Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

When it comes to a question of preference between 2003's "Bruce
Almighty" and 2007's "Evan Almighty," I vote a little differently than
the moviegoing public. "Bruce" featured a clever idea that posited Jim
Carrey as God, using heavenly powers to alter the world as his
character, Bruce Nolan, saw fit. Offering the star an open field to
utilize his gifts with slapstick comedy, amplified with spiritual
divinity, the feature nailed an impressive tone of mischief, sustaining a
pleasant run of farcical activity for at least the first half of the
effort. Eventually taking itself seriously as a vessel for moral lessons
and melodramatic encounters, "Bruce" fell apart, abandoning impish
behavior to become a tool of inspiration, prone to preaching instead of
tickling. While far from a perfect film, "Evan" at least has the sense
to settle down and enjoy its cartoonish premise, stripping away labored
storytelling to carry on as a cartoon with a biblical pinch, saving the
heavy stuff for late in the final act. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Those expecting a seamy, Vaseline-uncorked ride through exploitation
cinema heaven with "Bitch Slap" might be well advised to skip this
picture entirely. More of an "Austin Powers" carnival of camp with
YouTube production polish, "Bitch Slap" opens with a Joseph Conrad quote
and ends in a hail of bullets, leaving the midsection fairly
anticlimactic and insistently silly. It's criminal to dismiss something
so utterly consumed with ample feminine assets and cross-eyed
ultraviolence, but the goofball pitch of this fluff grows tiresome early
in the first round, rendering the picture a splendid 10-minute short
film idea stretched intolerably to 105 minutes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it would seem natural to sequelize the 1980 hit, "The Blues
Brothers," the 1982 death of co-star John Belushi made such a prospect
daunting for even the most money-hungry producer. After all, to
regenerate Belushi's slovenly presence for a successful follow-up would
require a major casting effort to match survivor Dan Aykroyd
beat-for-beat, while instilling the feature with a sense of anarchic
comic timing and generous stage command. It took 18 years for a
continuation to bubble up, yet Aykroyd and co-writer John Landis were
persistent, constructing a picture that could do justice to the spirit
of the previous extravaganza while forging a new identity for a
different era. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the late 1990s, Hollywood wanted to make rapper DMX a movie star.
It's not an uncommon practice to turn someone known exclusively for
their musical achievements into an actor, yet with DMX, the effort
seemed hopelessly misguided. Stiff and unconvincing, the hip-hop artist
never carried himself with ease on screen, yet he still managed to bark
out a minor filmography. A large chunk of his employment was courtesy of
producer Joel Silver, who brought DMX in to flavor 2000's "Romeo Must
Die" and co-star alongside Steven Seagal in 2001's "Exit Wounds."
Sensing screen magic, Silver reunited DMX with "Romeo" star Jet Li for
2003's "Cradle 2 the Grave," an actioner meant to pay off the fumes of
chemistry shared earlier by the performers, gifting them their own
playground of martial arts activity, explosions, and gunplay, with a
booming soundtrack to score the chaos. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his directorial unveiling, John Hughes selected a piece of material
held close to his heart; a screenplay that contained beloved topics: the
chaos of the nuclear family and the humiliation/redemption of the
average American teen. "Sixteen Candles" is largely Hughes testing his
gifts behind the camera, inadvertently pioneering a genre that would
come to define his career. It's a rough sketch of future triumphs, but
"Candles" is a brazenly mischievous, consistently uproarious comedy that
christens the devastating Hughes-fu with vivacious results. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I didn't know who Sir Trevor McDonald was before I sat down with the series "Queen & Country," and I know even less about the man four hours later. He's our guide through this Diamond Jubilee celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's life and times, but there's no introduction, no moment to isolate a host the viewer comes to rely on for facts, interviews, and pacing needs. The question mark of McDonald (research tells me he's a respected British journalist) is emblematic of "Queen & Country," a handsomely produced inspection of the royal experience, yet a show created strictly for royalists and romantics, offering nothing in the way of an introduction for those who've elected to live their lives without an intricate understanding of the Monarchy. The news footage is remarkable, the conversations breathless, and the subject fascinating, yet the lengthy production is no proper education, it's a victory lap. