<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/vegas.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>New Yorkers Jack (Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (Cameron Diaz) independently decide to head to Vegas for a weekend to drown their sorrows for different reasons— he was fired from his job, and she was recently dumped by her fianc. After a wild night of partying, the two strangers wake up and discover that, in their drunken bliss, they got married. Neither of them is too happy about their impaired decision, and they agree on an annulment— that is, until Jack wins a $3 million dollar jackpot with Joy's quarter, prompting an all-out war for the money.
Wallace has not been lucky in love. He dumped his last girlfriend when he caught her cheating on him and was so dejected he ended up dropping out of medical school and moving in with his sister and her young son. Shut away from the world for almost a year, he decides to attend his ex-college roommate’s party where he meets the perfect girl and gets her phone number right before she drops the bombshell that her boyfriend is waiting for her at home—some guys can’t catch a break. After Wallace’s previous relationship, he doesn’t want to be “that kind of guy” and discards her number. As luck would have it, he runs into her a few weeks later at the movies and the pair decide to just be friends—but what if something more develops?
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/whenrome.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Beth (Kristen Bell) takes a whirlwind trip to Italy for her sister's wedding and finds herself pursued by the most unlikely group of men who have fallen madly in love with her. When she returns the love with one of them she questions whether it's real or if he's under the same mystical spell that has infected the others.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/wildbd.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Max (Max Records) is a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island and meets a group of strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. When Max is crowned king of their land he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy but this proves to be more complicated than he originally thought.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/whipit.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Small-town teenager Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is searching for her way in the world. Her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) dreams of her being a beauty queen but one look at Bliss in a fancy gown and it's easy to see it's a pipedream. When she discovers the sport of roller derby her life takes a new direction, but how will her mother deal with her newfound hobby?
In Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (military code for, umm, WTF), Tina Fey plays real-life reporter Kim Baker who, tired of her stagnant career, accepts a three-month assignment embedded with the U.S. Marines covering the war in Afghanistan, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. As three months turns into four years, Baker meets a collection of colorful war correspondents, marines, and corrupt government officials, including a Scottish playboy (Martin Freeman) who becomes her love interest and a gorgeous rival reporter (Margot Robbie). But as she endures the almost surreal dangers and day-to-day activities of Afghanistan, she begins to realize that the place is having a negative effect on her perception of reality.
A pair of army buddies (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) join forces with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) in order to save a Vermont inn run by their former commanding officer.
The simplistic plot doesn't inspire but the plethora of Irving Berlin classics are mostly enjoyable. The song "White Christmas" was made popular by Crosby in the 1942 film "Holiday Inn," and within the first few minutes he's belting out the tune. My wife enjoys the film much more than I doI find it somewhat boringbut the HD presentation kept my attention.
Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) is a charming criminal mastermind who is finally caught by his nemesis, FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) and in lieu of being sent back to prison, the two form a unique partnership. Caffrey lends his criminal expertise to the FBI in exchange for limited freedom to help the Feds capture other elusive criminals.
I don't have much time to watch TV and I find watching the shows on Blu-ray is much more convenient to my schedule. The buddy-cop angle is far from new and I was a bit apprehensive when I popped the first disc in my player, but surprisingly I've enjoyed every one of the 14 season one episodes. The tandem of Bomer and DeKay has great chemistry and the supporting cast that includes Tiffany Thiessen and Willie Garson is very strong.
White Heat is one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. It’s a true film noir, a Freudian character study, and a pioneering police procedural, with slick suspense, a dry wit, and a deep-cutting (but not bloody) cruelty that’s still jarring today. The script is by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, who later wrote a few seasons of the Charlie’s Angels TV show, which at its best pulled off a warmed-over, softly satirical simulacrum of those traits.
Widows is a taught crime thriller directed by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), who co-wrote the script with author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). Based on a British television series, it follows the lives of several women brought together by their husbands' criminal pasts and features an outstanding cast led by an intense performance from Viola Davis, with support from Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and others. Told in a stylish and well-paced manner, Widows holds plenty of twists and surprises for the viewer. I found the movie to be thoroughly engrossing.
Rose (Emily Blunt) is a free-spirited kleptomaniac looking to pull off the ultimate scam with some forged artwork. When things go haywire, she finds herself the target of a world-class assassin (Bill Nighy) who becomes enamored with the young woman and can't fulfill his contract. This sets off a bizarre series of events that will change their lives forever.
It's rare to find an intelligent comedy since Judge Apatow transformed the genre with The 40 Year Old Virgin and its sophomoric humor. While there are definitely sexual undertones in this story, they are subtle and aren't the central focus. On the other hand, Blunt is one of the most beautiful women in film, and seeing her in 1080p is reason enough to check out this spectacular encode.
Technologies that distribute audio and video around a home are incredibly cool-if you can afford them, if you can tolerate complicated installation, and if you can figure out how to use them once they're in. I've long assumed a big consumer electronics company like Samsung or Sony would invent a more practical multiroom A/V solution, but it seems the technology that finally gets us past the old paradigms may be Apple's AirPlay.
Technologies that distribute audio and video around a home are incredibly cool—if you can afford them, if you can tolerate complicated installation, and if you can figure out how to use them once they’re in. I’ve long assumed a big consumer electronics company like Samsung or Sony would invent a more practical multiroom A/V solution, but it seems the technology that finally gets us past the old paradigms may be Apple’s AirPlay.
Technologies that distribute audio and video around a home are incredibly cool—if you can afford them, if you can tolerate complicated installation, and if you can figure out how to use them once they’re in. I’ve long assumed a big consumer electronics company like Samsung or Sony would invent a more practical multiroom A/V solution, but it seems the technology that finally gets us past the old paradigms may be Apple’s AirPlay.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/wwonka.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Roald Dahl's classic story tells the tale of five kids who find a golden ticket that entitles them to visit the secretive Wonka Chocolate factory, where one worthy child will win a lifetime supply of chocolate. Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), a poor kid who lives with his mother and two sets of grandparents in the shadow of the factory, is one of the lucky five. The others—well, let's just say they are the result of bad parenting and poor choices.