Tuesday, June 30, 2009

DVD Review: They Call Me Bruce

From the nostalgia file comes this review of the 1981 kung-fu cult classic They Call Me Bruce, available here.

Later this week I'll have a new Before Their Time column, this time focusing on one of my all-time favourite James Bond flicks, Licence to Kill.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Robots in disguise

Okay, so, any critic that praised the first Transformers movie and then decided to crap all over Revenge of the Fallen needs to give his or her head a shake. I cannot see how people who loved one can hate the other. I truly enjoyed Revenge and strongly recommend anyone with interest in seeing it to cough up the extra few dollars for IMAX - so very, very worth it. Like The Dark Knight there are a handful of sequences shot with IMAX cameras that fill the entire screen, and seeing a close up of Optimus' head 50 feet high is worth the price of admission.

Are there problems? Sure - same as the original film. It's bloated with exposition, every scene not involving the robots runs about two minutes longer than it should, and there are several characters that could have been eliminated with little effect on the finished product (including Megan Fox, whose role consists almost entirely of running in slow motion and looking concerned while other people talk). But Revenge of the Fallen delivers on some seriously cool action, and, surprisingly, it's easier to tell the robots apart this time around despite there being exponentially more of them. Most of the comedy works, the locations are interesting, and the sound will rock you to your very heart. Don't believe the hype - this movie pays off. I can't wait for the Blu-ray.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Blu-ray Review: Glory

Hey look, it's another movie review!

So, I'm checking out the new Transformers film tomorrow (in IMAX), and am having trouble ignoring the scathing reviews this film is attracting, even from people who really liked the first and expected to love the follow-up. Michael Bay has never been known for subtlety or well-rounded characterization (which is why Pearl Harbor didn't work at all), but he can always be counted on to deliver the action goods - making it all the more worrisome that a number of critics are saying the movie is boring. Nevertheless, I expect to be entertained, and look forward to seeing a life-sized Optimus Prime. I'll report back later.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Before Their Time: The China Syndrome

The China Syndrome, a thinking-man's thriller from 1979, gets the Before Their Time treatment in my latest column. Check it out here.

Next week I'll post a review of the new Blu-ray edition of Glory.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Blu-ray Review: Indecent Proposal

To much fanfare, Adrian Lyne's Indecent Proposal has arrived on Blu-ray; the format finally has a chance for success. Check it out here.

Monday, June 8, 2009

DVD Review: Resolved

My review of the excellent documentary Resolved is now available here.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Blu-ray Review: Revolutionary Road

The devastating dissection of a deteriorating marriage is the subject of my latest review, in the form of Revolutionary Road. It's a brilliant film, clearly one of 2008's best. Read the review here.