Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
DVD Review: Brute Force
Ken Korman  |  May 10, 2007  | 
The Criterion Collection
Movie •••• Picture •••• Sound •••½ Extras ••••
The classic film-noir era of the 1
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
DVD Review: The Queen
Marc Horowitz  |  May 10, 2007  | 
Miramax
Movie •••• Picture ••½ Sound ••• Extras •••
The Queen has many pleasures - not the least
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
DVD Review: Notes on a Scandal
Marc Horowitz  |  May 10, 2007  | 
20th Century Fox
Movie ••• Picture •••• Sound ••• Extras ••½
Ably assisted by Judi Dench and the wondrous
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
DVD Review: Twin Peaks
Mike Mettler  |  May 10, 2007  | 
Paramount
Movie •••• Picture •••• Sound •••• Extras •••
Twin Peaks fans have been waiting (im)patiently for this, the
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
DVD Review: Smokin' Aces
Brandon Grafius  |  May 10, 2007  | 
Universal
Movie ••½ Picture •••½ Sound ••• Extras ••½
For Buddy "Aces" Isr
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Scanning High-Def: Open Season Blu-ray
Josef Krebs  |  May 05, 2007  | 

Open Season (Sony). This Blu-ray Disc's picture, shot digitally in high-def and authored with MPEG-4 compression, is incredibly three-dimensional and realistic. Boog the bear's fur looks like you could reach out and stroke it, and other objects look extremely solid.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Miami Vice—Universal (HD DVD)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  May 01, 2007  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2007  | 
Video: 3
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
They made a Miami Vice movie with no pastel colors or Jan Hammer? I’m sorry, you lost me. At least there is a Ferrari (a gray one). Michael Mann fashioned this movie like his “gritty” past few movies, such as Heat and Collateral, enough so that it has very little in common with the TV show (at least the good years). Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell do passable jobs as Rico and Sonny, but they can’t save this movie. After 20 minutes, I had no idea what was going on, and not in the way that would make me want to watch more.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Army of Darkness—Universal (HD DVD)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  May 01, 2007  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2007  | 
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
Before Sam Raimi made his trillions on the Spider-Man franchise, he made a different trilogy of films, starting with The Evil Dead and ending with this classic here. The story follows Bruce Campbell as Ash, who is sucked through time and space to 13th-century England. In order to get back, he needs to acquire the Necronomicon ex Mortis. He botches the job and unleashes an army of undead. If it sounds ridiculous, it is. It’s also hysterically funny. You don’t need to have seen The Evil Dead or Evil Dead II to get this movie, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Dreamgirls (Blu-ray)
Tom Norton  |  Apr 30, 2007  | 

Between "message" pictures, a little sunshine, and a long-frustrated bandwagon for director Martin Scorsese, <I>Dreamgirls</I> was not nominated this year for a Best Picture Oscar. But it was, nevertheless, one of the best movies of 2006, and one of the most highly anticipated video releases of 2007. The Blu-ray discs are reviewed here. An HD DVD version, with identical contents, is also available, as well as two standard definition DVD sets.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Deje Vu (Blu-ray)
 |  Apr 30, 2007  | 

A seemingly random death initially appears to be unrelated to a devastating New Orleans ferry bombing that kills over 500 people. While the body is discovered in the same area as the explosion, and the cause of death is consistent with the tragedy, it turns up hours before the disaster. As Federal agent Doug Carlin investigates both the random death and the bombing, however, he suspects a connection. He soon has the opportunity to use a state-of-the art surveillance system that can seemingly look in on the most private and inaccessible activities, hoping that it will help him prove a link between the two events.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Lethal Weapon—Warner Brothers (HD DVD)
John Higgins  |  Apr 24, 2007  |  First Published: Oct 24, 2006  | 
Video: 4
Audio: 5
Extras: 2
Lethal Weapon has been the paradigm of cop movies ever since its release in 1987. This is mainly because the film is more about the relationship between Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) than the plot. That’s not to say that the plot doesn’t hold up. Far from it. Lethal Weapon grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. With a supporting criminal cast of Gary Busey and character actor Mitchell Ryan, the performances all around are incredible.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang—Warner Brothers (HD DVD)
John Higgins  |  Apr 24, 2007  |  First Published: Oct 24, 2006  | 
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
Do you ever think about how implausible the plots of mystery books and movies are? So does Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Writer/director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) adapts, in part, Brett Halliday’s mystery novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them. Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey, Jr.) finds himself in the middle of a seemingly simple murder mystery within his first day out in Los Angeles. But Harry knows mysteries are never simple. He soon gets sucked in, along with Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) and Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), trying to find how multiple murders are linked before his is next. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a highly enjoyable dark comedy that turns murder mysteries on their head. The performances are engaging, especially Robert Downey, Jr.’s narration, and all the actors handle the quick banter superbly.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Dukes of Hazzard—Warner Brothers (HD DVD)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 24, 2007  |  First Published: Oct 24, 2006  | 
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
Yes, I know it’s stupid, sophomoric, and about two dumb guys doing some fancy driving in an old muscle car, but that’s what makes it great! OK, maybe “great” is too strong a word. It makes me laugh and has some of the best precision driving since Ronin. I wrote the DVD review for this movie a few months ago, and I really can’t think of anything else to say about it. Bo and Luke have to—I don’t know—save Uncle Jesse’s farm or something.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Enter the Dragon—Warner Brothers (HD DVD)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 24, 2007  |  First Published: Oct 24, 2006  | 
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 5
There’s something inherently fascinating about watching someone who is unquestionably the best at what they do. Bruce Lee was just incredible to watch, and, regardless of the quality of the films he was in, they are worth watching just to marvel at his greatness. Enter the Dragon, ostensibly about a martial-arts competition put on by one bad dude, is really just a showcase for one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Partying Like It's 1996: Broken Arrow, Chain Reaction And Speed On Blu-ray
Shane Buettner  |  Apr 21, 2007  | 

They say there's nothing new under the sun, and nothing drives home that old adage like the birth of a new format or two. The first movies that come out on a new format invariably aren't the <I>Citizen Kanes</I>, or even the <I>Titanics</I> of film history. No, it's the star-studded action warhorses that are considered at least somewhat tried and true that are trotted out by the studios.

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