Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning 2006 masterpiece, The Departed, is finally making its arrival at home on 4K Ultra HD. The 4K remaster of The Departed was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) with the participation of the film’s Academy Award-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker. What follows is my original review from 2020: The Departed continues filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s trend of making at least one motion picture masterpiece per decade–this time, winning an Oscar. Even though the film adapts a story from another…
"The Departed: Oscar Winner Arrives on 4K Ultra HD"Tag: Alec Baldwin
Concussion focuses on Dr. Bennet Omalu, who first discovered CTE in retired NFL players, and his quest to tell the truth. I happened to notice that the film was airing on TV over Super Bowl weekend. Dysphoria was so bad in late 2015 that it was one of many films that I saw but didn’t review. As such, there’s no better time to watch it than the hours leading up to tonight’s kickoff. CTE is…
"Concussion: A Filtered Quest for the NFL’s Truth"
Martin Scorsese successfully gives the biopic treatment to Howard Hughes with a superb performance from Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator. This is the second annual year in which I watch a film that Thelma Schoonmaker worked on for her January 3rd birthday. Last year, I decided on Gangs of New York, a film which is celebrating the 20th anniversary this year. Schoonmaker’s work in this film is what earns her a second Oscar. The other…
"The Aviator: Another Martin Scorsese Epic"
Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown makes its arrival on Blu-ray for the first time as the 14th title of the Paramount Presents line. Last year, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Almost Famous. This year, it’s the 15th anniversary of the Kentucky set film starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. A number of Crowe films have milestone anniversaries in 2021: Jerry Maguire celebrates its 25th anniversary. Vanilla Sky marks its 20th anniversary and the last time Paul…
"Elizabethtown Arrives On Blu-ray For The First Time"
One woman learns a lot about herself when she joins an all-female fight club in Chick Fight as a way of putting her life back in order. Move over, David Fincher–there’s a new fight club in town. Wait! Are we even allowed to talk about Fight Club or any fight club?!? In all honesty, I couldn’t resist the joke about fight club. That is assuming we can talk about a fight club. I don’t make…
"Chick Fight: Can We Talk About Fight Club?"
Whether or not you say his name three times, Tim Burton’s ghost movie Beetlejuice makes an arrival onto 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. Meanwhile, the American Film Institute would honor the film with a slot on their top 100 comedies in 2000. Beetlejuice includes the same bonus content as previous Blu-ray releases. This is another lost opportunity when it comes to adding new bonus content. There certainly…
"Beetlejuice Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray" The Departed continues filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s trend of making at least one motion picture masterpiece per decade–this time, winning an Oscar. Even though the film adapts a story from another country, the filmmakers still find a way to tie it to Boston. This is one of the best ideas to go into the film. For all intents and purposes, mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) is Whitey Bulger. Basically, the film deals with crime and…
"The Departed: A Martin Scorsese Masterpiece"
Motherless Brooklyn has a bloated run time, which could prove to be a tortuous experience for film goers if there are projection issues. Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton) suffers from Tourette Syndrome despite working for Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Funny enough, Lionel’s condition has never stopped Frank from trusting him. What aids Lionel is the fact that he has one of the best memories among anyone working for the L & L Agency. When Frank gets…
"Motherless Brooklyn Has Some Issues"
Framing John DeLorean serves as a way of telling the story of the car inventor while pointing out all the failed attempts to make a biopic. In making a doc-drama hybrid, we’re able to learn quite a bit about the automaker. This may depend on what you already know about him going into the film. Through interviews, we learn about how his downfall affected his family. We already know that his legacy lives on by…
"Framing John DeLorean: A Docu-Drama Hybrid"
Before You Know It manages to successfully blend the dysfunctional family comedy and soap opera genres together with a Jewish sensibility. Imagine living in your childhood apartment with your father, sister, and niece. This is the situation that Rachel Gurner (Rachel Gurner)–stage manager at her family’s downstairs theatre–finds herself in. The situation is one that isn’t so great for dating as Rachel learns rather quickly. Together with sister Jackie (Jen Tullock) and father (Mandy Patinkin),…
"Sundance 2019: Before You Know It"