Blu-Ray dvd movie review of Event Horizon

If you have not watched Event Horizon in recent years, you might be surprised to learn that it was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Most of us are familiar with Paul Anderson's Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, and Alien versus Predator movies. And, most impression would be that those movies are fairly terrible at best. Only Resident Evil might be passable as semi decent movie. On the other hand, Even Horizon is a masterpiece. On the surface it looks to be a science fiction film but it's really a horror film set in space.

Set in mid 21st century, a crew sets out to find out what happened to a space ship named Even Horizon. This ship is built for faster than light travel. To achieve this, the ship carries a device capable of opening up a black hole that could connect two parts of the space. This ship goes missing after the first test flight. Seven years later, it appears near Neptune. This prompts a rescue mission via Lewis & Clark to find out if there are any survivors. Once they dock with Event Horizon, the crew experience strangeoccurrences. One by one they all experience shocking events and events from their past.

The acting is superb for a horror film. You usually don't get such talent as Lawrence Fishbourne or Same Neill for a horror film. Unless it's really good script. The supporting casts are as good as they can be. They need to look scared 1/2 of the time and shocked the other 1/2. All of them do those two parts exceptionally well.

Some have complained that it is hodge podge mix of genre masterpieces like Hellraiser and Alien. While there are certain elements that resemble those movies, Event Horizon stands on its own as a great horror movie. It does it with building suspense and creating a suffocating atmosphere throughout the movie. Being on space ship, you can almost feel the closeness and claustrophobia felt by the crew members. This is without a doubt a best film directed by Paul Anderson. It rightfully deserves a Blu-ray treatment as it is a classic horror film in my opinion.

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Blu-Ray movie review of Traitor

I don't think Don Cheadle has made a bad movie. There were mediocre movies with Don Cheadle in it but never through the fault of Don Cheadle. Don Cheadle has established himself as one of the finest actors in Hollywood. With movies like Hotel Rwanda, Crash and Traffic to his credit, he is always a threat for best actor award for Oscar. Even a secondary role in Ocean's series has provided us with great acting.
He delivers another solid effort in Traitor, an action thriller movie.

Don Cheadle plays Samir Horn, a terrorist or counter intelligence operative. I think it's safe to say that we can correctly guess at which one Cheadle turns out to be. At the start of the movie, Samir is arrested while trying to sell Semtex explosive to a group of terrorist. He eventually wins over the one of the terrorist and works his way into the inner circle of the terrorist. There, he works as bomb expert devising suicide bombs. Eventually, he blows up an American Embassy in Nice. Up to this point, the viewers are left to guess at the true identity ofSamir Horn. Is he with the terrorist or with the United States. Most intelligent and unintelligent viewers would have come to conclusion early in the movie. The movie unfold from there in cat and mouse fashion with FBI trying to track downSamir Horn.

Acting throughout the movie is simply superb. Don Cheadle delivers a very convincing role as the supposed traitor. Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough are convincing FBI agents trying to catch Samir. And, Jeff Daniels as the Samir's handler delivers another strong performance. Jeff Daniels is one of the most under appreciated actors in Hollywood in my opinion. He can easily make you believe in any role he chooses to play.

The movie does deliver solid entertainment. One complain I have is that this movie tries to be everything at once just like The Kingdom by Peter Berg, which was fairly good movie on its own. Is it a moral drama or straight up thriller? I give credit to the movie makers for trying to tackle the complex Middle East issues in their movies. However, it's never black and white and the movie does what it can with the tough subject. As a thriller, the movie is very enjoyable. They could have taken the setting and shifted it to the mafia setting and it would have worked as well. Ultimately, it's very enjoyable film because of the great actors.

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Blu-Ray disc movie review of Hancock

Will Smith once again delivers a summer blockbuster movie. Will Smith has consistently delivered box office success with his independence day releases. Hancock is no exception. It has grossed over $600 million world wide. He has really established himself as a box office draw in almost any role. Comedy, drama, action, and even horror films. The film itself had a great concept that suffered some mishaps in myopinion. Will Smith made the movie likable enough I believe.

