’t want to be cutting footage from a stop frame animation movie, too much work involved.
  
• The Making Of – The writer/director talks about why he made the movie along with detailed mini-extras that go through the process of each element, the puppets, the clothes, the style, voices, etc. It’s a very thorough extra that gives me just about everything I want to know about Coraline.
  
• Voicing The Characters – This is a standard behind the scenes look at the actors doing their voice acting. A microphone, a script, and a famous person, that’s about what these kinds of extras on animated features consist of, not bad, not great, just neutral for me.
  
• Creepy Coraline – There are lots of bugs and creepy crawly things in the movie. This covers how they design and create the little buggers.
  
• Feature Commentary - I really really enjoyed the movie, so I love watching again with the commentary, sooo, that’s not much of a review of this feature except to say if you like the movie you will like the commentary. The director and composer are very enthusiastic about making this movie, so it’s a nice conversation to listen in on while you soak up the beautiful animation one more time.
  
• DVD Version - Give this one to the kids to have in their room:)
  
• Digital Copy – Put this one on your laptop so you can watch Coraline at work or on the bus or wherever it is you watch movies on your laptop.
  

The Movie: /10
There’s this girl and her parents are too busy and they moved to an old creepy house and she’s bored and she feels neglected and she finds a secret door and there are dancing mice and weird neighbors and an evil witch and a talking cat and button eyes and and and…breath. Ok, I love this movie, so anything you read from here on out is going to be a love fest. You have been warned.

It’s not a new story by any means. A young girl who’s parents are busy with their jobs have moved her to a new town, old house, new life, where she is finding it hard to feel comfortable. She’s bored and looking for an adventure. She is introduced to some interesting characters, Whybie, the odd boy who’s grandmother owns the house, becomes the ying to her yang. The ex-actresses who live downstairs who recall their glory days by wearing tight clothes, pampering their dogs, and reading tea leaves. And then there is Bozinski, the ex-circus performer who lives upstairs and is creating a jumping mouse circus in secret.

They are all colorful, odd, quirky, interesting, and a bit scary for young Coraline. She just wants to spend time with her parents. They write for a gardening catalogue and yet they will never go outside with her to work in their own garden. She’s feeling alone and blah when she discovers a hidden door that leads to her “other” life. In her other life she meets her other mother and other father. They are everything her real parents are not, so you can imagine, she likes the attention and their custom made personalities.

Well, anyone who has ever read a cautionary tale or watched a movie or play in which a cationary tale is told will quickly know that this “other” world isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, unfortunately. We would all like an OTHER world, no bills, no mortgage, no jobs, no jerks in traffic, just good food, good movies, good times. :) Then again, there would be a price to pay, just like for Coraline.

Oh, her name is Coraline, not Caroline, and that’s addressed through the story, of course.

I love the dark brooding style of Coraline. It’s charming in a good way, and it completely draws me in moment after moment after moment to see what will happen next, and what will appear on the screen next. I’m fascinated by the puppetry, the stop frame animation, and the incredible craft it really is. I don’t have that in the front of my mind while I watch though, I am hypnotized by the characters, the music, and the way it takes me to my other world, the world of movies. :)

The voices are all really good. I do think Terri Hatcher has found her calling though, wow. She does an excellent job with the voices of the three characters she plays. I think she should do more animation, it suits her voice.

Overall it’s awesome. I think I’ll go watch it again, right now. Where’s my popcorn!?

Audio & Video: 10/10 (By Ascully)
Coraline in HD is a revelation. I thought A Nightmare Before Christmas looked good, but Coraline tops it in many ways. It’s obvious this style of animation really comes to life when presented in 1080P in the wide screen format. The colors are so vivid. However, the 3D version looks horrible through the red/green glasses as it messes with the colors and makes everything look purple. I would advise sticking to the 2D version if you want to see the movie in all its glory. There are also lots of instances of fine detail such as Coraline’s hair and her Dad’s sweatshirt. Such details that would be lost in the low resolution DVD offers.

Audio is simply stunning with a louder than usual DTS Master soundtrack that really gives the surround speakers a workout. There are moments of sheer brilliance in this soundtrack that are represented perfectly in the home theater environment when played back on  the right equipment. Overall Coraline is a beautiful showcase Blu-Ray disc that I will almost certainly be popping in the player to show off my cinema screen when friends visit. Awesome movie, awesome Blu-Ray disc pick this one up.


Value: 8/10
I’m a fan of this movie, so I want to own it. I want to pay $15.00, but that’s my dream. If you can find Coraline online or in the store for around 20 bucks, it’s a good deal if you are like me and plan to watch it many times.

Overall Score 9/10

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The menu is the classic Universal menu, which features scenes of the movie running over a black background.  I am not fond of the menu that Universal has adopted, but at least I am used to it, and know where things are.


