Review: Quantum of Solace blu-ray
Casino Royale was one of the most popular and successful Bond movies ever, so Quantum of Solace had big shoes to fill.
And despite a second quality performance from lead man Daniel Craig, the chemistry is all wrong in Quantum of Solace.
Unfortunately, those in charge of Quantum of Solace left out far too many of the good elements that made Casino Royale such a runaway success.
The action is still there, as well as the pretty girl and the complex storyline, but the movie feels like a shell without any insides.
The main reason for this is that Quantum of Solace is carried out at a frenetic pace, and no time is allowed for meaningful relations between characters to develop.
It also feels a little bit like the makers of Quantum of Solace felt pressure to emulate the excellent Bourne trilogy; this is probably why Bond spends too much time performing Jason Bourne-esque somersaults on rooftops.
Quantum of Solace is worth seeing, but only for those who feel the need to see what happens to the craggy 007 agent and his cohorts after Casino Royale.
Let’s hope the next instalment of this classic series rediscovers the chemistry that underpinned Casino Royale.
The Quantum of Solace bluray is widely available.
Review: Marley and Me blu-ray
Marley and Me is essentially a story about the trials and tribulations of marriage – and the unforseen events that shape our lives – based around the antics of a dog, Marley.
John Grogan (Owen Wilson) marries Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) and the two purchase a dog in the light-hearted hope that the pet will prepare them for having children, which they later plan to do.Marley is so named after the great reggae artist Bob Marley, of whom John is a big fan.
The new couple move to sunny Florida and both secure work as full time journalists; Jenny as a feature writer and John as a daily news reporter.
But unexpected events take place (we won’t spoil it) and Jenny is required to leave her job to look after the couple’s young children.
When John is called upon to write a column piece, his editor is surprised to find out how funny John’s writing is.
In fact, all of John’s columns are centred on the misdemeanours of the poorly behaved Marley, who causes significant grief to the Florida dog community.
No less than 22 labradors were used in the making of the film, tracking Marley’s entire life.
On the whole, the film is an interesting look at the dynamics of family life and how unexpected events can shape you as a person.
The Marley and Me bluray is currently available.
Review: Gran Torino bluray
Clint Eastwood has filled a career with tough, uncompromising characters, and his Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino is no exception.
In fact, Walt – a bigoted Korean War veteran who lives isolated in a racially diverse, rundown Detroit – can be seen as a coming together of so many of Eastwood’s past classic roles.
The grunt and charisma Eastwood brings to the role steals the show, and reasonable support performances are supplied by Bee Vang (Thao) and Ahney Her (Sue). As the story progresses the audience is exposed to something of a thawing process. The extroverted, bold friendship Sue gives to Kowalski is his first step towards reintegrating with society.
Kowalski’s own grandkids are selfish ingrates, and the calibre of people that Sue and Thao reveal themselves to be is a real turning point for him.
The name of the film is taken from the classic 1972 car that Kowalski idolises and spends so much time polishing.
Clint Eastwood has said this role will be his final one, and he will now look to continue his highly successful directorial career.
Although Eastwood has recorded Academy Award wins for two movies he directed (Million Dollar Baby and Unorgiven), he is yet to score one as an actor.It is difficult to believe he won’t act again if the right role comes up.
The Gran Torino bluray is available now.
DVD vs Bluray: make the switch?
May 19, 2009 by admin
Filed under Blu-ray Information
Those of you thinking of upgrading to bluray are looking for the answer of one fundamental question: what are the advantages of DVD vs bluray?
Advantages of Bluray:
The image quality is vastly superior. You will see a more detailed image, for example more clearly defined strands of hair, sharper light reflecting off glass and a twinkle in characters’ eyes. Technically speaking, the maximum bluray resolution is 1080p, and the maximum DVD resolution is 480p. Bluray has superior contrast and richer colours.
Audio is also better. High-resolution soundtrack formats like Dolby TrueHD are basically as good as the cinema experience. You will hear sounds exactly as they are intended.
Advantages of DVD:
DVD is cheaper. Bluray is still a little bit expensive, but its costs will greatly reduce over the next two years as the technology spreads.
Load times on DVD are much faster than Bluray. The reason for this is that Bluray players have a lot more data to load, and can sometimes take about a minute and a half to get to the actual movie.
There are more titles available on DVD. Currently there are about 1000 titles available on Bluray, compared with more than 90000 on DVD.
On the whole, Bluray provides a superior viewing and audio experience. If you can make the switch it is worth it in the long run.
Review: Bolt bluray
Bolt would almost have certainly been the runaway success of 2008 animated movies if it wasn’t for the remarkably popular Wall-E.
Sitting in stark contrast the recent swathe of too clever, smart alec animated films is this simple, loveable comedy.
While other recent cartoon movies have depended on pop culture references to get cheap laughs, Bolt slowly sucks in the audience with its warm charm and friendly approach.
Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is an excitable dog who works on the set of a TV action series and believes that he has superpowers.
When Bolt becomes confused and thinks his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) has been kidnapped, he sets out to save her but gets lost in New York City.
The rest of the story is something of an awakening for Bolt, who with the help of his friends Rhino (an energetic hamster in a plastic ball) and Mittens (a wise alley cat) begins to learn that you don’t have to have superpowers to be a real hero.
Production values were clearly emphasised in the making of Bolt, as clear and crisp animation and fast-paced scenes are well put together.
Bolt is not going to win any awards for originality of thought, but it is an entertaining film that is sure to delight kids.
The Bolt bluray will be available in 2009.