Blu-ray Movie Reviews

John Devore | Jul 09, 2002 |

What do pastel-colored eggs have to do with Easter? And what exactly do Easter eggs have to do with DVDs? To answer the first question: I have no idea. Maybe it's just another greeting-card industry conspiracy.

Eastern Promises

David Vaughn | Oct 17, 2008 |

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/easternpromises.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Known as "The Undertaker," expatriate Russian Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) performs dirty tasks for a local mobster, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Anna (Naomi Watts) and Nikolai cross paths when she obtains a diary with a card for Semyon's restaurant. Unfortunately for Anna, her inquisitive visit to Semyon throws her into a world in which she has no business.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Easy Virtue (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn | Sep 22, 2009 |

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/easyv.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>There are certain rules in old-money familiesfirst and foremost, don't break with tradition. But John (Ben Barnes) does just that when he brings his new American wife (Jessica Biel) home to his family's English countryside estate. His pretentious mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) is offended by her lack of culture, and his two sisters have divergent feelings, but his father (Colin Firth) thinks she's a hoot and loves how she's able to put his wife in her place.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Ed Wood

Shane Buettner | Mar 12, 2013 |

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It’s more than a little ironic that Tim Burton’s best film as a director, from top to bottom, is about one of the most notorious bad filmmakers who ever lived. Actually, Edward D. Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp) is known for two things: spectacularly bad sci-fi/horror movies that are ridiculously fun to watch, and being a cross-dresser before it was cool. Both traits are given full attention in Burton’s 1994 love letter to offbeat movies and their makers, Ed Wood.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Edge of Darkness (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn | May 10, 2010 |

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/edgedark.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father. When his only child (Bojana Novakavic) is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. During the investigation he begins to suspect otherwise and this leads him into a dangerous world of corporate cover-ups and government collusion.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Elizabeth

Tom Norton | Sep 20, 2007 | First Published: Sep 21, 2007 |

When it was released in 1998, Elizabeth (HD DVD) was nominated for a bushel of awards, but most of them went to a competing Elizabethan drama, Shakespeare in Love. The latter was more accessible, crowd-pleasing, and fun. Elizabeth on the other hand, was a dark take on the early years of Elizabeth I, with the emphasis on the international intrigue and court politics that both preceded and followed her accession to the throne.

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Elvis

Mike Mettler | Nov 04, 2022 |

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What becomes an iconoclast the most? Some pop culture icons stand the test of time (The Beatles, The Godfather), while others only capture the zeitgeist of the era/movement they oh-so perfectly served (Strawberry Alarm Clock, we hardly knew ye!).

And then there are those larger-than-lifers who ride the sine wave of the popularity index, depending on which way the cultural-acceptance winds are a-blowing at any given moment.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Elvis Blu-ray Collection (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn | Aug 03, 2010 |

Five years before his untimely death in 1977, Elvis was followed by a film crew during a 15-city tour of the United States. The footage was pieced together into a documentary by Robert Abel and Pierra Adidge and includes over 25 musical numbers with montage sequences from Presley's early career.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Elysium

Chris Chiarella | Mar 19, 2014 |

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Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to his justly acclaimed District 9 is Elysium, another social commentary set in a strangely relatable future. This time he contrasts the lives of the wealthy against those of the downtrodden, with all of Earth having become a decrepit, overcrowded hellhole. A former criminal (Matt Damon) is trying to stay on the straight and narrow, but when he becomes collateral damage of the rich getting richer, his only hope for survival is to infiltrate that utopian space station of the title.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Empire of Light

Josef Krebs | May 01, 2023 |

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Made by British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter Sir Sam Mendes, Empire of Light is set in the English seaside town of Margate of 1980-81 (where I grew up) in a two-screen cinema. Regular life for duty manager Hilary (Olivia Colman), the box-office and concession staff, and the projectionist is gradually changed after handsome, young black man, Stephen (Micheal Ward), is hired by the manager (Colin Firth) to be a ticket taker.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Empire Of The Sun

Thomas J. Norton | Mar 26, 2013 |

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It’s 1941. Eleven-year-old Jamie Graham is living a privileged life in Shanghai’s International Settlement with his English parents. Japanese troops have occupied much of mainland China over the previous four years but remain outside of some of the country’s major population centers, including Shanghai. Following Pearl Harbor, however, the Japanese move into the city. Panic erupts and Jamie becomes separated from his parents and ends up in a Japanese prison camp for Allied civilians.

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Encanto

Thomas J. Norton | Apr 01, 2022 |

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As young Alma and Pedro Madrigal flee from war in their native Colombia, Pedro is killed. Alma clutches their children as a magic candle appears, smiting Pedro's killers and promising endless magical gifts for the Madrigal family—as long as the candle burns. Alma and her children settle in a small village where the candle creates an enchanted Casita (home) for them.

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Enchanted

| Mar 18, 2008 |

In the animated fairytale land of Andalasia lives Giselle (Amy Adams), a charming young lady who dreams of meeting her own Prince Charming. One day, he finally arrives in the form of Prince Edward (James Marsden), and they expect to live happily ever after until Edward's evil mother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), transports Giselle to the worst place she can imagine—New York City! Transformed into flesh and blood, Giselle must make her way in an unfamiliar world where dreams don't always come true. Or do they?

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Enchanted

David Vaughn | Mar 18, 2008 |

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/403enchanted.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In the animated fairytale land of Andalasia lives Giselle (Amy Adams), a charming young lady who dreams of meeting her own Prince Charming. One day, he finally arrives in the form of Prince Edward (James Marsden), and they expect to live happily ever after until Edward's evil mother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), transports Giselle to the worst place she can imagine—New York City! Transformed into flesh and blood, Giselle must make her way in an unfamiliar world where dreams don't always come true. Or do they?

Blu-ray Movie Reviews

End-of-Summer Sizzlers: Top Movies on Disc

Chris Chiarella | Aug 23, 2024 |

Once again, the studios have saved some of their very best releases for the warm weather months. Settle in with a cool drink for a wide variety of films—and a couple of soundtracks—both high-profile and under-the-radar, across a range of genres, decades, and even different languages.

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