Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Just Go With It (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 10, 2011  | 
After telling his new girlfriend that he's married as a means of avoiding real commitment, a plastic surgeon (Adam Sandler) must recruit a fake family to prove his honesty. His loyal assistant (Jennifer Aniston) agrees to play the soon to be ex-wife in order to score a free trip to Hawaii, but things don't go according to the plan when the two discover there's more to their friendship than meets the eye.

After Friends, many people wondered which of the ensemble cast would be the most successful and Aniston has been the most visible with movie projects. Here she plays the same character we've seen hundreds of times before in the romantic comedy genre as the loyal friend who discovers she's fallen in love and must overcome long odds in order to fulfill her dreams. Yawn!

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Another Year, and more
Sol Louis Siegel  |  Jun 08, 2011  | 

Another Year (Sony)

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Robin of Sherwood (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 08, 2011  | 
Shot entirely on location in England's castles and countryside, this modernization of the classic Robin Hood tale combines elements of history, myth, and magic with plenty of action thrown into the mix. The ensemble cast includes Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley, Ray Winstone as Will Scarlet, and Nickolas Grace as the conniving Sheriff of Nottingham.

Broadcast on PBS and Showtime in the 1980s, this British series certainly shows its age with the outdated music, 1.33:1 framed image, and campy production value. The series has a cult-like following and I don't mean to insult the fans, but I don't get it. My wife and I did our best to get through all 13 episodes, but couldn't make it to the end.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
True Grit (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 07, 2011  | 
Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) wants justice when her father is killed by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Headstrong to the nth-degree, the teenager hires U.S. Marshall "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and insists she's part of the posse. Cogburn grudgingly approves but Matty isn't happy when he allows a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) into the group who's in search of the same man for a murder in Texas.

Filling the shoes of John Wayne is an impossible task, but Bridges did the best he could do and still doesn't measure up to Wayne's Oscar-winning portrayal of the gruff Cogburn. Having watched the original less than six months ago I couldn't help compare each of the respective roles and other than Bridges impossible undertaking, the other two main characters (Damon and Steinfeld) more than make up the difference.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Happy Gilmore (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 06, 2011  | 
When a failed hockey player (Adam Sandler) discovers he can hit a golf ball 400 yards, he must check his pride at the door and play the "sissy" sport in order to save his grandmother's home from the IRS. With the help of a retired golfer (Carl Weathers) and a new love interest (Julie Bowen), he must adapt to life on tour in order to win enough prize money to save the day.

I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Sandler, but I have to admit his juvenile humor makes me laugh. His star was brightest in the 1990s and this is probably his biggest hit. The pacing is excellent at 92 minutes and there's enough of a story to keep it interesting.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Lolita
Ken Korman  |  Jun 03, 2011  | 

It’s never easy making a film of a great novel. For director Stanley Kubrick, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita presented not only the fairly typical challenge of translating a story built around characters’ internal thoughts and feelings but also, in 1962, the task of dealing with a taboo subject. 

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
American Graffiti (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 03, 2011  | 
A coming-of-age story set against the 1960s backdrop of hot rods, drive-ins, and rock 'n' roll follows two young men as they spend their last night in town before heading off to college. Crusing the streets to the howling sounds of Wolfman Jack, Terry (Charles Martin Smith) is on the prowl for a hot blonde (Suzanne Somers), while Steve (Ron Howard) tries to make up with his girlfriend after suggesting they see other people while he's away at college.

George Lucas is known for his Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, but this film was his first commercial success, and it earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Not only is it wildly entertaining, it's a blast to see future stars Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Somers before they became household names.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Barry Lyndon
Josef Krebs  |  Jun 01, 2011  | 

William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon relates the colorful adventures of an Irish itinerant who tries his hand at war, gambling, and financially profitable marriage while traveling through 18th-century Europe. Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 adaptation, like many of the director’s other films (including Paths of Glory, Dr.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
True Blood: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jun 01, 2011  | 
Season three finds Bill (Stephan Moyer) kidnapped and Sookie Anna Paquin) heading to Mississippi to find him. There she becomes entangled in a world ruled by a powerful Vampire King and the werewolves who do his bidding. Meanwhile, back in Bon Temps, new threats emerge that make previous problems seem tame by comparison.

Am I the only guy that's sick of vampires? I've never been a huge fan of this series but have stuck with it for the sake of our readers, but I'm not sure I can handle another season of it. Sure, through its 12 episodes there is the occasional winner, but overall it's an up-and-down affair and isn't one of HBO's greatest hits.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gettysburg: Director's Cut (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  May 30, 2011  | 
History comes alive with intense and spirited battles during the bloodiest three days on American soil that were the beginning of the end of the South's battle to secede from the Union. Ronald F. Maxwell takes viewers into the strategy sessions of both forces and shows the minor skirmishes that lead General Lee (Martin Sheen) to order a full-scale frontal assault and how the battle impacted the outcome of the war.

My biggest complaint with this film has always been its length, so I'm not exactly thrilled with the additional 17 minutes in the director's cut. Frankly, Maxwell would have been better served by cutting the run time down at least an hour. It's nearly impossible to get through the entire 271 minutes in one sitting, but having watched it over two nights, I have to admit the history lesson was an enlightening experience.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Battle: Los Angeles—Columbia Pictures
Kris Deering  |  May 27, 2011  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sighting around the world - Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a marine staff sergeant and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Gods and Generals Extended Director's Cut (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  May 27, 2011  | 
Recounting the fierce allegiances and combat of the early Civil War, Gods and Generals recreates the two years prior to the historic battle of Gettysburg and delves into the lives of Stonewall Jackson (Stephen Lang), Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), and Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall).

I love history (especially American history), so I really wanted to like this film. Unfortunately, the script is all over the place and the pacing is downright awful. It doesn't help that it's been expanded with an additional hour of footage and clocks in at 280 minutes in order to lengthen certain scenes and adds a subplot of John Wilkes Booth (Chris Conner). On the plus side, the battle scenes are well done and Duvall's depiction of Lee is marvelous.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: I Am Number Four
Marc Horowitz  |  May 26, 2011  | 

When Michael (Transformers) Bay is attached to a project, you know you’re not in for an intellectual workout. So crank up the surround channels and the subwoofer, cue the safely rebellious (and very pretty) boys and girls, and let’s take a PG-13-sanctioned trip into fantasy adolescence.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Solaris
Josef Krebs  |  May 25, 2011  | 

A brown leaf floats on brilliantly clear water that flows over rich green seaweed. That’s just one of the many lyrical images that fill the opening sequence of Solaris. A horse trots along in the background. A cup of tea overflows in a momentary thunderstorm — the rain stopping as quickly as it started, leaving the sound of dripping water and then a serene silence.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Company Men (2011)—Anchor Bay
Kris Deering  |  May 25, 2011  | 
Video: 5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Bobby Walker is living the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law that does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps - the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal.
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