Win Win Blu-Ray and Movie Review

I give this movie a 4.5 out of 5 stars and a 90% on RT although again if I could I would rate it at about a 96%

"If you can read this, YOUR PINNED!"

Most of you who are reading this review probably have never heard of this movie. Don't feel bad I had not heard of it either until a buddy of mine alerted me to the fact the he bought it on Blu-Ray. That led to me investigating a little bit and found out a very little bit, I Love Paul Giamotti and I love movies about wrestling. That was enough for me to decide to check it out and boy am I glad I did. Going into this movie not knowing much is a bit of a blessing because when you watch this movie it can really surprise you in how good of an Indy flick this really is. I wrestled in high school at the weight of 126 and I can identify with this movie quite a bit and yes this is a sports movie but its also a very endearing picture of family life and the caring of other people and the film maker here manges to do what so very few directors do now days and that is make you care about the characters you are watching. I'm not going to go into much details about the plot because I want those who read this to go into the movie not knowing much about it other than Paul Giamotti is a lawyer who becomes a guardian for an elderly gentlemen Burt Young and ends up taking care of that gentleman's grandson. Giamotti is also a high school wrestling coach and the young man is quite a talented wrestler and this movie is their story about both wrestling and family life and it is quite an oddly uplifting tale really in a non regular way. Most sports movies are walking cliche's these days with the exceptions of the really good ones and that is where this movie differs, and that is because its not really a sports movie completely and it is certainly not like any of the other underdog sports movies out there. Its a movie with a couple of different themes with a sports setting. The acting in this movie is rock solid, Paul Giamatti is excellent as he always is and is surrounded by Amy Ryan who is always fun to watch do her thing, she is also extremely talented. In the supporting role is Jeffrey Tambor who is one of my all time favorite supporting players in everything he does. The relative newcomer Alex Shaffer who they got to play Kyle was also quite excellent to round everything out. In the end this is a movie that caught me off guard, its has its funny moments and its genuinely touching moments as well and I really enjoyed it very much.

From a Blu-Ray perspective this disc is great, its picture quality framed in its 1.85 aspect ratio and 5.1 DTS master audio. I give the picture quality on this bad boy a 4.5 out of 5 stars and the audio a 4.0 out 5 stars. This is a very dialogue driven movie so the need for the lossless track is not one of necessity but its its nice to know its there. A fair but overall kind of weak assortment of special features rounds out the disc. Overall as good as the movie is, it is very much an indie flick which means it might not be for everyone so a rental is probably the way to go for most folks but if your like me who is a fan of wrestling movies or Paul Giamotti as an actor then this disc is rock solid and you should not hesitate to pick this one up.

Fright Night (2011)

I give this movie 3.5/borderline 4 stars and a 70%percent on RT, although If I could I would rate it at about a 77%

I watched the original Fright Night from 1985 last night in preparation to watch this new one and I can confidently say that not only is the new one better, but the original is a prime example of an old movie begging for a remake. That does not mean that I did not like the original, its quite the opposite I liked it a lot. My problems from the original are that which endear it to some and that is the dated special effects and the hefty layer of cheese. It was the 80's though and if I watched it in 1985 it probably would have creeped me out, but I did not and I laughed out loud instead. The remake not so much. The remake was able to take everything that the first one did right such as having a great story overall and a different twist on the average vampire tale. All of that holds true in the new one as well. In a world filled with so many vampire stories the story of Fright Night is different and its refreshing, to quote Stanley from The Office "How many Vampires am I supposed to care about these days." At least one more because Colin Farrell  plays a damn good one and is supported strongly by Anton Yelchin  and throw in an assist to Toni Collette  and the acting in this re make is strong. Another thing that was pretty good in the original was the acting of the Jerry (The Vampire) by Chris Sarandon but the rest of the cast from the original sorely needed an upgrade especially the dude that played Evil Ed, thank god he was replaced by a very suitable replacement in Christopher Mintz-Plasse. So after they upgraded the cast the other obvious upgrade between the two were the special effects, however they did not go CG crazy. They really went out of the way to pay homage to the original and by doing that it lets its fans of the old film know they were not forgotten about and lets the new audience enjoy a film thats up to the standards of modern day movie effects. Overall I had a really good time with this flick, The acting was solid, the story was good, all be it a little different than the original but still staying true to the theme of the original. The movie itself is quite different from the first while still being close to the source material if one can understand what I'm trying to say. This film is highly recommended for fans of the first film and easily recommend for everybody else. Including those annoying Twi-Hards, this vampire film should please almost all.

Apocalypse Now 2-Disc Blu-Ray

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning", or should I say afternoon since I am viewing Apocalypse Now Redux on Blu-Ray this afternoon to close out my war movie session. Saved the best for last, I am about to descend into madness over the quality of this disc. Fans of the film should upgrade if ever given the chance. Never has anything so disturbing looked so beautiful!