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a child, it was a badge of honor to slowly acquire access to late night television. As bedtimes grew later, entrance to a world of comedians, monologues, and celebrity interviews was provided, commencing an education in timing and talent few prime time shows could offer. While David Letterman possessed an appealing wackiness and genial subversive quality, nothing could come close to Johnny Carson, an iconic figure who owned late night programming, making his nightly adventures an illuminating display of confidence and enchanting cocktail-hour routine, killing nightly with a triumphant sense of humor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the one-two-three punch of "The Distinguished Gentleman," "Beverly Hills Cop III," and "Vampire in Brooklyn," there was legitimate concern in 1996 that Eddie Murphy had lost his big screen mojo. After 15 years of solid entertainment, Murphy was low on creative gas, requiring material that would allow him to shine brightly in a brash manner audiences had grown accustomed to. Remaking Jerry Lewis's 1963 smash "The Nutty Professor" was the boost the comedy legend needed at the time, triggering enormous box office returns while renewing faith in Murphy's abilities to charm with comedic chaos. The movie restored his marquee value, though it did so by emphasizing a crude imagination and a fondness for bodily function humor, often caught playing all the way to the back row to keep the energy of the lukewarm update zooming along. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the mid-2000s, dance movies became all the rage in Hollywood, boosted by the surprising box office performance of 2003's "Honey" and the out-of-nowhere success of 2004's "You Got Served." Bringing hip-hop dancing to the masses, while offering studios low-budget entertainment to exploit, the films took flight, creating a profitable string of dramatically flabby efforts that bewitched younger audiences in the mood for flashy body movement and corny plots typically involving young thugs reaching their potential on the dance floor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The name Mel Gibson causes a great number of people to break out in hives these days, a perfectly reasonable reaction in light of the star's recent behavior and history of manic episodes. However, for the purposes of this review, Gibson's violent behavior and association with industry leeches and creeps will be set aside temporarily to focus on the business at hand. Despite anger issues that could qualify the man as a genuine lethal weapon, Gibson is a fine actor with a history of iconic roles and emotionally charged performances. One of his most committed being 1996's "Ransom," where the screen idol teamed with director Ron Howard, an unlikely choice for such punishing material. The pairing defied the odds, turning a twisty tale of a cold-blooded kidnapping into a gripping mainstream diversion, generating an authentic ambiance of concern and frustration from material that's prone to melodramatic outbursts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Like most people, I had a general appreciation for the daily existence of a koala, imagining the creature hanging out in tall trees, gobbling down leaves, while Todd Rundgren's "Bang the Drum All Day" plays on an imaginary soundtrack. It's a simplified portrait of the koala, but there's not much out there in the sea of popular culture to disturb the stereotype, finding the furry animals often depicted with cartoonish cuteness and lethargy, establishing an instant comfort with the koala nation. "Cracking the Koala Code" is a "Nature" episode directly dealing with territorial and mating rituals of the creatures, and boy howdy, does it ever alter the public's concept of the koala as a peaceful, adorable beast with a harmless addiction to greenery. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1988, Steven Seagal, with his trim frame and greasy hair, brooded his way into multiplexes with "Above the Law," a novelty action picture that shocked the industry when it actually found an audience, turning a hulking, squinty Akido instructor into a B-movie superhero. Growing a ponytail and stiffening his screen presence, Seagal returned to screens two years later with "Hard to Kill," welcomed with growing box office success and a behind-the-scenes relationship with co-star Kelly LeBrock (the two were married at the time). Suddenly, Seagal went from a lark to a semi-bankable star, and with good reason. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's not every day that one receives the opportunity to bask in the expanse of the elements, leaving the "Nova" program, "Hunting the Elements," quite a distinctive viewing opportunity. Less of an analysis and more of a breezy overview of periodic table highlights, the program quests to bring the mysteries of science down to an approachable level while remaining challenging enough to provide scholarly types with an invigorating investigation of a habitually studied topic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1987, Patrick Swayze scored a sleeper smash with "Dirty Dancing," catapulting the actor to bigger and better roles in Hollywood, offering a shot at starring vehicles after years of supporting work. In 1990, Swayze hit the jackpot with "Ghost," a bona fide blockbuster that made him a household name, using sensual pottery and a resolute commitment to emoting to turn his last name into legend. Yet, there was an odd year in between the hits, with 1989 providing an especially double-fisted year for Swayze, testing out his newfound bankability with two actioners of disparate temperaments, both met with cult approval and middling box office. