Black Sheep Blu Ray Review

Black Sheep is Chris Farley’s second foray into comedy movie. The first one, Tommy boy, was a big success for the former Saturday Night Live funny man. Naturally, he followed up with equally funny Black Sheep. Christ Farley made one more feature film, Beverly Hills Ninja, before he tragically passed away. While Black Sheep is funny, it feels like a poor attempt to replicate the Tommy Boy formula. The plot changes but the characters seem have transferred from Tommy boy. While this may not be a bad thing, it is somewhat disappointing that they couldn’t come up with original movie.

Chris Farley plays Mike Donnelly while David Spade plays Steve Dodds. Essentially, Mike’s brother is running for the governor’s seat and Steve Dodds is hired to keep Mike out of trouble during the election. This is basically the same situation set up in the Tommy Boy where David Spade’s character is charged with looking out for the bumbling Tommy Callahan. The rehashed characters don’t detract from the laughter from the duo. If you were fan of Farley and Spade, you will most likely ignore the redundant characters and enjoy the film. On the other hand, if you are not a fan, you might find it boring and trite.

The main attraction of the movie is Chris Farley. He was extremely talented comedian who always put smile on my face. The guy is non-stop from one sequence to next. David Spade fills in nicely as the side kick and foil to Farley’s comedy. Another delight was Gary Busey as the crazy sergeant Drake Savage who turns out to be a “good” guy. The entire movie is based on the chemistry between the main characters and the side characters. And, the interaction between Farley and Spade was one of the best combos. It is shame that Farley passed away so early in his life. He could have surpassed all other former SNL member as the greatest comedian to grace the big screen.

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24 season seven Blu Ray

24 season seven Blu Ray Review

24 have lost a lot of steam recently. The weak season six combined with 2 year layoff has dulled some luster off this great action series from Fox. The two hour lead in movie was somewhat underwhelming and put more pressure on season seven to restore the series to its greatness. Soon after the completion of the season seven on the television, Fox released the Blu-ray box set in less than a week. The action drama has always provided great entertainment with its action and loads and loads of political intrigue. It has dealt with domestic and foreign terrorism in frank manner. It did not shy away from controversial Muslim terrorist link or Russian terrorists. Also, it tackled the domestic terrorism in form of corrupt government as well as greedy corporations. Season seven is no exception.

At the end of the two hour lead in movie, Jack is hauled off to face the Congress for his role in CTU’s somewhat forceful tactics. 24 opens up with Jack facing Senator Mayer’s wrath on Jack’s interrogation methods. Jack has no apologies for his action. During the Senate hearing, FBI requests Jacks help in tracking down Tony Almeida, who is suspected of planning a terror attack. FBI believes that Tony is helping Dubaku in helping to procure a device that is capable of hacking into nation’s security system. This starts the convoluted plot involving African dictator and unknown puppet master behind the entire plot. This is over simplification of the plot and as many fans will know, the plot will thicken as the hours go by.

I think season seven boasts greater casts than the previous efforts. We have the familiar cats including Jack, Chloe, Bill, and Tony. Annie Wersching and Cherry Jones are a great addition as Renee Walker and President Taylor respectively. We have various canon fodders and the obligatory moles that are hallmark of the series. I always wonder how so many moles are present in the series. Regardless, 24 is one of the few television series that I hate having to watch in piece meal. I think the arrival of DVD and now Blu-ray was perfect timing for the series like 24 where you can take few days and watch it in one or two sittings. I can’t wait for the season eight.

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Major League Blu Ray Review

Major League stands as one of my favorite baseball film. It’s not in the same category as The Natural or Field of Dreams as Major League is a comedic film. Even so, Major League is a very good baseball movie. Made in 1989 when Cleveland Indians were the punching bag in the MLB, the movie does great job of portraying a bumbling and unprofessional baseball club. The movie has little bit of everything that makes a fantastic sports movie. A great cast, a lovable underdog, and a great plot to tie it up all together.

There is a simple but effective plot that drives the film. Rachel Phelps buys the Cleveland Indians after her husband dies. She loathes the city of Cleveland and hatches a plan to move the team to another city. In order to accomplish this, she sets out to field a worst team in the history of the game to intentionally lose. It’s fairly predictable how this will turn out in the end. The team comes together and actually wins their division. The real shining moments are the comedic situations and interactions between players, fans, and even Bob Uecker as the drunken announcer. The movie is none stop laugh from start to finish.

The cast of the movie was absolutely wonderful. As mentioned earlier, Bob Uecker plays the drunken sports caster. Tom Berenger plays the veteran catcher. Charlie Sheen the wild pitcher. I especially enjoyed Wesley Snipes as the speedy player who has trouble hitting the ball. And, who can forget Dennis Haysbert as the Pedro Cerrrano who can’t hit the curve ball. This is movie I would easily recommend to anyone including none sports fans.