Never have I seen black levels look this good, I was leary about replacing my Complete Dossier edition, but this is one of the best blu-ray upgrade one could make. Colors leap off the screen and I don't know how but this transfer looks every bit as good as some new release modern movie blu-ray's and for a movie that won an Oscar for Cinematography it deserves nothing less. The audio is even better than the PQ. Its lossless audio track is outstanding, as it should be as it won an Oscar for sound and it shows in this release. When the napalm blast went off I think it set off my car alarm outside.The special features will keep you going for hours, both new and old. This is a super solid presentation with everything you need. Great movie, perfect Blu-Ray release. I don't see how this film could ever look any better than it does here.

New Statement

Most of the time this site is used for pure reviews, however recently I took and posted online pictures of all my tech equipment for insurance purposes and to chronicle it on blu-ray.com. Since I watch so many movies and give technical blu-ray reviews as well as movie review I just though that I should show anybody who wants to see the high tech equipment I use to screen and review these films with. This is my personal home theatre/work space. I have put everything extra I have into making this place the best place to watch and enjoy high quality movies, so please give it a look, perhpas rate the gallery or leave a comment if you have any tips or if you enjoy. Either way after this stement its back to strictly reviews.

Here's the link - http://www.blu-ray.com/community/gallery.php?member=Simpdogg420&folderid=6068

Thanks to anyone who reads the blog (if there is anybody out there)

Ryan

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

I give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars and an 80% on RT although if I could it would be an 83% I will start of the review by stating that I am a HUGE Steve Carell fan. I own all of his movie with the exception of Evan Almighty and I like all of his movies with the exception of Evan Almighty. Now that being said You do not even need to be a fan of Steve Carell to enjoy this movie, it's great. Now I am not one to usually delve into the Rom Com genre, however my lady likes them so I watch with her on the occasional ones that I think look all right. That was not the case with this film, I wanted to see it as much if not more than she did and it did not let me down. Romantic Comedies these days are a dime a dozen they crank em out fast and many of them flop and are to be frank pretty terrible films overall. This is not a statement to the genre some of them can be done really well and Crazy, Stupid, Love. falls under that category. Its starts you off immediately with what the preview already tells you and I love that they did not waste time getting into the specifics of it. The preview states it Steve Carell's character is told by his wife Julianne Moore that she wanted a divorce and the movie starts off from this point. Steve Carell has been out of the dating world for forever and is lost in many ways and does a brilliant job at portraying it. This is not the fan in me talking, this is the trained actor and film reviewer talking it is some of his finest and most poignant work. After he is out on his own he is introduced to Ryan Gosling who the audience is introduced to in an earlier scene therefore setting the tone of his character quickly along with the introduction of the Lovely Emma Stone. She is always a treat to watch and in this film it in no different. Gosling is a ladies man and takes an interest in helping Carell, that is what the previews tell and Ill leave it at that but the story weaves and intricate web almost that of Seinfeldian proportions, yep that might not be a word but I will use it anyways. It is a marvelous exercise in story telling and it is a romantic comedy that breathes a little bit of fresh air into a bloated genre of mediocrity. This movie is great for a date or just by yourself and it is an excellent movie with no special effects just a great cast and a great script, and I highly recommend it! Spend you movie monies with ease on this one and bring a date if you can.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

I am not completely sure but I do think this just might be my favorite movie I have seen this year! I give the movie 4.5/5 stars and a 90% on RT. Although It is more like 95% but you just cant do that. I know I can be a little loose with my scores sometimes, but not with this one. This movie is excellent in almost every way. It takes a completely different approach to the franchise and turns out to be the best in the entire series. I know that movie purists would argue with me but in this day and age you can;t deny that this new approach is better in every way. Gone is the thick slice of cheese that accompanied the earlier films and bests the Tim Burton disaster of 2001 in every way possible. However that's enough about the new approach, lets just say it works, and to those who are tired of origin stories or are saying that this is just another origin story, they are right but it is a damn fine one. There is nothing wrong with an origin story if its done right and boy did they nail it on this one. The special effects are crazy good but nothing can beat the emotionally captivating performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar. I mean is there anything this guy can not do! If that's not enough the performances from James Franco and John Lithgow are fabulous as well. As if you would expect anything less from those two high caliber individuals, unless your James Fanco and its the Oscars (Ziiiing) but seriously its the realistic performances that they gives that makes this slightly absurd story very believable, that being the key word they actually made a Planet of the Apes movie that is believable and its quite a fun movie to watch. I feel I should throw and Honorable mention out there to Tom Felton, aka Draco Malfoy who has made a wise choice for his first post potter performance and he is actually pretty good. Throw in the wily veteran Brian Cox and you have got a very solid cast. There really is no point dragging on and on about how good the movie is because it would seem like over kill just know it is great from start to finish in just about every way and easy worth your movie monies without a doubt! Grab some tickets with ease and grab a snack and enjoy some excellent movie making from the CGI to the acting to the primates it is pretty solid top to bottom. Highly Recommended!!