Against All Odds (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Director Taylor Hackford doesn't make a lot of mistakes. But he points out one in the deleted scenes area of this disc. When I saw it back in 1984, I didn't understand what the heck Jeff Bridges was doing flying around Mexico to throw James Woods off the train while Rachel Ward went to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza (an awesome spot I visited back in 1995, by the way). The deleted scene helps make this clear and really enhanced my enjoyment of the film.
Whether you like the movie or not, the chance to see the seaside ruins of Tulum and the astronomical temple of Chichen Itza is worth it. No one apparently had been allowed to film there before. And Jane Greer is great as the quietly wicked mother of Ms. Ward.

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Robocop - Criterion Collection (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)This review is for the Blu-Ray edition. You know about the movie, so I won't rehash the plot.
As a Blu-Ray disc, this is mediocre at best. This is no posterboy for the next-gen format. The quality of the transfer is not very good. Lots of grain and not as sharp and clean as you might expect for Blu-Ray. Part of it has to do with the movie begin 20 years old, but this edition was clearly not done with TLC. It's a barebones transfer of the movie.
There are **NO** special features. The Special Features menu has two options: the Robocop trailer and Resume Movie. I don't count trailers as special features. Why even put this on the menu? Sort of silly.
No audio commentary, nada. WB didn't even include any of the features it already put on the 2 disc 20th Anniversary DVD. They could've just thrown it on here, like most other studios do by putting standard def extras onto Blu-Ray or HD DVD. If you already own the DVD version, I'd say skip this.
Buy this edition only if it's part of the BUY 1 GET 1 sale (I did) or if you must own this piece of 80's cultural memorabilia.

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Called by Ken Russell "the greatest science-fiction film since Metropolis," controversial director Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop is a special effects-laden cult phenomenon. The film features a resurrected and roboticized hero (Peter Weller) in a new, supercharged cyborg body, struggling to reclaim his memory and avenge his own death. Writtern by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, this film is a grown-up superhero fantasy come to vivid, bloody life.

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The Ultimate Matrix Collection (The Matrix/ The Matrix Reloaded/ The Matrix Revolutions/ The Animatrix) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)During the following I will intend to describe as best and briefly as possible this collection. I also will mention some differences between this collection and the original releases. Enjoy.
The difference between the limited and the unlimited editions are: The Limited Edition comes in a plastic box with trays, a Neo bust and an 80 page booklet that lists the extras of the 10 disks (yes, that's all it does). Besides this the sets are the same.
These two sets include all three films, The Animatrix, the film footage shot for Enter the Matrix videogame and 106 documentaries. The bonus disks for Reloaded and Revolutions are different from those included in the versions already released.
REMASTERD: The movies were enhanced so the films look brighter in color and richer in details. Don't worry it was not done by Gorge Lucas. The films are the same.
AUDIO: Also enhanced (not that it was necessary). Voices are stronger, gentle noises stand out more and details were sweetened just a bit. Great work!
DISK 1: The Matrix. The original commentaries, the music only audio track, follow the white rabbit, take the red pills... ALL ARE MISSING in this version. It comes with two commentaries worth listening to, a written intro from the Wachowski bros., and a ROM feature.
DISK 2: The Matrix Revisited. It includes the entire contents of the original disk except the fanboy stuff.
DISK 3: The Matrix Reloaded. Two new commentaries and a ROM feature.
DISK 4: The Matrix Reloaded Revisited. All new stuff such as a 17-min look at the fight in the Merovingian's chateau, 55-min dissection of the car chase, 40-min look at the Neo vs. 100 Smith battle, 7-min segment on Neo vs. Seraph and more.
DISK 5: The Matrix Revolutions. Two new commentaries and a ROM feature.
DISK 6: The Matrix Revolutions Revisited. Includes a tour of the set, 27-min piece on the Club Hel fight (ceiling walkers), segments on the workers and extras, 17-min profile of Neo vs. Smith final battle, 36-min piece covering the soundtrack, film editing, etc. and more.
DISK 7: The Animatrix. Just as we all remember it.
DISK 8: The Roots of the Matrix. Two documentaries: 1-Return to Source: The Philosophy of The Matrix: is an hour long discussion on the philosophical elements of the movie. And 2-The Hard Problem: the Science Behind the Fiction is an hour long discussion of the science of the films and its possibilities for a real life Matrix.
DISK 9: The Burly Man Chronicles. This is a 94-min featurette documenting the whole 276 day shoot for films 2 and 3. Profiles, interviews, a tribute to Alliyah and more are also found on this disk. Although almost nothing is said about Gloria Foster (the original Oracle).
DISK 10: The Zion Archive. Here we find storyboards and concept art for all three films; trailers and music videos for all three films; video effects in various states of completion and a Matrix Online game preview.
Overall: Excellent collection and a must for fans. If you are not a hardcore fan though and you like this collection, you may want to purchase the one without Neo's bust. It's cheaper and the booklet is only a guide to the extras on the 10 disks which are all included in both sets. The Wachowskis DO NOT give any commentaries on these disks which may be disappointing for some fans. But over all this is a great collection. You may add it to the ones you already own with confidence. There are more goodies in these disks not mentioned here so have fun exploring. Just follow the white rabbit and remember... there is no spoon.

