HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Reviews

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Tales of the Black Freighter’ a Great Companion to ‘Watchmen’

Black Freighter
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGOAlan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s influential graphic novel “Watchmen” may have not made the impact that we all expected it to in theaters, but it is a film and book that still has legions of fans. Fan of the book or the movie or both should take a look at the interesting “Tales of the Black Freighter,” a companion piece that fills in the world of “Watchmen” and is now available on Blu-Ray.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Quo Vadis’ is a Classic Made For the Era of HD

Quo Vadis
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It might be a generational thing, but I’ll never understand why people watch movies on smaller and smaller screens like their laptop, cell phone, or iPod. Maybe it’s because I grew up thinking of classic movies as epic adventures that should be larger than life. Movies were arguably never “bigger” than they were in the era of “Quo Vadis,” now available on Blu-Ray.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Venture Bros.: 3rd Season’ Continues to Rock in HD

Venture Bros.
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Adult Swim’s “The Venture Bros.” is the best show you’re not watching. As clever as “South Park,” “Family Guy,” or “The Simpsons,” “The Venture Bros.” is a hilarious dissection of the history of adventure animation like “Jonny Quest”. With a commentary on every episode, gorgeous video and audio, and twenty minutes of deleted scenes, “The Venture Bros: Season Three” is a must-buy for TV animation fans.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Quantum of Solace’ Offers Action Ride, Average Blu-Ray

Quantum of Solace
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Quantum of Solace,” the second Daniel Craig 007 movie after the earthquake to the franchise that was the brilliant “Casino Royale,” didn’t make quite the same waves in the action genre and left a few viewers dissatisfied but it still makes for a better-than-average action movie rental. Sadly, MGM continues to struggle a bit in the HD revolution, releasing a so-so Blu-Ray that won’t help the viewers who felt let down by the film in theaters.

Blu-Ray Review: Disney Delivers Another Great Release For Super-Cute ‘Bolt’ With Miley Cyrus

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The first word I think of when I read or hear about Disney’s “Bolt” is cute. The movie is just cute, cute, cute. If your threshold for adorable cartoon characters and heartwarming messages is low, stay away, but if you’re looking for a bright smile to break the darkness of daily life, you could do a lot worse than this clever canine, now the subject of yet another nearly-perfect Disney Blu-Ray release.

Blu-Ray Review: Marvel Character Strikes Out Swinging With ‘Punisher: War Zone’

Punisher
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s officially a strikeout for Marvel’s The Punisher, a character now featured in not one, not two, but three bad movies of his very own. Dolph Lundgren swung wildly and missed with his “The Punisher” and Thomas Jane nearly connected but went foul with his reboot of the franchise. Now, Ray Stevenson is the latest actor to fail to connect with this legendary character in “Punisher: War Zone,” now available on Blu-Ray.

Blu-Ray Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ensemble Make Trip to ‘Synecdoche, New York’ Worthwhile

Synecdoche, New York
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With one of the most ambitious screenplays of 2008 and one of the most talented ensembles in years, “Synecdoche, New York,” now on Blu-Ray, is a must-see for fans of Charlie Kaufman’s earlier screenwriting work (“Adaptation,” “Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) and the incredible ensemble, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, and Michelle Williams.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Cadillac Records’ With Beyonce Knowles a Greatest Hits Album of Blues Legends

Cadillac Records
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – There’s a lot to like about the individual parts of “Cadillac Records,” now on Blu-Ray, but they never come together to form a cohesive sum. A frustratingly episodic film, “Records” crams too many stories into one movie, ending up more like a greatest hits album than a creative vision of its very own.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ With Hannibal Lecter Finally Available in HD

Silence of the Lambs
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – When the HD revolution was announced, most hardcore movie fans had an instant wish list of titles that they dreamed about seeing in the next generation of video and audio.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Transporter 3’ With Jason Statham Speeds to High-Definition Nowhere

Transporter 3
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – If you’re a big Jason Statham fan, you can move on to another Blu-Ray review. After the pain inflicted on critics in 2008 with the trifecta of “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale,” “Death Race,” and “Transporter 3,” you won’t read many kind words about him in this one.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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