Blu-ray review of Dark city

If you like mind bending movies that make you think for few days after the viewing, than you will love this movie. This movie is paved way for the success of Matrix in later years in my opinion. It questions life, death, and everything in between reality and virtual reality.

John Murdoch played by Rufus Sewell wakes up one night in a bathtub and realizes that he is in a hotel. He finds a corpse and realizes something crazy that he is wanted for other murders. The crazy story unfolds from there to the breathtaking finish and realization of what the city is about.

Rufus Sewell does fine as the hero ala NEO in Matrix. Jennifer Connely does admiral job as his wife. The rest of the cast does very good job of convincing you there is something odd about the city.

This a wonderfully complex and intricate film which was largely ignored when it was released. Subsequent release on DVD and now Blu-ray have given this movie much wider audience. If you enjoyed Matrix, you will love this movie.

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Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece Casino on Blu-ray

This is not only one of the best films of the 90's but one of the best films period. This film is one of the classic movies up there with Godfather, I just love it. The movie is based on real events and characters. The movie itself is based on novel written by the main character. Any fan of Martin Scorsese, Robert Deniro, and Joe Pesci should not miss this movie.

Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci are both great in their roles as mobster/casino operator, and Sharon Stone turns in a fantastic performance in supporting role. Scorsese does his usual job of great directing. He creates memorable scenes and characters with great dialogue.

Most of you would recognize this genre. Anyone familiar with Goodfellas or Godfather would instantly recognize this type of film. As I said earlier, this film is based on the true story mobsters trying to move into gambling business in Las Vegas. The mob bosses run the casino via Rober Deniro's character from the comfort of their home.

Like all the Scorsese movies this movie has great characterization as well as brutal violence that accompany them. Each character of this movie is greatly developed. This movie grabs you from the start to finish and never disappoint.

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Ridley Scott’s American Gangster on Blu-ray

Watch American Gangster without preconceived idea of what this movie should be. It is is crime drama but not the kind most of us are expecting. While much is going on, the story is easy to follow. There is some action, but this isn't an action movie by Michael Bay.

We follow Denzel's character, Frank Lucas, as he begins to establish his crime ring through heroine distribution, meanwhile Crowe's character, is mainly concerned with him piecing together Lucas' method of bringing in the heroine. Frank Lucas is portrayed as rutheless mob boss willing to take out anyone in his way.

Denzel is brilliant here as Frank Lucas, with his calm and scary demeanor, always powerfully menacing performance is one of the better king bosses I can think of in recent memory. Russel Crowe plays the cop brilliantly. The duo reminds me of the dynamite casting in the Heat. The interaction between the two leads in conversation also reminds me of the cafe scene in the Heat.

Russel Crowe, Danzel Washingtong, and Ridley Scott should be enough to bring together a great film. And it delivers without fail. Great acting and directing makes this a fantastic film.

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Blu-ray review of 80′s noir classic Body Heat

Lawrence Kasden delivers his first and best movie in the reworking of DOUBLE INDEMNITY. It does borrow from previous noir thrillers. Even so, it is a great movie on its own.

William Hurt is fantastic in this movie. He had great roles in the '80s films, but his movie career lost momentum after that. Perhaps it's difficult for a great actor like him to find challenging parts. Turner is super sexy in her role. I hear that Body Heat was her first film. She plays her role with understated confidence.

What really stands out here is Kasdan's ability to keep us unfocused throughout the movie. The plot is predicatble at best. Instead, a front and center visual is given, and we are taken by the film's love of itself. Kasdan is in love with telling this story, and he conveys that.

The movie is derivative, but it's certainly a quite enjoyable film, even for those noir fans that can predict the ending with the opening scene. The symbolism is often amusing and often times very appropriate

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M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening Blu-ray movie review

Shyamalan has proved to us earlier that he can be as good as the best with masterpieces of cinema with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. He has yet to replicate the feel and the success of his earlier works. He has made mediocre movies since. Signs and Village were good movies, but with Lady in the Water and now The Happening, he has touched a level of incompetence that could never have been expected of him.

The film sees some sort of mysterious ecological "happening" leading to people killing themselves, the phenomenon spreading first from large cities then to smaller cities and towns until it is clear a huge chunk of the East Coast is affected. At first, it is assumed to be a terrorist attack but, as more and more people are spontaneously kill themselves, it is clear the cause may be something else entirely...

I thought Wahlberg adequate. He did not have much to work with as far as materials go. He probably should have passed on this movie. Also the rest of the cast is OK at best. This includes Zooey Deschanel, who looks like she's a live-action version of a Manga character. Can those eyes be any wider?

This is a suspenseful thriller with a mediocre plot. Not worst but nothing to write home about. There is a reason why this movie was written, directed, and produced by him, because no one else was willing to take a chance with it and after seeing the film you will understand why.

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Review of classic horror/mystery film Sixth Sense on Blu-ray

What makes this film so wonderful to watch is not simply the acting, or the terror it instills, or even the plot itself. It is the way in which the writer/director M. Night Shyamalan takes his vision from the start to finish. As a result, we are treated to emotion raning from fear, sadness, joy, confusion, to humor, each one a compliment to the other.

