Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Blu-ray’s Identity Crisis
Joshua Zyber  |  Aug 04, 2008  | 
Can Blu-ray be more than the next Laserdisc?

Although I don’t usually pay attention to such things, the other day as I was opening a recent Blu-ray purchase, I took note of the “Compatible with PlayStation 3” sticker that either the studio or the retailer had attached to the shrink wrap. It was trivial, hardly worth glancing at, but it got me thinking about how closely the Blu-ray format is tied to Sony’s multipurpose game console. Of course, I seem to recall similar stickers about the PlayStation 2 appearing on early DVD releases, but the situation is very different now. DVD’s benefits over its VHS and Laserdisc predecessors were so obvious that the format achieved explosive growth, and its success was never dependent on just one playback machine. Certainly, the PS2 brought DVD into a lot of homes very quickly, but standalone players and computer drives were equally (and soon more) popular with the public. Everyone wanted DVD, whether they wanted a game console to go with it or not.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Jack Ryan Collection
David Vaughn  |  Aug 03, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/redoctober.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Jack Ryan is the central character in 12 of Tom Clancy's novels about the CIA analyst. When the debut book, <i>The Hunt for Red October</i>, hit the silver screen in 1990, a relatively unknown actor, Alec Baldwin, starred as Ryan in what was to become the first of many adaptations from the successful literary series. But a combination of factors&#151;a new studio head at Paramount, some bad press about Baldwin and Kim Basinger on the set of <i>Marrying Man</i>, and the availability of superstar Harrison Ford, led to the replacement of Baldwin in <i>Patriot Games</i> and <i>Clear and Present Danger</i> with Ford in the lead role.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Doomsday
David Vaughn  |  Aug 03, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/doomsday.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>A deadly plague known as the Reaper Virus attacks Scotland, killing thousands and infecting millions more. To contain the disease, England constructs a wall along the border to keep out infected citizens from the north. Twenty-five years later, the virus reappears, forcing the government to dispatch a military team to search out a Scottish researcher (Malcolm McDowell) who was close to finding a cure during the first outbreak.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Kite Runner
Rad Bennett  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
DreamWorks
Movie •••½Picture •••½Sound •••• Extras •••

In Kabul, before the Russians invad

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle—New Line Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 3.25/5
Audio: 3.75/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Two guys that are high as a kite and on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers find themselves on a hilarious all-night adventure as they run into one screwy obstacle after another.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Urban Legend—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 3.75/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2/5
When New England college student Natalie finds herself at the center of a series of sadistic murders seemingly inspired by urban legends she resolves to find the truth about Pendleton's own legend a twenty-five-year-old story of a student massacre at the hands of an Abnormal Psych professor. As the fraternities prepare to celebrate the macabre anniversary Natalie discovers that she is the focus of the crazed killer's intentions in the ultimate urban legend-- the story of her own horrific murder.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Beowulf—Dreamworks Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 4.75/5
Audio: 4.75/5
Extras: 4/5
In the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all Beowulf. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel he incurs the undying wrath of the beast’s ruthlessly seductive mother who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic battle throughout the ages immortalizes the name Beowulf. Academy Award winner director Robert Zemeckis tells the oldest epic tale in the English language with the most modern technology advancing the cinematic forum through the magic of digitally enhanced live action.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Top Gun—Paramount Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 3.75/5
Audio: 4.75/5
Extras: 2.75/5
Top Gun takes a look at the danger and excitement that awaits every pilot at the Navy's prestigious fighter weapons school. Tom Cruise is superb as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a daring young flyer whose out to become the best of the best. And Kelly McGillis sizzles as the civilian instructor who teaches Maverick a few things you can't learn in a classroom.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Exorcism of Emily Rose—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.25/5
Extras: 2.5/5
A thrilling horror film based on a true story about a single lawyer who takes on the church and the state when she fights for the life of a priest who has performed a deadly exorcism on a young woman. She must battle the cocky state lawyer as well as her own demons as she realizes that her career so far has not led her to fulfillment.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dark City—New Line Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 31, 2008  | 
Video: 2.75/5
Audio: 4.25/5
Extras: 4/5
When John Murdoch wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police, a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
4 by Agnes Varda
Josef Krebs  |  Jul 30, 2008  | 
The Criterion Collection
Movie •••• Picture •••• Sound ••• Extras ••••

A self-taught independent filmmaker, Agnes

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Bee Movie
Marc Horowitz  |  Jul 30, 2008  | 
DreamWorks
Movie ••• Picture •••• Sound ••• Extras ••••

Jerry Seinfeld fans who are still going through withdrawal

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Lost Highway
Michael Gaughn  |  Jul 30, 2008  | 
Universal
Movie •••½Picture ••• Sound ••• Extras none

In retrospect, it's clear that David Lynch

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dan in Real Life
Rad Bennett  |  Jul 30, 2008  | 
Touchstone
Movie ••• Picture •••½Sound •••½Extras •••

Steve Carell is Dan, who writes an a

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Ice Storm; Lust, Caution
Sol Louis Siegel  |  Jul 30, 2008  | 
Criterion
Movie •••½Picture •••• Sound •••• Extras ••••
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