Discount Crank 2: High Voltage

3.8 stars

I loved the first Crank and the first time I saw this sequel was disappointed. But watching the two back to back yesterday made me realize that Crank:High Voltage was simply one-upping the first in anarchic fashion, and seen from that perspective, and with all expectations turned off, this is one weird, wild flick.

Neveldine and Taylor shoot in HD and this blu-ray disc is amazing, state of the art like their other movies. And that crispness is well-used by the insane shots and colorful weirdness here, as well as some nicely washed out scenes with flat color palettes that contrast nicely. If you like eye candy, you'll love this. And if you like being surprised, step right up.

The story makes zero effort at seriousness; the word "implausible" is mentioned early on and is a good watchword for C:HV. Nothing here is meant to be taken seriously, merely to be entertaining. Crank's silly Chinatown scene is echoed by a horse race version, a sign that N/T are here purely for the laughs and the action. And Amy Smart delevers a whole new side of raunchy goofiness to her character this time around.

While not as non-stop as Crank, HV does have more than its share of action, and the whole recharge theme is played for laughs pretty well, especially as Statham gives his all to those shots. His face is very funny at times, and this must be his most humorous turn to date.

Too wild and weird for some, no doubt, this movie will be perfect eye candy/brainfreeze for others. If you like Statham, Smart, the craziness and visual clarity of N/T, and/or general insanity, then you'll enjoy this silly ride.Get more detail about Crank 2: High Voltage.

Cheapest Superman Returns

Superman Returns has had a controversial run this far on video. The standard definition that Warner Brother's released first, was a jaw-dropping disaster (even as regular dvd goes). The compression problems, the color reproduction, the banding and aliasing...ugh. I had been bummed out by this having seen it in IMAX 3D where it looked positivelt luminous. It was a flagship release for HD DVD, and the problems continued there and with it's first Bluray release in 2006. The picture and sound were enormously problematic. WB wisely kept track of the complaints much like Sony did on the first release of The Fifth Element. This release looks and sounds terrific. It's not perfect, but it's not perfect in a way most people will notice. There still is evidence of digital noise reduction (DNR), which is a fancy way of saying the picture has been smoothed out to remove compression noise and film grain. I'm fine with the absence of compression noise, which is a technical flaw, but I love film grain because it is what lets me know it has been sourced from the original print, and it renders detail second to none. This print still looks gorgeous for the most part. Color and black levels are generally excellent, albeit muted, which is more to do with Bryan Singer's vision of the film. X-Men has a similar look. The horrible technical flaws which were so disappointing in the standard definition DVD version are gone, and this is an exciting, often beautiful print. Some of the murkier scenes really are more to do with Singer's muted pallette. The sound has been upgraded as well with Dolby TrueHD and LPCM. It is an exhilarating and pulverizing soundtrack. The jetliner rescue is just awesome. Ambient surrounds, music and dialogue are all supber. I loved the iconic flight between Supe and Lois. The special effects look luminous and the music reproduction is superb. I know there are some gripes, but this is the version to have and it is a "must upgrade" if you have the SD version.Get more detail about Superman Returns.

Cheap Deep in the Valley (Unrated)

The movie was ok and nothing earth shattering. The women were pretty and the story so-so.Get more detail about Deep in the Valley (Unrated).

Buying Underworld: Evolution

This movie falls short of the original, and is plainly, a horrible sequel. Without the enigmatic Lucien, the charismatic Viktor and the sinister Kraven, the plot falls short and is boring. When those characters died, the story died, as did the incredible acting. Bill Nighy (Viktor) and Michael Sheen (Lucien) were what made the first movie and are both highly talented actors. Scott Speedman (Michael) is a boring character, and a mediocre actor. I did not feel the chemistry between him and Selene in this movie just like I didn't see it in the first movie.

There was nothing interesting going on with the raunchy sex scenes and the whole Corvinus family storyline with Marcus and William. BORING.

I only give it 2 stars because of some scenes from the past featuring my favorite character Viktor in it. Other than that, it's a 1 star movie and not really worth seeing.

Get more detail about Underworld: Evolution.

