Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Micky Ward is a struggling boxer long overshadowed by his older brother and trainer, Dicky a local legend battling his own demons. Their explosive relationship threatens to take them both down - but the bond of blood may be their only chance for redemption.

Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
"127 Hours" is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over 8 miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family and the two hikers he met before the accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet? A visceral thrilling story that will take an audience on a never before experienced journey and prove what we can when we choose life.

A morning light breaks across the meadow; a young deer named Bambi is born and hailed as "Prince of the Forest." Soon Bambi emerges from the thicket on wobbly legs, much to the delight of his new friends, Thumper, the playful rabbit, and Flower, the bashful skunk. Exploring his new world, Bambi learns valuable life lessons with every adventure.

Bambi was Walt Disney's fifth full-length animated classic and was released in 1942. With disposable income in short supply due to the war, the masses didn't flock to the film as Walt had expected and it took many re-releases in order for the movie to turn a profit. It currently resides at No. 3 on the American Film Institute's Top 10 Animated Films of All Time and is certainly worthy of its place.

Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 3/5
"Waiting for 'Superman'", a deeply personal exploration of the current state of public education in the U.S. and how it is affecting our children. Fueled by his conscience and electrified by the possibilities for change, Guggenheim sets off on a probing journey into the lives of five unforgettable kids whose dreams, hopes and untapped potential reveal all that is at stake at this critical moment. In addressing questions through dynamic storytelling, Guggenheim sparks a vital national conversation and introduces us to a group of education reformers currently defying the odds. But when the credits roll, the story hasn't ended. It has only just begun - because what Guggenheim reveals is that the superheroes we've been waiting for to save our schools are all around us. In fact, they might just be me and you.

It's a case of nature versus nurture when super villain Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) finally defeats his arch nemesis Metro Man (Brad Pitt) and gains control of Metro City. With the hero out of the way, the villain grows bored of tormenting the humans and creates a new hero, Tighten (Johah Hill), in order to put a little fun back in his life. But when the hero turns out to be evil, will Megamind do the right thing and save the city and people he's grown fond of?

While not as good as How to Train Your Dragon or Toy Story 3, this is a lot of fun to watch, and you could tell the voice actors were having a blast in the recording studio. Sadly, the video presentation is not up to par with other animated titles and exhibits some banding and rampant aliasing that degrades the otherwise visually stunning disc. The audio suffers no such faults, and the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack is definitely demo-worthy.

Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 2/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Newscaster Howard Beale has a message for those who package reports of cute puppies, movie premieres and fender benders as hard news: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Sidney Lumet directs Paddy Chayefsky's satire about the things people do for love and ratings.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and for Driver (Dwayne Johnson), he's been waiting 10 years behind bars to avenge the murder of his brother. Now a free man, he can have his revenge but the hunter is also the hunted with two men trailing him. The first is a cop (Billy Bob Thornton) who's just days from retirement and the other is a young hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who's happy to come across such a worthy adversary.

Maybe I'm getting too old, but I'm really getting tired of gratuitous violence that's so prevalent in today's films. I like an action movie just as much as the next guy, but does the violence need to come along for the ride? That aside, the action is pretty intense and well choreographed, but Johnson and Thornton's characters are hard to root for and I couldn't wait for this one to end.