"James and the Giant Peach" Blu-ray Review

July 30, 2010, 01:19:32 PM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

As a kid, stop motion films were never my forte. I avoided Nightmare Before Christmas until I was in my teens and the holiday classics I never took much interest in. Just about the only stop motion film I watched when I was younger was James and the Giant Peach and I can remember only one isolated incident of that. I seem to recall enjoying the film, so when this Blu-ray was announced I was excited to watch it again as it was probably well over a decade since I’d last seen it. Sadly I think I know why, after watching this film on Blu-ray, I wasn’t a fan of stop motion animation as a kid…and I think I can lay that blame solely on this film.

Synopsis
After the daring rescue of a spider, a young boy named James gains possession of some magic crocodile tongues. When James spills them in the garden, out sprouts an enormous peach! Climbing inside, he meets an astonishing cast of characters and embarks on a magical odyssey full of thrills and adventure. Voiced by an all-star cast, including legendary actors Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Simon Callow and Jane Leeves, and featuring the celebrated music of Randy Newman, this classic story is delicious entertainment for the whole family!

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"Red vs. Blue - Season 6 (Reconstruction)" DVD Review

July 29, 2010, 01:34:46 AM by DVD Report Staff in Reviews.

Despite wrapping up the previous seasons with an enjoyable climax, Red vs. Blue returns in the sophisticated renderings of the graphic power of Halo 3’s developments with “Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction.” Applying a far more sense of drama and escalated scale than the pervious run, the new events tie into the continuity left by the previous five seasons and do so in a clever way. Reconstruction adheres a sense of mystery right off the bat that leaves you wanting more with each episode as you begin the series. The folks at Rooster Teeth are commendable in their growth as they better their filmmaking knowledge and it’s amazing what they accomplish with the use of a video game. Granted, it is well known there are post-production additions as well as a few other methods they employ, but for the most part they are using just a video game engine.

Synopsis
A new enemy. A new hero. The same bunch of rejects. When a secret government project goes wrong, the Reds and Blues must reconstruct their units to form an unlikely new alliance. It doesn’t take long to find out they’ve taken on more than they ever bargained for, but there’s no turning back. And no going home. Blood Gulch was only the beginning…

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"Kick-Ass" Blu-ray Review

July 28, 2010, 01:05:57 AM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

The advertising made available for Kick-Ass was quite unique. If you were a fan following it online through various R-rated clips or red band tidbits, you knew what type of film it was. Those unwitting bystanders who merely went by the trailers shown on TV were ultimately treated to a much darker and action packed film than advertised. This isn’t a huge surprise considering how hard to advertise something like Kick-Ass is to advertise. I never got a chance to see this film in theaters simply because I could find no one to go with me to see it—not so much because of the subject but simply because the advertisements made it look like something you didn’t go to the theater to see (in that it was more comedic than action packed). While the film certainly wasn’t a smashing success by any means, it did end up bringing in over three times its budget back when worldwide ticket sales were taken into account—not bad for a film whose main critical focus was that of a foul mouthed little girl.

Synopsis
Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary teenager who goes unnoticed in high school until he takes a chance to “do something” and dons a mask and becomes “Kick-Ass” to fight real-life crime. Bruised and beaten and without any real super powers, he is saved by a father-daughter duo (Nicholas Cage as “Big Daddy”, Chloë Grace Moretz as “Hit-Girl”) who know all the right moves and have a vendetta against a vicious crime-lord, D’Amico (Mark Strong). After a fiery internet storm of publicity for Kick-Ass, D’Amico wants to meet the masked man, and his son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) dons a costume of his own and becomes “Red Mist” to befriend him and get in his father’s good graces. The story comes to a head when D’Amico succeeds in luring the crime-fighters to his home and ass-kicking destruction ensues.

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"Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter" DVD Review

July 27, 2010, 01:07:12 AM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

Written, directed and co-produced by the late Marion Cajori, a filmmaker well-known for capturing the creative process in documentaries about artists, the film became a critic’s darling playing at Toronto, Sundance and Melbourne Film Festivals. The documentary went on to win several top awards including the Whitney Pratt Grand Prize Montreal Int’l Festival for Films on Art and the Gold Plaque Award Chicago Int’l Film Festival. The DVD retails at $29.95 and comes with a lavish 40-page booklet produced by the Joan Mitchell Foundation that features photos, colorful artwork, a poignant letter from the heart by Marion Cajori to Joan Mitchell herself plus more.

