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)