Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dark Shadows
Corey Gunnestad  |  Jan 31, 2013  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
There was a time long before the Twilight era when vampires were stylishly suave, spoke with heavy European accents, resided in palatial gothic stone mansions, and didn’t get their wardrobes from Abercrombie & Fitch. Based on the popular cult soap opera from the late ’60s that ran for more than 1,200 episodes, Dark Shadows tells the story of a young 18th century aristocrat, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) who foolishly spurns the love of a vindictive witch ironically named Angelique (Eva Green). Proving that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Angelique places a curse on him and his entire family line. After witnessing his beloved fiancée take a suicide plunge off a seaside cliff while under a spell, Barnabas is condemned to be a vampire and then promptly sealed in a coffin and buried. And you thought your ex was a raving psychopath.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Darkest Hour
Tom Norton  |  Jun 15, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Darkest Hour shows the other side of the 1940 events depicted in 2017’s equally superb Dunkirk. The latter showed the evacuations that enabled the British army to survive, the former depicted how Churchill, taking the office of Prime Minister almost by default, navigated around the pacifists in his cabinet who wanted to negotiate a settlement with Hitler’s Nazi Germany. In doing so he cemented his status as arguably the most important national leader of the 20th century.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Darkman (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 15, 2010  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/darkman.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>While working one night to perfect his invention of artificial skin, scientist Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is horribly disfigured when an explosion engulfs his lab. Barely alive, he takes some experimental medication leaving him with super-strong strength and immunity to pain, although he's prone to fits of uncontrollable rage. He proceeds to rebuild his lab in an underground hideout and seek revenge against the men responsible for his disfigurement.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Das Boot
Joshua Zyber  |  Aug 23, 2011  | 
Is it OK to sympathize with Nazis? That’s a thorny question, and not just for American viewers who’ve been raised on a diet of rah-rah patriotic war films about freedom-loving Yanks kicking the butts of dastardly Nazi scum. Germany itself has a very complicated and uncomfortable relationship with its past and rarely broaches the topic on film. Wolfgang Petersen’s superlative submarine thriller Das Boot takes us inside a World War II U-boat patrolling the Atlantic in 1941. Technically, its crew members are Nazis. Yet few are ideologues, and none are jackbooted villains. Mostly, they’re young boys who know nothing of politics but hunger for the adventure of war and believe themselves to be serving their country.

The film depicts the camaraderie of these men, their conflicts, their boredom, their excitement, their terror, and their growing disillusionment. In its most profound scene, the crew cheers at having destroyed a British cargo ship and then watches in horror as the sailors from that ship leap off its flaming deck and desperately try to swim to the submarine for help they will not get. It’s a sobering moment, both beautiful and haunting.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
David Crosby: Remember My Name
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 28, 2020  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Subtitle it The Ballad of Never-Easy Rider. Produced by Cameron Crowe, David Crosby: Remember My Name is a self-actualized love letter to one of rock's most significant rollercoaster-ride careers. Croz's admitted goal for the film's wished-for postscript is some level of interactive redemption with his chief collaborators of years past—i.e., Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young—all of whom he doesn't speak with to this day. (Why? As he readily admits, the combination of anger and adrenaline always turn him into "instant asshole.")
