Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
How Do You Know (Blu-Ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 23, 2011  | 
Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is in the emotional dumpster after getting cut from the Olympic softball team and shacks up with a major league baseball player and ladies' man, Matty (Owen Wilson) while she tries to put her life back together. Shortly after their relationship takes root she meets George (Paul Rudd), a business man facing his own personal issues with his father and a pending indictment by the Justice Department, and the two become good friends but could there be more to the relationship than she realizes?

Writer-director James L. Brooks' has quite a resume and I guess every now and then even the best of writers will release a stinker, and this certainly qualifies. The love triangle storyline had possibilities between Rudd, Wilson, and Witherspoon, but there are too many loose ends with Rudd's neurotic secretary (Katheryn Hahn) and his father (Jack Nicholson) that could have been excluded to quicken the pace and make the film more interesting.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Fair Game—Summit
Kris Deering  |  Mar 22, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 1/5
A fascinating glimpse into the dark corridors of political power, "Fair Game" is a riveting drama inspired by the experiences of real-life undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose career is destroyed and her marriage strained to its limits when her covert status is exposed by a White House press leak. As a cover officer in the CIA's Counter-Proliferation Division, Valerie leads an investigation into the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Valerie's husband, diplomat Joe Wilson, is drawn into the investigation to substantiate an alleged sale of enriched uranium from Niger. But when the administration ignores his findings and uses the issue to support the call to war, Joe writes a New York Times editorial outlining his conclusions and ignites a firestorm of controversy.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Ten Commandments—Paramount Pictures
Kris Deering  |  Mar 22, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 2.5/5
Extras: 2/5
Universally recognized among critics as a cinematic masterpiece, this unforgettable motion picture has also been recognized by The American Film Institute as one of the "Top Ten" epics of all time. From its Academy Award-winning director and revolutionary Oscar-winning special effects to its memorable music score and all star cast, "The Ten Commandments" presents the story of Moses in all of its stunning glory.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hereafter (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 21, 2011  | 
A childhood illness gave George (Matt Damon) a unique ability to communicate with the deceased and the ability to lead a normal life vanished in the process. A French journalist Marie (Cecile de France) barely survives a horrific tsunami and for a brief moment enters the afterlife and begins to ask questions. Then there's young Marcus (Frankie and George McLaren), who loses his twin brother in an accident and he wonders where he's gone and if he can ever speak to him again. At some point, these three lives will intersect and set their lives on a better path.

Two time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood has brought us some outstanding films but his last two, Invictus and now Hereafter, haven't measured up to his better projects. While I wouldn't say this is a bad film by any stretch, but it's pacing is too slow and runs about 20 minutes too long. Overall I thought the topic was interesting and I felt for each of the characters.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Jackass 3—Paramount Pictures
Kris Deering  |  Mar 17, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 4/5
3 times the laughs. 3 times the action. 3 times the pain. The Jackass guys are back for their wildest round of mischief and mayhem yet! You'll laugh 'til it hurts as Knoxville goes head-to-head with an angry bull, Bam stumbles through a tunnel of high-voltage tasers, and Steve-O takes to the skies in a fully loaded porta-potty.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Switch (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 16, 2011  | 
With her biological clock running out, Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) decides to take matters into her own hands and have a baby via artificial insemination. Her neurotic best friend, Wally (Jason Bateman), tries to talk her out of it but she ignores him and enlists the help of a sperm donor (Patrick Wilson) to complete the process. On the night of the "event," Wally has one too many drinks and may have tampered with the donation and when he meets Kassie's son seven years later his suspicions start to grow when the two have way too many similarities.