Hancock is a superhero movie at the core. However, it veers off the regular Marvel type of movie by portraying John Hancock as a drunk and irresponsible superhero. I think this is a great take on a superhero genre. There is distinct line between a hero and villain. Hancock is a border line hero who has the sense of right and wrong. He just don't care about how he gets the job done. Often, hecauses more trouble while fighting crime. And, to top it off, he is an asshole. In one incident, he saves a public relations guru named Ray Embrey played by Jason Bateman. Ray proposes to transform Hancock into someone everyone can love. He begins to transform Hancock into a lovable superhero.

Up to this point, the movie is fresh and original. We have not seen a superhero like Hancock in any other movies. We have seen superhero portrayed in borderline situations but never quite like Hancock. I really liked the idea and the concept. Unfortunately, the movie can't quite finish in strong fashion. The explanation of Hancock's existence and hisinherent weakness feels like rushed and not given a careful consideration. I think Hancock could have provided a rich background and lore to launch a unique universe or franchise. Instead, the back end of the movie seems rushed and inadequate. Even the "shocking" revelation midway through the movie isn't enough to justify the soft ending.

Having said that, it is still a solid entertainment. The casts are A list Hollywood actors including Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. Peter Berg does fairly good job with the movie. I liked his last movie The Kingdom and this is right up there with that movie in terms of entertainment. With betterback end and background this could have been a great movie. Instead, it's just a fun summer movie.

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Blu-Ray movie review of Burn after Reading

The Coen brother's follow up to critically acclaimed No Country for Old Men is an espionage comedy called Burn after Reading. This film has more in common with Fargo and The Big Lebowski than the grim and dark No Country for Old Men. The film is distinctly Coen Brother's idea of comedy. It is quirky with disjointed plot and story lines that are separated by brief and very violent encounters. Even the grim deaths are hilarious in nature. You can't help but laugh when Brad Pitt is shot in the face or when Richard Jenkins get hacked to death by Malkovich's character.

Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand play health club trainers. When a co-worker stumble across a cd containing what looks to be a sensitive government information, they proceed to blackmail the owner of the disc. In reality, the cd is a financial record of former CIA analyst played by John Malkovich. The cheating wife intends to divorce Malkovich. She secretly gathers information on him. The lawyer misplaced the CD at the health club which leads to this absurd situation. The story involves CIA, Russian Embassy, U.S. Marshall, and a gym manager in love with Frances Mcdormand's character. The story is too absurd and crazy to really fathom. But, the ride is filled with funny and really funny death scenes.

You can really see the finger prints of Coen brother's humor in this movie. The sudden and violent deaths suffered by few characters are incredibly violent and funny at the same time. The sharp dialogues by the characters are also a plus for this comedy. There are absolutely no weakness in casting as topHollywood actors and actress such as Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, and Tilda Swinton all deliver top notch performances.

This might appeal to everyone's sense of humor. And, people expecting a movie similar to No Country for Old Men will be disappointed. Some have complained about the absurdity of the plot. It is absurd but that just makes it more enjoyable. The reaction by the CIA bosses at the end of the movie is just priceless. If you enjoyed Fargo and The BigLebowski, you will definitely enjoy this comedic gem.

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Blu-Ray disc movie review of Elf

Will Ferrel makes a rare PG comedy instead of his usual rated R college humor movies. As a comedy and holiday family film, it works. Ferrel has made a career out of making college humor movies like Old School and Step Brothers. Thismovie is aimed at holiday movie crowd looking for an easy going film without crude jokes.

The movie is about an elf named Buddy. Buddy is a human that has been raised by Santa's elves at North Pole. And, as he is not an elf, he invariablecauses some mishaps when he grows up. When Buddy was a baby, he accidentally crawled into Santa's bag when Santa was delivering toys to an orphanage. The father elf, played by Bob Newhart , raises Buddy. Buddy grows up believing that he is an elf. Buddy is told the truth about his origin and sets out to find his real father, JamesCaan, in New York City. The movie goes from there and there are some heartwarming moments and extremely funny scenes.

Will Ferrel is perfect as an overgrown elf. I don't think they could have found better elf. Maybe Vince Vaughn could have been as funny seeing as his buddy Jon Favreau directed this movie. Favreau has done well with few movies he has directed including Iron Man and Made. Zooey Deschanel offers an excellent on screen presence as a love interest for Buddy. And, there's really nothing to say about James Caan as he is one of the best actors of all time.

