Blu ray movie review of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

There have been countless movies and television series about Robin Hood, the legendary figure in British lore. While I have not watched every single Robin Hood movie, I can safely say that Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is easily the best version in my opinion. This isn’t to say that the movie is Oscar worthy masterpiece. However, as an adventure/action film, this is a very satisfying movie regardless of its subject. This is the kind of movie you will almost always re watch when it is on a cable station on a lazy Saturday afternoon. You will just flip through channels and settle on watching this film again because it is still satisfying watch after all these years.

Almost everyone should be familiar with the Robin Hood story. While the exact facts and details are not known, it is generally understood that there was in fact a person who is associated with Robin Hood. The general premise is that he stole from the rich and gave it to poor peasants. This was accomplished with the help of his gang known as the “Merry Men.” As with other Robin Hood movie or television series, Prince of Thieves adds its own little twists and story to the overall lore. The story starts with Robin Hood captured by the Turks during the Crusades. He manages to escape with a Moor anmed Azeem and return to England. Upon his return, he learns of his father’s murder by Sheriff of Nottingham. He vows to avenge his father with the help of Azeem and his new friends.

Even if you know the story of Robin Hood, you will enjoy this version’s story. Kevin Costner as Robin Hood is pretty convincing even without the British accent. And, Morgan Freeman as Azeem can’t possibly be bad in any role he plays. Mary Elizabeht Mastrantonio as Maid Marian is the best movie she has done along with Abyss. With the impending release of the new version by Ridley Scott, this version will seem outdated and somewhat tame. Even so, you should be able to enjoy and appreciate this version that’s now available in high definition. Overall, this is an excellent and enjoyable film.

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Law Abiding Citizen Blu Ray Review

While Law Abiding Citizen was critically dismissed, the movie did not flop at the box office. However, it failed to generate the buzz that might be warranted by the two big Hollywood stars in Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. The movie worked well as a thriller and quasi revenge film. It started out with a bang and limped toward somewhat lackluster ending. And, if you watched the trailer, you’ve watched the real condensed version of the movie. There are no big surprises. Instead, you watch series of attacks committed by Gerard Butler’s character while he is still incarcerated.

The movie opens up with brutal murder of Shelton family. Two man break in and proceed to murder his wife and daughter in front of his eyes. The police do catch both of the man. However, for expediency, the district attorney Nick Rice makes a deal that puts one guy behind the bar for ten years. Clyde Shelton, Gerard Butler, protests vehemently and begs Nick Rice to reconsider the decision to cut the deal. 10 years pass and the murderer gets out of the prison. This is the starting point for all the mayhem we witness in the movie. It turns out Clyde Shelton is former spook who specialized in killing. He orchestrates his revenge against the murderer and the justice system that failed him and his family.

Without putting out any spoilers, the beginning of the movie and premise was excellent. While predictable, I watched the revenge with some satisfaction as Clyde dealt out punishment for all those involved in the case. However, it would have served the movie better if Clyde sees the end of the revenge instead of the obligatory ending. The ending we expected is the ending we got. The director and writer had chance to really give a good ending like Seven. Never the less, it is a taut thriller worth watching. Even with the predictable ending.

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Blu ray movie review of Couples Retreat

Ever since Swingers, I’ve been a big fan of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. As such, I was fairly excited about their latest comedy Couples Retreat. While they had no hand in directing the movie, they were both the writers for the film. Overall, I was disappointed with the movie. Maybe Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are more mature and this is their idea of romantic comedy. I’m not so sure. With both of them writing, I thought the movie would be lot funnier. It even stars one of my favorite actor Jason Bateman along with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau.

The movie centers around four couples. Jason and Cynthia, played by Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell, are close to a divorce due to Cynthia having hard time getting pregnant. Dave and Ronnie, played by Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, have seemingly good marriage. Joey and Lucy, played by Jon Favreau and Kristen Davis, are planning to divorce once their daughter leaves for college. And finally Shane, played by Faizon Love, is divorced and having a good time with younger girl friend. Jason and Cynthia ask the other couples to join them in the couples retreat to try to heal their marriage. They need them to go in order to get a big discount for the group. Once they get to the retreat, they try to fix their various problems.

There are some funny moments in the movie. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are always good together in comedies. The overall premise of the film was pretty weak and predictable. You can see that everything will work out and the only reason to watch is the comedy. While the movie did offer some very funny scenes, it did not have enough to keep me interested through the entire movie. The stellar comedic cast of Vince, Jon, and Jason seemed to have been wasted on this weak effort. Never the less, it is worth watching if you are a fan of Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn, or Jon Favreau.

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Zombieland Blu Ray Review

Zombieland does a very good job of imitating the 2004 horror/comedy classic Shaun of the Dead. This is not a knock down Zombieland. Before Shaun of the Dead, there have not been very many horror comedy films. In fact, Shaun of the Dead spawned many clones that tried to copy the success of the cult classic. None has succeeded until now. Zombieland is without a doubt a very funny movie worthy of being compared to Shaun of the Dead. Like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland packs in incredibly funny moments in a very classic horror setting.

The story is not atypical in horror films. The world is turning into a wasteland thanks to a virus that turns people into zombies. We’ve seen this scenario in countless other horror movies. Two main characters, Tallahassee and Columbus form an unusual bond. Tallahassee is the gun toting mad man to Columbus’ geeky underdog character. They both set out to survive in the wasteland and reach a place where it is safe from the flesh eating zombies. Along the way, they meet Wichita and Little Rock and head toward west.

What sets Zombieland apart from the other horror films is the comedy. Sometimes you forget you are watching a zombieland. Instead, movie delivers funny scenes throughout the movie. From opening scene to the final scene, Zombieland consistently delivers laugh out loud moments like running into Bill Murray or the funny rules about surviving in the new zombie infested country. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are perfect as two unlikely buddies slaying zombies left and right. This is without a doubt one of the funniest movies to come out last year. Everyone who enjoyed Shaun of the Dead should not miss this movie.

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