Features: 9/10

• Ron Howard Commentary – I have to admit, I don’t love sitting through Ron Howard commentaries, but he always has a lot to say and offers a great deal of insight into his visions.  With 3 commentaries on the disk, I might have liked a combo effort, but some may enjoy all 3 separate.
• Akiva Goldsman Commentary – Co-writer Akiva Goldsman offers a different type of view than Howard, and focuses more on the history of the James J. Braddock story.  Obviously he would, as he was involved in researching and writing about Braddock.  His commentary is also pretty enjoyable.
• Cliff Hollingsworth Commentary – Cliff Hollingsworth is the other co-writer, who actually got permission from Braddock’s family to co-write the  initial screenplay.  Hollingsworth’s commentary again involves a lot of history as he worked closely with the Braddock family to gain insight into the Cinderella man himself.  I am not sure why Hollingsworth and Goldsman did not do a joint commentary, because I think it would have been better than having them do two separate ones.
• Deleted Scenes – There are quite a few deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray.  Ron Howard explains at the beginning that the choices were tough, as with a cast and movie like this one, the scenes were not bad, but just made it tough for the movie to flow.  Howard also talks about he scenes in a commentary, explaining why they were cut.
• The Fight Card: Casting Cinderella Man – This is a great feature that details the casting direction of the movie.  There are shots of the movie mixed in with interviews of the stars, and it details how different people were brought in for the roles and what the actors did to try to correctly portray their characters.
• For The Record: A History Of Boxing – Consultant Angelo Dundee discusses his involvement with the boxing aspects of the movie, and talks about how Russell Crowe, in Dundee’s eyes, transformed into James J. Braddock for the film.
• Ringside Seats – This is a nice piece where Ron Howard and Brian Grazer sit down with one of the writers and Norman Mailer to watch video of the Braddock vs. Baer fight.  Interesting to see the fight from their eyes.
• Jim Braddock The Friends & Family Behind The Legend – At about 11 minutes in length, this short features interviews with remaining Braddock family members, who discuss James J., and the movie.  It is interesting to see some of Braddock’s family, who became very involved with the making of this movie, which is nice and adds to the authenticity of the film.
• Pre Fight Preparations – This feature was divided into 4 sections, and details such things as the inflatable dummies that were used for the crowd in the boxing scenes, and Russell Crowe’s training schedule before the movie was filmed.  It also details the script in detail, and the creation and detail that went in to the various sets.
• Lights, Camera, Action The Fight From Every Angle – At around 21 minutes, this extra focuses on Howard’s attempts to stay true to the time and era of the movie, as well as the actual fights themselves.
• Braddock Vs Baer Fight Footage – This extra is just what it states: film of the historic championship match.  It is amazing to see the fight itself, and while it does show that the movie embellishes a good deal, it is a great inclusion on the disc to see the actual footage of the bout.
• Photo Montage - Included are shots from the movie.  Standard fare here really.
• The Sound Of The Bell – A feature on the soundtrack and score of the movie.  It discusses how the music adds emotion to the scenes.
• Cinderella Man Music Featurette – This is another extra based on the music of the movie.  It kind of seems like just a shorter version of the above feature.
• The Human Face Of The Depression – Ron Howard briefly talks about how it was important for him to capture the essence of the Great Depression, which ha extra meaning for him as his parents lived through the ordeal.  At about 6 minutes, this is a nice feature that really shows the emotion that Howard likes to include in all of this films.
• Russell Crowe’s Personal Journey: Becoming Jim Braddock – In this 27 minute long feature, we are given insight in to the depths that Russell Crowe went to to try to recreate himself into James J. Braddock.  It is interesting to see how Crowe attempted to change his body shape to resemble the look that Braddock had in the 1930s, which is nothing like the body shape of current boxers.  This was a great feature, and shows the passion that Crowe had for this role.
• BDLive – Again included for those with Blu-ray 2.0 enabled players is Universal’s Blu-ray live features.

The Movie: 9/10
Cinderella Man is the story of James J. Braddock, a boxer from New Jersey whose career in the sport began before the Great Depression.  Braddock hit a rough patch, losing several bouts during the bad years for our country, but then he miraculously hit his stride again to reclaim some of his boxing greatness.  The story is a true story, and it is one that really demonstrates the power of not giving up, and one that shows that second chances can and do happen.

The movie stars Russell Crowe as Braddock, who shines in this role.  Crowe demonstrates not only the acting chops needed for such a family oriented, good hard working guy, but also the boxing techniques to make this movie feel real.  I was very impressed with just about every aspect of Crowe’s performance (well, there is the issue of the accent that kind of got on my nerves, but other than that Crowe was superb.)

Cinderella Man is a well paced, heart warming story that is about boxing, but not to the point where this becomes a sports movie.  Ron Howard has done an excellent job of making this about a man trying to keep his family afloat in the Great Depression, by any means necessary, and when Braddock gets a second chance, he takes it, and runs.  Crowe performance is book ended by excellent showings from Renee  as Braddock’s wife Mae, and Paul Giamatti as Joe Gould, Braddock’s manager.  Each brings their character to life and each adds a lot to the feeling of camaraderie and emotional side of this movie.