This is fairly sentimental and corny film. But, that's what most people want for a solid holiday film. The plot and script isn't all that original but it's hard to knock the story as it is done with humor and charisma. The stand out performance by JamesCaan as caring father was very endearing and spot on. Overall, it is a very good family film that will shown on television on every holiday season.

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Blu-Ray dvd movie review of Death Race

The combination of Jason Statham and Paul W.S. Anderson should be a warning enough if you don't like mindless movies. Anderson is famous for the movies based on video games such as Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil franchise. While Resident Evil is tolerable, Mortal Kombat and few other movies directed by Anderson is utterly forgettable. Jason Statham on the other hand, have been in few decent movies. Mostly, he stars as action hero type in movies like Transporter and Crank. So, it's no surprise that Death Race is an action film resembling other Anderson films. Mindless and sometimes fun.

The film takes place in 2012 where United State's economy has collapsed. To trim the costs, the federal government has turned over the prison to private corporations. Not surprisingly, these corparation air death matches on ppv to make some extra profits. When the public wants more action, one corpration runs death races where heavily armed cars race where there are no rules. It's quite comical how Anderson incorprates "power ups" where a car running over panel can get you offensive weapons or defensive weapons. Mario Kart anyone? Now, Jason Statham's character Jensen Ames gets framed for his wife's murder so the warden can bring him in to run in the race in the place of legendary Frankenstein. Frankenstein, having won 4 previous race, is eligible for freedom if he wins the 5th race. Only problem is he died after the 4th win. To bring in a good rating, the warden turns to Jensen to race as Frankenstein.

The acting is not really required except for facial expressions when most characters die. And, plot development is very minimal. Why bother with plot when you kill, maim, and blow up stuff. This movie is everything a critic might hate. It's brainless, violent, and ridiculous premise. This is why you might enjoy it for few hours. It's easy to turn off your brain and enjoy the mayhem. Ultimately, it's decent action movie you might enjoy. The Blu-ray version comes with unrated edition and your regular assortment of extras.

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Blu-Ray movie review of The X Files movie

X-Files is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed science fiction television series of all time. I think it ranks up there with many space science fiction series such as Star Trek and Babylon 5. It was matter of time before it made the jump to the big screen. In most cases, the television series made into movies might not be easily accessible to non fans. I think the people behind the television series has done fairly good job of making it accessible to wider audience. In itself, it can be taken as science fiction film without having to understand the X-files universe.

The movie starts out with alien life form inhabiting Earth tens of thousands years ago. Flash forward to present day and the alien life form is some how unearthed by bunch of kids playing around. The life form kills one of the kid and it's up to the X-file team of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to solve this mystery. The investigation leads them all over the place including the Arctic.

Now, if you are not a regular viewer of the television series, you would simply take this as science fiction mystery film. On the other hand, fans will immediately recognize the central plot that runs through the episodic series. That being the alien conspiracy. Since this movie came out when the television series had not completed its run, it does not completely answer everything. There is some what satisfactory ending to it. But, there are questions still to be answered. As fans know, the television series did not completely answer everything at the end.

As it is shown as PG-13 movie, there are more violence and harsher language than the television series. Also, I think the producers pandered a bit by playing up the relationship between Mulder and Scully. Which is not a bad thing. We all knew/know where that relationship was headed. All in all, it might feel like a longer episode of television episode with bigger budget if you are regular fan. Otherwise, it is fairly competent science fiction movie on its own.

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Blue-Ray hd dvd movie review of Jingle All The Way

This movie has taken a lot of criticism and generally been laughed off as fairly bad movie. Any Conan O'Brien fan will recognize this movie every time Arnold "shows up" as a guest. It'sinherently absurd to picture the Terminator in a family film where he has to fight off other shoppers instead of robots. I think that's why this film has taken great many knocks. It's just hard to imagine the tough action hero in an unfamiliar setting. More so in a ridiculous setting.

Arnold plays Howie Langston, who is a father who has neglected to shop for Christmas. His home life is in peril due to the disconnect between him and his wife and son. Situation is furtherexacerbated by Ted the neighbor who has the hots for his wife. In order to redeem himself, he desperately wants to buy Turbo Man doll for his son. Of course his wife has warned him to buy it weeks ago. And, as most of us know, trying to buy the hottest toy is nearly impossible near the Christmas. He has to fight hoard of last minute shoppers as well as the villain Sinbad. Sinbad plays another dad himself who has to get the Turbo Man as well. Both of them fight for Turbo Man from one scene to next. Of course, being a holiday film, we sort of know the out come.

