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“The Number 23” Blu-ray Review
Those who are looking whether to go see a movie in theaters or rent a DVD often read reviews of what to expect from a film they’re interested in watching. Whether you read reviews here or in your local paper or in whatever favorite weekly magazine from the newsstands, most of the high profile reviews are all collected on a website called Rotten Tomatoes. While I normally find the general consensus on movies there to be on the level with my opinions of a film, the 8% rotten rating that The Number 23 has is the most baffling collection of reviews I’ve seen so far for a film. SynopsisEver notice how phenomena and events tie to the number 23? Walter Sparrow has: 2012 (20+1+2), the end of the Mayan calendar…23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body…February 3 (2/3), Walter’s birthday. Here, there, everywhere, Walter sees connections. And it may be driving him to madness and murder. Jim Carrey puts aside his comedy persona to portray haunted, desperate Walter in
“Rick Wakeman – The Six Wives of Henry VIII” Blu-ray Review
Rick Wakeman’s The Six Wives Of Henry VIII is one of the landmark albums of the seventies, a critical and commercial success that has sold in excess of 15 million copies worldwide. In May 2009, Wakeman finally achieved his long held dream of performing the entire album live at Hampton Court Palace. It was the first time the whole album had ever been performed in concert and included the Henry VIII track “Defender Of The Faith,” that had to be cut from the original album for space reasons, plus new opening and closing pieces. The two spectacular sell out concerts were a never to be repeated event, which give those not able to attend the ability to experience this epic performance. SynopsisThe Six Wives Of Henry VIII release features extended live performances of Wakeman’s most popular album with the English Rock Ensemble accompanied by the Orchestra Europa and the English Chamber Choir with Brian Blessed as narrator. The release offers two hours of great entertainment, as well as a behind
“Contact” Blu-ray Review
The 90s were a high time for original sci-fi expeditions. Not only was Star Trek in full swing on TV and in theaters, but we received a pair of films in 1997 that helped put a more realistic “spin” on things. The first was Gattaca, a film I didn’t necessarily like when I was younger but now quite enjoy. The second was Contact which…well, the same can be said about that film too, really. Fact is both of the films dealt with very adult situations and ten year old viewing them just made for a very, very boring time. Of course in Contact’s situation one could say it’s boring regardless of age, but it’s such an interesting take on the whole genre it gets a pass…unless you’re the creators of South Park, then you get to rag on it occasionally. SynopsisTwo-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster stars in this visionary drama based on Carl Sagan’s novel about human kind’s first encounter with extraterrestial life, directed by another Oscar winner, Robert Zemeckis.
“Blood Ties – Season 2” DVD Review
The amount of vampire based series and films now on air or coming out it really just quite ridiculous. I’m not sure why this giant swelling in interest in vampire lore and whatnot has come from (well, blame Twilight and True Blood I guess), but even when you get a show like Blood Ties which pre-dates those two efforts by a couple of years, you have to wonder just why everyone is so obsessed with vampires nowadays. I suppose there is some appeal and I’m a fan of the Joss Whedon vampire based outings but the more recent efforts have left me unimpressed. SynopsisBased on the novels by Tanya Huff, BLOOD TIES follows the twisty career and lovelife of Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox), an ex-cop turned private investigator who winds up working a supernatural caseload. Just after witnessing a brutal murder, Vicki encounters a sexy vampire–Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid)– who is investigating the crime for personal reasons. The two pair up to solve the case and quickly find they have
“Year One (Theatrical Edition)” DVD Review
Plenty of films can ride on the wave of hype that their stars create and require little else. Such a film was Year One, with its director being Harold Ramis and a cast comprised of Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Oliver Platt, Olivia Wilde…just to name a few. Yes this film had bus stop advertising and plenty of TV spots, but truth be told the concept and actors sold the film in of itself. Sadly word got out that the film was, in fact, very bad and as a result the $60 million film never made its budget back…even taking worldwide sales into account. SynopsisHistory was made…by these guys? Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) are cavemen who stumble out of the mountains into an epic journey of biblical proportions. One’s a bumbling hunter, the other’s a gentle gatherer; together, they become unlikely participants in history’s most pivotal moments. Directed and co-written by comedy legend Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Analyze This), YEAR ONE is rude,
“Snakes on a Plane” Blu-ray Review
A few years ago the only buzz you would hear about online would be for a film called Snakes on a Plane. It was a ridiculous title with a SyFy network original movie storyline that, for all intents and purposes, no one would have batted an eyelash at. But along came Samuel L. Jackson as the star and suddenly it was “the” film to talk about and go see. What should have been a low budget film resulted in being a $33 million dollar production…a cost it barely recouped in theaters. Domestically it pulled in $34 million and overseas another $28. Not bad numbers for a film that was largely produced due to internet hype. SynopsisA red-eye 747 flight out of Hawaii swooshes along at 30,000 feet toward L.A. Suddenly, there’s no pilot. Later, there’s no co-pilot. There are, however, snakes – hissing, slithering, attacking, venomous snakes. A crime boss has subverted security and planted the reptiles in order to bring the plane down, along with a witness slated to
“Ghost Ship” Blu-ray Review
