The Big Lebowski (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy]

I'm rating the bowling ball special edition DVD, NOT the movie!
The Big Lebowski is on my top ten list of all time best films. I've seen A LOT of films by the way. I don't need to explain to anyone why this movie is so brilliant, and why it continues to be a cultural phenomenon. I mention these things first because I don't want people to feel like I'm giving the film one star. If I could I would give the movie 100 stars. What I'm giving such a poor review for is my distaste for movie studios pumping out special editon dvd's every few years because they know a film has a huge following. This new "bowling ball" edition of Lebowski is further proof that Universal has nothing but contempt for the fans of Big Lebowski. They wrap it up in a nice big package and make it look slick, but that's as far as the creativity goes into supplying anything new in terms of extras. Does anyone remember the terrible repackage they gave it a few years ago with a towel and coasters? No actual extras existed, but they still put it out as a revamped "deluxe...
One of those change-your-life movies
"The Big Lebowski" is just perfect. Everything about this movie is a laugh riot, even the bits of dialogue that aren't punchlines. The cast is perfect, the writing is perfect... this movie has both Julianne Moore and Flea in it, what other movies can you say that about? Well, there was the Gus Van Sant "Psycho" remake, but that doesn't count. I found this movie by accident and I haven't let go of it since. I may not be a stoner but I will say I've found more happiness since I embraced my inner Dude.

Every time I go back to "Lebowski" I come away with something new that wasn't there before. Like the realization, this time around, that Jeff Bridges is not seen to throw a single bowling ball in the entire movie. And that Steve Buscemi's character rolls a strike every time we see him... except for the very final scene, for reasons that become clear a few moments later.

The rest of the cast is just superb. Remember Philip Seymour Hoffman as an unctuous PR man...
The Coens And 'California Crazy'!
In what has to be the most brilliantly disjointed and anarchic look at the alienation, apathetic stupor, and pedestrian self-absorption of the pathetic Southern California lifestyle ever filmed, the two Coen brothers (`Fargo') produced and directed this near `cult' film to explore the plethora of cultural cop-outs parading as lifestyles in this zany yet affectionate look at a totally burned out and yet eminently likeable basket case by the name of Jeff Lebowski, who is played masterfully by Jeff Bridges, in yet another of his consistently underestimated character portrayals. Lebowski prefers to go by his street name of "Dude", and seems to be the ultimate California case of a one-time fairly intelligent `n'er-do-well' now perpetually down on his luck and reduced to only occasional flashes of clarity and full functioning after way too many years of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and then some more drugs tossed in on the side.

The Coens' penchant for offbeat characters is having a...
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Identity Thief (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

Has its moments
Identity Thief is a movie about a mild-mannered businessman Sandy Patterson (Bateman) who travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman (McCarthy) who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity.

This movie is definitely not the funniest I have ever seen but it does have its moments that will make you laugh although sometimes straying into the area of bad taste. At times the jokes miss more than make you laugh and sometimes makes you cringe but Identity Thief does soften up at the end and comes across as being a somewhat sweet comedy in the end despite some of the cringe worthy jokes.

I will give McCarthy credit as she does about anything to get a laugh even with physical comedy and she is not afraid to ham it up for the camera.

This movie is definitely not in the league of some of the funnier movies I have seen (like Hangover or 40 year old virgin) but isn't bad and will keep you entertained. I did expect...
A funny, enjoyable movie thanks to leads
If you enjoyed Jason Batemen as the put-upon, sane family member/lead in the short-lived TV series Arrested Development, you will probably enjoy him here. If you enjoyed Melissa McCarthy's in Bridesmaids, you will find many more moments of genius lunacy.

My one fear was that the trailer had all the funny set pieces, but not by a long shot. The movie was funnier.

This is a movie in the Hollywood tradition of road trips from hell on a deadline. (Think Rat Race or Trains, Planes and Automobiles.) I also found the revelations about her background made the outcome more satisfying. I'm happily in the 'it's a darn funny movie' camp.

