Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Town (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 20, 2010  | 
Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the leader of a Boston bank robber gang but is not cut from the same cloth as his fellow thieves. When Doug falls in love with the bank manager (Rebecca Hall) briefly taken hostage in one of their heists, he wants to leave his criminal past behind and start a new life. As the Feds close in, his best friend (Jeremy Renner) questions his loyalty he's left with two choices—betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.

I've never been particularly impressed with Affleck as an actor, but he certainly has talent as a director. He gets the most out of the cast—including himself—orchestrates some realistic bank heists, and delivers one of the most intense films I've seen in a long time.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The A-Team (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 17, 2010  | 
Convicted by a military court for a crime they didn't commit, a daring team of former Special Forces soldiers must utilize their unique talents to break out of prison and tackle their toughest mission yet—clearing their name.

Oh the 1980s and its wonderful TV shows. The A-Team was one of the more popular of the decade and I have to admit I was a fan and watched it weekly as a teenager. The story in this modern remake explores how the men got together and how they ended up before a military court for the crime they didn't commit. The acting is passable and there's tons of action, but the story is weak with cringe-inducing dialog.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Despicable Me—Universal (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 4/5
Vying for the title of "World's Greatest Villain", Gru - along with his hilarious crew of mischievous minions - plots to pull off the craziest crime of the century: steal the moon! But when Gru enlists the help of three little girls, they see something in him nobody else has ever seen: the perfect dad.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole—Warner Bros. Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4/5
Young owl Soren marvels at tales of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, mythic winged warriors who battled to save all owl kind from the evil Pure Ones. When he and brother Kludd fall into the talons of the Pure Ones, it's up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave owls and seek out the Great Tree, home of the Guardians.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The A-Team—20th Century Fox (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3/5
The A-Team follows the exciting and daring exploits of a colorful team of former Special Forces soldiers who were set up for a crime they did not commit. Going "rogue", they utilize their unique talents to try and clear their names and find the true culprit.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The American—Universal (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5
As an assassin, Jack is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde. Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara. Jack and Clara's time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Salt—Columbia Pictures (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Town—Warner Bros. (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 16, 2010  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
There are over 300 bank robberies in Boston every year. And a one-square-mile neighborhood in Boston, called Charlestown, has produced more bank and armored car robbers than anywhere else in the U.S. One of them is Doug MacRay, but he is not cut from the same cloth as his fellow thieves. Unlike them, Doug had a chance at success, a chance to escape following in his father's criminal footsteps. Instead he became the leader of a crew of ruthless bank robbers, who pride themselves on taking what they want and getting out clean. The only family Doug has are his partners in crime, especially Jem, who, despite his dangerous, hair-trigger temper, is the closest thing Doug ever had to a brother. Everything changes on the gang's last job when Jem briefly took a hostage: bank manager Claire Keesey. When they discover she lives in Charlestown, Jem gets nervous and wants to check out what she might have seen. Doug takes charge and seeks out Claire, who has no idea that their encounter is not by chance or that this charming stranger is one of the men who terrorized her only days before. As his relationship with Claire deepens into a passionate romance, Doug wants out of this life and the town. But with the Feds, led by Agent Frawley, closing in and Jem questioning his loyalty, Doug realizes that getting out will not be easy, and worse, may put Claire in the line of fire. Any choices he once had have boiled down to one: betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Devil (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 15, 2010  | 
A group of five strangers are stranded in an elevator high above Philadelphia. When the lights go out, something bad is bound to happen and in one particular case, someone dies. The building's security guards call the police and Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) comes to investigate the murder but is the Devil the culprit?

This is the first in a series of thrillers dubbed "The Night Chronicles" produced by M. Night Shyamalen based upon his stories. Overall, this is a middling affair that feels more like a TV episode than a feature film and I didn't find the story scary or very thrilling. Then again, I've said the same thing about most of Shyamalen's films since The Sixth Sense.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Despicable Me (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 12, 2010  |  First Published: Dec 13, 2010  | 
Looking to gain the title of "World's Greatest Villain," Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) adopts three orphans in order to steal a shrinking machine from his nemesis, Vector (Jason Segel). What he didn't count on was the three girls changing his outlook on the world and he'll stop at nothing to protect them.

The marketing campaign for this film stunk and I had no desire to see it in the theaters (and neither did my kids) but was willing to give it a try on Blu-ray. Surprisingly there's a touching story behind the fantastic animation as the villain becomes the hero and discovers he does have a heart buried beneath his evil exterior.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Rush Hour (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 13, 2010  | 
LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) likes to work alone and vows to never have a partner but he must join forces with Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) of the Hong Kong police department when the daughter of a visiting Hong Kong official is kidnapped in the United States.

Chan became a household name in America when this film debuted in 1998, although he was already a star in China. His amazing stunts wowed audiences and showed impressive comedic timing when paired with Tucker. The action-comedy spawned two additional sequels but this is the best of the three.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ocean's 11: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 10, 2010  | 
Eleven WWII veterans reunite for New Years Eve to rob five Las Vegas casinos. Everything goes as planned until one of the men dies of a heart attack and Duke Santos (Cesar Romero) figures out their scheme and wants a cut of the action.

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Angie Dickinson, and Cesar Romero—what a cast! Unfortunately the entertainment value pales in comparison to the 2001 Steven Soderbergh remake. Sure, it's fun to see the rat pack strut around and witnessing the state of the Las Vegas strip 50 years ago, but the pacing is a tad slow (like most 1960s films) and the acting is laughable from some of the stars.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Inception (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 06, 2010  | 
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief and coveted player when it comes to extraction: the stealing of valuable secrets from deep within the mind during a subject's dream state. His skill has turned him into an international fugitive and he is now being offered a chance at redemption. But only if he can pull off the impossible—inception—not stealing an idea but planting one.

It's very rare that I'm blown-away by a movie, but that's certainly the case here. Christopher Nolan has solidified himself as one of the best writers/directors in Hollywood with his work over the last 10 years includes Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, and reshaping the Batman franchise, but this is his best work yet.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Nanny McPhee Returns—Universal (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 03, 2010  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 2/5
When Nanny McPhee appears at the farmhouse door of a busy young mother, Isabel Green, she discovers that Mrs. Green's children are in an all0out household war with their two spoiled city cousins. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and statue that comes to life, to tree-climbing piglet an and elephant that turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to show the children five valuable lessons, the most important of which is learning how to get along.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Knight and Day—20th Century Fox (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 03, 2010  | 
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Tom Cruise is a covert agent sent on a mission he was never meant to complete, and Cameron Diaz is a woman caught between the agent and those he claims set him up. As their globetrotting adventure erupts into a maze of double-crosses, close escapes and false identities, they come to realize all they can count on is each other.
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