Monsters vs Aliens Blu Ray

Monsters vs Aliens Blu Ray Review

Aside from Shrek series, DreamWorks Animation hasn’t stacked up too well against Pixar animation films. Overall, Pixar has produced better films. That is why I was pleasantly surprised by Monsters vs Aliens. DreamWorks always boasted great animation and voice talents. They just failed to produce compelling stories. Monsters vs Aliens is a very good comedic film. Add in the 3D viewing and it makes for a good time for both children and adults.

While the story line isn’t as deep as some of the Pixar animation movies, it does have very funny and fresh story line. The entire movie borrows heavily from various pop culture and cult movies. The premise of the alien attacking and the bumbling president is very similar to Mars Attacks!. Susan Murphy gets struck by a meteor during her wedding day. This causes her to grow into a giant human being. Somehow, the Army gets this information and imprisons her with other “monsters.” The “monsters” include B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach, and The Missing Link. Together, they are imprisoned until Gallaxhar shows up to attack Earth. This causes panic and everyone turns to the “monsters” to take care of the threat.

I have not had chance to watch the film in 3D. The reviews for the 3D viewing were fairly positive across the board. Until we get the proper technology at home, it will hard to emulate the 3D effects seen in theater. Overall, the film is very entertaining. It is not just for kids and the adults will appreciate some of the more mature humor. The voice cast is excellent from top to bottom. I really enjoyed Stephen Colbert and Hugh Laurie as the President and Dr. Cockroach respectively. I could easily see this being a franchise like the ever popular Shrek.

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Sugar Blu Ray

Sugar Blu Ray Review

The description and the movie trailer for Sugar would lead you to believe that Sugar is a typical sports movie when it is so much more. Sports movie tend to be formulaic and overly sugary to attract large audiences. It usually involves an underdog overachieving and beating the odds to become a champion or a winner. The directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck do the total opposite. They show the story of someone who is heralded yet fail to achieve the dream. The film shows what happens to 99.99% of the aspiring ball players who don’t get to live out the dream. While this may sound depressing and ultimately boring, it is actually a very honest and moving.

The story follows a Dominican baseball player named Miguel “sugar” Santos. Like many other Dominicans, he dreams of playing in the Major League. He plays for a baseball academy affiliated with a Major League team. His day is spent playing baseball and learning English in preparation for the call up to the Major League. After showing an impressive array of pitches, he is invited to spring training for the Kansas City team. There, he impresses enough to be called up to A league in Iowa. He goes through up and down season where he achieves great success and great failures.

It’s really an eye opening film for any baseball fans. As fans, we only see the success stories in the Major League Baseball. We don’t get to see the countless ball players who don’t make it to big league. Throughout the movie, I was waiting for Sugar Santos to come through and ultimately make it. It was little sad to see him not achieve so much given his background and all the expectation from the poverty stricken family. At the same time, you realize the movie is not about the few that make it big. Instead, it is meant to show the vast majority of the baseball players who do not make it big.

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Wedding Crashers Blu Ray

Wedding Crashers Blu Ray Review

Pick and two from Vince Vaugh, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson and you get a funny movie regardless of plot. Wedding Crasher is a similar raunchy, over the top comedy that has been well received by the male audiences. You can think of Old School, Meet the Parents or any other Ben Stiller movies and you can pretty much guess what type of movie the Wedding Crasher is. In my opinion, Wedding Crasher is as good as Old School.

John Beckwith, played by Owen Wilson, and Jermey Grey, played by Vince Vaughn, are divorce mediators who have been good friends for long time. They are only interested in crashing weddings to hook up with available women who attend the wedding. They have perfected this crashing technique with complete back story and believable identities. Both are incredibly charming and cunning. This leads to many affairs with women while they have no intention of staying with them. On their latest wedding crash, they are sucked into the life of Treasury Secretary William Cleary’s family. John ends up falling for one of Cleary’s daughter at the wedding. This leads to some funny complication and lies. After the wedding, they end up as guest at Cleary’s house for the weekend.

This is one of the funniest comedies you will watch in a long time. That is, if you enjoyed Old School and similar type of comedies. Vaughn and Owen are great as comedy duo. I’d even say as great as Vaughn and Favreau in Swingers. The cameo by Will Ferrell was one of the funniest parts of the movie. Rachel McAdams was surprisingly good in the comedy. She is more suited to romantic films but was great in this comedy. Overall, this is very well done comedy.