I was very impressed with Cinderella Man, and I often found myself caught up in the underdog story, which is empowering and uplifting throughout.  The movie does a great job of capturing the struggle that the everyday man dealt with on a day to day basis, and it did an exceptional job of showing how hard it was not only surviving, but trying to raise a family under such harsh conditions.  Braddock, once a boxing champion, is forced at one point to swallow his pride and not only accept money from the state to survive, but also basically beg some of the boxing promoters for cash so that he could pay the bills and keep his family from splitting apart.  When he regains some of his former glory, Braddock is the type of man who returned the money he received from the state, which made him a fan favorite.  As it is stated in the movie, in such a tough time, people felt that Braddock was fighting for them, and he inspired people and gave them something to cheer for in such desperate times.

Cinderella Man is a movie about heart, and about being a good person.  It seems to be incredibly poignant right now, with the economy the way it is.   I really thought Cinderella Man was well done, and just about everything about it was spot on.  Presented in Blu-ray, this is a true gem, and I can’t believe that I had not seen it before now.





Audio & Video: 9/10
The video for this movie is sharp and it looks great.  They have used a sepia coloring to the movie, and it really adds to the depression era feel of the movie.  Presented in 2.35:1 widescreen, it looks sharp and the blacks are dynamic.  Overall a very nice presentation.

The audio is also really well done.  I noticed several times the use of the rear speakers during fight scenes, and the ambient sound throughout was excellent.  The audio really added to the feeling of the boxing scenes, and helped give add to the tension.  Overall a very solid experience in both audio and video.


Value: 9/10
Before seeing Cinderella Man, I would have told you that I am not a big Russell Crowe fan.  I obviously can not be up to this point if since this was the first time I have seen Cinderella Man, which came out in 2005.  After having seen this great movie, and going back over other Russell Crowe films that I have seen, I am a changed man.  I will admit that Gladiator was a good movie, and Crowe was decent in it, but for some reason I just only thought he was okay.  Cinderella Man, coupled with a Beautiful Mind, and Master and Commander now have made me realize that Crowe is a very talented actor.  I might even have to go watch a Good Year again, in which I thought he was pretty decent, but not great.  I loved Cinderella Man, and the story and acting was superb.  The fact that this is based on a true story makes it so much fun to watch, and I will do so again, probably after watching a few other Crowe movies.  I can now admit that I am a  fan.

Overall Score 9/10

• Original Short Film: Los Bandoleros - A prequel of sorts that introduces key characters from the movie just as they approach the opening heist of the film. It starts with the promise of being an independent little film, but then just turns into a self serving, indulgent project for writer/director Diesel.
• Under the Hood – Muscle Cars & Imports - All about the cars..yea. If you dig the cars in the movie, and why else would anyone watch this movie? This is the extra you might just appreciate the most. The car dude from behind the scenes describes the different types of cars they chose to be key players in this 4th in the Fast and Furious series.
• Getting the Gang Back Together - The cast talking about how and why they came to be back in the series after so many years away.
• Driving School with Vin Diesel - “Training” of a mega’star’ as he gets to stunt drive some cool cars. I think we can drop the bullshit folks, he’s just Vin Diesel getting to show off…but it’s still fun to watch if you like to live vicariously through famous people.
• Shooting the Big Rig Heist - This is a good extra. It follows the process and set up of the biggest action sequence of the movie. A big rig truck gets blown up, how much bigger can it get? I do like to see these practical ‘set pieces’ being put together, it is a reminder of how much better real life is than CGI effects.
• D-Box Motion Enabled – I have no D Box :(
• Digital Copy - A copy for your device so you can watch it over and over and over, and then get tested for bad taste or insanity.
• U-Control - Now this U-Control is something I can get my movie watching teeth into. I’m not a fan of this movie, fair enough, but watching it with the director and one of the stars as they walk us through scene by scene with extra graphics of the story boards, speeding up/slowing down bits and pieces to explain very specific moments, stunts, action pieces, it’s pretty awesome to be honest. It’s one of those times when I liked the movie more after I watched this ‘commentary’ than I did before.
• BDLive - Couldn’t access it yet.

The Movie: 4/10

The Fast and the Furious: It was OK.

2 Fast 2 Furious: Didn’t see it.

The Fast and the Furious-Tokyo Drift: Loved it.

Fast and Furious: It was OK.

So, I go back to my fast and furious roots with this one. It was just OK for me. The cars are awesome, along with the races and chase scenes. The look of the movie is shiny and bold. The soundtrack is so-so. The story is crap. The acting is horrible. And last but not least, the cars are awesome. Oh, did I already mention the cars? That’s because they are truly the stars of the show. Thank goodness they don’t talk or they might end up being as disappointing as the rest of the cast.

I know, I know, it’s not an “acting” kind of flick. I get it. Here’s my problem, there’s not much more to it than the reunion aspect, that’s the cast, and they suck. There, I said it. I’m not afraid. The story didn’t help them out, true enough, but come on, just because you got your asses licked for the past few years after being in such a popular movie doesn’t mean you can just show up and hope it’s enough. That’s not fair, I know, and if any of them read this review it might hurt their feelings….but they cannot disagree with me.

