Blu-ray Movie Reviews

M:i:III may not be the best entry in the Mission Impossible franchise (my vote goes to the first), but it will do as a reasonably entertaining entry in that deliriously implausible, action packed franchise until the inevitable IV comes along.

Animated features are well represented in these early days of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs (though nothing yet from Pixar). This CGI –animated sequel to Ice Age may not have quite the audience appeal of that first adventure with Manny the Mammoth, Sid the Sloth, Diego the sabre-toothed tiger, and, not to forget, Scrat, the acorn-obsessed squirrel-rat, but it's still appealing, funny, and beautifully animated.

With all due respect to director Ridley Scott's other efforts, including Black Hawk Down, this medieval crusade drama may well be his finest work to date. The theatrical cut was seriously compromised when it was cut down from the director's preferred length, but this version is far more coherent.

The story of a well-intentioned but ultimately failed U.S. 1993 military mission in Somalia, where American Rangers and Delta Force troops tried to capture a savage warlord who was ravaging and starving his own people into submission, is not a pretty one. Nor is Black Hawk Down an easy film to watch. But while it's often gritty, depressing, and filled with violent, bloody imagery, it also paints a very positive, uplifting image of American troops and what they're willing to risk for the mission and for each other. It's hard to imagine mainstream Hollywood producing such a film today, five event-filled years after Black Hawk Down first hit the screens.

Stop me if you've heard this one. Wild animal breaks out of a New York zoo to return to the wild. Other animal friends follow to bring him back. They travel by boat to a strange, jungle environment.

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.

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.