Everyone in the cast is outstanding. Bruce Willis is at his gives his best performance since Die Hard and The Last Boy Scout. His patient is a child portrayed by a great young action. And he is outstanding. I was mesmerized by his ability to get into this "sixth sense" possessed character. Malcolm and Cole helping each other solve their problems occurs with good chemistry, and is believable, despite the heights you have to take your mind to believe the story's premise.

The communication between human is highlited in this film. This is framed within the context of a superbly told ghost story. The sheer truthfulness and honesty with which the concept of fear is expressed by all the characters is simply amazing. Cole's' experience of the walking dead, appearing out of nowhere, Malcolm's fear of a deteriorating marriage, and Cole's' mother's fear relating to her own existential angst. All of these are played against the backdrop of the often difficult but finally warm relationship between Cole and Malcolm. Eventually, and against the odds, each character displays courage and bravery as they face up to their existential and supernatural fears.

The plot may have some holes in, but overall this is very good. The director weaves an interesting story that stands on its own, but makes it even more memorable by challenging how we accept and assume things in movies by delivering a great, clever twist at the end. M. Night Shyamalan has yet to match the success of this film in his other films.

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Blow – Blu-ray movie review

Since not every film can be a great masterpiece, it only stands to reason that there are some which, as good as they are, will never be mentioned in the same breath as The Godfather. Blow happens to be one of those films. In today's market, where films are literally churned out with more attention paid to marketability than merit, it is no surprise that films of almost every subject are saturating the market. Even films about, or based upon, historical crime figures are a dime a dozen these days. The plus to this is that the ones that do come out have to do something special in order to be considered good.

The movie is about a small time American teen who moves to California for a more interesting life. He gets involved in the drugs trade, and before long is the biggest distributor of 'pot' in California. To cut a long story short- he becomes involved in the cocaine trade, becomes the most important smuggler of cocaine into America in the 1970's and is second only to Pablo Escobar- who he works for.

He ends up getting married, having a child and then gets betrayed by his friends and fellow smugglers in the Medellin Cartel. He leaves the business, a millionaire, and starts what he thinks will be a happy life. The police arrest him and most of his smuggler friends and accomplices when he has a birthday bash, and he loses everything. His wife leaves him and takes his child and he goes to prison for a few years.

Johnny Depp is adequate as George Jung though I`m still unconvinced if he`s a star down to his looks rather than an abundance of talent . I`ve noticed many critics are annoyed at the casting of Penelope Cruz but I found her giving a good performance and can`t help thinking a lot of comments are made by women who are jealous of her beauty , oh and Ms Cruz gets naughty with a whip in this movie which is reason enough to watch in my book , and Ted Demme does bring a very snazzy style to BLOW like numerous scenes that start in slow mo and finish at normal speed and vice versa

This movie really caught my heart at the end. "Once a druggie always a druggie" rings true somewhat in this movie in a sad way. We are left at the end feeling sorry for a fugitive criminal who wanted to turn his life around. Instead of trying to go clean, he attempts a final run with good intentions for his daughter only to let down her and his father.

With excellent acting my Johney Depp, and brilliantly directed by Ted Demme, Blow is a excellent crime/drama documentary of a piece of American history that should not be missed.

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A Clockwork Orange – Blu-ray movie review

I would say that the movie is really a gem of an art piece. The use of excellent imagery coupled with pretty out-of-the-place background score tells us about the uniqueness of this movie. Stanley Kubrick has really applied a lot of thought into this.

The director wants the audience to feel something as bad not because he is showing it as bad but because it really is bad. The background music accompanying the ultra violent scenes is comical, and not dramatic or anything else that is commonly associated with such scenes. This gives the viewer an opportunity to feel the bitterness not because the music hints so but because he himself feels so. Viewer's emotions should arise irrespective of what the director is trying to show, and this is one of the greatest successes of the movie.

Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is a cheerful young man who enjoys rape, violence, classical music, and just about everything sadistic. With his three droogs, Alex spends the nights terrorizing anyone who he might encounter. One night, after killing a woman with numerous cats, Alex's gang turns on him and leaves him at the hands of the law. Alex next finds himself in prison with the sentence of 14 years for his murder that night. While in prison, he hears about a free ticket out of his sentence. All he has to do is be a guinea pig for a scientific experiment. The experiment is supposed to make Alex "better" and revert him from being bad to good. Alex says yes, jumping at the opportunity to get free faster. After being brainwashed by the scientists, Alex returns to civilization as a free and good man. However, the experiment has some side-effects that were not intended, and Alex is left helpless as his past victims come to gain revenge on him.

While the film's depictions of violence and sex are what it's most known for, ACO works on far deeper levels. The disturbing portrayal of youth and its satirical depiction of a government's attempts to create a better society are brilliant, but the most fascinating aspect of ACO is the questions it poses about good and evil. While the crimes Alex commits at the beginning of the film are atrocious, what the government does to him is worse. The film presents the absolute worst aspects of man, but shows that even these are still favorable to a man without the choice. People can denounce the film because of its brutal content, but the importance of the questions it poses can't be denied.