Beyond the bad story and acting we have the thrill of the cars. This is where I drop my guard a bit and enjoy the movie for what it is. Normally I’m just waiting for races and chases to be done and move on to the rest of a movie, but as I have pointed out so mercilessly, there’s not much more to this movie so the races and chases are the oasis in my own personal desert of boredom. The downtown race is really exciting. I dig that they went through traffic this time around, no closed streets. It’s very much like a video game race in its presentation, which could be irritating, but it rather fit the tone of the movie.

When a stream of speeding cars delve into a mining cave and drive at high speeds through rafters, dust, and narrow paths, that was exciting too. There is a sequence in the beginning of the movie in which the team pulls a moving heist. It’s exciting yes. It’s so beyond the realm of reasonable criminality I had a hard time getting into my bubble of belief, but I got there in the end just as big explosions and stuff kicked in.

The music was pumping, along with the rumble of the car engines, sometimes to the point of me needing a bathroom break. This could be our own sound system, or just the power of the boom boom boom of the soundtrack, but whatever it is, my bladder is less a fan of this movie than I am:)

If you like bad acting, loud cars, too much testosterone, bad plots, good stunts, and a bald head connected to one of the least appealing performers of all time…this is the movie for you.

If you like fast cars, awesome music, great camera work, good performances (not great but good), and an overall fun experience, watch Tokyo Drift. (or BBC’s Top Gear)





Audio & Video: 9/10
The kind of high octane thrills that a movie like Fast & Furious delivers screams out for a great Hi-Def image. Fast & Furious does not disappoint on this level with a near reference level transfer. The many scenes which showcase the cars come off so clear you can read every logo and see every scratch on the amazing looking cars. Flesh tones on the actors are also very good and shadow detail is quite stunning on the many night time scenes.

Audio is pretty insane with a bass shaking DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack that makes many of the film’s music tracks really come to life. Cidtalk actually said that the bass sound the engines of the car’s make, made her want to go for a pee. So, there we have it, this sound editing literally makes women almost wet themselves :) How’s that for an endorsement.

This isn’t the best in the Fast & The Furious series, but true fans will find enjoyment here. The Blu-Ray presentation, like most releases nowadays, surpasses the theatrical experience on every level.


Value: 6/10
For me this movie has no value really. I wasn’t that interested to see it and now I wouldn’t be interested in watching it ever again, therefore the value for me is nill. If you are a fan of the franchise and MUST see them all, well, then it’s worth what you want to pay to watch it. I would rent it, or go to a friend’s house who is watching it and get comfy. Then, I would go home and watch my copy of Tokyo Drift.

The extras elevate this Blu-Ray to something more, but I’m still not in the mood to buy it.

(NOTE: The below score is mostly for the extras and overall effort to put together a good Blu-Ray experience, NOT for the movie itself.)

Overall Score 7/10

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The menus for Field of Dreams are scenes from the movie over the same black background that is apparently the standard for Universal releases.  I am not in love with the basic layout, but at least you know what you are getting.  A bit more originality would seem to be more appropriate with a Blu-ray release, given the expense of the disks coupled with the expectations of the quality that we desire from a Blu-ray.  It just seems to me that the Blu-ray disk is a perfect place to get creative with things like menus, and these are already stale.

Features: 8/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are a number of deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray version of the movie.  Some are obviously better than others, but I don’t think they were needed in the final cut of the film.  They are also introduced by director Phil Alden Robinson.
• From Father To Son – This is a longer feature that goes into the making and behind the scenes shots of the movie.  It runs almost 40 minutes, and is a very through, and very entertaining piece.
• Roundtable With Kevin Costner, Bret Saberhagen, George Brett & Johnny Bench – Round table is another interesting extra.  It features the baseball legends listed above, and has Kevin Costner inviting them in to screen the movie (a recent screening, years after the release of the movie) and then he sits down to talk to them about their views on the movie, and how it relates to the game that they played and loved.  Being from Kansas City, I was very interested in seeing both Royals legends George Brett and Bret Saberhagen, heroes of my youth, talk about their experiences.  Rounding this out with Johnny Bench was quite amazing as well.  A very good extra, even though it does not flatter Costner’s seemingly large ego.
• The Diamond In The Husks – This extra features the real Field of Dreams baseball field, which still exists in the cornfields of Iowa.  Apparently the field is open to visitors (for free even) and has become a huge tourist  attraction.  It was neat to see some of the visitors running the bases and enjoying such an integral part of the movie.
• Galena, IL Pinch Hits For Chisholm, MN – This short details how the city of Galena was used to create Chisholm Minnesota in the movie, where Ray searches out Dr. Archibald “moonlight” Graham, who played for only a brief stint in the majors as a kid.
• Field Of Dreams A Scrapbook – This is basically tons of photos form the movie and the production.  I believe there were close to 300 photos.
• Bravo Special From Page To Screen – This is another longer (45 minutes or so) extra that goes into detail about how director Phil Alden Robinson decided to make the book written by W.P. Kinsella to the big screen.  Another very interesting extra, and very well done.
• Feature Commentary With Director & DP – I really enjoyed the commentary done by Director Phil Alden Robinson and John Lindley, the director of photography.  This could have been very stale, but they did a great job of discussing the way the movie was shot and the direction that they wanted to take the movie as it progressed.  It was very entertaining for a commentary.
• BDLive – Once again BD Live perplexes me.  You are given the ability to share scenes that you like with other BD Live users, and access Universal’s site, but overall I just don’t know how much I will use this sort of feature.

