Blu-ray Movie Reviews

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/oldmen2.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>West Texas local boy Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad while out hunting and discovers a suitcase filled with $2 million in cash. By claiming the money as his own, he becomes the target of Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem), a sociopathic killer with no sense of humor who will kill anyone who gets in the way of reclaiming the money. As Moss flees for his life, local Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) does all he can to interrupt the killing spree that Chigur leaves in his wake.

Meeting in camp as teenagers, Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and Emma (Natalie Portman) almost had a hook-up, but Adam's advances were repelled at the time. Fifteen years later, the two meet again but with Emma's busy schedule as a resident doctor, she doesn't have time for a relationship. In lieu of that, she proposes that she and Adam become sex buddies with no strings attached.

Portman is one of my favorite female stars in Hollywood and I had high hopes for this one. Wow, what a disappointment, but I shouldn't be surprised when Kutcher's name is on the cover. How does he keep getting roles? He can't act worth a damn and virtually every project he's involved with stinks. The screenplay had some potential, but it drags way too much and the only reason to watch it is to see Portman romping around half-naked.

Is man ruled by heaven or his own will? Is the great flood coming again? Does man deserve to survive? Often defying logic, this mythological story where miracles occur regularly explores such questions. Noah, who follows the ways of God and respects fellow creatures, is conservationist, vegetarian, but not pacifist, slaughtering those who oppose the Lord’s work. Those, the descendants of Cain, have created cities, ripping minerals from the land to forge weapons and armor. But the land is dying, and the cities are dead. And since selfish man has broken the world and exploits other creatures, God decides to annihilate humans. This, once the family is isolated on the ark and all special effects are done with, sets off a smaller, more intimate drama closer to Greek tragedy with sons murderously set against father.

In screenwriter-director Tom Ford’s (A Single Man) adaptation of Austin Wright’s multi-reality novel, we discover Susan’s emotionally drained existence, disillusioned with marriage and her career in blue-chip art curating. It’s an expensive life of high-end fashion and cutting-edge contemporary paintings, antiseptic interiors in fancy galleries and elegant homes.

U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks is assigned to a transatlantic flight from New York to London, but the seemingly routine assignment is anything but. Shortly after takeoff, he starts receiving cryptic text messages on his secure government phone informing him that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an offshore bank account. When people start dropping like flies, Marks frantically tries to find the killer, but he always seems to be one step behind him.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/nbynw.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) is in big trouble with some mysterious men when a case of mistaken identity leads to his kidnapping, arrest, and a murder charge for a crime he didn't commit. With the help of a beautiful blonde (Eva Marie Saint) and a little luck, he'll be able to return to his cushy job as a Madison Avenue advertising executive.

With the FBI hunting them after their last “show,” the Horsemen have been in hiding, honing their skills in preparation for their next Robin Hood–inspired adventure. Their target this time around is an unethical tech mogul, whose new product isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Unfortunately for our heroes, their plan backfires when the FBI crashes the show and they must make a fast getaway. They end up on the other side of the world where they’re blackmailed into performing their most impossible heist yet.