The Lion King might be seen as the coolest film to have come out of Disney Studios in its modern era, but Beauty and the Beast is still my favorite. With lovable characters, a fairytale story in the classic Disney tradition and an action-packed climax that is more stirring than anything Disney had produced befor [...]
Blu Ray Reviews
The Lion King is a Roaring Success on Blu-ray 3D
Post-processed 3D movies have generally got a bad rap by virtue of the fact that they weren’t very good to start with and aren’t made better by the addition of another dimension. Disney’s The Lion King is different. For one thing, it’s a classic already. So, you might well ask, how can 3D make it any better? P [...]
The Complete Sixth is Another Super Season of Supernatural
Considering that Supernatural wasn’t expected by some people to last more than a season, it has done remarkably well. Moreover, unlike many other series that have reached the hallowed ground that lies beyond a fifth season, it has never shown any signs of overstaying its welcome. When it first began, Supernatura [...]
The Big Bang Theory Goes Fourth with Comic Force
While sci-fi continues to struggle on major networks, ironically The Big Bang Theory, a show riddled with geek references, tops the ratings. It’s not as if it makes fun of nerds. Quite the opposite: The Big Bang Theory is a celebration of geekdom and esoteric knowledge. The fact that The Big Bang Theory is the h [...]
Dumbo is One of Disney’s Finest Flights of Fancy
If there is one movie that epitomizes classic Disney at its most innocent, it is the delightful Dumbo. The notion of an elephant that can fly is a flight of fancy that is joyous in its simplicity and is delivered with an uplifting spirit that shapes the entire film. From the opening sequence of storks deliveri [...]
Sanctuary Gets Down to Earth in its Epic Third Season
There is no other show on television like Sanctuary. There are elements of mild gothic horror, a sense of Victorian mystery and a hint of Indiana Jones about its mythology and an impressive sense of ambition about its special effects that no other show can match on a similar budget. Make no mistake, Sanctuary is [...]
Fringe: The Complete Third Season is Mind-Bending Sci-Fi for the Masses
I’ll say it up front: Fringe is hands down my favorite current show on television It’s well acted, it constantly keeps you guessing and it always has surprises. Given how little of Season 4 we’ve so far seen, I don’t think there can much argument that the third season has been its best yet. Season 3 gets off to [...]
The Nightmare Before Christmas Doesn’t Need 3D to Stand Out
At the height of his powers there was no filmmaker more likely to corrupt Christmas in a movie and give it broad commercial appeal than Tim Burton. The Nightmare Before Christmas, which he produced in 1993 based on a poem he wrote years before, is possibly the most grotesque Christmas story ever committed to film. [...]
The Final Destination in 3D is Not Death’s Best Work
Originally released in theaters in 2009, The Final Destination was among the first wave of films intended to cash in on Hollywood’s then nascent obsession with 3D. It’s been out in 3D on Blu-ray before but only in limited release anaglyph form. We’ve had to wait almost two years – until Blu-ray 3D – before we can s [...]
Rio Makes the Most of Blu-ray 3D
It is a mark of the excellence of Disney-Pixar movies that no other studio has so consistently produced films with such multigenerational and cross cultural appeal. Before this year 20th Century Fox had perhaps come closest with their Ice Age series. Now they’ve solidified their reputation as the Disney-Pixar par [...]
