Category Warner Brothers

The team at Warner Brothers are back with three classic films being released in 4k, Blazing Saddles, North By Northwest and The Terminator!

Warner Brothers have released 4k versions of three more classic films, Blazing Saddles, North By Northwest and The Terminator. Prior to receiving these I had never seen any of the films but knew of them well enough. One thing to keep in mind is that these three films have not aged very well. For example, Blazing Saddles is full of racist comments and jokes.

Blazing Saddles is one that my family have told me for years to watch since I am a fan of Mel Brooks and many of his films. The story follows an African American rail worker turned Sherriff. He must protect a small town from bandits and to prevent the railway from tearing through the town. I was amazed by how the story matched, practically scene for scene, to another Mel Brook’s film, Paws of Fury. The story and the non-racist jokes were great but leaned too far into the racist dialogue.

North By Northwest is a thriller by Alfred Hitchcock that stars Cary Grant. Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive that is mistaken as a spy and must clear his name. For a spy thriller from the 50s it was surprisingly well done. I’ve never seen a true Hitchcock film till now and I can see why his name carries so much weight.

The Terminator is the classic film that started the franchise. This film focusing on the Terminator hunting and attempting to kill Sarah Conner. T2 was my introduction to the franchise and despite having seen the original before this was a much needed piece to the overall puzzle.

All three films are currently available for purchase at your favorite retailers. Which one will you be picking up? Is this your first time viewing or are you revisiting a classic you remember?

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the film we never knew we wanted or that we needed with the original living cast and some additions.

The original Beetlejuice film was one that my twisted young mind loved and is probably why my tastes tend to lead towards the macabre and twisted. Warner Brothers have brought back the original cast, those that are still living anyway, and brought us the sequel I think no one really expected with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film follows Lydia and her daughter as they learn of their father/grandfather’s death and return to the home where Beetlejuice plagued them all. Astrid, Lydia’s daughter, is tricked by the ghost of a dead boy into following him into the afterlife to see her deceased father with a secret plan to trade places with her. Lydia must call on the one entity she knows she can’t trust to save her.

With Tim Burton at the helm and a team of master effects artists this film was a treat from start to finish. Even better is we are given several behind the scenes features where at least one goes in depth on how some of these effects were made. The shrinking Danny DeVito effect was fascinating to watch how they figured it out but even more so was the reassembly of Delores’ body. As to be expected, the cast was over the top in the portrayals of their characters. If you’ve seen the original film then you know they played them no differently then they had then.

I’ve read numerous reviews that complained about the fact that there were two villains or about how they were each defeated. I honestly felt like this was very on brand for the franchise and the progression of the story it made sense each step of the way. Overall I thought the film was EXACTLY was what I wanted from a sequel of a classic from my youth. Regular callbacks to previous events and natural progression of the characters completed the formula. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and feel that anyone that didn’t wasn’t a fan of the original or went into the viewing with the wrong mindset. Following the naming, does this mean we might get a sequel? I certainly hope so.

Trap is a film about a serial killer that attends a concert with his daughter that turns out to be snare meant to prevent him from escaping.

The film Trap, from Warner Brothers and M. Night Shyamalan, follows a father and his daughter as they attend a pop concert where law enforcement hope to catch a serial killer. The story focuses on Josh Hartnett’s character Cooper and his alter ego, The Butcher. He bounces around the arena between searching for an exit and spending time with his daughter. This is all while trying to figure out how law enforcement learned he would be there.

Every step of the way it seems the police are a step ahead and have another avenue of exit blocked off. His creativity with how he avoids them and blends in is quite impressive. If only he used his skills for good.

Having seen the trailer my first impression was that the film would focus on him recognizing he was trapped and then going on a killing spree to as one last party before the end. That is not the film we got. Like a classic Shyamalan film there is always a twist and this time it was much more subtle than expected. Typically his twists basically slap you in the face but this time it could be argued whether it truly is the twist at the end. Despite the film not being the story I expected, or wanted, it was still very well written, exceptionally acted and directed. This is one of those films that I’m certain has hidden details throughout and will require multiple watches to see everything and I’m looking forward to what I find on the next viewing.

