The music is awesome with the tension and a touch of sadness mixed with enough hopefulness to make a great accompaniment to the story. The story, while I’m on the subject is pretty clear from the title. A contagious virus has become a threat to humankind. It’s not a new idea, of course, so let’s get over that. The thing that makes this  movie special is the delicate but acute way the subject is handled. With subtle and excellent performances by everyone on the screen I felt a connection with almost all of the characters. Jude Law is fine with me, but that guy he played was not at the same level of being worthy of compassion or understanding. I can’t put my finger on why precisely, but it’s got to do with the kind of annoying personality traits this guy has. I think that’s on purpose, but it made him the weakness in the movie.

There is a compelling element to the end of human life, for some reason. I mean, the concept that something can and probably will wipe us out some day. If it’s because we are too close to each other physically, well, I guess there are worse ways to go. The ideas that mingle with social, economic, cultural, political, personal, intimate and on top you put the potential for extinction in a very ugly way, from disease, it becomes something I can’t take my eyes off of even if I try.

The reality that the people who work with contagious diseases on this planet are at the forefront of keeping us alive is a strong theme in this movie. I appreciate that. It’s a thankless job and I hope this reminds people that when we get a cough and go to the doctor followed by a shot or pill that gets rid of that cough, well, some of the process that made that happen was because of the medical people who track down, study, and find ways to control unfriendly germs .

I enjoyed the movie so much. It might sound weird to enjoy a movie about millions of people dying of a very contagious disease, but that’s a credit to the writers, director, cast, music makers, set designers, everyone involved. It’s a great movie that I would recommend to many people for many different reasons.


Features: 6/10

• The Reality Of Contagion – An 11 minute featurette where the stars of the movie comment on how this movie could leak into real life.
• The Contagion Detectives – A 4 minute piece that examines the agents this movie actually focuses on.
• Contagion How A Virus Changes The World – A small informational video done in the 1950′s public announcement style.

Cover Art and Menus: /10
I dig the cover, but not as a poster. It’s bold and the yellow does put the idea of viral something or other, ick.  Usually I don’t like the stars’ faces shoved on the cover, but this one comes together in a less obnoxious way for some reason. The menu is standard, so not much to say about that..





Audio & Video: 9/10
Soderbergh uses the REDONE camera to give Contagion that high definition look that most of today’s movies have. This is quite an intimate film (even with a budget of 60 million to play with) and it comes across like the slickest fly on the wall documentary you have ever seen. Colors are pitch perfect and there are no signs of crush or noise in the image. If your looking for a great looking Blu-Ray for 2012 this is a great start.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is punctuated by a great electronic score that really sets the tone of the film. The rest of the movie is talky as you would expect and despite sounding a little thin in parts really comes alive during scenes involving crowds. A scene where a crowd  try to get rations from the back of a military vehicle really envelopes you making you feel overwhelmed. Don’t expect much from your sub woofer during Contagion though.


Value: 6/10
Contagion is good quality entertainment. It’s thought provoking and dramatic in a way that makes it a memorable movie watching experience. I say it’s worth around $17 if you can find it for that price it make a good addition to your movie shelf .

Overall Score 9/10

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The Hangover 2 tries to recreate the same formula that worked in the first movie, but the unpredictability is basically gone, because we kind of know where this is going, but the question now is simply “how”? It just seems to be more of the same, and while the sequel is still funny, and still a fun watch, it just seems to be lacking something.

For part 2 we are off to Thailand, as Stu has finally met a girl who he is going to try to marry who is not a hooker, who just happens to be from Thailand. Her father hates Stu, and makes no attempt to hide his feelings, by basically calling Stu a boring lazy dentist (not a real doctor). Stu (Ed Helms) and his merry wolf pack, which again includes Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and the now married Doug (Justin Bartha), all show up for the wedding and decide to have a nice relaxing night on the beach with some unopened beers, to avoid the fiasco that occurred at the last bachelor party. The next morning, we discover that the same nightmare has happened again, only this time Stu’s fiancé’s underage brother is missing, well most of him anyway, as his finger is still there. Not to mention that Alan’s head is shaved, and Stu has a face tattoo similar to Mike Tyson’s.

We once again are set on a massive hunt to find the young Teddy and make it back to the wedding on time. We basically see a new set of craziness as the pack search for clues as to what occurred the night before, in there quest to find  Teddy and make it back before they ruin the wedding, as if it is not already in jeopardy. The movie has some funny stuff in it, but a lot of this just feels like repeating the original, and it makes it seem a bit old and tired. We hear the mantra “I can’t believe that this is happening again” repeated over and over, and it kind of feels that way for the viewer at times.

I like the Hangover 2, but I guess I just expected it to have the same flair and freshness that the first movie did, and it does not. It is just not on par with the original, which is a shame.

Features: 6/10

• Unauthorized Documentary -This extra is kind of a mockumentary type of set up, and it is pretty funny. This 25 minute feature talks a behind the scenes look at what is supposed to be the horrible experience that everyone had making the movie. It features interviews with cast and other movie luminaries, and it is very good.
• The Comedy Of Todd Phillips -This short extra is all about Todd Phillips, the mastermind of these two movies. This deals a lot with his love for improvisation and retakes of original scenes.
• Not Your Everyday Monkey -The movie features Crystal, a monkey who joins up with the pack for some fun, and this feature delves into her involvement with the story.
• Bankok Tour With Chow -The funny Ken Jeong stars in this extra as Leslie Chow, from the movie, and he gives a very funny, very short tour of Bangkok, Thailand. I love the character, but in the movie he was kind of all over the place, and I felt not as effective as he was in the original.
• Gag Reel and Action Mashup-There is a very short gag reel included here, which is fun, and a very, very short sequence that includes all of the action from the movie.  The action mashup is a little bit strange, but perfect for those with massive attention deficit disorder, and who love action.
• DVD & Digital Copy -We get a regular DVD copy, as well as the new digital version of the movie.

Cover Art and Menus: 6/10
The cover for the movie features a nice still shot of the group on the floor, as they wake up from another night which they can’t remember. It is a cool little shot, and a nice cover. The menus for the movie are unfortunately just the same still shot, which was a shame on a Blu-ray.





Audio & Video: 9/10
Normally I talk about the video first, but on this Blu-ray, the audio for me was outstanding, and has to be mentioned first. The use of the Surround Sound for ambient noises was excellent, and the rest of the 5.1 is spot on. Dialogue is crystal clear thought the movie, and the whole audio experience was excellent. The video was really good also, with the 2.40:1 AVC encode looking sharp and bright. The scenes in Thailand on the streets are gritty and harsh, and the scenery on the island is beautiful. Overall the presentation is excellent.


Value: 7/10
I will watch the Hangover 2 again, and I will still enjoy it. It is funny and at times, really great, but overall it was not as good as I wanted it to be. It definitely does not have the x factor the original movie had. Having said that, I still liked it, and even though it feels like a cheaper version of the original, I think most people will still want to see it, and will still like the movie. Just don’t expect the same magic as the first. Hopefully the Hangover 3 will bring back some of that earlier magic.

Overall Score 7/10

Cal finds himself at odds with his wife and his work, as well as his family and friends, and he ends up running into Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling), who is a single, attractive guy who can’t understand how and why Cal has allowed himself to become what he is, which is pathetic. Jacob takes on the task of totally making over Cal, in the hopes of helping him rediscovering his manhood, so that he can move on with his life.

The interplay between the two actors is great, and the transformation is stunning. Soon Cal is turning heads and his whole outlook in life has changed. During that same time, Jacob runs into a girl who doesn’t initially fall for his suave routine. Hannah, (Emma Stone) ends up changing Jacob, who is not used to letting anyone in to see his true self or emotions, and like Cal, he is forced to deal with life in a new manner, as he decides that perhaps a relationship is not the end of the world after all.

The emotions and story for this movie seem genuine, and the great acting really adds some depth to what could have been another mediocre romantic comedy. Instead, we get a truly fun little film, that is solid from start to finish.


Features: 3/10

• Steve & Ryan Walk Into A Bar – This extra is just Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell sitting in the bar from the movie talking about the movie and the characters that they play. Pretty standard stuff.
• The Player Meets His Match - This feature focuses on Jacob, the ladykiller. This is short and touches a lot of the same ideas from the first extra, as they discuss Ryan Gosling’s character as he morphs in the movie.
• Deleted Scenes - There are a number of deleted scenes included here, and most are really stoic and not that great. There are a few that are funny, like the bathroom scene with Cal and Jacob, but most are not missed.
• DVD Version of the Movie - You also get the standard version of the movie, not in high definition.

Cover Art and Menus: 5/10
The cover for the movie is pretty decent, with nice color, and great shots of the main characters. It is not great, but it is stylish and adequate. The menu is static and really not all that exciting. The music is even a bit tame, giving the menu a boring feel.  It just was kind of a downer after watching such a good little movie.





Audio & Video: 8.5/10
The audio for the movie is really pretty strong, with nice bass and overall umph. This is a romantic comedy and so don’t expect booms or crashes that risk the house, but this was solid. The video, presented in 1080p AVC encoded MPEG-4 high definition is also really solid. There was a little bit of noticeable grain here and there, so again this was not the sharpest Blu-ray that I have ever seen, but it was a really nice visual presentation.  This is not a Blu-ray that you will pop in to show off the wonders of high definition or blow up your floor with the rocking bass from the audio, but for this movie everything works out well.


Value: 7/10
I am not totally sure about the replay value of this one. Once you have seen it, the originality and freshness of the movie kind of wears off, so it may not be one that you view over and over again. Having said that, I ally enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to almost all who love movies. The extras are a bit thin, but the movie and Blu-ray presentation is good.  Like I said, this is my favorite Steve Carell movie so far, and I was impressed by everyone involved.  Julianne Moore is amazing, as is Ryan Gosling (did I just write that?)  Emma Stone is perky and likable, and I thought even Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon were great.  This is a wonderful, clever little romantic comedy that is definitely worth a view.

Overall Score 8.5/10

Our leading man is your cocky pilot dude with a sad past. His peripheral characters are a young woman who someone started her out to be tough and semi cool but ended up writing her to be a swooning damsel in distress..yuck.. Then we have the tormented young man who has reasons to hate and defy his father enough to become tortured, corruptible. That father is a jerk, and there is a father who is too perfect (and dead), and then the father of the young woman who just kind of whiffs of bad guy but never has the chance to fully develop. Once we get to the other worldly folks things pick up, and yet still we get the immortal wise ones, the tough drill sergeant, the well balanced zen kind of fish dude, and a few others who look more cool than they really are. It’s a shame.

With all of this humdrum character stuff going on how did I actually enjoy this movie? I’m glad you asked. The history of the Green Lantern coalition, the scope of the whole universe being involved, the immense evil foe, it’s enough to get me in the groove. I let go of the shitty cheap one liners as much as I could, forgot about the lame trailer, and just enjoyed the ride. The special effects are ropy sometimes, lots of rag doll syndrome and the all CGI suits got pretty shaky sometimes. Then again, I might have noticed more because I got a little bit bored through a few scenes. I have no idea why, but there were times when I zoned out and started seeing the cracks in the shiny movie making glaze that’s supposed to wow us into a certain kind of movie frenzy blindness. I do fall for it sometimes, no doubt, but with Green Hornet, I was in and out of liking it about four different times.

Overall I had a good time watching a movie that I would not have chosen to watch and won’t see again. That sounds suspiciously like a criticism, but it’s not. Fun while it lasted, that’s a fair statement. I don’t look forward to more Green Lantern installments if they are to come. I wouldn’t recommend this over most other comic book/super hero movies I have seen. However, if someone was having a night in with some fun movies and it was on their “maybe” list I wouldn’t steer them away from it. Take that for what you will.

Features: 8/10

• Extended Cut – It’s the movie with 9 minutes that are not in the theatrical version. It does give us more for the opening sequence, a flashback, and really does add to the back story of our hero. I am not sure why they cut stuff out for the theater, but I wish I had one board meeting in Hollywood per movie!
• Theatrical Version On DVD Only – 9 minutes less than the extended version. :)
• Maximum Movie Mode – Watch the movie again with the writer taking you through a lot of extras, concept art, behind the scenes, etc. It’s an excellent way to explore the whole of the Green Lantern experience.
• The Universe According To Green Lantern – How the comic became a movie.
• justice League #1 Comic – An animated version of the comic, very cool.
• Additional Scenes – These scenes would not add anything to the movie. We get a bit more with the nephew, and then some unfinished CGI moments.
• Preview Of Green Lantern The Animated Series – If you are  in love with Green Lantern, this will add to the universe he occupies. It’s just a preview, so it might be too much of a tease.
• BDLive – There is nothing much to see here, as usual.
• Green Lantern: Emerald Knights – Find this on your Ultra Violet account when you add the code for Green Lantern. It’s a full length animated feature yours to view alongside your digital copy of Green Lantern.

Cover Art and Menus: 5/10
Getting lots of other worldly characters on the cover is pretty good, I just wish the Earthly dude wasn’t in the front. Why do I have this thing that the star of the movie is the most boring thing you can slam on the cover? I don’t really even care about the covers of movies. They just sit on the shelf facing each other, so why swoon over them? Well, if you give me a reason to NOT think like this you win the prize!! What’s the prize? Hmmmm I’ll buy the poster version and put it in my house. What an honor:)





Audio & Video: 6/10
Green Lantern comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080P AVC encode that is impressive in parts. The problem I do have with the encode is how dark some scenes are, funny that the tagline features with words “Blackest Night”. There is also a smattering of DNR applied which makes Ryan Reynolds look a little waxy at times.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is loud and bombastic which is perfect for a summer blockbuster flick like this one. The 5.1 surround really impresses with fighter jets and bulletfire coming from every angle. When Hal Jordan takes a trip into space listen for the whoosh of the subwoofer as hes sucked up that little green tunnel.

Overall the presentation here is quite good but the black levels let things down a little. Still it’s the best you will see this movie as I don’t think it was successful enough to warrant a special edition down the line.


Value: 5/10
Rental, that’s how I would define Green Lantern in the consumer world. I don’t have any desire to see it again, so owning it isn’t topping my list of priorities. It’s fun but it doesn’t grab me and demand that it be part of our collection. You might find this blu-ray for around 20 bucks, which is way way way too much. If you see it for 10 bucks, that might be a cheap night at the movies and with the added extras do give you a full evening of Green goodness.

Overall Score 5/10

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The Movie: 7/10
Horrible bosses, that’s just a dose of reality we all have to swallow at some point in our lives. As for the movie Horrible Bosses, it’s the fantasy of dealing with wretched horrible people who happen to sign the paychecks of our three ‘heroes’. Something must be done about the sexually charged dentist who terrorizes, the maniacal corporate president who demeans and bullies, and of course the asshole creepy sleazy son who inherits his father’s company and wants to milk it for all it’s worth. These people must be taken down, down, and the somewhat hapless employees who decide to do the world a favor represent all of us who might have had tiny little plans in our minds to do the same to a boss or two along the way.

It’s well made, great stunts, good music, and just a good time….for that I say it’s worth the 7 out of 10. But, don’t take that too seriously, it’s for the laughter not for the overall experience.

The different types of workers that most of us are don’t really feel represented here, so you have to just take on board the sympathy for a rich executive (Bateman), a comfortable plant manager (Zaranakis), and a dental hygienist (the other guy, please insert name:)). There are no dish washers or floor moppers or waitresses or retail clerks, these are the people who do take the most shit at their jobs, but for the purpose of this movie we just need to summon up some connection with these dudes. I had a hard time with that so it was kind of the thing that neutralized the impact of the whole story….that being said, as they say, I did enjoy this movie a lot. I laughed, giggled, exclaimed “Oh my god!” a few times, and came away with a general sense of satisfaction and of being entertained. Does that sound kind of blah? Well, it’s hard to look back and summon up a lot of umph when I didn’t find myself represented at all, but I suppose it should be universal, that sense of camaraderie for fellow employees who have had to deal with jerky bosses, so the actual job shouldn’t matter. But it really does.

The cast is excellent, for me. Now, Ascully found the dental hygienist annoying. I disagree, but I can see where he’s coming from with the kind of over the top cartoon antics this guy had to engage in occasionally. I didn’t understand the indulgent Kevin Spacey moments, but hey, it’s Spacey. Jamie Foxx’s character is just so not necessary it made it very difficult to appreciate the wheezily dude he was playing. This movie does have a lot of things that seem to be poorly planned or just stuck in for reasons that don’t serve the story, or just do not need to be there. It’s a bit patched together with scenes that take it too cartoony. It could have been trimmed up, focused more on the job of being in a job with a horrible boss and less time on the crazy antics.

The biggest thing that I come away with that makes this movie less then it could be is that at the heart, it has no heart. I’m not saying every movie with comedy and the real life edge needs to have some kind of morality tale or soppy gushy middle, but when a story is told that has no connection to anything meaningful at all it becomes a hollow experience. I like some hollow movies, no doubt, it’s just that the potential for identifying with folks who live their lives being at the mercy of some schmuck who pays their paycheck, well, there is a lot of opportunity for something other than wild heists and slap stick.

I want to like it more than I do, however I did enjoy it while it lasted. I don’t know what else to add to that….it’s totally recommended for anyone who wants a cheap laugh or two. Just don’t go looking for that “OH yea fulfill MY fantasy of doing in my dipwad boss!!!” it might not be there.


Features: 6/10

• My Least Favorite Career – Most of the cast and director reflect on real jobs they have had in the past. Unfortunately none of them want to out any real people so not much information is given up.
• Surviving A Horrible Boss – The cast talk about how to survive working with a horrible employer.
• Being Mean Is Such Fun – The three horrible bosses talk about being horrible and how much fun it is.
• The Making Of The Horrible Bosses Soundtrack – Promotional extra about the forgettable soundtrack.
• Deleted Scenes – A few deleted scenes including two different alternate openings.
• Ultraviolet Digital Copy – A new era in digital copies.
• DVD Version – A DVD Version for you ludites

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
I like the cover. It’s pretty bold and slightly obnoxious. It is comedy after all. I might even have it as a poster, hint hint Ascully! The menu is nothing, well, barely anything. It’s a still image and navigation.





Audio & Video: 8/10
Horrible Bosses is an uneven film and the transfer shares that trait. At times it shows great detail and superb black levels but at others (take the scene where Sudekis goes for a late night rendezvous with Aniston) the transfer inhibits lots of HD video noise. That’s not saying this is a bad transfer though far from it. The flesh tones and color saturation are spot on and there is not a hint of banding or DNR applied. For a comedy this stands up to most of 2011′s releases and as such gets an 8/10.

Audio is very central heavy. I don’t think I heard the surround speakers kick in at all throughout the whole running time. The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is very clear though and not an ounce of the funny dialog will be missed. I was going to use the word horrible in this section somewhere but this transfer is far from it.

Value: 6/10
If you find this blu-ray for 12 bucks, it might be worth having it around for a laugh now and then. Any more than that and I would just rent it or stream it on a Friday night movie bing. The extras are slightly boring and the movie is empty calories for the most part so I don’t have a desire to invest much in it.

Overall Score 7/10

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The Movie: 4/10
This is a romantic comedy that is not all that funny, and there is not a whole lot of romance.  Something Borrowed is just a long list of characters acting out in ways that they should not, by doing things that just seem to frustrate the viewer.  The acting is not horrible, but the story and characters are so one dimensional that it just becomes somewhat hard to watch.

Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is turning 30, and her lifelong best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson) is throwing her a party.  Darcy is the type of friend that is always the center of attention, and the life of the party, which makes it all the more interesting as Darcy is marrying Dex (Colin Egglesfield), who just so happens to be Rachel’s love interest.   Ever since Rachel and Dex met in law school, the two have apparently (and somehow unbeknownst to each other) been in love with the other.  Through flashbacks we see that the two were destined to be together, until that fateful night when Rachel kind-of-sort-of introduces Dex and Darcy, and then doesn’t protest when the two start to date.  So far, I can’t feel sorry for anyone in this story, as Rachel seems too meek to make a move, and now her best friend and long time crush are well past dating, as there is a ring on Darcy’s finger.  Perhaps it is too late, but against all odds, Dex and Rachel end up sleeping together, which starts the whole ball of wax moving towards destruction.

Rachel and Dex try to hide their relationship from Darcy, who seems just as oblivious, even though good friend Ethan seems to have figured out the affair.  The characters all seem to just roll on with decision after decision that pits best friend against love interest, so much so that in the end the entire group is obviously destinged for heartbreak.  There is nothing that seems to be able to save this group from themselves, and in the end, nothing does.

The main issue that I have with this movie is that the decisions that each of the characters make during the film are just bad, and it really makes the two hours seem long and frustrating, and by the end, I just didn’t care if Rachel ended up with Dex, mainly due to the fact that everyone seems to be getting hurt.  It made for a rough watch.  The acting was decent actually, but there was no real character development, and everything was pretty foreseeable right from the start.  Something Borrowed was not horrible, but it was a real challenge to find the bright spots in this long winded display of how  to ruin a few good relationships.

Features: 5/10

• Something Old - Apparently turning 30 is so horrible that we need a short extra about how bad getting that old can be.
• On Location Tours With Emily Giffin - Emily Giffin. the author of Something Borrowed, the book which the movie was based on, goes on tour in the 5 minute extra.
• Marcus’s Guide To The Ladies - This is a kind of impromptu set of rules for meeitng the ladies.  This 7 minute extra was actually kind of funny, and features Marcus from the movie (Steve Howey) as he takes his ladies man persona to the extreme.
• What Is Something Borrowed - This little extra is only 2 minutes in length, and is a super short overview of the movie.
• Additional Scenes - There are about 8 minutes of extra scenes included on the Blu-ray.  None of the scenes are missed.
• Gag Reel - The gag reel is relatively short, and decent as far as gag rels go.
• Digital Copy & DVD - Both are included with the Blu-ray.

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
The cover for something borrowed is pretty drab really.  Two couples, in various states of cuddling.  It just seems a bit too plain for my liking, but the cover is miles above the stagnant menu that simply has shots of the 4 same characters, with no movement whatsoever.  Blu-ray menus should no be static at this point, so make at least an effort.  These are both just drab and unappealing.




Audio & Video: 7/10
Remarkably the audio and video were very well done.  I was very surprised at the 1.78:1 widescreen AVC encoded 1080p presentation, which featured great colors and blacks.  the video was also great, as was the audio, which was dialogue heavy, but very crisp and lively.  There is not a lot of need for Surround Sound here, but the overall presentation in 5.1 was very nice.

Value: 4/10
I really did not love this movie.  It dragged on and on and I really started to hate the characters.  For a romantic comedy, this  really kind of lacked any real comedy.  The movie itself is just not as good as it should be, and while I thought the acting was decent, the characters were so depressingly one dimensional, and at times loathesome, that it really ruined any chance that you actually feel anything for them or care what happens.  Even my favorite character, Ethan, who is funny and seems to have some brains, ends up being thrown in with the rest of the crew when he decides that the female that he has been screaming at to act like an adult, is somehow the one that he is in love with.  I just cringed.  This is a movie that I just don’t think has any lasting appeal.

Overall Score 4/10

I’ll be perfectly untemperedly honest and say I have a hard time talking about this new version of a story from a movie I have been in love with for over 25 years. Comparison is impossible to avoid, so deal with it. ARTHUR is Arthur with Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli from the early 80′s. Arthur is Arthur from 2011 with Jennifer Garner, Russell Brand, and Dame Helen Mirren. ARTHUR makes me laugh on every single line, every single scene, every word almost. Arthur made me laugh every few minutes, but not heartily. I liked it and it’s well worth watching just to enjoy the story again but with some different little tiny twists and turns here and there.

Arthur 2011 is more whacky and less dignified but sweeter. Russell Brand and Greta Gerwig are nice together but there is no convincing me that their little budding relationship is going anywhere. If they worked more at building that up a bit I might be more into it, but they are good together so it’s OK.

I really liked Jennifer Garner in this movie. She’s crazy and over the top and it made me have a new respect for her ability and willingness to just be out there in her roles. There was no holding back. When she’s magnetically stuck to a bed, I laughed for several minutes. She plays the asshole fiance of our billionaire who wants to rule the company. Her greed overrides her charm, but Arthur is seemingly trapped into marrying her….ohhhhh the suspense!!

Helen Mirren is awesome, of course, a hard core nanny of a bratty grown rich man, but funny too. She makes the movie for me. I do like Russell Brand though, he’s funny and there seems to be lots of heart behind his performance as the lost but determined rich boy/man.

It’s a good time. I will admit it. I wasn’t looking forward to it and in the first minute I was captured and interested and happy to be watching it. This after having watched ARTHUR just the night before and thoroughly enjoying myself for about the 125th time….now THAT’S a funny movie!! Genius. This modern version is good, not great, but good enough to find a place in my DVD collection for sure. I recommend it for a fun time.


Features: 4/10

• Arthur Unsupervised – Behind the scenes, sort of, in the making of Arthur 2011. It is pretty good with cast and crew chatting in that promotional kind of vibe.
• Gag Reel - Funny people giggling and props falling….OK, it’s fun!!
• Additional Scenes - I think these scenes could have easily been left in the movie and it would be fine. There doesn’t seem to be a reason to cut them except for time.
• DVD & Digital Copy - Take Arthur wherever you go. Laugh it up.

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
The love interest of the story is left off the cover, which is unfair. The severe image is eye catching and it does capture the tone of the oppression of our billionaire hero:) I might be tempted to have it as a poster as long as I have my beloved original Arthur on a poster right next to it, and maybe bigger, higher up on the wall:) The menu is standard.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
As usual Warner have a top notch transfer which is delivered in glorious 1080P to your HDTV. Arthur is a bright rich looking movie (figuratively and literally) and the extra colorspace the HD format allows really benefits the look of the movie. Actually having said that some other reviews I have read recently seem to believe the color in this movie is overcooked, I tend to disagree and think it was the cinematographers intent.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track as usual with comedy movies stays mostly central, surround speakers come alive during the batmobile chase and whenever music plays but that’s about it. Dialog is centered and anchored and even Nick Nolte’s mumbling vocal style comes through clear. Overall Arthur is fun and the Blu-Ray looks great but as usual with remakes the original is WAY better.


Value: 4/10
It’s a good crop of laughs and just a hint of extras so it’s well worth about 10 bucks if you can find it or rent it for big fun on the cheap. I do feel compelled to own it, so there ya go, I’ll pay the price hoping to find a good deal.

Overall Score 7/10

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I like this movie a lot. Mysterious, I know. Men are portrayed as assholes and it’s got enough fight/battle scenes to keep my brain unstimulated for many movies to come. You see, I generally don’t like long drawn out fight or battle scenes in movies, but I overlook these things. The entertainment factor of this movie is a powerful force. Having a great time while watching a flick on a Sunday afternoon is a lovely thing.

To say it’s a fun story seems a little creepy when you know what it’s about. A tormented orphaned young lady put in an impossible situation. The vibe of the movie is harsh on all counts. The design of the mental institution is severe, just the kind that would scare the crap out of anyone. It’s like a caraciature, all the key elements that are uncomfortable are exagerated. The brothel/burlesque club is the same. The common thread in both is that the young lady is captive, trapped by forces beyond her control…eh hem…bad men, very bad men.

There’s dancing, a little singing, lots of really powerful and exciting action sequences (despite my tendency to be bored with fights fairly quickly), awesome special effects, a style that’s a mix of old and futuristic, powerful women, and the list goes on. It’s not a perfect movie, not even one of the best of the year, however, it captured my imagination and me from the very first minute. The big idea of the movie is that you are in charge of your own fate, your life is your own, except you might find a bit of help in unexpected places.

The cast is suited to their respective roles. They turn every corner of the emotional trapezoids of life, tough, sad, hurt, mean, cruel, determined, evil, manipulative, loyal, vengeful, and there’s more but I don’t know how many sides a trapezoid has. (Upon a quick search I have determined the correct answer is 4, so the emotions of this movie really put the old trapezoid to shame!!)

Sucker Punch is moody and troubling and uncomfortable. The bad guys are super bad and oh so satisfyingly intimidating. That’s my favorite part actually, right after the bold almost indestructible women, of course. When our leading lady goes into a trance dance to hypnotize the dudes her mind wanders and we get the benefit. Each fantastic war scene is more explosive than the last and there seems to be no limitations on what can happen, giant mech robots, giant samurai, clockwork men, and a futuristic train in peril, it’s a wonderland for the eyes.

Never underestimate the power of a good time. I’ll say it loud and proud, I loved Sucker Punch, tucking the flaws deep in the recesses of my mind, and going with the flow of swords and high heels and  slow motion and swimming around in there is an incredible message of hopefulness and determination.

Features: 8/10

• Maximum Movie Mode – Watch it again and see what the director Zack Snyder has to tell about the making of the whole movie from start to finish. From costumes, music, special effects, it’s all here presented in a flashy but not obnoxious way.
• Original Sucker Punch Animated Shorts – The title says it all. They are cool, great artwork, and fun to watch, however, I just don’t think they do much go further the stories for me.
• Sucker Punch Behind The Soundtrack – Where did the music come from? The answer is in this extra, but then again what did you expect when you read the name of it? It’s kind of brief but you get all the information I think is necessary on the subject.
• DVD & Digital Copy

Cover Art and Menus: 7/10
The cover is fitting, if not that interesting to me. I like the style and the mood of it. It’s just not as good as the movie. The menu is OK, but not that memorable to be honest.





Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Sucker Punch is a thrill ride from start to finish (my favorite release of the year so far) and the AVC/1080P encode does the movie justice and then some. Sucker Punch is quite a dark movie (in tone and pallete) and Warner handle these difficult conditions with ease. Blacks are inky, skin tones are precise and when those explosions kick in the color really washes over the action. Facial clarity is amazing you can even see every speck of makeup on Baby Dolls face in close ups. If your looking for a movie to show off your home theater setup this is a great choice.

Audio on this movie is a showcase also, Sucker Punch has an amazing soundtrack that really brings the adventure of Baby Doll and friends to life. When the music kicks in the movie comes to life. Synder’s movie is LOUD and this is usually a problem when it comes to voices, but here even the most delicate whispers come through loud and clear. Your also treated to dragons, trains, giant mechs and clockwork soldiers each with unique sounds all of there own.

Also worthy of note is Sucker Punch comes on two BD-50 discs, one with the theatrical cut and the other the extended cut which is 17+ minutes longer. This keeps the bit rate and audio quality very high on both versions of the movie.

Sucker Punch is a movie that will divide audiences, but for me it’s one of the best movies I have seen in some time. With all the sequels and lame movies that come out year after year, I applaud Zack Synder with his journey into the imagination. If you like to daydream  this movie is for you.

Value: 4/10
It’s a quality good time of a movie, and the extras are good, it’s just not one of those that I would pay over 20 bucks for, maybe $10. It is a big action flick after all, not life changing or anything like that. I would like to see it again at some point, but probably when it hits cable TV or Netflix. My debit card just doesn’t have a swipe in it for this particular expenditure. However, I say make space in your mind to watch it, it’s worth the time and a handful of dollars, just not a bucketful.

Overall Score 7.5/10

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Oh, I don’t like to be negative about movies. I love movies. I don’t love ALL movies. Little Red Riding Hood is such a compelling story. A little girl in the woods hunted mercilessly by a wolf who eats her grandmother (spoiler) and then is anti-climactically by a man, her father..whatever. The good parts of the story are the wolf vs. a young girl. It can be interpretted as a battle of wills, of strength against innocence,or just a cautionary tale to keep children from making choices their parents tell them to steer clear of, or choose from any other theory you have about the story.

This is one of the problems with this telling of this particular story, it has no heart. There isn’t one point of view that I can hang my movie loving mind on. It’s got our leading lady as pouty but sometimes bold with no real character. She’s not distinctly romanticized and she’s not particularly assertive. The leading men are the same. The leading leading man, her childhood love interest is really annoying. I can’t even sum him up except to say he’s like watching a cover of a bad romance novel come to life…ick.