The Movie: 8/10
Check your reality at the door for Field of Dreams, which is one of the true American sports movies that has hit audiences with brute force.  Field of Dreams has become part of the American lexicon, with the “if you build it, he will come” mantra recognized probably as often as “I’ll be back” from the terminator.  To me, not having seen Field of Dreams in over a decade, the movie has changed dramatically in that time.  Well, perhaps a better way of putting that is that I have changed, and the second time around, Field of Dreams is a completely different movie for me, and I liked it more this time around.

The first time I watched Field of Dreams, I was 19 (it was release in 1989 theatrically).  I was a kid who had last played baseball when I was around 12, and I had already moved on to soccer, girls, and music at that point of my life.  Back then Field of Dreams represented baseball to me, and I thought that while the movie was decent, the premise and the story were all about baseball, which I had already kind of outgrown at that point.  I liked the movie, but it did not resonate with me, and I was not old enough or mature enough to delve deeper into what the movie stood for.

On the surface, Field of Dreams is a movie about Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) who is an Iowa farmer, by way of Berkley.  An ex hippie, Ray is now married and has a daughter, and scratches his living out of the land, raising corn.  Barely getting by, Ray starts to hear voices in the corn telling him that “if you build it, he will come.”  Ray can’t figure out who or what, and starts to question his sanity as well as his life.  After some soul searching, Ray embarks on a journey that sees him first build a baseball field in the middle of his corn, and then embark on a journey to figure out just why he built the field.

As the story progresses, Ray and his family see (and this is where it gets a bit weird) Shoeless Joe Jackson and members of the disgraced 1919 Chicago White Sox team emerge from the corn to play baseball on his field.  Only certain people can see the “ghosts” of baseball past play the game, and Ray and his family can talk and interact with the players, who can not step off of the field.

Ray ends up travelling to meet with reclusive author Terence Mann (played by the great James Earl Jones) who at first fights Ray’s attempt to explain his bizarre actions, and then joins Ray as he continues to try to figure out why he has destroyed his livelihood to create a baseball diamond, when the bank is trying to foreclose his home.

Like I said, the first time I watched this movie, it was all about baseball.  To me at that time, what he was building was simply a baseball field so that the legends of baseball past could come back and play one more time.  I guess I could have left the movie early, but I imagine that I just was impatient and didn’t get the whole idea.  Having seen this movie today, I bring to it a new perspective, and I am so glad that I saw this movie again.  The big change for me in that time is that fact that now, I am a dad, and I see now that the movie is about Ray getting a second chance to connect with his father.

Now I realize that the whole journey was so that his father would return, not so much the actual legends of baseball.  Field of Dreams has taken on a whole new meaning for me now that I am a father, and it is a much better story for me now.  I realize this is not something that really has changed in the movie itself, but just me growing up and paying more attention, but it proves that movies are often times worth a second look, regardless of how you might have felt about them originally.  It also means that each person brings their own views and faults to a movie, so even though I am glad you are reading my review of this Blu-ray, remember that each movie represents something different to each person.  In other words, even though I liked Field of Dreams, that does not necessarily mean you will too.  Make up your own mind, for yourself. (Cidtalk would be proud of me right now.)





Audio & Video: 6/10
I know that Field of Dreams came out many years ago, but not so long ago that the audio and video would be this mediocre.  I have come to expect a lot from a re-release on Blu-ray, and this movie did not really live up.

The video was decent, but not what I would call impressive.  Released on 1.85:1 wide screen in 1080p, the movie itself was somewhat grainy, which is to be expected, but the only scenes in the movie that I thought really popped were the evening scenes, with the brilliant sky over the fields themselves.   A majority of the movie felt flat or washed out, and I guess that this could simply be the way the movie was shot, but I was not overly impressed.

The audio was also just above average.  Use of the rear speakers was pretty sparse, and while the levels of the audio were pretty decent, it just did not seem to have any real depth for most of the movie.


Value: 7/10
Blu-rays cost a lot more than I thought they would at this point in their existence, and I truly think that they need to come down in price if they are going to take off like everyone has predicted.  To get a movie like Field of Dreams on Blu-ray, when more than likely you own it on DVD already (if you are a fan already) seems to me to be a big expense.  I have a hard time justifying the $30 to $40 that it requires to get this in high definition, when many of the extras are already on the standard DVD.  It is a great movie, and it looks and sounds great, but at some point we are going to have to decide if the price of upgrading is worth it.