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The Postman Blu Ray Review

After directing the award winning movie, Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner turned in a stinker in Waterworld. Waterworld reported cost around $200 million to make and took in less than $90 in domestic market. Most critics blasted it as pretentious and terrible movie. This is why it’s little confusing to see him direct and star in The Postman, another post apocalyptic film similar to Waterworld. Some have penned it as a messiah complex for Costner’s portrayal of the leads in these movies. He seems like the savior in dire times where humanity is on the brink or in a dire funk. Never the less, The Postman is marginally better than Waterworld. The movie takes a lot of undeserved criticism because of Waterworld.

Based on a science fiction novel by David Brin, the movie is about our civilization in 2013. The society has all but collapsed due to wars. The collapse of the United States government causes its people to struggle in search of food and safety. Like Mad Max, various groups of gangs are formed and some of them are not so friendly toward other groups. One such group called Holnists, led by General Bethlehem, is bent on conquering all other groups. When one of the drifter, played by Kevin Costner, captured earlier escapes and stumbles on a deserted post delivery truck, he starts the con where he scams the mail recipients. This starts his role as “The Postman” who fights against Holnists and deliver hope to regular people.

There is nothing wrong with the acting. Overall, Costner and the company are very good especially the woman playing Abby, Olivia Williams. It’s the overall cheesiness and the length that ultimately brings the movie down from its epic aspiration. At 180 minutes, the movie is about 30 minutes too long and full of cheesy lines and plot devices. The plot is interesting enough but execution falls short for a film that had a great potential.

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Braveheart Blu Ray

Braveheart Blu Ray Review

Braveheart is Mel Gibson’s best movie, as director or as an actor. Mel Gibson’s first directorial effort, The Man Without a Face, was decent movie but nothing compared to Braveheart. Braveheart was an unexpected surprise in 1995. Mel Gibson was not an established director. Instead, he was very popular Hollywood actor who enjoyed a big popularity due to Lethal Weapon franchise. As far as my all time favorites go, this movie is definitely in the top 10. It’s a kind of movie you can watch from time to time and not get bored at any point in the movie.

The overall story is based on William Wallace’s fight against the English to free Scots in the 13th century. While not historically accurate, it does accurately represent overall story from the period. Mel Gibson plays William Wallace who is well educated Scottish peasant who witnessed the brutality of English rule in early age. He experiences the brutality once again as an adult when his secret wife is executed because Wallace did not want to share his wife with English nobleman. This sets off his thirst for revenge. He gathers a force and eventually kills the English lord. However, this is seen as a great freedom movement by his fellow Scots. Wallace reluctantly leads the army against the English rule.

What really stand out in the Braveheart are the battle scenes. Only Saving Private Ryan can compare to the brutal portrayal of the fight scenes. Sometimes it’s brutal and sometimes it’s downright horrific. Instead of gun fight in Saving Private Ryan, Braveheart seems more brutal because of the primitive weapons used during the fight. If the movie was all about fighting, it would not have been as good. Instead, the movie infuses a great story line of a single man who loses his wife. This movie should have been part of the early Blu-ray release. It is long overdue for a picture and sound upgrade.

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Gladiator Blu Ray

Gladiator Blu Ray Review

Gladiators, directed by Ridley Scott, is one of those movies you should not miss before you die. Unlike a lot of the movies based on Roman Empire, the Gladiator is not based on any true event or accurately portrayed historical figures. Instead, movie is loosely based on some historical figures and events and interwoven with fictional settings and characters. Nevertheless, the movie is very entertaining and epic in every way. We’ve come to expect nothing less from Ridley Scott.

The story is not over complicated or convoluted. It’s simple tale of revenge. Maximus, played by Russell Crowe, is a great general of the Roman army who leads them to victory over Germania. Commodus, the son of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, arrives after the battle is over. Maximus is greatly favored by the dying emperor of Rome to succeed him and return the Rome in the hand of republic. This does not sit well with Commodus. He murders his father and plans to murder Maximus. But Maximus escapes and return to his home. Upon arriving at home, he finds his wife and son murdered by Commodus. This sets off Maximus on a mission of revenge.

Russell Crowe, Djimon Housou, and Joaquin Phoenix make a great trio in the movie. They are all great in their role. Especially Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix was simply amazing as the villain Commodus. He made a great foil to Maximus. The script, directing, and cinematography were also top notch. The overall setting and shots were simply amazing. This is one of the few movies you might want to upgrade from a DVD as I have. The better picture and sound quality is well worth the investment.

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