Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Island—Dreamworks
Kris Deering  |  Jul 05, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 2/5
Midway through the 21st century, Lincoln Six Echo lives in a confined indoor community after ongoing abuse of the Earth has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable. One of the only places in the outside world still capable of sustaining life is an idyllic island where citizens are chosen to live through a lottery. Or at least that's what Lincoln and his fellow citizens are taught to believe; the truth is that Lincoln, like everyone he knows, is actually a clone who is kept under wraps to provide needed organs when the person who supplied his or her DNA falls ill. When he becomes aware that his existence is a fraud, Lincoln escapes to the outside world with a fellow clone, Jordan Two Delta, though the powers that be are determined to see that no one gets away alive.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Season of the Witch—Rogue
Kris Deering  |  Jul 05, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman star in this supernatural action adventure about a heroic crusader and his closest friend who return hom after decades of fierce fighting, only to find their world destroyed by the Plague. The church elders, convinced that a girl accused of being a witch is responsible for the devastation, command the two to transport the strange girl to a remote monastery where monks will perform an ancient ritual to rid the land of her curse. They embark on a harrowing, action-filled journey that will test their strength and courage as they discover the girl's dark secret and find themselves battling a terrifyingly powerful force that will determine the fate of the world.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
13 Assassins—Magnet
Kris Deering  |  Jun 30, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Cult director Takashi Miike delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war torn future.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Editions—Warner Bros./New Line Cinema
Kris Deering  |  Jun 30, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
"Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring" - With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. "Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" - In the middle chapter of this historic movie trilogy, the Fellowship is broken but its quest to destroy the One Ring continues. "Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" - The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Lincoln Lawyer—Lionsgate
Kris Deering  |  Jun 28, 2011
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5

In the gripping thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer", Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael "Mick" Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller. Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Connelly.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cedar Rapids—20th Century Fox
Kris Deering  |  Jun 28, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 2.5/5

To call insurance agent Tim Lippe, "naive" is a gross understatement. He's never left his small hometown. He's never stayed at a hotel. And he's never experienced anything like Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sent to represent his company at the annual insurance convention, Tim is soon distracted by three convention veterans who will show him the ropes and push his boundaries. For a guy who plays everything by the book, this convention will be anything but conventional.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Editions (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 27, 2011
In case you've been in a coma for the past 10 years, Peter Jackson adapted the popular J.R.R. Tolkien novel with amazing results. Arguably, it's one of the greatest movie accomplishments of all time with 15 Academy Awards, over $1 billion in US box-office receipts, and nearly $3 billion worldwide.

Many fans are angry that Warner decided to release the theatrical versions last year instead of the these extended director cuts, but Peter Jackson has stated publicly that the theatrical releases are the definitive versions of the films, not the extended cuts, but the fans want to see every minute of filmed footage come hell or high water.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Eagle (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2011
Celebrated Roman solider Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) is on quest to restore the reputation of his father and find the golden emblem that disappeared with him and 5,000 of his troops 20 years earlier. With the help of an slave (Jamie Bell), Marcus navigates the wild highlands of Caledonia in order to restore his family's honor.

When I sat down to watch this one I had never heard of it before and for good reason&8211;it's not very good. The acting is wooden and the story has no heart. At no time did I feel anything for the characters plight and I couldn't wait for it to be over.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Kill The Irishman—Anchor Bay
Kris Deering  |  Jun 21, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Over the summer of 1976, thirty-six bombs detonate in the heart of Cleveland while a turf war raged between Irish mobster Danny Greene and the Italian mafia. Based on a true story, "Kill The Irishman" chronicles Greene's heroic rise from a tough Cleveland neighborhood to become an enforcer in the local mob. Turning the tables on loan shark Shondor Birns and allying himself with gangster John Nardi, Greene stops taking orders from the mafia and pursues his own power. Surviving countless assassination attempts from the mob and killing off anyone who went after him in retaliation, Danny Greene's infamous invincibility and notorious fearlessness eventually led to the collapse of mafia syndicates across the U.S. and also earned him the status of the man the mob couldn't kill.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Red Riding Hood—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Jun 21, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Valerie is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie's older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon, to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon's arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. Panic grips the town as the death toll rises with each red moon, tearing apart the once close-knit village. But it is Valerie who discovers she has a unique connection to the wolf that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect... and bait.
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Music ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
A Talk with "Keeping Score" co-director Joan Saffa
Robert Ripps  |  Jun 20, 2011

Robert Ripps: From your perspective, how has Keeping Score evolved since its 2004 premiere, both artistically and technologically?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Hall Pass (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 20, 2011
Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) have both been married for a long time and even though they love their wives, they just can't help checking out every hot woman in their view. Fed up with their rubber-necking, their wives take a different approach to revitalize their marriages by giving them a "hall pass": one week of freedom to do whatever they want with no questions asked. Be careful what you wish for guys.

While I was never a huge fan of Something About Mary, at least I found its humor to be somewhat amusing and I can see why it was a hit. Unfortunately, Farrelly brother's formula hasn't worked as well since then. I thought the premise had potential but unfortunately it's another stinker filled with sophomoric humor by middle-aged men who think they're still in high school.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sucker Punch—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Jun 18, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4.5/5
Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared. "Sucker Punch" is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her. And her incredible adventures blur the liens between what's real and what is imaginary.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Unknown—Warner Bros.
Kris Deering  |  Jun 18, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally, Harris plunges into a deadly mystery forcing him to question his sanity, his identity and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Death at a Funeral—MGM
Kris Deering  |  Jun 17, 2011
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 2.5/5
Extras: 2/5
As the mourners and guests at a British country manor struggle valiantly to "keep a stiff upper lip,"" a dignified ceremony devolves into a hilarious, no-holds-barred debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure, and shocking family secrets.
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