To cut to the heart of the matter, the “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” Blu-ray disc is a massive technical accomplishment. The level of clarity, detail and the impressive richness of the colors raises the bar on high definition video releases and pushes the boundaries of what one may have thought the format could really do. It makes me want to go back and knock half a star off of the technical ratings on all my previous disc reviews. Part of this originated in the production itself. The photography is sharp, well-lit and filled with detail, fully capturing the elaborately designed costumes, settings and make-up, allowing the audience to fully appreciate all the physical work put in. The visual effects by ILM have all been executed with extremely high resolution and a level of technical virtuosity that displays the care that went into each pixel. Characters like Davy Jones’s crew members ...

  “The Tailor of Panama” isn’t new to home videos, but it is new to Blu-ray. On one hand the movie is a spy film, but on the other it’s a subtle comedy about serious subjects. The mix of the two together is about as low-key as an angel food cake leavened with glass shards. It looks all light and fluffy, but it has a tendency to bite back when the viewer least expects it. The book was written by master thriller author John Le Carre, and he had a hand in producing the movie as well as writing the screenplay. John Boorman directed the film and his eye for detail turns every scene into a lavish production. It seemed like every setting was well-developed, as if it were a real place and not mere a fictional office or tailor shop put together only as a conceit to the movie effort. Geoffrey Rush stars ...

  Long before Nicolas Cage brought Johnny Blaze to life on the big screen, the character was a staple of Marvel Comics’ horror line in the 1970s. Senior writers Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich created Johnny Blaze’s character and backstory while renowned artist Mike Ploog created the black leather and flaming skull look. Comics fans immediately fell in love with the idea of a stunt cyclist turned supernatural hero on the run from the Devil himself. When Johnny Blaze’s head first caught on fire and he created the Hellcycle to combat evil at night, every kid reading the comic want to be him. In just a few short months Johnny Blaze burst from the pages of Marvel Premiere into his own magazine. At the time, Marvel Comics had been enjoying tremendous success with its “Tomb of Dracula” comic as well as “Werewolf By Night” and their version of Frankenstein. Like Jack Russell, the ...

  After recharging the James Bond franchise in 1995 with “Goldeneye” (he did the same recently with “Casino Royale”), and reviving Zorro for modern audiences (1998’s “The Mask of Zorro”), director Martin Campbell cranked out this slick, by-the-numbers mountain-climbing adventure film. Peter Garrett (Chris O’Donnell) and his sister, Annie (Robin Tunney) lose their father in a mountain-climbing accident. Several years later, the incident has left Peter and Annie estranged, and Peter reluctant to ever climb again. While stopping over at Annie’s mountainside base camp, his attempt at reconciliation is sidelined by the arrival of millionaire Elliot Vaughn (Bill Paxton). Vaughn is an experienced mountain-climber who previously attempted an expedition to climb K2 that ended in failure and tragedy. Now Vaughn wants to take another crack at K2, and this time he has tied it to a publicity stunt. While on the expedition, Vaughn is warned of a possible oncoming storm, but he cajoles leader Tom ...

  “The Sentinel” is a familiar and sturdy piece of work put together by a good director and exemplary actors and actresses. The story of a decent man accused of a great wrong and chased by the very people/establishment he protected is an old tale, but one that always seems to engage an audience. Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a Secret Service agent in the twilight of his career. Garrison took a bullet for Ronald Reagan back in the 1980s, so he’s something of a celebrity on the job. The story opens with Garrison starting his day at 4:00 in the morning, performing a series of conditioning exercises, having breakfast, and then getting on to work at the White House. Garrison is assigned to protect the First Lady, Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger). Garrison is playing with fire, however. Sometime before the film starts, he’s become romantically involved with Sarah. No one else knows. Kim Basinger ...