DVD's and Blu-ray's are Our Passion

Archive for April, 2009

Blu-ray Review: The Da Vinci Code (Extended Cut)

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has been translated into over forty languages and sold over 60.5 million copies worldwide, so the plot is likely a familiar one. The film begins with an old scholar being murdered in the Louvre. American Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), an expert in symbolism and in town for a lecture [...]

Blu-ray Review: Sin City (Unrated, Recut and Extended)

Robert Rodríguez is an intriguing filmmaker. Not only does he take on the typical tasks of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves as editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, and sound editor. Never too concerned with differentiating it all, he often just abbreviates [...]

Blu-ray Review: American History X

Written by David McKenna (Blow), 1998′s American History X is one of films every adult should see. However, like Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple and a few others it’s likely a film you won’t rush to see again. Directed by first timer Tony Kaye, American History X is an unsettling story that [...]

DVD Review: Knots Landing – The Complete Second Season

The eighties was definitely the decade of the nighttime soap. Fans flocked to Dallas, Dynasty and Falcon Crest to see how the super rich lived, worked and played. Created by David Jacobs (one-time writer of Family and later producer of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) in conjunction with producer Michael Filerman (who [...]

Blu-ray Review: Notorious – Unrated Director’s Cut

Notorious tells the story of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls/Big Poppa, the multi-nicknamed Brooklyn rapper who rose to fame in the mid-1990s and was murdered in 1997 at the age of 24. His killer(s) remain at large but the focus of this film is not to examine his mysterious death but rather explain [...]

DVD Review: Rhoda, Season One – 35th Anniversary Edition

A spinoff of the very popular The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda ran for five seasons from 1974-1978. Valerie Harper played Rhoda Morgenstern, the funky, flamboyantly fashioned best friend of Mary Richards who leaves Minneapolis and returns home to New York City. Rhoda had begun her television life as Mary Richards’ slightly overweight, self deprecating [...]

Blu-ray Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

As a student of film history, I’m generally pretty leary of remakes. However, I try not to dismiss them out of hand because while some are terrible (1995′s Sabrina), others turn out to be a cut above the original (2006′s The Departed). As a huge fan of the true 1950′s science fiction classic, The Day [...]

Blu-ray Review: The Last Kiss

A remake of the popular 2001 Italian film L’ultimo bacio, The Last Kiss is yet another tale of generational angst. Written by Paul Haggis (Crash) and directed by Tony Goldwyn (A Walk on the Moon), A group of thirty-year-olds are forced to deal with the issues that arise around friendships, relationships and commitments. At the [...]

Blu-ray Review: Last Chance Harvey

This modest story has been told a million times–loveless singles who find each other. However, that age old tale still works as a film when it’s done with the right details and fine actors. Such is the case with Last Chance Harvey; written and directed by Joel Hopkins (Jump Tomorrow) has all the nuances that [...]

Blu-ray Review: Strange Wilderness

I feel kind of bad as I type this review, because it was less than a week ago I was fairly negative about Adam Sandler’s latest film, Bedtime Stories. Now, I have even worse things to say about a movie put out by his production company, Happy Madison Productions. This won’t come as a surprise [...]

Blu-ray Review: The Wrestler

Much has been made of Mickey Rourke’s career reviving portrayal in The Wrestler. After seeing the film, I have to agree that the praise was warranted and I only hope that Rourke continues to make quality films for years to come. In the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) and [...]

DVD Review: Into the Blue 2 – The Reef

Back in 2005, Into the Blue was released to unfavorable critical response and lukewarm box office receipts. However, the presence of Jessica Alba in a swimsuit and the star power of Paul Walker and Josh Brolin, did make the film a bit of a cult classic beach movie. Though not directly based on it’s predecessor, [...]

Blu-ray Review: Goldfinger

More than forty-five years after the first James Bond film hit movie theaters, it’s hard to remember when the character felt fresh and different, the plots bold and exciting. Though the first and second Bond films, Dr No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963), were unquestionably successful, it was 1964′s Goldfinger that became the [...]

Blu-ray Review: Arctic Tale

After the surprising box-office success of several wildlife documentaries like Winged Migration (2001) and March of the Penguins (2005), it’s no surprise that movie studios began to take a real interest in the genre. In 2007, The National Geographic Society released Arctic Tale, a documentary that was largely brushed aside by critics and moviegoers alike. [...]

Blu-ray Review: Mean Girls

Given Lindsay Lohan’s current status as constant tabloid staple and occasional visitor to police blotters, it’s hard to believe it was only a few short years ago; she was being projected as Hollywood’s “next big thing.” She had made an impression on critics in 1998 at the age of twelve, when she stared in the [...]

DVD Review: The Paper Chase – Season One

The Paper Chase began as novel, written in 1970 by Harvard Law School graduate John Jay Osborn, Jr. and was later turned into a faithful movie in 1973 starring John Houseman (Ghost Story), Timothy Bottoms (Invaders from Mars), and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman). Houseman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of contract law [...]

Blu-ray Review: Bedtime Stories – 3-Disc Special Edition (w/ bonus DVD & Digital Copy)

Adam Sandler can be a really funny guy; Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Waterboy were truly hilarious pieces of dolt comedy. As he showed during his days on Saturday Night Live, Sandler had a real knack for a kind of childish humor that had the ability to appeal to all ages. Unfortunately for him, [...]

Blu-ray Review: The Princess Bride

After watching 1987′s The Princess Bride again after several years, it’s hard to believe William Goldman’s (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men) brilliant script took so many years to make it to movie screens. Originally written in 1972 to entertain his children, the script went through development hell before director Rob [...]

DVD Review: Skins – Volume 2

The second series of Skins, a BAFTA-winning teen drama created by father and son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, is notably darker and more dramatic in tone than its predecessor. The series is an unflinching attempt to capture the lives of a group of young people on the verge of adulthood. Tony (Nicholas [...]

Blu-ray Review: Slumdog Millionaire

British director Danny Boyle’s (Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later) Slumdog Millionaire was the surprise hit of the year. Written by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Closer), and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan, the film is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Slumdog was nominated [...]