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's a wonder how a film like "Bringing Down the House" made it through the trials of script development and studio inspection. A racially charged comedy released roughly 30 years after such an enterprise could still be considered daring, the feature is a uncomfortable blend of hate and slapstick, greased down with a sitcom lubricant to aid mass appeal and to keep the more easily offended from throwing a fit after sitting through such nonsense. It's broad but terribly outdated material; however, upon its release in 2003 (making Disney's "10th Anniversary Edition" label a little bewildering), the movie was greeted with massive box office success, finding audiences eagerly devouring the shenanigans without a single thought paid to the toxic nature of the writing and direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While some movie trilogies shine like a diamond, most tend to peter out by the second sequel. Think "Spider-Man 3," "RoboCop 3," and "Beverly Hills Cop 3." "Blade: Trinity" is a classic example of a franchise running at top speed into a brick wall for its third installment, collecting a series of dismal ideas, poor characterizations, and iffy filmmaking ability into a glacial, joyless enterprise that essentially ignores what made the previous pictures connect with audiences. Although ripe with potential, "Blade: Trinity" is a trainwreck set to a booming soundtrack, turning vampire hunting into a screen chore while it almost intentionally torches the macabre groundwork laid down by the first two features. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1989, writer/director Oliver Stone was diligently working on building his filmmaking career after his 1986 effort, the semi-autobiographical "Platoon," was showered with awards and exceptional box office, making the struggling artist a hot commodity. His vision would carry on to movies such as 1987's "Wall Street" and 1988's "Talk Radio," but Stone's interests in the nuances of the Vietnam War was far from sated. Adapted from the autobiography by veteran-turned-activist Ron Kovic, "Born on the Fourth of July" allowed Stone a chance to expand his dissection of this tumultuous era, acquiring a story not necessarily about the horror of the front lines, but the conflict of the troubled soul. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the wild, camouflage is a key component of survival, permitting creatures a chance to protect themselves using their natural skin or fur as defense against predators. For lions, sheer force is employed to help establish dominance, but their natural golden coloring assists in the routine of personal security, allowing the beasts to blend in with their surroundings, giving them an advantage in a land of continuous hunting. For the white lion, their bright appearance is akin to painting a target on their back, standing out like a snowball in a dry land, making them a particular curiosity in South Africa's wild bush country. How does a lion with ivory fur survive in a brutal land where concealment is a way of life? How could anything so obvious to the naked eye make it past life as a cub? Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The work of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin is best described as polarizing, with audiences near and far torn between a profound appreciation for the helmer's stylistics and tributes to moviemaking processes of old, and his dedication to abstract thought, rarely embarking on a picture that isn't moderately impenetrable. He's not an artist to be embraced, but observed, especially when Maddin launches into his own orbit, recalling the early years of David Lynch, aiming to alienate a large portion of his audience with oppressive layers of interpretational cinema, meant to challenge the cineaste more than satisfy the average matinee warrior. Through efforts like "The Saddest Music in the World" and "My Winnipeg," Maddin has built a brand name with his dedication to surrealism and magical happenings, typically slathered with expressionistic images pulled straight from silent cinema. He's an acquired taste, though with "Keyhole," the impish prankster is beginning to repeat himself. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“I Wish” is a sweet, gentle picture from Japan, directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, who specializes in softly wistful features of visual beauty. Although it runs for longer than it should, “I Wish” finds a charming position of curiosity and longing that helps to extend its interests to the audience, creating interesting characters facing adversity, who look to a bit of magic to help ease the discomfort in their lives. It’s also a movie about children told from a child’s perspective, granting the film a specialized concentration of adolescent energy that provides a unique thumbprint to an otherwise leisurely exploration of hope and travel. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com