Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Complex, Brutal, Smart And Sophisticated--A Fantasy Epic Geared Toward Adults Proves HBO Does It Best
Few shows have been more eagerly awaited than the arrival of HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's masterful and massive epic "Game of Thrones" (the first in a series). As the books have progressed, however, faithful followers have cried foul as promises have yet to be delivered. But no matter where you stand in that controversy, there is little debate to the majesty and quality of the novel "Thrones"--an almost instant classic in the adult fantasy genre. Multi-layered and ambitious, this sprawling tale charts a powerful story of intrigue, political machinations, and violence amidst the brutal landscape of a nation divided. It is not a production you could approach half-heartedly. To do justice to the novel's intricacies required a massive cast, extensive period sets and costumes, lavish effects and a focused and intelligent screenplay. Well, creators David Benioff (a top notch novelist himself--check out City of Thieves) and D.B. Weiss were up to the challenge and the astute...
A brilliant transition from book to TV series
There's no need to rehash the plot of GRR Martin's fabulous "A Song of Ice and Fire" series; everyone remotely interested in this extraordinary piece of fantasy/adventure is familiar with its medieval story-line.

Things I liked in this HBO series...

1.) it's not often a movie-series turns out to be the perfect visual compliment to what many consider to be the gold standard for epic fantasy writing...but this does. It captures the atmosphere, the subtle edginess, those brutal, unexpected moments; it really does grasp the mood and essence of the book.

2.) in addition to presenting a riveting tale, the production gives us acting that brings the books' characters to life in realistic settings.

3.) a computer enhanced animated map is shown as a short cut scene at the start of each episode. Giving those of us familiar with the books a brief refresher and those new to the series a sense of the geography, direction and distances.

4.) a...
A throne in turmoil
The mass media tends to ignore fantasy stories, especially high fantasy stories. So it came as a pleasant surprise to me that George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic A Song Of Ice And Fire was being adapted for television -- and HBO crafts it with all the dignity it deserves, with plenty of grime, blood and a tangle of convoluted storylines.

The castle of Winterfell is thrown on its ear when King Robert (Mark Addy) of Westeros arrives to ask Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) to be his Hand. But soon after Ned agrees, he receives a message from his mentor's widow, informing him that Queen Cersei's (Lena Headey) family, the Lannisters, are secretly plotting against the king -- and that they are killing off anyone who might be a threat to them.

One of Ned's younger sons is gravely wounded when he sees something shocking, and the acid-tongued dwarf Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is framed for the crime. Ned's bastard son Jon (Kit Harington) joins the Watch near the Wall -- but has...
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R.I.P.D. (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

The Dude kicks butt
This movie will not win any Oscars, I would guess, but it's a heck of a lot of fun.

Jeff Bridges was great, and It's nice to see a female star who is played as just smart, attractive and solidly in control rather than a brainless bimbo.

Ryan Reynolds does a solid job too. Great special effects.

I'd say a cross between Dead Like me and Men In Black.

Don't listen to the critics, this film was a blast to watch.
This Review Contains No Spoilers
I haven't read all the negative reviews, but I'm surprised that more people are not giving this movie 4 or 5 stars. I thought it was great. Jeff Bridges and Mary Louis Parker have great chemistry. Ryan Reynolds? I tend to agree with the reviewer who wrote that Reynolds just did not seem right for this movie. R.I.P.D is obviously a take on the Men-In-Black movies, but who cares? How many movies are its own version of Die Hard? The movie has plenty of action, and it also has some very funny scenes. I about lost it when Jeff Bridges describes what a coyote did to his skull after he died--and that's all I'm saying. Just know it's one of the funniest movie moments ever!! R.I.P.D is approximately 90 minutes long. I appreciated there were no scenes where I found myself wishing things would move on. It's a fun movie with lots of action, mostly good acting, and a sci-fi plot that was not overly far-fetched. Go watch it. You'll be glad you did.
Un-Dead Cops? Really? C'mon!
"Un-dead police officers?" Really? C'mon! This PG-13 action-fest once again had me scanning my mental Thesaurus... Absurd? Ludicrous? Preposterous? Ridiculous? Outrageous? Goofy? Hilarious? I think you get the picture. If you've seen the ads you know a recently slain cop joins a team of undead police officers in the Rest In Peace Department.