Buy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

We were very pleased with this purchased. The dvd arrived in great shape and quickly. Just what we wanted.Get more detail about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Purchase Knocked Up

lets face it, Apatow, Rogan and the gang are all very talented and hilarious. sure the characters are almost always simplified to demonstrate a certain persona of ourselves, but that doesnt stop the movie's message from ringing clear and the trip to be an enjoyable, and funny, one.

i doubt anyone is here reading this having not heard anything about the people involved in the flick, but if you enjoy the gang, then this is highly recommended. if you have never watch an apatow film, 40 yr old virgin is a better place to start (all his films are pretty much a 50/50 mix of his 2 television shows, "undeclared" and "freaks & geeks")

one thing i must recommend to newbies and fans alike, watch the plethora of outtakes on the bluray release, there are some plot arcs and ongoing jokes that were completely cut from the movie that are just hilarious!Get more detail about Knocked Up.

Order A History of Violence

A History of Violence is a film about Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen)l a loving husband and father to a family with two children in a small town in Indiana. Corn fields surround his rural area home and he drives a pick-up truck. Tom also owns a small diner in town and has been in this town and married,living a quiet idyllic existence for about twenty years.

The movie slowly builds and develops complexity when Tom stops a vicious robbery in his diner. He protects his innocent employees and customers in amazing defensive and offensive reflexes beyond what normal men can do. Tom reminded me of a Clark Kent that can turn into his alter-ego Superman when needed. (His son also shows Tom's quick reflexes and thinking when he is unfairly attacked by high school bullies. By standing up to the bully and his friends he gains respect and the right to be left alone.)

Unfortunately for Tom, he is featured as a hero on several news stations as well as the newspaper. His life and face are in the spotlight, which immediately signals a threatening mobster from out of town (Ed Harris). He arrives into town with two thugs with a story that Tom attacked him and ruined his face and eye with barbed wire. Tom's past is unpeeled layer by layer as he struggles to protect his family from his violent past.

After the two confrontations and killing out of town mobsters, Tom is ruinited with his "good guy" brother, Ritchie (William Hurt). Ritchie is mixed up with the mob and wants vengence with Tom for leaving him "holding the bag" from the past. The acting does not skip a beat - the casting is excellent and the movie is mesmerizing. This is a top-notch psychological thriller, putting light on beliefs, relationships and the audacity of using violence to protect and save relationships.Get more detail about A History of Violence.

Where To Buy Peter Pan

I bought this movie for my little girl after she rented it and didn't want to return it! It's a great story that was remade beautifully! The elements are all there and the music is amazing.

I watch this one with my little girl all the time. It's great!Get more detail about Peter Pan.

Shop For Tidal Wave

In spite of what the other reviewer has stated,the South Korean film "Tidal Wave" is a disaster movie!And a very touching and
heartfelt one at that!!!!!Unlike most of your typically-mindless
Hollywood blockbuster fare,you get a great character driven story
before the special effects galore happen(aka: disaster)!The first hour and at least 15 to 20 minutes of the film are all about the main characters and focuses on what really drives them and makes
them tick.The story is set in Haeundae,South Korea and focuses on
the upper class,the middle class,and the lower class workers around
the beach area and the city itself and their characters are developed in very interesting ways and the last 40 minutes of the
film is when the MEGA-TSUNAMI strikes the paradise resort city and
focuses on not only just who makes it and who doesn't but also how their lives are completely changed afterwards!There is also dashes
here and there of humor scattered throughout the film just to keep
you from getting too upset.The special effects are truly eye popping and mind blowing and is just as good if not SUPERIOR TO the tidal wave special effects that we've seen in Hollywood disaster movies like:"The Day After Tomorrow","Poseidon",and "2012"!The director of photography also captures some of
the most beautiful and lavish scenery I would never have imagined
existed in Haeundae,South Korea.Who knows how even more lavish and
beautiful it looks on blu-ray since I only have it on DVD.The DVD
special features include the following: deleted scenes,gag reel,the
making of Tidal Wave,and The Project.You can also watch the movie in its original Korean language with English subtitles or in an
English dubbed track.Personally,I prefer it in its original language with English subtitles.I hope this review was helpful.Get more detail about Tidal Wave.