The bad guy is Gary Oldman, well, he’s supposed to be a bad guy of sorts. He’s a deranged religious man, witch hunter or demon killer, something like that. Even Oldman couldn’t salvage this one for me, and that’s saying a lot about the weaknesses of this movie! The idea is that this guy has come to kill the wolf, or wolfman that is tormenting the village. OK, so is it a wolf or a wolfman? So many things about the writing of this slice of ‘entertainment’ left me a shadow of the happy film watcher I used to be:)

I’ll say the acting isn’t great, just borderline good, with our leading lady doing well enough to hold it all together. Other than that glimmer of averageness these folks did what they did with what they were given. The dialogue is often awkward and the story, well, it’s neither dark enough nor fantasy enough and that adds to the wishywashy feeling I get just thinking about it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not even trying to be hateful or mean about Red Riding Hood, it’s just that there’s not much about it that gave me a positive vibe. I wanted to like it sooooo much, and that probably lead to even greater let down when scene after scene I was struggling to stay interested. I don’t have the feeling that I want a movie to be over very often, and yet that’s how I felt after about 20 minutes. It was like there must be something good around each corner of the twisting “who is the wolf” drama, but there never was. She’s got a cool cape, Grandma is kind of weird and watchable, the sets were too polished but still good enough, but none of these things adds up to a good movie watching experience.


Features: 4/10

• Alternate Cut – A different cut of the movie, doesn’t make it any better though.
• Secrets Behind The Red Cloak (PIP Commentary) – A PIP commentary mode similar to the Maximum movie experience, lots of trivia here for Twilight fans.
• Gag Reel – Lots of falling down and clothes getting stuck on the set, no outakes featuring Gary Oldman though I guess he never messes up.
• Red Riding Hood: Red’s Men – There are a bunch of featurettes in this catagory on the disc. They cover most of the production. It’s still interesting to pull back the curtain on movie making even though I have seen these kinds of featurettes before.
• Music Videos – A couple of sexy movie videos, excuse me while I go vomit.
• Additional Scenes – A selection of additional scenes, I would have prefered these reinserted into the Alternate cut though.
• DVD & Digital Copy – A DVD & A digital copy for viewing in every situation.

Cover Art and Menus: 2/10
I’m not picking on this movie relentlessly, trust me, I don’t like most dvd covers, and this makes that list. It’s uninteresting, not true to the story, style over substance, and it’s just not appealing to me in any way. The lintickular thing is annoying and the images are too swoozy romantic and immature. The menu is basic, functional, neutral.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
If you listened to the podcast you will realize that I did not really like this movie. That does not mean it’s a bad Blu-Ray though as the 1080P VC1 transfer looks great. Director Catherine Hardwicke uses a lot of soft focus shots which come across well in HD. The only problem I did have were some of the werewolf scenes seemed a bit muddy and dark (might have been for the best though). This is a decent transfer which unfortunately doesn’t make the film any better.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is also quite good with some interesting spacial awareness in the surround speakers. Whenever the Werewolf comes around the Inception inspired score causes your subwoofer to shake. There are also some decent music sequences that wake you up from the dreary dialog.

Again whatever you think of the movie (I am sure it will come up on our worst of 2011 list) the Blu-Ray presentation is well above par.

Value: 2/10
If you come across this movie on late night cable on Halloween night, give it a try. If you see in in a store or online with a pricetag of more than five bucks, find something else to blow your cash on. I don’t want to sound snotty, but seriously, this movie doesn’t inspire me to recommend it or watch it again or even think much more about it once this review is done. It’s kind of sad really, because it has such great potential and yet it misses almost every opportunity to live up to it.

Overall Score 3/10

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From the directors of “There’s Something About Mary,” “Hall Pass” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download on June 14th 2011

The Movie: 5/10
Take a romp in the comic follies of modern marriage and a sentimental look at true love, or waller in the muddy waters of penis jokes and the immaturity of men, Hall Pass offers these broad choices.

Let’s not kid ourselves, sometimes it’s good to just giggle and laugh and roll your eyes at the ridiculous things some writers and movie makers throw at our movie watching faces. :) I like Owen Wilson. I like the other guy. I like Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer. Do you know where I’m going with this? Let me tell you. The cast is enjoyable and occasionally there is an honest laugh or two. The story has some charm as a modern look at marriage and relationships. Try to fleck off any of the glossy paint and we are looking at a blank canvas, junk food for the brain, empty movie calories.

A husband and wife are at that mundane phase of their marriage and she offers him a week of not being married to get his sexual fantasies off his lips and out of his system. You see, these men, and their misfit crew of friends like to talk a good game. They fancy themselves a group of women magnets and talk endlessly about how they could get this woman and that women. Never mind the incredibly sexist attitudes, that women are nothing more than tits and ass meant for them to maul and drool over….I’ll skip the lecture and take it for what it is, an idiot’s guide to the man mind and the women who love them in spite of themselves.

Discussing it with Ascully we agree that it’s a fun lovin’ flick, and on the flip side that it’s not memorable. That makes it harder to review just because I would recommend it to a few people because it’s wacky, but other’s because it’s got a little romantic comedy attitude, and others just because it’s a grown up chuckle for a weekend afternoon (or whenever you choose to watch). Not everyone will appreciate the humor (even I struggle on a few attempted jokes), and the people who do like the dumb jokes might not have patience for the relationship examinations, so view with an open mind. Leave your mature grown up mind at the door and dust off that mind that laughed at Porky’s back in the day just warn it that there is a cautionary tale buried in amongst the boob and penis jokes.


Features: 2/10

• Additional Scene – This scene is not missed from the movie, just more hi-jinks.
• Gag Reel – Goofy giggles and forgetting lines, that’s what gag reels are meant to be, and these fit the bill.
• DVD Version Of The Movie – DVD

Cover Art and Menus: 2/10
Ugh. That’s what I say about this raucous wannabe cover. It gives the wrong impression of the movie, as a whole. The woman’s butt in  a bikini bottom with our two leading men peeking around, well, it’s just blah. It’s too Porky’sesque for what the movie actually offers. I’m not saying it’s an intellectual champion of cinematic history, however, it’s got more going for it than men drooling over mostly naked women….not MUCH more, but more. The menu is so forgettable, I have no recollection of what it looked like:)





Audio & Video: 8/10
The latest comedy from the Farrelly Brothers fares really well on Blu-Ray high definition. In fact the picture is so good that the fake tans (we couldn’t figure out if the tans were an in-joke or not) really show up in great and horrible detail. Blacks show great detail and are inky as they should be. The colors are slightly exaggerated but I think that is by design.

Hall Pass is a talky comedy so don’t expect your surround system to come alive. Where it does excel is the crystal clear centered dialog. Sure there are some nightclub scenes that kick the sub woofer up to 10, but this is no Battle LA or Lord Of The Rings in the sound department. Hall Pass does sound crisp and clear though Warner have done a bang up job on this one.

Value: 3/10
This movie is empty calories, and like any junk food it’s not meant to be savored and isn’t very memorable. Rent this little flick and get a couple other rainy day comedies to go along with it to make a fun day at the movies. There aren’t enough extras to pump up the experience overall, and it’s not the type of movie that would call to me for multiple viewing. A couple bucks thrown its direction is enough. If you buy it you are going to wonder why you gave up over $20. Avoid buyer’s remorse, but don’t avoid the movie.

Overall Score 5/10

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I get from the story that focusing on your dead loved ones, or the feelings of loss, or fear of death, well, it’s all just keeping us from living a more fullfilling life. As for the movie itself, yea, it has flaws. There are some moments of very questionable acting, or just awkwardness between people in scenes. One in particular is the eating scene..ugh. I really want to edit that out myself, but then again the content of the relationship between Damon and the young woman is relavant to his part of the story, so I just overlooked it. That’s what happens when I am really digging on a story, or a movie, or some aspect of a movie, I just overlook the flaws. It’s reasonable to say this is not a GREAT movie, very fair in fact. It’s a good flick with some ideas that are handled in a way that I appreciate.Oh, and there is an action sequence in the beginning of the movie that will blow your mind. It’s troublling and scary and really well done. It would be the pay off for some other movie as the big event at the end, but this time it’s a tragic natural disaster used to offer us one of the many human stories that come out of such things. It’s really an amazing scene, troubling for real life, as a movie it’s amazing.

There are various locations which gives the movie such a nice international vibe. Clint Eastwood takes his movie making pretty seriously and if someone speaks French, he has French writers come in, translate it into well written French, hires French people….you get the idea. It adds such an authentic and exciting tone to the whole thing. I love that about this movie, it’s got some vim and vigor about it, but at it’s heart is really about the quiet connections between people.

Life after death might be a touch subject, and if you feel the need to avoid anyone talking about it, making movies about it, having a view different from yours, well, that’s your choice. I like to hear all the ideas about it, beliefs, thoughts, theories, experiences, because my belief is that there is nothing. I’m alive, then I’m dead and that’s that…which is fine with me. I will make the most of the times of my life while I have the chance and if I screw it up that’s just how it goes.


Features: 8/10

• The Eastwood Factor (Extended Edition) – An awesome 90 minute documentary chronicling Eastwoods life in film.
• Focus Points – Watch behind the scenes features either while the movie is playing Picture In Picture or full screen.
• DVD & Digital Copy – Lots of options to watch the movie for those on the go.

Cover Art and Menus: 2/10
The cover of this DVD is annoying, at best. I like Matt Damon, but come on people!!! His glossy smoothed face smashed up at me with that lovely woman shoved to the back. And that blue glowing thing…ugh. What is a better alternative? I don’t know, but this one will not be making it to my wall as a poster, no way, no how. The menu is fine. it’s got those tiers that pop up and slide away when you choose something. it’s pretty standard.





Audio & Video: 8/10
From the opening moments you know you are in for a treat with the Blu-Ray presentation of Hereafter. The opening scene may be super disturbing (and very badly timed due to what happened in Japan recently) but that does not make it less stunning. This kind of CG work does not hold up to HD viewing (see 2012) but Hereafter holds up perfectly. Director of Photography Tom Stern tends to light on the dark shadowy side, and this comes across in a lot of the scenes, the Blu-Ray slightly crushes some of the blacks but it’s not to the point of it being distracting. Overall this is a nice looking Blu-Ray and another feather in Warner’s cap.

You might think Hereafter is a talky kind of movie and while this is partly true the soundtrack on this disc has a lot more to content with than just vocals, Tsunami’s, a terrorist bombing, A busy sugar factory and a cooking class are just some of the situations the movie deals with. Audio is sharp and pin clear it is as imersive as most action movies you will see this year, presented in DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio this is a stunning soundtrack and quite unexpected. Special note to Clint Eastwood’s original piano score, a lot of his music sounds similar to me but this is fairly different to the stuff he did in the last few movies.


Value: 4/10
I will watch this movie again. I would pay $20 bucks for it, but not the full price of almost $30. That is strange and bizarre because I would normally never recommend paying that price for a movie, but I know people who would appreciate the ideas and we would have a good discussion afterward. I’m willing to put it on the shelf. If you want to dabble in a thoughtful Matt Damon movie, rent it and get on with your life..

Overall Score 7.5/10

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Deathly Hallows Part 1 starts off, and remains, a dark and ominous tale.   The kid wizards are not kids any longer, and Voldemort is back, with death following him at every step.  Gone is the protection of Dumbledore and Hogwarts, and what is left is a dizzying tale of Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermoine (Emma Watson) as they flee all that they know to try to somehow track down the remaining Horcruxes, without any real direction or focus to guide them.

The movie is bleak and scary at times, and the characters are presented in a much more mature manner, with great effect.  It is kind of nice to get to the meat of the story, and to leave lots of the cutesy kid comedy behind at this point, as the impending standoff between Harry and Voldemort finally draws near.

I loved this movie a lot more than I thought I would, merely because of the more adult tone.   Everything about the series has been great, and the ending should be as well.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 has taken the series in a new direction on film, and it is setting up the final chapter to be epic.  My only slight complaint is that fact that the ending is a bit abrupt, and it left me wanting the last chapter, NOW.  Both gripes are to be expected, since the book had to be divided up somewhere, and there is nothing we can do but wait for the finale, but that is also a testament to how good this movie is.  It is almost sad to thing of this journey being over, so I will simply enjoy this while I can and wait for the final chapter, which is sure to be a stunner as well.


Features: 8/10

• Maximum Movie Mode – This is a rather rich picture-in-picture mode that features interviews with the cast and crew, as well as some juicy looks at the making of this, the second to last Potter installment.  This extra runs along with the movie and is just full of information about the movie, with behind the scenes shots, alternate scenes, and the whole lot.  This is a very good feature.
• The Seven Harrys – This is an interesting look at Daniel Radcliffe’s take on the different Harry’s throughout the movies.
• On The Green With Rupert, Tom, Oliver & James – This is a rather strange inclusion, with some of the characters playing a round of golf and discussing growing up together over the span of the movies.
• Additional Scenes – There are several additional scenes included on Disc 2 of the release, showcasing some of the scenes that were cut out of the movie.  Many of these scenes are from the book but were obviously forced out due to time constraints.
• Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 Behind The Soundtrack – In this bit we get to see the creation of the sweeping soundtrack to the movie.
• Digital Copy – There is the obligatory digital copy here, which is nice.
• Sneak Peek at the trailer for Part 2 – Also included is a nice trailer for the upcoming, final release in the movie series.

Cover Art and Menus: 9/10
The cover and menu for the Deathly Hallows Part 1 are just as dark and gritty as the movie itself.  I love the look of the cover, which is a long cry from the early Potter movies.  The Hogwart’s crew looks tired and weary, as they are in the movie, and the tension shows just from the cover shot.  The menu keeps that feeling going as it is dark as well, with scenes from the movie playing on an almost black screen. 




Audio & Video: 10/10
This is one of those Blu-ray releases that just feels perfect.  The 1080p AVC encode is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen, and it looks magnificent, especially considering that much of the movie is really dark and not well lit.  There is so much clarity and depth here that it is astonishing.  The black levels are spot on, and while the whole movie is dark and ominous, the effects and coloring of the movie simply enhance that feeling throughout.  The audio was also nearly perfect.  In a few of the Potter movies I have had issues with low dialogue in parts, but I feel that in this one the issue never occurs.  There is no shortage of booming sound effects used here with true effect, and the mixing just seems natural.  This is a Blu-ray to show off your home theater.


Value: 9/10
My only qualm with giving this movie a 10 would be the ultimate idea that there will be numerous other releases of this movie on Blu-ray, probably including a final box-set at the end of the series.  If you don’t have any of the Harry Potter movies on Blu-ray, I would wait for what could be an amaxing box-set release, but otherwise this is a movie to own and watch.  This is my favorite movie of the series, and I can’t wait for the last one.  This is Harry Potter all grown up and ready to kick some butt, and it works very well.

Overall Score 10/10

The story takes place in Jellystone Park, where Yogi (voiced pretty well by Dan Aykroyd) and his little bear buddy Boo-Boo (Justin Timberlake) are in the ever present process of trying to swipe pic-a-nick (I had to write it that way – i had no choice) baskets full of food.  Yogi and Boo-Boo are the thorn in Ranger Smith’s side (Tom Cavanagh) as he attempts to keep the park going.  Times have changed and the dwindling visitors to the park mean that it is in real danger, especially when Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) decides that he will close the park and harvest the trees in order to put the town back on track for financial stability.

When Yogi and his antics end up hurting Ranger Smith’s plans to raise money, all looks lost, but with the help of a beautiful filmmaker (Anna Feris) the crew sets out to right the ship.

Yogi Bear is really nor a horrible movie, but it truly is focused directly at youngsters, and the slapstick humor does seem to resonate with kids (my son has seen this movie twice already, and laughs like it is the funniest movie ever made).  For adults, there are worse kids movies, but with the excellent job that studios have done in creating children’s movies for all ages, I was a little bit disappointed.  Overall it is a bearable (sorry) watch, but it is not a stellar remake of a stellar original.  It was neat to see some of the original sequences from the cartoon kind of redone in modern high definition CGI, but the nostalgia was not enough to make this a great watch.  Great for the kids, but just average for the rest of us.


Features: 5/10

• Spending A Day At Jellystone Park – This is an interesting behind the scenes set-up, where you can visit different parts of Jellystone on a map, and get different extras about the movie.  There are nine scenes that give us a view of everything from the actors to stunts from the movie.
• Are You Smarter Than The Average Bear – This is nothing more than the classic Memory game, featuring cards with pic-a-nic foods.
• New Looney Tunes Cartoon Rabid Rider – In this CGI 3 minute Looney Tune, we get to see our old friend Wiley Coyote as he continues his ever constant attempt to catch the one and only Road Runner.  This is amazing to see in CGI, and this is a really fun watch.

Cover Art and Menus: 7/10
I will give the collective cover and menus for Yogi Bear a bit of a pass, as they are fun and energetic, and hold a kind of cartoonish feel that goes perfectly with the movie.  This movie is made for the kids, and the cover just screams a fun time.




Audio & Video: 8/10
It can be hard to judge whether some of these CGI movies are going to make the grade visually, but Yogi Bear really looks pretty good.  the CGI is consistent, and the detail is superb.  It is always funny to see live actors trying to stare into a non-existent CGI creations eyes and miss completely, which only happens a few times here, but the color and detail on the blu-ray are well done.  The 1.78:1 AVC 1080p encode is sharp and features very little aliasing and fuzz.  The audio was pretty well done also, with a great mix of music and effects.  Dialogue is well done, but the real fun is the audio effects for the  slapstick falls and hits and such.  They really use the audio to amp up the action, and for kids it works its magic perfectly.


Value: 5/10
For me Yogi Bear is a mixed bag.  The movie itself is not all that great for adults, or even fans of the original cartoon.  It is pretty well made for kids exclusively, which makes it, at times, a hard watch for adults.  There just is not a whole lot of meat here in the story or acting, but it is a fun, non-thinking kind of movie, and my 5 year-old son eats up Yogi Bear like he was raised on the cartoon.  The antics seem to hit the right spot with my boy, so he is a huge fan.

Overall Score 6/10

The thing about that system is that sometimes I am stupendously wrong. Crazy, shocking, crazy, but true. Due Date has got it’s flaws, yea, it’s just a movie full of people and stuff, and some jokes that are not that funny and over the top moments that make you roll your eyes, but there are gems to be had. I laughed so much at the dynamic between the characters. My face hurt (it’s killin’ you, good one) from smiling so much. There is something about that character of Galefrickus, or whatever his name is, that’s genuinely infuriating and so true to life. A man who’s so annoyingly blissfully out of sync with reality that anyone who has their feet on the ground can barely cope with them.

This guy has all the traits of people I know who make me want to grit my teeth and drink lots of wine to calm down. He’s flippant, flibberdygibbit, denies reality, no sense of real responsibility, delusional, oh, just thinking about it makes me angry. Oh, but there’s more, he’s also compassionate, sweet, kind, friendly, positive, and sees the world without the darkness or boundaries that the Downey character is steeped in.

He ends up in a situation with the water to his oil. These two need to travel a long way, and they can’t fly through some stretch of our current fly-safety mood in this world, and so the adventure begins.

Downey is the hardened business man, cold, driven, selfish, too cool, too self absorbed, jealous, violent, angry, and certainly not positive. At times I almost felt like the whole thing was a set up, like this flibberty dude came along as a test of the stick in the mud dude, but I was not correct. It’s two guys, roadtripping across country who have the absolute opposite personalities and even with the outregous moments, it’s true to life in a way that made it so enjoyable and entertaining. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to deal with an annoying child with more brute force that is morally or ethically acceptable? It’s wrong and 99.9% of us would not let our brutal side take over but in this story we get a lot of uncomfortable moments that we secretly cheer about in the deepest depths of our minds. It’s got that flare of “Oh my God he didn’t just do THAT!” mixed with a real look at how we can cope with each other’s differences even when we absolutely do not want to, but in the interest of all things good in the world, we should all learn and try, at least. I need to learn and try, but it won’t come naturally or easily.

This movie makes me think, made me laugh, the story might be a bit flimsy and the namesake circumstance, Due Date, could actually just not be in it at all, but it’s a reasonable tool to use so fair enough.





Features: 4/10

• Complete Two & A Half Men Scene – Not really my thing, but if you like the show it might get your goonies excited. A character from the movie makes an appearance so it’s relevant, just not very interesting.
• Additional Scenes – These are more like the actors taking liberties with lines or things that are not needed in the story so they are fine as extras.
• Due Date Action Mash Up – Nothing to see here, just a montage of clips that could masquerade as a trailer almost.
• Due Date Too  Many Questions Mash Up – One scene that was cut from the movie with the flibberty dude asking the grumpy one a lot of questions.
• Gag Reel – Acting dudes messing up lines and laughing at each other.
• Digital Copy & DVD – Take it with you wherever you go.

Cover and Menu: 8/10
I saw the movie and now I like the cover, go figure. Before, however, I was like, “ugh”, for whatever reasons. I would have this as a poster, without any text though. The menu is just normal, plain, standard, whatever you want to say about it. I think I will try to convince Ascully to let me stop talking about the menus, they are kind of boring most of the time:).





Audio & Video: 9/10
Ever wanted to see a movie where a grown man punches a kid in the gut or another man vomits in a leg wound? Well Due Date is the movie for you, but how does it look on Blu-Ray you ask? Well surprisingly Warner have pulled out all the stops here and bring you a 1080P AVC encoded transfer that is free from artifacting, banding and looks great no matter how you look at it. Blacks are dark, and fine detail is apparent in every scene especially close up face shots. The DTS-HD Master audio track is as vibrant as an action movie, yet subtle and refined during dialog scenes. It’s quite the showcase as most comedy movie soundtracks are just par for the course. Overall there is nothing bad to be said about the Blu-Ray presentation of Due Date, the movie is also pretty funny as well so you can’t really lose with this one.


Value: 4/10
I really did enjoy this movie, however, I would rent it. There’s not much in the way of extras and even though I laughed and it was very entertaining, I don’t see myself pulling it off the shelf to watch again. I would stay on the channel if it comes on TV and I’m looking for a good time. OH, if it was like 10 bucks I would get it for my collection, but at 20 it’s just a bit out of my comedy purchase price range.

Overall Score 7/10

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• A Survival Guide To Instant Parenting – This extra is just interviews with the cast and crew about how to take care of kids – or in some cases, how not to.  This clocks in at about 7 minutes.
• Katherine Heigl: Becoming The Best Mom Ever – This 6 minute feature focuses on Katherine Heigl, and her foray into motherhood, as well as her basic rise to fame.  It is interesting to find out that Katherine became a mother during the filming of the movie.
• Josh Duhamel: The Triplet Tamer – While this says that it ia about Josh Duhamel, it really is about the 3 kids who take turns playing the baby in the movie.  Josh did take the time to show up early before filming to get to know the triplets, and it is a heartwarming little piece on how he really did become attached to the babies as filming went on.
• Deleted Scenes – There are several deleted scenes that were not included in the movie, but with the pace of this film, I can’t imagine why there were not a lot more scenes cut.  The scenes are not missed, as most normally are cut for a reason, in all films, but a few are amusing.  I did love the first scene, where a kid is picking his nose by basically shoving his whole hand up his nose and Duhamel looks on.
• Digital Copy & DVD – Once again we get all sorts of ways to watch the movie, which is a good thing, if you love the movie.

The Movie: 6/10
Life As We Know It is a romantic comedy that looks great on paper.  Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel are really hot actors, and have to much going on that it would appear that if you just add a cute baby in the mix, this should be a home run but there is just something lacking here, and I put it down to the predictability of the movie, mixed with a bad pacing of the movie that just makes it seem as if the laughs are spread way too thin.

The story revolves around Holly (Heigl) and Messer (Duhamel) who are single and start off their long relationship on a blind date that goes horribly, horribly wrong.  We see Holly as a smart, energetic woman who meets Messer, who is a kind of slacker who has no issues getting dates.  When the blind date fails to even start, the two (who were set up by their good friends) start a long semi-friendship based on tolerating each other for the sake of their very good friends.

When their friends have a baby, Holly and Messer are there, and when their friends are both killed in an accident, Holly and Messer find out that they are both given charge of baby Sophie.  The two are forced into parenthood with each other as the other support system, and the results are (predictably) crazy and goofy.  The two have no clue how to take care of a kid, and together they just barely scrape by.  They learn to adapt, and after initially despising each other and their new found roles as parents, they eventually start to get the hang of it, as they constantly remind themselves that they are doing this for their lost friends, and especially for Sophie.

The movie itself has some very funny bits, and it at times is cute and can be semi romantic.  As I watched though, the story meandered and floundered in the middle.  It really made the story and movie drone on, and it made me less enthusiastic about the dwindling funny bits mixed in between.  I truly think the movie could have been a lot shorter, and had much more effect.  Heigl and Duhamel were both decent in their roles, and really my only issue was with the length of the movie, which really made this movie hard to get into.  For me, since we knew where things were going I don’t think you should make the viewer reach the point where they just want to get to the end, which is where I found myself about 3/4 of the way into the film.  Life As We Know It is a fun little movie, but it was just too long for me to really enjoy fully.





Audio & Video: 6/10
I was less than impressed with both the video and audio presentation on this blu-ray.  I know that the film is presented with a very soft palette.  It seems a bit much though, as it really is too dark and washed out.  Details are pretty decent, and at times the soft shots work, but it gets a bit old.  The audio was also soft, and not very dynamic.  I don’t expect a romantic comedy to blow me away, but this was just overly average on many levels, especially considering the Blu-ray presentation.


Value: 5/10
This would make a good rental if you are into romantic comedies, and your female significant other will enjoy it (just ask my wife, who was a much bigger fan of this movie than I).  Otherwise I am not sure that I would recommend picking this up for your collection.  As with many of these romantic comedies, there are just so many that it is hard to want to own one that is not perfect, and this one is not perfect.

Overall Score 5/10

Cover Art and Menus: 6/10
The cover for Legends of the Guardians : The Owls of Ga’hoole (which is entirely too long to write out every time) is decent, with a shot of all of the main owl characters, in their amazing detail.  I feel they could have done more with this than just a shot of the group, but it is a decent overall shot.   The fact that at the bottom of the cover it states “from the studio that brought you “Happy Feet’” made me look at that cover, which basically is the penguin version of this, except in snow.  They could have changed things up a bit.   The disc just starts as soon as you put it in the player, so the menu is simply a pop up as the movie progresses.


Features: 7/10

• Maximum Kid Mode – This extra is a picture-in-picture mode that is aimed at kids.  A lot of good information is in here, but I do not think that a picture-in-picture mode is the best for kids, who are not truly able to focus on two things at once.  My son wants to watch the movie, and not try to focus on something else.  This would have been better aimed at adults, or as a separate feature for kids.
• Legend Of The Guardians: Rise Of The Guardians – This short 2 minute feature is the story about the Guardians from the movie.  It is basically the folklore of the Guardians, as told by the owls.
• To The Sky Music Video By Owl City – The band is aptly named Owl City, and this is the music video for the main song used in the movie.  A bit strange overall, but decent nonetheless.
• 4 Artwork Galleries – These are a group of artwork and storyboards about the characters and the locations of the movie.  They are arranged in groups from Soren and his friends to the various locations that are used in the movie.
• True Guardians Of The Earth – This is a nice extra that focuses on the different types of owl species.  It is full of information, and runs about 15 minutes long.  It is a very good, solid extra.
• New Looney Tunes Cartoon: Fur Of Flying – This is a bizarre inclusion of a Roadrunner cartoon, that features the new computer generated animation.
• Interactive Games – There are two games included on the disc.  The first features different outfits for Soren and Eglantine, and the second is a memory game with different types of owl snacks.
• Digital Copy & DVD – Both are included, and they are a nice addition for any kids movie.

The Movie: 7/10
Legend of the Guardians is one of those movies that just makes you wonder just how they are able to make these visuals with a computer.  The shots are so incredibly realistic and beautiful that it just boggles the mind.  The story features Soren (Jim Sturgess) and his brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) who are owlets who are extremely competitive as they try to learn to fly.  Soren is slightly better at controlling his flight, but a late night competition between the two sees them fall out of the tree to the ground as their parents are out hunting.  Unable to fly back up in the tree, they are attacked, and then rescued and subsequently kidnapped (is it owlnapped?) by a few mysterious owls who take them to an undisclosed location.  The brothers soon learn that they have been recruited by the evil “Pure Ones” who are lead by Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton) and his soul mate Nyra (Helen Mirren).  The Pure Ones use the moon to hypnotize the new owls and then train them to be soldiers and slaves, who are working on a master weapon that seems to effect the flight of most birds.

Soren and Kludd take different approaches to the recruitment, as Kludd sees this as an opportunity to show Soren that he is the better of the two.  Soren befriends Gylfie, who is a smaller owl who is not fit to be a soldier. The two figure out how to avoid being brainwashed and orchestrate a prison escape of sorts with a bit of help, when they learn that the Pure Ones are out to defeat the Legends of Ga’hoole, who Soren learns are real and not a myth. Soren and Gylfie are taught in secret how to fly before taking flight to escape Nyra and the Pure Ones in an effort to find and alert the Guardians of the impending war.

The rest of the movie focuses on Soren and the Guardians preparing for the upcoming battle, and ultimately the standoff between Soren and his brother Kludd, who has taken to the Pure Ones and blindly accepted their ill-gotten praise. The movie is simply stunning and the character development is pretty well done also. There are times where the pace seems a bit off, but the humor and action are pretty well done overall. The movie was directed by Zack Snyder, who has done such visual movies as 300 and the Watchmen, and his style is present here as well. I thought the presentation was brilliant, but I feel that it may have lost my 5 year-old son in parts, as it was a bit over stylized. Legends of the Guardians is a fun movie with an absolutely brilliant high definition presentation on Blu-ray.





Audio & Video: 10/10
Simply stunning.  This is one of those movies that is just brilliant to watch and hear.  The high definition 1080p AVC encoded 2.40:1 presentation is incredible.  The colors and the detail are simply perfect, and even though a lot of the movie is done at night, the picture is insane.  A few of the shots where the owls are flying through a rain storm are simply incredible (see the shot above for a reference.)  I was truly impressed with this video presentation.  The audio was no less amazing, with seemingly perfect levels throughout and thundering use of both the bass and Surround Sound speakers.  The whole experience was crystal clear and enjoyable.  It did not hurt that the movie was obviously made to be an experience, with the scenes and sound created to impress.  Even the fact that this was originally made in 3D did not seem obvious or obtrusive.


Value: 8/10
The Legend of the Guardians was a great little movie, but for little kids it may be a bit long and a bit confusing.  The presentation is great, and there is enough action to keep kids involved, but I rate a lot of these on whether my son wants to watch the movie again and again, and this one so far was a one-off.  This movie is worth a watch, and on Blu-ray it is amazing, but the replay value is just not there for me, so a rental should be fine.  This may be better suited for kids around age 10-12 than younger kids, but that is not to say that they won’t enjoy the movie – they just may not love it.

Overall Score 7/10

Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand and for Download 12/17!

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
This cover has elements that I do like, the weird masked nun people with guns to be exact. The rest is just marketing bullshit so it pretty much brings it down. I would not have this as a poster. If they cropped it to just the weird nun face I might consider it. As for the menu, it’s like revealing layers of a cake, one layer pops up, then another on top of the, and another, it works, but we all need to move toward a menu that remembers where you were. If we were exploring extras and then come back to the menu, it should take us back to that portion of the choices. Just a thought big Blu-Ray designers!!


