Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
David Vaughn  |  Apr 08, 2011  | 
In the future, the polar ice caps have melted, the sea waters have flooded coastal cities, and you must obtain a license to have a child. Science has evolved to the point of creating artificial beings, called mechas, to serve humans and preserve precious natural resources. One such mecha, David (Haley Joel Osment), is the first of its kind; an artificial kid that can give and receive unconditional love to his adoptive parents.

Of all of Spielberg's films, this is probably my least favorite. Its pacing is horrendous, it runs much too long at 145 minutes, and its last 40 minutes are a bizarre waste of time. While the acting and special effects are very good they can't overcome the boring second act and the horrendous ending(s).

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Little Fockers (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 06, 2011  | 
After his brother-in-law ruins his marriage with his philandering ways, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is his father-in-law's (Robert DeNiro) last hope to assume the role as the family patriarch (aka, "The Godfocker"). When a beautiful pharmaceutical rep (Jessica Alba) enters the scene, Greg must repel her sexual advances in order to keep his marriage sacred and not lose the new found admiration from the family patriarch.

After being skewered by critics in its theatrical run, I had extremely low expectations for the third installment of the trials and tribulations of Greg Focker. While it doesn't measure up to the first film (or the second), there are quite a few laughs, especially when Stiller and DeNiro share the screen together. Unfortunately the screenplay doesn't flow very well and I expected to see more of the kids given the title of the film, but their time on screen is very limited.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Black Swan—20th Century Fox
Kris Deering  |  Apr 04, 2011  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, "Swan Lake", Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Tron's Screen Gem
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 03, 2011  | 

First with the just-released Diamond Edition of its 1942 classic, Bambi, and now with Tron: Legacy, Disney is including a Blu-ray bonus called Disney Second Screen. After downloading an app to your iPad or laptop computer, you enable the program in the disc's menu. The iPad/laptop now plays special features to coincide with your viewing of the Blu-ray on TV.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Stand By Me (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 01, 2011  | 
During the Labor Day weekend in 1959, a group of friends go in search of a young boy's dead body on the outskirts of a woodsy Oregon town. The two day trek turns into an adventure of self-discovery as Gordy (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell) must overcome some town bullies and find an inner strength they never knew they possessed.

Based on the Steven King novella "The Body," Stand by Me is one of my favorite films from my high school years. Director Rob Reiner takes you on a wonderful journey and reminds me of some of my own adventures (although I never went looking for a dead body). The performances from the young cast showed each had the talent to become Hollywood stars, but Phoenix threw it all away with a drug overdose in 1993.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Mar 31, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4/5
Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the Horcruxes - the keys to Voldemort's immortality. On their own and on the run, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Social Network comes to Blu-ray
Josef Krebs  |  Mar 31, 2011  | 

The Social Network opens with a conversation between Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend (Rooney Mara), and it's the perfect setup for a movie about a certain form of Internet interaction.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Incredibles—Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar
Kris Deering  |  Mar 30, 2011  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4.5/5
Known to the world as superheroes Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Bob Parr and his wife Helen were among the world's greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs to live "normal" lives with their three kids, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top secret assignment. He soon discovers that it will take a super family effort to rescue the world from total destruction.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Ten Commandments (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 30, 2011  | 
In this beloved Biblical epic, Moses (Charlton Heston), once favored in the household of the Pharaoh (Yul Brynner), turns his back on a privileged life to lead his people to freedom with the help of God and his Ten Commandments.

Few motion pictures in the history of Hollywood reach the heights of this masterpiece. Cecil B. DeMille's last picture made Charlton Heston a superstar and holds up extremely well 55 years later. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed, the special effects seem rudimentary today, but they look fabulous when put into the proper historical context.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Review: "Mad Men" Season 4
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 29, 2011  | 

"Who is Don Draper?" That’s the opening line—and the crux—of Mad Men’s Season 4 arc, something that show creator Matthew Weiner confirms multiple times over the course his welcome appearance this three-disc Lionsgate Blu-ray set’s commentary tracks.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Review: "Mad Men" Season 4 Page 2
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 29, 2011  | 

"Who is Don Draper?" That's the opening line-and the crux-of Mad Men's Season 4 arc, something that show creator Matthew Weiner confirms multiple times over the course his welcome appearance this three-disc Lionsgate Blu-ray set's commentary tracks.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Secret of Nimh—United Artists/20th Century Fox
Kris Deering  |  Mar 29, 2011  | 
Video: 2/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2/5
Suspenseful and heartwarming, this beautifully animated odyssey stars Mrs. Brisby, a mild-mannered mother mouse with a plan to move Heaven and Earth (or at least her house and home) to save her family from Farmer Fitzgibbon's plow! Along the way she gets some help from a lovelorn Crow, a busybody neighbor mouse and a fearsome Great Owl. Unfortunately, Mrs. Brisby will need an engineering miracle to hoist her home, and for that she must face a mysterious rat, fend off a ferocious cat and claim a magic amulet! But when Mrs. Brisby discovers the astounding secret of NIMH... it could change her life forever!
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1—Music Box Films
Kris Deering  |  Mar 28, 2011  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 1/5
The true story of one of Europe's most infamous and charismatic criminals comes to a close in this drama based on the life and crimes of Jacques Mesrine. Picking up where Killer Instinct left off, Public Enemy # 1 begins as Mesrine returns to France after an exile in Canada. Teaming up with gunman Michel Ardouin, Mesrine masterminds a series of armed robberies, and while he's able to stay one step ahead of the law most of the time, eventually he finds himself back in prison, where he makes friends with the clever François. With François' help, Mesrine breaks out of prison and becomes something of a celebrity, penning an autobiography, hob-nobbing with the wealthy and trying to paint himself as a political radical with the help of leftist spokesman Charlie. Mesrine also renews his relationship with his girlfriend, Sylvia, but he also turns his back on some of his old friends and underestimates the determination of the French police to stop him once and for all.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
All Good Things—Magnolia
Kris Deering  |  Mar 28, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Inspired by the most notorious missing person's case in New York history, "All Good Things" is a love story and murder mystery set against the backdrop of a New York real estate dynasty in the 1980s. The film was inspired by the story of Robert Durst, scion of the wealthy Durst family. Mr. Durst was suspected but never tried for killing his wife Kathie who disappeared in 1982 and was never found.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Skyline (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 25, 2011  | 
A birthday weekend in Southern California goes off the tracks when sunrise arrives two hours early while a mysterious light source draws unsuspecting humans outdoors and are swept into massive alien ships that have appeared over the Los Angeles skyline.

There are a lot of bad movies that come out of Hollywood, but Skyline may be the worst I've seen in years. Character development is non-existent, the dialog is cringe-inducing, and the ridiculous twist ending is the cherry on top of a steaming pile—yes, it's that bad.

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