Equally excellent to the film's content is the effort by the crew. Kubrick's perfectionism pays off well, as ACO in one of his most visually striking films. Malcolm MacDowell is nothing short of amazing as Alex. Kubrick's use of surreal imagery and set pieces, as well as the ingenious use of music to compliment the on-screen action, creates a world that perfectly reflects the protagonist's behavior and the government's policies.

A Clockwork Orange' was a film that was so far ahead of it's time in 1971. The Kordova Milk Bar was a trendy little place we can only picture existing in the future. The fascinating way that his crime was dealt with could be the wave of the future should the capital punishment issue cause too much disagreement. In short, a little of the old ultra violence is what propelled this film to high rankings and what will eventually allow all of us to allow our children to see it, once their 18 of course.

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21 – Blu-ray movie review

There are many stories about success based on hard-work and perseverance. There have also been many stories about success based on crime and abandonment of the law. Both of these scenarios can make for great movies -- but when a movie like 21 comes out, it's both great AND fresh. 21 is a movie about success based on locking in on a hole in the system, and exploiting it.

A slow start gives the necessary exposition as to how a thoroughly ethical young MIT student (Sturgess)'s desperate need for money to attend Harvard medical school leads him to join a team of mathematical geniuses trained in blackjack card counting who routinely rip off Las Vegas casinos during weekends between class. However, this opening proves overlong, overly predictable, and largely unnecessary, dragging far too much before plunging into the film's real fun as Sturgess and his team are engulfed by the seductive glamour of Vegas and the thrill of the huge monetary takes. Some judicious editing, clearing away such unnecessary subplots (such as a robotics competition with Sturgess' tiresomely stereotypical nerdy friends) could have resulted in a far more streamlined and faster paced film.

The movie works well because of its cast. Jim Sturgess, the young male lead, is outstanding. He does a great job of transitioning from initial uncertainty to eventual acceptance and ultimately relishing his new "career." He's eminently likable and you can't help pulling for him all the way.

Kate Bosworth is lovely as his love interest, always impeccably polished. She looks a bit old for the part of a college student, and especially her style of clothing in the casinos (while ravishing) is not quite right for a 21-year old. I wish more buildup had been devoted to her relationship with Sturgess, but the movie is all told from his angle. Best of all, Kevin Spacey is dead-on as the ringleader. He is cool, efficient, very sharp with every line. As always, he always manages to steal every scene he is in.

The cast is decent although no one really is mind blowing but that could be because of the rather lack luster script. You know a twist is coming and you're trying to figure it out as you go but even if you don't figure it out the twist doesn't really shock you or anything. Basically what I am saying is that millions will see 21 and probably enjoy it and I don't disagree with them. The film is fun but it's just not something that will stick with you for very long. It's Hollywood fodder made to make money and it will likely do that but don't expect it to be a time lasting classic or anything. But check it out and see for yourself.

Some have complained that the movie is predictable, but I found it a breath of fresh air when compared with most of the Hollywood sub-par fair being offered today. It is well-written, mostly believable, and with an outstanding performance by Jim Sturgess who carries the whole film much like Matt Damon in Rounders. Sure, maybe it follows the typical W form of story-telling a little too closely, but I was never bored and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

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National Treasure 2 – Blu-ray movie review

Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have dived yet again into their secret book to pull out a map that leads to treasures of vast fortune. No, not a legendary city of gold, but the riches that come from storming the box office. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is everything a big budget adventure sequel should be. A bigger story and better action help make Book of Secrets a surprising end of the year crowd pleaser.

Director Jon Turteltaub's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" takes a while to throttle into overdrive, and it is the story set up that is most captivating. "Book of Secrets" has one of the most complex writing credits involving The Wibberleys among at least 4 other writers. This kluge of writers wildly veers in story coherence; however, they context some of the most amazing facts from American history. Or at least I think they do. Then again this is an entertaining action movie, so pointing out this failing is rather pointless.

The narrative and plot still feel a little staged and rigged for convenience (and run time of course), as one event will inevitably lead to the next and to the inevitable ending (like how CSI solves crime within 45 minutes sans ads), but they're still a lot of fun watching how the characters go through the motion in believing that they're onto something really big. While the first had a lot of puzzles to solve, which kept some of us guessing and playing along as well, this time round the number of riddles have been reduced significantly, and signs of Mission: Impossible creeping in as our band of treasure hunters seek to perform the impossible, pertaining to levels of security guarding their mark.

Everyone in here seem to have a pretty good time making this film, along with having a good time acting on screen, including a newbie, Hellen Mirren. However, I really do not like the clichéd use of having divorced couples in a sequel film after the protagonist falls in love with his/her lover in the first.

The acting isn't great in this film, and it doesn't have to be: the actors merely have to look like they are having fun whilst Jon Turtletaub puts them through their paces and pays them a lot of money whilst doing it. I don't think they are acting though. Since Nick Cage can't act, what we are left with is genuine enthusiasm and enjoyment that is readily transferred to the paying audience. A fine entertainment!

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