Features: 8/10

• Extended & Theatrical Cut - The extended version is awesome, so I don’t think I would honestly want to go back and watch the theatrical offering. I mean, if they take out anything it just isn’t the same. My suggestion, if you are investing in watching them both, watch the theatrical first and don’t end up like me, spoiled by the goodness of the extended choice.
• Ben’s Boston – As with Gone Baby Gone, Boston is a feature in this story. Our director/star grew up in this city and I think he’s got a lot to say about the culture and community of it. I would like to see him explore even more facets of his hometown….maybe someday:)
• Commentary On Both Versions Of The Movie – Ben talks. I like to listen to Mr. Affleck. He’s funny and he takes it all pretty seriously. I don’t know him in real life, but as a director, actor, and commentator he’s alright with me. It’s worth the time to watch the movie again to hear about his experiences making The Town.
• Digital Copy & DVD – Yes, we know. It’s not a feature any more. This should just be standard, not a bell or whistle.

The Movie: 10/10
Where do I begin? This movie is awesome. Yes, awesome. I was engaged from the very first moment with the introduction and an explanation about how many bank robbers come from this one neighborhood in Boston. It’s not glossed up or fancy, just white words on a black screen telling me something I didn’t know. Now, I might doubt things in movies, because, well, they are movies, but sometimes I’m just hooked, convinced, sold, and this is one of those times. So, enough about the first 20 seconds, what about the rest of the movie?

Awesome. OK, I won’t use that word again, just remember it’s haunting every sentence. Let me start with the story. A neighborhood in Boston has produced the most bank and armored car robbers in the world and this is a close up of one group of friends who have chosen this particular lifestyle. The ‘leader’ of the group, Affleck, hints at wanting out, but his best friend has crossed over into a way of life from which there is no coming back from. Murder, violence, money, drugs, it’s all here of course. The friend, played by Renner, is intense. He’s done things that have propelled him into a very angry place in his mind and when the shit hits the fan he seems like the kind of guy who will just go down in a blaze of glory.

The dynamics aren’t completely original, I can’t pretend that it’s revolutionary in that department. This story comes from a novel so there are sets of characters that do tend toward the stereotypical. The guy who wants out, the guy who’s ruined for life, the guy who’s just in it for the money, the determined law enforcers, the innocent female deceived, the tough nut bad mother-stuffers who everyone is afraid of, the criminal imprisoned father, the mother who has abandoned the family…you get the idea. What takes all of these out of being little pigeon holed personalities and into such compelling interesting characters is the dialog and the performances. I mean, come on, every single person from Affleck to his FBI counterparts are aweso…..um, :) I mean they are all amazing. I can’t even go into each performance because I would have to talk about them all and there are quite a few, so just trust me when I say that every scene, every line, it’s all quality stuff. If any of the cast is reading this, just put your name in this sentence: __________ is incredibly believable, unflinching in her/his commitment to their character, and is a huge part of why I gave The Town 10 out of 10.

There is a love interest, in fact two, how could there not be. If there were to be any nitpicking I would do with this story it’s how our leading man and leading woman come to know each other. It’s got that “hmmm that’s a bit of a stretch” vibe, but I don’t care. I buy it because, again, the performances and the content of their conversations, the way it’s written, it has the intangible thing that makes me drop jawed and eyes glued to the screen every second. Like I said, there are two love stories, of sorts, maybe not LOVE but relationships that are pivotal to the choices that the characters make. Both women who play their parts with Affleck are friggin’ (looking at Thesaurus.com for word other than awesome) impressive, moving, excellent, etc. I want to use exalted, it’s listed as a synonym of awesome, but I can’t quite figure out how to use it in a sentence in reference to these performances, but just know it means something is elevated, lofty, kind of above the rest and that’s what I want to say about these women in The Town. They hold their own in this world of manly criminal horrible men.

Aside from the great acting and writing we have the action sequences. These are some of the best fight scenes, car chases, and up close and personal confrontations I have seen in a movie in a very very long time if ever. The visceral, ‘in-the-action’ style of directing is down to our leading man as well. Afleck seems to have a good grasp of how to get us in the action and still not make it too shiny and Hollywoodish.

My head is swimming with movie discussion about The Town, but it’s all stuff you have to discuss after you see it, so I can’t spill it out here. What I will say is that the quality of this movie does that thing to me, it reminds me of why I love movies in the first place. It’s got people I care about, people I hate, action that draws me in, it’s long, it’s got a sense of grit mixed with good dramatic storytelling, and it’s AWESOME!!!!! Whew, had to get that one out before I burst.

Audio & Video: 8/10
The extended cut of The Town clocks in at two hours and thirty minutes, while the theatrical version is thirty minutes shorter. Warner did something a little strange here, instead of using seamless branching to mix and match the scenes, they present a full encode of each movie on one BD-50 disc. While this sounds like it would be a disaster, The Town actually looks very good in 1080P. Blacks are inky (some black crush does rear it’s head on occassion) and most of the shots are crisp and clear. There are a few soft shots but speaking to a friend who saw this theatrically it was the same on the big screen.

Audio is presented in a 24bit mix for the theatrical cut and a 16 bit mix for the extended cut. Again strange but both mixes are exceptional. If you ever wanted to know what it sounds like when a stun grenade goes off, this film has you covered.

Overall The Town is an exceptional movie that due to some odd choices by the disc authors doesn’t get the AAA treatment on Blu-Ray. Perhaps a special edition in the future will rectify this but for now make sure you see this movie it is one of 2010′s best.


Value: 10/10
For around $18 you can get this movie and I say GO FOR IT. I want this movie around to watch again sometime. It’s a good one to show off to anyone who likes action and drama. I am not a collector. However, we have followed Ben Affleck from Mall Rats through Chasing Amy, Armageddon through Jersey Girl, Gone Baby Gone and now The Town. That’s what I would call devoted fans. Admittedly there might have been a few falls from grace now and then, but it’s all part of the package when you are a true movie lover. So, if you like Afleck, or drama, or action, or just really really really good movies, this one is a great bargain and addition to your collection.

Overall Score 10/10

The menu is basic, nothing to talk about.


Features: 8/10

• Extraction Mode – These are extras that pop up as you watch the movie (hopefully a second time). They are behind the scenes, they whys, hows, and whos of making the movie and are pretty substantial. You can watch them individually too, and when you go that route they are full screen, not picture in picture.
• Dreams: Cinema Of The Subconscious – A talking heads documentary about dreaming. I am not a subscriber to this thing where ‘experts’ rattle on and on about their own theories. It seems very narrow, but it’s artistic and because the cool star of the movie from 3rd Rock (can’t remember his name and I am in a hurry so not looking it up) is involved heavily in it. It’s got some cool images and some ideas to explore about our sleeping state.
• Inception: The Cobol Job -The animated prequel to the movie, it’s compelling and the artwork grabs me. It’s digital and comic book and anime all mixed together. I’ll be honest though, I don’t think it adds to the tale of our Inception team much. It’s a pure extra, fun to watch, artistic, and lots of effort went into it so I really enjoy it.
• DVD & Digital Copy – Copy it. Take it wherever you go.

The Movie: 9/10
OH, AC/DC just came on the radio and here I am having a cup of delicious tea, smelling some curry tofu scramble and writing about an amazing movie. Not a bad way to spend the last few minutes before going to work all night:) This joyous mood might influence my point of view of the movie, but I’ll try to contain myself.

I have a hard time separating my infatuation with the IDEA of inception from the movie. The good thing is that both give me great pleasure and satisfaction so it’s not like I LOVE the idea and the movie is crap. This movie is awesome. There, I said it. I am not a bandwagon person. I don’t like things because other people like them. In fact, I often force myself to dislike or be neutral on something just because the crowd makes it popular. That being said, Inception made me very happy and for that I am very enthusiastic about it. Hmmm smell the curry, “Hells bells…” ringing in my ears and a sip of delicious tea.

The concept of Inception is simple, you can plant an idea in someone’s mind that can change the course of their whole life. I have been very aware of this for most of my life. That people influence you as a person by the ideas they put into you without you seemingly having a choice and then they grow in your mind like a disease and can ruin what joy you could have in this life. This story seems more complicated than it really is, but it has it’s twists, it’s hidden caves of goodness that come out the more times you watch. The heart of it is the danger of those ideas we can inject or be injected with and how that can mold us and the world around us.

The movie looks awesome. Ascully, below, mentions it’s muddied or looks dark like other Nolan movies, that’s correct.  I love that. A lot of the movie is spent in dreams, in dreams, in dreams, and that has to come with some kind of visual slant. I like Nolan’s take on the world. It’s not glossy and bright, it’s dark sometimes and you have to be looking and aware to soak up all the information on the screen. It doesn’t just jump out at you. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some amazing visual effects and stunts and images in this movie that made my eyes very happy, because there certainly are.

The performances are, well, how can you go wrong really? I can’t fault anyone. I might be hypnotized by the sweetness of my tea and that rumbling of AC/DC (my second favorite band, by the way), but overall I find this cast to be just right. They really run the gauntlet of stuff to do, action, stunts, serious drama, playing to green screens, and still it’s very connected and they make the story make sense for me. I’m particularly in love with the dude from 3rd Rock, and yes, I could look up his name, but my fingers are busy busy busy typing this. I don’t mean any disrespect if he hates that reference, but you can look him up and you’ll be a better person than me for it.

I could go on and on about this movie. I saw it with my mother and my 13 year old nephew and they both liked it, even though it was “different” as my mother put it. I think it’s a mind bender if you let it be and it’s a revelation if you really dig deep for it. “Think for yourself or someone will do it for you.” That’s my life tagline and I think it’s applicable for the movie. Now, the last drink of tea, turn off the radio, pack up the bulgur and tofu and off to work for the night with visions of Inception in my head. That’s an instant mood booster for a night of cold mainframing.





Audio & Video: 8/10
I was expecting Inception to be a top notch transfer but was a little disappointed. The picture does not have the punch that a lot of 2010 releases have. Like some of Nolan’s other releases the picture is a little soft and sometimes a little too dark. Apart from these small complaints though this two and a half hour movie holds up well on a BD-50 disc. Warner chose to put most of the extras on a separate Blu-Ray which really helps the picture quality.

Audio is a 10/10 with a rich sounding 5.1 sound stage that really is alive. Special note should be made of Han Zimmer’s awesome score (which is included in 5.1 surround on the second disc!) this music has Oscar for best score written all over it. Some of the major special effects moments have some earth rumbling effects that will really give your Sub Woofer a run for it’s money.

This is one of the best films of 2010 no doubt, I really hope Warner bring out a special edition with a Nolan commentary sometime down the line like they did with Watchmen. Highly recommended!


Value: 9/10
It’s less than $20, so it’s a purchase for me. I love this movie and the extras are well stocked so it’s well worth the cash. I spent the money to go see it at the theater, AND I am happy to put the dosh down to have the disc around to watch again in the future…Hmmm I must be going soft. (Actually I (Ascully) went into your dream last night to influence this review.)

Overall Score 9/10

• Additional Scenes – The only features on the DVD are a few deleted scenes.  While the scenes themselves are decent (the graveyard scene should have been in the movie in my opinion, to explain Hex’s connection to the dead a bit more, and help the viewer connect with the character a bit) the fact that there is basically nothing included says a bunch about this release.

The Movie: 5/10
Jonah Hex is a movie based on a Western comic book from the 1970s.  I for one was not familiar with it, although I was never a huge comic book junkie.  Jonah (Josh Brolin) has a beef with Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), who kills Hex’s family in front of him, for killing Turnbull’s son, who was ultimately a turncoat.  Turnbull then takes a red hot poker iron and scars Hex’s face, to give him a daily reminder of his pain.

The event does not kill Hex, but puts him close to death, and upon his life being saved by indians, his brush with the afterworld leaves him with an uncanny mystical connection to the dead, who he apparently can converse with.  The result is an interesting angle that really is only brushed upon in the movie, which is a shame, as there could have been so much more done with this.  Interestingly, there is a bit of comic book art used to tell the story of Hex as he is close to death, that I thought was a cool addition, but they fail to use the same effect anywhere in the rest of the movie.

Hex decides that he will become a bounty hunter, to take out those who do evil upon hearing about Turnbull’s death in a supposed hotel fire.  The truth is that Turnbull is not dead, and is in fact working on creating a weapon that can bye used to destroy the new America, as President Ulysses S. Grant is forced with the prospect of protecting the nation.  Grant turns his hopes, and those of the country, to Hex, who is more than happy on doing what he can to seek his revenge on the man who destroyed his life.

Brolin is a decent actor, and he does a fair job at making Jonah Hex appear to be a true American bad-ass.  The issue with this movie is that there is not a lot of character development on screen to make the viewer empathize with him (apart from the initial scene.)  It is hard to get behind Hex, as he is likeable, but a bit unexplained.  The same can’t be said for Malkovich as Turnbull, who to me seemed uninterested.  He was a baddie, but there was no heart to it, which kind of lacked through the whole movie.  It was not that this was a bad movie, as the cinematography was good, and the pacing was decent, but there just was not a lot to it.  Megan Fox plays a hooker Lilah, who is close with Hex, but she is not really in the movie all that much, and seems underused.

Overall Jonah Hex was a fair movie, without a whole lot of heart.  The story did fly by, but there was a lot more that seemed missing here, leaving one to wonder what could have been.  Brolin is a real saving grace here, as his acting was decent, but the rest of the movie just was lacking something.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The video on this standard DVD was really pretty decent.  The cinematography was overall pretty well done, with some nice overheads shots that were unexpected, and really helped the movie break away from a standard shoot-em-up, and give the movie a more comic book-like appeal.  The visuals are pretty good, and I only noticed some issues with the range of blacks, as a lot of the movie features night shots.  There was a grainy feel to the film that suited the old west scenery and feel of the movie.

The audio was very very bright and full of bass.  It was pretty impressive in surround.  I will note that I thought some of the dialogue was too soft and got lost in places, but overall it was a pretty good mix.


Value: 4/10
The standard DVD release of Jonah Hex is a bare bones, no frill release.  The movie did not do so great at the box office, and despite good, big name actors, there just is nothing here to keep your interest.  I thought the movie was better than many have made it out to be, but it is not something I will pick up again, even though some of the scenes were well done.  Jonah Hex is just not the type of movie that will keep you hooked.

Overall Score 4/10

Available On Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand And For Download 10/26!

Cover Art and Menus: 6/10
The cover for Sex and the City 2 is sparkly and glossy, and features the four main gals looking fashionable and fierce.  It is a cover that is simply based on the characters, and for this HBO series spin-off movie, it works fine.  The backdrop is a New York City street, even if it has been lightened and is all but non-existent, but for this movie that is based in, and features as one of its characters (at least for part of the movie) the New York city scene kind of makes sense.

The menu for the movie is another sparkly set up, with Sarah Jessica Parker in mirrored shades and a white dress.  the menu is static, which I thought was weird, given that this is a Blu-ray release.


Features: 7/10

• A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker & Michael Patrick King – This is a conversation that lasts about 30 minutes or so with star Sarah Jessica Parker and writer/director Michael Patrick King about the movie, and the series, and all things Sex and the City.
• The Men Of Sex In The City – In this 28 minute feature we get a mixed bag of interviews and commercials for the DVD series release.  King and Mario Cantone discuss the main dudes who have been in the series over the years.
• Styling Sex & The City 2 – This is a 15 minute feature on the styles and effort that went in to making the movie.  We get to see the racks of clothes, and piles of shoes that were collected to make this movie, and we get interviews with cast and crew about the effort.  The main style guru, Patricia field returns from the first movie, and you can see that she knows her stuff.
• Marry Me Liza – At the gay wedding scene, Liza Minnelli appears and sings a Beyonce song (that sticks in your head for days unfortunately), and we get a behind the scenes look at the inclusion.  Liza also talks about appearing in the movie.
• Audio Commentary With Michael Patrick King – King does a full length commentary track with the movie, where he is obviously into the whole project.  The commentary could have used some more guests, but at least King is passionate about the whole ordeal.
• Revisiting The 80′s – While the opening 1980′s scene in the movie that shows the girls when they first met is covered in the Styling feature of the extras, we also get another 4 minute look at the idea behind the scene.  The clothes are pure 1980, and the looks are just as bad as I remember them.
• SATC2 Soundtrack: Behind The Scenes With Alicia Keys – This is a very short look at the Alicia Keys song that is included on the soundtrack.
• DVD and digital copy- along with the Blu-ray are a DVD copy and a digital version of the movie to take with you whenever you might need a glamor fix.

The Movie: 5/10
I didn’t love Sex and the City 2.  I will be honest and say that I was not a huge fan of the series, but I thought that the first movie was decent.  The characters are by now old friends for many people, and I am not sure what I expected going into the sequel, but I have to say I was not blown away by the return of the girls.

We get a quick introduction to Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her close friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) , Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) as they were when Carrie first moved to New York, in the 1980′s.  The flashback is complete with bad outfits and Madonna hair.  From there we are taken on a ride that to me didn’t really seem to have a lot of plot or story attached.  After an over the top gay wedding (complete with swans and Liza Minnelli) the story kinds of switches gears as the girls are whisked away to Abu Dhabi, where Samantha is asked to stay and then conduct some business (she is apparently a master promoter).  A sheik is interested in having Samantha sell his hotel line as a resort paradise for Americans, and Samantha of course turns the trip into an extended girls night out, or girls week.

The resort is plush and extravagant, and the girls enjoy a long weekend away from the hussle of New York City, and in doing so, end up examining their lot in life, sort of.

It sounds so straight forward, and even, but it ends up just kind of meandering.  We get to see Charlotte struggle with being a mother, who apparently has fussy children and an Irish nanny who just happens to be a complete knockout, making Charlotte feel even more insecure about herself.

Miranda’s life seems pretty even paced, but she spends the whole trip learning the ways of the East, and informing Samantha of all of the things the menopausal 50 year-old sex queen is doing incorrectly, in a land where skin and sex are taboo.  Samantha, in all of her lustful glory, is trying desperately to turn back time and avoid hot flashes finds herself being deprived of her magic pills and lotions at the Abu Dhabi airport, and slides into a menopausal frenzy.

Meanwhile Carrie is struggling to find her way with big, as the two try to find a happy medium between staying at home and living a lavish lifestyle.  Carrie comes off as a nag (in my book) as the couple try to find a way to each get what they need out of the childless marriage, and many of the lines that she delivers just seem odd and forced.

Overall the movie just felt a bit unfocused, and while the characters are the same people most fans remember, the story (or lack thereof) just makes this seem like a journey with no real heart.  I will admit that I perhaps am not the target audience, but I have to say that even my wife (who is a big Sex and the City fan) was not blown away by this sequel.  I am sure she will watch this again and again, if for no other reason than to spot “cute shoes”, which she must have uttered 5 or 6 times during the movie, but it really was not as good as the first.  There was a bit too much sparkle here, without enough heart.





Audio & Video: 8/10
I thought the Blu-ray looked great, with bright sharp colors and great detail, especially in the bright desert scenes.  The textures are vibrant, and the overall bright, sparkly look of the movie is nicely presented in high definition.

The audio was actually pretty decent also, with great use of ambient sound (which seemed to me to be punched up almost too much for this type of movie) and sharp dialogue.


Value: 5/10
If you are a Sex and the City fan, then you probably will buy this regardless, but this really was a disappointment when compared to the series and the first movie, which I thought was infinitely better.  There was just no real heart to this movie, and the story was goofy and sparse.  In the beginning of the movie the characters comment about how the gay wedding was so over the top, and to me that kind of summed up the entire movie.  The drama seemed forced, as did many of the canned lines, and while we know these characters, I just didn’t really relate to any of them in this movie.

Overall Score 5/10

Available On Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand and for Download 10/5!

Cover Art: 9/10   Menu: 4/10
I like it. This is an image I would have on a poster for sure. It’s bold and a little creepy, maybe  because I know who it is and what he’s capable of in his movie world and it is capable of freaking out the deeply buried teenager in the farthest reaches of my mind. The menu is just navigation and anyway, I don’t really care much about menus anymore. If they stand out as a part of the whole package to make an experience then I will reconsider.


Features: 7/10

• Freddy Kruger Reborn – I like these kinds of extras. It has lots of interviews, cast and crew, behind the scenes, story origins, how the movie got made, and more. It’s not too glossy, not too produced, so it’s not got that irritating overdone quality.
• Alternative Opening & Ending – This is one of the best alternate offerings I’ve seen in a long time. I have to say I might not prefer both of them to what was left in the movie, but I do appreciate that they included the full uncut versions of each. The opening is pretty short,but the end is the full end sequence alternative. The end sequence isn’t fully finished with perfect special effects and whatnot, but it’s pretty darn close.
• DVD & Digital Copy – Nice to be included.

The Movie: 7/10
A very bad man who can hurt you in your dreams is not only a good idea for a movie, but it has haunted the youthful corners of my mind for 25 years. The original Nightmare on Elm Street turned my crank back when I was just a young teen. I wasn’t afraid of the dark or anything like that, but it was pivotal in bending my mind way back then. The remake in 2010 would never have had the same effect, so it’s not fair to compare, but I can’t really help it.

I will compare, but only these two things, first I cared about the teens back in the 80′s because I was a teen. At my current age (cough cough 43) I didn’t care at all about the troubled kids who are running from Freddie in their dreams. I think that’s partly due to the actors, some a bit too glossy, some too whiny, and partly due to the fact that I just don’t care if teenagers in movies get gutted and tossed aside anymore.

The other thing I will compare is Freddie himself. I can honestly say that Robert England had no impact on me at all. I don’t remember him specifically. I only remember creepy Freddie. However, this time around Haley does such a distinct job of being creepy and bad that he was the best part of the whole movie.

The story is the same, for the most part. There are enough differences in the characters and enough varied modes of death to keep it interesting. It sometimes gets a bit style over substance, but when they go back to the brief origins of Fred Kruger it did take a turn to a more substantial horror flick, not just all blood and guts.

Speaking of blood, the “bed scene”, if you know the original, is even better! I’m just saying.

Freddie is an evil asshole, don’t see him as a cheeky bad-ish guy. He’s very very very bad, and he deserves every bit of pain he gets. I hope they don’t turn him into some kind of anti-bad guy in future sequels, it just would be so ugly to make him charming. Ugh.

Overall I enjoyed this remake of one of the most memorable movies of my high school years. If someone want’s to make it again in 25 years I’ll see that one too, just for that sweet nostalgia stuff. :)





Audio & Video: 7/10
A Nightmare On Elm Street looks quite good on Blu-Ray not stunning but quite good.  I did notice a couple of artifacting issues during dark scenes and a hefty amount of banding during one of Freddie’s boiler room scenes. This is a little weird for a 2010 release but aside from those issues this still is a major upgrade from the included DVD version.

Audio is really impressive, as I said in the podcast a lot of the scares in this movie are audio related and the DTS Master Audio 5.1 track really is loud when it needs to be. There are some awesome surround effects here including a really creepy nursery rhyme that comes from behind you. The audio on the disc really lifts the movie up. I cannot imagine it having the same effect on a little TV speaker though make sure you crank up the 5.1 system to 11 to fully enjoy it.


Value: 5/10
Nostalgia aside, I won’t be needing this classic remake on my shelf. I did enjoy it, however, I won’t be watching it again unless it shows up on the late night Halloween marathons in years to come. The extras are just enough to peek my interest but not so much it’s like Freddie overload. You will get your money’s worth if you find it for around 12 bucks. Wait for the cheapened version:)

Overall Score 7/10

Check Out The Official Nightmare On Elm Street Page!

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• A Directors Playground - Eventhough this is just one semi-small extra, it is good quality. It’s a behind the scenes documentary type thing with interviews and lots of “how we made this movie” details.
• DVD & Digital Copy – Other formats thrown in as a nice bonus.

The Movie: 6/10
Adrian Brody doesn’t do much for me. That is a bold statement to start with, but it’s like an itch I have to scratch. I try sooooo hard to like him, however I come up pretty flat through most of the scenes. Sarah Polley, on the other hand, is awesome. She’s the star of the show, even outshines the gene spliced creature all the way through the story. The creature, played by Delphine Chaneac and she won me over right away. Between Sarah Polley’s bold emotional openness and Chaneac’s often subtle but hypnotic was that place where I was wishing the movie was as good as they were.

The story is the telling of the potential negatives of gene splicing. It’s not a totally modern tale, but this is a pretty current point of view. They mix in the big company money driven evil mixed with the scientific desire to find the cures to humankind’s diseases and other advances. The two bio-chemists at the heart of it are a couple who might seem to be the rock stars of their scientific world. They are riding high as they have developed a whole new life form by mixing the genes of various other animals. Things might not go very well, and they go down the path of mixing human DNA.

The lifeform develops along with the exposer of character flaws in everyone involved. There are relationship issues addressed, past childhood pain that’s unresolved, choices of right and wrong, and then there’s the horrific stuff. Our scientists make some unexpected decisions. They partake of some very sharply uncomfortable, questionably evil behavior and not much good comes of it. All the while this new life form relfects many human qualities we all are familiar with along with some animal, insect and other DNA. There is enough human about ‘her’ that makes me a little endeared to ‘her’, and then there are things that are distinctly animalistic and that’s more creepy than you can imagine.

I classify this as a horror tale of caution more than a straight of horror flick. It’s got some serious flaws! Adrian Brody really doesn’t pull through this character dude with any credibility for me. He’s quality, yes, however it doesn’t work for him though. The action is freaky sometimes and the special effects work out to be quite good for the extent of how a human can be mixed with animals and be believable on screen. I have mixed emotions as I think about it. It was interested throughout the whole movie, and then at the same time it was just loosely unsettling enough to not have a strong impact in a good big way. It did make think a bit about the concept of the human DNA splicing. More than that I thought about how it’s such a good idea and I wish the movie had given me that indefinable magic that a Sci-Fi movies sometimes do. That OH MY GOD that’s so awesome or powerful or exciting or whatever it is that leaves an imprint on my movie loving brain (imprinting is an “in movie” reference).





Audio & Video: 6/10
Splice does not look bad on Blu-Ray. Then again, it will not blow you away either. I was convinced this was a digitally shot movie (it looks like a lot of HD Television shows) but according to IMDB it’s actually shot on film. As we know film has infinite depth and clairity but the DP (Tetsuo Nagata) chose a soft subdued image that really doesn’t impress. Like I said earlier it’s not bad but it’s certainly not a disc you will be pulling out to impress your friends.

Audio fairs much better than the video with a 5.1 DTS-HD master audio track that will make you jump out of your seat on more than one ocassion. The opening sequence is a perfect way to show off your surround system, audio comes from every direction in this scene and they use a superb reverb effect that makes you feel like your head is underwater. Overall the movie is worth a watch and the Blu-Ray presentation is adequate just do not expect to be blown away.


Value: 5/10
Rent it. That’s what I would say to me if I was asking for my opinion. So, take that for what it’s worth. I don’t need, nor want, this particular movie on my shelf for all time, but I will say this, I would watch it again if it comes on late night cable TV. You get one darn good special documentary, and that makes the movie better, therefore you do get a good solid value for the rental price:)

Overall Score 6/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 10/10
Are you kidding me? How can I give that cover image anything other than a 10 out of 10? I mean, it’s one of the most imprinted images of my movie watching youth. Even though the image is only in the movie for about 5 seconds, it’s like the showdown is about to begin and it always gives me goosebumps. The menu is straight forward navigation with images from the movie, and really, do I care what it’s like? No, the movie is the heart of this tidy little Blu-Ray package.


Features: 10/10

• Extended Directors Cut & Theatrical Cut - You get the chance to see both cuts of the movie as if you needed anything else to be afraid of in this life!! The director cut seems much longer and more substantial with the story development, when in fact it’s only 10 minutes more footage. So, I say watch the long cut and get the creepfest on!!
• New 3 Part Documentary On The Movies Production & Legacy - Excellent. If you want to hear more, see more, know more about the making of this iconic flick, watch this documentary in full. It’s got interviews, behind the scenes footage, and lots of discussion about the whole process.
• Commentary By Director William Friedkin – How can this be a bad thing? Watch the movie again while listening to the man who brought it to life in a way only he could have…not that he’s a very pleasurable man to listen to, but because he was the driving force behind the look and tone of the movie which is what makes it so good.
• 2 Commentaries Theatrical Cut (William Friedkin/William Peter Blatty) - More commentary by Friedkin, and now you can hear the author of the book talk about the whole project as well and that’s really a pleasure.
• Introduction By William Friedkin - Self explanitory.
• Feature Length 1998 Documentary The Fear Of God The Making Of The Exorcist – If you don’t know much about how this movie was made, this is the extra for you. You get a backstage pass to the special effects, the history of the book, the madness of the public when the movie was released, it’s all here in late 90′s style.
• Interview Gallery - Self explanitory.
• Original Ending - There’s not much here to see I’m afraid, but it’s nice to have it back with the movie if you are a completist. I suppose the idea that the spirit of Father Carrass carrying on in a new priest (not literally but in theory) is a good one since we are pretty sure that that evil spirit/demon/devil is still out in the world to wreck havoc at some point in the future (i.e. Exorcist III).
• Deluxe Blu-Ray Book Packaging - This is a nice addition for those of you (Ascully) who like the touchable, tangible bits and pieces they can include with movies. There is a nice book type thing with information about the movie, quotes, images, etc. It makes a substantial collector type thing for those who are interested…that’s not me.

The Movie: 10/10
There is no other. There is no other movie that does to me what The Exorcist has done to me for most of my life. I remember watching it on TV long ago, the very edited version of course, and being mesmerized. I was terrified at the thought that the devil could get inside you and make your head spin around. That was when I was about 12 years old. As I got older and watched it on video tape or on HBO I was again terrified, but more and more it became the fear of something so uncontrollable. That anyone is vulnerable to the evils of the universe, whatever that meant to me at the time. Now that I’m older and I don’t believe in things like Satan or spirits, or things that go bump in the night, it still scares the crap out of me. Why?

The reasons that The Exorcist crawls into the back of my mind and shakes me up so much are hard to describe. I think I have little or no fear in the tangible world. I don’t fear crime, death, pain, being broke, bumps in the night, or your general fear growing things the world throws at us. Fear might not be the right word, but as in The Exorcist, this little girl is possessed by something horrific, something unapologetic, no mercy, no accountability, nothing to constrain it’s love of suffering. This is, for me, the thing in life I fear. That people choose to do things that show no mercy, no apology, no care or concern for others’ suffereing. That’s real.

So, when the Devil brings the priest’s dead mother’s voice into the conversation he knows it’s the most painful thing he can throw at this guy. That’s what evil is, lack of empathy, lack of compassion, self indulgence that takes someone down the path of pure pain and destruction. Nevermind that this little girl is being mangled, ripped, torn, shredded, head spun around (how they think we don’t wonder how she lived through that, I’ll never understand:)) and this thing inside her relishes every minute of it. The only thing that holds it back is it’s own limitations. I still don’t understand why it doesn’t just possess everyone and take over the world, but I don’t know all the superpower religious unnatural rules so I just accept that this entity is limited by the body it has chosen and some boundries the universe and it’s God has chosen to put upon it.

I would talk more about the cast and the movie itself, but it’s all just right. There isn’t a cast member who isn’t perfect. The assistant to the mother is one of my favorites. She’s got to put up with all the crazy shit and still just hangs in there. She’s awesome. I guess, if I’m honest, the director guy really does get on my nerves, but he doesn’t last long (spoilers) so it’s OK. Father Carrass and the Exorcist dude (Max Von Sydow) make me want to invite them to a very deep and dark dinner conversation. The whole thing flows together for whatever reasons. This movie making stew just has the right balance, the right mood, and even though I do believe they suffered for this movie, it actually shows in ‘good’ ways.

If you said I have to choose a single moment that freaks me out the most from this movie I would have to say that everytime I watch and they get out the Ouigi board and the thing slips away from the mother, I get total chills down my spine. It’s subtle and almost unnoticable. It’s easy to blow over that little moment but for me it’s the most scary show of this thing’s power. If it can slid that thing across the board to show it fondness for the girl vs. the mother, or whatever it’s motivation is, and you know instantly it could just crush them all if it wanted to….well, it’s toying with them in a way that’s so insidious and scary to me. My heart is racing just thinking about that moment. The mother can’t accept in her rational brain that it really just happened so she sort of smooths over it and goes on, but I always know the shit is about to hit the fan and I’m settling in for the ride.