Overall Score 8/10

• The Nixon Chronicles – As you go through U-Control and explore all the material they have tucked in there, you will find a lot of history about the truth behind the presidency, notes from his peers, observations of the man himself. It’s not offered up on every frame of the movie, but if you are a history buff and want to connect the dots between Hollywood interpretation and reality, this is the set of extras to help you out.
  
• Discovering Secrets – The interview was done in a house in a neighborhood owned by the people who still own that house today! So, Ron Howard’s people found the house and we get the chance to hear what it was like to have this historic event take place in your living room, along with a lot of other interviews and tid bits about the interview and making the movie.
  
• U-Control (PIP) – Go back to watch the movie again with U-Control and you will get quite a bit of additional information again about the making the movie and facts about the event, the people, and the era. The picture in picture is still just about 25% of the screen, and I STILL think they should reverse it, new information on the whole screen, movie in the picture in the corner..but no one asked me :) One excellent feature of this, um feature, is the ‘pop up’ notes about the true events, well worth reading.
  
• The Making Of Frost Nixon - This is an excellent all inclusive kind of extra (minus the music??) with interviews with everyone involved, how they got to film in real locations,about the play that inspired the movie, and more. It’s well made and really does fill in a lot of details that make the movie that much more compelling.
  
• The Real Interview – This isn’t the whole interview, just snippets and some comparisons to the scenes in the movie. You can go to the website to watch the full interview, and I think I just might!
  
• The Nixon Library -I was really interested in this extra. The people who run this museum have had a hard time making it a part of the whole collection of presidential libraries, and you can imagine why. They are devoted and loyal to President Nixon as a man and leader, and his memory.
  
• Deleted Scenes – There are several scenes here, but nothing that would have added much content to the film.
  
• Feature Commentary With Director Ron Howard – Ohhh I love listening to Ron Howard talk, can’t tell you why, but he’s kind of hypnotizing to me…so, needless to say I like that he made the effort to do a full commentary:)
  

The Movie: 10/10
Beautifully made, wonderfully acted, an honest (if not fairly Hollywoody) look at a true life event that people will remember for many generations, Frost/Nixon is one of those movies I fell in love with the minute it started. The raw footage of committee hearings and the vibe of going back to such an intense time in American history, I was hooked right away. Yes, I was a kid when the Frost/Nixon interview happened, about 10 years old but I didn’t watch it and I’m sure I couldn’t have cared any less about politics. I was more interested in rollerskating around on the patio. However, now I’m fascinated with that era and this movie sheds some light on the topic in a way I had never thought about it.

Aside from the quality of every single aspect of the film, the ideas behind how the story is told captured me most. These were not just power house card board cut out people. These were men with lives, with demons, with motivations beyond what we normally associate with TV told history. We see the flash of a moment and fill in the rest with nothing more than our imaginations, but this telling of the tale digs deeper.

It takes a look at the frailties, the mistakes, the drive of emotions behind such monumental figures in our history. That’s what I found the most mesmerizing. I found myself just letting go of all the chatter I have heard about Nixon all my life and think about him as if he were just a dude next door. His reasons for becoming a powerful man, childhood pain. His political views were born in a time when men ruled with an iron fist, make the rules, controlled everything with a stern stick to beat the crap out of anyone who threatened their way of life. He was a product of his life, just like the rest of us, he just happened to become president of a country.

This is how the movie impacted me, not just in hind site, but actually during the movie I was buzzing in my mind about what it must have been like, what it must BE like to be those people in power over our world. That’s a lot for a movie to do…not to mention I was highly entertained. It’s got a lot of humor, inspiring moments, and it’s well constructed as a duel between these two ideas, a leader facing his ultimate fear of losing the battle of public favor, and a talk show host who wants fame, money, and to be more important than he is, both driving head on toward each other to the fateful day.

I can’t say enough good things about the movie, the direction is beautiful, the sets and costumes take me back to my childhood without even thinking about it. It all looks so authentic and detailed. The performances are, well, I can’t imagine anyone anywhere has had a bad thing to say about the cast. The overall experience combines great movie watching with a glimpse at history without too much sentimentality or romance, but with a certain glow you have to expect from Ron Howard. Definitely a must watch movie for the summer.

Audio & Video: 8/10 (by Ascully)
Ron Howard uses a variety of film stocks and techniques during Frost/Nixon which can give the high definition presentation a bit of a mixed look. Some scenes are sharp colorful and pristine, some are intentionally grainy and desaturated and some are actual old footage. But looking at it overall it’s still a stunning transfer with great flesh tones and solid blacks in the few low lit scenes. Audio is pretty much front loaded with not much going on in the surrounds or sub. The uncompressed audio helps with a dialog driven movie like Frost/Nixon and all dialog is clear and centered.

Overall Frost/Nixon is a great movie even if you are not into Politics. The Blu-Ray presentation is as close as you are going to get to the theatrical version in the home and with the large amount of extras offers good value for money.