Synopsis
Available on DVD for the first-time since the film’s theatrical release approximately 18 years ago, JOAN MITCHELL: PORTRAIT OF AN ABSTRACT PAINTER is a powerful and intimate portrait that captures the late Mitchell's independent spirit and testifies eloquently to Mitchell's art. One of the great abstract painters of the 20th century, Mitchell was an active participant of New York's dynamic Abstract Expressionist scene and hung out with fellow painters Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Philip Guston, as well as poets Frank O'Hara, James Schuyler and John Ashbery. In the mid-fifties, she moved to Paris, where she was part of a circle of friends that included Pierre Matisse, Samuel Beckett and Alberto Giacometti. This elegantly edited documentary weaves together interviews with the acerbic Mitchell and other leading painters and critics, while letting her stunning pictures dominate the film. Stephen Holden of the New York Times says, "The canvases have grand chaotic romanticism. While celebrating the physical universe with an ecstatic love of color, they don't shy away from expressing a harsh, feral apprehension of nature and its violence."

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"Rambo - The Complete Collector's Set" Blu-ray Review

July 26, 2010, 12:28:38 PM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

The eighties were a violent time for moviegoers. Not only did Terminator find its way to the screen and attempt to destroy humanity, but we saw Rocky get a fair amount of beatings as well. As if that wasn’t enough, First Blood smashes on screens in 1982 and has two sequels within six years. Without a doubt the eighties produced some of the most beloved action films (as well as some of the most despised) and it was a good time to be a ripped bodybuilder, especially if your last name was Schwarzenegger or Stallone.

Synopsis
There is only one name that has been synonymous with action and adventure for over three decades – John Rambo. Now for the first time on Blu-ray Disc, Rambo fans can experience the entire journey of Academy Award® nominee Sylvester Stallone’s iconic character in Rambo: The Complete Collection. This 4-disc set includes all four films – First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III and the latest installment, Rambo.

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"Clash of the Titans (2010)" Blu-ray Review

July 23, 2010, 12:19:53 PM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

When all was said and done, my feelings toward the original Clash of the Titans were mixed. On one hand it’s an undeniably terrible movie, not only because of the dated visual effects but also just because of how transparent and ridiculous the acting was. At the same time it was all just good fun and I wouldn’t necessarily turn down watching it again—which I can’t say the same for this remake. While it certainly pulls elements from the original as well as mixing in some of its own elements (some in line with the mythology and some out of it), this Clash of the Titans remake just isn’t something that will leave you thrilled as neither a fan of the original or as a newcomer. Thankfully for Warner Bros. the film worked past the poor critical reviews of the film as it went on to gross nearly half a billion dollars worldwide.

Synopsis
In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny.

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"Repo Men" DVD Review

July 23, 2010, 10:53:37 AM by James Harvey in Reviews.

Repo Men is an uneven affair, resulting in a bit of a frustrating affair. The premise is admittedly strong and pretty focused, but it seems as though the director just tends to wander for periods of time, resulting in a movie that has some great moments, but is also hampered with plenty of dead weight. The film fizzled when it hit theatres earlier this year, but is there a chance it can find a second life on home video? Does it play better on the big screen? Well, let’s skip past the synopsis and find out.

Synopsis:
In the futuristic action-thriller Repo Men, humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called The Union. The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don't pay your bill, The Union sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property... with no concern for your comfort or survival. Jude Law plays Remy, one of the best organ repo men in the business. But when he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company's top-of-the-line heart-replacement... as well as a hefty debt. When he can't make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy's former partner Jake (Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker), to track him down. The film is based on the novel "The Repossession Mambo" by Eric Garcia.

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"The Losers" Blu-ray Review

July 22, 2010, 12:49:19 PM by Zach Demeter in Reviews.

Warner took kind of a gamble on The Losers. While it was another one of their own properties from their archive of comic books, it was untested and casting of relatively low-grade actors (no offense guys) in the leads appropriately showed how much clout they put behind it. The actors pulled their weight appropriately and worked with what they were given but at the end of the day The Losers was a film that was a bit too appropriately named. It is, in essence, something like The A-Team…only this somehow felt even shallower than a TV show pilot. At the very least the studio made their money back, if only just, in theaters so home video sales should all just be icing.

Synopsis
An explosive action tale of betrayal and revenge, The Losers centers around an elite Special Forces unit sent to the Bolivian jungle on a search-and-destroy mission. But the team – Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar – soon find that they have become the target of a deadly double cross instigated by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Making good use of the fact they’re now presumed dead, the group goes deep undercover in a dangerous plot to clear their names and even the score with Max.

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