Hopefully that feeling will never go away, those first few minutes of the movie when I am nervous and questioning my own beliefs and wondering how just a film can taunt such emotions out of me like that deep unexplanable fear, the teeth clinching gut reactions to some of it, I love that a movie does that to me and I hope it always does. (FYI, 2 other movies do this kind of thing to me, Jaws and Close Enounters of the Third Kind)

Audio & Video: 9/10
The power of Christ compels me to give the Exorcist high praise. The Blu-Ray edition of this classic film is just about perfect in every respect. It’s got a crisp looking transfer that retains the film grain and makes this look like it is being projected off an original print. There are a couple of dark shots that look really noisy, but I assume the original print also looked like that.

A special mention must be made to the awesome sounding 5.1 soundtrack, They did something really special here by retaining the 70′s style sound but adding surround effects to heighten the horror of what is going on. In the extras the director mentions he heard things from the Blu-Ray that he had not heard ever before because of the clarity of the track.

The Exorcist is indeed my favorite scary flick EVER and this edition is about as complete as you could ever ask for. If you are a fan or have never seen the film and want to be scared shitless this Halloween season grab it NOW.


Value: 7/10
I understand this the THE complete version of this movie with all it’s goodies and the extended cut, however, I am obliged to my cheapness to say that they have made so much money off this movie through the years this edition should come in at around 15 bucks for anyone who is either a collector of all versions or for a newcomer to the Exorcist world. Come on people, it’s a money cow. You will make money, just give us a break!!

As for what you get, yes, this is the Exorcist for the ages. Tons of extras, the movie in both shapes and sizes, new old footage, interviews, it’s all here so even if you spend the full price at around $30 or so you are getting some quality movie lover fodder.

Overall Score 10/10

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• Deleted & Extended Scenes - There are several scenes that are longer or ones that just are out of context with some jokes that didn’t need to be in the movie, so best they are on the digital cutting floor.
• Unrated & Theatrical Versions - Look in the extras menu for the unrated version, or you will be watching the theatrical cut against your bloody will!!! The Unrated cut has a few extra minutes and as you watch the flick you know which bits they probably had to cut out for the mainstream version.
• Alternate Intro: The Castle - This is a calmer, less dynamic version of the opening that tells the story of a rock star on the wagon for a while and then falling off again when his marriage falls apart. The one in the movie is actually  more fun, but the scene at the castle is really really really good and I wish they had found a way to get it in the final cut of the movie.
• Alternate Ending: Riding Daphne - The ending of the movie is fine the way it is and if this had been added it would be fine too. It’s not an alternate ending, just another way to explain some loose ends for the characters.
• Two Gag Reels - It’s actors being funnyish when they mess up their lines and whatnot:)
• Line O Rama - This is just versions of the same lines or scenes with lots of improvised bits that they have to choose from when they put the film together. It seems monotonous for the actors to have to come up with so many options, but then again, they do get a few quid for the process.
• Behind The Scenes Documentaries - There is a lot to see about how the movie was made and how they got the cast together. It’s a really good collection of interviews and behind the scenes footage.
• Full Music Videos & Concert Performances - If you love Aldis the rock star, aka Russell Brand, you will love these full versions of performances he did as his rock alter ego.
• Blind Medicine – A full trailer for the show that Sarah Marshal (the actress character)  is now doing. In case you don’t remember she was involved with Aldis (Russell Brand) in Forgetting Sarah Marshal a few years ago.
• Feature Commentary With Filmmakers & Cast - It’s fun to watch with the commentary, but I think I need some time before I can tolerate Hill again.
• More Extended & Alternate Scenes - It is what it is.
• More Music Performances - Self explanitory.
• Sing Karaoke On 15 Songs From The Film - Sing along…we all know what this is.
• Cast Auditions - How they got to be in the movie. It’s odd sometimes to see their audition tapes after seeing them as the full character, but that just shows what a process it is to be a performer and how it might not be as easy to come up with these characters as we on the other side of the screen think it is.
• U-Control (Get Him To The Greek Music) - You can click on the icons to check out the music from each scene.
• Stream A Bonus MOVIE (Life/Uncle Buck/Dazed & Confused) - This works great and it is no extra charge. These are the only three to choose from and it’s a gateway to get you into the shop to rent or buy more movies, but if you just see it as a free flick, fair enough.

The Movie: 7/10
Question: How do you know when you are having fun? What are the signs? Do you laugh uncontrollably? Do you feel euphoric and light headed? Are you happy happy and never want the thing that’s making you have a good time end? I had none of this with Get Him To the Greek, and then again, I had a hint of a good time. It’s no fault of the story, it’s OK. A wild rock star needing a second chance is to be wrangled by some boring intern who seemingly has a boring life and needs to loosen up. That’s one of the problems for me. I do NOT like Jonah Hill at all. I try. I find some of his moments really almost genius for a young comedy actor. That’s the truth….and then he’s so overwhelmingly annoying I have to work hard to stay in the moment with most of the scenes.

Russell Brand makes me laugh and as I have admited to my husband openly, gives me a bit of a hoohaa feeling in my middle aging woman guts, in a good way. I can’t explain why, maybe it’s that I’ve seen Brand’s stand up shows and he’s so funny I am compelled to like him. Maybe he’s just got that hot sexy vibe of someone who is so self absorbed and yet you want to stay close to see what he’ll do or say next. He’s got a smile that can melt any frigid jaded attitude and a kind of freedom about how he portrays this character that I think helps take me on the ride with him.

The rest of the cast is good. Sean Combs does a great job of being the crazy music mogul who needs Aldous to get to his concert by a certain time in order to get more cash flow for his suffering company. He really lets go and is as silly as you can imagine and he does it with a certain commitment that I admire. I think I laughed at his moments as much as I did at Brand. Rose Byrne, who plays Aldis’s ex-wife, is brilliant. She is funny and the straight woman at the same time. She is not afraid to be a bit freaky and still she’s composed enough to be such an interesting character. I wish she were in it more actually. Elizabeth Moss plays Hill’s girlfriend and she too steals the show for me in every one of her scenes. Even when she’s up against (literally) Russell Brand she is funny, strong, and makes me want to see more of her character as well.  Jonah Hill gets on my nerves. He has since Grandma’s Boy when he was a bumbling little weazel who rattled off goofy one liners like some smarmy 20-something paper doll cut out. I have tried and tried to like him. In The Greek he almost wins me over several times, and then slips again into the very entitled kind of vibe which I really don’t like. I want to keep giving him a chance with each movie, so someday maybe he will melt my heart the way Brand melts other parts of me :)

Overall it’s a fun movie. I laughed several times. I didn’t love it or feel compelled to watch again anytime soon, but I will let it marinade in my brain for a while and then go back to it. I do remember so many funny moments that even make me giggle now, but as a whole it might need another viewing later on a new day to win me over a bit more thoroughly.





Audio & Video: 8/10
Get Him To The Greek is funnier now I look back on it than it actually was at the time. That being said how is the Blu-Ray transfer of this wacky movie? Well for one thing the picture quality was top notch so good infact you can see Russell Brand’s nose hair in almost every shot (trust me once you see it you cannot unsee it).  Colors are pitch perfect and shadow detail is great. Get Him To The Greek is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p.

For a movie so focused on music the audio track was a little bit of a letdown. Even during the music video sections the surround speakers did not come to life. Dialog is crisp and clear which will help you non Brits in understanding Mr. Brand’s thick cockney accent.

Overall I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this movie. It’s not as good as the excellent Forgetting Sarah Marshall but it’s fun all the same.


Value: 7/10
It’s a fun movie with a trunk load of extras to enjoy. That makes it worth about 12 bucks to me. If you find it for 15 or 20, I would say it’s great for a weekend rental. If you are in love with Russell Brand or Jonah Hill and you will be watching over and over and over like a rabid fan, purchase it in good health. If it were up to me, I’d say go buy or rent Russell Brand in concert, his comedy is best displayed on the stage with him as the main focus with his own act that is seriously hilarious.

Overall Score 7/10

• Maximum Movie Mode – With recorded commentary and discussions with the director and cast coming in and out over the movie as it plays, along with trivia, focus points and more, this is an excellent extra way to watch the movie again. It’s one of those extras that might just make me like the movie more than I did the first time I watched it. For better or worse, that’s the effect of a good set of extras these days. Maximum Movie Mode is a winner when they shove enough good footage and interviews in there to make it worth another view of the film.
• Sam Worthington An Action Hero For The Ages – I appreciate a dude who does most of his own stunts. That’s what we get in this pretty substantial little extra, a show of Jake Sully doing his own stunts while the director and cast talk about what a trooper he is. I’m not saying anything rude here, but come on, these guys make MILLIONS of dollars I think that means they should be dangled from wires, dumped in goo, and drug across dusty fight scenes as much as possible to earn their cash.
• Alternate Ending – It’s the alternate for a reason.
• Additional Scenes – There isn’t much here that would add to the movie, except that they did chop out a couple of subplots and character developments that would have impacted the overall story, but not necessarily in a good way.
• Digital Copy - If you don’t know what this is by now, look it up.

The Movie: 7/10
The melodrama of Greek mythology has always captured my enthusiastic attention. I have never really taken the time to learn where all the gods and goddesses and their stories came from, but in life they all just seem to soak in from various sources. In this telling of the tale, Perseus is the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. He’s left to be raised by a fisherman and his wife who become his family. Only when the shit hits the fan and the gods are challenged by mankind, and in the mix the family is taken away, does this demigod set his heart and sword on revenge. Oh, doesn’t that sound dramatic? It’s the nature of this mythology beast.

Perseus is joined by a small group of soldiers and a couple of hunters, not to mention the lovely immortal Lo who has been following him his whole life (Why? Watch it and find out). This small militia, set out to conquer Zeus, the Kraken, Hades, and all other creatures who and what get in their way, have the right balance of serious mixed with slightly comedic banter. I am growing to dislike movies with a serious world ending situation iced with tons of comedy and one-liners and goofiness. I mean, with a woman with snakes for hair, horses with wings, giant scorpions, men made out of drift wood and black magic, there is going to be a certain flavor of goofiness, but I like the guts of the story to be hardcore, epic.

Parts of the movie are brilliant for having a good time and endulging in the ultimate Greek myth fantasy. You can see what a Kraken might look like. You can finally see the living city of Argos. A Pegasus comes to life (and quite well I must say), and three witches who share the same eye are alive and screaming right before your…um…eyes (pardon me). It all mesmerizes me, mostly in that child brain of mind where these things are still real, just faded human history that I will never understand. I even marveled at the huge elephants being forced into slavery to build the piramids in 10.000 BC. I know, I know, it wasn’t a good movie, but that scene opened some crack in my brain where I want to be there watching it all happen and that crappy movie helped me fulfill that fantasy.

As for Clash of the Titans, it’s a load of fun and drama and smiles for me. Not to much camp, not too much seriousness, just right for what it is. I didn’t like Medusa though, sadly she didn’t live up the hype in my mind. I wanted her to be magnificent, vicious, perfect. She wasn’t. Someday I want James Cameron to make the Medusa movie, OK? Make it happen.

I enjoyed the cast of the Titans (get it CLASH of the Titans, CAST of the Titans..oh so funny) for the most part. There were moments of over theatrics, but it kind of fit the bill. I didn’t like the world of the gods. It was cheap and boring. With heavy hitters like Neeson and Fiennes, you would hope for more majesty. These are the gods of British acting, right? But they get an almost Flash Gordon type set to work their magic in, acting magic that is. They don’t suffer in the performance department, they might have even elevated it a bit too much with their classic kind of skills, but all in all it worked.

I say get a huge bowl of popcorn and beverage of your choice. Rent Clash of the Titans, current and past, sit back and be amazed that people acutally believed in this stuff at one time and now we are giggling and wided eyed at it all because it’s movie fiction. I will be watching it again, it’s that much of a good time for me. (Not to mention I have a little thing for Mr. Worthington, don’t tell Ascully)





Audio & Video: 7/10 (By Ascully)
Clash Of The Titans is another summer blockbuster that looks great on Blu-Ray This movie had it’s fair share of controversy when it hit theaters earlier this year because Warner chose to cash in on the current 3D phenomenon  by filming the movie on a standard camera and adding a 3D effect in post production. This was not a popular choice and gave Clash a bad reputation.

Warner have chosen to ditch the 3D version in this Blu-Ray release and include a high bit-rate 2D version of the movie. This transfer while overall quite good looking is lacking in sharpness in some scenes and occasional halo effects are present. There are also quite a few waxy looking faces as a result of a heavy hand on the digital noise reduction dial in the transfer process. To the average eye the HD transfer will look passable but on larger screens you will notice these issues.

Audio has no such issues with a DTS-HD Master audio mix that is basically a showcase for your subwoofer. From the storm in the opening scene to the amazing final showdown with the Krakken, Clash really ups the ante in terms of home theater sound. Overall Clash Of The Titans is pretty much what you expect from an update to a classic franchise, I borderline enjoyed it.

Value: 6/10
I really enjoyed Clash of the Titans. I would watch it again. When it comes to buying or renting, however, I would say it’s a rental for me. The extras are good quality and the movie is a great evening of fantasy mythology. It simply isn’t one of those flicks I need on my shelf for all time.

Overall Score 7/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 7/10
For a movie based on a graphic novel the image needs to be kind of in your face and I think this cover might fit that bill. I like the style of it even though I might, on other occasions, find it obnoxious. I’m hypnotized by it. I would have it as a small poster in my home theater room. The menu is a still image with navigation at the bottom, ho hum.


Features: 7/10

• Band Of Buddies Ops Training – You have seen this type of feature before the actual on set weapons expert shows you his arsenal.
• The Losers Action Style Storytelling – My favorite extra. which gives you a bit of behind the scenes on the actual author and artist of the Graphic novel The Losers is based on.
• Deleted Scene – One deleted scene that does not make much sense but is cool anyway :)
• Sneak Peek Batman Under The Red Hood – A 16 minute SD look at a cool new HD Batman release.
• Zoe & The Losers – A small EPK style feature on how Zoe mixed with the boy’s during the shoot.

The Movie: 7/10
Seven out of ten is a fair semi-high kinda score for a movie such as The Losers. It’s big, bold, loud, action packed, and full of piss and vinegar. I think the most exciting of movies can sometimes just really shake away the cobwebs of my brain and I do like a good shake now and then. I’m not sure a displaced group of special forces soldiers looking for revenge on a nasty piece-of-work bad guy is the most original shaking material, but it’s all in the umph that matters.

The umph of The Losers has that swagger, kick-ass moxie and all that good stuff. If you know what I mean you have either seen it or you are tapped into my brain with some iPhone app. This is just that kind of flick that makes me want to make up funny gnarly phrases and words to express that power kind of fun I had watching it.

The cast is spot on for me. I dig the dudes, yea yea. The woman though, Zoe Saldana, she grabbed every scene, every line, every raucous fight. She’s awesome. I was a little bit spellbound to be quite honest. A strong woman in amongst a crew of rowdy dudes, I like it.

The bad buy, Jason Patrick, OH MY GOODNESS…he’s creepy and good and scary. I like that he’s merciless, uncompromising, loopy, and Patrick does an awesome job for me in this role.

The action sequences kept my attention, and that’s saying something. I have this thing, movies with long drawn out fight scenes and action scenes get a tad boring so my mind wanders. There was no wandering in this movie.

I mentioned the lack of originality overall, sure, the story isn’t brand spanking new, but in every scene, conversation, there is something interesting and entertaining around every corner. There is enough comedy tucked in between tension moments to keep it very clear that they are not taking it all too seriously and that is one of the best elements of a movie like The Losers. It’s not heavy, mind bending, life changing, it’s just fun.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
The Losers hit’s Blu-Ray sporting a detailed somewhat overblown, over colored stylistic transfer. Director Sylvain White captures the look and feel of it’s mostly tropical based locations with a saturated, hot looking image that never fails to impress. The 1080P/VC1 transfer uses a 50GB BD disc and keeps the bit-rate high throughout the presentation. Black levels are seriously black almost ink-like, this is in keeping with the comic book nature of the movie and really works well.

LOUD LOUD LOUD, those are the three words I use to express the DTS-HD Master Audio track used on the disc. This is a vibrant audio experience that mixes explosions with some awesome music. Surround speakers are almost always active with explosions and sniper shots ringing around the room with perfect clarity. Dialog is clear and centered like it should be and overall if you are an action movie fan there is a lot of like here.

I really LOVED The Losers. It’s the perfect summer movie. Turn off your brain let the action take you away it’s a great night at the movies you might even have a few laughs too. Like Doomsday from last year (another movie most people hated but I LOVED) I highly recommend this movie, do not be fooled by the review’s if you like action you will find something to tickle your fancy here.


Value: 5/10
It’s a rental for me. I liked it a lot. I had a good time. This just isn’t a movie that needs to be on my shelf. If you find the Blu-Ray for 10 or 12 bucks, fair enough add it to your collection. Otherwise, rent it and enjoy.

Overall Score 7/10

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• Maximum Movie/Comedy Mode – Absolutely the best feature to rewatch a movie so far in this modern age of Blu-Ray extras. If you like the movie, you’ll love this mode. Watch it (it’s essentially a 3 hour directors cut of the movie) , get more popcorn, more beverages, and relax for the ride with director Kevin Smith who really makes it a lot of fun.
• Wisdom From The S*** Bandits -You can see/hear these tids and bits from the flaky shit bandit character. They are pretty fun, but throw away for me.
• Focus Points -The elements of Maximum Comedy Mode put into easy-to-use itemized list so you can pick and choose your desired extras.

The Movie: 6/10
Cop Out only blossoms for me because of some awesome casting choices, and because I know the man behind the camera. Well, I don’t KNOW him, but I”m familiar and very fond of his work. Kevin Smith didn’t write it, but I feel the vibe behind the scenes, some how, some way. Am I crazy? Am I finding things that are not there and then turning that into a more enjoyable experience? Yes. So what? I enjoyed this movie 80% due to Smith, 18% for the content, and 2% not at all:) Hey, fair is fair.

I like the cast, but with a twist. I say the supporting characters and cast WAY outshine the lead characters and “stars”.  Juan Carlos Hernandez is a compelling and crazy bad guy. His nuances of a man on the edge, killer, thief, baseball paraphernalia collector, make him an eye catching boost to the whole movie. Cory Fernandez plays the bad guys younger, intense brother who welds a gun most of the time and says nothing but he’s awesome! I wanted more more more of his tattooed self. He convinced me he was violent and heartless, and menacing.

As for the real show stoppers, the women! Ana de la Reguera plays a woman who has been kidnapped, terrified, and kept in a trunk of a car for 2 days. She is absolutely THE best part of the whole flick. She’s firey and solid and upstages every single person in the frame with her  including Bruce Willis. I mean, she outshines him because she’s so good, and I want to see her in more movies, right now.

Rashida Jones is always someone I enjoy watching. She’s natural and credible. I feel like she hasn’t pushed the edges of characters she could play, they are all young women with a strong personality but friendly and engaging. I want to see her toughen up, get hardened, more emotional. My fingers are crossed.

The story of Cop Out is OK for me. I like the idea that a father has to protect his own pride in the face of his daughter’s step father being the hero of her wedding. It’s a small thing, but it’s good that it’s not about revenge or saving the family farm or something like that. It’s simple and to the point but with a lot of layers of (attempted) comedy, and quality action/stunts thrown in with some (genuine) hard laughs that spring from unexpected, and probably unplanned moments.

Kevin Smith might be the silent partner in the final watching experience of Cop Out, and you might be one of the haters out there saying it’s not up to his standard of unique life comedy. Whatever. I say he has loaded his own secret fun juice :) and that’s good enough for me.





Audio & Video: 7/10 (by Ascully)
I think Kevin Smith himself would be the first to admit his films are not the best looking Hollywood has to offer and Cop Out is no exception. Born and bred as an indie film maker with low budgets and even lower film stock Kevin’s movies are more about content than the visuals. Cop Out is probably the best looking of Smith’s movies as it has the highest budget but that doesn’t mean it looks great all the time on this Blu-Ray disc. The transfer is great don’t get me wrong it’s the actual shots that are occasionally muddy and lacking in detail. It’s a strange movie in HD as some of the shots are pristine, sharp and colorful with great black levels, on the other hand some of the night shots are full of noise and a liberal layer of grain that doesn’t help matters (you could say it adds to the 80′s throwback feel though.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is another matter though, this is Smith’s most action laden movie and the soundtrack captures every gunshot and car smash perfectly. A special nod must be given to Harold Faltermeyer’s awesome 80′s inspired soundtrack that really sets the tone, I mean of you are going to do a Homage what better composer to utilize.

So overall Cop Out is a mixed bag in terms of presentation on Blu-Ray but the awesome Smith Hosted Maximum Comedy Mode lifts this above many other discs to a must purchase for Smith fans.


Value: 7/10
For a bit of fun, a few laughs and an excellent extra-features value, this is a good one for our Kevin Smith collection. If you just want that comedy cop thing for a few giggles, rent it. I hope it’s in stores for less than 20 bucks, but that’s me in my dream world where people actually realize that a movie isn’t worth the same amount of money as a couple days’ worth of food. For less than twenty, go for it, but more than that…hmmmm I’d be hard pressed to add it to my DVD shelf.

Overall Score 7/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 9/10
Would I have this cover as a poster? Yes, most definitely. I’m not a suck up to the talented Mr. Washington and I’ve never been that swooney over him, but this is an image I just am drawn to look at for long periods of time. I can’t explain it, but I like it and that’s that. The menu is nice enough with the still image from the movie and matching navigation. I want to stop talking about menus, but Ascully keeps the section alive and well and titled Cover Art AND MENUS….so I’m a dutiful wife and (cough cough) obey.


Features: 9/10

• Maximum Movie Mode - You can see so much behind the scenes, with the writer, directors, cast, this is a really really good reason to watch the movie again. I’m lovin the Maximum Movie Mode if I’m  honest. I’m sold on the almost learning I do about filmmaking. Too bad they don’t teach how to write and speak proper English.
• Starting Over - What does the human race do when faced with extinction? Story tellers love to dig into this question and I must say, so do I. It’s got some of those “experts” talking about what we might do, but it’s also the Hughes brothers, the writer, and other folks who aren’t quite so up their own ass talking about their own ideas and thoughts of how we might fair in that post-apocolyptic world. It’s only a few minutes long so it’s not like a seminar, just a glimpse at the acedemic side of thigns.
• Eli’s Journey - Who is the man who carries the book? Why is he motivated to do such a singular task under such horrific conditions? We get to see the thinking behind the attitude, the mood, the presense of a man who has been walking for 30 years across a barren country that is as hostile as you can imagine.
• The Book Of Eli Soundtrack - The music that moves this haunting story through a very rough world.
• Additional Scenes - There’s not much here, however, it’s worth watching to see some little finishing touches that didn’t end up in the movie.
• A Lost Tale : Billy - A prequel to the tale of the bad guy in the movie. It’s a graphic novel style telling of a pivotal day in the boy’s life. It’s harsh and creepy, but it tells so much in such a well done little short.
• Digital Copy - It’s a copy.
• DVD Version Of The Movie - It’s a DVD.

The Movie: 9/10
I’m saying it’s an awesome story. It’s a stylistic, powerhouse of a movie. The cast is awesome, the sets are hyper post-apocolyptic, and I loved it. A man carries a book through a post-war torn America. We don’t how or why it happened, but we see the craters from the bombs that were dropped. We see the devastation. We meet the leftover humans who have lived, survived, and now, 30 years later are struggling to put a society back together.

This is definitely one of my favorite Denzel Washington roles, and though she’s a bit too clean and shiny for the world she’s living in, Meg from Family Guy holds her own and impressed me several times with a more subtle refrained kind of vibe. Jennifer Beals, from Flashdance is in this movie and after this I hope to see her again, sooner than 20 years from now :)

There’s nothing new here. I’ll be the first to tell you that. I mean, how many stories about what humankind will do after a massive near extinction event happens will we all hear, read, see, in our lifetimes? I think it’s safe to say we have some worries about our species and our ability to rebuild any kind of civilized world once this one is destroyed. That’s the philosophy behind The Book of Eli. When structure is gone and there is nothing left but rag tag packs of people trying to stay alife, who will rise to the top to lead?

There is always the asshole who wants to control everyone and keep the spoils of the society’s hard work. I think we have all studied and even in my lifetime seen examples of real life dickheads with this syndrome. Then we have the dude who wants people to get along, live, treat each other well, and build a society on mutual respect and work together to get through the difficulties without anyone dominating or destroying someone else’s freedoms for their own gain. You could say a dictator and a hippy might cover it. I won’t say that Carnegie is a dictator, but he wants to dominate, put the fear in people so he can have the pleasures in life and feel powerful in the worst possible way. Eli has a belief that you don’t take more than you need and do more for others than you do for yourself. He’s not a hippy by any means though. This is a violent world.

There is sword slinging, gun play, explosions, crazy fire fights, and more than enough grubby gross mentions of cannibalism. If you’ve got the shakes, you’ve been eating somebody’s leg, or other savory meaty part. It’s not a hopeful place, this post war America. It’s desolate, sepia toned, dusty, and every where you look, or forget to look there are booby traps and scammers around to take what you’ve got, and maybe eat you afterward. I like it.

Eli meets Solara, a young woman under the iron fist of Carnagie who happens to be keeping her mother under lock and key, at least of the mental kind. Solara has had her 20 years or so in a world with no beliefs, no sharing, no excess, nothing but hunger, dust, violence, and scraping together an existence. The thing I don’t always like about these stories is that if someone really was raised their whole life like that it’s an awfully optimistic leap to think they have any desire for something better, more civilized. How would you learn to want to get away? Why would you think it’s better to escape with a stranger to an unknown future than to stay and live the life you have always known? I guess it’s that human spirit thing. We all know when something is wrong in life and have that instinct to want to make it better.

That leads me to the heart of the movie, which my husband and I disagree on…big surprise. I won’t go into details but there is a question of belief, the idea of what it is that gets us all through our lives. It’s represented by something pretty well known in our modern world, for about 2000 years, a book, full of stuff about people begetting people…get my drift? Well, for me it’s a symbol for that thing in every human life that makes each of us wake up and move toward the next day, after day after day in life in spite of the traumas, difficulites, the seemingly endless barrage of bullshit and pain and suffereing we know really exists, either in our own lives or just in the world as a whole.

Eli knows what he gets from it. Solara is learning. Carnagie knows what he can do with it to achieve his desires for power. I know what I know about life and what gets me through. Now, you go watch this excellent movie and either just dig it for the action, of which there is a lot of quality moments, or dig into your mind and soul to think about a few things you might not take the time to think about every other day of your long, dusty, sepia toned life.

Gary Oldman is awesome. I love him.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (by Ascully)
The Hughes brothers chose a desaturated stylistic look for The Book Of Eli that you will either love or hate. I see no inbetween on this one. For me the movie looks awesome but I imagine a lot of people will critizize the Blu-Ray for not looking as stunning as they imagined it would. This is in fact not true as the superb looking 2.35:1 VC1 encoded transfer fits the look and feel of the movie perfectly. If you look really close there is a thin layer of film grain that adds to the post apocalyptic look.

Audio is standout here the DTS-HD Master audio track delivering every gunshot in true high definition audio. From the opening moment where the atmospheric score kicks in I knew this would be a treat for the ears. A Key moment in the movie involving a gunshot rings around the speakers in slow motion and really sounds stunning. Audio here is better than you can imagine you will not be disappointed.


Value: 8/10
I will watch this movie a few times. It’s worth 20+ bucks for me to have it and enjoy the extras and then watch it again when I want to watch more and think less about the ideology of it all. I hardly ever think a movie is worth the price, but this time I have to say it like it is. I was enthralled throughout the entire movie, mostly by the motivations of people, and it taps into the way my own brain has always worked (lucky me). The next time I watch, and the next, I will get more of my money’s worth by watching for the grit, the grossness, the dirt, and the mentions of cannibal lunching.

Gary Oldman is awesome. I love him.

Overall Score 9/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 5/10
The cover and menu don’t do much for me. The cover is too rah rah and the menu is just the same. I wouldn’t have this cover as a poster. I would have a poster with just a muddy rugby ball or a wide shot of Robben Island Prison, but that’s not the route they chose, so it’s just a bland little package.


Features: 9/10

• Picture In Picture - An excellent collction of behind the scenes and about the truth of living with Apartied in South Africa and during it’s demise. A very good extra that makes it worth watching the movie again (as if I need an excuse ).
• Mandella Meets Morgan - I think in a lifetime a person hopes to be important and whatever our definition of that is keeps us going. Someone like Nelson Mandela and his impact on a country, even the world, towers above the importance of a Hollywood actor’s contribution to this life. So, how does someone like Morgan Freeman feel when he’s in the presence of Nelson Mandela? Nervous, of course :)
• The Eastwood Factor - Clint Eastwood is featured in a full length documentary that you can get soon. It covers his career and his impact on the Hollywood movie list since the 50′s. This extra covers his role in directing a movie like Invictus and how he views his multi-faceted participation in all the movies he’s done. It’s very interesting actually, more compelling than I thought it would be.
• Matt Damon Plays Rugby – When a big name star tells the group of hard core rugby players he’s just one of the guys, not a star or anything like that…well, it sounds pretentious and there are hints of that when you see Damon behind the scenes. Whether he’s a cool dude or a man-diva I don’t care, he delivers in the movies he does and Invictus is right up there with some of his best performances. Oh, I mean, they show him getting all muddy and stuff.
• Invictus Music Trailer – Blah
• Digital Copy - Put it on your laptop and watch it again, it’s worth it.
• DVD Version Of The Movie - Take it to your mom’s and watch it on her old fashioned DVD player, she’ll dig it.

The Movie: 9/10
Just to get us rolling in a learning kind of vibe today, I’m adding the text of the poem Invictus. In the movie, presumably in real life, Nelson Mandela took comfort and inspiration in this poem during his incarceration that spanned almost 3 decades. My montra in life is “Think for yourself or someone will do it for you.” and some of my young family members don’t like it when I tell them that a lot of their personal choices are what lead them to their own misery, it’s in their minds how they can interpret and cope with life…so this poem REALLY hits home with me. If you want to know more about it, go look it up like I did.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

A delicious and satisfying movie is always something I remember and want to revisit many times. Invictus is one of those stories put to film that I just felt a strong respect for, along with being entertained. I was in college during the beginning of the end of Apartied. I never really knew wnat it was. I won’t claim a movie can teach me about history, however, I do know it got me to looking up a few things and that’s saying something about the impact of the film.

Nelson Mandela was in prison for almost 30 years as a political prisoner. When he was released South Africa was on the edge of abolishing Apartied, which was legal segregation of the population between blacks and whites. While the white population was the minority, they had the rule of the country and by any and all accounts of real life history during the time it was brutal, unjust, and such an amazing structure of a government to be alive and well into the 1990′s.  Wow, 1990 sounds like such a long time ago, a whole other century..haha now I know what it’s like to live through the change of a century….it’s like being old:)

In the beginning of Mandela’s presidency he saw that the South African rugby team wasn’t doing well. Their team, their colors, name, and even anthem represented a very dark thing for the black population. An almost all white team, playing for the white population. The movie depicts crowds at games in which the black citizens were always cheering for other countries, not their own South African SpringBokk team. In this telling of the story Mandela is an avid rugby fan and he sees this team and the upcoming world cup of rugby as a chance to unify his country.

His main philosophy when the black citizens want to get rid of the whole package of the team that represented such a negative aspect of their nation’s history was to say if we take away the thing that the white population loves so dearly just to punish them for our pain, we are no better than them. If we keep their symbol, their team they cheer for and we also cheer for them, we are unified. It’s not a cure all, that we all know. But then again, as a human I also know that sometimes when you find common ground with someone you don’t really like, and it can be as simple as a shared favorite movie or favorite food, well, you change your view of them even for just a minute or two and all it takes is more of those commonalities that can help bring a nation so split back together enough to make life more balanced for everyone there.