I suspect other reviewers who hated it will mark this 'unhelpful,' but that just goes to show you. Take those negatives with grain of salt. I believe you will enjoy it, if you enjoyed the movie trailer of it.
Funniest Movie I've Ever Seen
I think the biggest problem with movie goers these days is they all expect this amazing life changing movie whenever they go to see a movie. But this is not what I look for when I go see a movie I just go to have fun and get away from real life for a little bit and that's what this movie did for me. This movie is honestly the funniest movie I have ever seen I was laughing throughout the whole movie and it wasn't like I was waiting bored for the next laugh because it kept me interested and satisfied in between the laughs. The movie even had a little heart in it with Melissa McCarthy's character and she developed throughout the movie and became someone that was respectable even though she is stealing people's identities left and right. I honestly loved this movie so much and people can say all they want about it I thought it was perfectly scripted, super funny, and a little touching. I would recommend this to honestly every person I know.
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Rush (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD with UltraViolet)

Full Circle for Ron Howard
The first movie Ron Howard ever directed was "Grand Theft Auto." Since then, he has built a storied, award-winning career; now he has come full circle to another auto-racing film. This biography is based on the true story of an Austrian Formula One champion and his British arch rival. I found it thrilling, involving and highly entertaining.

We see:
* Daniel Brühl ("Ladies in Lavender") as three-time Formula One champ Niki Lauda, a buttoned-down technocrat, friendless and charmless, but a brilliant analyst who understands all the elements of racing: the track, the engine, the body, the weight, and above all, the competition.
* Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") as handsome James Hunt, exuding the joie de vivre of international success. He revels in the booze, the drugs and the women that go along with fame and is always the darling of the press because he is so quotable.
* Olivia Wilde ("The Change-Up") as Suzy Miller, soon to be the famous supermodel Suzy...
The Greatest Sports Rivalry I Never Heard Of
I went in to see this movie with absolutely no idea what it was about, other than race cars (I prefer drag racing, Formula 1 is one of those European things I never paid attention to). Now I am obsessed with both Hunt and Lauda...the cinematography is great, the 'feel' of the era is palpable, the racing scenes are exciting, the casting was brilliant...all in all a wonderful suprise. Even if you aren't a racing fan, it's worth a look. And the soundtrack...wonderful!
My only complaint? It was too short.
I grew up watching Formula 1 but too late to see James Hunt and Niki Lauda fight it out. Doesn't matter because this story was always going to get my attention. In fact rarely have I looked to forward to a film. I was not disappointed.

I won't go through the premise here. If you're reading this I expect you already know it. I will say that this film travels at a pace akin to the cars it features. There's not a moment to get bored or for the mind to wander. To the contrary. I wanted every scene to be longer, I wanted to spend more time with these people. I was hungry to know them, flaws and all. This is no glossed up little package of hero-worship. Both Hunt and Lauda are as selfish and spiteful as they are inspiring and talented.

The music is brooding, compelling and exciting by turn. The camera work is intimate and amazing. (You see through Niki's bury eyes, you see from inside helmets and from under and along the cars. You see every shudder they...
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Curse of Chucky (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

The Best Sequel !
Saw the World Premiere at Fantasia Festival and it's the BEST sequel of the franchise ! It's full of surprises and twists. Can't wait to get the Blu-ray to see the unrated version.

Hardcore fans will LOVE this one !
Friends till the end.....
IT WAS EPIC! Beautifully made, fantastic acting, Chucky....as always horrifying and still got that dark sense of humor....I have been a fan of Child's Play since I was in early grade school if not younger and this movie did NOT disappoint, in fact it dazzled me the in the same way as Child's Play did as a child.....but now 25 years after Chucky first hit the big screen he has come a long way and its definitely where he deserves to be. This is definitely back to Chucky's horror roots and the stuff you see in this film will have you feeling an even greater uneasiness and terror than any one of the films before it. My thanks to Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, etc for making an amazing, horrific, and fan loving film!!!!!! I have to say the new information as well as the fan nods in this movie made me feel so satisfied I could not have asked for a better film.
Nice return to form.
I just watched the movie this morning on the PlayStation Network and thought it was pretty good. The puppet effects were a little off sometimes, and the computer-generated Chucky (in the scene where he walks down the stairs from the attic) was a little bad. Overall, the movie had a nice, slow build that had me uneasy, which is something I haven't been able to say about Chucky for a while. I also enjoyed the surprise cameos. I'm a little confused as to where this film falls in the series, timeline-wise, but that may be more my fault than the movie's. Also, the ending was creepy. :-)
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