Value: 8/10
This is a movie I will watch again. I will show it to people, enjoy it more than a few times, so it’s almost worth the price. You know me, I don’t like paying ridiculous prices for movies, but this one kind of grabs me so I might consider doing without some of my fancy coffee creamer for a month or so to afford the pleasure of having it on my shelf. If you are just interested in the movie version of a political event, by all means, rent it and enjoy!

Overall Score 9/10

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The menu is a bit more drab.  The menu consists of a mix of a black background and scenes from the movie.  It is not as unique or interesting as the cover, and it didn’t really seem to flow with the movie or the cover.  It just seemed too generic for my tastes, given the colorful cover and movie.

Features: 8/10

• UControl (Picture In Picture/Behind The Hits) – For those of you who don’t know, UControl is Universal’s proprietary way of bringing forth details of the movie, on screen, while the movie plays itself.  Included on the Mama Mia disc are a picture-in-picture set up, which allows the viewer to get many of the same interviews and extras that are elsewhere on the disc, but shown on-screen as the movie is playing.  The Behind the Hits is another UControl feature, which is kind of like the VH1 Pop Up Video, with information about many of the songs and ABBA facts.  I thought both were really pretty interesting.
• The Making Of Mamma Mia! The Movie – This is the obligatory making of extra.  It clocks in at about 35 minutes, and really does a good job of hitting a lot of high points.  It shows the respect that the actors and crew have for Meryl Streep, who basically jumped at the chance to be in the movie, after having fallen in love with the play.  It also goes into detail about the fact that the movie was created by the same women who created the play, and how that brought a different sense to the movie.  A decent little making of.
• Deleted Musical Number “The Name Of The Game” – Another number that was cut from the movie itself.  I can’t imagine trying to choose which ABBA songs to include and which to leave out.
• Anatomy Of A Musical Number “Lay All Your Love On Me” – This was a nice short detailing the “Lay All Your Love on Me” scene from the movie.  It takes place on a beach, and this just describes the detail and effort that went into the choreography and shot itself.
• Becoming A Singer – This was a really cool extra that really dove into the process of coaching the actors to sing.  This showed how Bjorn Ulvaelus and Benny Anderson, of ABBA, brought the music to the screen, and it focuses on coaching the actors how to bring their music forward.
• A Look Inside Mamma Mia! The Movie – This 3 minute short was a very short look at how ABBA became such a phenomenon, and the process of getting from the songs to a play, to this movie.
• Sing-Along – The sing-along section can be either turned on to display with the songs as the movie itself played, or you can select the song scenes to play outside of the movie.  Basically this is karaoke with the movie, which could be fun.  It is nicely presented, and can add some value to those who would love to belt out the songs, and don’t know the ABBA lyrics.
• Deleted Scenes – There were about 5 or 6 deleted scenes included, most of which are presented in very low quality video.  some are interesting, but others are just strange, and therefore not really missed.  They cut a long piece that detailed each of the 3 possible fathers, as they decided to accept the wedding invitations that was just plain too long.  Thankfully it was left out of the movie itself.
• Outtakes – The outtakes were very, very short.  I actually thought I had hit the remote to end them, as I honestly think there were only about 4 or 5 scenes total.
• Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Music Video – This is a video from the movie which is kind of fun to watch.  At the end of the day, you either can handle all of the ABBA music, or you cannot, and I may have had my fill by the time the extras rolled around.
• Bjorn Ulvaelus Cameo – This is a scene from the movie where Bjorn Ulvaelus features in the movie itself.  It is during a scene where a group are singing one of the songs, and it is pretty obvious who he is, with the 70′s beard and hair.  He genuinely seemed to have a good time with it.
• Feature Commentary With Director – Director Phyllida Lloyd seems to be a very even-keeled, methodical woman, who doesn’t seem to be rattled by anything.  Her commentary is very detailed, and unfortunately, at times, a bit too stale.  I thought her passion for the project was evident throughout the commentary, but it was a bit rough to sit through.  She does focus on some of her choices for the movie, which is kind of nice.
• Digital Copy – Of course, this is a digital version of the movie, which can be transferred to iTunes or Windows Media Player.  I do like the inclusion of these digital copies, but I would also like a version for regular DVD players as well.  Then again, I also am the type of person who wants everything on my Christmas list, and doesn’t want to pay extra for anything.
• BD-Live- There are also a few Blu-ray live features included on this disc that are starting to become standard on Blu-ray releases.  There is the ability to not only watch the movie at the same time another BD-Live member is, and chat about it, but you can share bookmarked scenes with other from the movie.  You also have the ability to record your own commentary, as the movie itself is playing.  Interesting ideas to say the least.

The Movie: 6/10
I have decided that Mamma Mia is an acquired taste.  It is an amalgamation of good actors, beautiful scenery, and completely infectious ABBA music.  The result is a strange mix of acting, somewhat average singing, and a story line that doesn’t really seem to 100% fit the music itself.  If you are still reading this, then you are probably not going to have too much of a problem with Mamma Mia.

