Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Galaxy Quest (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Nov 11, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/galaxyquest.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Sixteen years after the cancelation of the TV show <I>Galaxy Quest</I>, the ensemble cast ekes out a living signing autographs at fan conventions and making appearances at store openings. Lucky for them, the gig of a lifetime comes along when they're recruited by an alien race&#151;which has been watching the show as the TV signal races through space, believing it to depict real life on Earth&#151;to rescue them from a band of outer-space warriors.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming—In Atmos
David Vaughn  |  Jan 29, 2016  | 
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Adapted from George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series of books, Game of Thrones debuted on HBO in 2011 and became an instant small-screen classic. The fifth season was recently honored with the “Outstanding Drama Series” Emmy, and the sixth (of rumored eight) will debut this year.

This is my second attempt at watching after the first failed miserably due to complaints from Mrs. Reviewer. While she loved the medieval period sets and costumes, she was extremely turned off by the gore and the seemingly never-ending display of bare breasts along with “pointless sex scenes.” I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the incestuous scene in the first episode, but I found that the rampant depictions of prostitution showcased the low morality prevalent in this society, and it became an integral part of the storytelling, especially the aforementioned incest.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gangs of New York
David Vaughn  |  Jul 26, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/gangs.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>After years of incarceration, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to lower Manhattan's lawless, corrupt Five Points neighborhood seeking revenge against Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) for killing his father. Vallon's personal vendetta becomes the catalyst for all-out gang warfare in 1862 New York.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gatchaman the Movie
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Apr 08, 2016  | 
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Older anime fans in North America will likely remember Gatchaman, the classic 1972 series created by Tatsuo Yoshida, as Battle of the Planets (1978). Battle of the Planets was a tamed-down version of Gatchaman that removed elements of graphic violence and profanity and changed plot points related to the transgenderisim of the villain in order to avoid controversy with parents. It also rode the wave of Star Wars’ success by adding in scenes reminiscent of the space opera to mask deficiencies introduced by the changes and eliminations (only 85 of 105 episodes were used). Slightly younger audiences may be even more familiar with a subsequent mid-’80s adaptation, G-Force: Guardians of Space, which more closely followed the original series.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gattaca
Roger Kanno  |  Jun 25, 2021  | 
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Gattaca tells the story of a future where genetically engineered humans are provided all the benefits of an advanced civilization while those that are genetically inferior are relegated to more menial jobs and not afforded the same opportunities as society's elite. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, an "in-valid" who takes on the identity of one of the genetically elite, Jerome (Jude Law), to realize his dream of becoming a navigator at Gattaca, a prestigious space exploration corporation. The film moves slowly, but with stylish cinematography and excellent performances, it holds up well nearly 25 years after its initial release.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Generation Kill
David Vaughn  |  Jun 24, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/genkill.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>From the creator of <i>The Wire</i> comes an in-depth look at the Iraq War from the perspective of the 1st Recon Marines&#151;and it isn't pretty. <i>Rolling Stone</i> correspondent Evan Wright rode along with the platoon for 40 days in 2003 before writing a series of articles that ran in the magazine, which led to a book, then the mini-series.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Generation Kill (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/genkill.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The seven-part series opens with a platoon of Marines on a training mission in Kuwait shortly before the start of the Iraq War doing what Marines do best&#151;kicking ass and taking names&#151;preparing for the most important event of their young lives. This is Bravo Company of the First Recon Marines, led by the bright but nave Lt. Fick (Stark Sands). Like most kids, these guys are a little unsure of themselves and act a lot tougher than they actually are. I had to remind myself that these young men aren't our best and brightest, but they do a job that most of us aren't willing to do. Is some of their dialog reprehensible? Yes. But given their circumstances, I'm willing to cut them some slack.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Geostorm
Josef Krebs  |  May 18, 2018  | 
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Facing their own complete extinction due to extreme storms that are destroying whole cities, the world finally comes together, sending 17 teams of scientists and engineers to create a system, a series of satellites all controlled by a giant space station that can use an assortment of devices—super lasers, thermal missiles, freezing beams, etc.—to stabilize the weather. Naturally, someone’s gonna try to seize control of Dutchboy, as the system is known, and weaponize it to make himself president of an all-powerful country that will destroy its enemies and rule the planet.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Get Him to the Greek (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 27, 2010  | 
Aspiring record company exec Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) has the brilliant idea of rejuvenating the career of fading British rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) with a comeback concert at the world-renowned Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Dispatched by his boss (Sean Combs) to transport the notoriously dissolute Snow from London to L.A., Aaron has just 72 hours to get the out-of-control rocker across the Atlantic.