That’s what I got out of the movie. We can’t solve every problem with simple solutions, but we can move everyone toward a better understanding of each other, even if we just smile more. That was one thing they emphasized about Mandela, that he wanted his body guards to smile more, and the people in his offices. I guess it sounds corny and ineffectual, but imagine it’s hard to be full of hate or disagreement on a level of violence and destruction when everyone makes and effor to just be a tiny bit more pleasant, more civilized.

The movie looks awesome. It’s got an incredibly solid pace and it is grounded in a kind of reality that has that Hollywood shine skimmed off, leaving a lot of muted but so intense moments. The rugby matches are really well done. I don’t know anything about the sport, but to me it was compelling, even if I’m not a sports fan and you can take out most of those games in movies for me…I accept they exist and it’s important in this story so it worked well.

Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, for me, really do themselves proud in this movie. It’s unpretentious and scaled back to (or so it seems) represent the real life, still living folks they are portraying. There are no flaws in the acting or the music, or the dialogue. It’s just a really really good movie with an awesome message and a little known bit of history we could all be a little better off knowing.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Invictus is a movie full of color but with an almost reserved color pallet. It seems to me the movie was slightly desaturated and color corrected in post production  for artistic purposes. The Blu-Ray handles this with ease providing a sharpish rich looking image with some artistic overblown whites courtesy of Mr Eastwood’s DP Tom Stern.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track uses the surround speakers mostly during the Rugby scenes and is front and center when it needs to be during the dialog. There are a couple of problems with clarity of speech (when Damon talks to Morgan at the very end of the movie on the Rugby field, it’s quite hard to hear what is said over the roar of the crowd.) but apart from a couple of instances of that the rest is a real treat.

Special mention should be made of the music in the movie which heightens some real emotional and inspiring scenes. Overall Invictus is an important film that highlights a little known story about one of the worlds greatest men, recommended.


Value: 8/10
I don’t say this often, but this is a movie I think I, and anyone who enjoys it, would watch a few more times. It’s not raucous and loud like a lot of sports movies are, while it’s not heavy and brooding like a lot of political movies are. It’s a great story, great extras, and it’s worth the price to keep it on my shelf for future inspired Saturday afternoons.

Overall Score 9/10

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Cover Art and Menus: 5/10
What do you do when there are almost 3,276 famous actors in one film, and they all want to be on the cover of the movie?  Well, take a look at Valentine’s Day to find out.  The cover is simply a mish-mash of most of this impressive cast.  It is crazy how many people are in this movie.  It is a utilitarian cover that just advertises who is in the movie, but with a name like Valentine’s Day, you get the idea.

The menu is static and pretty boring actually.  We get a nice big heart with more shots of the actors.  Bright and pink, but dull also, if that makes sense.


Features: 6/10

• The Stars Confess Their Valentine’s Day Stories – In this 7 minute extra some of the starts recount their Valentine’s Day stories, both good and bad.
• Commentary By Director Garry Marshall – Garry Marshall seems like a fun guy, and his commentary is full of excitement for this movie.  He just seems to love doing this type of thing, and it shows in his commentary.  He seems to have put everyone he knows in this film, famous or not.
• The Garry Factor – This 5 minutes extra focuses on all things Gary Marshall.  It is a bit strange as an inclusion, but it is his baby, so why not.  Again, his enthusiasm is overly apparent.
• Jewel Music Video – We get a music video by the female singer/songwriter entitled “Stay with Me.”  Not much to say about this, except if you like Jewel you will like the video.
• Blooper Reel – This blooper reel is actually pretty fun to watch.  There are some great missteps by this group, and they are funny.
• Additional Scenes – There are numerous deleted scenes here, and Director Garry Marshall introduces all of them.
• Sex & The City 2 Sneak Peek – This seems to be a big deal right around now, as the new movie is out in just weeks, so I guess this is a nice extra.
• Digital Copy – I am not 100% sure I need a digital copy of this movie, but my wife might put it on her iPhone, so everyone wins.  I really do like the fact that many of these movies are portable though.
• DVD Version Of The Movie – The combo disc is both the digital version and the regular DVD.  It is funny that I accidentally put this DVD version into my player, and thought the video was a bad transfer before I realised my mistake.  There really is a big difference between Blu-ray and DVD.  Trust me.

The Movie: 4/10
I watched Valentine’s day with my wife, who thought the movie was cute and fun, but I have to say that I did not really agree with her.  Yes there are a ton of stars in the movie, and yes, it is a romantic comedy, but overall I just was not a fan.  This is a case of too much glitter and not enought substance.

For Garry Marshall’s latest, we get to see everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Queen Latifah, Jessica Alba to Shirley MacLaine, and just about everyone else in between.  The movie starts off with Ashton Kutcher’s character Reed proposing to his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) on Valentine’s Day.  While this sounds romantic, it ends up that she is not ready, and instead of romantic bliss, we get to see a break up of massive proportions on the most romantic (supposedly) day of the year.  Yes I might be some what of a cynic, but there was so much pink and red that I knew I might have some issues.  Every time we see Reed (and granted, he is a florist in the movie) he is wearing pink.

From there we get to see the entertwined lives of several of the cast as they try to deal with love, and sometimes just lust, and as the movie progresses, we are introduced to character after character  and we try to fill in the connections.  Reed’s best friend is Julia (Jennifer Garner) who has a dreamy (yes I just did that) boyfriend doctor (Patrick Dempsey) who is playing her.  When Reed gets dumped, we see the light switch pop on as he realises he really loves Julia, who of course is confused as to why Reed is talking trash about her boyfriend.

There really is no good way to summarize this movie, now that I ave begun, so I will just state that there are so many plot lines and curves that at times I felt like the movie was going to go on for days.  There are some light hearted moments, and some of the acting is pretty good (Hector Elizondo was good, and the curve-ball with Eric Dane was well done).  Overall though, Valentine’s Day just felt like it was a “look how many big names we can fir on screen” type of movie, and I don’t think it worked as well as a movie that focused on just a few of the characters instead of the entire ensemble.  I did like the fact that not every relationship turned out hunky dory, even though a majority of them were pretty predictable and happy.  The one plot line that I was most interested in involved the young boy, and not any of the major characters.

Anyway, for me Valentine’s Day was not great, but as I said, my wife really enjoyed it, and has watched it twice now.  I think perhaps I just maybe don’t like movie about holidays.  I can’t wait to see an Easter movie.





Audio & Video: 7/10
While the video is a bit bright, the presentation is quite well done.  This is a pretty good transfer overall, and a very nice bright feast for your eyes.  I didn’t notice many issues with the shots at all, and the 1080p VC-1 encoded presentation is nice, even for this type of movie.

The audio was solid also, with lots of clarity and punch.  It is getting hard to find a movie that does not sound good on Blu-ray, and this one is no exception.  There was nice use of the rear speakers in this movie, and it was more than apparent, which for this type of movie is kind of unique.


Value: 4/10
As romantic comedies go, this release just doesn’t seem to be as good as it should have been.  For me the movie was meandering, and full of too many people doing too many things.  You only get a quick snapshot of one group of people before it moves on to the next group, and you therefore only really identify and start to feel empathy for a few of the characters.  There are a lot of stars in this movie, but perhaps less is better, where you can focus on one person and feel the emotions that they are experiencing, instead of trying to cover everyone.  The presentation is well done, but overall, Valentine’s day was just a dud for me.

Overall Score 5/10

Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand and for Download 5/11!

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
I wouldn’t have this as a poster. It’s just to blah. The image of Mel welding the gun doesn’t do the movie justice. It’s better than it’s being presented, that’s for sure. I feel like ditching the menu comments on Blu-Ray discs. There’s nothing exciting or interesting with menus these days. This one is designed to the flick, but that’s not screaming creativity.


Features: 7/10

• Focus Point Featurettes – There are a lot of featurettes that go behind the scenes, interviews with cast and crew, and a good coverage of how and why the movie was made. It’s all well produced but not too packaged to be interesting. I didn’t know this movie was based on a BBC series from the 80′s so that was a bonus learnin’ thing :)
  
• Additional/Alternate Scenes – There are only a couple of these little scenes, and they wouldn’t have lent much to the movie, but they are worth watching to add just that little bit more about the characters and events unfolding in the story.
  
• DVD Version  Of The Movie – It’s a DVD, wow.
  
• Digital Copy – It’s a digital copy.
  

The Movie: 7/10
I got my quilt, sat in my comfy movie chair, the lights went down and I settled in for a Saturday afternoon flick. The only thing I knew about Edge of Darkness was that it stars Mel Gibson and at some point he would have a gun in his hand. This massive amount of information was from my quick glance at the box. That’s how interested I was in the movie overall. I would say I was just ready for a movie, any movie, and this happened to be on the marquee for the week. My neutrality was going to be defunked because this movie is actually pretty good.

It’s a story of a father and daughter thrust into a very dynamic situation. There is a big corporation, government cover ups, corruption, violence, political and ethical activism. It all sounds like a heavy handed and maybe bloated plot, but to be perfectly honest, it’s paced, edited, written, acted, directed, and otherwise put together in a way that makes it an extremly satisfying, action packed, and even a bit of an emotional thriller of sorts.

Gibson is quite restrained and holds back a lot to portray this straight and narrow aging cop. His daughter and her 20-something friends are all convincing and hold their own up against the mighty Hollywood strongman. There is enough movement in the story to keep me interested from scene to scene, and that’s saying a lot when it comes to some of these political/business/crime thrillers. They can be mushed together with so much twisting and turning it’s lost on me, but Edge of Darkness all fell into place as each twist, every character choice, and all the big action sequences played through.

There is one really well done fight scene. it’s the kind of quality stunt scene that reminds me of Matt Damon in the original Bourne movie. The fight with the guy in the apartment is so awesome. It’s the kind of fight scene that’s intense and almost viceral, not just like a dance that looks like a fight scene. I like a good knuckle to jaw fight in a movie when it’s done well. Even aging Mel handled it quite well.

This movie looks really good. It’s dark and brooding but not so much that it’s overwhelming. The subject matter isn’t cheery and light so it’s a good atmosphere to keep the vibe of serious, powerful, dark forces at work. Not like wizards and shit, not that kind of dark forces, but the whole power hungry business man, corrupt politician, stuff like that.

I say this movie has only a hint of whatever it is that makes it not hit my sweet spot for watching a totally satisfying movie. I’m not sure what it is, or why it is, but even though I really did like it, enjoyed the whole thing, sat on the edge of my seat (while reclined in my movie chair wrapped in my quilt), and felt quite entertained through the whole thing, I can’t say it had the impact of movies like say, True Romance, Michael Clayton, or something like A Serious Man. These aren’t all the same type of movie, of course, but they are all dramatic, some action, lots of character developement and that intangible goodness that keeps them swimming around in my head.

Edge of Darkness is a great weekend flick, so grab that quilt, get in the comfy chair, pop that corn and dig in for Mel Gibson’s return to the movies….and then watch Lethal Weapon just for a laugh at how Mel has changed through the years.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Director of Photography Phil Meheux uses a very simple style for Edge Of Darkness that Warner’s deftly executed 1080P/VC1 transfer handles with ease. Blacks are very black (this is a dark movie tonely and in it’s presentation) and contrast and flesh tones never look odd or off. I really like the way Meheux strips away most of the shots to leave you with the bare essentials. This allows you to focus on Gibson’s character who is the star of the show anyway.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track won’t win any awards for sound design but is presented well, this is a quiet movie with lots of brooding scenes. Some of the actors almost mumble lines under there breath but you can always can hear what they are saying thanks to the crisp soundtrack. There are very few action scenes in the movie but when Gibson gets into a fight or the occasional car wreck the rear speakers spring to life just as they should. The movie is scored by Howard Shore and it’s fairly invisible. I think that means he did his job well in this expertly designed character piece as a more rousing memorable score might have taken away from the performances.

Overall, I really liked Edge Of Darkness. It keeps you guessing has some genuine moments of surprise and is a great return to form for Mel Gibson. Love him or hate him it’s good to have his expert acting back on the screen after all these years.


Value: 5/10
I did enjoy this movie. It’s got that satisfying substance I can’t ever really define. That makes it worth watching and recommending, I just can’t say it needs to be on my shelf forever. It would make a great addition to a drama, thriller, action weekend of popcorn eating and movie watching. The extras are pretty darn good and if you are a Mel Gibson lover, you will own it no matter what I say.

Overall Score 7/10

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The Fellowship Of The Ring

• Theatrical Trailer
  
• Aragon’s Quest Game Trailer
  
• 3 Spellbinding Documentaries -
  
• Featurette Gallery Spotlighting The Creation Of JRR Tolkien’s World
  
• Enya May It Be Music Video
  
• Preview Of The Two Towers
  
• Tv Spots
  
• Digital Copy
  

The Two Towers

• Theatrical Trailer
  
• 2 Absorbing Documentaries
  
• Sean Astin Directs The Behind The Scenes Piece The Long & Short Of It
  
• Featurette Gallery Spotlighting The Technical Wizardry
  
• Emiliana Torrini Gollum’s Song Music Video
  
• Preview Of Return Of The King
  
• Tv Spots
  
• Digital Copy
  

The Return Of The King

• Theatrical Trailer
  
• Special Extended Edition DVD Preview
  
• 3 Remarkable Documentaries
  
• Featurette Gallery Spotlighting The Breakthrough Effects
  
• Tv Spots
  
• Digital Copy

The Movies: 8/10
It’s Lord of the Rings. There is a Hobbit with a quest to get the one ring of ultimate power to Mount Doom and destroy it. Along the way he crosses paths with many foes, monsters, creatures, and long long long distances of walking, climbing, running, and crawling. All the while he’s accompanied by Sam, lovely Sam wise Gamgee and a fellowship of friends, an undiscovered king, a dwarf, an elf, and a frustrated son of a nut job…oh and a wizard.

I might be simplifying things a bit here, but I would imagine that at this point of your career of being you, living your life, you have heard of and are aware of the tale told in The Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ll assume you do. Therefore, I will come at this from my own personal experience of watching the trilogy three times through the  years.

The first time I saw each was first night midnight showings. The feeling was instantly “Wow!” That booming voice of Kate Blanchette telling us the history of the rings forged to give the leaders of the races, dwarfs, elves, and men. As I was taken quickly into the fantasy of the shire, Gandalf, Frodo, and the enormity of the journey ahead, it was awesome. I loved it. Each new movie was another rush of enthusiasm and affection for the whole universe Tolkien drummed up with that pen of his.

The costumes, sets, special effects, it was all big and luscious and rich with details. I wanted to live in the shire. I wanted to be standing at the foot of that city carved in the side of a mountain. It truly drew me into a very satisfying movie watching, story telling experience. I think I was a bit distracted by the bigness and didn’t see the cracks behind the pretty paint job. I will admit, I didn’t enjoy Two Towers that much the first two times I watched it. I thought it was too hokey and the trees were  odd, the heavy handed message and it pretty much just dropped off or something. And then, the third time was a charm. I really enjoyed it, finally.

While I loved the grandeur of all the films, I totally lost interest in Frodo and his sort of boring parts of the story. I always loved, and still do love the character of Sam, he’s cool. By the third viewing, this time on Blu-Ray I was looking at everything around the action. Maybe I was watching a little to closely, I mean, the first couple of times I was still glued to what was happening to the characters, in the foreground. The background kind of disappeared. This time I was looking, looking, and my conclusion is that it is awesome, however, I think we are all tricked into thinking it’s more grand than it really is. The dialogue borders on melodramatic and some of the acting is questionable, to say the least. The sets are still incredibly detailed and the costumes would make any renaissance festival lover melt inside.

Return of the King was a weird one. I had basically no recollection of the whole thing. I think the first two times I was so tired that it all slid past my eyes with a kind of Lord of the Rings glow and none of it stuck in my brain. I know, it’s very strange. This is a good thing though, this time I was enthralled and it has become my favorite of the three. The eye is annoying, the travels of Frodo are super boring, Gollum is too flipping creepy….HOWEVER, Sam is still awesome, the battle is incredible. Those giant elephants made my kid eyes widen like crazy. There was a lot of crappy special effects this time around, but I forgive all that technical stuff since it was overall a good time. I don’t get that welling up of good vibes and hoping the good guys triumph anymore. That’s kind of sad I suppose. Maybe if I watch the trilogy in ten years I’ll revisit that place in my movie lover mind where I keep those first midnight showing of the Fellowship of the Rings feelings and soften up.

You will notice the 8 out of 10 of course. I can’t lie and say they are perfect. They are not. I am not saying this isn’t a big bold cinematic spectacular event, it’s just not a 10 out of 10 when the veil is lifted after seeing it all a few times. The truth shines through those cracks and for all its majesty, an 8 is fair (maybe even a little high if you judge on acting alone). It’s not better than True Romance, or Midnight Run, or Pieces of April, or Punch Drunk Love, or There Will Be Blood, or many many many other big and small movies. Tolkien gave the world a classic tale to enjoy. Peter Jackson gave it life on the big screen. Watch it all. Enjoy it all. Don’t feel bad if you find some flaws here and there.





Audio & Video: 6/10
I have been waiting to see the Lord Of The Rings trilogy in HD for years and when the reality of it finally happening hit me, I actually got quite excited. Unfortunately the transfer’s here are slightly disappointing with varying levels of DNR applied to the 3 films. Fellowship is the worst looking of the bunch, which is quite soft and lacking in detail. This is obvious from the opening scene which can be slightly off putting. Things get better when you get to The Two Towers which still has problems but looks a lot better. Return Of The King  looks just as good but still has some scenes that look soft.

One thing can be said of all three movies though, the contrast and black levels are spot on. There are some details in the Helms Deep sequence during The Two Towers that I had not noticed before but thanks to this brighter HD transfer can really be marveled at here. Rumor has it that Peter Jackson supervised the color timing on this HD release.  Things look a little odd sometimes, the Shire in particular which has an almost colorized look. I think this was intentional to add a more dream like look to the scenes but it still looks a little weird to my eye.

Audio is generally superb during all three movies. It has been given a DTS HD Master Audio upgrade. There were a few moments where the score was mixed a little high and covered some dialog (mostly when Gandalf was speaking) but apart from that these movies are a treat for the ears. Notable moments include any of the battles which have a healthy amount of bass and surround action, and any scene where Gollum is talking to himself which uses a strange Doppler effect that makes him creepier than he really is. Audiophiles will be pleased with these soundtracks and this is a reason to throw away those theatrical DVD releases.

Overall while The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy is now finally available to own in HD, this is not the definitive edition we all hoped for. Peter Jackson has mentioned a super duper extended HD release sometime in the future hopefully the transfer will be completely redone at that time then we can finally have one Blu-Ray set to rule them all.


Value: 7/10
For a collector of all things Lordish, well, it won’t matter what the price-tag says, right? If you are like me, you really enjoy the movies, however, it’s not the towering (get it, TOWER?) movie event of your life, I’m not comfortable paying 60-100 for the 3 movie set. Even with the pile of extras it’s just not worthy of a massive expenditure for me. There are no new extras so you are getting no more value for your buck. If they had all new extras, all new documentaries about J. R. R. Tolkien, etc. I would pay more. For the Blu-Ray it’s just not worth it for me. I’d stick with a cheap copy on DVD if I were making the choice.

Overall Score 9/10

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• Free Willy Pop-Up Fun Track – This is a fact track that is in the vein of Pop-Up videos, where facts and trivia about the movie are shown.
• On The Set Of Free Willy: Greetings From South Africa – This is a short behind the scenes type extra that clocks in at about 8 minutes.  Bindi, who is extremely comfortable in front of the camera, talks about the filming and the whole experience.
• Bindi Irwin and Willy Invite All To “Meet My Wild Costars” – Just like her father used to do, Bindi shows us around the animals.  She does a great job of introducing the creatures that were used in the movie, and she is completely fearless around all of them.  She truly has  inherited her dad’s love of animals, and it shows.
• Bindi’s First Movie Video Diary – We also get more of Bindi in front of the camera as this 4 minutes extra shows us how Bindi spent her days as the filming was going on.
• Deleted Scenes – There are two deleted scenes here that are not really missed.
• Outtakes – We also get some outtakes that involve Bindi trying to feed the Orca.

The Movie: 6/10
Many of us older folks have seen at least the original Free Willy, from back in the day.  Free Willy : Escape from Pirate’s Cove is a remake of the original, and the same tried and true formula exists in this one, as well as the three previous incantations of the franchise.

In this one, we get to meet Kirra (Bindi Irwin) who is sent to spend time  with her grandfather Gus (Beau Bridges) when Kirra’s dad is injured and must stay in the hospital in Australia.  Gus, who lives in South Africa, is a bit of a strange fellow, who has not seen Kirra in ages.  Kirra arrives to find that her grandfather runs Pirate’s Cove, which is a run down sea amusement park, complete with rides and a lagoon with pirate memorabilia everywhere.  As Kirra is starting to warm to the quirky old man and the staff that runs Pirate’s Cove, a freak storm strands a young Orca whale in the lagoon, and Kirra takes is upon herself to help the animal.

Her grandfather however, sees the Orca as a surefire way to attract people to the park, and he uses the Orca to revive his business.  Things get hairy when Gus’  rich enemy, whose own larger, more attractive park learns of  the Orca’s existence and tries to steal and or buy the mammal from Gus.

Kirra attempts to reason with her grandfather, who agrees to let her name the whale, which of course she names Willy.  The movie is a rehash of the other Free Willy movies, and while this one plods along in parts, overall it was enjoyable.  My son liked the movie, and the ending was well done, with some real emotion that was a replica of the first movie.  I missed Free willy 2 and 3, and this one was decent enough to make it through, even though it was definitely made with young kids in mind.  Overall, there are better movies for kids to watch, but Free Willy : Escape form Pirate’s Cove was fairly good.





Audio & Video: 6/10
While this is on Blu-ray, and the presentation is not bad, the movie itself is a straight to video release, and overall it is just decent.  The video in parts is smart and crisp, and in other parts of the movie, it is downright fuzzy.  The colors also range from good to bad, but overall the 1.85:1 presentation seems to work.

The 5.1 Surround Sound audio is presented in DTS-HD, and is good, but with only little use of the rear speakers.  There are strong areas, like during a storm, where the bass and audio are impressive, but overall the audio is just good, and not great.

Value: 6/10
While I am fairly certain that kids will enjoy this movie, the fourth in the Free Willy line, it is just a redo of the original.  It is hard to figure out why they feel the need to remake this Franchise, when most of the original viewers of  Free Willy are much older.  Bindi Irwin does a decent job in her first movie, but it is obvious that she is more comfortable in front of the camera where she can simply talk about the  animals instead of trying to act with them.  She is cute, and overall she does a fairly good job of starring with Beau Bridges, who adds a real acting anchor to this movie, which could have really floundered without his presence.  Free Willy : Escape from Pirate cove is only good for a watch, and probably only good for kids at this point.

Overall Score 6/10

Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download 3/30!

Cover Art and Menus: 7/10
It’s an action packed flick about a classic sleuth and his ‘sidekick’, I reckon the cover is just fine. It’s not an artsy movie, or deep and thoughtful, so having the handsome starring faces in full Victorian garb staring back at me from the shelf will do. The menu is nothing but functional. They didn’t even bother to jazz it up with a stylized image, just plain old still from the promotional stock materials don’t do the menu business any favors.


Features: 8/10

• Maximum Movie Mode - Watch the movie again with this quite cool feature. Director Guy Ritchie stands in front of two ‘screens’, one showing the movie, the other some extras, video, story boards, etc. He talks about making the movie, lots of technical details, and overall a very good almost classroom like lecture about how he made Sherlock Holmes. I like this feature and I hope more movies jump on board with the idea.
• Sherlock Holmes Reinvented - How do you take a Victorian character with lots of nerdy smarts about almost everything and turn him into a Victorian character with nerdy smarts, tormented guts, a troubled soul, and a modern (while still in the Victorian era) zing? Guy Ritchie explains.
• BDLive - Yea, go online on your player to see the features…..not any features to actually look at, but whatever.
• Digital Copy - Put this little popcorn flick on your device to go and have a good time on the subway, waiting at the doctor’s office, or for your car to get fixed. Never watch movies at work though, that’s just rude. :)
• DVD Version Of The Movie - A DVD..how cute.

The Movie: 6/10
I had a great time. No, really I did. I love the whole idea of a modern, but still old timey Sherlock Holmes coming to life on our 21st century movie screens. I’m a fan of Robert Downey Jr. I like Jude Law. I dig the Victorian age, or at least our interpretation of the time period. I like action adventure. I could go on and on, the problem is, even with all this going for my movie watching experience, I came away feeling a little less than satisfied.

Let me break it into little bite size morsels and see if I can understand why I didn’t quite have as good a time as I should have. First, like I said, I dig Mr. Downey. He’s awesome. I know, he’s a bit self indulgent and cocky sometimes. I’ll give any critic that much on him, but you have to admit he dives into his roles like his whole self, or so it seems. Every quirky turn of his head, eyebrow raise, funny little grin, it’s all charming and engrossing (for me). Jude Law is pretty good, I’m just not as enthusiastic about him as most people are. I think he’s very good, he’s just not very exciting. He does Watson proud though, a really fine interpretation of the otherwise bumbling side kick was in the novels. He’s not bumbling, nor is he sidekickish, he’s pretty together and cool.

The rest of the cast is fine and dandy. I do enjoy Rachel McAdams. She’s got me hooked on that smile and she brings a certain casual strong elegance to her criminal minded character. Back to the rest of the cast, sometimes there is the odd flat liner, but I can handle that in an action flick. The bad guy is awesome, well, the actor is. I found the bad guy character a bit overly stereotyped, but hey, it is what it is. If you have seen RockNRolla, you’ll remember Mark Strong as a very engaging fellow and as the evil dude in Sherlock Holmes, he’s just as captivation.

The sets are amazing, of course. I mean, these days do you really have an excuse for having crappy sets and costumes? Even if I made my own movie I’d expect to pull together some groovy stuff. The music is just right, not too much, not too leading, just enough festive, action, depth to go along with the story, the characters and the time period, mostly.

The story is a Sherlock Holmes mystery, of course. There’s a bad guy, a sinister plan, a damsel, some trickery, some sleuthing, some comedy tit for tat between the close (seemingly very close) friends, Holmes and Watson. It’s fun and fast paced, just a good old time at the movies. So, why then do I not have a post-movie glow? The things I didn’t like are just enough to kill the glow, but not so much I wouldn’t recommend the movie to anyone looking for a good time. I didn’t like the way the story turned here and there. I didn’t like the end, the resolution, the leading up to a sequel even though we have no idea where will be a sequel…..it all adds up to kind of an empty feeling. There are moments I remember fondly, however, overall I will need to give it some time to bubble in my memory and then watch it again maybe to  hopefully gain a better appreciation for it.





Audio & Video: 9/10
Sherlock Holmes is one of the better Blu-Ray releases we have seen this year. Guy Ritchie’s version of Victorian London is brought to life in a ultra stylized gritty looking transfer that really delivers. The picture is very contrasty and there is not a great deal of detail in the shadows, but the lighter scenes look very good and preserve the theatrical presentation perfectly. If I had one complaint I would say the movie is not as sharp looking as some other movies we have seen in HD, and at the end of the movie the bad CG work perhaps looks a little too sharp. But aside from those gripes this is a top notch presentation.

The DTS-HD Master Audio track is easily the best audio track I have heard in 2010. From the opening scene the surround speakers light up then never stop right to the end credits. There are some amazing moments in the movie which the audio (and Hans Zimmer’s score) really amplify, excuse the pun. One moment when Mark Strong is talking uses a diagonal panning effect that really puts you on edge. This is showcase material and something to show off one of those new fangled HD audio receivers with. Overall I liked the movie, hated the ending, but loved the Blu-Ray presentation. As Meatloaf would say 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.


Value: 5/10
I’m standing firmly in the middle on this particular disc. I enjoyed the movie a lot. The extra with the director is awesome. The problem is, I don’t love it, and I won’t be watching again anytime soon, if ever. Oh sure, I’ll drag it out if a young family member comes around and wants to have a couple hours of entertainment. That doesn’t mean I’ll watch it again, unless I’m really in the mood. So, the value isn’t great for me unless it’s about 5 bucks…not gonna happen. So, if you think you will indulge many times in the first adventure of the new/old Sherlock Holmes, I say park it on your shelf. If you are just curious and want a bit of fun, rent it, do the online queue thing, or wait for it’s debut on HBO/other cable TV channel.

Overall Score 7/10

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Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download 3/23!

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
Would I have this cover as a poster? No. It’s fully functional as a sentimental and somewhat “hit over the head” message delivery system. I don’t love it. The menu is totally blah. It’s a still image with the navigation at the bottom.


Features: 8/10

• Michael Oher Exclusive Interview – A true story is better with the real person or people involved chiming in with their perspective. Michael Oher gives an interview discussion about his experiences with the Tuohy’s and making a movie about his life. It’s a nice way to ground the movie in that “real world” realm.
• Sidelines: Conversations On The Blind Side - There are several short interviews and discussions in this section, some with cast, crew, the director and even the real folks behind the story. It’s good.
• Acting Coaches: Behind The Blind Side - It’s crazy obvious that the coaches in the movie are all real life football coaches and NOT actors. They take it all with a sense of fun and adventure and it does tell something about the love of the game and the story by the writers and directors that they wanted to bring in this crew of non-actors just for the fun and authenticity of it all.
• The Story of Big Quinton – The Blind Side is about a young man who is challenged by a hard beginning to life but who overcomes it by a series of opportunities and his own determination. The story of the actor who plays the lead role is just as interesting and parallel in many ways.  We get to follow him to his neighborhood and see interviews with his family.
• Additional Scenes – There is nothing here that needed to be in the movie, so best left here in the deleted bin.
• Digital Copy - This might just be a movie you want to watch again, or share with your friends while you are on the go (who does this, I don’t know, but it’s a good movie for that kind of thing.) so use it, abuse it, enjoy the digitalness of it all.
• DVD Version Of Movie – Oh, another version of the movie…get ready to watch over and over and over :)

The Movie: 8/10
I didn’t want to take the time to watch this movie. That’s the whole truth. I didn’t think it would be crappy or anything, just that I have seen and heard sooooo much about it that I felt over saturated with Blind Side bandwagon recruiting and it seemed a little bit like a waste of time. I know I shouldn’t have those thoughts about movies, being someone who has fancied herself a movie lover for about, oh, 4 decades or so. The thing about not wanting to see a movie that has been so popular, trendy to chat about, and a general mass appreciated tid bit, is that sometimes the trailers and chit chat don’t really do it justice.

That’s right, I really enjoyed the movie. I do think it’s overly sappy sometimes, a few too many thoughtful glances now and then and a very very strong armed message, but then again, it’s a good message and those glances are well performed by a classy cast. I can live with these set of circumstances.

This is a movie based on a book, based on a true tale of a young man lost in his own world, abandoned by most people in his life, and truly wandering around with nothing more than a grocery bag and a t-shirt. He is spotted by a driven wealthy woman who takes him in and puts him on a different path with she and her family.

There are a lot of questions about the up close and personal details of a southern white rich family taking in a poor African American youth who  may or may not be a positive or negative addition to their lives. I won’t go into all the probable issues that came up in real life, some are addressed in the movie like asshole racists, cultural and class snobbery, etc. I’ll focus on what they did decide to include, which is mostly the good stuff.

Imagine taking in a teenager, a stranger to your family, someone who has had a lot of bad experiences in his or her life already. How would they be able to be a part of your life? What kind of troubled emotional issues would they bring with them? Teenagers are tough enough to cope with, but someone who has had a sad and hardened few years to build their foundation for who they are is a big question mark walking in your door. Only a mild mannered, descent human being would be the one you would hope to be able to give a new chance. That seems to be the case with Michael Oher.