Prime

Hallo, unfortunately this kind of DVD does not work within European countries, therefore I am going to return it back to Amazon. But the movie itself is great, funny and Meryl Streep is incredibly great!Get more detail about Prime.

More Than A Game Review

I thought it was going be about Lebron but it was actually about his friends. Yea hes a big part of the movie but you will learn about his fab 5 friends. If your a Lebron fan like I am you will enjoy the movie. You get to see old tapes of Lebron and get a little background information. Lebron still looks the same way, its funny see him as a kid and he sticks out at a young age.Get more detail about More Than A Game.

The Conversation Top Quality

for all coppolaphiles, this is a must-see. especially the 1st shot. and the film really brings to mind the genius song by robyn hitchcock, "dont talk to me about gene hackman". look it up!!Get more detail about The Conversation.

The Sum of All Fears This instant

In easily the most horrible Clancy adaptation ever, The Sum of All Fears produces not only a nuclear blast on U.S. soil, but something just as damaging: overwhelming political correctness. The screenwriter for this film changed the villains from Islamic terrorists (something current) to a rogue neo-Nazi group (something anachronistic), and it is a completely flagrant, transparent, sanitized placation of the PC crowd.

Essentially the plot involves neo-Nazis detonating a mid-football game nuke in Baltimore to goad the United States into a nuclear war with a failing Russian government. Yeah, because there will be a lot of land and nothing but good times after the U.S. and Russia go all Jackson Pollock with nukes across the world. Pretty stupid, huh? Well, the problems after that are numerous.

First, after dropping a nuke nobody would stick around to see their handiwork. This is not a suicide-bomber or serial killer. Second, could someone explain to the cast and crew what an EMP actually does? If a massive one hits downtown Baltimore, there will not be operational handheld electronics or helicopter radios, and they certainly shouldn't be used to advance the storyline. Speaking of the helicopter, if one gets rocked out of the sky by the concussive force of a mushroom cloud, I doubt someone is walking away, much less saving the day like Ryan. Finally, why is Ryan still in the Baltimore/D.C. area shortly after the explosion? Why does the movie end with him kicking his feet up in relaxation as if there isn't fallout? It'd been more believable if he had a third eye on his forehead or looked like visitor to the bar from Total Recall.

It is obvious Ben Affleck is not Jack Ryan. Sure, he's playing a former military officer with a law degree who is employed by the CIA as a foreign affairs analyst, but he's way too young (in his late 20s when filmed) for this role. He's neither Alec Baldwin nor Harrison Ford, two actors who actually look as if they could be Jack Ryan. The best he could possibly hope for is to be a younger version; a mouth-breathing, late-20 something, semi-serious entry level employee who would be more comfortable at a Frat house than a political environment. He's as miscast as Denise Richards would be playing a nuclear physicist. (Oops!) Come to think of it, why WASN'T she cast for that role in this movie? It would have been just as believable.

Aside from Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Bill Cabot (Director of the CIA), there wasn't much I enjoyed other than a fun scene in which Ryan misses a date with his fiancé and tells her that his boss (i.e. Cabot) needs him to board a plane to Russia instead. Most of the time spent watching this movie involved me looking down at my watch, which is sad considering the realistic nature of the topic and source material.

Jason ElinGet more detail about The Sum of All Fears.

The Holiday Immediately

A chick-flick from the opening credits, this charming work of two unlikely actors, Black and Winslet, while far better than that of the obvious "stars" Law and Diaz, is the stuff of which chick-flicks are made, a good laugh and a good cry.Get more detail about The Holiday.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin Best Quality

I am sure the movie description written for the product is better than anything I could ever write, so I will just leave it as this is a good movie that I got a great deal on the Blu-Ray. I will say that sometimes they drag the jokes on WAY too long, but once you get past that is is pretty funny.Get more detail about The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

The Big Red Chicken Get it now!

Just saw the Dora episode Berry Hunt. It appears to be a rip-off of famous children's book We're going on a bear hunt, but the story makes no sense. They go pick berries as the fox's place but when the fox comes to claim his own berries, they accuse him of stealing...? Three year olds don't mind of course, but to me it appears that these videos were made very thoughtlessly.Get more detail about The Big Red Chicken.

