Blu-ray Movie Reviews

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/Perfectstorm.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the book by Sebastian Junger, <i>The Perfect Storm</i> centers around one of the deadliest storms in recorded history. In 1991, three weather fronts collided in the North Atlantic&#151;one of them being Hurricane Grace&#151;which caused swells 100 feet tall and winds that reached 160MPH.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/polarexpress3d.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>A boy (Daryl Sabara) has lost the Christmas spirit and doesn't believe in Santa Claus. He awakes on Christmas Eve to the sound of a train arriving in his front yard. Invited to join the Polar Express on its journey to the North Pole by the train conductor (Tom Hanks), a magical world opens his eyes to the spirit of Christmas.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/proposal.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>There's no other way to put it&#151;Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is not a very nice person. In fact, co-workers, especially her personal assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), fear her because of her management style. But when Margaret discovers she's being deported back to her native Canada because she neglected her immigration paperwork, the quick-thinking executive announces that she and Andrew are engaged to be married.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/reader.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In 1958, Hannah (Kate Winslet) has a passionate summer affair with a young neighborhood boy named Michael (David Kross and Ralph Fiennes), but then disappears with no explanation, leaving Michael emotionally scarred. Eight years later, she resurfaces as one of the defendants in a war-crimes trial stemming from her actions during World War II. Michael realizes he has information that can set her free and must decide whether or not to save her.

This is the compelling story of those first Mercury astronauts, who paved the way for that “One giant leap for mankind” moment. It’s also the story of uber test pilot Chuck Yeager—never an astronaut but the first man to break the sound barrier.

When high-school baseball coach Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) was looking for a way to inspire his perennially losing team to win, he decided to issue a challenge they couldn't refuse. If they made it to the district playoffs, he would try out for a major-league baseball team. Fortunately for Morris, his team fulfilled their part of the bargain, and he went to the tryout in which his fast ball was clocked at 98 mph! It wasn't long before Jim found himself pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a 35-year-old rookie. The best part of the story is that it actually happened in 1999.