The acting is fairly decent considering we are talking about California's governor. He was surprisingly funny throughout the movie. I especially enjoyed the late Phil Hartman as the scheming single dad. Sinbad was Sinbad. Just there for comic relief and nothing more. Overall, there are no stand out acting or really bad acting for that matter.

There seems to be tendency to judge this film sorely based on absurdity of seeing Arnold in anything but an action film. If you ignore the Terminator playing a comedic role, I think you will enjoy this fluff film. It's decent holiday film aimed at children and family. Just don't expect too much and you will enjoy the ride.

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Blue-Ray movie review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Although it's not as good as the original Indian Jones trilogy, The Mummy franchise is fairly good action/adventure movies on their own. With exception of the Scorpion King, I really enjoyed the two previous movies. These movies have right amount of action, adventure, and humor for everyone to enjoy.

This installment takes place in China in the aftermath of World War 2. Alex O'connell discovers the lost tomb of the first emperor of Qin. The evil emperor and his army was transformed into mummies by Zi Juan while seeking to be immortal. The factions of China looking to restore glory of the past awakens the Emperor. Rick O'Coonnell and his wife are on government mission to China when the mummy emperor threatens the entire humanity. Gun fights, martial art sequence, yeti, and massive mummy vs mummy insue.

Brandan Fraser returns as the action hero Rick O'Connell and John Hannah returns as the comic relief brother-in-law. Rest of the casts are new to the series. Jet Lee, Michelle Yeo, Luke Ford, and Maria Bello are all new the Mummy franchise. The new villain and supporting casts are expected in new movie. However, Maria Bello replaces Rachael Weisz as Evelyn O'Connell. While Maria Bello is an Oscar caliber actress, Rachel Weisz's presence and chemistry with Brandan Fraser was missing in my opinion. And, Luke Ford as son of Rick and Evelyn O'Connell seemed to be too old for the role. Other than that, I had no problem with the casts.

A lot of the fans felt bit underwhelmed by this movie. While it might seem to have lost some steam from previous two movies, it is still an enjoyable film. The absence of Rachel Weisz was my biggest gripe. The special effects and the fighting sequences were well done. I especially liked the eastern flavor in the fight scenes. Even though it did not smash any box office records, I hope there will be fourth installment in the future.

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Blue-Ray disc movie review of Dumb and Dumber

It takes a popular movie to be released Blu-ray when its initial release was on VHS. A lot of classics and popular science fiction films have been treated to Blu-ray release. However, not too many older comedies see the release on Blu-ray format. Dumb and Dumber was released in 1994 and it's still funny every time it's on cable television. Farrelly brother's directorial debut is truly funny from beginning to end. Just when you think they can't possibly be funnier or dumber, they prove you wrong. With simple plot, Farrelly brother packs in funny moments scene after scene.

Lloyd and Harry are two unemployed friends that somehow end up on a trip to Aspen, Colorado. Lloyd inadvertently stumbles upon kidnapping scheme when he finds the ransom money. Trying to be helpful he pledges himself to the task of returning the money to the woman who made the drop. This sounds like fairly boring movie with simple plot. But, each moment is filled withincredibly funny dialogue or physical comedy in series of ridiculous situations. Hot on their tail are criminals that think these guys are professionals.

Jim Carrey is a obvious choice as a funny comedian. The casting of Jeff Daniels as Harry is just brilliant. I think Jeff Daniels is funnier than Jim Carrey. Maybe it's because Daniels has had more dramatic roles instead of comedy. Jeff Daniels outshines Jim Carrey as the stupid but loyal friend. Farrelly brothers were not well known quality back in 1994. With this movie they launched their career. The story and jokes are funny from start to finish.

This movie is still funny and relevant today as it was back in 1994. It's no Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind epic. But, you still laugh out loud every time I watch this movie. You cringe and laugh at the antics of Harry and Lloyd. And, who can forget the perfect ending. Just when you think they'll get the happy ending, the directors throw the perfect change up.

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