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The definitive ten-disc DVD set, The Ultimate Matrix Collection features all three films in the trilogy together for the first time ever with a newly remastered picture and sound for The Matrix. Also included is the companion piece The Matrix Revisited and the best-selling The Animatrix, plus five entirely new DVDs packed solid with brand-new supplemental materials that encompass every aspect of the Matrix universe, including two new audio commentaries on each film, Enter the Matrix video game footage, 106 deep-delving featurettes/ documentaries and much more!DVD Features:Additional Scenes:Filmed for Enter the Matrix video gameAudio Commentary:The Philosophers: Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber; The Critics: Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David ThomsonDVD ROM FeaturesDocumentaryEaster EggsFeaturetteIntroduction:by the Wachowski BrothersMusic VideoPhoto galleryStoryboardsTV SpotTheatrical Trailer

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Caprica (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was extremely skeptical when I heard about the proposed prequel to the greatest television science fiction saga of this generation. Attempting to cash in on the success of Battlestar Galactica so soon after the series ended seemed like a losing proposition doomed to mar an amazing franchise. Well, consider those fears alleviated. The first taste of "Caprica" is absolutely amazing. With no space battles and the themes of humanity's destruction and survival at the hands of their own creation already done to death, I feared for a lack of compelling material to further immerse me in the pre-genocide human society of the twelve worlds. All politics and no spaceships makes science fiction a dull genre. But what BSG did for the space opera, "Caprica" is set to do for cyberpunk. If BSG was Star Trek and Babylon 5, "Caprica" is Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix. I am beyond impressed.
The story unfolds as a terrorist attack by a youth seeking to draw attention to his monotheistic cause (most worship the old Greek gods). The result tears two families apart and in half a century's time will lead to the destruction of human society. But before that there is one hell of a story to be told. The themes on the social commentary buffet so far includes a much more bold dialogue on religion then even BSG gave us, a different angle on the definition of human as we know it, a frank look at a racist society, and an exploration of the logical extremes of future virtual existence. This is to say that once the internet and virtual reality become compatible, one hell of a can of worms will be opened.
Since this series premiere comes to us in movie form, the gods have shined upon us. As far as it's predecessor pushed the sexual envelope for a tv show, "Caprica" has easily bested it here. I don't know how they are going to cut this for television. There is abundant nudity, group sex, and some serious girl-girl going on in this film. Virtual human sacrifice in underground virtual hacker clubs speaks volumes about the social issues to be confronted and is damned disturbing. There is one violent death featuring a but of arterial spray as well. Still think science fiction is for kids? The idea of creating a virtual copy of yourself by hacking the information in your own brain and uploading it to a digital avatar, thereby achieving a brand of immortality is brilliant and the Frankenstein complex that leads a father who lost his daughter to cross lines that should never be crossed is stroke of absolute genius.
Familiarity with it's parent show will certainly deepen your appreciation of "Caprica", but it is not at all necessary. This is great science fiction, period. Now's your chance to get on board with what promises to be the best series in coming years. Don't miss it. Battlestar maniacs will get to see one of that show's enduring heroes in his formative years and witness the birth of the first Cylon in a heart-rending accident. But at it's heart this show -like Galactica- is about two things: massive universal concepts of humanity, and intimate relationships with the characters who inhabit this work of fiction. One cannot improve on that formula. There is no television show, no movie, nothing in entertainment that I am currently looking forward to more then this. If you are a fan of adult science fiction in any way, then this is what you need to be watching. And that goes double for BSG fans.

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An astonishing breakthrough is taking shape on the planet Caprica. The rapidly evolving spheres of human and mechanical engineering have collided, along with the fates of two families. Joined by tragedy in an explosive instant of terror, two rival clans led by powerful patriarchs, Joseph Adama (Esai Morales, Jericho) and Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz, The Butterfly Effect) duel in an era of questionable ethics, corporate machinations and unbridled personal ambition as the final war for humanity looms.The latest phenomenon from the executive producers of Battlestar Galactica (Ronald D. Moore and David Eick), set in a time over 50 years earlier, Caprica is entirely its own world - provocative, thrilling and startling relevant to our own.

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Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition) (1927) Review

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(More customer reviews)Once again Amazon have taken all the reviews for all versions of this film and lumped them together. This Blu-ray hasn't even been released, so unless you have seen the now truly restored film at the TCM Film Festival during the summer of 2010, you're reviewing previous releases of the film.
For those who don't already know, a 99% complete version of the film was discovered in Argentina just last year. ALL previous DVD releases are not as complete as this Blu-ray.
Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits has a thorough and very highly recommended review here: [...]

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METROPOLIS - DVD Movie

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