Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Princess Bride
Chris Chiarella  |  Dec 29, 2023  | 
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Director Rob Reiner’s genre-defying The Princess Bride, from the book and screenplay by William Goldman, is weird but somehow it works. A modest hit in theaters in 1987, this romantic, swashbuckling fairy tale struck a unique comedic tone with its quirky characters and absurd situations and has since grown to become a family favorite for generations.

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The Secret Life of Pets
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 28, 2017  | 
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Max is living a great dog’s life. But one day his owner brings home Duke, a huge, stray shaggy-dog from the pound. Duke makes himself at home, much to Max’s chagrin. But one day, when the apartment house’s loopy dog walker is distracted, both Max and Duke get into a tussle, break free, and end up lost in New York.
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The Shining
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 01, 2019  | 
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In some dialect, perhaps the language of cinema itself, the name Kubrick must mean "atmosphere." That's abundantly evident in his chilling film adaptation of Stephen King's haunted hotel opus, The Shining. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring novelist with a dark past, takes the challenging job of caretaker for a remote luxury resort during the off-season, meaning that his incredibly indulgent wife (Shelly Duvall) and young son with a mysterious gift will be the only living souls for miles around until the spring thaw. Life there is pleasant enough at first, if a bit dull, until curious events begin to unfold.
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The Silence of the Lambs
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 22, 2021  | 
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Serial killers. Cannibalism. A disturbing journey into the darkest recesses of the human psyche. The Silence of the Lambs has more than its share of horrors, yet, through it all, the movie tells the very personal story of FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, nabbing a second Best Actress Oscar here). Haunted by loss and her guilt over a childhood failure, she seeks redemption in a high-profile missing persons case that requires her to work closely with notorious murderer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, who netted a Best Actor Oscar). An outstanding piece of filmmaking in every way, Silence of the Lambs has transcended the thriller genre to become a genuine classic.
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The Suicide Squad
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 21, 2022  | 
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Blurring the line between sequel, reboot and remake, The Suicide Squad fairly leaps off the screen with something too often conspicuously absent from the DC Cinematic Universe: a sense of fun. Written and directed by James Gunn after his famous firing from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series (and before he was rehired), The Suicide Squad gleefully embraces excess in every way imaginable. It's rated R for its gore, language, and nudity, yet seldom misses an opportunity to pause and appreciate the absurdity of it all—a drastic tonal shift from its joyless 2016 predecessor, simply titled "Suicide Squad."

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Ralph Potts  |  Aug 28, 2023  | 
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is based on the popular ‘90s video game series and tells the story of a pair of Brooklyn plumbers who also happen to be brothers: brave Mario and the more reserved Luigi. When we meet them, Mario and Luigi are trying to find ways to keep their struggling plumbing business afloat. While exploring the city’s sewer system, they stumble across the secret entrance to the Mushroom Kingdom, a magical place where they will discover the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way we’ll encounter a host of familiar, lovable characters, all of whom will have to band together to defeat the power-hungry villain, Bowser.

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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Sep 02, 2022  | 
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In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, co-written and directed by Tom Gormican, Nicolas Cage plays "Nick Cage," a fictionalized version of himself. Facing mounting expenses, dried-up roles, and struggling to take care of his daughter and estranged wife, the aging actor is forced to take a million-dollar gig in Mallorca, Spain to attend a birthday party for superfan Javi (Pedro Pascal). Javi turns out to be a dangerous mobster also trying to sell his screenplay and wanting to collaborate with Cage. All of which leads to the Oscar winner being enlisted by a CIA agent (Tiffany Haddish) to go undercover and spy on Javi to help the government bring down his criminal enterprise.
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The Untouchables
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 05, 2022  | 
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Those seeking an accurate account of notorious gangster Al Capone's downfall should continue their search elsewhere. But anyone wanting two thrilling hours of fact-influenced entertainment need look no further. Director Brian De Palma's artful take on Eliot Ness and his squad of incorruptible treasury agents on a quest to clean up Prohibition-era Chicago blends hard-hitting dialogue and career-best performances in an almost operatic tale of good versus evil.
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The Warriors
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 05, 2024  | 
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Framed for killing the most admired and respected gang leader in New York City during a gang summit, The Warriors suddenly find themselves unarmed and on the run, with every cop eager to lock them up and every other gang member looking for revenge. Walter Hill’s taut 1978 action-thriller, remastered here in 4K, has a dangerous energy all its own, with near-nonstop adrenaline punctuated by glimmers of social commentary.

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The Wizard of Oz
Chris Chiarella  |  Dec 27, 2019  | 
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With its childlike innocence and a universal charm that's born of its exquisite characters, The Wizard of Oz is likely the greatest family film of all time, the sort we may never see again. The adventure of a willful Kansas farmgirl transported to a strange, wondrous land is a heart-tugging journey of music and laughter that should continue to enthrall generations to come. There are 80 years' worth of observations for me to draw upon here, but I'll just go with this: Not enough can ever be said of Margaret Hamilton's turn as the gleefully, irresistibly, deliciously wicked villain.
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The Woman King
Ralph Potts  |  Jan 30, 2023  | 
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The Woman King is inspired by true events and centers around General Nanisca (Viola Davis), the seasoned leader of the Agojie, an all-female group of warriors that protects the African kingdom of Dahomey. After Gen. Nansica suggests to the king that the slave trade, an essential part of their economy, has put their future at risk, she urges him to seek other means of commerce through their foreign partners...

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
They Live
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 30, 2021  | 
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They are living amongst us, manipulating the entire human race, dominating us using hidden messages of obedience and rampant commercialism. Who they are and why they're doing it are less important than how we will expose them—and who will be brave enough to fight back. A down-and-out working-class hero and all-around good egg (Roddy Piper) stumbles across special sunglasses that block the oppressors' shenanigans and gives him a clear look at them…and he doesn't like what he sees.
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Fred Kaplan  |  Aug 17, 2018  | 
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Forget the misguided moral and political complaints:Three Billboards is a masterpiece, a dark tale about grief, anger, and the inadequate cushions of community. It’s also funny as hell. Writer-director Martin McDonagh, an Irish playwright (two words that say much), has long explored Biblical themes through vernacular-profane language and deeply flawed characters (his best film until now,In Bruges, was basically about sin).
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Time Bandits
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Sep 15, 2023  | 
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Time Bandits is a time traveling adventure set in an off-kilter world that is director Terry Gilliam’s signature. A frenetic story that skips through various vignettes, it follows a young boy drawn into a journey with a group of renegade dwarves who use a special map to travel to different periods in time and steal treasures. In hot pursuit of the dwarves is the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson) from whom the map was stolen.

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Titanic
Ralph Potts  |  Mar 08, 2024  | 
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From acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron, Titanic is an epic tale of forbidden love and courage set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic, which carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912. Epic in scope, grandiose in execution, it is a trans-generational film that is haunting, tragic, and engaging — especially in this special 4K Blu-ray release.

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