This goofy comedy, written by Phil Hay/Matt Manfridi ("Clash of the Titans") and directed by Robert Schwentke ("Red") is a sure-fire winner, full of action, comedy and Computer Generated Imaging. I freely admit that there were times things got too, too silly and my interest faltered, but then the story rallied again.

We watch:
* Jeff Bridges ("Hearts of the West") is Roy, wearing a Buffalo Bill beard and mumbling like he has a lower lip full of chewing tobacco; he's an old-time lawman on the third sixty-year extension of his assignment.
* Marisa Miller (Victoria's Secret model) in her slinky gold dress, is Roy's...
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Iron Man [Blu-ray]

The 2-Disc Ultimate Edition Delivers!
The first disc features 11 deleted and extended scenes. There's more of the opening ambush with Tony Stark being more proactive. We also see more footage of Rhodes and it quickly becomes apparent that he was the character with the most scenes cut from the film. We also see Tony and Pepper Potts attend another party.

The second disc starts off with the impressive "I Am Iron Man," a 108 minute making of documentary that can be viewed in seven segments or altogether, taking us through various aspects of the production. For example, we are taken step-by-step through the construction of the Iron Man armor with Robert Downey Jr. cracking jokes while being fitted for it. It's amazing how much of the suit is practical and looks really good in person. This is due in large part to the genius of the late-great Stan Winston and his company. Also included is plenty of soundstage footage of scenes being filmed.

"The Invincible Iron Man" is a six-part documentary on the comic...
Handles like a Dream
This is a great superhero film that the whole family can enjoy.

If you are wondering what the special features on the 2-disc DVD are, here they are:

The IRON MAN Ultimate Edition two-DVD set is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Total runtime is 125 minutes. Bonus features include:

Disc 1:

Feature film
Deleted/Extended Scenes

Disc 2:

I Am Iron Man
-- The Journey Begins
-- The Suit that makes the Iron Man
-- The Walk of Destruction
-- Grounded In Reality
-- Beneath the Armor
-- It's All in the Details
-- A Good Story, Well Told

The Invincible Iron Man
-- Origins
-- Friends & Foes
-- The Definitive Iron Man
-- Demon in a Bottle
-- Extremis and Beyond
-- Ultimate Iron Man
Wired: The Visual...
Iron man fires on all thrusters; and does NOT disappoint
There was a big question mark looming over the theatrical adaptation of Marvel's Iron Man property. It was in the guise of director Jon Favreau. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Favs, but when I heard he was helming a big budget comic book flick...let's just say I was a little worried. Once his cast was set and the fanboys started humming across the internet I started to ease into the decision with high anticipation. Thankfully, after finally seeing the finished product, I was not disappointed in the least. With a great mix of the professionalism and stakes seen in both Spider-Man and X-Men and the comic wit and sheer fun of Fantastic Four, Iron Man shows how a comic can be brought to the screen successfully without all the added drama and weight. We finally have a film with the essence of what makes these picture books so popular, the action and mythology along with a sense of adventure and humor. Favreau never bogs us down with overwrought emotions nor speaks down to us with gags...
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The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]

Just want the Trilogy? This is for you
■■ Just a Heads-Up, Amazon has merged reviews for The Dark Knight Trilogy, and the Dark Knight Trilogy Ultimate Collector's Edition (UCE). This is a review for just the Dark Knight Trilogy. I also have a review for the UCE which can also be found here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3SINGTZGPMNK1/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00DUCXFUC&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
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Disregard all the naysayers claiming this is a money grab. No, it's called having a choice. Not everyone wants the Super Duper Ultra Rare Limited Collector's Edition, that's often filled with a bunch of useless physical items. Some people just want to have the trilogy and nothing more. For $30 (currently), you get just that, and even a little bit more.

You get the following in the Blu-ray edition:

Disc 1: Batman Begins Feature Film
Disc 2: The Dark Knight Feature Film
Disc 3: The Dark Knight...
Excellent
Just got mine in the mail. It does indeed come with UltraViolet copies of all 3 movies!

