Posts Tagged ‘dvd review’

In late October and into November, while box office phenom Paranormal Activity was making headlines, the Gerard Butler-starring action-thriller Law Abiding Citizen was slowly and quietly working its way to a sizable profit. The movie was an afterthought for many reasons – one because it appeared like yet another forgettable Butler flick (he’d already punished audiences with Gamer only a month earlier) and two, because the title was so unremarkable that it didn’t even seem necessary to watch the trailer. It was only after a few friends gave faint praise that I began to pay attention, but by that point it was practically out of theaters.

Read FilmJabber’s full Law Abiding Citizen movie review.

Bruce Willis wants to save the world! Again! Surrogates, his latest action-thriller, debuts on Blu-Ray and DVD on January 26, 2010. More of a mystery-thriller than an action film, the movie offers up a cool concept with only decent execution, resulting in an entertaining but underwhelming film.

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In 2006, Joe Carnahan unleashed the psychedelic Smokin’ Aces upon audiences, developing a cult following that unfortunately never formulated for his previous, much-better cop thriller Narc. Apparently, Smokin’ Aces was good enough to warrant a sequel – or at least a prequel – because Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball has now arrived on DVD and Blu-Ray. As can be expected, the movie is horrible and a waste of time.

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John Goodman are back and Billy Crystal are back… on Blu-Ray! OK, so Monsters, Inc.‘s release on Blu-Ray isn’t that exciting since we’ve now determined that it really isn’t worth upgrading from DVD to Blu-Ray, but at least be excited that the beloved Disney-Pixar movie now comes with some great new special features. And some not-so-great ones.

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There’s bad, and then there’s Street Fighter bad. And what’s worse than a Street Fighter movie but an unnecessary, unwanted sequel fifteen years after the franchise’s heyday, starring a TV actress and lacking a plot? Yes, it’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

One has to think that 20th Century Fox had this absurd idea when greenlighting the film that it would do well enough to fund several sequels titled Street Fighter: The Legend of Another Forgettable Character. Ah, Hollywood executives. You’re so cute sometimes.

Read the rest of the Street Fighter movie review.

When I saw the previews for Dark Streets, I was intrigued. It looked like a darker Moulin Rouge meets Chicago, a smoky musical thriller set in the underworld of New Orleans. Unfortunately, reality is often much less exciting.

Dark Streets stars Gabriel Mann as Chaz, a playboy and nightclub owner who finds his life spinning out of control amidst too many love affairs, debt and the mystery surrounding his father’s death. Though there is a plot, Dark Streets is essentially one-long music video, featuring original songs with performances by Natalie Cole, Etta James, Richie Sambora and more.

Read the rest of the Dark Streets movie review.

Confessions of a Shopaholic comes to DVD next Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The movie is a hate it or dislike it kind of movie, not particularly terrible as it is, ultimately, unoriginal and cliche. Those that did like the film will find little to enjoy on the DVD, as the picture contains an embarassingly small amount of special features – a couple of deleted scenes, bloopers and a music vivdeo. The second disc merely contains a digital copy, but I can’t imagine too many people are tripping over themselves to put this on their iPod.

As for the movie itself, read on to see not one, but two movie reviews for the romantic comedy.

Paramount Home Video has unleashed another wave of terror upon us by re-releasing three more Friday the 13th movies on DVD, thus confirming that Paramount is, indeed, trying to get everyone in the world to commit suicide simultaneously.

This awful franchise only gets worse as it goes along, as The Final Chapter and A New Beginning are some of the worst slasher films ever made. Thankfully, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is halfway decent, as far as Jason movies go. These movies return to DVD on June 16, 2009.

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It takes a little bit of head scratching to figure out what Paramount is talking about when they refer to the Star Trek trilogy, as I’m pretty sure there are eleven films released one after the other with no proclamation of a trilogy. But when it comes down to it, there is a three-part story arc beginning with Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and that goes on to include The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home.

The Wrath of Khan, as many people would agree, is the best Star Trek movie made (and yes, that includes 2009′s film). In it, an exiled Khan uses his strength and intellect to overwhelm a Star Fleet ship, but his one weakness – the need for vengeance – is what Kirk and a crippled Enterprise takes advantage of. I’ve never been a fan of The Search for Spock, as it all seems like an endeavor just to bring the title character back from the dead with uninteresting villains, led by Christopher Lloyd of all people. Lastly, The Voyage Home, though featuring a story I would generally find cheesy, is a funny and entertaining way to round things out.

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Defiance was one of those odd films that the studio clearly had no idea what to do with. Despite starring Daniel Craig, hot off the biggest James Bond opening in franchise history, and featuring an established director in Edward Zwick, the WWII action film opened on limited screens and faded into obscurity before it had a chance.

Apparently, Paramount originally considered Defiance to be an awards contendor giving its late 2008 release, but the movie isn’t that good. Still, it is an entertaining, exciting and action-packed war drama with plenty of Nazi killings and melodrama – it should have been a decent-sized hit.

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Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) joined forces to make Revolutionary Road, a drama that flew under the radar in December 2008 and received lukewarm reviews from critics, despite being one of the best of the year. This emotional and shocking tale will be available on DVD this coming Tuesday, June 2, 2009.

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First there was Paul Blart, and then there was Taken. It was only January 2009, and we had two major – and surprise – hits on our hands. I remember when I first watched the movie preview for Taken, the Liam Neeson-starring thriller that looks and feels a lot like a B-grade version of The Bourne Identity. The movie looked cool – I was interested in seeing it – but my initial reaction was that no one else would, the studio would give it little promotion and it would open to around $8 million and fade into obscurity shortly thereafter.

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A lot of people shrugged off Valkyrie due to the presence of Tom Cruise, his American accent while portraying a German and the eye patch he wears throughout much of the picture. Then again, not that many people shrugged it off, as the Nazi film went on to make $200 million worldwide, proving that despite the star’s antics over the last few years, he is still a box office threat.

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There are many movies that have been released over the years where sequels make sense. That doesn’t mean they need sequels, but you can see how it’ll work. A sequel to Donnie Darko, however, never crossed my mind.

Donnie Darko, one of the most unique, intriguing, mind-bending and debate-invigorating films of the 21st century, is one of my favorite movies. The film, though it was never a box office hit, has become a cult classic, solidified Jake Gyllenhaal as a leading man and is just one damn fine film. It is also a movie with a satisfying ending… an ending where the title character dies to save the world.

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My Bloody Valentine 3D comes to DVD this Tuesday, May 19, 2009, and I’ll just say: wait until the new Friday the 13th hits stores. When I saw the movie in theaters, I found it mildly amusing, if only for how bad it was and for the fact that it was in 3D. The movie was, in fact, my first Real3D experience, and the visuals are pretty impressive; impressive enough that they helped me survive through a rather painful and cliche horror movie that thinks it is so much smarter than it actually is.

You can read the My Bloody Valentine 3D movie review here, or read on for my DVD review…

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