Warner Bros. | 1997 | 178 min | Rated R | Region free
| Sep 08, 2009
Set some 20 years in the future after the devastating Second Civil War, the story revolves
around a drifter who unwittingly becomes a national hero. On the run from an evil and
oppressive sect known as the Holns, the drifter...
Contrary to what Mr. Brown may say in his review, this film is a true classic in every sense. No, it's not the greatest acting ever. No, it's not the greatest directing ever. But it is an epic of a film with a very compelling story.
I would however agree that the transfer, while a huge advancement over the DVD release, is not perfect.
if you hate the movie, keep right on hating it. Won't bother those of us who love it one bit. If you love, or even like this film, get the Blu-Ray. You won't be disappointed. If you are undecided or have never seen the film, rent it! You just may be in for a surprise.
Echo Bridge Entertainment | 2005 | 172 min | Not rated | Region free
| Jun 03, 2008
Lloyd Walker is an anti-heroic archaeologist who, after stumbling upon an alien conspiracy,
becomes enmeshed in an against-all-odds battle to save the human race. From the enigmatic
Room 86 to the doomed Pericles space...
Admitedly I was not expecting much from this movie, and I was not disappointed. After reading owa's review I figured I'd give it a chance when I found it onsale for only $6.99. Let just say that it wasn't worth even that much.
The PQ was not anything to rave about, but it was clean and crisp. About what you might expect watching an HD movie on HBO or something similar. The AQ was good. Not an exciting mix, but clean and clear as it should be, with a decent amount of surround distribution.
I don't know if there are any extras. I didn't even bother to look.
Overall, I'd say borrow this from a friend if you want to watch it. Don't even waste your money renting.
Blu-ray + Digital Copy
Warner Bros. | 2008 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Jun 24, 2008
This is a sweeping odyssey into a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth. In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter, D'Leh (Steven Strait), has found his heart's...
In the forums I have read many, many opinions of this movie. Nearly all bad. While Martin's review here says it is not a terrible movie, he does only give it a 2.5 for the 'Movie' portion of his review. To the contrary, the majority of user review here to date give it a higher number, many much higher.
For myself, 10,000 B.C. is actually one of my favorite recent movies. I just don't hold to any of the citicizms I've read at all. No, it's not historically accurate, but it isn't supposed to be any more than Star Wars is. Most people have come to accept that Science Fiction is fiction, perhaps based to some degree on real science. What seperates Science Fiction from Fantasy is that we are supposed to believe that the story is at least plausible, if not provable. Where Fantasy makes no attempt at all to mimic reality.
10,000 B.C. is neither of these genre's. Nor is it a historical dramatization. Rather it is what I like to refer to as Historical Fiction. Many parts of real history as we know it are full of holes, missing parts. Much of history as we are taught is outright wrong. What Historical Fiction films do is take portions of known (or more accurately 'accepted' history) and attempt to fill in the holes with fictional presumptions, which to avoid becoming Fantasy must appear to be plausable. I feel that 10,000 B.C. hit the nail on the head in this attempt. The basic concept of the story of course cannot be proven. But then it can't really be disproven either. That is not to say I believe it to be accurate, because I don't. It is simpy to say that it is not so far fetched as to be rediculous. At the same time it is entertaining. Which is the second key element of the genre. Yes, entertaining, not educational. It is not necessary to sacrifice entertainment for accuracy, or even believability. If you want that watch a documentary.
The entire film is narrated, something which Mr. Liebman apparently was not fond of. He compared it to a children's bedtime story. Perhaps. If that is what is was, then please, read me another bedtime story. I actually found the narration to be quite enjoyable.
Nobdy it seems, has had anything bad to say about the PQ or AQ. Both of which I found to be very good, if not excellent. The special effects were quite impressive as well. Perhaps not the best ever, but not at all disappointing in any way.
I rarely review extras because, well, I rarely watch them. I made an exception in this case and I was quite pleased with what I saw. There is not much there, but what is there is exceptional. The second extra does a very good job of explaining the thinking behind the story line. If you found yourself confused by this move at all, watch the extras. If you still don't "get it" after that, give up and go back to your video game, this movie is not for you.
Upon awakening with a start in an icy bathtub in a strange room — with a woman's
dead body inconveniently nearby — John Murdoch can't remember how he got there.
With a police detective hot on his trail and a psychiatrist...
I'll preface by stating that I have long been a fan of this movie. I'm usually not one of those peple who pre-orders or runs down to the local store the very day of a new release. I made an exception in this case.
I am very impressed by the decision to include both the Director's cut as well as the theatrical release. I'm still a bit undecided on which version I prefer. I find that I miss the opening monolog that has been removed from the Director's Cut. However the pace of the Director's cut feels much less hurried. A bit more relaxed if you will and I found that aspect much more pleasing. I have mixed feeling about the decision to rearrange the order in which some scenes appear in the movie, though I think it works pretty well either way.
The sounds track was quite decent. I don't have 'the killer' audio system so it's sometimes difficult for me to give a good evaluation here. The video transfer was very good, however as is the case with many films that use a lot of CGI, Blu-Ray tends to bring out the flaws in spades. Many of the computer generated sequences look quite 'fake'. That's not however a weakness in the quality of the transfer but rather in the CGI technology itself.
I rarely watch extras, and even when I do I usuallly won't rate them. I buy movies for the movie, not the extra fluff. However I will say that is this case there is an option that while watching the Director's Cut you can get 'pop-ups' that tell you when ever something was changed from the theatrical release, explaining what and why it was changed. Very nice indeed.
Image Entertainment | 1986 | 99 min | Rated PG | Region A (locked) | May 20, 2008
When a laser-armed Department of Defense robot named Number 5 gets zapped by a lightning bolt, he "malfunctions" and starts spouting peace slogans and developing a human-like consciousness. Naturally, the newly pacifist machine...
I probably haven't seen this move since 1986. But I still remember many of it's 'catch phrases'. This is a classic if ever a comedy has been one. True, it's a bit corney, but looking back, what about the 80's isn't corney? I consider this disc a 'must have', and at only $12 at my local Fry's the price was easy to swallow as well.
20th Century Fox | 1966 | 179 min | Rated PG-13 | Region A (locked) | Jun 03, 2008
1926 China. Engineer Jake Holman is transferred to the USS San Pablo, a gunboat patrolling the troubled waters
of the Yangtze River. As Chinese factions battle around them, the crew has one singular mission: to protect...
Generally speaking I am a huge fan of very long movies, so long as they can hold my interest for the duration. In this case, not so much. The story just wasn't strong enough and I found myself wondering when it was going to finally end. At the point of 'intermission' I was somewhat dismayed to realize that I was only about 1/2 way there. This film could have been much shorter in my opinion.
Otherwise this is an excellent BD. The PQ is very good for film of this age and the audio was also excellent considering the aging source. Really couldn't expect either to be much better.
20th Century Fox | 1962 | 178 min | Rated G | Region A (locked) | Jun 03, 2008
The triumph and tragedy of the World War II heroes who stormed Normandy Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, are immortalized in this film. Seen through the eyes of Allied generals, foot soldiers, strategists and paratroopers, The...
This is one of the best war movies of all time. While some may balk at watching a Black and White movie in HiDef I can tell you that the PQ is absolutely incredible. The audio is somewhat less than impressive, but then movies of this era do not have multi-channel masters so it would probably be unreasonable to expect more than what the studio did on this disc. I didn't watch any of the extras, so I must withold comment on that. Overall it's an absolute must have for any war film fan.