Blink Twice starring Channing Tatum is a thriller that surprises at nearly every turn. The pieces are there but will you see them?

Blink Twice is one of those films where the trailer seemed to imply the film was entirely different than it actually is. The film is a thriller but the premise was not at all what we expected. Almost feels like a bait and switch. The trailer from Warner Brothers made the film appear as a story where the uber rich Slater King was tricking people to come to his private island to then be hunted by him and his friends. There is some truth to that but not any of the hunting.

The film starts with Frida arriving to work her shift at a part for Slater King’s charity. With a change of outfits she attends the party and gets invited to the island by Slater himself, played by Channing Tatum. Other than some weird run ins with staff working the grounds, it all seems like fun in the sun with drugs, booze, gourmet meals and watching the help eliminate the native snake population. Everything seems to be great until Frida’s friend was bit by one of the many snakes and it changes everything for Frida.

For anyone interested in seeing the film, I must warn there are numerous scenes of Sexual Assault that I was not expecting to see. Despite those scenes the writing of the film and how it was filmed was quite brilliant. Without spoiling the movie I will only say that I loved the end. The acting, directing, all it, was fantastically done.

A Nightmare on Elm Street and it’s villain, Freddy Krueger, have haunted audiences for decades and have returned in 4k from Warner Brothers.

Freddy Krueger is back in the 4k edition of A Nightmare on Elm Street and was established as one of the ultimate horror villains when I was a kid. He is still talked about to this day. Of course many of us from the 80’s like to relive those films from our childhood and that is further helped by horror themed conventions and music, like Ice Nine Kills’ American Nightmare. That song was actually what got me not just listening to them but WANTING to see this film for the first time. That’s right, prior to this viewing I had never seen a single movie in the franchise. Thanks to Warner Brothers, this edition also includes the Uncut version as well! Of course, the only real differences between the two is an extension of a couple scenes, making them just a bit more graphic. I’m glad I watched this before letting my son, he doesn’t do well with gory elements.

My understanding about Freddy’s character is that he was simply some sort of demon that killed teens in their sleep and simply put, that is accurate but it goes much deeper than that. He was a man that was hung and is now targeting the children of his own killers. Of course the parents were justified as Freddy was evil even as a man and was already targeting children. Now he is targeting SPECIFIC children.

At this point I should stop being surprised at how well a story is told from the 80’s and learn to accept that to make a great film you don’t need all the new effects and rely more on actual talent instead. Finishing the film I was quite impressed and can easily see why Freddy remains one of the great horror villains.

The classic Super Friends series is back with the Complete Collection from Warner Brothers and DC Comics!

The original Super Friends series is back and this time you can get, not just the entire series but all of the lost episodes as well! The Complete Collection is currently available from Warner Brothers are Target, Amazon and Gruv. Literally a decade worth of Justice League animated goodness for only about $75. What makes the deal even better is that the quality of the episodes have been increased to DVD format, making a much cleaner viewing experience.

The series is full of long time fan favorites, like Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman and even a bunch of classic villains too. Some may notice that stills from the show have been used for memes for years and spotting them can always be a fun game. The show is clearly meant for children of all ages, some episodes haven’t aged as well as others but that’s to be expected. If you’re a fan of Super Friends or even the Justice League then this will be a treat for you.

Watchmen Chapter 1 is an animated retelling of the film and comics from DC Comics, Warner Brothers and Alan Moore.

Watchmen Chapter 1 is the first of a two part animated series from Warner Brothers, based on the comic by Alan Moore from DC Comics. Originally released in 1986, the story focuses on an alternative history that includes costumed heroes helping through some of the greatest conflicts of the last 100 years. I went into this film without having seen the live action film or having read the entirety of the story either. The only things I was truly aware of was the death of The Comedian, Rorschach is an absolute beast in a fight and Dr. Manhattan is beyond overpowered. When I saw the title, Watchmen Chapter 1, I was expecting some sort of prequel, not an animated adaptation of the book and live action film. Clearly I was wrong.

