Ink [Blu-ray]

Ink [Blu-ray] Review

I am glad I bought this film sight unseen, having only heard some good things in the alt. press. 'Ink' is not a major film, it didn't have a major release, or advertising. It was made by a couple in Colorado who wanted to make it. They raised the money to do the project themselves. Their friends helped. They made their own costumes, made their own music. The actors are mostly unknown, and up and coming.

I don't want to give away the plot hook, suffice it to say that Ink is a modern fairytale about fatherhood, told as a battle between forces of light and darkness, with the key players being a girl in a coma, and her estranged father. The supporting characters are the Storytellers, beatific beings who give people good dreams, and the Incubus, dark beings who give people nightmares. And then there is the enigmatic Ink, who carries Emma into the dreamrealm, to sacrifice her to the Incubus to insure his transformation into one of them. The how and the why is where the real drama of this film lies, and it's ultimate revelation is one the most emotionally profound moments of redemption in any film I saw of 2009. It brought me to tears. Finding it in such a small film is quite special.

I did find there was a confusing bit of character development in the film that felt like a cheat, but on repeat viewings realized the film uses a non-linear narrative device. The title of this review is the clue.

A word on the transfer: this film is quite beautiful in hi-def. Now, there are alot of overblown contrasts, image softening and color treatments, some heavy digital noise in the darkest segments, but detail is usually very sharp, if not striking. I found all of the photography choices quite clever, and lend to a strong nostalgic feel. The sound mix is very clear at low volume, except for the dialogue gets a little quiet near the climax. The music by director Jamin Winans is magisterial, and perfectly lends to the action and emotion of the story.

I can't recommend this film enough. Rent it. Buy it.

Ink [Blu-ray] Overview

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE meets SIN CITY in this high-concept visual thriller. John and Emma, father and daughter, are thrust into a fantastical dream-world battle between forces of good and evil in this allegorical tale of love, loss and the search for redemption.

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Silent Hill [Blu-ray]

Silent Hill [Blu-ray] Review

First off, let me just say I am pretty new to Silent Hill. I've beaten Silent Hill 2 and 5 over the year, plus I've tried SH 1 & 4.

I just recently watched this movie from beginning to end and was astounded! (I hadn't seen the whole movie when it first came out, only about 30 minutes.) Anyway, you don't need a Blu-Ray to appreciate the beauty of this film but you do need a home-theater to truly get the feeling! The ambience was very well accomplished, it felt alot like the games, this movie stayed true to the gamers & did not try to attract some brainless hollywood fanbase which probably couldn't even understand the movie anyway. I was surprised that this movie was actually a good game adaptation! Most of it's imitators failed miserably: Doom, Resident Evil, were there any others? I believe the reason it was so accomplished is thanks to Cristophe Gans who, if you watch the special features you will see is a true Silent Hill fan. However don't be fooled, this movie packs some mind-blowing special effects. It is a big budget film. The story is beautifully put together, not too confusing nor too revealing, just perfect. The imagery is dazzling, the colors, the details in the environment, everything was perfect in my opinion. The soundtrack stayed true to it's origins which is great. My only complaint was that Room Of Angel was not in the movie, too bad. Not a big problem though, this movie still falls into my all-time favorite movies category. If you are a fan of the games, well you've probably already seen it but for those of you who know nothing about the games, I think you could actually become a fan. This movie deserves at least a rental, if you're the least bit open-minded and not restricted by gore and action boundaries, you will enjoy this movie.

Silent Hill [Blu-ray] Overview

No Description Available.
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 22-AUG-2006
Media Type: Blu-Ray

