Blu-Ray Review - Avatar

Avatar is the blockbuster of director James Cameron following similar success with his previous, Titanic from 1997, I will leave out the plot synopsis and my thoughts on the film itself and refer you to my review of the film's theatrical release in December 2009.

Video:

Let me put it this way, PERFECT, yes this Blu-ray is one of the two or three best Blu-Ray transfers I have seen nudging up just behind the Hot Fuzz Blu-Ray and the Complete Blade Runner Collection, and that's because I enjoy those two films a lot more than this one, the outdoor scenes of Pandora are as good as you could hope, frequently making me curse as it looked so good, the interior scenes are slightly soft but that is mainly down to the cinematography style, not the fault of this wonderful transfer.

Audio:

Again, like the video transfer, the audio is pitch perfect, mixed at all the right levels, quiet when needed, loud when needed and plenty of ambiance to go with it, the final showdown between the natives and the marines should give the speakers a nice workout.

Extras:

Nothing to say here as Cameron designed this release as a movie-only release to get the film out in stores and satisfy audience demand while he takes his time with the supplements for a second Blu-Ray release in November, which is said to have three versions of the film, a special PiP track, a two hour documentary and more, die hard fans will most likely be advised to wait for that release to get the full experience of the movie.

Overall:

Avatar is a great film and one that's worth getting on Blu-Ray if have a player, even if you don't want the November release or want to get this one to tide you over then that is entirely your call to make, but I would say that whatever decision you make, do give this disc a spin as it's well done and shows off the format's real potential.

Film Review - Demolition Man (1993)

Demolition Man stars Sylvester Stallone as Los Angeles Cop John Spartan who after the death of innocent people is sentenced to cyro-freeze and awakens in the year 2032, where the world has become a nanny state led by Nigel Hawthorne and his enemy is Simon Phoenix played by Wesley Snipes.

The first half of the film is terrific, blending action and comedy very well, each of the main cast handle themselves well even Stallone, the humour had me in stitches especially the references to Armour Hot Dogs and the Verbal Morality Stature that hands out fines to anyone who swares or says something bad, if I have a complaint though is that the film goes for all out action in the second half, which doesn't work very well.

As for my rating, well Simon says 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Capitalism: A Love Story is the newest film by maverick documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and concerns the American love affair with Capitalism as a whole, tracking it from how the banks went grovelling the US Congress before the financial disaster in 2008 to how it affects every day Americans struggling to make a living.

I'm not sure if a film like this can necessarily be enjoyable, as some of the charts in the doco are harrowing to watch, especially one where employers took out secret life insurance on their workers in the event of their death and another where former US president Franklin Roosevelt unveiled his plans for a second bill of rights guaranteeing a job, a decent home and wage and universal healthcare, sadly this never came to pass, another area that made me stop and think was the eventual slashing of banking regulations, allowing them to run amok however they wanted.

Part of the film is also a comedy, as Moore tries in vain to make a citizen's arrest of the bankers themselves he feels are responsible for the mess the US finds itself in and the end of the film with a lounge singer singing the Internationale making me laugh somewhat, no doubt put in the film to lighten the mood.

This film should be seen as far as I'm concerned, normally I'm not a big Moore fan as he does border on conspiracy theory territory but here he's on the mark and it welcomely I find paints a different view of the States than is reported, so I'll give it a 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - 2012 (2009)

2012 is based on the theory that the Mayan civilization supposedly foretold the end of the world on December 21st, 2012 but in this instance it comes true and John Cusack who plays a failed author named Jackson Curtis must now race to save his family from the impending doom.

If there was a movie dictionary definition for the words 'Preposterous', 'Ludicrous', 'Stupid' or all of the above for that matter then this film should be put there as it is laughable from start to finish I mean Cusack's character is a failed author when he would have made a fortune as a professional daredevil/stuntman as he dodges a giant rolling donut, drives through a collapsing building as well as under a collapsing freeway as well as missing certain death by mere meters due to the collapsing road behind him.