It also comes with:
A 64 page excerpt from "The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy."

Batman Begins: 1 disc (Movie and special features together)
The Dark Knight: 2 discs (Movie and special features are separate)
The Dark Knight Rises: 2 discs (Movie and special features are separate)

And a code for discounted memorabilia. I will be posting some pictures soon.

Hope this helps!
A Trilogy That Is Going To Be Hard To Live Up To

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Five-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

I enjoyed it...
...and after the sound thrashing the critics gave it, I was not expecting to.
No spoilers, I promise.

Is it worth seeing in the theater?
Did you enjoy the first three?
Then the answer is a resounding yes.
I think the critics were expecting more of a rebirth for the franchise and that's not what this movie is.
It's called part 4 for a reason lol.
It's a definite continuation.
It was a little weird not having Orlando and Keira there but the new actors brought a wonderful new dimension to the film that after a few minutes I didn't miss Orlando or Kiera...not that I wouldn't mind seeing them in a future installment.
Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz were wonderful and perfect for this film.

So what was good?
Pretty much everything.
It's a Pirates of the Caribbean movie folks.
It's got action, action, and more action.
I've heard other complaints that it was paced too slowly.
???
Are you kidding, for a...
A Sequel That's Worthy Of The Series
In recent years, we've had franchises return for a fourth installment. Indiana Jones. Die Hard. Rambo. Scream. All of varying worth. Many critics say that these long running franchises returning for a 4th film never live up to the hype or to the series they are a part of. Well, 'Pirates 4' comes along to change all that. It is a sequel, coming 4 years after the last one(which is like 10 years in this generation where last week is old), it is a part 4, and it's wonderful. Critics say otherwise, but this is one movie where the audience has spoken, and they are loving it.

I could go into the story, but why bother? By now, everyone should know that Capt. Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp)is back, and he is journeying to the famed fountain of youth, along with old foe Barbarossa(the great Geoffrey Rush), evil Pirate Blackbeard(the even better Ian McShane), and old flame Angelica(Penelope Cruz) who may or may not be Blackbeard's daughter. Along the way, our characters run across exciting...
3D Review by a 3D Connoisseur
My ratings are based mainly on the QUALITY OF THE 3D, not the video content.

Not counting the shallower effects, there are about 64 out of screen effects that extend about 10% of the way, from the screen to the viewer but approximately half of them are very quick. 2 effects made it to 20%, 11 around 25% and 5 more at 30%. The majority of the effects are after the first half hour of the film.
Honorable mention effects included swords being thrust through a door (20%) or being pointed towards you (30% 3 times), a boney hand (30%), flakes falling from an explosion (25%), and the grumpy monkey (25%). There is also a real nice 10% sequence involving a water drop.

The 3D in itself is very good but Disney did struggle with scene framing, focusing and lighting, to best benefit a 3D film. I should clarify that the focusing issue is just the blurring of foreground objects to draw the viewers' attention to where the director wants it. This tactic has been used a lot in...
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Kick-Ass (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

I want to adopt Hit-Girl
What a wacky movie this is. When I first saw the previews, I thought this Kick-Ass was going to be aimed at kids and teens. Boy was I way off, because it earns it's R rating many times over. I really had no intention of seeing this film until I saw the very positive reviews flowing in from the critics. Not that I always agree with them, but in this case I would like to thank them for getting my butt down to the local theater today.

Parts of the movie reminded me of Watchmen. You have everyday people who are sick of bad things happening to good people, decide to put on costumes, have funny hero names, and then beat and cut apart the bad guys in a not so nice way. I actually thought it was rather tame in the gore department, compared to what I read about beforehand, but the violence and language is way too strong for kids.