In the movie he’s a mild mannered. His personality is thoughtful and not crushed by whatever bad past he might have had. Leigh Ann Tuohy takes him in to her family’s home for a temporary stay off the street, and it turns into a lifelong choice. There are the bumps in the road, as you would imagine, and the movie tells it all in a kind of rosy, cleaned up Hollywood version, but you can use your imagination as to what the real truth might have been like.  There is the involvement of a gang, academic problems, cultural obstacles for the young man and the family, but it’s all handled with a certain kind of happy happy vibe.

I don’t mind the happy vibe, it’s OK to look in on this family with an optimistic eye. It seems this woman had whatever her motives were but in the end she did something good in her life, by not just turning away from someone in need. The outcome, whether becoming a professional football player should be considered a successful thing to do with one’s life, is questionable for me, but I get the idea. He had no chances before, and through their commitment to him as a family member he had more choices, more opportunities in life, so that’s a good thing.

I love the performances, the quiet moments, the dialogue, the music, the style, as a movie it’s very well made and let’s you just enjoy and think about the story and whatever lessons you want to extrapolate. It’s a good feeling movie with a deserved nod from everyone. It might be too sappy for some folks, fair enough, but you can’t say it’s not a quality flick,





Audio & Video: 9/10
I was blown away by the video quality of The Blind Side. Seeing the football scenes made me realize that HD televisions’ killer app is the big game. This transfer boasts awesome looking detail, close ups of Sandra Bullocks face reveal almost airbrushed makeup and the detail in certain characters eyes looks better than real life. Even the darker scenes hold up well and flesh tones always look perfect. This really is a stunning looking disc and I was surprised as I wasn’t expecting showcase material from this kind of movie. If you are a fan of HD movies you owe it to yourself to take a look at this one.

The only audio track that is featured on the disc is a DTS Master Audio 5.1 track that is as impressive as the video. The football game scenes really immerse you with lots of subtle sounds that shift around the sound stage and really transport you to that time and place. Dialog is handled perfectly and is always anchored front and center. There was never a time I was wondering what people were saying. It’s a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of soundtrack. The only thing I did notice was the soundtrack was mixed a little higher than some Blu-Ray disc’s. There is around a 2db increase so dropping your receiver a little from it’s normal listening position will help out a lot.

Overall The Blind Side, while coming across like a high budget Hallmark movie of the week, has some AWESOME performances that any movie fan will get a kick out of. Sandra Bullock was well deserving of an Oscar here and I am not normally a fan. Recommended !!!!


Value: 8/10
This is a family type movie that your mom will want to watch, and show your aunt and her neighbor lady and her daughter, etc. etc. So, it’s worth the average price of around 20 bucks if you are going to use it to its fullest. I don’t have a desire to have it on my shelf, so a Netflix streaming view on a weekend evening is the perfect cheap popcorn home-date.

Overall Score 8/10

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Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download 3/2!

Cover Art and Menus: 9/10
Would I have this cover as a poster? Yes. I love it. It’s simple and to the point. It’s got personality without being too flashy or pushy about this movie based on a classic children’s book. The menu is functional, that’s about it.


Features: 2/10

• Where The Wild Things Are Shorts - This is the DVD version so the extras are slim pickings. There is a short by the director and star that involves a set of vampire teeth. There is a behind the scenes look at all the children who were allowed to run riot on the set. That’s about it. If you are looking for more, buy the Blu-Ray (what a scam).

The Movie: 6/10
A young boy is having a hard time learning about why people like his stupid sister and her friends act like jerks. He is also trying to learn to let go of his mother’s full attention as he grows older and her time is divided between him, his sister, her job, and potential love interests. Max is learning about life, that’s about it. He’s not being mistreated, or neglected, or any truly wretched things in life that a boy might be subjected to that would lead him to misbehave badly, or need to explode in a fit of rage and acting out…which he does.

So, there is my first little gripe about the movie. Max is a standard boy with some hard truths to learn at a young age, and that sucks, it’s just that it’s not so bad it should lead him to break free, run away and have to escape his life. That puts a kink in the rest of the story. He runs away, gets on a boat, sails to a distant island and finds a group of monster type creatures who are in desperate need of attention and some cheering up.

Max doesn’t just escape to a fantasy of cheery people and bright colorful places, not at all in fact. He conjures up a place populated with angry, violent, depressing creatures who have a hefty size both in bulk and in psychological problems. My husband, the brilliant Mr. Ascully, says this movie isn’t for kids, in fact it would scare them and the message would be lost. That message isn’t totally clear, but it kind of floats around the ideas of trust, unconditional love, learning to let go of people and things in life that drag you down….cheery colorful things like that.

I appreciate the sentiment and the look of the movie is pretty cool. The problems though, outweigh the pleasure for me. The creatures are supposed to be whimsical and believable, right? I was distracted the whole time by the shear klunkiness of the suits. I love that they aren’t CGI and the folks inside do amazing performances, absolutely. The thing is, they are too not right, or too real, or not real enough, or something. I can’t pin point it, but I was distracted a lot by the movement restrictions and the wire-work some of them had to do. Why I couldn’t put away my grown up mind and just see it like a kid, I don’t know, but it was a problem in several scenes.

The acting overall is really quality. Max Records is incredibly strong and charming. The voices of the things are OK, nothing special for me. I know it’s Tony Soprano and the creepy neighbor from American Beauty, but in the end, the sound recordings didn’t quite match the scenes, just a bit too disconnected and it added to my distraction with the creature suits.

I have to say, in spite of the things I don’t like, I really really enjoyed the movie, the story maybe. Those moments of goodness that made me smile, cry, squint and grin, they all overwhelmingly made it well worth watching and letting some messages soak in here and there. I am torn between the awkward things that had the nerve to break that bubble of belief that I so love to have when watching a “kid’s” movie, and my total love of the experience of seeing young Max conquer his demons before they become bad choices through the rest of his life.

Maybe Mr. Ascully is right, it’s not a kid movie and it’s not a grown up movie. It’s got some artsy qualities, great music, and an almost dreamy quality at times, mostly the scenes at home with Max’s mom played by Katherine Keener who I LOVE.  It’s got lots of poor stunt work, odd creature design choices, and the occasional moment of obnoxious filmmaker indulgence. It’s a mixed bag, let’s just leave it at that.





Audio & Video: 6/10 (By Ascully)
If you get the opportunity to watch Where The Wild Things Are on Blu-Ray make sure you do. The DVD release we looked at was kind of underwhelming. It’s not that the transfer is bad, in fact in the brightly lit scenes it’s one of the better DVD’s I have seen. It’s the dark scenes (which there are many) where the black levels do not hold up. The scenes where young Max first enters the forest are so difficult to see it seems to me it might be either Spike Jonze being overly artsy or a problem with the original print. Who knows? but it certainly detracted from some of the movie for me.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix fares much better than the picture with a stunning subtle soundtrack that really adds to the haunting whimsy that the film seems to exude. Music is handled well. Voice is well mixed and the moments of action in the forest really shake the room. Overall I enjoyed the movie for what it is. It’s not a perfect film but I really appreciate the visual style Spike Jonze injects. The issue for me is who is the movie for? It’s a little scary for kids and I don’t see what adults can take from it that they have not already had conveyed by the book. But if you are in anyway interested in the book or the story it’s certainly worth a watch.


Value: 4/10
I would recommend this movie, mostly. It’s not one that digs into my mind and plants itself as a classic. The cost of a DVD is pretty low, but even at that, I say rent it if you want to give it a try. It’s lovely in its own ways, just not lovely enough for me to spend the full amount of cash to keep it on myself. I would rather buy the book.

Overall Score 6/10

Press Play Above To Listen To Episode 114 Now, or use the buttons below to subscribe.

Press Play Above To Listen To Episode 112 Now, or use the buttons below to subscribe.

• Commentary By Director Steven Soderbergh & Screenwriter Scott Z Burns – An interesting look behind the scenes with the Director and Writer. Soderbergh has quite the eye for detail, he also goes into technical detail on the filming of the movie.
  
• Digital Copy – A digital copy of the movie that works on your laptop or other “favorite portable device”.
  
• DVD Version Of The Movie – I really like it when the studios include a DVD version of the movie in the box. It means you can take it with you and your Blu-Ray version is safe at home on the shelf.
  

The Movie: 9/10
The Informant is an awesome movie lover experience, at least my brand of movie loving. There are sometimes too many intangible things to really describe why I love a movie so much, but this time around I have a few details that really left a lasting impression.

The cast, excellent. I am so in love with Matt Damon, shhhh don’t tell Mr. Cidtalk. I might not know Damon the person, but as an actor he’s totally won me over through the years and in The Informant he’s absolutely brilliant. I don’t care who mocks me or rolls their eyes at me, you can kiss my behind if you think Damon isn’t worthy of such praise. He’s bold, and then turns around and is subtle, careful and then crazy into his character. I love it, love it , love it. He’s not the only shining star in this movie, but he is in every frame almost so he kind of stands out when I re-play the whole thing in my mind. There are some anonymous famous people, those who you think you have seen tons of times, but you do not know their name. EVERYONE is right on the mark with their performances, their portrayals of very specific types of people and it’s consumingly convincing.

The pace of the movie is a slow burn and it’s gloriously entangling for my mind. I mean, as the story unfolds I felt my brain moving to the edge of it’s seat, scene after scene my eyes widened and it consumed me…fantastic.

I’m gushing. I know this. I truly, unconditionally, loved this movie. There is an element of intangibility there, can’t quite explain, even though I thought I could, but I think about it and I want to cozy back into that world, the shifty character mind of a person who doesn’t quite seem to grasp reality the way we want them to. You have to see it to know what I mean.
The look of the film is spot on. Let’s be honest though, the early 90′s aren’t that far in the past and I didn’t think that era would have “a look”, but boy it sure did. Bland, boring, corporate, perfect. It’s well designed, even though there are a lot of functional shots, but there is a kind of visual flow (how hippie) that has a specific, um, happy place for my eyes and mind. Is that technically more gushing? I think it might be.

I just can’t apologize for my enthusiasm. It’s pure and lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole of The Informant, the story, the people, the truth/reality/dramatization of a series of one person’s choices and actions in their life that are fascinating and nuts. Good combination.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
The Informant is quite a subdued movie in a lot of respects/ Soderbergh used the Red One camera which means the movie never saw a frame of actual film. This makes for a nice sharp HD image that looks fantastic. The movie is well lit and features a lot of overblown scenes that come across great. It gives the movie a 1970′s feel with the sheen of a 2010 HD presentation at the same time (It’s hard to explain but it works). Unfortunately, Warner chose to squeeze the movie onto a single layer Blu-Ray so the image is not as perfect as it could be there are minor spots of macro blocking the kind we were familiar with in old DVD releases at several points during the movie.  Had Warner dedicated a dual layer disc to the encode this would have been eliminated.

I had no problems with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack.  It’s just that it is quite standard for a movie of this type. It does everything just fine and delivers crystal clear speech, great music (surround speakers are used little if at all), but there is nothing here that you will be wowed with. All in all a serviceable soundtrack that fits the movie perfectly. In delivering the hum drum corporate life Whitacre deals with day to day.


Value: 7/10
It’s a great movie, little bits of extras, and I will be watching it again so it’s worth having on my shelf..

Overall Score 8/10

The Informant Is Available On Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD And For Download 2/23.

Press Play Above To Listen To Episode 111 Now, or use the buttons below to subscribe.

• Commentary By Director Richard Kelly – A full length feature commentary with the director.  If the movie leaves you feeling a little puzzled Richard clears it up for you. (sort of)
  
• The Box: Grounded In Reality – A short talking head type featurette with interviews with the director and his mother and father. This is the best extra in the package. It really shows the motivation of the director and how the story came about.
  
• Music Video Prequels – These music video’s are fairly strange. I wouldn’t exactly call them music videos. They are more of a prequel that hints at some of the supernatural elements of the movie.
  
• Visual Effects Revealed – Three little shorts that show how the main effects in the movie are done. My favorite is the one that shows how they made the city Snowy without a hint of the real stuff.
  
• Richard Matheson In His Own Words – A really brief interview with the man who wrote the original short story. Most of you will know who Richard Matheson is already hes kind-of a big deal.
  
• Digital Copy – The standard Digital copy that works on your Iphone or Ipod.
  
• DVD Version Of Movie -A DVD disc of the movie perfect to take with you on the go.
  

The Movie: 5/10
A mediocre movie that did one thing bigger than it should have, it got us talking. The Box has a simple concept, a couple is presented with a button to press in order to get a million dollars and the consequence is that someone they do not know will die. Ok, it’s a “what if” kind of moral tale. I get it. That on its own is pretty boring and hum drum to me. The interesting part begins when I realize, about half way through the movie, the rest of the movie is smoke and mirrors, or at least in my interpretation.

So, you have this question, push or don’t push, a couple who make their choice and then the action begins. It turns into a Sci Fi muddled puddle of ideas that don’t do much to make it entertaining or interesting. At best the turn of events that take us down the extraordinary path are a tiny bit of eye candy. There is intentional confusion, conspiracy theory tension, government cover up stuff, it’s all here, but not particularly done in a way that brings it all together to be a good movie.

Sometimes, when boxes of water appear and splash down, or when nose bleeds have no real explanation, well, that’s the hokey shit that kind of makes it, blah. I love mystery, don’t you? (watch the movie and you’ll get it.) I do love mystery but not when it’s dangled in front of me to prove that I’m either geeky enough to figure out every reference or dumb enough to be wide eyed and lost through the whole thing.

Not only did the obscurity throw me off, but the performances were all flat, even wooden. I don’t mean in that way that Neo is wooden and it happens to work for the Matrix. I mean wooden like they were all afraid to tell Diaz that she was sounding like a doll with a string in her back. I didn’t care much about the characters, except that I did appreciate their love story. That was a nice thing, the foot, the puppy dog eyes he has for her, that’s sweet and comes off really well. The rest though, a middle class couple not thinking they have enough already, wanting more, it just didn’t endear me to them at all.

I’ll go back to the original concept, do you push the button even if someone will die/suffer? I think that’s an analogy for every button we push everyday. If you don’t like animal cruelty, don’t eat meat. There’s a button you don’t have to push. If you don’t want people to work in sweat shops to make your expensive shoes, don’t buy the shoes…buttons come in all shapes an sizes. It’s a good talking movie, even if it’s trying more to be a thinking movie, and it doesn’t succeed.

Ascully says the button is the apple in the garden of Eden, which started us on an hour long discussion of that topic. Is it about submission and blind faith so as to not think for our selves, or is it about not wanting the knowledge of the realities of life to protect you from the truth…and on and on and on…it was a good conversation, we should have recorded it.

Overall I say give The Box a try, I know it doesn’t sound like I would recommend it. However, it’s worth it if you get a good conversation out of it like we did.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
Like The Informant last week, The Box is a period piece set in the 1970′s. What is interesting is that the two movies use the same style to convey the look of that era. Whoever lit the movie needs an award of some kind (it reminded me of Fincher’s Zodiac which was a masterpiece in terms of lighting and set design).

So how does the Blu-Ray fare? Considering Warner used a 25GB single layer BD it looks incredible, shot in HD on video (again like Zodiac), this is impressive stuff. While some people will complain the picture is soft, it is obviously intentional to give the feel of a 70′s movie with overblown whites and a brownish filter added in post. Not once do you see any artifacting, or any signs of DNR this is a great looking stylistic HD transfer that should blow you away.

The score of The Box is also impressive. It’s the kind of music that puts you on edge and the DTS-HD Master Audio mix is as impressive as the transfer. Dialog is mixed perfectly and there are some impressive surround moments (hint Water Coffins). Overall The Box is one of those movies that will polarize the audience, but the same can’t be said for the HD presentation this is simply top notch stuff.


Value: 3/10
I might not be flipping around in a state of movie watching bliss about this movie, and the score is fairly low, but that doesn’t mean I think it should be avoided. I say rent it, along with something else like Halloween 3. Trust me, it will make a good long evening of strangely compelling storytelling.

Overall Score 5/10

Press Play Above To Listen To Episode 107 Now, or use the buttons below to subscribe.

• The Coldest Thriller Ever – This is a talking heads kind of extra that covers a lot of the stunts, special effects, and other behind the scenes bits and pieces. It’s not very long and does offer a lot of information that explains why the movie looks the way it does and even shows me that more went into the film than I might have thought:)
  
• Whiteout: From Page To Screen – This is an interview with the author and artist who wrote/drew the original graphic novel the story came from. It’s fairly informative, gives us an animated few slides from the book and fills in more about the main character than we get from the movie.
  
• Additional Scenes – A couple of deleted scenes that wouldn’t have really made much difference in the final movie.
  

The Movie: 5/10
I’m giving Whiteout an average score, and it’s a tad generous. I’ll be very honest It isn’t one of my most memorable flicks of recent history. First, the good news, it’s a great idea. I LOVE anything to do with cold Antarctic stuff. A murder mystery in a frozen tundra is awesome…or it could be.

The bad news is that almost everything else about the movie is unsatisfying and quite forgettable. The cast is serviceable, if not a bit dull. The special effects are ugh, well, sometimes let’s just say it’s a harsh reality that even now some movies and their green screening are not up to a certain standard.  I could have sworn the entire movie was done on a sound stage, but NO, a lot of it was filmed in a frozen area, and STILL looks quite fishy.

There is a fight scene in a blinding snow storm while some of the characters are tethered to a guide line between buildings, this is one of my favorite scenes. It’s not got a good special effects look, sorry to say, but it’s more interesting than a lot of other fight scenes I’ve seen in my life. The problem is, even this scene I like, is too too long.

I feel like they made a big effort with this movie and something went wrong. I don’t know if it was in the editing, or they just didn’t make it dark enough, gritty enough, something is missing. I don’t care about the characters, who suffer from a severe case of 2 dimensionality. I don’t feel any peril at all because it’s blindingly obvious where the antagonist falls into place. The saving grace for me is the cold, the blowing snow, the isolated base away from civilization.

More bad news is the story is so predictable that it’s hard to get your mind to keep on track through all those uninteresting scenes. When you figure out the whole story in the first 10 minutes and the movie isn’t great, well, your mind wanders.

I wouldn’t write off Whiteout completely, even though I sound pretty down on it. I do like the setting, that feeling of isolation and seclusion, those are some of my favorite elements of some movies. It’s just kind of necessary to say that it’s not enough for me to like the whole movie.





Audio & Video: 8/10
Let’s forget what I thought about the movie (forget being the operative word) Whiteout on Blu-Ray actually fairs quite well on Blu-Ray. Let me rephrase that, Whiteout’s audio fares quite well while the video is all over the place. There are scenes which are shot in harsh conditions that you can excuse for looking murky and soft, but there are also scenes that are obviously filmed on a sound stage and look really washed out. Check out some of the scenes with Beckinsale talking to Skerrit, he looks sharp and defined the way a HD transfer should and she looks scrubbed and blurry as though she has a film of Vaseline over her face. This is quite weird and is obviously a sign of DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) being applied to the film.

Audio uses the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 codec and uses it quite well, this isn’t standout material but the soundtrack does manage to make you feel the extreme weather the characters are suffering through. There are some interesting pans that move around the rear speakers in the final act of the movie, on the other hand speech is a little muffled in some areas.


Value: 4/10
I’m not a fan of the movie, so I’m not a good judge of whether it’s a good value or not. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend that someone rent it. Someone will really dig it, but I’m not good at singing the praises of a movie I’m not really into. I say rent it if you like action and a good idea. I say rent, but then I think watching it on cable might be the way to go, if you want to wait that long:)

Overall Score 5/10

Invention of Lying available on Blu-ray™, DVD and Download 1/19.

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
The cover is one of the “design 101″ regurgitated style deprived types. They put the innocuous faces of the leading folks on the cover in boxes with some quotes and a wanna be 60′s split screen presentation. I’m not a fan, as you can probably guess by now. Why oh why do they think this is an attractive look for a movie cover or poster? It’s boring and so overused it should be in the bottom of my kitchen drawer with the tattered old dish towels.

The menu isn’t much better, just plunked together with some of the remnants of the cover ideas thrown in for that very blah effect.


Features: 7/10

• Prequel: The Dawn Of Lying - This was meant to be the opening of the movie and I’m so glad it wasn’t. It’s an overly cutesy low-budget looking caveman sequence that has some of the worse CGI you’re gonna see in the 21st century. It’s kind of funny and a huge effort for such a so-so comedy bit, and it doesn’t fit into the movie at all, which is probably why somebody with a suit and tie and who has more power in Hollywood than Mr. Gervais said to chop it out. :)
• A Truly Honest making Of Featurette - Talking heads, some funny stuff about Ricky Gervais and on the set, but not a lot of actual making of information. It’s more of a short about the hilarity that comes with working with Mr. The Office.
• Meet Karl Pilkington – If you haven’t heard of him yet this might get lost on you. Pilkington is a friend of Ricky Gervais. They did a podcast together in which Karl said strange and interesting things and Gervais laughed at him hysterically. It was quite funny actually. So, this is Karl coming to America for his big roll, which was part of the opening sequence of cavemen, which was cut out of the movie.
• Ricky & Matt’s Video Podcasts – This is simply a few little video romps made by these grown men…who might have a bit of the You Tube syndrome. It’s funny, but more would be better :)
• Additional Scenes - Som e of the cut scenes might have added a little more zip here and there, but nothing that’s going to make the movie that much better. Neutrality is the word of the day.
• More Laughter: Corpsing & Outtakes - Ricky Gervais laughing??? That’s just crazy talk!!
• Digital Copy - It is what it is.

The Movie: 6/10
A jaunt down a fun little road in a world much like our own, except that humans have never learned to lie. Interesting concept, yes. In a comedy kind of way Gervais pulls it off. If, however, you dig a little deeper along this road and you find a few cracks, long, deep cracks that are best skipped, jumped, and hopped around blissfully paying attention only to the goodness that is to be found in The Invention of Lying.

People don’t know how to lie. One guy stumbles on the skill after what seems like a lifetime of just too much honesty from women, co-workers, bosses, people, society. He’s not conventionally handsome, and no one every politely wiggles around that fact. It’s a world in which you can say things like, “I like you but I could never mate with you because i don’t want fat, short, pudgy nosed kids.” or something to that effect. And he has had enough.

This is kind of a comedy study of what a man would do who invented the first lie. To what end would you use your new found talent in the world? Everyone believes you because no one else lies, ever, ever. Go in a bank and say your account has $800 instead of $300. The clerk believes you and blames the system being wrong and hands you $800. Ok, that sounds awesome!

The thing is, it’s not a fully flushed out idea. I mean, how can  you explore that big of an idea in a little movie? He moves his way through improving his life, finding some love, hopefully, and accidentally inventing religion along the way. See, that’s the curve in the road. It’s very deep really, the big deep ideas flow from Gervais’s brain, and this time it might not have all come together just right, but it’s pretty good for what it is. Rather, what it turns into.

I reckon that this movie would have been a hell of a lot better if it were made in England. Let’s face it, sometimes Hollywood touches something and it turns into a muddled little pile of executive hoo-haa. Invention of Lying has great moments, great ideas, but they are all held to some strict rules of the road when it comes to Romantic Comedy Highway….and that adds an element of boringness I’m afraid.

The cast is good. Jennifer Garner as the counterpart to Gervais’s new lying persona is better than I give her credit for, so I’m pleased about that. Louis CK is the best friend who is kind of the bar hound guy who is endearing and a little bit sad at the same time. Gervais does a fine job, as always he’s pretty much the same guy we see in most of his projects. If you like him, you’ll like it. If you don’t, I predict you won’t.

That’s about it really. It’s a funnyish movie with lots of excellent thought provoking ideas that make it so worth watching. It’s a mixed bag. I think the glossy style and tidy box office flavored charm does it a dis-service.





Audio & Video: 8/10
The Invention Of Lying is a pretty bland film to look at which is mostly down to its very ordinary cinematography. As Cidtalk remarked on the Podcast, “Karl Pilkington’s extra looked more interesting” I agree. This doesn’t mean the movie is a slouch in high definition though as the picture quality is quite good with some natural flesh tones and vibrant color pallet. I am not 100% sure but I think Warner have used some form of DNR on this release which gives it a softer look than most modern HD comedy’s but only the most discerning viewer will notice. Overall the transfer is pretty good just nothing to get to excited about.

The soundtrack  is also fairly underwhelming but is in line with the theatrical experience. These types of movies will never win awards for exceptional sound design anyway. What matters is the dialog (which the movie is 100% made up of) is clear and while this is mostly true, there are a couple of scenes where ambient noise muffles some of Ricky Gervais’s lines. The tail end of the movie has some great music which I feel needs a little more power in the mix to get over it’s point but apart from that I had no issues with the Dolby TRUEHD 5.1 track.


Value: 5/10
If you want to have a fun movie night rent this movie, and Shaun of the Dead. Good combo night for laughs, ideas, zombies, and lots of British accents to go around. If you must own it, look for it at bargain prices, otherwise I wouldn’t need this one on my personal shelf. Your personal shelf might have different requirements.

Overall Score 6/10

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• Maximum Movie Mode – This is your classic pop-up information that plays with the movie.  It is well done, and informative, and most Potter fans will like the inclusion of this with the movie.
• J.K Rowling: A Year In The Life – At 50 minutes or so, this is a long extra for this movie.  I loved this little gem, as it focuses on J.K. Rowling as she developed and finished the last of the Harry Potter books.  We get a glimpse at how her world has evolved as she has become one of the most recognized writers of our time, and we also get to see just what goes into writing such a big project like the Harry Potter books.  This is just a great little extra.
• What’s On Your Mind – Tom Felton (Draco) asks the cast questions that they are forced to immediately come up with answers.  Kind of fun to see, and it runs about 7 minutes long.
• Additional Scenes – We get 8 scenes here that were cut from the movie.  There are some neat sequences that I presume were cut just for time issues, as there is so much in the book that could not have possibly been put into a movie.  Not bad scenes overall, and it makes me wonder if we will see extended versions of some of these Harry Potter movies at some point.
• One Minute Drills – This is short one minute  interview with each of the main cast members, talking about their roles in the movies overall.  It runs about 7 minutes long, and is pretty fun to watch actually, as we get to see the actor’s take on their focus in the movies.
• Sneak Peek At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter @ Universal Orlando Resort – At about 11 minutes in length, this is a view into the new attraction at the Universal Orlando resort dedicated to all things Harry Potter.

The Movie: 9/10
I am not going to try to sugar coat it, I love Harry Potter.  I love the books, I love the movies, and I just love the experience.  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the 6th book out of 7, and it is the 6th movie of 8 (as they have divided the final book into 2 movies).  In this episode (for they are really episodes in a way) we get to see the kids developing into young adults, complete with snogging and romantic jealousy.  The Hogwarts crew are no longer the smallest kids in the castle, and while they look considerably older than they probably should, the change is very apparent in this movie.

Harry and Ron look like adults, and Hermoine is no longer a cuty little girl, but a beautiful woman.  Draco looks considerably older than he should, but it almost adds to his considerably more evil persona.  The movie itself seems more grown up, and the darkness extends to almost everyone (except for the bumbling  Professor Slughorn, who seems to be the comic relief of sorts.)  Even Dumbledore was a bit more aloof and seemed detached in this movie.

The Half Blood Prince is kind of a filler movie and book in my opinion, but the movie really does a great job of focusing on Harry and how things have changed in his world.  In the last movies, he was more protected by the group or Order, made up mostly of adults, and in this one it seems to be the start of Harry having to rely mainly on himself, which is a great setup for the ultimate ending of this epis saga.  Harry is now dealing with his teenage emotions, as are Hermoine and Ron, as jealousy and feelings of love start to effect the main characters of the movie.

Harry is now coming to grips with the fact that Voldemort is coming for him, and Harry is forced to take things into his own hands as discovers that Draco Malfoy is perhaps his closest enemy.  The actions taken by Draco alarm Harry at the same time the he is struggling to work out just how and why Voldemort is regaining his strength.  It is also fun to note that Professor Snape, who has been promoted to Professor of the Dark Arts, is also fully wrapped up with Bellatrix Lestrange, who is a key member of Voldemort’s Deatheaters, who are hell bent on removing all of the players who might make it difficult for Voldemort’s return.

At this point Harry is resigned to the fact that a showdown is coming, but he is still trying to grasp what that really means.  In his quest, Dumbledore continually shows him glimpses of Dumbledore’s memories of Tom Riddle, who eventually becomes the evil dark lord.

Harry also becomes a potions engenue as the text book he grabs for the new Professor Slughorn’s class comes complete with handwritten notes that seem to be spot on for every nuance to the class.  At the front of the book, the inscription indicates that the book previously belonged to “the Half Blood Prince.”  We also find out about how Voldemort intends on using “horcruxes” to regain his power, and we get to see Harry as he begins his own quest to beat the dark lord to the hidden magical artifacts.

The acting in Half Blood Prince is quite good, even for this crew.  They seem to have fallen into the routine nicely, and while this is part of the end of the series, it still manages to feel fresh and funny at times as the actors really have nailed down the personalities of the characters (or have we given the actors’ personalities to the book’s characters?)  Either way, it if a wickedly fun movie, and it really makes me want to watch both the older movies, and re-read the books.  I can’t wait for the last few movies, but at the same time, it will be a shame when this series is done.





Audio & Video: 8/10
This movie uses a very stylized setup, and the movie itself is dark and heavy.  The scenes seem to vary in terms of sharpness, and while there are a lot of low light shots, most of them look excellent.  Colors are muted and there is a bit of grain used in some of the shots, but overall the Blu-ray looks great.  I have read some people see quite a bit of artifacting at certain parts of the movie, and I can understand their points in some respects, but overall I feel that it is a well done transfer.  It is presented in wide screen 2.40:1, and it looks very good overall.

The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD, and it is magnificent.  The use of the Surround Sound 5.1 is amazingly well done, and it is used for small and large sounds, with dizzying effects.  It truly sounds great, and all of the dialogue and ambient sounds are crystal clear, without being too in your face, as to take you out of the movie experience.  The audio for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is truly spot on.


Value: 8/10
What are you going to do now that you have seen all 5 of the other Harry Pottters?  Are you gonna stop at this point?  I didn’t think so, and the Half Blood Prince is truly a great addition to the story and the movies.  I put this up their as one of the best movies so far, and it is a darker, more focused movie, with some of the best acting in the series.  Add to that the excellent Blu-ray experience, and this is a winner for sure.

Overall Score 8/10

Get it on Blu-ray™, DVD, & Digital Download December 8^th

• Picture In Picture Commentary – This is one of the funniest commentaries that I have heard in a while.  We get to hear from Director Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms,. and Zack Galifianakis as they discuss the movie.  There is some dead air, but there is also lots of great info on the movie, as well as some great ad lib stuff by the guys.  Really worth a watch.
• BD-Live – The BD-Live features includes 2 separate extras, which are discussed below.  They are the Cursing Mash Up, and the Iron Mike Online Teaser, both of which were pretty decent and worth a watch.
• Cursing Mash Up – In the first of the two BD-Live extras, we get a group effort of cussing, edited together.  Some of the language is pretty funny and creative.
• Iron Mike Online Teaser – In this strange feature, we see an R-rated online online trailer which includes Mike Tyson singing the Phil Colin’s song from the movie.  Very strange indeed.
• More Pictures From The Missing Camera – In this little gem, we get to see more of the lost photos that were taken during the bachelor party night in Vegas.  We get to see some of them in the end credits of the movie, but this is a type of album where you can flip through and see the entire lost set of photos.
• Map Of Destruction – This is an interactive Vegas map that documents the guy’s trip as it unfolded.  You get to click on different spots to see short videos about the locations also.  (Just as an extra, I had to laugh as Rob Riggle is featured in the movie and has one of the short sets here.  Rob went to junior high and high school with me, and it is just strange seeing him as a cop here.)
• The Madness Of Ken Jeong – Ken Jeong is a very animated character in this movie, as he seems to always be, and this extra is an 8 minute video of his improvisational skill on the set.
• Action Mash up – In this super short (:35) set, we see some of the action stunts from the movie.  I thought this was a bizarre inclusion, and it was so short that I thought I hit the remote before it was over, and that I had ended the feature.
• Three Best Friends Song – In the movie, the Three Best Friends song is short and sweet, and was still able to ear-worm me to the point where I was singing it several hours later.  Here, like a 1980′s Duran Duran song, we get the extended version, and it is just as good, and just as funny.
• The Dan Band – This is a full version of the song Fame, from the most excellent party band that has appeared in a few of Todd Phillip’s films.  The band is just so funny, and it is a great addition to any of these comedies.
• Gag Reel – The gag reels for this movie was pretty good, and you would kind of expect it to be.  These guys looks like they had a great time making this movie, and seeing Galifianakis

The Movie: 9/10
The Hangover is one of those films that you either really like, or you don’t get it and think is is just kind of “meh.”  For me, this is up their as one of the better modern comedies, along with Old School and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  The Hangover for me is just a clever, bizarre movie that is full of little things that make the experience just great.  the acting is good, and the lines are funny but in a smart way so as not to make this too much of a slap stick comedy.  The Hangover for me is just fun.