But wait there's more, if you call within the next 15 minutes you also get cheap shots at drama absolutely free as well as more dumb antics from Cusack and more effects that make you just go 'You're all going to die, oh well nice knowing you', now I don't mean to rag on Cusack as he is a good actor but this film just wastes his talent and Amanda Peet has seen better days both in terms of her looks as well as her career.

If you simply must see this film, then go out and get it but you will anyway so why should I stop you from wasting $7 as for the rest, please don't, just keep your money for better films like Avatar, this is getting a 0 out of 5, as it's really one of THE stupidest films I've ever seen.

Editorial - The 3 Fundamental Principles

Alright kids, I'm going to put on my teacher's hat for this one as it's time to learn about the three fundamental principles of movies.

What's this, a question from the class, well let's hear it, yes you there:

"What are the three fundamental principles?"

Good question Mac, makes me glad you're here well the three fundamental principles are as follows:

Principle #1 - A Good Story: Yes kids, the first principle for a good film is a good story, this above all else is the most important of the fundamental principles, especially when dealing with elaborate special effects and action sequences, as without a good story to tie the special effects together like in Die Hard and the Star Wars Trilogy to use as examples, then the effects become worthless such as in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and nothing more than salad dressing.

Principle #2 - Good Characters: Principle #2 is a good set of well defined characters and I have a good set of examples such as Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars Trilogy, John McClane from Die Hard, the boys and teachers in Dead Poets Society, the MFP cops in Mad Max 1 and the compound inhabitants in Mad Max 2 and Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China.

You see kids, characters in a film can become a guide for the audience throughout the film, in a way they serve the story as well, as they're actions in it help to win over the audience's approval or disapproval such as in JJ Abrams's recent Star Trek to use as an example, where I personally didn't care one bit about the crew of the Enterprise.

And finally Principle #3 - A Good Villain: This one is more for the action/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy type of films but these films I've found anyway, you guys might feel otherwise but I've found this to be the case, rely very much on the strength of its villain for its overall success.

And as my example, I'm going to use the one that inspired me to do this editorial, General Zod in Superman II, which is the main reason I feel that that film rises above Superman I, Terence Stamp's Zod contains the exact same powers as the man of steel as well as the woman Ursa played by Sarah Douglas and Non, played by Jack O'Halloran, because of that the film feels stronger and gives you a reason the want to see Superman give them a hell of a fight for control of the Earth.

But sadly, there are some that don't again using the recent Star Trek as an example, all Eric Bana's Nero is bark orders "prepare the weapon", "fire everything" etc etc along with that, the 2006 film adaptation of V for Vendetta, which treated the vile dictator of the UK as a casting gimmick and again bark order and spout out lines that would be more appropriate for Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, which most film villains these days seem to be written at the same level as in terms of their dialogue and overall characterization.

Alright kids, that almost makes it a wrap for this class, hopefully you got those notes down and remember what you've learned this class, for I shant repeat myself again, have a nice day.

Film Review - Clash of the Titans (2010)

Clash of the Titans is based on the 1981 film of the sane name and stars Sam Worthington, fresh from his success in Avatar as Perseus, the half human son of Zeus, played by Liam Neeson, but when the lord of the underworld Hades (Ralph Fiennes) threatens war, someone will have to take a stand to defend the world.

I can't think of a more duller action picture to be released this year, and if there is I'll be bloody surprised because like Dragonball Evolution, it starts off on the wrong foot as the intro made me think "Didn't I just play this on PS3" and only got steadily worse from there with Worthington himself retreating into his Aussie accent as a clear sign of his disinterest, Fiennes's laugh out loud funny performance as Hades and of course the time old tradition's of both distinguished UK actors hamming it up and actors delivering ham fisted dialogue as if they're performing Shakespeare.

But wait there's more, there's only 15 minutes of action scenes at best and the titanic Kraken seen in the film's trailer is just underwhelming, as were the Scorpions also seen in the trailer.

So folks, hang onto your money and if you happen to own a PS3, hire God of War 3 as that's far more satisfying, as for this well it's scraping through with a 1 and a half out of 5.