Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Chronicles of Riddick HD DVD
Tom Norton  |  May 28, 2006  |  0 comments

Yes, I know. This film was received by critics as if it was the sequel to <I>Battlefield Earth</I> instead of the follow-up to the cult favorite, <I>Pitch Black</I>. Riddick, you may recall, was once a dangerous, sociopathic villain. Here, like a gravel-voiced Captain Kirk, he arrives just in time to save the universe from the Underverse.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Casanova
Tom Norton  |  May 28, 2006  |  0 comments

I've been experiencing an unusual run of good films on standard definition DVD lately, though most are not of any special demonstration quality, nothing gets blowed-up real good in most of them, few were big hits, and several are set in the past. But I'm a sucker for almost any historical film or TV miniseries (HBO's two part <I>Elizabeth I</I> resides on the HD PVR in my cable box even now waiting for me to find the 4 hours I need to invest in watching it!)

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Crimson Tide
Tom Norton  |  May 18, 2006  |  0 comments

When a rogue Russian extremist seizes control of enough of Russia's armaments to nuke the US, the <I>USS Alabama</I>, along with other nuclear missile subs, is sent in harm's way as a deterrent or possibly even a first-strike weapon to take out the Russian missiles before they can be launched.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hoodwinked
Tom Norton  |  May 18, 2006  |  0 comments

And now for something entirely different. Film critics and theater audiences had a mixed reaction to this computer-animated release. So mixed, in fact, that it moved in and out of theaters last fall before it had a chance to develop any word of mouth.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Jarhead-HD DVD
Tom Norton  |  May 17, 2006  |  0 comments

Start with a look at Marine boot camp not much different than what we've seen in countless war movies. Move on to a boring look at bored Marines killing time in the desert in the buildup to the 1991 Gulf War. They're depicted as dumb, disorganized, rowdy, and undisciplined. The promotional copy for the movie, included in the cover art, says that the troops are "in a country they don't understand, against an enemy they can't see, for a cause they don't fully grasp. Believe me, the troops in the first Gulf War were fully briefed on the country they were going to, could usually see the enemy (his back, typically), and understood that they were fighting to free a country occupied by the forces of an expansionist dictator. That promotional copy was clearly written as a not-too-subtle analogy to the <I>current</I> Iraq war.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Apollo 13 HD DVD
 |  May 09, 2006  |  1 comments

I hadn't watched Ron Howard's <I>Apollo 13</I> in years- probably since the first DTS DVD release in the late 90s. It's extraordinary that this movie remains so riveting- nerve wracking even- so long after seeing it for the first time, and having gone into that first viewing knowing how the story ends! The filmmaking, the performances, the effects, the attention to every technical detail, everything is top notch and about as good as it gets from big-time Hollywood filmmaking. A great, compelling movie, and capsule in time of one of America's most riveting real-life dramas. This is what used to be "reality TV" back in the day!

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Titanic Special Collector's Edition DVD
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 26, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, Gloria Stewart, David Warner, Victor Garber, and Bill Paxton. Directed by James Cameron. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. 174 minutes (film). 1997. Dolby Digital 5.1EX, DTS 6.1ES, and 2.0 Dolby Surround (English), French, Spanish. Paramount 03135. PG-13. $29.99.</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Steamboy Director's Cut DVD Gift Set
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 31, 2005  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Japanese), Dolby Surround (French, Spanish, Portuguese). 126 minutes. 2004. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 05503. PG-13. $49.95.</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
With a Bang or a Whimper
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 03, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Avoid a Blue Tuesday by capping off your holiday weekend plans with the end of the world! Whether we will become extinct as a species from within or without is the subject of two movies on DVD, one an environmental-disaster flick of dubious distinction, the other a classic loosely based on the Victorian novel that in turn has inspired a current remake. Thomas J. Norton and Fred Manteghian report on 2004's </I>The Day After Tomorrow: All Access Collector's Edition<I> and 1953's </I>The War of the Worlds.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Seinfeld Volume 3 Season 4
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 06, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1. Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 1.0 (French, Spanish). Four discs. 552 minutes. Sony Pictures 09774. NR. $49.95</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection
Corrina Y. Jones  |  Mar 05, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Oscar Shaw, Lillian Roth, Thelma Todd, Louis Calhern. Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1. Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. Five films/6 discs. 6 hrs. 43 mins. 2004. Universal Studios Home Video 21250. G. $59.98.</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Flight of the Phoenix
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 05, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Tyrese Gibson, Miranda Otto, Hugh Laurie. Directed by John Moore. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). 113 minutes. 2004. Dolby Digital 5.1 and 5.1 DTS (English), Dolby Surround (French). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. PG-13. $29.98.</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Bambi
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 27, 2005  |  0 comments

<I>Directed by David Hand. THX-certified. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1. Two discs. 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix (English Dolby Digital 5.1), Dolby Digital 2.0 original mono theatrical mix, Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish). 67 minutes (film). 1942. Buena Vista Home Entertainment. G. $29.99.</I>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cinessentials: Unforgiven
Joe Leydon  |  Feb 21, 2005  |  0 comments

Editor's Note: This year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture feature the work of two acclaimed directors operating at the top of their game, Martin Scorsese's <I>The Aviator</I> and Clint Eastwood's <I>Million Dollar Baby</I>. So it seemed liked a good time to revisit reviews from <I>UAV</I> contributor Joe Leydon of earlier films from these same artists: Scorsese's <I>GoodFellas</I> and Eastwood's <I>Unforgiven</I>. The reviews cover the two-disc Special Edition of <I>Unforgiven</I> and the single-disc release of <I><A HREF="/moviereviews/205goodfellas">GoodFellas</A></I>. A 2-disc Special Edition of <I>GoodFellas</I> is now available for $26.99.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cinessentials: GoodFellas
Joe Leydon  |  Feb 21, 2005  |  0 comments

Editor's Note: This year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture feature the work of two acclaimed directors operating at the top of their game, Martin Scorsese's <I>The Aviator</I> and Clint Eastwood's <I>Million Dollar Baby</I>. So it seemed liked a good time to revisit reviews from <I>UAV</I> contributor Joe Leydon of earlier films from these same artists: Scorsese's <I>GoodFellas</I> and Eastwood's <A HREF="/moviereviews/205unforgiven"><I>Unforgiven</I></A>. The reviews cover the two-disc Special Edition of <I>Unforgiven</I> and the single-disc release of <I>GoodFellas</I>. A 2-disc Special Edition of <I>GoodFellas</I> is now available for $26.99.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X