Glory (Mastered in 4K) (Single-Disc Blu-ray + Ultra Violet Digital Copy)

Glory Hallelujah!....and High Praise to the DVD As Well..
This review refers to the Columbia Tristar 1/98 release of the DVD edition of "Glory"....

There are many glowing reviews of "Glory" to be found here. I feel the same way about this wonderful film, and after touching on the story I would like to talk about this DVD release(see above) which is an outstanding quality and excellent value.

"Glory" is an exceptional film. A true story of the Civil War that is both touching and inspirational. It depicts the story of the first black unit from the North to be trained and actually go into battle. Led by their very empathetic but very young Colonel(played brillantly by Matthew Broderick), the 54th Regiment endures many hardships felt not only by being soldiers of this devastating war but as African Americans as well.Their spirit, pride and tears along the way, is projected in this film by these wonderful actors in a way that will make you feel all the anguish and pride that they felt.

The cast includes Morgan...

A fitting tribute to Colonel R. G. Shaw and his brave men
I first saw this film right after its release on video nearly 16 years ago, and I can say in all honesty that it changed my life. Having grown up with an interest in Civil War history, this film made me realise just how little I actually knew of the period beyond what most people learn in school about this era of American History. So as the credits rolled, I wrote down the names of the books quoted, sought them out at the library, and it wasn't long before I began to realise that this would beg some further research. Taking the bibliography of one of the sources for this film, "One Gallant Rush" by Peter Burchard, I did my utmost to find and read as many of his sources as I could possibly get my hands on.

The result of this research has been that now I wish that the film had been truer to the actual story of what really happened. There are some obviously glaring historical inaccuracies in the film, but if you don't know the actual story as intimately as I do, it does...

GLORY ... Hallelujah!
Here's one of those rare movies that succeeds as both a sweeping, visually sumptuous historical epic AND an intimate, character-driven personal drama. This fact-based account of the first black regiment to fight for the Union in the Civil War is filled with scenes of grand pageantry: the bloody battle at Antietam Creek; the first assembly of the 54th Regiment; the proud parade of the finally-trained and uniformed soldiers; the climactic attack on Fort Wagner. And yet despite these heart-pounding, majestic sequences, the film at no time loses its focus on the individual characters whose stories provide an emotional connection to the action. The performances of the once-in-a-lifetime cast are uniformly superb: Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Andre Braugher are all at the top of their game, and Denzel Washington (who deservedly won the Supporting Actor Oscar) is amazing, especially in the scene in which he undergoes a bitterly harsh punishment. The dozens of emotions that...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Battle Los Angeles (Mastered in 4K) (Single-Disc Blu-ray + Ultra Violet Digital Copy)

Wouldn't win Oscars, but so entertaining.
I watched this movie twice in theaters, despite its bad reviews. I have to say I'm a bit puzzled as to what critics were expecting when they saw this. Saving Private Ryan? Black Hawk Down? I'm sorry, the movie is just not that deep. Does it make the movie bad? Not even remotely.

It's a little cliche, a little overacted, and contains a little too much bravado. Last I checked, these are all on the checklist for being a Marine. It's a fun, thrilling ride, full of action, and it's just plain entertaining.

Not into that sort of thing? Prefer to stick to your thought-provoking Oscar nominees? That's fine, keep walking. If you want an exciting bit of entertainment, you can do much, MUCH worse than this movie.

Science fiction war, at it's best
This is a movie that really isn't anything new. In fact, if you seen Black Hawk Down and District 9, it may look familiar. What this film does that makes it so great is that it can combine these elements together so well, that you really can't believe that this hasn't been done before. They made the right choice by including a Marine platoon into the script, rather than some nameless group of soldiers or whoever wears a uniform so that Johnny Civilian can get the picture that they are U.S. troops. It isn't the most perfect depiction of Marines, as I was one and remember the "F" bomb being used a whole heck of a lot more frequently, but it is passable. Aaron Eckhart really does a great job in his role as a battle tested Staff Sergeant. I think anyone else playing this character would have a hard time pulling it off exactly how he did. The rest of the cast is not all that bad either, given the scope of the story. And I am not a fan of Michelle Rodriguez, but she was tolerable- for the...

So much better than what the critics and some viewers are saying.
This movie tells the story of a small group of Marines, in a bad situation, in small place in time and in a limited scope to the actual "war", as they follow orders and hold fast to their honor, courage and commitment. As the father of a young Marine, I couldn't help but be emotionally moved to the point of saying to my wife that I really don't want my son to be in combat, knowing full well that he is trained and ready to the mission.

