Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
WALL-E
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 17, 2023  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras

Does anyone else miss the glory days of Pixar, when they were cranking out hit after hit, putting story and character above all? This was the era of WALL·E, a film of overwhelming visual and emotional beauty about the last working waste allocation load lifter assigned to Earth cleanup in the distant future. His endearing combination of kindness, a yearning for companionship and an eagerness to find value in all things set the stage for a memorable, nigh-wordless first act wherein he falls for the newly arrived EVE, a very different robot with a very different directive…

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
War for the Planet of the Apes
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 09, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
War for the Planet of the Apes concludes a trilogy that began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011. It tells the story of Caesar, from a nascent, intelligent ape to the leader of a band of smart simians. Humankind here has been nearly wiped out, with the survivors fighting to retain their freedom and humanity. In a twist from the classic 1968 original, however, the humans here are the villains, and the apes, fleeing the remnants of an army led by an obsessed, Ahab-like colonel, are the heroes. We’re driven to root for the Apes, from the story’s beginning to its near-biblical conclusion.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
War Horse
David Vaughn  |  Apr 10, 2012  | 

Director Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, and he knows how to capture an audience's attention and keep it riveted to the screen. While War Horse isn't one of his best pictures, it does create an emotional bond to the main character—a horse—and we get to follow his journey from his humble beginnings through his adventure in the First World War. The cinematography is fantastic, but it's the DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack that makes this a demo-worthy disc, with pinpoint imaging and some of the most intense LFE since Saving Private Ryan.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
War Horse
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 13, 2012  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
When I was a wee lad, I was taken to a movie about a boy and his dog. It was a Lassie movie, I believe, although I was too young for that to mean anything. According to my mother, however, I cried so hard they could hear me in the back of the balcony. (All theaters had balconies in olden times.)
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
War of the Worlds
David Vaughn  |  Jun 02, 2010  | 
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) races to keep his family safe from an invading army of aliens who have come to conquer the Earth. Based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells, superstar director Steven Spielberg takes the 19th-century story and contemporizes it with some success.

While the special effects are well done, the over-the-top action gets a bit tiresome after nearly two hours. The video encode is serviceable with adequate depth and detail, but it's the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that is the star of the show. It features very intense bass, a plethora of discrete effects, and reference-quality dynamics.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Warcraft
Corey Gunnestad  |  Feb 10, 2017  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
The world of the battle-bred Orcs is dying. They must find a new domain to inhabit, which requires brutal conquest. Their chief sorcerer, Gul’dan, has devised a way to open a mystic portal into the human world of Azeroth and… oh, who cares? We’ve seen all this before. Warcraft follows the paint-by-numbers formula for wizards, warriors, and witchcraft, taken from the sacred scrolls of the Dungeons & Dragons playbook; shamelessly lifting countless elements from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings sagas, and vainly trying to replicate the dramatic scope and gravitas of Game of Thrones. And all while trying to carve its own niche in the genre.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Warm Bodies
David Vaughn  |  Feb 16, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
This is the classic story of boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl wakes up one day and realizes she loves boy and can’t live without him. Will daddy approve? Not likely since the boy comes from the group that daddy is trying to wipe off the face of the Earth, so the young couple must overcome long odds to live happily ever after. Although there’s a twist here that you don’t often see—the boy is a zombie who can’t even remember his name other than it begins with an R.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Warner Ultimate Collector’s Editions
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 26, 2014  | 
An eclectic batch of classics—old and new—is the basis of four very different Ultimate Collector’s Editions from Warner. Festooning eminently rewatchable favorites with a thoughtful array of mementos, the 91-year-old studio is fueling our passions with individually numbered limited-edition sets perfect for the most devout film fanatic in your life—even if it’s you.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Watchmen - Director's Cut (Blu-ray) Watchmen - Director's Cut (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Jul 21, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/watchmen.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Someone's killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us? </i>

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Waterworld (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Oct 20, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/waterworld.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When the polar ice caps melt, the Earth is covered in water, and the human race struggles to survive by meandering around the globe in makeshift boats, jet skis, and floating cities. Our hero, Mariner (Kevin Costner), is a loner mutant with webbed feet and gills behind his ears so he can breathe underwater&#151;how convenient considering the state of the planet. Anyway, Mariner gets caught up in a war with The Smokers when he rescues a little girl (Tina Majorino) who carries the secret of the only dry land left on Earth.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
We Bought a Zoo
David Vaughn  |  Aug 20, 2012  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Losing your spouse has to be one of the most heart-wrenching experiences anyone could ever face. Throw in a couple of young kids who must also cope with the loss, and the surviving parent is in store for a very rough ride. When we meet Benjamin Mee, it’s been six months since his wife passed. His two kids, 14-year-old Dylan and 7-year-old Rosie, are trying to adjust but aren’t faring well. The widowed dad is reminded of his wife wherever he goes in town, and Dylan gets expelled from school due to his unique art and a theft problem. It’s definitely time for a change of scenery.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
West Side Story
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 24, 2022  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Based on the Broadway musical from Leonard Bernstein, Steven Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents, West Side Story involves two teenage gangs, one Anglo (the Jets) and the other Puerto Rican (the Sharks), that fight constantly over turf and ethnicity in the mean city streets of 1950s New York. When Jets-member Tony falls head-over-heels for Maria, the sister of a Shark, you don't need a roadmap to see where this will end up. Hint: Think Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Westworld Season One - The Maze
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Mar 29, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
In a not too distant future, the wealthy plunk down big bucks to enter Westworld, a Disneyland for adults populated by “hosts”—human-like A.I. androids capable of fulfilling their every desire. With a cast of A-list names such as Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, and Ed Harris, this psychological, character-driven drama series goes beyond the gimmickry of its 1973 original to offer up a well-crafted exploration of what it means to be human as well as the blurred lines between good and evil and past and present. Could it be a replacement for Game of Thrones? Only time will tell.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Westworld: Season Two
David Vaughn  |  Feb 08, 2019  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Westworld: Season One ended in a cliffhanger with Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) taking charge of the adult amusement park. Westworld: Season Two picks up shortly after this event with the puppet show now over and the liberated “hosts” coming after the humans for their own pound of flesh.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
What Doesn't Kill You (Blu-ray) What Doesn't Kill You (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Apr 28, 2009  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/whatdoesnt.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Brian (Mark Ruffalo) and Paulie (Ethan Hawke) grew up like brothers on the gritty streets of South Boston as thugs. They graduate from petty crimes to more serious offenses and eventually fall under the influence of organized-crime boss Pat Kelly (Brian Goodman), at which point their lives begin to spiral out of control.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X