Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sex Tape
Anthony Chiarella  |  Feb 04, 2015  |  0 comments
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Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) have lost the spark. The couple’s college sexcapades are a distant memory, as marriage and children have snuffed their sex drive… until, fueled by tequila shots, they decide to make a three-hour porno wherein they attempt every position in the classic handbook, The Joy of Sex. When Jay saves their video to his iPad, however, he mistakenly sends it to friends and family, then spends the remainder of the film trying to reverse his mistake. Jake Kasdan, who directed Diaz and Segel in Bad Teacher, completes the Power Trio here.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Josef Krebs  |  Oct 12, 2018  |  1 comments
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This indie revelation explores sexuality, relationships, and the way that both interact with technology. Therapy doesn’t seem to be opening uptight housewife Ann to her feelings; it takes videotaped erotic confessions for her to overcome her inhibitions. Meanwhile, Ann’s sister and husband are deceiving her with a steamy affair and endless lies. Eventually, a candid, oddball drifter comes to visit and uses his video project to untangle the tape tying up this dysfunctional family.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shaft
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Jul 29, 2022  |  2 comments
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Along with Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song, Shaft helped launch the Seventies era of so-called "blaxploitation" films that would dominate the world of Black entertainment for nearly a decade. Directed by prominent Black photographer Gordon Parks with Richard Roundtree in the title role and featuring a sizzling soundtrack by Isaac Hayes, Shaft didn't quite fit the mold of its subsequent ilk.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shall We Dance?
David Vaughn  |  May 23, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/052308shallwedance.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>John Clark (Richard Gere) is in the midst of a midlife crisis. He has a devoted wife and family but feels he needs more. Each night on his way home, he sees an attractive woman staring out the window of a dance studio. On impulse, he decides to drop in to sign up for dance lessons. What will his wife say when she finds out?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shaun of the Dead (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 22, 2009  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shaun.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a lovable loser spending his days working as a clerk in an electronics store and looking forward to a few after-hours pints at the local pub with his best friend and roommate Ed (Nick Frost). Life takes a turn for the worse when his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield) dumps him, his stepfather (Bill Nighy) berates him for ignoring his mother (Penelope Wilton), and&#151;oh yeah&#151;the dead return to stake their claim to the Earth. Instead of running scared, Shaun uses the opportunity to prove his manhood, and not even the undead can stand in his way.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shazam!
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 04, 2019  |  0 comments
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Marvel has undeniably defined the modern comic book movie universe. As a consequence, much of Shazam!, the latest effort from rival DC, feels clichéd, and not just by superhero standards. Good young protagonists facing adversity, otherworldly forces granting extraordinary abilities, bullies who ultimately get theirs— it's all here. Shazam! even borders on outright theft with an end credit sequence straight out of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
She's Out of My League (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2010  |  1 comments
Kirk (Jay Baruches) is a dorky underachiever who through a stroke of fate winds up dating the beautiful and successful Molly (Alice Eve). Now that he's got the girl he has to contend with his own insecurities as his friends and family barrage him negative feedback about his love life.

What a major disappointment and missed opportunity by screenwriters Sean Anders and John Morris. The two leads have genuine chemistry and are so likeable although the supporting roles are so sophomoric and crude any connection to the love story is thrown out the window with a constant barrage of F-bombs. Kirk's friends are a group of losers who don't deserve his friendship and even worse, Molly's best friend Patty (Kristen Ritter) is so crude she could make a sailor blush.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sherlock Holmes
David Vaughn  |  Apr 14, 2010  |  0 comments
With the aid of his trusted ally Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) is unequaled in his pursuit of criminals. After a string of ritualistic murders, the pair arrives just in time to save the latest victim and uncover the killer: Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). He is sentenced to death but warns Holmes that death has no power over him, and he will rise again. It turns out he wasn't lying.

I'm not sure Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would approve of the modernized Sherlock Holmes, but it turns out he's one hell of an action hero. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack features some great demo-worthy scenes, although the dialog is not entirely intelligible in a couple of scenes. The VC-1 encode is just as impressive, with exquisite detail, inky blacks, and well-resolved shadows.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sherlock Holmes in Wartime
Barry Willis  |  Mar 21, 2004  |  First Published: Mar 22, 2004  |  0 comments

<I><B>Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon</B> (68 minutes, 1942); <B>Sherlock Holmes Faces Death</B> (68 minutes, 1943); <B>Sherlock Holmes in Washington</B> (71 minutes, 1943). Directed by Roy William Neill. <B>Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror</B> (66 minutes, 1942). Directed by John Rawlings. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Monophonic. B&W MPI Home Video DVD7545, DVD7549, DVD7540, DVD7550. NR. $27.88 each.</I>

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Corey Gunnestad  |  Sep 10, 2012  |  0 comments
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Long before Batman had the Joker, the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, had an evil nemesis who was every bit his equal in intelligence and powers of perception; the yin to his yang, so to speak. Professor James Moriarty was a precursor to the Bond villain and a blueprint for every criminal mastermind to come. In the previous Sherlock Holmes film, he was a mysterious and sinister presence concealed in darkness. For A Game of Shadows, he comes to the forefront to challenge the master detective to a game to the death and is played with relish by Jared Harris.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sherlock: Season One (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Nov 19, 2010  |  0 comments
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's popular Victorian-era super sleuth gets a reboot in the 21st Century. Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) is the go to detective consultant for Detective Inspector Lesrade (Rupert Graves) of the London police department. Ex-soldier/doctor John Watson (Martin Freeman) joins Holmes as his trusty sidekick in order to solve the most bizarre cases London has ever seen.

Thanks to the BBC this fabulous show has made its way across the pond via PBS and now Blu-ray. Although the 2-disc set has only three 90 minute episodes, each is so well-crafted that I'll gladly take quality over quantity. The two leads breathe new life into the characters and from the first moment they share the screen you know it’s a match made in heaven.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Short Circuit
David Vaughn  |  Jun 13, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/061308short.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Struck by lightning, a Defense Department robot malfunctions and, as a result, develops its own consciousness. Escaping the military, it finds refuge with a young woman (Ally Sheedy) who helps hide "Number 5" from its inventor, Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg), and the government who wants its weapon back.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shout! if You Love the '80s
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 27, 2017  |  0 comments
Perhaps by coincidence, many of independent label Shout! Factory’s recent releases hail from the era of big hair and synthesized music, ranging from the little-seen Metalstorm (in 3D!) to the gritty urban thriller, Night Hawks. We donned our day-glo parachute pants and spun four of their most interesting.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shrek the Third
David Vaughn  |  Sep 15, 2008  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shrekthethird.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When Shrek's father-in-law (John Cleese)&#151;or shall I say, frog-in-law&#151;passes away, Shrek (Mike Myers) is the next in line to the throne. But Shrek has a different set of priorities&#151;a return to his beloved swamp. Along with his two sidekicks, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), he embarks on an adventure to find the rightful heir to the throne&#151;Arthur (Justin Timberlake).

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Shutter Island (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 10, 2010  |  0 comments

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shutter.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When two U.S. marshals (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) investigate a mysterious disappearance of an inmate from a hospital for the criminally insane, the pair uncover an intricate web of deception where nothing may be as it seems. As the mystery unravels, Teddy (DiCaprio) uncovers some shocking truths about the island that will change his life forever.

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