Silent Hill [Blu-ray] Specifications

A lot of movies can be described as "dripping with atmosphere," but in the case of Silent Hill it's literally true. Faithfully adapted from the Konami video games by French director Christophe Gans and Pulp Fiction cowriter Roger Avary (both self-confessed video game addicts), this dark and grisly horror-fest is nothing if not a triumph of cinematography and production design, consisting of a minimal and mostly incoherent plot propped up by a mysterious maze of sets that literally seep, drip, and ooze with the atmospheric evil of past misdeeds. Welcome to the abandoned and perpetually foggy ghost town of Silent Hill, where grey ash falls like snow, a devastating coal-mine fire still burns in a hellish underground, and demons of various shapes and sizes make your worst nightmares seem like a walk in the park. It's here that distressed mother Rose (played by Pitch Black heroine Radha Mitchell) has taken her daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) in hopes of discovering the source of Sharon's sleepwalking nightmares. What they find instead is a burned-out legacy of unspeakable evil, as Silent Hill's dark secrets are revealed. As opposing denizens of Silent Hill's meta-morphing underworld, Canadian actresses Alice Krige and Deborah Kara Unger seem to be the only ones who recognize this morbid mess as campy comedy; Gans (who established his visual flair with The Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Avary take it far too seriously, and the entire movie is utterly devoid of any emotional hooks or plot logic that would make us care about anything that happens. In crafting a loyal big-screen rendition of Silent Hill and its Playstation sequels, they've forgotten that movies play by a different and more demanding set of rules. As a result, they've made an impressive-looking but ultimately hollow horror film that only Silent Hill game-players can truly appreciate. --Jeff Shannon

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From A Place Of Darkness [Blu-ray]

From A Place Of Darkness [Blu-ray] Review

From A Place Of Darkness [Blu-ray] Overview

Studio: Celebrity Video Distribut Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 84 minutes

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The Polar Express Presented in 3-D [Blu-ray]

The Polar Express Presented in 3-D [Blu-ray] Review

this is a great holiday movie, beautiful animation, color and detail. the 3D feautre is not that great, when you put the 3D glasses on, that are supplied with the dvd, the perception of images is not good at all, you can see red and green glow around the images, even with the curtains closed and lights dimmed in the room. I think it looks more 3D and realistic while watching the 2D version. Over all great movie, but do not bother with the 3D.

The Polar Express Presented in 3-D [Blu-ray] Feature

• All aboard in 3-D! No matter if you enjoy The Polar Express every holiday or if you re a first-time passenger, get ready for a thrilling new adventure: Three-dimension viewing from careening up and down mountains to teetering across mile-high bridges to savoring hot chocolate served up by the world s most talented singing waiters to arriving at the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Experience an amazin

The Polar Express Presented in 3-D [Blu-ray] Overview

Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon

The Polar Express Presented in 3-D [Blu-ray] Specifications

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008 Rating: G

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Lara Croft - Tomb Raider [Blu-ray]

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider [Blu-ray] Review

Angeline Jolie, gives us the female version of "Indiana Jones" in this wild cartoon-like adventure story, which is fun to watch. Being a mentally lightweight action film with no credibility (no villain ever harms Jolie in this film despite firepower that would take out some Third World countries) but our heroine is there to save the day, of course!

Jolie mainly is there to show off her chest in tight tee-shirts and perform near-impossible stunts. To her credit, she went to extreme lengths to get herself physically-fit for the role.

Audio-wise, this is a one of the better DVDs you will ever hear, with excellent use of the surround speakers. Nice scenery, a sharp picture and low profanity also are pluses. Yes, the action is a little much and too loud in spots but otherwise "Tomb Raider" is a fun adventure that is recommended to all.

p.s. Skip the sequel; it's a weak one.

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider [Blu-ray] Overview

Bluray Disc

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider [Blu-ray] Specifications

Like the video game series it's based on, Tomb Raider is best enjoyed for its physical strategies, since even casual scrutiny of story details will induce a headache. It's more concerned with puzzles than plot, populated with characters that don't have personalities so much as attitudes. It's silly and somber at the same time, but as a franchise vehicle for Angelina Jolie in the title role of relic hunter Lara Croft, this is packaged entertainment at its most agreeable, ambitious in scope and scale, and filled with the kind of globetrotting adventure that could make Jolie the best thing that's happened to action movies since Indiana Jones. Could being the operative word here, because Tomb Raider can't match any of Steven Spielberg's celebrated joyrides, but the ingredients are there for an exquisitely cinematic meal.

Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; Tomb Raider handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. --Jeff Shannon

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Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within [Blu-ray]

Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within [Blu-ray] Review

It's a shame that this film didn't do as well as it should have. It didn't do very well in terms of critical response (44% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a 49 out of 100 on Metacritic), it was a box office bomb to the point of where Square Enix kicked the film's director and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi (The creator of the Final Fantasy game franchise) to the curb, and some people have been popping up who proclaim it to be "the worst video game movie ever!" Surprisingly, one of the biggest defenders of the film was film critic Roger Ebert who I hate greatly for a number of reasons. Roger Ebert handed the film a 3.5 out of 4-star rating and didn't believe people would understand the film. I believe Square Enix reacted a little too quickly to fire the creator of Final Fantasy, which I believe was a big mistake. And to those of you who think this is the worst video game film ever, clearly you've never sat through an Uwe Boll travesty, have you? Not to mention, most scores on different sites that I've researched, beg to differ on such a proclamation. I loved this film, it was an amazing cinematic accomplishment in terms of CGI and sci-fi action films. It may not have the most original storyline, but it does pull you in to a certain extent.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Year: 2065, thirty-four years previously, a mysterious alien forced called Phantoms invaded the Earth and destroyed most of the life on Earth by stealing the spirits of their victims. Now the planet is overrun with the Phantoms. Dr. Aki Ross is a woman struggling with a Phantom parasite inside of her body and suffers from strange dreams she cannot explain. She goes around the planet trying to find eight spirits which, when all eight are collected, will destroy the Phantoms. With the help of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her mentor, Dr. Sid they search the planet to find the seventh and the most important eight spirit. But they face troubles with the military, and the military unknowingly is about to destroy Gaia (Earth's spirit) and let the planet become overrun with the Phantoms. Now Aki and the team must stop this from happening and destroy the Phantoms at their source.
MUSIC: This music is simply amazing. It fit the mood well and was extremely well-written and composed. I have absolutely no gripes with this area at all, the music is stunning to put it bluntly.
ACTION: This film a feast for the eye. The CGI is staggering and beautiful in every way... and this film came out eight years ago! Nothing competes with this film's CGI, not even Pixar films! The action scenes are wonderful and totally awesome in every regard. The film starts off slow, but then the film goes off with a bang and doesn't stop till the end. It gets the blood and adrenaline pumping and refuses to let go. This is how a Star Wars animated flick should be, not the disastrous Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Widescreen Edition) (Let's just try and pretend that never happened). Quite simply, this sci-fi flick is kickass.
ACTING: Although not all these actors are recognizable, their performances are really good, even though there are some moments of questionable dialogue. This film may not have the most compelling characters, but they do their job well and they do move the storyline along quite well. Overall, this area is really good.
OVERALL: If you love sci-fi flicks, CGI films, or just love awesome films in general, you must see this film because it will blow you away in just about every way.
THE GOOD: Stunning CGI animation, awesome action scenes, good acting, and great music.
THE BAD: The storyline doesn't quite live up to the potential and there are moments of awkward dialogue.

Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within [Blu-ray] Overview

Earth is a desolate wasteland in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Humanity has been decimated by an invasion of Phantoms, insubstantial aliens that extract and devour the spirits of living things. The few remaining humans have retreated to a handful of cities that are protected by massive bio-energy shields. The beautiful Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na) and her mentor Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) have discovered that the energy signatures of eight key Earth spirits can cancel out and destroy the Phantoms. With the help of Captain Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his band of marines, they must scour the globe for the last two remaining spirits before General Hein (James Woods) manipulates the refugee government into attacking the aliens with an orbital laser that may also destroy the Earth.

Hironobu Sakaguchi's film is taken from the popular Final Fantasy video game franchise, which is particularly well suited to film adaptation with its series of original stories, but the movie features entirely new characters and settings. And like Toy Story and Shrek, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is completely computer generated. Unlike those cartoon comedies, though, The Spirits Within is a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. Aki, the female lead, appeared in a full-page spread in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list--and was indistinguishable from the real-life models. The setting and conflict make for incredible action, but it's the larger issues, character interaction, and human elements that really make the movie shine. The Spirits Within is not simply a science fiction movie, in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not simply a kung fu flick. The result is a fantastic summer movie with better action and more emotion than Pearl Harbor, and actors more lifelike than those in that other video game movie, Tomb Raider. --Mike Fehlauer

Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within [Blu-ray] Specifications

Bluray Disc

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Sci-Fi 3-Pack [Blu-ray]

Sci-Fi 3-Pack [Blu-ray] Review

Sci-Fi 3-Pack [Blu-ray] Feature

• SCI-FI BLU-RAY 3 PACK (BLU-RAY DISC)

Sci-Fi 3-Pack [Blu-ray] Overview

SCI-FI BLU-RAY 3 PACK (BLU-RAY DISC)

Sci-Fi 3-Pack [Blu-ray] Specifications

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