Archive for April, 2009
Blu-ray Review: The Matrix (10th Anniversary Blu-ray Book, w/ Bonus Digital Copy)
Released in 1999, The Matrix is credited by many with helping to push the fledgling DVD market into the big time. I actually bought the first DVD release of The Matrix the first day it was in stores. I remember being absolutely mesmerized at how good the action scenes looked on the big screen; she [...]
Blu-ray Review: South Pacific – 50th Anniversary Edition
If you’re a fan of musicals, South Pacific is definitely one of the best. South Pacific is a 1958 film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, which was based on James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. Director Joshua Logan (Picnic, Bus Stop, Sayonara), shot much of the film on the [...]
Blu-ray Review: The Reader
After five Academy Award nominations, Kate Winslet finally took home the coveted statue on her sixth try, for her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader. Based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink, the film adaptation was written by David Hare (The Hours) and directed by Hare’s frequent collaborator, [...]
DVD Review: Yes Man
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Jim Carrey. Since he became a star with the release of 1994′s Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, it’s impossible to deny his comedic skills but his manic style hasn’t always appealed to me; in the last few years, Carrey has tried to broaden his horizons with more dramatic roles [...]
Marley & Me: 3-Disc “Bad Boy” Edition (w/ Bonus Digital Copy + DVD) (Blu-ray Review)
For whatever reason, I still haven’t gotten around to reading the 2005 memoir by John Grogan, on which Marley & Me is based. Before watching the film, I knew it was a story about a family’s relationship with their dog. What I didn’t realize is that Marley & Me is really a much larger life [...]
Blu-ray Review: Doubt
Meryl Streep is just one of the few actors I’ve watched over the years who truly has the ability to mesmerize me. I’ve often said she could simply sit silently in a chair for fifteen minutes and make it an affecting experience. With her performance in 2008′s Doubt, Streep has once again proven she is [...]
DVD Review: To Catch a Thief – The Paramount Centennial Collection
Few would argue director Alfred Hitchcock’s status as a master of suspense. However, his 1955 effort, To Catch a Thief, can hardly be considered among the best in his suspense cannon. If a person’s first exposure to Hitchcock is To Catch a Thief, they may wonder how he got his “master of suspense” moniker. While [...]
Blu-ray Review: No Country for Old Men – Collector’s Edition
In describing the Coen brothers No Country for Old Men to a friend, I said, “Misery never looked so good.” Odd maybe but it seemed a perfect description for the film. The winner of the Best Picture Oscar in 2007, the brothers have discussed how important cinematography was to creating the proper look for the [...]
DVD Review: Lilo & Stitch – 2 Disc Big Wave Edition
Released in June of 2002, Lilo & Stitch marked the 42nd animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. Written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the film made a splash at Cannes that year and was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Co-director Chris Sanders, who had created [...]
Blu-ray Review: Gigi
Gigi has finally arrived on Blu-ray, looking better than I’ve ever seen it before. Released in 1958, the film reunited director Vincent Minnelli with producer Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner and actress Leslie Caron. After the success of An American in Paris, Freed and Minnelli were more than happy to put a new twist on [...]
DVD Review: Star Wars, The Clone Wars – A Galaxy Divided
The 2008 television series, The Clone Wars is set in the fictional Star Wars galaxy, during the same time period as the previous 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars series. Star Wars creator George Lucas says “there will be at least 100 episodes produced of the series, regardless of whether the ratings are good or bad. [...]
Blu-ray Review: Bolt
In any other year, Bolt would have won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, hands down. However, Wall-E was such an undeniably unique movie, it was impossible to deny the filmmakers the Oscar they received. By comparison, the story of a dog trying to save its owner has been done thousands of times in [...]
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