Blu-Ray – Comedy Movies

Accidents Happen [Blu-ray]

Oscar nominee* Geena Davis stars as Gloria Conway, the sharp-tongued mom in this darkly comic story of a family strangely cursed with a streak of bad luck. But as life takes unexpected detours, Gloria manages to tear apart her pain to find the humor in even the toughest things that happen to her. When her teenage son Billy uncharacteristically lets off some steam in a series of scandalous pranks, the tragic results are something no one could have predicted. But with the love of his family and some unexpected help, Billy sees the magic behind lifes oddest accidents. *Best Supporting Actress: The Accidental Tourist, 1988

I saw this film yesterday at a regional film festival in Dubbo NSW. It is one of several Australian films (yes, it was shot in suburban Sydney!) in recent years, aimed at the American market. But it remains thoroughly Australian in its quirky, almost black humour at times.

The film revolves around the central character of Billy Conway and his dysfunctional family (in fact, all the characters seem a bit that way inclined…). It recounts his misadventures and disasters, from the opening scenes where he plays under the hose sprinkler on his front lawn while the next door neighbour accidentally incinerates himself, to the car accident which kills his sister and puts his dynamic & mischevious older twin brother Gene into a vegetative state. When he takes up with Gene’s ‘partner-in-crime’ Doug, son of a neighbouring family, they accidentally kill HIS father as well… The lovely Geena Davis plays a convincing and at times heart-rending role as Billy’s sharp-tongued mother Gloria, ably backed by some wonderful emerging new talent in 14-year old Harrison Gilbertson as Billy, and Harry Cook as the also-ran ‘other’ twin brother, Larry (whose performance is loosely reminiscent of Gabby Millgate’s character Joanie in Muriel’s Wedding… “Muriel, you’re awful…”).

The ensuing trail of accidents & disasters (“I’m not exactly a good luck charm,” Billy tells Doug at one point) are actually woven between some moments of genuine pathos and depth. The consequent collision of guilt, truth and self-discovery prove to be just what Billy and his family need to move on.

There are also some humorous cameos, like the two policemen… who become more of caricatures as the film progresses. And never underestimate the potential of a bowling ball….

Quirky comedy, coming-of-age movie, nostalgia trip… this film crosses over between several classifications. It was a pleasure to watch, evoking as it did considerable laughter, some tears, and a good deal of hope… and some profound moments to boot.

I was surprised at the R rating, despite a couple of graphic scenes… perhaps the innate black humour was not understood by the classification board as well as the audience I watched it with.

It is the debut feature from Australian writer/director Andrew Lancaster. Accidents Happen was also runner-up in the Audience Award at the 2009 Sydney Film Festival and was included in the Official Selection of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

I look forward to seeing more of some of the previously unknown new talent in this film.

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Add comment  Tagged:  Accidents, Bluray, Happen, HugaMonkey, Medium September 4, 2010

Fanboys (Blu-Ray) [Blu-ray]

Import Blu-Ray/Region A pressing. In 1998, four childhood buddies with a shared love of all things Star Wars reunite for one final, hilarious odyssey. Their insane plan: a cross-country road trip to storm George Lucas Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of Episode I before it s released. With the police, a crew of angry Trekkies, and a crazy pimp hot on their trail, what could possibly go wrong? Featuring Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell plus a slew of hysterical surprise cameos.

This is a fun movie for all of Geekdom…. Star Wars fans will appreciate this one.

Story revolves around a group of friends who really aren’t going anywhere…. where Eric (Sam Huntington) feels his life needs direction, as he listlessly works at his father’s used car lot, even though his true passion is art, and creating his own comic book, something he put off thinking it was all pipe dreams. Then there are his friends, best friend Linus (Chris Marquette), nerd o’rama Windows (Jay Baruchel), and crazy man, Hutch (Dan Fogler) who has pimped out his van as if it is the Millennium Falcon, and nerd cutie Zoe (Kirsten Bell). These guys live and breath anything fanboy, whether it’s arguing who fired first… Han or Greedo, which is better Empire or Jedi, arguing if Boba fett is a genuine bad ass or not, and basically repeating their favorite movie lines in everyday lingo (seriously who doesn’t do that? my friends and I do it) anyways turns out Linus finds he has a terminal illness where he and Eric have drifted apart after high school, where Eric thinks what his friends do are childish games, that they never grew up, thinking he is the only one who really moved on from this nonsense, where as with the rest of the group it’s a passion something they enjoy, like outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the outdoors, dog lovers that will do anything for an animal, people who collect garden gnomes, it’s something they enjoy. Linus knows he will not see Star Wars Episode I, so when Eric realizes this he hatches a plan to go to Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy with the group. On the outside it’s a buddy road trip movie, with it comes the hilarity, but deep down it wasn’t about stealing one of the most anticipated movies to hit 1999, it’s about knowing who your true friends are and spending one last adventure before it’s too late, where Eric doesn’t realize this until I think mid way through. Each of the characters find out who they are, and they too can follow their dreams no matter how big or ridiculous, Windows finally see Zoe for who she is not just a best friend but deep down actually loves her, it’s reciprocal, and Hutch follows his dreams of opening an Automotive Detailing Business.

Anyways hilarity ensues when they stop in Iowa the birth place of one James Tiberius Kirk, and Hutch gets into a fight with a bunch of Trekkies, one played by Seth Rogen, who also plays a pimp in Vegas. And when they do reach Skywalker ranch they run into some very animated Security Guards played by Will Arnett, and Craig Robinson. With More cameos by Shatner, Carrie Fischer, Billy Dee Williams, Kevin Smith.

This film is funny, and heartwarming (kind of odd for this type, some will argue it should of been a straight up comedy/ road trip movie, why the downer of having a character with a Terminal Illness and all, it still worked in my opinion)…. Saw this will be released on Blu Ray… hopefully with some decent Special Features…. over all any Star Wars fan, hell, any movie fan will enjoy this who likes comedy and a good laugh.

one of my favs… – Angela – Mississippi, USA
I love this movie for a lot of reasons… I mainly watched it because I really like Chris Marquette… I have loved him in every movie and show he’s done… But this movie is hilarious They have a great cast, and to me, they couldn’t have picked a better girl too. I have seen a lot of “real Fanboys” complain about this movie because they say it doesn’t capture what a “real fanboy” is… okay, it’s a movie, first off… second, IT’S A MOVIE… IT’S A DAMN MOVIE… and it’s more than just being a fan of it all… it’s a story about, friendship, GROWING UP, and doing what you want and think is best…

Not bad – J. Mackin – Caledonia (Scotland)
Funny film, but i can’t believe the characters went to all that hassle for The Phantom Menace. lol

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Add comment  Tagged:  Bluray, Carrier, Fanboys, Floral, Painted September 4, 2010

Sideways [Blu-ray]

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY WINNER OF 2 GOLDEN GLOBES, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE (COMEDY / MUSICAL)

In this intoxicating, intelligent comedy, director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) serves up “one of the best movies of the year” (Entertainment Weekly) about the ups, downs and sideways journeys of life. A wine-tasting road trip through California’s famed Central Coast takes an unexpected detour as Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) hit the gas en route to their mid-life crisis. The comically mismatched pair soon find themselves drowning in wine, women… and laughter!

This is, far and away, my favorite movie of all time. The first time I saw it, I watched it 3 times back to back. The Blu-Ray release, while not stunning, is definitely worth buying. A few notes, however:

The video quality really is about on par with the DVD release. I’m willing to bet that this was due to the equipment that this was originally filmed with. This is an independent movie filmed on a relatively small budget, so the quality is about as good as it’s likely to get.

But, the commentary is fantastic and well worth the price. And the price, for a Blu Ray disc, is definitely right. Good luck finding another movie, let alone a good one, on Blu Ray, for about .

Sideways – Roy E. West – Bremerton,WA USA
Very funny and sofisticated. Sophistiked? I gave it to my father for his 94th birthday.

Technical picture quality is poor – I. Toivanen – Helsinki, Finland
Great movie, which I had in DVD. Bought this as BluRay version, but was very disappointed about the very small image improvement over DVD quality.

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Add comment  Tagged:  Bluray, Sideways September 4, 2010

White Christmas [Blu-ray]

Two talented son-and-dance men (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business.

This is probably my favorite Christmas movie. Today I just wanted to write about some of my favorite parts and some things my family and I spoke about during this viewing.

While there are four big stars in this film, for me the real standout is Doris-the blonde in the beginning. She may not have gone to Smith but she gets two great lines. “Mutual, I’m sure” in response to Bing’s how are you and “Well, I like that without so much as a kiss your foot or have an apple” (paraphrase). I have no idea what that means but it’s funny!

Bing is, hmm is there a nice way to put this?, really old. “The Country Girl” is from the same year but it is in black and white and thus more flattering to the ancient Bing.

As for Danny Kaye, I have to admit we skip his big number, “Choreography.” I try to watch it every couple of years but this year I was outvoted by the rest of the family and quite frankly I didn’t really mind. There’s something about that number that is just really weird.

My favorite number is still the Sisters song although if I paid my money to see the Haynes sister and only got one song, I think I’d be pissed. I have a younger sister so we always like to joke around and sing the song ourselves (although I’m no Rosemary Clooney!)

We also spent time trying to figure out in what year this is supposed to take place. While 1954 is the obvious answer due to the release date of this picture, the General wants a position in combat which would indicate Korea which had been completed by that time. I realize that accuracy was never a big priority for studio films but that bothered us. Is there something we missed?

I also must say that I don’t feel very sorry for the General. Generals are feted and get all sorts of pensions and bonuses and good stuff. I would feel sorry for the 40-year Private Danny Kaye.

And how annoying is the busybody housekeeper? Who can’t even eavesdrop on the phone properly creating a needless rift between Betty and Phil?! She also swore to stop gossiping if her information about Phil and the General was wrong, which it was! Who here thinks she really did stop? I highly doubt it.

But Overall: 5 of course! Highly recommended!

great – bikergirl – connecticut
my granddaughter lives out of state and i had this video when she comes to visit me so i bought one for you when she i home in wv. she loves this movie it is a classic she will watch it over and over again. she is only 10yrs. old

White Christmas DVD – Brian K. Lewis – Rock Hill,SC USA
The dvd came in within a couple of days. Very prompt. The dvd and case were in beautiful condition. I’m very happy! 5 Stars!

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Add comment  Tagged:  Bluray, Christmas September 3, 2010

ExTerminators [Blu-ray]

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Add comment  Tagged:  1855mm, Accessory, Battery, Bluray, camera, Cameta, Digital, ENEL3e, ExTerminators, FILTER September 2, 2010