Dreadful Film

This has to be one of the worst films of all-time."Starring" one of the most over-rated actors in the history of film, Tom Cruise, the film is just another"pro-American-aren't we great" piece of drivel.
There are no good points to this truly awful offering, its one of those films that ought never to have escaped the cutting room floor, a truly dreadful film. I only gave it one star because the site will not accept zero.

qulaity disney Blu-ray

Never seen NT2 before but liked the first on so jumped at the chance to get this when It came out. I Had high hopes as I have a few other disney films and the quality of the blu-rays have always been awsom and had loads fo extras, and with this box set I wasn't disapointed with loads and loads of blu-ray for my money.
As for the films the 1st I have always liked and was loving the HD picture, but I was a little disapointed with the second film as it was just a carbon copy of the first, but it did healthy follow on the story from the first, continuing with the story of the same characters + with the addition of a few new ones,plus with the same good special effects and stunts if you did like the first film you will find it difficult to not like this one. Overall I would say this is a worthy addition to anyones collection especially if you like disney.

What I watched it on.
Panasonic 42px60 (plasma 1080i)
playstation 3 blu-ray player (HDMI)
JVC th-v70r surround sound (optical) (dolby digital 5.1) (inc tannoy m1 front L/R speakers)

Another good Blu Ray conversion....

This is, of course, a classic film and we all know the quality of casting and the cinematography however, you cant help but wonder how it's going to look when put on to Blu Ray. The good news is, you're not going to be disappointed!

It's been remastered in to full 1080p which brings a great depth of colour and added realism to the film. Like with The Shining, it makes an old film look like a recent production. While you cant always see a difference between DVD & Blu Ray, this is a great film to show you just how much more vibrant it really does look. The improved sound also helps, you can now watch it on any decent surround sound system and not have to keep turning it up or down depending on the scene.

I'd highly recommend this version of the film. If you enjoyed it originally, this will definitely improve your viewing pleasure and it'll be a great addition to your ever growning Blu Ray collection!

A great Movie!

Master & Commander is a great movie. Streets ahead of the old Hornblower, it is based on 'bit part surgery' of O'Brian's 20 M&C books.

As they only had access to one and a half ships to film this, the bigger your TV, the more CG bits you can spot but it is a truly great story - careful now, you might get hooked and have to read the 20 M&C books! (Like I did)

Movie: 3.25/5 Picture Quality: 4/5 Sound Quality: 4/5 Extras: 3.5/5

Beowulf: Director's Cut (2007) - Warner - Blu-ray
*************************************

Disc Type: BD-50
Video Codec: VC-1
Average Video Bit Rate: 14.85 Mbps
Running Time: 1:54:42
Movie Size: 19,898,591,232 bytes
Disc Size: 31,281,197,732 bytes
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 16-bit (975 Kbps ~ 3 Mbps) DIALNORM
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps
In-Movie-Experience: No

Beowulf: 2 Disc Director's Cut (2007) - Paramount (U.S) HD DVD
************************************************

Disc Type: HD-30
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Average Video Bit Rate: 21.84 Mbps
Running Time: 1:54:35
Movie Size: 22,921,168,896 bytes
Disc Size: 23,272,262,096 bytes
DDPlus 5.1 1536Kbps
In-Movie-Experience: Yes

Into the blue

Well if you want to test your new Blue-ray player this is the movie for you . Wow some of the shots in this movie are awesome , sound and visual effects 5 star , the underwater shots are amazing , filmed in Bermuda ,what a beautiful island ,one of the best discs iv'e seen showing Blue-ray technology in its finest form. Action from start to finish gripping story line highly recommend this DVD . Mojo-man

Movie: 3/5 Picture Quality: 3.75~5/5 Sound Quality: 4.25~4.75/5 Extras: 4/5

Version: U.S.A / Region A,B,C
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:22:51 (Theatrical edition)
Movie size: 40,534,935,552 bytes
Disc size: 45,025,418,656 bytes
Average Video Bit Rate: 25.81 Mbps
LPCM 5.1 4608Kbps (48kHz/16-bit) English
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an aranchoid freak of nature whose also host to an evil alien symbiote parasite?

