Iron Giant Blu-ray Review

“For a distinctly American film in style and period, it’s voraciously anti-American in themes. Maybe there’s the key to Iron Giant’s lackluster theatrical performance. Set in the heart of June Cleaver’s purified 1950s, there are single mothers and artistic beatniks mixing with anti-bomb, anti-war, and the coup de gras, anti-gun leanings. A film too early then, rushing into a sensible conversation about firearms mere months after the Columbine tragedy exposed a most American of problems. So maybe Iron Giant was too uncomfortable to watch, or worse, it was correct on the issue before anyone realized. It’s hard to overcome the cultural fear of being in the wrong, let alone paying someone to tell us so.”

Read my full Iron Giant Blu-ray review at DoBlu

Godzilla (1984) Blu-ray Review

“In the back-half remains a big event monster picture, one elegant and ferocious despite some notably imperfect scenery. Godzilla’s obliteration of the Japanese mainland defense with a single breath connects to the allegory; Japan’s vulnerable against an irradiated threat. Once on land, Godzilla is less destructive than prior, more curious when dwarfed by the country’s growing economic status. Compare Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1984; the startling Western-like growth of the creature’s usual stomping grounds shows a country high in economic confidence, but in a film antsy about loss. The emblematic contrast is genuine.”

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Pressure Point Blu-ray Review

“If there is reason for the film to be discovered, it’s Poitier’s exhilarating final monologue, blasting his patient’s blind ambivalence to an ugly cause. Distressing, Poitier’s words (“This is my country!”) fiercely reject a gross ideal which hasn’t changed. Darin’s belief in an “all-white Christian America” remain part of crude political dialogs. No matter how fierce Poitier becomes – here or via In the Heat of the Night – the words must bounce off their target.”

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Comin’ at Ya Blu-ray Review

“There is something to be said for a film enamored with the process. 3D inspiration is abound and ridiculous – an infant lowered into view, hands groping the audience, yo-yos, peeling onions; anything is suitable, sensible or not. Anthony treats his role seriously, unaware of the exploitation’s process. His character must be aware of the absurdity. Worse, Comin’ at Ya is only dressing up a placid revenge tale in 3D. It’s a story of helpless women sold into brothels and the man who comes to save them, old fashioned and uncomfortably bland.”

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300: Rise of an Empire Blu-ray Review

“Visually is where new director Noam Murro and otherwise strong cinematographer Simon Duggan splinter, lost in-between measures to clone yet differentiate their cinematic palette. Empire washes out with a weaker grain and same post-production, green screen infatuation, but none of the graphic novel induced density. While battalions of ships on eerily calm, CG waters are intense, memorability is reduced to zero. Cliff falling, bodies warped into a tree, and Meme generating kicks are lost. Where Snyder’s work induced praise like “visionary,” this is raw 3D bloodshed without uniqueness.”

Read my my full Blu-ray review for 300: Rise of an Empire at DoBlu

King Kong Escapes Blu-ray Review

“Escapes is a hokey travesty to non-Toho devotees, a clumpy dose of ’60s kitsch with America’s prodigious simian playing host. Those accustomed to Asian kaiju receive one of the studio’s mischievous adventures with a lushness in its variety. Tramping through Santa’s domain at the North Pole; uprooting trees on a monster infused Mondo Island; breaking Tokyo Tower’s steel; Escapes becomes a glutton for colorful playfulness.”

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Norma Rae Blu-ray Review

“Politically lifted, Norma Rae retains its relevancy at a time of gross income inequality, even if the insular perception cuts off before post-Union results set in. This is less an anecdote of Southern disgruntlement and more singularly fixated on Rea’s gumption in a period where race division was still embedded, let alone a woman’s rights movement. Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. build their screenplay around an audience appealing heroine while director Martin Ritt smartly lets Field’s work the camera. Results are genuine and feel delivered without acidic embellishment.”

Read my full Blu-ray review of Norma Rae at DoBlu

Frozen Blu-ray Review

“Despite some flubs with regards to set-up and delivery, Frozen is studio magic, raw stage showmanship blessed with Disney’s penchant for animated charm. Decade’s after Walt’s death, audiences receive an animated spectacle without the unnecessary spark of named actors, choosing instead a squad of pros who invigorate a torrent of lively songs built on plot driving whimsey.”

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Gravity Blu-ray Review

“Disaster movie maven Irwin Allen would be astonished by this exhilarating display of cinematic wrath, tantamount to marketable “edge of your seat” jargon. Generic and overused, but few films envelope themselves to such a level as to pull an audience forward. Gravity does. There is a balance of near silent composure, aggressively dislodged into masterfully employed tension as physical and mental breakdowns occur.”

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The Puppetoon Movie Blu-ray Review

“But, this is not to say the Puppetoon influence has washed itself from our era. Evidence of their astonishingly invigorated style appears in Coraline or ParaNorman, fright fests with a gander toward their originator. Puppetoon’s use of thin lighting schemes and overactive imagination merely appease a different generation. In their prime, these were novel shorts produced with vintage vigor, much the same as Pixar’s computer rendered ingenuity.”

Read my full review of The Puppetoon Movie at DoBlu