Pacific Rim

CHICAGO – Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most imaginative filmmakers alive. Even when his films don’t fully come together, there’s that spark of creativity that is truly Del Toro. He has so much going on upstairs that he needs to put it on paper, producing pages and pages of notes, drawings, etc. I’ve seen it.

CHICAGO – Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, has so much of what the other 2013 Summer blockbusters were missing. There was a disturbing sense of familiarity this year. Even the decent ones like the “Iron Man” and “Star Trek” sequels felt like things we had seen before. “Pacific Rim” returned wonder and spectacle to the world of the blockbuster and the result was Del Toro’s best English-language film. It’s a blast.

CHICAGO – Criterion Collection Blu-ray releases start from a more critically safe place than most films simply by their selection process. What I mean is that it’s easier to produce a quality Blu-ray from a Kurosawa or Hitchcock film than, say, “Scary Movie 5.” The implied stamp of quality given to the film itself before you even see the transfer or special features elevates the way we approach the material.

CHICAGO – Leave it to the wondrous auteur, director Guillermo del Toro, to push the boundaries of giant science fiction epics simply by paying homage to their predecessors. The grand, glorious embrace of “Pacific Rim” leaves no stone of cult film fun unturned.