The acting is good from everyone. I liked newcomer Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass himself. Nicolas Cage turns in one of his better performaces in a...
One of a few movies I've paid to see twice.
Just like the rest of you, I went into the theater knowing not a whole lot about this movie. I thought it would be lame, cheesy, corny, *insert adjective here*. But, I was DEAD wrong to say the least. Kick-Ass combines action, comedy, and emotion, all at the right times. The movie flows well mainly because the cast jives so well together. I have yet to come out of a movie theater so pumped and wanting more than after I came out of Kick-ass

Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass)- I didn't realize he was a British actor until I heard a voice clip from an interview. You sure can't tell from the movie. He plays a great nerdy type kid. But what separates him from actors like Michael Cera is that he actually grew some balls and decided to stand up to crime. He does a great job as the lead actor in the first half of the movie, but quickly gets overshadowed by young dynamo, Chloe Moretz

Nicholas Cage (Big Daddy)- In my eyes, he redeemed himself for movies like Ghost Rider and Knowing...
Brutal, disturbing, and hilarious!
The film is based on a comic book by the same name. The rights to the story were sold before the book was even published (it debuted only eight weeks before the film):

A teenage boy decides to take a stand for justice. He dons a green scuba costume and names himself Kick-Ass. However, not having any actual superpowers, this hero's good intentions quickly land him in an ICU. Eventually though, Kick-Ass crosses paths with a couple of far more effective (a.k.a. deadly) heroes: Big Daddy, a former cop falsely convicted of drug trafficking, and Hit-Girl, his eleven year old daughter. Big Daddy has spent the past six years training his little girl in all forms of mortal combat, hoping she would help him revenge her mother's death and her father's fall from grace, orchestrated by a local Mafia Boss. Enter blood, gore, and plenty of belly laughs...

Let me get straight to the point: yes, the film was funny and highly entertaining. However, initially I felt uneasy...
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Jack Reacher (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Not what I expected...Cruise nails it.
Wolverine, the most popular of the X-Men and one of the most popular comic book characters in comic book history is also one of the shortest. According to thirty plus years of continuous publication, Logan - AKA wolverine - is 5'2" tall and somewhere around 200 lbs, with metal infused skeleton and claws, and a back as hairy as a Kodiak bear. When X-Men director Bryan Singer cast a slim 6'3" song-and-dance man named Hugh Jackman to play the short stocky Wolverine, comic book geeks everywhere said "What the f***?"

Now anyone familiar with the Jack Reacher novels written by Lee Child knows that main character of the novels is a 6'5" 250 pound blond haired blue eye bruiser with the face of a professional rugby player. And likewise anyone who read the novels must have said "What the f***?" upon learning that the diminutive Tom Cruise was cast to play Jack Reacher. "He's too small. He's too Pretty." My wife, who's a huge fan of Lee Child's novels, was so irritated with the...
Smart, fun, well-paced detective/actioner, but leave expectations at the door.
The main complaint I heard and read before JACK REACHER ever even hit theatres was from fans of Lee Child's series of books about this film's titular character, and it was always the same complaint: "Tom Cruise is too short! Jack Reacher is 6'5" and is built like a brick outhouse!!" And my response to that was always: "Can you think of an actor who's really good, does action well, has a lot of charisma, and IS ACTUALLY built like that?"

Christopher McQuarrie, the Oscar-Winning screenwriter of Bryan Singer's unforgettable THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and the writer/director of the very forgettable THE WAY OF THE GUN, picked up his pen and got back behind the camera for this potential franchise first outing for the cinematic adventures of Jack Reacher (Cruise), former Army military police investigator. He's, as they say in the film, a ghost. He has no fixed address, no credit cards, no phone number. In fact, the only proof of his existence is a bank account, his military record, and...
Surprisingly good action film...
I'm the first to admit that going into this film I had low expectations. Cruise is a decent enough actor and well suited for the genre, but the plot seemed derivative and overly pedantic, just another flick I'd catch because...well...I'm a dude and the preview mentioned something about guns and explosives.

Surprisingly, the plot played out steadily, not needing to be propped up by a few well placed action sequences. While, if you've seen any movie ever in your life, you'll be able to predict what's going to ultimately happen, "Reacher" maintains a consistent level of intrigue and charm through the whole length of the film. I appreciated that the action scenes actually added to the plot. I was expecting some random "Look how awesome I am at fighting" scenes tossed into the mix, and was happy to see that while those scenes are absolutely in there, they also help move the plot forward. Good thinking, action-movie-maker-people (pretty sure that's the correct technical job...
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