We start off with Doug (Justin Bartha) getting ready to take his two best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) to Vegas with him for his bachelor party.  Doug’s new brother-in-law to be Alan (Zack Galifianakis) is also set to join the crew, even though Doug has been warned that Alan should probably not drink anything, or be allowed to gamble.  Thus the motley crew of 4 is in place for what looks like a fun filled, let’s not tell anyone what happens kind of Vegas party.  Things look great as the crew belly up for a $4,200 a night suite, and head to the roof for a toast at the beginning of what is sure to be a night to remember (or to conveniently forget).

Cut to the next morning when Phil, Alan and Stu wake up to find their room completely trashed (think Fear and Loathing destruction) and unable to find the man of the hour Doug.

Thus begins the journey that is the Hangover.  Todd Phillips directs this misadventure as the guys rally to try to piece together the mystery of where Doug is located, mixed in with smaller mysteries that have cropped up from the night which they can’t recall.  How did this live tiger get into our bathroom?  What happened to Stu the dentist’s front tooth?  Who married the stripper/escort?  And why is their a naked Chinese man in our trunk?

The Hangover is very funny, and the acting by all of the main characters is really good.  Zack Galifianakis would steal this movie if not for the excellent lines given to the rest of the crew.  Overall this is the type of movie that is clever enough to save it from being too goofy, and the overall effect is one of pure humor.  I am sure that this movie is not for everyone, but I loved watching it, and I will for sure watch it again.  It is the little details that really make this movie for me, and with each consecutive viewing, I pick up more and more.  This type of movie is just fun to watch and experience, and as long as you just go with it, it can be a great ride.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The VC1 wide screen video, presented in 2.40:1 is sharp.  The outdoor desert scenes are nicely done with a blown out look, which IS the desert, and the night scenes are very detailed with great blacks and grays.

The audio is decent, but not as good as the video.  While there is good use of the rear speakers for this Dolby TrueHD presentation, it does get garbled at times.  The overall mix was good, and the music and dialogue were clear, but overall I was not blown away by the presentation.  Good, but not great, as I felt there could be more separation in some areas.

Value: 9/10
The Hangover is one of those irreverent movies that is so funny that you will watch it over and over again.  For me, the best part of these types of movies is going back through and catching all of the subtle things that have been included, that really make the film so funny.  On a second or third viewing you start to notice the numerous things that are left in the trashed hotel room, and you appreciate the comedic timing that is involved in making this type of movie really last.  I loved this movie, and I can’t wait to see it again.  As a matter of fact, I am positive that there must be some sort of drinking game that someone has come up with for just this film, and while I don’t want to look like these guys on the morning after the bachelor party, a little drinking game with this movie might be fun.  It is just that type of movie.

Overall Score 9/10

The menu is another static background shot, with choices over it.  Again, it is not the conventional menu, as the movie starts up automatically.

Features: 4/10

• Seven Layer Holiday Meals In A Flash – This interesting feature has Paula Dean, and Katy Mixon (in character) making some holiday seven layer meal.  It is funny, and different, and Mixon is hysterical in character.
• Holiday Moments – Holiday Moments is a kind of behind the scenes extra that is standard fare and not overly exciting.
• Gag Reel – The gag reel was not really all that funny, or long.  There were a few gems, like seeing Vince Vaughn lose it take after take while Jon Favreau makes him laugh.  Overall not a great gag reel.
• BDLive – More scenes and choices are available through the BD Live.
• Digital Copy – We of course get the digital copy of the movie for your on-the-go viewing.  This is somewhat of a standard feature for Blu-ray, and the only time I really pay too much attention is when the Blu-ray does not come with a digital copy.  This one does.

The Movie: 5/10
Four Christmases is a holiday movie that is absolutely great sounding on paper, but the follow through is just a little short of what I would have expected.  This Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon jaunt is set around Christmas, and Brad and Kate (their characters) are a self absorbed couple who refuse to get married or further define their relationship, and they choose to escape to far away places instead of spend the holidays with their families.  The couple make up lies about helping the poor on other continents, when they instead just take vacations to island resorts.  All the while, they avoid their families and the craziness that is Christmas.

Everything looks good as they run to the airport (in San Francisco) in full island gear, to hop on their plane, when a heavy fog rolls in.  Of course they are unable to fly out, and when a local television channel interviews the couple live on air, their ruse is up.  Of course this means that they will be forced to visit their respective families, and since they both come from divorced parents, that means not one, but four Christmases.

Each parent is a separate ordeal, and the couple slowly learns that they perhaps do not not everything that they thought they did about the other person, and their seemingly happy-go-lucky relationship takes a severe blow as the torture of the four family get together mounts.

Brad’s father is Howard (Robert Duvall) who is a working class, cranky gentleman who is probably the funniest character in the movie.  He is surprised to see Brad, who is basically attacked by his brothers who are cage fighting , alpha males who love to drop Brad to his knees with wrestling moves (played by Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw).  The gifts that Brad and Kate bring are no within the price limit the family normally budgets, and therefore the two are forced to deal with the awkwardness of being accused of trying to show off.

Kate’s mother Marilyn is the next stop, and she is played by Mary Steenburgen, who is now seeing a pastor at her church.  Brad and Kate are dragged to a service, and talked into playing Joseph and Mary in the Christmas play.

Brad’s mother Paula is played by Sissy Spacek, who just happens to have taken up with one of Brad’s childhood friends, who now is trying to stay friends with Brad, even though the situation is completely out of control.  And finally the last stop is at Kate’s father Creighton’s house (Jon Voight).  As this is the last stop, and due to the fact that the couple has come to blows over where their relationship is heading, Kate comes alone, while Brad heads back to his dad’s house, wondering just what has happened.

The outcome is of course predictable, and while the premise is decent, the execution is lacking.  Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon just never really seem like a real couple, and while Vaughn is funny, he seems to have been reigned in, and somewhat reserved.  Reese is beautiful, and plays the part of Kate well, but it s a bit more wooden than I am used to seeing her characters.  The supporting cast is star studded, but again, just seems to float in and out rather quickly, with the exception being Robert Duvall, who gets a fair amount of screen time, and uses it very well.

Overall Four Christmases is just so-so.  I can’t say that I would watch it again, and while there are some funny spots, it just was not what it could have been.  Call me a Scrooge or what have you, but I just thought this was decent, and not great.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The audio and video were amazingly average for Four Christmases.  Presented in 1.85:1 wide screen, the video is really unremarkable.  The movie does not really lend itself to any amazing shots or sweeping landscapes, so overall the presentation is just average.  It seemed clear enough and the colors were decent, but there was nothing really dramatic about  the presentation.

Same with the audio.  The TureHD 5.1 Surround Sound is sparingly used in this dialogue heavy movie.  The audio is just like the video, in that it works, but it is unremarkable.  There is nothing wrong with either, which is great, but it just does not shine.


Value: 5/10
Four Christmases is one of those holiday movies that will probably be on cable during the holidays and you may just flip past it if you have already seen the movie.  I love both Vaughn and Witherspoon, and the collection of the rest of the cast is impressive, but the movie is just a little to ordinary for me to really love it.  The romance feels forced, as does the humor.  I just don’t see this as a holiday classic, and it was just not funny enough throughout to keep my interest.  Four Christmases is about three Christmases too many for my liking.

Overall Score 5/10

The movie starts right up, and the only menu of sorts is a background shot of Kate at the beach.  It is of course static.  With some of the Blu-ray releases we see this, where there is not really a “main menu” as the movie just starts, and you are able to make choices over a background screen or over the movie as it plays.

Features: 6/10

• From Picoult To Screen – This 13 minute extra examines the transformation from the book, written by  Jodi Picoult, to the big screen.  This is sure to intrigue those who read the book first, and are looking to break down the differences between the two (yes, I know, the book is always better than the movie.)
• Additional Scenes – There are several scenes that are included here that were not left in the movie.  Some are quite well done, but of course, as always, most cuts are made for a reason.
• Digital Copy – There is a digital copy of the movie included here, but as my wife said, with this type of movie, why would you want to take it with you in public so that you can cry in front of people?  A good point, but they included the digital version anyway.

The Movie: 8/10
This is the sort of movie that you watch when you are not depressed.  You won’t leave the movie feeling great either, as this is a depressing movie, but a great one.  The story starts with 11 year-old Anna discussing the fact that she was basically created by her parents for parts for her sick older sister, Kate.  Kate has a terminal disease and her parents Brian (Jason Patric) and Sara (Cameron Diaz) decide to have another child in case Kate needs bone marrow transplants as her disease develops.

Anna loves her family, but hires a hot shot attorney (Alec Baldwin) to represent her as she attempts to become medically emancipated so that her parents can no longer use her as a “parts back-up” for her sister’s needs.  The family basically is forced into a civil war as Sara (somewhat overplayed in my opinion by Diaz) is another attorney who can’t seem to realise that Kate is perhaps on her last leg refuses to listen to Anna’s wishes.  A court battle ensues as Kate’s health truly takes a turn for the worse, and we see the family battle themselves as they are forced to deal with the ultimate outcome, which is Kate’s death.

There are a few twists and turns, and we get to see the family presented one by one in a unique way.  Abigail Breslin is exceptional as Anna, as are Patric. Baldwin and most of the rest of the cast.  With Kate’s character, we are shown a young girl of 15 who ends up being stronger than most of her family, and definitely more in touch with what is actually happening.  The flashbacks and subplots that evolve throughout the movie are touching and a great way of telling the whole story.  This movie is gripping, and it truly is an emotional roller-coaster of a ride.

My Sister’s Keeper is a very well done movie and a great look at the hardships that families must examine and go through when dealing with a sick child.  This movie is a stark reminder of just how important family can be, and how delicate life can be.

Audio & Video: 7/10
The audio and video were basically underwhelming.  The video for me seemed to range between bright and sharp to dull and hazy, and there was no real justification for the changes.  While it was not bad overall, it just felt inconsistent.  This is a 1080p, VC-1 encoded 2.40:1 wide screen presentation.

The audio, which was very dialogue driven, seemed to be good in most parts, but there were several whispers that just were flat and hard to hear.  Again, not bad, but not great, and there just seemed to be no real depth to the movie sounds or score.  It is presented in Dolby TrueHD, 5.1 Surround Sound.


Value: 7/10
My Sister’s Keeper is a very solid movie.  While I did not read the book first, it seemed to stand up well on its own.  The performances were for the most part really good, and the movie was paced well.  This is not a “feel good” movie by any stretch, but it was well worth a watch for sure.  I really enjoyed My Sister’s Keeper, and I recommend a rental.  I am not sure that I can watch this tear-jerker over and over, but it is one to watch at least once.

Overall Score 7/10

• Commentary By Historian Rudy Behlmer – Now I realize that this is a movie that is 70 years old, so digging up and “behind the scenes” footage or any real gems may be a stretch at this point, but the DVD release is devoid of any real extra except for the commentary included by Rudy Behlmer.  Behlmer is a historian who offers up some pretty poignant facts and stories about the time period and the movie itself, and while there is a 4 disc set available with more goodies, this really is bare bones – which I guess is what they were after with the 2 disc release.  If you want more goodies, get the 4 disc set.

The Movie: 9/10
How do you rate a movie like Gone With the Wind?  This 70 year old movie is truly an American classic, and one of the most recognizable movie titles ever.  The story, taken from Margaret Mitchell’s novel, is rich and big, and the movie takes the story and makes it into a 4 hour event.

Set in the historic South, during the Civil War, Gone With the Wind stars Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, the handsome male figure who pines for the elusive Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh). Scarlett is a beautiful Southern belle who at the beginning of the movie learns that Ashley Wilkes is to be married, and she immediately reacts like a spoiled child who is not getting her way.  Hell bent on winning his affection away from his fiance, Scarlett continuously rejects the advances of Rhett.  Rhett of course is a gentleman (used loosely) who is both charming and slightly lecherous.  The two are engaged in a monumental love/hate relationship that develops as the South literally burns to the ground around them.  We are given a rich story, rich characters, and a lasting vision of the old South that still resonates.

Gone With the Wind is truly one of those movies that has to be experienced  by anyone who calls themselves a movie buff.  At 4 hours, this is definitely a long movie, and the character development and plot is what I would call epic and sweeping.  I really enjoyed the glimpse into what movie making was, as well as how much things have changed.  Gone With the Wind is an event, and I think that this release is just about as good as we are going to get from a 70 year old movie.  I honestly think the last time I saw this movie, it was on VHS, and this is truly a step up, and I imagine the Blu-ray version is also a solid presentation.  If anything, now seems to be a good time to buy this movie for your collection.

Audio & Video: 8/10
I have to say that I was very impressed with both the audio and video presentation with this release.  I can’t say that I have too much information on the differences between this release and prior releases, as I do not have any of the older versions to compare to, but this looked and sounded very good for a movie that is 70 years old.

The movie is presented in its original theatrical 1.37:1 standard aspect.  Of course there is some fuzziness, but overall it is remarkably sharp, and the colors are vivid and they seem appropriate.  The audio, presented in a remixed 5.1 and of course, the original mono (in special features) is adequate, and not at all muddled like one might expect.  The dialogue is clear and the music is rich and uses the rear speakers quite well.  Again, both are amazing for a release this old.


Value: 8/10
Gone With the Wind is a classic movie.  It is an amazing story and the plot and character development is amazing.  This is not a film that I like to watch to often, but it is one that should be seen by anyone who truly loves movies.  To me, this is a part of the American lexicon, so I truly think everyone should see it at least once.  This is a beautiful release of a movie that is 70 years old, and I recommend a viewing to everyone, even if you get done and think “thank god movies are not made like that anymore.”  At least you will have experienced it, which is truly amazing.

Overall Score 9/10

• Trick R Treat Seasons Greetings Animated Short With Optional Commentary – I did enjoy the short film by the director, the film that “started it all” according to him. It’s a hand drawn animated short starring a small boy with a cloth sack head who might have a touch of evil in his little heart. We watched with the commentary, which is the extent of this extra feature….not much to offer (not that I was wanting lots of extras:P).

The Movie: 4/10
Have you seen this movie and thought…”Ugh, that kinda sucked” but then you read around the fabled internet and find that nearly 100% of folks seem to be transfixed by how good it is? Fear not fellow sensible person, you are not alone.

I wanted to like this movie. I really do enjoy Halloween and Horror films. I’m not a fan girl of the genre, but I’ve seen my fair share and I have my own set of “rules” so to speak. Trick R Treat only hits about 2% of the list, and to put it into perspective, Halloween (original), Devil’s Rejects, Exorcist, these go above and beyond the list and have given me awesome movie watching experiences over and over.

Trick R Treat, let’s just get down to it, has zero characters who are interesting, zero stories that keep me captivated, zero scares, zero creativity or originality. NOW, that being said some might claim that’s the whole point, to have a throwback horror flick that is reminiscent of the good old days of horror flicks and the few anthology movies from the 20th century. OK, that didn’t happen for me at all. I didn’t catch that train folks.

I saw a movie that was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. Trying to find a character, Sam the sack head boy, to tie several stories together with his creepiness and big lollipop weapon. He’s not scary, doesn’t make me wonder what he is, why he’s evil, why he’s a boy with a sack head…etc. The stories do not criss cross in a way that’s clever or ever finds that “ah ha” moment when all the characters and their little town seem to be part of a bigger scary story.

Maybe I’m too old, too cynical, too worn out by these kinds of movies…oh but wait, last week we watched Drag Me To Hell and I loved it. I liked the remake of Friday the 13th, and others in the genre in the past few years. Trick R Treat just gave me that bored, “hmmm how much longer is this movie” feeling and that’s not good. It did make me want to watch some classic horror flicks, which IS good:)

So, if you are in agreement with me, that the sinister child killing principal, the sexy chick dressed as Red Riding Hood, the innocent chick who blew out the candle in a Jack-o-lantern, the lame story about a busload of children on some past Halloween, and the sack boy who doesn’t seem to have any purpose at all, is one of the least entertaining movie you’ve seen in a while, you are not alone.

Audio & Video: 7/10 (by Ascully)
Not much to say about the audio video quality on this DVD. It contains both the wide screen & full screen versions on one disc so it’s a little more compressed than normal but the movie is quite short so it’s not a major issue.

Audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 and is less than impressive throughout, I think I have been spoiled by the uncompressed soundtracks that come on Blu-Ray discs though so your mileage may vary. Overall a disappointing movie and an average DVD.


Value: 3/10
Late night some Halloween in the future after a few glasses of wine and having watched every other GOOD creepy movie ever made, I would consider watching Trick R Treat again, this is how I value this DVD. If you are crazy for Halloween themed movies, go for it with your rental card at your local DVD store or online offerings.

Overall Score 4/10

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Own it On DVD Or Blu-Ray Hi-Def September 29th 2009

Cover Art and Menus: 10/10
How can you go wrong with images from The Wizard of Oz? Simple, you can’t. It’s colorful and iconic so even a hint of Emerald City or one of the characters is going to sweep me away, so they didn’t have to go to much effort for me..but they did! This box set is well made, beautifully printed, quality all over. It comes in good size box, well made, sturdy, and pretty darn classy. Let me remind you of one thing before we continue here today, The Wizard of Oz is my lifelong favorite movie, THE movie that started me down the film loving brick road, so my views are through ruby red glasses…get the drift?

The entire package is thoughtful, from the tin that the watch is kept in to the lovely books included, it all feels well made, not cheap or flimsy. I have seen a lot of Oz memorabilia, and most of it is not made with the kind of attention this set seems to have been given.

I can’t say enough about the packaging, the menu however, it’s just a still from the movie with the Blu-Ray menu at the bottom, boring but functional.


Features: 20/10

• The Dreamer Of OZ Motion Picture - I remember catching this movie on TV one late night and being so excited to have anything new associated with The Wizard of Oz. Ritter is another all time favorite of mine and in this TV movie he kind of enchants me a little bit :) It’s the story, allbeit romanticized, about Frank Baum, the author of the original Oz book.
• Victor Fleming, Master Craftsman Feature Length Documentary - The man behind the camera, or the 3rd man behind the camera I should say. The director of arguably the most famous movie of all time is chronicled in this documentary style extra. It’s like watching Biography on A&E :)
• Hollywood Celebrates It’s Biggest Little Stars - The Munchkins get their star on the walk of fame, finally! Those who have survived their legendary acting cohorts gather for a bit of renewed fame and glory. One guy is really funny, he recounts how he was annoyed that they asked him to play three seperate rolls in the big Munchkin scene.
• The Magic Cloak Of OZ 1914 Silent Film, The Patchwork Girl Of OZ 1914 Silent Film, and a 1910 version of the film - This story has been fodder for filmmakers since film was invented! These are three versions of the story that made it to the screen. They are awesome! I love silent movies, and these are from way way way before sound was introduced into the film world. 1914 is a long dang time ago, and the story is told in a different way from the 1939 version, but that’s the cool thing, they are all versions of the original book, and that’s what makes them so interesting. The style of entertaining was so different then, it’s capivating to imaging an audience watching, in amazement the way we watch something steeped in special effects like outer space movies, horror, and big action flicks.
• The Wizard Of Oz Singalong Track - Oh how fun! I’m not a singalong person, but come on!!! We’re off to see the wizard..the wonderful wizard of Oz…it’s classic.
• Commentary By John Fricke and Cast Family - I haven’t listened to this yet, but I will.It’s a film historian and some family members of the original cast discussing the film, the stories behind the scenes, and more. Can’t wait.
• The Wonderful Wizard Of OZ Storybook Featurette - Angela Landsbury reads from the original storybook version of the book as animated illustrations fill the screen. Very nice.
• Prettier Than Ever The Restoration Of OZ - This isn’t very long, but it does cover the process they used 10 years ago when they did the restoration of the film. They commented that it’s the most well preserved film they have ever seen..well, yea!! Do you think someone would allow the original of this baby to be banged around??
• We Havent Really Met Properly – These are little biographies of each cast member with Angela Landsbury doing the narration. Pretty cool with lots of old photos and glimmers of what other work these folks have done, oh, and Toto too.
• Music & Effects Track - If you want to watch the movie with just the soundtrack playing, this is your chance. I have no idea why you would except to watch it as a silent kind of movie.
• Original Mono Track - The sound with all it’s scratches and glitches and tin can sound is here in it’s mono glory.
• The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz 1990 TV Special – I haven’t watched this yet, but I will, I will.
• Memories Of Oz 2001 TCM Documentary - I have seen part of this, but not the whole thing. It’s similar to other TV specials with lots of photos and stories about the cast and crew and how The Wizard of Oz has become part of our collective world culture.
• The Art & Imagination: A Tribute To Oz - Some Hollywood types, Sydney Polluck, Peter Jackson, and more discuss the film, how all of the elements came together, and how it’s always an influence when you are a film maker.
• Because Of The Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy Of Oz - Fans of the movie, I mean hard core types who “get it” will appreciate this one most of all. It’s not hard hitting film history journalism, just a bit of fun and that feeling of “I belong” if you are a true lover of the film.
• Harold Arlen’s Home Movies - Who is Harold Arlen? He wrote Over the Rainbow, oh and Get Happy, Stormy Weather..and many other songs we have all heard our whole lives and never knew where they came from. This is footage he shot with his own camera on the set of Oz.
• Outtakes & Deleted Scenes - Some of the original theatrical release footage that was removed. Just think, these little bits might have made it just an ordinary flick never to have the history it did.
• It’s A Twister! It’s A Twister! The Tornado Tests - One of the best special effects in a movie ever. If you don’t believe me watch it again and think about WHEN, HOW, and what they had to work with and you will realize it’s incredible.
• Off To See The Wizard -A TV series on ABC from 1967 had animated characters from Oz introducing a film, or part of a film each week. I have never heard of this or watched this extra so I’ll have to investigate more.
• 3 Vault Shorts - More original film versions of the story, all from the early days of film making, all completely addicting. They make me want to watch more more more of the films of that era.
• Audio Jukebox Selection - If you love the music you’ll love this documentary packed with outtakes and rehearsals of all the big numbers in the movie. Judy has to restart Over the Rainbow…shock horror!
• Still Galleries - Photos photos. Usually I don’t like these galleries, but then again, this is the exception.
• Six Theatrical Trailers - So cool to see the old presentation of movies to the public. This was before TV remember!!
• MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary (6 Hours Blu-Ray Exclusive) – OH MY GOSH…a history of the studio! It’s awesome. I can sink my teeth into anything with Jean Luc Pickard at the helm :)
  
• Digital Copy - I’ll put this on my laptop for future use!
• Collectible Numbered 70th Anniversary Wizard Of Oz Watch With genuine Crystals - Ohhh my husband won’t let me wear it! It’s a stinkin’ collectible, so he says! I’ll have to sneak it out of the box someday and wear it while he sleeps.
• Replica Of The Original Film Budget - This is a glossy print of the estimated budget and the actual expenditures of the movie. It’s so amazing to see that things like the catering for the entire film cost only a few thousand dollars.
• Behind The Curtain 52 Page Coffee-Table Book - I am not one for table books, but this is very interesting. I have to say first, it’s hard to read! The design is nice, but the font is so skinny sometimes with light letters on dark background that it’s hard to read without my ….eh hem, reading glasses. Other than that it’s a beautiful book full of behind the scenes photos, reproductions of paperwork from the movie like press releases, budget sheets, etc.
• Reproduction Of The Original 1939 Campaign Book - This is the best thing of all in my opinion. If you were a theater owner back in the day you would get this book, a full color book, of advertising print ads, ideas for promotions, cardboard cutouts, news paper articles with photos, the whole whack of goodies. You would order the items you want and then use them to promote your showing of the movie in your area. It’s jam packed with so much promotional material, it’s obvious that the 21st century didn’t start the over saturation idea!

The Movie: 10/10
I don’t do many things extraordinary well in this life, however, there is one thing I have been doing and doing with great passion and skill almost all of my 41 years. With all of my heart I adore The Wizard of Oz. It’s part of my childhood, part of who I am, a jumping off point for when I was learning to form my own perceptions of the world around me.

I think it’s fair to say I won’t be ‘reviewing’ the movie. I can’t. I have zero objectivity on the subject. Admitting it’s got flaws, every film does. Even I’m not hiding from that fact. The thing is, who cares? This isn’t a movie I watch to absorb myself in the rich and fantastic world of fimmaking as a craft. It’s beyond that, it’s truly like visiting with an old friend.

The sepia toned lion appears in the MGM logo, it starts to tousle it’s head to the side and ROAR…(queue the music) dun dun dun dun…..and that opening note to viewers about being young at heart transports me, every single time. It’s like I”m starting over. I have seen The Wizard of Oz probably nearly 200 times. I remember a time when I watched over and over and over on one weekend when I was off work back in my younger years. That had to be about 20 times right there. I think it had just came out on VHS, so you know, I HAD to do it.

If you are not a lifelong fan of this movie you might not understand the appeal. I normally do not appreciate mass mainstream entertainment beyond the momentary distraction. I don’t like to belong to anything for any reason. That’s why it might seem odd that I”m one of the Oz miniens of the world. Well, I’m not a collector, a convention goer, don’t dress the part, my house isn’t decorated with Oz goodies…but I understand why people go to those extremes. Ok, here’s my story:

It was the early 70′s and my childhood Christmas Eves were always spent at my grandparents house. We had supper, presents, and chatter with cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. My grandfather had a wood cabinet console TV, probably 19 inches, in their somewhat small living room. There was always the silver metal tree with rotating colored spot lights underneath. I could sit for hours in the dark watching that tree shimmer…hmm In the evening, every Christmas Eve The Wizard of Oz would come on and even though other cousins were slightly interested, I was the ONLY one who was completely captivated by it. I never was that interested in a whole night of family interaction so I think it was my young mind letting me escape the noise and the hustle bustle.

I would pull the footstool up close to the TV, get on my knees and lean my chin into my hands with elbows resting on the stool. If the noise in the room got too loud I remember frowning, furring my little forehead and doing a big SHHHHHHH. No one cared. Once I even demanded that I had to stay the night because my father wanted leave early and I calculated that by the time we got home I would have missed most of the movie and I was not having that!

Later years I just remember watching it, my pilgrimage to another place so incredible I still can’t really explain it. I mean, it’s a movie set, painted backgrounds, crazy over the top set design, plastic flowers, rubber talking trees…so what?  I can still, even this week at my age, transform myself to that footstool, eyes wide open, heart pounding as the witch tosses the fireball at the scarecrow, or the tinman flies up into the air and the lion chants, “I do believe in spooks I do believe in spooks I do I do I do believe in spooks.”

Here is one thing that might surprise you though, I do not agree with the theme of the movie. That’s right, “there’s no place like home” is a bit claustrophobic for me to be honest. I do love my home, my house, my husband, our life, but this is after having been places. I’ve moved around, seen other cities, lived other ways, met other people. I’ve never seen a flying monkey or a horse of another color. I’ve never met a wizard or beautiful witch. I have met people without hearts, brains , and courage though. There are certainly a lot of ‘men behind curtains’ pretending to be something they are not in this world, so I’ve met a few of them in my day.

There might not be a place like home, but for me it’s a bit of a closed up idea. Even that last line has always made my nose wrinkle, like, “Ok ok, I loved the whole movie but does she have to say that every time?” haha How about, “Oh Auntie Em, will I ever have enough frequent flyer miles to travel around the world to see more amazing places?”

By now you are truly convinced this is not a review of the movie, but rather my impressions of the whole of The Wizard of Oz. I have looked up a lot of things online in the past 10 years about the movie, the culture of the hard core fans, but the thing is, you find the same stuff over and over and over. There are a couple, however, that I think are the best fan sites out there.

She’s been around for 10 years and has a real love for Oz, and makes the effort to share lots of what she finds with the rest of us:  Wendy’s Wizard of Oz (10 years old) Vocabulary words from the movie, and a lot more to love if you are a true lover of the movie.

And The Wizard of Oz.info is a fun site, the old fashioned style with lots of care and enthusiasm put into all the information it offers.

I also wanted to get a Cruller recipe, see below. I didn’t find any in my grandmother’s old cookbooks, but they really are basically fried donuts. They are what Auntie Em served the farmhands and Dorothy before the storm.

Albert’s Favorite Doughnuts

The old cookbook gives absolutely no indication who “Albert” is; he might be Mrs. Ziegler’s husband. But, since these are his favorite doughnuts, we can assume they must be good!

One pint sour milk, one cup sugar, two eggs, one teaspoon soda, half cup lard, nutmeg to flavor; mix [with flour] to a moderately stiff dough, roll to half inch in thickness, cut in rings or twists, drop into boiling lard, and fry to a light brown. –Mrs. A. F. Ziegler

So, if I were a collector what would I want that’s associated with my favorite movie of all time? \

• A full size replica of the hour glass the witch uses to emotionally torture Dorothy in the castle.
• A scale model of Professor Marvel’s wagon.
• A big chunky ring with the ruby slippers on it. What can I say, I like the slippers!!
• A poster of the death certificate of the wicked witch of the east
• That’s it folks, start your holiday shopping now:)

I could go on for hours and hours just talking about different aspects of my love affair with this movie, but I won’t. I’ll save that for my husband, lucky guy.





Audio & Video: 10/10
The Wizard Of Oz is 70 years old and on Blu-Ray it looks amazing, I really can’t express in words how good it actually looks but suffice to say it’s everything I thought it would be and more.

Warner have digitally restored the image from an 8K scan of the original camera print which is a painstaking process that really paid off here. Colors are rich, blacks are black and there are details in the movie that you will have not seen on previous viewings due to the increased resolution Blu-Ray allows.

Audio is impressive but not in the way modern movies are. The remixed 5.1 True HD soundtrack stays faithful to the original track but adds a little extra ooomph during the tornado scene. All the musical numbers are crisp, rich and sound perfect. There are no crackly passages. Everything sounds pristine its like hearing the movie with a new set of ears.

Overall The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition is in the running for best Blu-Ray transfer of the year. It really is an incredible achievement and everyone should have this important release in there collection. With the advent of Blu-Ray it seems we are not in Kansas anymore!


Value: 10/10
If you find this amazing collection for between $50 and $60 anywhere anytime, that is a good price! Now, remember, I’m biased because this is my lifelong favorite movie…HOWEVER if they had tried to rip us off with a $100 price tag or something ridiculous, I would have resisted (and hoped someone bought it for me as a gift :)) This is an incredible compilation of all things Oz and I am thrilled to have it on my shelf.

Overall Score 10/10

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Get It On Blu-Ray, DVD, On Demand & Digital Download September 22nd 2009

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
Another cover with Matthew McConaughey and our leading lady; this time Jennifer Garner.  This just looks too much like the cover of Failure to Launch, or even How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  It is almost as if he is becoming a cliche at this point, which is sad, because I like Matthew McConaughey, and I think he can be very funny in movies, but this cover does nothing for me, and almost makes me (as a guy) want to avoid the movie altogether.  As a matter of fact, if I wasn’t a reviewer or a fan of movies, I might see this cover and think that I have already seen this exact movie, when in reality I had seen one of the other McConaughey “chick flicks” instead.  The menu is a simple shot of the two with choices laid over the screen.