Jennifer Aniston's venture into feature films hasn't been a resounding success thus far, but this may be her best project. The chemistry she and Bateman share is outstanding and there are some serious laugh-out-loud moments starting with the crazy homeless man in the first scene of the movie. When the kid (Thomas Robinson) enters the picture it can get a tad sappy, but that's OK because he's adorable and the relationship he develops with Bateman's character is very touching.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Switch—Lionsgate
Kris Deering  |  Mar 14, 2011  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2/5
Despite her best friend Wally's (Bateman) objections, smart, fun-loving single Kassie (Aniston) decides it's time to have a baby - even if it means taking matters into her own hands. But accidents happen and a rip-roaring drunk Wally has to switch her preferred donor's sperm with his own.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Morning Glory—Paramount Pictures
Kris Deering  |  Mar 14, 2011  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 2/5
For Becky, running a TV show in New York City was the big break she dreamed of... until star co-anchors Mike and Colleen declare an all-out, on-air war. Making the show work with its cast of eccentric characters and outrageous story angles will take a major miracle, but Becky is ready to rise and outshine. 3 times the laughs. 3 times the action. 3 times the pain. The Jackass guys are back for their wildest round of mischief and mayhem yet! You'll laugh 'til it hurts as Knoxville goes head-to-head with an angry bull, Bam stumbles through a tunnel of high-voltage tasers, and Steve-O takes to the skies in a fully loaded porta-potty.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind—Walt Disney/Studio Ghibli
Kris Deering  |  Mar 14, 2011  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 3.5/5
After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaa, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Fighter (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 14, 2011  | 
The true-life story of "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his triumph in the ring despite the obstacles his fractured family put in his way. Whether it's his drug-addicted older brother (Christian Bale), his overbearing mother (Melissa Leo), or the endless parade of white-trash sisters, Micky must persevere in order to earn a shot at the title.

I expected something along the lines of Rocky, but the story is more in tune with The Wrestler, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ward's rise to the top happened in the mid-1990s, and I remember watching him fight for the title, but I didn't realize how high the mountain was that he had to climb due to his family struggles.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Love & Other Drugs (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 11, 2011  | 
Smooth-talking playboy Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is on the fast track to the top of the pharmaceutical-sales industry promoting a new miracle drug called Viagra. However, when he meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway) during one of his sales calls, he falls madly in love with her and is forced to choose between his career and the girl who captured his heart.

The trailers made this look like your typical romantic comedy, but it’s anything but. While it has its funny moments, it takes a very serious tone when tackling the subject of Parkinson’s disease and its effects on relationships. Hathaway and Gyllenhaal display great onscreen chemistry, but the supporting cast can be distracting, especially Gyllenhaal’s onscreen brother (Josh Gad), who’s quite annoying with his sophomoric behavior. If you find Hathaway attractive (I certainly do), then you’ll love the multiple sex scenes as she shows a lot of skin (and looks marvelous)!

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Lord of the Rings Extended Blu-ray Goes Up for Pre-Order
Stan Horaczek  |  Mar 09, 2011  | 

The other trilogy has already been available on Blu-ray for some time, but it seems the release of the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy is finally almost upon us. Amazon is currently taking pre-orders for $90.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Tourist (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Mar 09, 2011  | 
A mysterious woman (Angelina Jolie) and a vacationing math teacher (Johnny Depp) from America become involved in an international manhunt after meeting on a train traveling from Paris to Venice. A case of mistaken identity puts poor Frank (Depp) in the crosshairs of a British gangster looking to reclaim his lost fortune from a former associate.

Depp is one of the hottest stars in Hollywood and I had high hopes for this international spy thriller. Sadly, the star power of Depp and Jolie couldn’t overcome the meandering and predictable script from the trio of writers which includes the director (Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives of Others). Character development is nonexistent and there’s no real drama or suspense throughout the film and anyone with half a brain can see the ending coming from a mile away.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hereafter—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Mar 08, 2011  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 4/5
George is a blue-collar American with a special connection to the afterlife dating from his childhood. French journalist Marie has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. And when London schoolboy Marcus loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers. Each seeking the truth, their lives will intersect, forever changed by what they believe might - or must - exist in the hereafter.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Skyline—Universal/Rogue
Kris Deering  |  Mar 07, 2011  | 
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
In the sci-fi thriller "Skyline", strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth.
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