Blu-ray

Sort By:  Post Date TitlePublish Date
Anton van Beek  |  Oct 18, 2010  |  0 comments

Predators was designed to be the sequel that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 hit has always ‘deserved’ according to producer Robert Rodriguez. What he and director Nimrod Antal have delivered is effectively a reworking of the original, with a selection of trained killers finding themselves kidnapped and taken to a strange jungle where they’re hunted by invisible creatures. That said, despite lacking much in the way of original story ideas, Predators is a perfectly enjoyable piece of disposable cinema, with decent performances, good FX and plenty of violence.

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 02, 2010  |  0 comments

Moulin Rouge! is the pinnacle of Baz Luhrmann’s cinema of excess. Described by the filmmaker himself as ‘belonging to a cinematic vernacular where you are essentially heightening the cinematic experience’, this bold, brash and electrifying attempt at re-creating the movie musical for a modern audience offers little original in the way of narrative. But the way it is designed, staged and filmed, not to mention the inventive use of pop songs throughout, makes it a film like nothing you’ve ever seen before – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 26, 2010  |  0 comments

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is undoubtedly the definitive cult movie. Now 35 years old, this film adaptation of Richard O’Brien’s stage musical is more popular than ever, continuing to do big business with its loyal fanbase as it plays at midnight screenings across the US and UK. It probably doesn’t hurt that it’s also a marvellously madcap piece of cinema, packed with outrageous performances, big laughs and catchy songs that stick in your head forever.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 23, 2010  |  0 comments

Confession time: Before getting started on this review, I had never seen Meir Zarchi's notorious 1978 rape-revenge shocker I Spit on Your Grave. Despite being a child of the 'video nasty', having spent the latter part of the '80s and early '90s building up an extensive VHS library packed with titles like Nekromantik, Cannibal Ferox and Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, for some reason I had never actually bothered with the film that - for many - was synonymous with this controversy-baiting collection of movies.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 23, 2010  |  0 comments

The Exorcist is a film that surely needs no introduction. One of the most celebrated horror films of all-time, this tale of a young girl possessed by demonic forces still has the power to unsettle and shock audiences despite the number of times it has been referenced, parodied and ripped-off by other movies across the better part of three decades.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 20, 2010  |  0 comments

The Pacific is a companion piece to the earlier Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced Band of Brothers. As its name indicates, this ten-part miniseries shifts its gaze from Europe to the war in the Pacific, and this time the narrative(s) follows three marines and their various experiences rather than a single company of soldiers. 

Anton van Beek  |  Nov 08, 2009  |  0 comments

Optimum Home Entertainment has had something of a spotty history with the quality of its Blu-ray releases. That said, the company definitely appears to have found its footing with its recent Studio Canal Collection of classic films, and nowhere is that more evident that with this lavish high-definition treatment of Alain Resnais' mind-bending 1961 French New Wave outing Last Year at Marienbad (L'Annee derniere a Marienbad).

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 21, 2009  |  0 comments

Quite simply, Raimi's return to the genre that spawned his career is a much needed breath-of-fresh-air for the increasingly self-referential, po-faced and torture-obsessed American horror genre. It's not the most original film - the story about a young woman with only days to live after being cursed treads much of the same ground as MR James' Casting the Runes (and the excellent 1957 adaptation Night of the Demon) - but that really doesn't matter a jot, as writer-director Sam Raimi delivers a fast-paced and playful chiller that's entirely focused on making its audience jump. In other words; exactly the kind of silly ghoulish treat Hollywood seemed to have given up on.

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 04, 2009  |  0 comments

Even if he'd never made another good film (don't worry, he made plenty) I'd always have time for director Joe Dante thanks to this classic 1984 horror-comedy.

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 04, 2009  |  0 comments

Having started out with hit-and-miss remakes of William Castle flicks like House on Haunted Hill and Thir13en Ghosts, genre specialists Dark Castle Entertainment finally ventured into the uncharted world of original horror stories with this tale of a spooky ship haunting the Bering Sea. I say original, but while it's not actually a remake, this tepid scare film blows all of the good will it's bravura opening sequence generates by then proceeding to run a gauntlet of second-hand plot points and gore gags that any true genre fan will have tired of decades ago.

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 04, 2009  |  0 comments

Before Jason Voorhees donned a hockey mask (or even the burlap sack he wore for one film) and started his epic killing spree there was another murderer killing promiscuous teens at Camp Crystal Lake. While the villain is different, the modus operandi is exactly the same - watch horny teenagers get it on with each other and then butcher them with an inventive array of weapons. As you can probably guess, it's not the most elaborate plot ever devised, but director Sean S. Cunningham's 1980 classic is still a tremendous model of economy, ditching anything like characterisation in favour of cutting straight to the good stuff (Tom Savini's wonderful makeup effects and the odd bit of partial nudity).

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 29, 2009  |  0 comments

With the remake currently stinking up multiplexes on both sides of the Atlantic, it's no surprise that Warner Home Video has seen fit to bring the original Fame to Blu-ray this week.

Mark Craven  |  May 20, 2009  |  0 comments

Sometimes we want a movie to fill the gap between repeat viewings of The Dark Knight and Quantum of Solace. Something that doesn’t require turning the surround system up to 11 and banishing the wife and kids to the garden shed. If you feel the same way, then Bride Wars might just fit the bill.

Anton van Beek  |  Apr 29, 2009  |  0 comments

Picking up where Sharpe's Challenge left off, this 2008 outing finds Sharpe and his colleague Harper on the way back to Madras. Coming to the aid of an East India Company baggage train the soldiers soon find themselves caught up in a very familiar plot involving nasty soldiers and opium smuggling.

Anton van Beek  |  Apr 27, 2009  |  0 comments

Taking elements from three of Bernard Cornwell novels (Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph and Sharpe's Fortress) this 2006 production finds Sean Bean's legendary British soldier undertaking 'one last mission' for the Duke of Wellington. The story takes him to India, where he must put pay to the treacherous Major William Dodd (Toby Stephens) and rescue the lovely Celia Burroughs (Lucy Brown) from the the leader of a local revolt. It's all fairly brisk paced stuff - especially as this disc only features the shorter 106min cut, not the original two-part 138min version - with Bean scowling and swashing his buckles at every opportunity. Fans of Primeval stunner Lucy Brown are also in for a real treat - head to 20mins 19secs for an unhindered look at here *ahem* two biggest assets, and visit 35mins 35secs for a slightly less clear, but still skin-tastic, bath scene.

Pages

X