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Taken Blu Ray

Taken Blu Ray Review

Don’t let Luc Besson’s writing credit on Taken turn you away from the film if you are not a Besson fan. Luc Besson seems to generate a polarizing effect on the movie goers. You either like his stuff or you don’t. Only the Leon seems to generally generate a positive reception across the board. From then on, he had hits and misses with the Transporter series as well as the Fifth Element. Besson returns to action genre with Taken. While not directed by him, he wrote the film along with Robert Kamen. The movie has largely been given positive reviews by most movie goers as well as the critics for good reason.

Besson goes 180 degrees away from the Transporter series. Instead, the film resembles the grittier and older version of Jason Bourne or James Bond. Casting Liam Neeson as the lead gives the movie instant credibility. Liam Neeson plays a retired spy named Bryan Mills, who takes on security jobs with his fellow ex-spies. His daughter Kim, played by Maggie Grace, decides to go to Paris with her friend for a trip. Bryan is opposed to his daughter going to a foreign country without adult supervision. However, his ex-wife Lenore, played by Famke Janssen, thinks it’s good idea and convinces him to let her go. While in Paris, Kim and her friends are kidnapped by Eastern European mobsters who deal in sex trade. During the kidnapping, Kim manages to get in contact with her father. This leads Bryan on a chase across France to save his daughter.

The film has no nonsense feel to it. There are flashy fight sequences or car chases. The fight scenes and the car chases scenes are done in realistic fashion, violent and brutal. Liam Neeson is the perfect ex-spy who is hell bent on getting his daughter back. The film plays out like Jason Bourne movies except Bryan Mills is more ruthless and unforgiving. The torture scene where he is trying to determine where they are keeping his daughter is both horrifying and satisfying at the same time. This is an excellent movie that has no similarity with the Transporter. You should definitely see this film if you enjoyed the new Bond films or the Jason Bourne series.

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The Wrestler Blu Ray

It’s easy to see why The Wrestler has won so much acclaim from the critics. This is type of movie that will not find wide variety of audiences or be labeled as a crowd pleaser. Darren Aronofsky has largely produced movies that are well received by critics but often baffle and puzzle the audiences. The much anticipated movie The Fountain left a lot of people scratching their head. The Fountain, while excellent in my opinion, mixed a lot of drama and science fiction with very deliberate sequences mixed in. In contrast, The Wrestler is a character piece centered on Mickey Rourke’s character.

The story is about a washed up wrestler named Randy “the Ram” Robinson. In his heydays, he was one of the biggest draw for the professional wrestling. Imagine the WWE and Hulk Hogan. Randy is washed up and supports himself by wrestling in small venues. Rather than doing it for the money, Randy truly loves to wrestle at any cost. He has forsaken his family and friends to pursue his passion for the wrestling. One day after a wrestling event, he collapses from heart attack. Realizing his frailty, he reaches out this his daughter Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood. The question is whether he can rekindle his relationship with his daughter and maintain his passion for the wrestling.

There are no suspense or plot twists. Instead, the story is entirely focused on Randy and his passion for wrestling. If you are not into character driven movies, you will quickly find this movie boring. Aronofsky does great job portraying the ins and outs of the wrestling. Besides Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei fills in nicely as the love interest for Randy. She plays the stripper named Cassidy. There’s really nothing much to say about her character. She plays the stripper with heart. Little cliché but she is always excellent in any role she plays. This movie will not appeal to wide audiences. However, you should at least give it a shot as it is an excellent movie.

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Blu Ray Review

Besides watching The Price is Right, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off might be the most perfect viewing when you are sick or pretending to be sick to stay home. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is just a fun movie to watch. I consider this movie to be one of the classic comedies of the 80s. Even after 20 years, the movie stays funny because the subject of the movie is still relevant. The movie portrays the school as this oppressive institution where students go through the motion.

Ferris Bueller, a high school senior, deciding to skip school and have a fun day. He starts off with deceiving his mother. He pretends to be really sick and fools his mother into thinking that he is very ill. He successfully fools his mother into thinking he is sick. But his sister knows better and tries to foil his entire day at every turn. With his best friend Cameron, he hatches plan to get his girlfriend, Sloan, out of the school to skip the day with them. They hatch a plan that involves telling the teacher that Sloan’s grandmother is dead. The Dean of students, Mr. Edward Rooney is suspicious and calls Sloan’s dad. Of course on the other end of the phone is Cameron impersonating Sloan’s dad. The plan works and the three of them go off on an adventure for the day.

The entire day involves wrecking Ferrari, being part of parade, and impersonating a sausage magnate. The day ends with him making it just in time for his mother and father to see that he is indeed sick. The writer/director John Hughes does great justice to the teenage movie genres. He gives us a great story that deal with school and students who ultimately want more freedom. Matthew Broderick plays a great wise ass student who out maneuvers everyone from his parents to the teachers. Ultimately, it’s a fun flick to watch on your “sick” day.

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