Set in beautiful Greece, young Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is getting set to marry her fiance Sky (Dominic Cooper).  The marriage is to take place in the Greek isles, near Sophie’s mother’s bed and breakfast.  Sophie’s mother Donna (played by Meryl Streep) is an older woman who is single and somewhat of a free spirit.  Donna of course invites her closest friends who relish the idea of a party, and reminisce about the good old days when they partied and lived it up in the 1970′s.

Sophie decides that she absolutely must meet her real father before the wedding, and she decides to invite the 3 men who could possibly be her father.  Sophie has learned from her mother that her father could be any one of the 3 men, with whom a more crazy Donna had relationships with in the past.  Donna has kept the secret of who Sophie’s father is, so Sophie decides that she will invite these 3 in the hopes of surprising her mother, and finding out who is her real dad.

The 3 men are now shown as being very different from their old persona’s, and they end up absolutely surprising Donna, who is overwhelmed by the surprise.  The 3 men are played by Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Pierce Brosnan.

Of course Mamma Mia is about ABBA music also.  The songs are presented in a way to further explain the story plot.  While some disbelief is needed for the story and the music to completely mesh, overall they seem to form a decently thought out overall story.  It is obvious to me that this is based on the play, as the timing and pace of the movie seems almost to mirror the theater, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.  It was nice to see a movie made in this manner, with this much thought put into making this work.  It was not my favorite movie to watch, but then again I am not a huge fan of musicals or of ABBA songs.  I can say that while I did not really “get” Mamma Mia, I can respect the effort, and I can completely see how this unique movie experience may appeal to lots of individuals.

Mamma Mia is a unique mix of theater and song, and it was well done, with likable characters and decent acting (Meryl Streep is amazing to watch, and seeing her in this role makes you appreciate her ability.  The singing was pretty good (Amanda Seyfreid was delightful) with a few near misses, but overall great for a movie based on a musical, with big name actors involved.  While perhaps not my cup of tea, a solid musical with lots to enjoy.

Audio & Video: 8/10
The video looked almost surreal in some scenes, which I think is planned.  The movie is presented in 2.40:1 wide screen, and the colors at times are insane.  There is a lot of sound stage stuff that is used here (unfortunately at times you can tell), which is a weird mix with the lavish shots of Greece and the beautiful blue ocean.  Overall it seemed a mix of crisp colorful scenery and sometimes dark shots.  Once again, Blu-ray  just simply looks amazing.

The audio also was pretty decent, but somewhat of a mixed bag.  The music sounded great, but I felt that some of the dialogue was mixed strangely.  Sometimes it was very crisp, and other times I felt it was a bit muffled.  Perhaps it was me, but at times the dialogue was not as clear as the musical parts seemed to be.  I feel like I am nitpicking here, as overall the audio was very, very good.


Value: 7/10
I am going to go ahead and give Mamma Mia a higher value score than I gave the movie itself.  I admit that perhaps I am not the target audience, but for those who enjoy ABBA and the Mamma Mia play, this movie will more than satisfy you.  The use of the songs and the story are just good enough to appease those who are looking for a fun, sing-along type of movie.  Add in the decent extras, and you have a nice little Blu-ray release.

Overall Score 7/10

• U-Control (Picture In Picture) – We again have the Universal U-Control, which is basically a running set of extras that are available as the movie plays.  As  Ascully and Cidtalk  have mentioned before, this is not the best way to do the extras.  I would rather have the ability to watch the extras in full screen, with the ability to choose what I want to see, and when.  It includes interviews with cast and crew, and your basic fare.  There are also some clips of the commentary done by George Clooney and Producer Grant Heslov.
• Feature Commentary With Director George Clooney & Producer Grant Heslov – Clooney and Heslov also do the audio commentary on the movie, which goes into depth about Clooney’s choices and some of the meaning behind the things he put into the movie.  There are some nice glimpses of just how the movie was made to fit the era, and how some real thought went into making the shots fit seamlessly, but overall this is not the most engaging commentary ever made.

The Movie: 5/10
A 5 out of 10.  Sounds like I did not really like Leatherheads, but I think that I kind of did like it.  Here is where it gets difficult – trying to describe what type of movie Leatherheads is seems to me to be an exercise in futility.  It starts off with some amazingly fun scenes from the old-school gridiron in 1925.  The guys seem like second rate hacks and the game is obviously not coordinated and has very little in the name of rules.  When a boy runs off with the football (the only football) in the middle of one game, the referee rules that the home team (who was winning) was forced to forfeit, since they are supposed to supply the game ball.  When the home team points out that there is no such rule stating such, the guys abruptly start throwing punches.

Our main character is Dodge Connelly (George Clooney) who is the captain of the lowly Duluth Bulldogs.  Dodge is forced to deal with the fact that the league is failing, and as a veteran pro football player, he has no real skills and no real way to make a living outside of football.  The league is in shambles and hardly draws any real fans, while college football is healthy and has a true following.  Dodge decides to try to keep his dream alive by attempting to bring Carter Rutherford to the pros, directly from college ball, where he was a hero.  Carter (John Krasanski), is a pure Ame