The African Queen Buy Now

Wow, what's not to like about this film. Bogart/Hepburn, who can ask for anything more...So glad it is finally on dvd, have old on vhs tape.Get more detail about The African Queen.

Gamer Order Now

With that phrase,so ends John Tilman's nightmare for him and the family that gave him the courage he needed to survive the "game".And what a trip/game it was to get from A to B in this film.A non stop action flick from beginning to end,Gamer(released Sept/09)comes from the same imaginative team that gave us the high adrenaline Crank films,Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine;and there is no lack of that heart-fueling adrenaline in this flick either.
The story involves one John Tilman(aka Kable)who is the current rage in a game called Slayers.The game is real as are the players within the game.Each player has a real person controlling them from afar and John's happens to be a 17 year gaming whiz named Simon(Logan Lehrman).Through the immersing technology on hand Simon literally sees and hears everything John hears as he takes his "player"(John)through an intense fire-fight course from grisly beginning to bloody end.After surviving 30 games John will be allowed to leave the game and Simon has taken John,unprecedentedly,almost all the way through.
The creator of this gaming world,Ken Castle(Michael Hall),was also the creator of another wildly popular interactive game,the Sims-like Society.However Castle's dreams are over exceeding his grasp as his real motives lie in trying to control the rest of society.He hopes to be able to inject his brain controlling nanobots into millions of people thereby controlling everyone.But a rebel group called Humanz is out to stop Castle's grasp of power.They contact Simon and give him a mod that enables Simon to actually talk with John during game play.Inevitably this leads to John finally breaking out of the game during what was to be his last fight and tracking down his family.With the help of the people in Humanz he is able to get he and his wife's independence back and which leads to the inevitable showdown with the person who has his only daughter;Castle himself.Things are nip and tuck but Tilman in the end,with a little help from the remaining elements of Humanz,defeats Castle and brings down his dynasty.
This is a look at todays gaming world flung into the future and brought to a higher,more violent,more interactive and a more highly intense experience;assisted ably through its' great plot,SFX,editing and non stop action.The writing and directing team of Taylor and Neveldine have created a wonderful Sci Fi winner of a concept and they never let the action or your interest wane for more than a few seconds,if ever.I found myself riveted to the action/plot throughout and that's something that few movies can accomplish these days.Also what can't be stated enough is the absolutely fantastic look and feel of this film,all done through the actual camera itself.I first heard of this relatively new camera system called "Red" back in early 2007 and this is the first mainstream film I have actually seen it used in and it is awesome,to say the least.The look is a combination of alot of things but sepia tones and alot of saturated pastels dominate throughout.The camera shots,twists and turns are done at break neck speeds as the creators strive to give we the viewer a more movie-immersing experience.And it works,all of it works as this is a film,I for one,will definitely watch more than a few times to try to catch something I missed from the previous viewing.Finally I must also give a nod to the films lead actor Gerard Butler whose intensity throughout really enhances the entire proceedings.
On the technical side of things the film is clear and crisp and beautifully transferred to DVD with its widescreen format in tact and the sound fantastic.The extras include audio commentary,three 30 minute featurettes on the making of the film,likewise a featurette on the RED camera system used and the trailer.
All in all one of the better Sci-Fi films I have seen in recent times.Its Sci-Fi premise alone will certainly be a drawing card to all the fans of that genre but throw in the gaming world angle as well and well,there's a much wider audience right there.I recommend the movie highly;the game is on!Get more detail about Gamer.

The Thirteenth Floor Decide Now

This is a good movie dealing with reality on several levels. The scenes are recreations of Los Angeles from the 30's and are quite remarkable.
This DVD does have another of Sony's odd encryption schemes designed more to frustrate the user than to protect the movie.Get more detail about The Thirteenth Floor.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated) Right now

I am sure the movie description written for the product is better than anything I could ever write, so I will just leave it as this is a good movie that I got a great deal on the Blu-Ray. I will say that sometimes they drag the jokes on WAY too long, but once you get past that is is pretty funny.Get more detail about The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated).