Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Fox Home Entertainment – 133 minutes – 2010 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – DTS Lossless 5.1 Audio Mix – Digital Copy

“Greed is Good,” a line that dominated the late 80’s and early 90’s, until the mighty Wall Street crumbled and reality hit us all hard. Oliver Stones 1987 film Wall Street showed us how a mixture of decadence and arrogance was a lethal formula that only leads down to a path of corruption. Michael Douglas’ iconic character Gordon Gekko became to Wall Street wannabees, what Scarface is to the Hip Hop community, a true role model to look up to. Twenty-three years later, Mr. Stone has decided to revisit the financial world with the follow-up, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, now available on Blu-ray from 20^th Century Fox. Was the nearly quarter century wait worth it, or should the original vision just remained in an 80’s time capsule where it was safe?

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Starz/Anchor Bay – 640 mins – 2010 – Unrated – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Audio – 4 Discs

The name Spartacus for most of us instantly relates to the 1960 Stanley Kubrick classic with Kirk Douglass in the leading role. There have been films such as Gladiator and 300 that did a good job at capturing the sword and sandal epic action of the glory days of Hollywood, but there options for something equal on TV have been slim. The Starz cable channel has taken a shot by re-imagining the gladiator genre with the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which literally pushes the boundaries on what you can get away with on TV. Season one is now available on Blu-ray in a four-disc set from Starz/Anchor Bay ready to take you back to the time when the Romans ruled the planet.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Bros. – 122 mins/132 mins – 1973 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 Audio – Digibook

The Exorcist is the best horror/supernatural-thriller motion picture ever made, and to this day is still be copied with films like The Last Exorcism, which doesn’t even try to hide that it’s stealing from the original 1973 source material. Younger audiences may not appreciate the absolute brilliance of The Exorcist, because they’ve been bombarded with slasher films, watered down demonic thrillers and horror parodies, but if you locked anyone of them in a dark room and made them watched this, they won’t forget the experience. Finally The Exorcist has arrived on Blu-ray from Warner and it’s a great package, featuring not only the original theatrical film, but also the extended Director’s cut.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Disney – 116 mins – 2010 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.40: 1 – DTS-HD 5.1 Audio – DVD copy – Digital Copy

Hollywood is still struggling to successfully adapt a videogame into a big screen movie that will be won over by both audiences and critics alike. There have been films that have made a lot of cash such as the Tomb Raider and the Resident Evil movies, but obviously neither will be considered classics one day. Big time producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the gang over at the mouse house of Disney have joined forces with a $200 million dollar big budget adaptation of the Prince of Persia videogames. The result is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal, who pumped up his body to rival Stallone’s for the roll. The movie is now available on Disney Blu-ray, but unless you are truly a die hard fan of either the game or just watching Gyllenhaal running around without a shirt off, there’s not much else here to see.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Paramount – 124 mins  – 2010 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 Audio – DVD/Digital Copy combo

The first Iron Man movie was definitely one of the better comic book-to-big screen adaptations that has come out in the last decade. The best thing about it is that expectations were not very high because Iron Man is not as well known to the masses as Batman or Spiderman, so when it became one of the biggest hits of 2008 it surprised a lot of people, gave Robert Downey, Jr. the comeback he needed and made actor Jon Favreau a bankable movie director. There was no doubt there would be a sequel, and two years later a “2” was slapped on the title and the man in the hot rod red body armor suit is ready to save the world again. Iron Man 2 comes to Blu-ray from Paramount Pictures, but it seems that the second go round is a bit rusty.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Bros. – 201 mins – 2003 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.40: 1 – DTS-HD 6.1 Audio – DVD copy – Digital Copy

After the success of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, everyone was anticipating the grand finale. The last film in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Return of the King is not only an excellent ending to the saga, it is also a cinematic masterpiece which earned the 2003 Academy Award for best picture. Originally the Blu-ray was included only as part of a box set, but now it is available individually from Warner Home Video.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Bros. – 179 mins – 2002 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.40: 1 – DTS-HD 6.1 Audio – DVD copy – Digital Copy

Everyone involved must have definitely been relieved when The Fellowship of the Ring was released, because not only was it a critical success, it also was a huge hit at the box office and audiences want to see the story continue. The second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, which was previously only available in a box set, is now sold as an individual Blu-ray from Warner Home Video.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Bros. – 178 mins – 2001 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.40: 1 – DTS-HD 6.1 Audio – DVD copy – Digital Copy

Translating J.R.R. Tolkien’s books into big screen motion pictures could have been a disaster, such as with Frank Herbert’s Dune. But somehow the stars in the universe lined up correctly and a guy named Peter Jackson, who previously directed a raunchy puppet film called Meet the Feebles, not only pulled it off, but made history. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was one of the most eagerly demanded films requested on Blu-ray, (next to Star Wars flicks) and earlier this year Warner Home Video finally released a box set of the three films. Now the three films have been released individually on Blu-ray, but they are still only the theatrical versions, which means that those waiting for the director’s cuts still have to wait.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Lionsgate – 101 mins – 2010 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – Dolby Digital DTS-HD 7.1 Audio

Ashton Kutcher really wants to be a movie star, but his choices are so bad that he’s shooting himself in the foot. There are plenty of actors in Hollywood who get by on their looks, but somehow they pick better projects than him. Kutcher’s latest attempt to be a big screen star is the romantic action comedy, Killers, which also stars current rom-com queen Katherine Heigl from TV’s Grey’s Anatomy. The film arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate, and even if you’re a fan of Kutcher or Heigl’s, this one may be hard to sit through without tapping the fast forward button.

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Reviewed by Johnny McNair

The Weinstein Company – 90 mins – 2008 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – Dolby Digital DTS-HD Master 5.1 Audio

Star Wars fans are a force of nature that cannot be stopped, and after 33 years since the original film was released, the fan base is expanding in numbers larger than the galactic empire. There are a zillion star wars fan films on You Tube, and many popular motion pictures and TV shows have paid homage to the films, but Fanboys is the first film to base an entire premise on the cult of Star Wars. Fanboys is finally available on Blu-ray from The Weinstein Company, so strap yourselves in and get ready to make the jump to light speed.

THE MOVIE

A long time ago, in a town not so far away…

Well actually it’s 1998, and there’s a six month countdown to the release of the most eagerly awaited film in the history of motion pictures, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, the first Star Wars film to be seen by human eyes in fifteen years. Four friends who were die hard Star Wars fans as kids, Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Windows (Jay Barucel) are now in their twenties, but it seems as that only Eric has grown up and accepted responsibility. And because their has to be a girl tossed into the mix so one of them can fall for her, geeky dream girl Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars rounds up the central cast.

When Eric learns that Linus is terminally ill, he and the guys put away their past differences and unite to go in the ultimate road trip. They make an elaborate plan to break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and see the rough cut of Episode 1, because the odds are not in favor of Linus still be around when the actual film will be released to the masses.

Despite the sad premise, the film tries very hard to be comedic throwing out every geeky reference you can imagine. If you’re a fan of Star Wars or any other sci-fi film or TV show related to pop culture, you’ll get the jokes. If you don’t like Star Wars or any of this stuff surrounding it, you will be clueless about what any of these characters are talking about. This film is made for a very specific audience, and all others need not apply.

Directed by Kyle Newman, who is a major Star Wars fan, this is his love letter to Lucas and the Star Wars universe. The problem with the film is that it’s not well thought out and the characters become more annoying than actually likeable. Yes, there are some good moments in the film, but instead of taking risk, the film plays it safe, when it should have come down hard on what a disappointed Episode 1 actually turned out to be.

There are cameos from two of the original Star Wars cast members, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams, as well as the ultimate symbol of anti-Star Wars, William “Captain James T. Kirk” Shatner. Geeks of current pop culture also make appearances to show their loyalty to the saga, such as Kevin Smith, Seth Rogen, and the ultimate nerd who created ‘Aint It Cool News ,’ Harry Knowles. It would have been the icing on the cake if George Lucas himself would have played a part in the film, but his presence is all over.

Fanboys is one of those films that you’ll either cherish for its geekness, or you’ll just wonder was this really necessary. Either way, just the nostalgia of thinking how hyped up fans were in 1998 waiting for Star Wars to return may be worth it for most. And the last line of the film sums it all up as the gang finally sits in the theater before the film starts and one turns to the other and says “Hey, what if it sucks?”

VIDEO

Fanboys comes to Blu-ray in full 1080p in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and it has an acceptable image, but nothing that will jump off the screen. Colors are well balanced and skin tones are good. Heavy grain becomes an issue in darker scenes, but overall this is a minor step up from the DVD.

AUDIO

Offering a Dolby Digital DTS-HD Master 5.1 mix, Fanboys sounds good without over-doing it. This is a dialogue heavy film, so forward speakers get most of the workout. But for fans there are plenty of Star Wars sounds, such as lightsabers, lasers, and off course the familiar beeps of the most famous droid in the universe.

EXTRAS

Fanboys actually offers a nice package of goodies on the single Blu-ray disc, so if you are a fan of this film you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Director Kyle Newman and Producer Mathew Perniciaro introduce the film and follow-up in other segments discussing the origins of the film and how the two meet and got it made.

The cast and crew (seems like twenty of people are in the room) provide an audio commentary track, but everyone seems to be talking over one another.

Six deleted scenes are available, but their mainly extensions to what was in the actual film.

‘4 Fanboys and 1 Fangirl’ has the primary cast members to talk about each of their characters and working together.

‘Disturbance in the Force ‘ is a series of the seven webisodes that hyped up the film.

‘Fanboys Goes Golbal’ looks at how the film became a cult phenomenon worldwide.

There’s also an Image Gallery and Digital Comic provides some fun pictures from the film and behind the scenes.

‘Star Wars Parallel’ has the actors talk about how each other their characters mirror the actual characters in the Star Wars universe.

BOTTOM LINE

Fanboys is just exactly what the title says, a movie for fans of not only Star Wars but everything in pop culture from the last twenty years. The Blu-ray offers decent image and sound quality, but it’s the bonus features that actually stand out more. Fans will buy this one with no questions asked, because they’ve already been overtaken by the Jedi mind trick.

SCORES: (Out of 5)

The Movie:    3.0
Video:        3.5
Sound:        3.5
Extras:        4.0

Bottom Line:    3.0