Chapter 1 is a direct adaptation of the comic and film. I can’t speak to differences based on my lack of experience with either of the prior properties but I suspect that is part of the reasoning behind this adaptation. As with the main story, this film begins with the murder of The Comedian but ends with Rorschach’s arrest.

The animation quality far surpasses most, if not all, of the animated properties from DC and Warner Brothers. It looks very similar to the art style of the Batman games from Telltale Games. The voice acting is great which isn’t a surprise considering some of the names attached. Without knowing the details of the story it kept me on the edge of my seat, needing to know who the killer was and why. Overall it was a fantastic film.

Watchers is the writing and directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, focusing on a group of of travelers that were lost in the woods.

Ishana Night Shyamalan is the writer and director of the film Watchers, starring Dakota Fanning. She is the daughter of film legend, M. Night Shyamalan who also acts as producer on the film. I didn’t know any of this, other than the title and the top billing star of the film. Watching the trailer, the film seemed to focus on Mina as she gets lost in the forest and discovering a strange building and darkness starting to fall. She’s told to enter the building immediately for her own safety and she does. She immediately notices that the room seems to be three concrete walls and a giant two way mirror where something or someone can see within. There she is taught the rules of the building, most important of which is that returning before nightfall is critical and that they are never to open the door during the night.

Based on the trailers I had seen, it appeared that the watchers may be some sort of cult or just some really weird people. Could even be some sort of corporation running some sort of social experiment. Regardless of who the watchers really are, the people within must put on a show of sorts for them, mostly just living within the confines of the their nightly cell.

For such a simple concept I was quite impressed with the film. With Shyamalan involved it comes as no surprise that there is a twist or two but within the context of the story they worked quite well. The lore of the story worked even better by the end. There was so little of it for the first half that I assumed we would never learn what was going on but thankfully I was wrong because the reveals were well worth it by the end. Overall the film kept me on the edge of my seat and was brilliantly written. I know that based on this film alone I look forward to seeing Ishana’s next project.

Furiosa follows the story of how she became the badass heroine from Mad Max: Fury Road and stars Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Furiosa is the latest, or fifth, installment in the Mad Max franchise from Warner Brothers and features Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy. The story follows her from being a child through rising up through Immortan Joe’s ranks. It even covers how she lost her arm as well. The world of Mad Max is responsible for inspiring, or helping to inspire, so many other properties. My own novel I published years ago being one of them. The world has basically gone to hell. As far as anyone can tell, it is all wasteland in every direction. The remnants of society have banded behind blood thirsty leaders that promise to provide them with the best the world has left to offer while maintaining uneasy alliances. Due to Fury Road, we know how her story ends but not see how it truly begins with her abduction from her paradisical home.

The team did a fantastic job making a truly believable wasteland, leaving me curious about where they could have filmed everything. The effects were over the top, but in a great way and the cast was amazing. During Fury Road, Furiosa was my favorite character and this film  further reinforced that feeling. Overall it was a great film for fans of over the top action, fiery explosions and absolutely brutal combat.

Parents grab your children, children grab your blankies, this is not a test! Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 3 is finally here!

The team at Warner Brothers were kind enough to share Part 3 of Justice League Crisis On Infinite Earths for our review. The film starts with the death of the Monitor and pulling the Earths they could save into a realm between life and death called The Bleed. The protection of The Bleed has become increasingly unstable and incursions begin to happen across multiple Earths. First is a wave of dinosaurs attacking Metropolis and followed by Nazis armed with the weapons of Batman’s rogues gallery in Gotham. Both sequences were great.

The film does a great job of not just telling the conclusion of the story but explaining why the multiverse even exists. It even explains how the Anti-Monitor is a hero to the multiverse. Even having read the novel, my memory is that the Anti-Monitor was the ultimate villain. I loved seeing cameos from some of the other animate DC universes, like Batman The Animated Series including Mark Hamill as the Joker of that world. Overall it made for a great ending to the story and told in a better way than I had seen previously for this story.

I just hope that we get to see Batman Metal receive this same treatment because start to finish the team crushed this story!