This movie isn't about the aliens as much as it is about these young Marines. The one waiting for his child to be born. The one who looks like he should still be in high school. The officer who has never commanded in combat. The one who is planning to be married. The one who suffers from PTSD. The veteran who is scarred by his past service. All cliches but certainly reflective of today's military service men and women. Open your eyes and see it for what it is. See the sacrifice and the committment. Committment to duty and to one another...

Click to Editorial Reviews

Waking Up In Rio

Although I am a Katy fan, I strongly recommend you not buy this DVD
The quality of picture is extremely poor. It looks like a bootleg version, in stark contrast to the HD stylized production of "Part of Me". I will return this DVD to the seller.

Good concert but mediocre quality (bootleg?)
Katy's full concert from Rio 2011 + 3 bonus live songs. Katy put on a great show at this concert in Rio which was broadcast in crystal clear HD. Unfortunately this release is a poor quality copy of the show which is really a shame since its available easily and much better quality all over the internet.

The picture is blurry,not crisp or sharp at all. Imagine the difference between a VHS and DVD and this would be the VHS. Again,this was broadcast in HIGH DEFINITION. The 3 bonus live tracks (doesn't say where they are from) are much better quality than the Rio footage.

It does appear to be a pressed DVD and not a DVD-r but the back cover is very amateurish and the poor quality video lead me to believe this is a bootleg release.
I would give this 5 stars if they just used a better print which would have been simple and its a shame they didn't.

Great concert
I would have given this DVD 5 stars, but the picture quality is poor. The bounse songs are a 5 star great quality. I am glad I bought this dvd and enjoyed watching & listening to the concert. I will keep mine because it still is worth seeing.

Click to Editorial Reviews

Tomorrow You're Gone

WELCOME TO MOE'S
Yes, I feel like Tom Hanks raising his hand and saying, "I don't get it." Charley (Stephen Dorff) gets out of prison and is going to perform a hit for Willem Dafoe. Nine minutes into the film you are going WTF as you realize Charley has some reality issues. We see Charley performing things he didn't do. Or did he do them in the past? Or is he imagining himself doing things?

Armed with money, a gun, and a powder puff blue bowling ball bag, Charley meets Florance (Michelle Monaghan) on a bus. She takes him home with her, but Charley attempts to keep his head clear, why I don't know as he never seems to be all there. Florance tells us that "we all have layers" perhaps a key to this character story. Her character is supposed to be quirky, but it didn't seemed developed very well.

By the end of the story, I didn't feel I had any real closure for this artsy film. Good Luck. If you liked this film try "Mysteria" another one I had trouble with.

Parental Guide:...

A very good movie with an art house type quality. Casting is perfect & I recommend but not for everyone. I say B.
"You have me to get you started out" Charlie Rankin (Dorff) has just got out of prison and stops in to see a man called "The Buddha" (Dafoe) who was writing him in prison. He is told about someone he is to murder for him. When the murder goes wrong Charlie begins to worry about what will happen. Him and a woman named Florence (Monaghan) begin to hang around together and Charlie thinks it will help, but he isn't sure of anything anymore. I have to start by saying that I did enjoy this and I recommend this movie but it is not for everyone. While not a total "art-house" type movie it is in that vein. The movie is more of a character driven type movie then I was expecting, but I really think that helped the movie. Dorff is good in this and Defoe has a strong and powerful presence even though he is only in it a few minutes. This is not really a fast paced movie but it will keep you watching right up until the end. I liked it. Overall, not a movie for everyone but well worth checking out. I...

Pretentious and odd
Highly pretentious crime flick about an ex-con (Stephen Dorff) who is supposed to kill a man on behalf of a powerful prison acquaintance nick-named the Buddha (Willem Dafoe). Along the way Dorff meets a slutty dream girl played enthusiastically by Michelle Monaghan, whose career must currently be on a steep downward slide. The movie is stylized like a waking nightmare, bringing to mind David Lynch's Lost Highway. For a while you don't know whether everything Stephen Dorff is experiencing is real or not. The problem is that nothing in the content of the story actually justifies the style--this is ultimately a run of the mill straight to video thriller gussied up as if it were Jacob's Ladder or a David Lynch movie. Some people might enjoy Tomorrow You Die for it's art-house ambiance but, unfortunately, there's absolutely nothing going on here but empty style.

Click to Editorial Reviews