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dawn of the Dead
David Vaughn  |  Sep 30, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/dawnofthedead.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When a mysterious virus turns people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies, a handful of survivors congregate in a local mall to make their last stand against the foul beasts.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deadpool
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 09, 2016  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Truly, right from the opening credits, Deadpool lets the audience know that it is like no other comic book movie that has come before it. First-time director Tim Miller’s visual style is undeniably bold, while the humor tackles head-on virtually every cliché of the genre… then sets it on fire and pees it out. After the title character’s big-screen debut in the misfire X-Men Origins: Wolverine seven years ago, a complete overhaul was in order. The cinematic Deadpool is now a vastly more accurate embodiment of his persona from the page: irreverent, ruthless, yet possessing at least a little gold in that self-repairing heart.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deadpool 2 Super Duper $@%!#& Cut
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 05, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Although never quite as disturbingly dark nor as overtly sexual as the original, Deadpool 2 is nonetheless a more-than-worthy sequel, recapturing that sublime balance between raunchy comedy and edgy action. The story has surprising heart, as super-powered contract killer Wade/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) struggles to cope with a sudden loss while reluctantly coming to the aid of Firefist, a powerful teenage mutant in crisis.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deadwood: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Nov 22, 2010  | 
In the late 19th Century, Deadwood, South Dakota, was a boom town where prospectors came to strike it rich. It was illegally established on Indian land and attracted a wide variety of people from all different backgrounds. The town sheriff, Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), came to Deadwood to open a business and ends up wearing a badge in order to keep law and order. Opposite him is Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a local business man whose moral compass veers in the opposite direction as a local pimp and crime boss.

This show isn't for those easily offended by foul language or violence, both of which are quite prevalent. In fact, my wife left the room 15 minutes into the first episode because the "F-word" was said over 20 times—literally. She complained the writing was lazy but in fact it was completely intentional according to creator David Milch. He wanted to recreate the rough and tumble atmosphere of the real town and by my wife's reaction; he succeeded a little too well.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dear John (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  May 25, 2010  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/dearjohn.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the bestselling novel from Nicholas Sparks ("The Notebook"), <i>Dear John</i> is the story of two young lovers, John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), who are separated from each other two weeks after falling in love. They pass their time apart by writing a series of love letters until they can finally be together again. Complications arise after 9/11, when John reenlists in the military despite promising Savannah he would get out to be with her.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deception
David Vaughn  |  Sep 25, 2008  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/deception.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Ewan McGregor stars as Jonathan McQuarry, a workaholic accountant who discovers there's more to life when a charismatic lawyer (Hugh Jackman) introduces him to "The List"—a decadent, sexual playground for New York's power elite. Jonathan gets more than he bargained for when he meets "S" (Michelle Williams) and falls for her, breaking all the rules of the sex club in the process.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deepwater Horizon
David Vaughn  |  May 19, 2017  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
April 20, 2010 started out like any other day for oil rig chief of maintenance Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and superintendent Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell). As its shore leave ends, the crew boards a helicopter for the flight out into the Gulf of Mexico to begin their duty on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig. Standard protocol is broken when the old crew leaves and the new one arrives, raising the suspicions of Harrell that something is amiss. The project is overdue and over budget, and BP is doing whatever it can to cut costs—penny wise, pound foolish.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsMusic Reviews
Def Leppard - London To Vegas
David Vaughn  |  May 29, 2020  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Def Leppard got its start back in 1977 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England when Rick Savage, Tony Kenning and Pete Willis formed a band called Atomic Mass. Joe Elliott joined the band a short time later and became the lead singer and proposed a new name for the band, "Deaf Leopard," which was ultimately adopted with some modified spelling. Kenning ended up leaving the shortly before their first recording session and was replaced by a fifteen-year-old drummer by the name of Rick Allen.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Defiance
David Vaughn  |  Jun 02, 2009  |  First Published: Jun 03, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/defiance.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The World War II true story of the Belski brothers' fight against the German army features an amazing 1080p AVC encode. It contains superior detail in both close-ups and long shots as well as rich color saturation, especially the greenery of the Belarusian forest. Audio-wise, the disc has its moments, but there are only a few scenes that are demo-worthy, one of which I highlight below.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Defiance (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 01, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/defiance.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Brothers Tuvia (Daniel Craig) and Zus (Live Schreiber) Bielski are farmers turned warriors when the Germans invade Poland in 1939. Along with their two younger brothers, Asael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay), they flee into the Belarusian forest to survive and eventually fight back against the Nazis along with a group of Jewish refugees they vow to protect.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X