The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 115 minutes

        The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is sincere and sweetly hopeful in dealing with relevant topics and real-world issues, which would otherwise naturally slip into cinematic cynicism. Though there are also many moments of naïve simplicity in dealing with much more complex social issues, it is surprising how much can be willfully dismissed in favor of this buoyant spirit. PG is an appropriate rating for Walter Mitty, though more in terms of attitude than content. In the current climate of the world and workforce, I am less likely to find the narrative to be realistic in its optimism, but this is certainly the type of attitude I would aspire to have in the face of unfair adversity. In short, though unrealistic in its representation of what failure and loss looks like, Walter Mitty gives us something to aim for in our daily outlook.

 

Ride Along Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter

Director: Tim Story

Writers: Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi

Producers: Ice Cube, Will Packer, Matt Alvarez, Larry Brezner

Format: Color, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish,English

Dubbed: Spanish, French

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Universal Studios

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2016

Run Time: 100 minutes

 

        As much as I enjoy the mindless escapism of a good buddy cop film, Ride Along lacks the required laughs and action needed for success. Too much of the film seems to be cliché script-by-numbers, so that even when it is inoffensive entertainment, Ride Along is never a memorable trip. The best it has to offer is distraction during the 100-minute running time, offering nothing to contemplate or reminisce over once the credits have rolled.

 

The Invisible Woman Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander

Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French

Dubbed: Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 111 minutes

        For a film about social impropriety, The Invisible Woman is incredibly tasteful in its approach. Despite its R-rating, the physical relationship between Charles Dickens and his much younger mistress takes backseat to the emotional toll of the secret liaison. Rather than reveling in gossip, as the film’s lovers were concerned that the Victorian society they existed in would have, director Ralph Fiennes has a delicate touch in the representation of sordid affairs. Unfortunately, much of the film then remains quite singular in the showing of the secrecy’s emotional impact. While fantastic for performances, The Invisible Woman provides only slight variations on the same note for its 111-minute running time.   

 

Throwback Thursday Review: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

 

(This review was written as a guest critic at www.christiananswers.net in 2002)

        For every generation there are a group of movies that are so incredibly new and exciting that we take them with us as we grow older. These are the movies that we can all remember who we were with when we first saw them and how we felt, even if the details of the film are not clear. For my parents Star Wars might fall into this category, as I'm sure it would for many people their age. However, although the new addition to this series does have somewhat of a timeless quality to it, I'm afraid it would never fit in my list.

BBC Earth DVD Reviews: The Bear Family & Me, Earth Flight, Extreme Bears, & Winged Planet

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: BBC Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: April 8, 2014

Run Time: 150 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

“The Bear Family & Me”

 

        “The Bear Family & Me” has a much more personal approach than your average nature program, bringing the audience into the experience by allowing Scottish wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan to become part of the story. Buchanan travels to the wilds of Minnesota for a close encounter with a group of wild black bears over the course of several seasons, witnessing a number of remarkable scenarios first-hand. Devastating in its ability to inspire empathy for these specific creatures, “The Bear Family & Me” could very well impact each viewer’s feelings about the feared and hunted animals.