Blu Ray Reviews

SERENITY(RELEASE 2005, BD 2008, DIRECTED BY JOSS WHEDON):
Movie: 5/5-Amazing script, engaging characters, lovable hero(no homo) and kickass action scenes. Lucas should see how pale his prequels of Star Wars are compared to this.
Nathan Fillion leads a great cast as a very unique and innovative character. The story is engaging, character development is great and the visuals are outstanding for a 39 million dollar production. One of the best sci fi films ever made.
Picture Quality:5/5-amazing detail and beautiful colors.
Audio Quality:5/5-perfect sound.
Extras:4/5-quite nice. outtakes are probably the best I've seen
Overall:5/5-INCREDIBLE

SHUTTER ISLAND(RELEASE 2010, BD 2010, DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE)
Movie:4.5/5-As a masterful director, there is much to expect when a Scorcese picture is released. You would think every movie of his would top the other and be brilliant. Sadly, Shutter Island is neither better than his others(especially the previous Departed)nor is it brilliant. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was, It forced me to think, that's a big plus point. Not only that, but the performances were solid. Leo is great in this one. The best part about this movie is the awesome visual direction. There is film noir in every corner of this movie. The surrealism mindf**cks you pretty bad but that's the good thing(wait till you see INCEPTION). What brings the film down is its predictability, and that takes away the thrill. Still, the ending made me happy(if you've seen Leo's fate in Scorcese's films you know what I mean). I enjoyed SHUTTER ISLAND...recommended.
Picture Quality:4.5/5 even if some bright scenes have too much lighting, the picture is amazing. Great color quality and the details are crisp. Demo worthy.
Audio Quality:5/5-perfect. I jumped sometimes due to the foghorn music. Awesome.
Extras:1/5-there are only two features and they are just so-so.
Overall:4.5/5 RECOMMENDED

The American: Review

In The American, a hitman waits in the Italian countryside to wait for his next assignment. Over there, he creates a friendship with a priest and finds love in a local prostitute. He knows that after his last mission his luck will run out soon. What happens is that the hitman Jack starts to make himself quite vulnerable, due to his little human contact.
Movies like this are rare to find. The promotion clearly screamed that this will not be an action packed extravaganza like Bourne or Bond. The poster showed that this will be a homage to the great 70s thrillers, like The Limey was. The movie doesn't have the critical acclaim of The Limey, and it has divided audiences. This is the decade of the young generation(that I am a part of) where they want to see explosions,lots of action and not a lot of usage of the brain. These are the people that made Vampires Suck number one at the box office for some time.
In short, the majority of this generation will not like the movie. The thing is, I did. I expected a cool spy drama with nice performances, a slow pace and building tension. That's exactly what I got. George Clooney gave a great performance. The American is all on his shoulders. Each scene is stolen by him. The other main actors-Paolo Bonacelli, Thekla Reuten, and Violante Placido are all very good.
The most engaging parts of the movie are when Clooney(who plays Edward..or Jack..) is making the weapon. I was definitely interested. I really love the artistry of the movie. The experienced or open minded moviegoers will be seriously glued to the screen.
A main problem here is that the movie's story isn't so amazing. Sure, the concept is nice, but not the story. It wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be but nor was it anything too different. Another issue is that at most times not much is progressing in the story, but it's okay because the building tension more or less makes up for it.
My verdict is: the average moviegoer will be bored. The experienced moviegoer will be happy. The moviegoer that expected a slow thriller will be pleased-like me. I will recommend this to the latter two. 7/10 (solid)