There’s a certain level of expectation one has from a film with a title like Ghost Ship and a tag line like “Sea Evil.” That level, of course, is zero, so anything it can do to impress is immediately added to the “positive” side of things to think about when this movie comes to mind. Sadly the list for this film is incredibly short and as much as I wanted to get into a haunted ghost ship (it’s a rather trite story element, but it still works, I think, and they certainly had a great atmosphere to work with), I was ultimately led astray by the films eventual explanation of the story and the ridiculously dumb ending. SynopsisDanger dead ahead! Dark Castle – makers of the updated House of Wax and House on Haunted Hill – invites you to take a cruise on Ghost Ship. Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne and Isaiah Washington are aboard a mysteriously adrift luxury liner hexed by a seafaring collector of souls. “It may just scare
“Child’s Play” Blu-ray Review
Chucky is one of the most famous and notorious horror films around today. While it hasn’t ever been much of a success in the box office, it has always managed to turn a profit over the course of the four films that were made. Still, it was this first film that started the series and is one of the few entries in the series that was generally well received. With a genuine mystery plot wrapped up in the horror style that only a doll come to life could bring, Child’s Play arrives on Blu-ray full of all of the original jumps and scares that made it such a hit before. SynopsisThe “chills come thick and fast” (Los Angeles Times) as voodoo and terror meet within an innocent-looking doll inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who isn’t ready to die. From the Director of Fright Night comes a “clever, playful” (The New York Times) and stylish thriller with “excellent special effects” (Leonard Maltin) and heart-pounding suspense guaranteed to scare!
“The Proposal – Deluxe Edition” DVD Review
No doubt those who were watching TV during the months of May, June and July were smacked over the head repeatedly with advertisements for The Proposal. The genuinely witty (in appearance) comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds was backed up by some genuinely funny trailers, filled with quips, jokes and one liners that were easy to laugh at. As far as critics were concerned they shoved the film in the “predictable romantic comedy” category; as far as movie goers were concerned, however, they helped the $40 million budgeted film balloon to nearly $300 million worldwide in box office receipts. While critical reception can often have ill effects on a films box office performance…in the case of romantic comedies there’s almost always an audience, no matter how predictable they may be. SynopsisMargaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) terrorizes her publishing house co-workers with her abrasive, take-no-prisoners management style, especially her overworked assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). But when Margaret is threatened with deportation to her native Canada because of an immigration technicality,
“Drag Me To Hell: Unrated Director’s Cut” DVD Review
Not only does Sam Riami still “got it,” Drag Me To Hell shows he’s even better than before. After taking a long break from horror thanks to his work on the Spider-Man film series, among other movies, Riami returns to his horror roots in the staggeringly entertaining Drag Me To Hell. I can’t think of a movie this year that hasn’t been more hilarious, more gruesome, more chilling, and just flat-out fun than Drag Me To Hell. One of the most under-appreciated movies of the year, Riami’s horror opus finally claws onto DVD and Blu-ray where, not doubt, it’ll find the massive audience it truly deserves. Synopsis:Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is on her way to having it all: a devoted boyfriend (Justin Long), a hard-earned job promotion, and a bright future. But when she’s forced to make a tough decision that evicts an elderly woman from her house, Christine becomes the victim of an evil curse. Now she has only three days to dissuade a dark spirit from stealing her
Adult Swim Premieres For The Weekend Of May 21
Though you may find some of Adult Swim’s originals off-putting, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. When cable dies and the four or five ruling streaming services become homogenized, you’re gonna wish you had a dedicated source for programming this bizarre. Ignore my warning at your own peril. It’s just the Three Busy Debras this week, but if you can’t stand ’em, they’re on their way out. Two back-to-back brand-new episodes air this Sunday at midnight, one of them the season finale. According to Adult Swim’s official description of what’s happening, “[In “Nonna,”] Debra, Debra, and Debra meet Nonna at Nonna’s Nonnaria, and stick around for “The Meteor” where Debra, Debra, and Debra come to terms with their own mortality as a very rude meteor hurtles toward Lemoncurd.” You know, Amy Poehler’s name is somewhere in the credits of every episode, but she has yet to show up. The episodes air this Sunday, May 1 at 12 a.m. ET/PT, and will stick around to haunt you the
The CW’s Fall Schedule Looks Super-Bland
When you cancel all your shows, this is what you get. The CW just released the details on what it plans to do next season, and it’s nothing much. First off, a lot of the more interesting CW originals, the ones that survived that is, aren’t appearing in the fall. The Flash, Nancy Drew, Riverdale and Superman & Lois are being held for midseason, and so is the new Gotham Knights, meaning for the first time in forever there’s just ONE show on the network where someone dresses in tights and fights monsters (Stargirl, originally planned for the summer). Monday will be all about sports (All-American), Wednesday will be all about cowboys (Walker), and Friday will be all about comedians on stage (nothing’s changed about this one). While shows from other countries, Canada in particular, are no stranger to The CW schedule, they are usually used in the summer to avoid reruns of other shows. It looks like a forthcoming part of The CW’s new strategy will be to rely
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