Blu-ray Movie Disc Reviews
Categories in section: Blu-ray Movie Disc Reviews
| Action-Adventure (114) | Animation (62) | Comedy (82) |
| Documentary (3) | Drama (70) | Foreign (2) |
| Horror-Thriller (27) | Martial Arts (7) | Military-War (19) |
| Music-Concert (19) | Mystery-Suspense (58) | Romantic Comedy (46) |
| Romantic Drama (24) | Sci-Fi-Fantasy (75) | Sports (14) |
| TV Shows (14) | Western (6) |
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Written by
Bill Warren
|
“Saw” is a tidy, efficient little bundle of malice, so effective and
well-made that it became an actual hit, and so far has generated two
sequels, one this year. James Wan (director) and Leigh Whannell came up
with a simple but gripping story, and they tell it very well. It is
also extremely grim and brutal, with lots of blood spilled amidst the
mayhem. It is, as they say, definitely not for the squeamish, but is a
nice, hot cup of rich blood for those with a taste for the genuinely
macabre.
In a filthy, disused combination men’s room/lavatory, Adam (Leigh
Whannell, the co-writer) wakes up, his leg shackled to a pipe. He looks
around the white tiled room in confusion. Lying on the floor just out
of reach is a dead body in a pool of blood, the pistol that clearly
killed him nearby. On the other side of the room ...
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Written by
Bill Warren
|
“S.W.A.T.” is a crisp, efficient, workmanlike police action thriller
that’s short on plot and characters, but scores with tense, exciting
scenes of combat in the streets of Los Angeles. The climax, however,
with a Lear jet landing on one of the bridges crossing the L.A. River
(yes, there IS an L.A. River) east of downtown, is improbable enough to
decrease audience involvement. It shifts from a routinely-plotted but
essentially realistic tale of the Special Weapons And Tactics team of
the LAPD to a far-fetched, almost James Bondian thriller.
It’s a good choice for release for Blu-Ray, which delivers almost
palpable textures and intense colors, and is especially good with
aerial shots of cities at night, when every lighted window is
clearly-delineated and realistic. The sound is also good, particularly
in the opening and closing sequences, with the surround used
imaginatively and well—though of course this is a trait of the
theatrical moviemaking team, not ...
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Written by
Darren Gross
|
12-year old D.J. (Mitchel Musso) is obsessed with the creepy house
across the street. Its owner, an apoplectic misanthrope named
Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) harangues any kid who trespasses on his
lawn and confiscates balls, tricycles and any item that rolls across
his property line. When D.J. attempts to retrieve his friend Chowder’s
(Sam Lerner) basketball, it brings him face to face with an enraged
Nebbercracker, who suffers some kind of an attack, apparently dies, and
is carted off in an ambulance. Almost immediately, Nebbercracker’s
house comes to life and begins to lure and devour whoever ventures
near. After saving shrewd private-school girl, Jenny (Spencer Locke)
from the house, D.J. and Chowder enlist her help to try to stop the
demonic domicile, which is becoming sneakier and more animated.
“Monster House” is a fun idea, relatable to nearly every suburban kid
in America, but is given somewhat middling treatment here. It’s
executive-produced by Steven Spielberg ...
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Written by
Bill Warren
|
Because “Stargate” looks terrific and plunged boldly ahead into its
improbable story of instantaneous travel between galaxies, and because
it features an appealing star performance by James Spader (though Kurt
Russell is dull), it initially received better review than it was
really entitled to. Watched on video, especially in this special
edition, seven minutes longer than in theatrical release, “Stargate”
gradually wears the viewer down. It feels as though someone is stacking
increasingly heavy weights on your chest, and you can’t get up, you
can’t get relief.
Fortunately, this Blu-Ray disc, in high definition, is a real dazzler,
visually. The special effects are good but not outstanding, but they’re
also amazing to look at. The picture on your high-def set seems
immediate and real, even when moderately incredible things are going
on. (The movie is not especially spectacular, and is woefully
unimaginative.) On the unnamed planet our stalwart heroes reach, you
can practically feel the ...
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Written by
Bill Warren
|
“Silent Hill” is another movie based on a video game; some aficionados
of the game say that the film is particularly close to the game, both
visually and in terms of action. That must really be saying something,
because visually, “Silent Hill” is stunning: the dark-toned,
brown-and-gray cinematography by Dan Laustsen is extremely
effective—this is a great-looking movie. He works very well with the
production design by Carol Spier, and the high definition of this
Blu-Ray DVD makes this a surprisingly good-looking example of the
technique. The sound design is excellent, with good use made of all of
the speakers in a 5.1 system.
Unfortunately, that’s about it for “Silent Hill.” The story may work
well in the video game, but as a movie, it’s sloppy, unconvincing,
repetitious and almost impossible to figure out. Young mother Rose
(Radha Mitchell) is worried about the tendency of her daughter Anna
(Tanya Allen) to sleepwalk to high ...
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