Universal Sucks At Marketing

Seeing as many people post box office updates, there's no reason for me to do them. However, I can talk business. Today's target is Universal Studios. Though the studio never really had much of a problem before, this year is a huge loss for them. Though Leap Year was a minor success, The Wolfman was a failure at the box office. The movie's promos showed weak production values and the commercials displayed the movie strangely in full screen. The reviews were also negative. I myself would give the movie a 4/10.
Their next movie was Green Zone. This movie had hope to it, as it was being directed by Paul Greengrass and starred Matt Damon. This movie had Bourne-like success written all over. Still, Universal didn't waste time promoting it well. The promos and commercials were shown primarily 2 weeks before release and there was only one poster. Many predicted failure as it was based on the Iraq war. The movie didn't recover its costs, and met with mixed acclaim. Some liked it and some hated it. I enjoyed it being a Damon-Greengrass fan. I would give it a 7.8/10.
Their next film was Repo Men. This movie at least had ads all over the internet a month before release. However, the commercials showed nothing but mind-numbing gore and not much of a story. The movie had a low budget and wasn't effects-laden, so not many were intrigued. The movie flopped at the box office and had negative acclaim.
Robin Hood(starring Russel Crowe, directed by Ridley Scott) was a bit of a turning point for Universal. The movie had heavy promotion and showed a lot of battle scenes and the fact that it was by the director of Gladiator gathered genuine interest. The reviews have been mixed and the movie had a lukewarm opening of $36,063,385, but the movie opened big at the foreign box office of approx. $75 mil. The movie turned out to be an average hit, but at least it didn't fail.
Universal's next had rather weak promotion. Macgruber was based off a SNL short, and people knew that SNL based movies aren't good nowadays. The trailers and ads showed loud humor and many people said it looked stupid. The movie had mixed acclaim and it is the second biggest flop of the year.
Get Him to the Greek had decent potential. It was a spin off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall-a comedy that has a decent box office and good critical acclaim. The ads showed a fun movie with raunchy comedy. The movie met with positive reviews and did a decent job at the box office-though to be a hit it needed to make more.
After a rather lukewarm year, Universal finally had a super hit in their hands. Despicable Me was promoted months before its release. The animation and the strange yellow minions attracted the little kids. The fact it was in 3D would also help the ticket sales. The movie had good critical acclaim and it had a great run at the BO.
Nicholas Sparks movies usually do fine at the box office, but other movies ruined the run of Charlie St. Cloud. The movie wasn't really promoted and was targeting young teenage girls. With movies like Inception and Salt out it wouldn't stand a chance.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is Universal's newest release, and this time it's one of the best movies of the year. However, they ruined the movie's BO potential with the marketing. The posters showed Micheal Cera with a guitar, and that made it look like it was for a niche audience. This movie is mainly a fanboy(or fangirl) affair, and the comic books were not very well known. Though the San Diego Comic Con showed the movie and many liked it, they were basically the main audience for it. This movie looked like it was made for rockers and nerds, but it's actually a variety of things. Too bad its future BO looks weak. It's a great movie with critical acclaim.

REVIEW: THE GRAND HEIST-I MEAN-INCEPTION

Sorry for that uber-lame title, but INCEPTION could be interchangeable with THE GRAND HEIST easily. I never expected the 10 hour mission to be longer than 30 minutes, let alone much of the movie. In fact, my brain will never be the same again. Just like the pretty Ellen Page said: "It's pure creation."
In this movie, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a thief. In fact, a dream thief. He knows the tricks to navigate one's mind. To perform a heist, he prepares an awesome team. He is the EXTRACTOR. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the POINT MAN. Ellen Page plays the ARCHITECT. Ken Watanabe is the TOURIST. Marion Cotillard is the SHADE. Cillian Murphy is the MARK. Tom Hardy does a James Bond when playing the FORGER, and Micheal Caine is there for a bit. :)
Now that you know the actors, how did they perform. My goodness, they are first-rate. Best ensemble of the year. Leo is simply awesome. The whole movie rests on his shoulders. Joseph is great; he plays a likable guy and is badass in one of the most amazing fights I've seen. Page and Cotillard look great and act really well. Caine is there for a bit and does a great job. Ken i s great, Murphy is solid and Berenger is good.
Like BLADE RUNNER, this movie shows us completely new ideas and never bores. The talky parts are vital to the story. In fact, just like BR, people will question where the story lies. There is a story in all that visual glamor, and a beautiful one. I knew what to expect of it and got a huge surprise. The story is powerful and touching.
Now to the technical parts. The visuals are beautiful and used well. Not over-the-top at all; realistic as hell. The action sequences are hard-boiled and fast paced. Unlike other movies, you can't count how many there are. It's just so many put together. Since I'm an action-movie fan, the fact that there were so many in one sequence made me cry with happiness. Well, it almost did.
There will also be people that will say it is original, but in years, we'll get better movies that use their ideas to full potential. I say:this movie is way ahead of our time, just like BLADE RUNNER was in 1982. To wrap it all up, INCEPTION is BRILLIANT. Christopher Nolan never disappoints. Through his career he has given us a masterpiece after masterpiece. His fans know his true masterpiece will be the one with the intelligent script of MEMENTO and the scale of DARK KNIGHT. INCEPTION is exactly this, but God knows how many times better.
WATCH IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOVIES LIKE THIS ARE RARE!!!
Rating:10/10(WOW)

I N C E P T I O N TOMORROW

Well, tomorrow's the day. Whether you go at 12:01 midnight or 11:30 at morning, tomorrow is when we all enter the mind of CHRISTOPHER NOLAN. The movie seemingly will avenge the horrible box office of the amazing BLADE RUNNER. The movie probably won't reach DARK KNIGHT numbers, but it might be better. So far, it has a 85% on Rottentomatoes.com, but I don't care. BATMAN BEGINS has a 85% and I'd give it a perfect 10/10. PRESTIGE has a 75% but I'd give it a 10/10. The third highest rated Nolan film, INSOMNIA, has a 92%, but from me it gets a 9.5/10. So the fact that INCEPTION has great reviews but not as many as DARK KNIGHT doesn't matter to me. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 and Richard Roeper gave it an A+. This is enough for me. In fact, the final score will range from a 85%-95%, with most likely a 91%.