Features: 3/10

• The Legends, The Lessons & The Ladies – There is a lot of talk in this 8 minute extra about what it takes to be a real ladies man, and the focus is of course on McConaughey and Michael Douglas as they played their characters.  It was mildly funny to see these two real life Lothario’s discuss how they approached these characters.
• It’s All About Connor – This short extra is all about McConaughey, and how great he is to work with.  Kind of a fluff piece, but apparently he is great guy, and there is also discussion about how McConaughey played Conner, the misogynistic photographer.  Not a bad 4 minute extra.
• Recreating the Past, Imagining the Future - This is the behind the scenes classic feature, which does a decent job of showing the movie as it is being made, but overall it is shallow.  Not much real substance in this short (8 minute) extra.
• Additional Scenes – There are about 9 minutes of deleted scenes that include an extended opening scene that delves even more into Connor’s womanizing ways.  The scenes are presented, as are all of the extras, in high definition.
• BDLive – While the box stated that the BD-Live feature would include a piece called “A Sea of Women,” I had trouble accessing the feature.  It apparently is an extended bit on the bar scene where Connor is forced to confront the ladies of his past.
• Digital Copy -The obligatory digital version of the movie is included here.   Again, I just wish Blu-ray discs were not so expensive, and maybe a cheaper, Blu-ray only version might be nice.

The Movie: 4/10
From the moment the movie starts we are flooded with the ever familiar Matthew McConaughey character; he is attractive and the ladies love him.  It is as if he only takes roles now that allow him to play this same stereotype over and over again, because in the end, he always ends up a changed man, who finally finds the right woman to settle down with.  It is getting old, even for these romantic comedies, and I would love to see him try something new in these movies if he is going to continue to make them.

In Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a world class photographer who mainly photographs beautiful models and then sleeps with them.  He is a true ladies man, who juggles so many women that he is forced at one point in the movie to break up with 3 on a video conference call, with a fourth female partially dressed waiting for him to end the chat.

Connor heads up to his little brother’s wedding at their deceased uncle’s mansion.  The deceased uncle Wayne is played by Michael Douglas, who was, in his time, a legendary playboy, and father figure to Connor.  Upon returning to the mansion, Connor basically disrupts his brother’s rehearsal dinner by stating that he doesn’t believe in love, while downing several glasses of Scotch.  His brother Paul (Breckin Meyer) is getting married to Sandra (Lacey Chabert), and the addition of Connor causes the demise of what should be one of the happiest days of their lives.

Connor, at this point drunk, is confronted by the ghost of his uncle, who tells him that he should not waste his life by chasing one night stands.  Then Connor is told that he will be visited by 3 ghosts of past girlfriends; past , present, and future.  In the strangest hook that I have ever seen in a romantic comedy, we are presented with a twist on Dickens Christmas Carol, and it is close to cringe-worthy.

Additionally, the made of honor is non other than Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), who we eventually find out has a long history with Connor, and is part of the reason why he is the way that he is.  The details of the transformation of Connor Mead are fleshed out as the ghosts visit him and show him the error of his ways.

Part of my issue with Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is the fact that there is no real chemistry between McConaughey and Garner.  It just is not a believable romance, and when you couple that with the waffling of Connor’s character (he supposedly is overly freaked out by seeing ghosts initially, but he manages to hit on the bride’s mother) and the result is disastrous.  He seems to jump from emotion to emotion, and the overall effect is just unbelievable.

Again, I like Matthew McConaughey, and I can sit through a lot of romantic comedies, but this one was hollow, and while there were funny parts, they were just too scattered, and the continuity of the characters was just wrong.  (Another example was that Connor’s uncle tells him that being a ladies man is a mistake, but at the end of the movie Uncle Wayne is shown trying to hit on all of the female ghosts.) Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was just too predictable and overblown for me to enjoy, and I personally think that the Matthew McConaughey “ladies man” character has run its course.

Audio & Video: 6/10
This is honestly not one of the best looking Blu-rays that I have seen.  The color palette seems a bit off at times, and the blacks were honestly shadowy and very inconsistent.  Many of the scenes inside the mansion just appeared dark, and I was less than impressed at the inconsistency of the video throughout the movie.  In 2.40:1, the VC-1 encode is in my opinion not very solid.

The audio was a bit better, but not spectacular.  Then again, this is not one of those types of films that would astound audio-wise anyway, but it was adequate.   The True HD 5.1 audio is front heavy due to this being a dialogue movie.


Value: 4/10
These Matthew McConaughey romantic comedies are starting to get dull.  We get that he is attractive, and the ladies man stick is getting old.  There are better, more believable movies that he has done (even in this genre) that seem more genuine, and are more funny.  His acting in this one is even a bit over the top, and therefore I just can’t see this movie having staying power.  Even my wife waffled about whether she would watch this one again, which tells me a lot about this movie.

Overall Score 4/10

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Buy Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

• Basically Training – This 7 minute extra demonstrates the physicality of some of the fighting shots included in the movie.  It was interesting and somewhat insightful, and included some detail about how the stuntmen had to “dumb down” some of their moves for the movie.
• Forest Ridge Mall: Security Recruitment Video – This is a short video that tries to be funny, and is not.  Basically an extension of the movie, this uses some new footage and some of the footage from the film to be a fake recruitment video for the mall security team.
• Seth Rogen & Anna Faris Unscripted – This is a strange 8 minute bit that showcases some of the improvisational takes that were done in the movie.  The was a bizarre inclusion, and it includes a weird Rogen laugh montage.
• Additional Scenes – There are quite a few additional scenes that are included, which run the gamut form Ronnie getting beaten up by his drunk mom, to more yelling between Ronnie and the middle eastern mall sales guy.  Most of these scenes are just extensions of story lines, and probably are not needed, but I am not sure how the choice to include other shots over these was made.
• Gag Reel – In this gag reel, we see lots of blown improvised shots of the main characters.  It is actually funnier to me than most of the  movies scenes, which is a bad thing.  I especially like when Ray Liotta blows a line and starts cussing, only to turn around and realize that he has dropped an F-bomb right in front of two kids who are extras in the shot.
• Behind the Scenes/BDLive – There is also a running video commentary behind the scenes with Jodi Hill (wearing some ridiculous sunglasses) and Seth Rogen and Anna Faris.  it was not particularly insightful ,but entertaining, with tidbits about the movie and the way they attacked the characters.  There are also BD-live features, but I noticed that when I checked it there was only trailers and the ability to share content.  Nothing special here.  There is also a digital copy of the movie included with the Blu-ray.

The Movie: 4/10
Ah, where to start?  Observe and Report is the latest movie to feature Seth Rogen, the funny guy of the moment.  He normally produces a humorous stint as a funny, but quick witted character, who is usually knows where he stands as a person, and makes the best of his lot in life.  In Observe and Report, Rogen plays Ronnie, head of local mall security, who is so over the top and clueless that it makes it hard to identify with Rogen’s character, and hard to believe any of the premise of the movie.  Ronnie is a gung-ho security guy who wishes that he was a real cop, and when a flasher terrorizes some women at the mall, Ronnie makes it his number one priority to catch the flasher, even when local police Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) steps in to handle the case.

Ronnie and his crew are foul mouthed, gun loving goofs who attempt to bring in the flasher, along with a mall thief, and in the process, they do everything they can to thwart Detective Harrison, and his real investigation.  also, Ronnie is hopelessly in love with Brandi (Anna Faris) who is a clueless make-up counter girl, who is a partier and a ditsy slut who wants nothing to do with the dorky Ronnie.  fortunately for us, Ronnie is clueless and keeps trying to get her to go out with us, which of course eventually works.  Once again, the movie assaults us with just over the top story and plot, which is supposed to make this funny.  After Brandi gets drunk and wasted on pills, we are shown a scene where Ronnie is having sex with her as she is semi-conscious, with puke hanging out her mouth.

The movie itself is dark, and flooded with F-bombs, which normally is fine with me, but in this movie is just seemed as if everyone was dialing it in, and the dark nature of the comedy just didn’t sit well with me.  Like I said before, maybe I just don’t get it, but Observe and Report did not have enough funny parts to make me want to sit through the rest of it, which was pretty lame.

It was not until I had seen the film that I noticed that this was done by Jodi Hill, who was responsible for 2006′s Foot Fist Way.  It was at that point that everything made sense, as I did not love that movie either.  Perhaps I just don’t get his style of humor, but I was equally unimpressed by Observe and Report, and it really had potential.  There are some funny parts in the movie, but I just felt like my intelligence was being assaulted by most of the movie.  Ray Liotta was pretty good in the movie, and Rogen has his moments, but overall this was just not very good.




Audio & Video: 6/10
There is nothing special here in terms of audio or video.  The 2.40:1 VC-1 transfer is bright and pretty crisp, but there were no scenes that blew me away.  The audio was basically straight from the front, and the surround sound usage was sparse and underused.   I found the the disc was pretty loud overall, and the mix was very dialogue heavy, but nothing overly bad.


Value: 4/10
Maybe I am too old and just don’t get this humor, but I didn’t really think this movie was all that great.  I had heard a few people who commented that they loved Observe and Report, but just like Foot Fist Way, I thought this movie was a bit dopey, and really not what it could have been.  The humor is forced, as are the awkward characters.  Overall I was not impressed.  Rent it, if you must, but don’t blame me – I warned you.

Overall Score 4/10

• Torchwood Declassified A Look Behind The Scenes With The Cast & Crew – The only extra in the set which is a bit of a shame is the program that aired on BBC1 before the show, it’s a 30 minute behind the scenes look with a few spoilers. I would take a look after you have seen the miniseries, as there are some shocking revelations here.
  

The Series: 8/10
I”m a fan of Torchwood. OK,  a little history would be helpful. I am American. I never did watch Dr. Who until a few years ago when my British husband, Ascully, introduced me to the time traveling dude. After getting hooked on that show they brought out Torchwood and I was skeptical. I was very skeptical. I don’t like spin off shows. They are usually just a bid for the producers of the original show to make more cash and not offer up much quality. This time my skepticism was not fulfilled. Torchwood, from the first episode, got my attention and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Now, on to the latest installment of the series. Children of Earth features our now rag tag team of alien fighting do-gooders, Jack, Gwen, and Ianto. I won’t give away the details of why or how we got to this point in the organization’s history. You need to watch the beginning of the show to catch up.

Children start synchronizing. Yes, at the same time all around the world all the children speak in synchronized oddness. That’s just the beginning. There is one older man who also falls under the same strange spell, so we have to find out the whole story. Before we get to pursue the weird chidren thing it seems Torchwood is being hunted down, they even try to kill Jack….yea, Jack. Like I mentioned before to catch up with the whole history of these characters you need to watch from the beginning, but I’ll say this, Jack isn’t easy to kill.

So, the children are saying strange things, Torchwood is being hunted, things are looking grim for our friends. The thing is this mini-series of the show isn’t focused just on the crew or the drama of the alien invader, it’s also focused on the bureaucracy of government. The ineptness of people in charge in the face of truly doing what’s best for the citizenry of their country. The idea that these people are so institutionalized that they have lost their humanity, their compassion, and become slaves to keeping their butts out of trouble and making sure their pensions are safe.

The action is always top notch. BBC knows how to do a quality TV show, that’s for sure. The special effects are often subtle, like an alien kept in a glass box obscured by a fog. You can barely see the beast and yet it’s much more intimidating then if they were out in the open. There are explosions, large blocks of cement encasing a human body falling from a high place…etc. It’s a lot of action and adventure packed onto the small screen, that’s for sure.

The characters are more fleshed out, Gwen and her man Rhys build on their marriage from last season. Jack and Ianto are challenged to find out more about their relationship and how they feel about each other. It’s just one of those shows that blends it all together with class.

I won’t say it’s perfect. I felt a bit lectured by the ideas of the story. I won’t go into details so I won’t reveal the heart of the plot, but it feels like there is a big agenda laid out on a plate for us to pick around on and make some decisions about ourselves as a culture (British or American). That’s ok, that’s what I like about Dr. Who and Torchwood, they have a mind of their own and make me think occasionally about things. Yes, even Science Fiction gives me something to think about in life. :) I had my moments of “wow this is awesome”. And then I had moments of thinking, “hmmm”. So, it can’t get the highest score. I think I”m tainted by the rest of the show, having experienced the whole of it makes this chapter as dynamic, but less satisfying in a way.

On the whole I think there have been single episodes of Torchwood that I enjoyed more in the story arena, but for a 5 part series it’s an awesome transition for our beloved protectors on the rift in Cardiff.

Audio & Video: 8/10
Torchwood is filmed in HD from the get go so this DVD release actually looks very nice (HD junkies note there is also a Blu-Ray version). The audio is also Dolby Digital 5.1 which makes the blood curdling screams of the 456 that more terrifying. Children Of Earth is a compelling story even if you are not a fan of the Russell T Davies universes, I really hope there is more to come.


Value: 8/10
If you are a fan of Torchwood, you will watch this regardless of the price. You can get it on DVD for about 15 bucks this week online. You can get it on Blu-Ray for about $30. If you like the show but you don’t need it to be on your shelf, it’s still an awesome rental!! 5 hours of fun and fanciful British TV, you can’t go wrong:)

Overall Score 8/10

Check Out The Official Torchwood Site

The menu was a static shot based on the cover, and it had no sound whatsoever.  Of course the menu can also be accessed (like all Blu-ray movies) at the bottom of the screen while the movie is playing, but overall the main menu, while beautifully presented in crystal clear high definition, it was just bland.


Features: 3/10

• Additional Scenes – There were a number of deleted scenes that were left on the cutting room floor, and many of them are apparently taken directly from the pages of the book written by Cornelia Funke.  They are included and left out for a reason.
• Eliza Reads To Us: Co-Star Eliza Bennett Shares A Favorite InkheartPassage Not In The Movie, Accompanied By Cornelia Funke Illustrations – Eliza Bennett, who plays Maggie in the movie, reads from a passage in the movie that was left out.  The passage she reads is, as she states, one of her favorites from the book, and it discusses what happens to the main characters after the dramatic ending in the movie.  It is a nice piece, and Bennett does a great job of reading it.  Apparently Cornelia Funke enjoys when people read from her books out loud, which is probably why this is included as an extra.
• A Story From The Cast And Crew – In this interesting extra, the cast and crew each add a line to a line started by Cornelia Funke, to create a story.  It is kind of neat to see the strange twists that occur, and how the cast and crew add bits and pieces to make a semi-cohesive story.  A very strange extra indeed.
• From Imagination To The Page – In this 10 minutes long piece, author Cornelia Funke talk about how she wrote the book and how it was transformed into the movie.
• Exclusive Features Via Blu-ray Live – On the Blu-ray Live Warner Page we are given different scenes to choose from, English and German spoken languages, and a few other subtitle options.
• Digital Copy and DVD Version of the Movie – Included on one disc, we are given both a standard DVD of the movie, and a digital copy, with the standard download code.  I like the fact that these are included on one disc instead of two.

The Movie: 5/10
Inkheart is one of those movies that sounds great in theory, but just kind of sputters on film.  Taken from the first of three books written by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is about a man Mortimer (Mo) Folchart who has the ability to bring characters from stories to life by reading the pages aloud.  There are several people with this ability, and they are known as Silvertongues.  A very strange but unique premise.

The problem is that every time someone is brought out of the book, someone from the real world is transformed into the pages; a kind of switch if you will.  Mo’s main problem is that he had accidentally read his wife Resa (played by Sienna Guillory), and the mother of his daughter Maggie, into the Inkheart book.  Mo, a book binder by trade, spends his days travelling across Europe with his daughter (now 12 years old) fixing books and looking for a copy of the elusive Inkheart book, in the hopes that he can read his wife out of the book.  It has been several years, and his quest is taking a toll on both him and his daughter, played by Eliza Bennett.

So the premise so far sounds great, and exciting.  Add to the mix Dustfinger, a fire juggler from the book who was pulled into our world when Resa was put in the book, and the story seems to get even better.  Dustfinger wants nothing more than to switch places with Resa and return to his world.  Dustfinger is played by Paul Bettany, who really is a captivating actor.  His character however waivers between good and evil, as his main focus is getting Mo to read him back into the story.

Another twist to this crazy tale is that Capricorn, an evil character in the Inkheart book has also emerged from the pages, and he is set on taking over the world.  He has gotten another Silvertongue to read for him, and many of his henchman from Inkheart are now in the real world, albeit slightly deformed due to the fact that the Silvertongue is not as gifted as Mo.

The story involves Mo and Maggie trying to rescue Resa, who by now has been read out of the story, but without the ability to speak.  They search for a copy of the rare Inkheart book, in order to rescue her, while Dustfinger and Capricorn try to get Mo to read for them, for different reasons.  Obviously Dustfinger wants to return home, but Capricorn wants Mo to read out an evil character called the shadow, who will help take over this new world for Capricorn.

Well, as I said, the story sounds intriguing and exciting, but the movie just seems to meander along until the final scenes.  One of the main problems with Inkheart is the inability of the audience to get really involved with the characters.  I attribute this in part to the inexplicable decisions that are made by the characters.  An example is Dustfinger, who does things that seem to boggle the mind at times.  He wants to be read back into his book, and he knows that Mo has promised to do so ,but only after he rescues his wife, but Dustfinger doesn’t tell him that Resa is actually already out of the book and a hostage at Capircorn’s castle.  It  just doesn’t make and sense, and it seems to make the movie drag a bit when he makes such nonsensical decisions.

I did not hate the movie by any stretch, but it did seem to be a bit off.  The ideas sound great, and there are parts that are really a treat to watch, but overall this was just a mediocre fantasy movie in a time when there are plenty of better options.  This is one of those movies that probably worked better on the pages.  Maybe Inkheart is one of those instances where the characters should not have left the pages of the book.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The video for Inkheart really ranges from stunning to poor.  At times Iwas blown away by the brilliant colors and crispness of the shots (most of the ending of the movie looks amazing.)  At other times, scenes seemed washed out and at times blurry.  It was a bizarre mix that really did nt do this movie justice.

The audio on the other hand was amazing.  This was truly one of the better sounding films that I have seen in a while.  The levels were brilliant, the ambient sounds were stellar, and the overall  feel was outstanding.  Presented in Dolby TrueHD (which you need to set at the beginning of the movie) it was a great sounding movie.


Value: 5/10
Inkheart had a lot of potential, and it was presented as a fantastical movie that of course will be compared to recent offers such as the Narnia movies and Harry Potter.  The real issue for me is that this is a poorly paced movie until the end, and the story is not compelling enough to really get the audience as involved as they need to be.  There were good acting performances throughout, but not enough to make this a must see movie.

Overall Score 5/10

The menu is pretty cool, so that’s the good news. The background is an image of Rorschach standing in the street, back to us, in the style of a very colorful graphic novel. The navigation is simple, but functional, at the bottom.

Features: 9/10

• Immersive WB Maximum Movie Mode – The director comes on the screen talking us through the making of the movie along with a lot of other goodies like a time line that shows the differences between the Watchmen world and the real world, concept art, storyboards, comparisons with the graphic novel, and up close looks at how many of the stunts and special effects were done. I really enjoy this kind of extra, so movie people, let’s focus on this for a while.
• The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics – The original graphic novel’s groundbreaking impact – Talking heads talking about the graphic novel, including one of the original artist/writers.
• Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes explores how the saga’s characters are mirrored in historical and contemporary real-life behavior – Experts round down the reasons why people become vigilantes and when they seem to crop up through history, when, why, where.
• Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World – How do the physics of a super hero world match up to the real world? It takes a Physicist to tell us, and it’s really really good. I love this extra. A professor of Physics teaches with comic books, so this is right up his alley.
• Immerse Yourself in All 11 Watchmen Video Journals – Animated versions of the comic, pretty cool. I like it, but I would rather read the original first, and then come back to check this one out fully.
• My Chemical Romance “Desolation Row” music video – Not into videos.
• Exclusive Features via BD-Live – More making of extras to be found here if you like to go on that big internet thingy with your blu-ray player.
• BD-Live Exclusive Features can now be shared on Facebook – As you watch you can post on your facebook page to all your friends who also happen to have a blu-ray player, and the Watchmen disc that they can put in at the same time and watch “with” you.
• Digital Copy – A copy of the movie for your portable device, oh, but not MY ZUNE.

The Movie: 8/10
I really love an epic adventure movie. Three hours is fine with me, and with so much to see, such a good story to absorb, and awesome music, it was destined to be one of the most satisfying movies of the year (so far). Watchmen isn’t something I had ever even heard of. I am not a comic book reader, and in the 90′s I wasn’t paying that close attention to popular culture so it breezed past me while I sat in grubby bars drinking beer. Imagine my happy surprise to now experience it all for the first time, and loving it.

The story is brooding, crime in the streets, bleak cities full of stinky evil gangs and corrupt officials. It all sounds a lot like other super hero cityscape s, but this one is just enough darker to make it compelling above the rest. The time is set in 1985, sort of. The style is a mix of ultra futuristic with some 50′s tossed in with the 80′s just to keep it interesting. It’s a good look, not stuck in one time period, but clearly a nod to the 80′s that mark the apex of the cold war.

That leads to part of the heart of the story. The world is at odds, The Soviet Union and the US are on the brink of nuclear war and everyone is on edge, some chaos reigns, fear and hopelessness is everywhere. That’s part of what makes a gang of vigilante superheroes so appealing. The thing is, we have entered the story after this group of Watchmen have had their day and have been outlawed. They have all fallen to either rotten deaths, low roads in their lives, or just faded away with memories of having been heroes at some point in their lives.

Well, the time has come for the gang to reunite, sort of, when one of them is murdered. The search for his killer brings them together again, and into a new world of need, crime, bad guys, corruption, and pain. I won’t go into each character, they are best explored through watching the movie, but I will say that Dr. Manhattan is awesome. Even if I think the concept is flawed, I mean, a man who can change the molecular structure of things, can go to Mars and stand on the surface, can walk on the sun, can change walls to glass, air to gold…this dude could save the world at any moment, or destroy it. I’m not sure how to write a character like that into the world very convincingly. I mean, what’s holding him back, love? It’s a hard one for me to sort through, I love the idea, but putting an all powerful, undefeatable entity in the mix kind of takes away anything the others can do, or make it all seem a bit feeble.

The other thing I will mention is that these are mostly anti-heroes. It’s not a new concept, but it’s often done in a way that leaves you more sympathetic to the character than thinking of their evil deeds. Watchmen isn’t like that at all. I clearly do not admire or cherish these characters for their good deeds. They are flawed, more than even a lot of ‘bad guys’ from movies and stories we see all the time. Silk Spector is the one I am the most disgusted by, but understand, it’s a tough thing to want to hate someone for their choices but still see the value in them as a person. She was nearly raped by The Comedian years ago, but then had a brief affair with him and still has that love/hate thing for him. It’s vile and disgusting and I truly despise the weakness of how she has clung to the relationship with him through the years, but that’s the beauty of the characters, they bring out so many real emotions.

The action sequences are awesome. The fights are severe and powerful. The music is incredibly perfect. I don’t have anything bad to say about this movie..let me think….nope. The only thing is my thoughts on Dr. Manhattan as a viably controllable character, other than that, it’s one of my favorites for a long time.

Now, onto the graphic novel!!

Audio & Video: 9/10 (By Ascully)
Before I go into Audio & Video I want to say Watchmen is a FANTASTIC movie. If you are into superhero/Sci-fi in any way shape or form don’t listen to the fan-boys on the internet who say this movie is the biggest pile of crud ever, THEY ARE WRONG.

OK rant over, I was a little worried Warner would mess up the transfer on this movie as it does last over three hours. Three hours of 1080P video is pushing even what a BD50 is capable of storing. Worry not though, Warner has done a fantastic job here with deep blacks (the movie like 300 is bathed in deep black to give it a stylistic look) great colors, and a three dimensional image that really looks like a theatrical print. I did notice a tiny tiny bit of haloing around the edges of Dr. Manhattan in a couple of shots but only the ultra picky will notice.

For the first time in Warner’s Blu-Ray history they have switched over to using the DTS HD Master Audio codec, and I wish they would have done this earlier as it adds a lot more life to the uncompressed audio especially the lower frequencies. Watchmen is not your typical super hero action movie but the action sequences really come alive with a vibrant sound stage that really wows at times. Special mention should be given to the musical soundtrack which includes Jimmy Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, & Bob Dylan to name a few.

There is a ticket in the box to upgrade your Watchmen Director’s Cut to a super duper ultimate cut in December. For the first time ever I think I will take them up on that offer, the movie is so good. Overall Watchmen is an amazing movie and one of those movies that doesn’t come along that often. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!


Value: 8/10
Buying a movie on DVD these days (or Blu-Ray as the establishment demands we call it…whatever) is like a major investment. I don’t want to spend money on something I will only enjoy once and then it sits on my shelf forever. And then there are the ones I WILL watch again, Watchmen is one of those. I will watch this movie again, with the director’s display thingy, and then again just to soak up anything I missed. You can find this 3 disc set for around 20 dollars, and while that’s a good chunk of a paycheck, I will get my money’s worth with all the extras and such a fun satisfying movie. I will even go buy the graphic novel, so my spending is out of control on this one!! :)

Overall Score 8/10

Check Out The Official Watchmen Site

• Hacking Back/Slashing Forward: Remember The Groundbreaking Original Movie – This is not what it appears to be. I wanted people from the original, clips from the original, instead we get the cast and crew of this version talking about the original.
• Terror Trivia Track With Picture In Picture – The behind the scenes bits and pieces displayed in a picture in picture, which is pretty good actually. The producer and screenwriters discuss how scenes were made, how they connected the new version with the original series, etc.
• Explore The Rebirth Of Jason Voorhees For A New Moviegoing Era – The making of the mask, how Jason would be physically, the actor who played Jason, all put together to make Jason more of a modern psychopath, and not so retro.
• Additional Slashed Scenes – Extended or deleted scenes, some could have been put back in the film, but mostly good to leave them out.
• The Best 7 Kills – You can watch how they did the special and practical effects for 7 of the kills of the movie. I like this extra. In fact I cared more about the actors being put through the rigors of shooting the scenes than I did for their characters who got chopped, diced, and sliced in the film. Just one more thing, blond, machete, boobs, blood….enough said.
• Exclusive Features Via Blu-ray Live – Hmmm, a trailer for another movie, not much of an extra and definitely not worth logging into BD live for.

The Movie: 5/10
There are unforgivable racial stereotypes in this film, which is the one thing I remember the most. That’s not a good thing. Beyond that I guess the movie isn’t terrible, but not great. It falls into that “ho hum” category. I wanted some chills, or startled moments, but what it offers is a modern take on an old classic, without any personality or charm.

How can slashing a bunch of obnoxious 20-somethings be charming, well, if you are  a fan of horror movies, you will know what I mean. There is a style, a flair to making these films crawl into your sub-conscience. I used to think it was age that would limit how I let movies sink into my brain, but now I know, it’s also the quality of the movie that can have an impact. I have seen some in the past few years that did the trick, and I”m not young and impressionable anymore, so when I say this movie is lacking charm, that’s what I mean.

They have added a bit of a story this time, not just reliving the legend of Crystal Lake. There is a missing sister, a searching brother, hmmm that’s about it. It’s an attempt to get something beyond the killfest up and running. I don’t think it worked on me. I didn’t have sympathy for the sister, the brother, or anyone except the characters who are so negatively racially portrayed it was embarrassing.

Not to dwell on the bad choices of producers, writers, directors, studio, and actors I’ll get on with the movie for what it is. It didn’t charm me into being afraid, creeped out, or even shocked. I want shock from Jason, he does some gruesome shit, but it doesn’t shock me. He is a feral human living in the woods with his own world, anyone who invades is at his disposal for blood and guts. This time around he’s got a handle on traps and thinking through each kill. In the past he was a lumbering, almost mythical creature that just clung onto killing like it was a security blanket.

In the 2009 version he’s angry, forceful, he’s got attitude and I did like that. He’s my favorite part of the movie. Everyone is disposable, of course. Jason seems like someone you should leave alone. Like he deserves to kill everyone to protect his home, his territory. He’s getting revenge for his childhood, his mother’s death, being alone his whole life, so if you do clamor into is woods, beware. There is an axe, a chainsaw, an arrow, and a machete waiting for your head.





Audio & Video: 8/10 (By Ascully)
For a movie that takes place mostly at night, Friday The 13th looks pretty damn good. Presented in 2.40:1 wide screen the dark scenes have an insane amount of detail, especially in the scenes that use shadow to hide the fact that Jason is lurking behind the main characters. Colors are muted as the director intended this is a reinvention of the old series and they chose to go with a grim dirty desaturated look.

Audio is also fine but for a horror movie where surround sound can add an extra layer of creepiness, it’s strange that it is so front loaded. Overall, while not the greatest slasher film ever, the Blu-Ray presentation delivers thrills and chills in equal measure, not to mention it’s always fun to see obnoxious pretty young people get killed in interesting ways :)


Value: 3/10
No, this movie is absolutely not worth the price of a Blu-Ray. It’s a slasher “remake” with extras I am not that interested in, so it is a rental at best. If you have a chance to go see it at your friend’s house, go for it:) Or you could wait until it’s on HBO. What I’m saying is that this is not a must have movie, and not something I would buy for the price of a full tank of gas.

Overall Score 5/10

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The menu for the movie is kind of strange, as in there really is not a main menu.  The movie starts in and you are presented with a menu along the bottom of the screen for your choices.  I guess their is a sub menu that appears when you are looking for extras, but it is just a photo from the movie with an “extra” menu presented over it.  I liked the fact that the movie just started in at the beginning.

Features: 5/10

• Additional Scenes With Director Commentary – There are a few scenes that are included here that really did not seem to me to add anything to the movie, and thankfully are left out.  We get to see Scarlett Johansson’s mother in a scene or two, and a different introduction between Drew Barrymore and Kevin Connolly, which did not work as well as the one in the movie.  We also get to see Scarlett Johansson singing a Jeff Buckley tune, which was interesting, but not needed.
• Baltimore Blade The Relationship Issue – A kind of neat little set up of 6 interviews with the characters of the movie, set after the movie has ended.  Each actor (or actors for the couples) is asked questions like a real interview, and it was fun to watch the group try to ad lib the answers while staying in character.  Some work much better than others, but it was a neat twist on the movie.  My favorite was a comment about how Neil in the movie looks just like that actor Ben Affleck.  Very funny.
• How 6 Simple Words Inspired A Book And A Movie – The book that launched He’s Just Not That Into You was a phenomenon that was covered by such icons as Oprah Winfrey.  This extra describes the way that the idea was created by some of the writers from Sex and the City, and how it evolved into a book and a movie.
• Duet For Telephones – This is probably my favorite extra that is included on the disk.  The director Ken Kwapis walks us through a scene where two of the main characters are interacting over the telephone, and he explains the techniques that he used to convey the fact that these two individuals have an emotional chemistry, even though they are not sharing the same screen.  It is very detailed, and show the little things that we take for granted in a movie that influence the way we take in the story.
• BDLive – The only real extra included on BD Live was a video called “10 Chick Cliches” where the male actors of the movie talked about cliches that normally appear in “chick films,” and how those are not present in this movie so it is ok for a guy to watch the movie.  Apparently more content is coming for BD Live.

The Movie: 6/10
I am becoming the resident Ascully romantic comedy guy.  I have to admit for the most part I like sitting down with my wife and watching these type of “chick flicks” as much as I like watching other comedies.  Hopefully my man card will not get revoked since I admitted to watching these types of films.  When I busted out the He’s Just Not That Into You Blu-ray, I knew a little bit about the book and the onslaught that became an Oprah favorite, but I really had not read the book or seen much about what this is all about.  From the movie, I have to laugh at the way that t