Here we go again, another popular Judd Apatow production that I didn't find the least bit funny. Brand's character is annoying as hell and I was checking my watch after the first fifteen minutes—never a good sign. I did find Combs' role amusing, but maybe I'm getting too old to appreciate this brand of comedy.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Get on Up
Guido Henkel  |  Apr 29, 2015  | 
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By their very nature, biopics are a mixed bag. On the one hand, they tell the story of a person in the limelight with achievements viewers are familiar with, while on the other, they explore sides of the person that have typically escaped the public eye. Striking the right balance between the two is the key. Get on Up takes a look at the life of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, a man whose musical legacy can be heard and felt in almost every bit of popular music today. The film jumps liberally between different periods of Brown’s life in anecdotal form, covering his childhood, his meteoric rise to stardom, the fall, the comeback, and everything in between. While it feels a bit disjointed at times, the film nonetheless manages to draw a portrait of Brown and what drove him to become one of the most recognizable names in music.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Get Smart
David Vaughn  |  Nov 10, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/getsmart.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When the headquarters of CONTROL are attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his best analyst, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), who has always wanted to work in the field. Partnered with veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), he must rely on a few spy-tech gadgets and his enthusiasm for his promotion to defeat the evil crime syndicate, KAOS, if he wants to save the day and&#151;better yet&#151;get the girl.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gettysburg: Director's Cut (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  May 30, 2011  | 
History comes alive with intense and spirited battles during the bloodiest three days on American soil that were the beginning of the end of the South's battle to secede from the Union. Ronald F. Maxwell takes viewers into the strategy sessions of both forces and shows the minor skirmishes that lead General Lee (Martin Sheen) to order a full-scale frontal assault and how the battle impacted the outcome of the war.

My biggest complaint with this film has always been its length, so I'm not exactly thrilled with the additional 17 minutes in the director's cut. Frankly, Maxwell would have been better served by cutting the run time down at least an hour. It's nearly impossible to get through the entire 271 minutes in one sitting, but having watched it over two nights, I have to admit the history lesson was an enlightening experience.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Josef Krebs  |  Feb 12, 2021  | 
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A professional assassin who lives by the ancient code of the samurai finds himself targeted by his Mafia bosses. Ghost Dog, a rare venture into genre films for Jim Jarmusch, allows the writer-director to frequently quote, reference, and build upon many classics in his own quirkily deadpan, deceptively honest way. Dog's unglamorous community of gangsters is reminiscent of John Cassavetes' hoods and lowlifes in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, but—this being Jarmusch—an understated absurdist wit frequently underlies the drama.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ghost in the Shell
Roger Kanno  |  Dec 24, 2020  | 
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Mamoro Oshii's beautiful and unsettling anime film, Ghost in the Shell, has been released on Ultra HD Blu-ray to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Based on Masamune Shirow's cyberpunk manga, the film explores themes of existence, and humanity in a technologically advanced world where people are cybernetically enhanced or have their bodies entirely replaced by cybernetics. One such cyborg is the film's protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi, who questions her own reality as she battles with the mysterious Puppet Master who hacks not only computers, but also humans.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 15, 2017  | 
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In a world where people are enhanced with technology, Major (Johansson) is rescued from near death, or so she believes. Her cybernetic implants make her the first of her kind as she fights criminals with an upper hand, but things are not always what they seem to be. She begins to have visions of her past and starts to believe that the corporation that “saved” her is actually trying to control her. She makes it her personal mission to unravel her mysterious past and find out what truly happened.
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