For me and many others, INCEPTION is a movie anticipated for its originality and the director. Chris Nolan has never disappointed. Why should he start now? Even if INCEPTION doesn't get a 10/10 from me, the least you can expect is a 8.8(that's how good Nolan is). Still, I know I will give it a 10/10. For MEMENTO, my rating would be 10/10. For DARK KNIGHT, I would give a 10/10. So four of his films are already masterpieces, while INSOMNIA is still brilliant. INCEPTION is Nolan's passion, so this should be incredible. Plus, most of the good reviews say it's a masterpiece. The negative reviews are because Nolan always gives a chill instead of any kind of warmth. That's why people love him, and he shouldn't change that.
GO WATCH I N C E P T I O N!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"ONE SIMPLE IDEA"
"YOU TAUGHT ME TO NAVIGATE THE MIND"
"I AM IMPRESSED"
"WAKE ME UP! WAKE ME UP!!"
"NEVER RECREATE FROM YOUR MEMORY. ALWAYS IMAGINE NEW PLACES."
"What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it."
"Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange."
"I think I found a way home. And this last job, that's how I get there."

Random Blu Ray Review of the Week: BLOOD DIAMOND

Movie Rating: 9.6/10
BLOOD DIAMOND-for me-is the third best movie of 2006 after DEPARTED and CASINO ROYALE. The thing is, those movies are perfect. I found no flaws at all in them. BD, though intelligent and powerful, has its flaws, but more on to them later.
The pace here is intense and great. The story isn't amazing but powerful. I liked the script; it was intelligent. Also, the action here is heart-pounding. I especially liked the air strike sequence near the end, the brief car chase, the rebel fight with the army, and when Leo took down the soldiers on the mountain. These scenes are very remarkable. The violence here is realistic and gritty. Also, what really made me love this movie was Leonardo's performance. The whole movie was on his shoulders. His one-liners and expressions,as well as development, are outstanding. Djimon Hounsou also did a solid job. He contributed greatly to the drama of the story. Jennifer Connelly makes for alright enough eye candy and gave a great job here.
The movie has many genres:action-adventure, human drama, and political thriller. All three work fine and are effective. The thing is, they are not fit together perfectly. The movie is overall an adventure, and that works fine. The human drama here is moving but comes a bit too late in the flick. As for the political thriller, that comes in some parts and the slightly far-fetched ending. Also, the movie preaches itself too much.
Overall, besides some flaws, BLOOD DIAMOND is a moving, smart, and action-packed thriller that never ceased to entertain.
Video Quality: At times I felt that the grain structure here sometimes covered the details and quality. However, that was mainly in the night sequences. It's a good thing that the movie was mainly shot in the day, so the print there looks amazing. 8.5/10
Audio Quality: I didn't find to many hindrances in the audio. The movie sounds great, especially during the action. Still, the audio could have had better detail, and the dialogue is a bit louder than usual. Overall, the audio is good. 8.9/10
Special Features: I didn't check them, but here's the list-
FOCUS POINTS
BLOOD ON THE STONE
BECOMING ARCHER
JOURNALISM ON THE FRONT LINE
INSIDE THE SIEGE OF FREETOWN
NAS SHINE ON 'EM MUSIC VIDEO

In the end, BLOOD DIAMOND is a great movie that has some problems, but I didn't mind them too much. The leads are amazing, and Leo's performance here made me his fan. The action is great and the story is solid, with an impressively smart script. The picture isn't up to par with new Blu Rays but still looks awesome, the audio is fine, and the additional features will let you pass time. I highly recommend BLOOD DIAMOND.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10 :)
:)

Top Blu Rays of this week

Coming out to Blu Ray today is Christopher Nolan's psychological drama INSOMNIA, which was loved by critics and the audience alike. The movie had great performances by Al Pacino and Robin Williams, as well as Hillary Swank. The movie will look awesome in this new format(9.7/10).
Coming in second place IN BRUGES, the 2008 surprise starring Colin Farrel, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson(9/10).
Other movies are: the average CHLOE(4/10), the horrible BOUNTY HUNTER(1/10), and the decent GREENBERG(7/10).