Spiderman 3 is.. a mess of ideas. Blessed with a surfeit of imagination, and an overdose of effects, it's certainly not a worthy successor to it's predecessors. In this, Spiderman goes dark and moody, flicking peanuts around a Metropolis Bar, and righting the Leaning Tower Of... wait, wrong movie. In Spider Man 3, Spidey gets in touch with his evil side, and fights with himself in a garbage disposal... wait, wrong movie. A church.

At least it hasn't got Richard Pryor in it. However Spider Man 3 does have the frankly impossible"Venom", and the highly improbable"Sandman" (thankfully played as more than a razor thin cipher of evil) as two bad guys who team up through a mutual hatred of Spiderman. Can you guess the ending? On the basis of the fact that there are going to be three more sequels, I think it's easy to suggest that Spiderman doesn't take a dirt nap and meet his maker in this episode. The question isn't Does Good Triumph?, but how and who dies on the way.

Kirsten Dunst meanwhile, seems to spend most of the film as a McGuffin with no personality of her own, leaping from calamity to calamity, improbable moment to impossible danger, and seems to be called on to do no more than sulk and scream. Not content with three bad guys (four if you include Evil Spidey), and Kirsten Dunst, they also shoehorn in a second, pointless love interest, reshoot some of the first movie.. in fact, about the only thing they do do right is provide Bruce Campbell with a delicious cameo that is a highlight of both the movie and his career. How Vin Diesel gets to make movies instead of Bruce I'll never know. This guy chews scenery like a starved dog and overshadows the rest of the picture for the bland stodge it unfortunately is.

Action movies have fallen a long way from their peak. In the eighties, blockbusters were endlessly quotable pieces of dodgy hokum that were formed from the singular vision of some demented genius. There is more memorable talent in one character in any Schwarzenegger movie than in the whole of this crowded, overlong jigsaw of a movie. Spiderman 3, by trying to please all masters, in the end wins none. It's a forgettable piece of popcorn that aims high and fails to hit it's targets.

But it's certainly better than anything you'll see this summer with Steve Martin or Keanu Reeves in it. It's better to aim high and fail than forever stare at the stars with the mediocre.

Movie: 4/5 Picture Quality: 3.25/5 Sound Quality: 3/5 Extras: ?/5

Version: U.K / Optimum / Region A / B
VC-1 BD-25 080p / 23.976fps / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:33:07 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 19,783,827,456 bytes
Disc size: 22,651,466,802 bytes
Average video bit rate: 17.05 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1834 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1834kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio French 2046 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio German 2046 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio Portuguese 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps
DTS Audio Spanish 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps

Subtitles: English / Dutch / Danish / Finnish / French / German / Norwegian / Portuguese / Spanish / Swedish
Number of chapters: 12

Version: U.S.A / Lionsgate
MPEG-4 AVC BD-24 1080p / 23.976fps / High Profile 4.1
Running time: 1:33:11 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 19,456,284,672 bytes
Disc size: 22,596,756,050 bytes
Average video bit rate: 21.64 Mbps
DTS-HD Audio English 3018 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 3018kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Subtitles: English / English SDH / Spanish
Number of chapters: 30

Version: E.U / Studio Canal HD DVD
VC-1 HD-30
Running time: 1:33:02 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 15,682,226,176 bytes
Disc size: 16,458,405,647 bytes
Average video bit rate: 17.06 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

INDIANA JONES OF THE FUTURE

Both films are awash with excellent special effects.

The mix of humour and swashbuckling action keep you firmly in your seat. The mummy is fantastic.

The Matrix meets Logans Run - A worthy Re-Invention

Without question, the Island is a great piece of visual movie making. Sadly, it performed poorly at the box office, and Dreamworks lost a considerable amount of money on the project.

In my opinion this is a crying shame, as Michael Bay is the main reason for watching this movie in the first place.

This Blue Ray edition looks truly stunning, and certainly evokes the fast and dynamic pace that Bay brings to his movies. You wont be disappointed with the CGI, well crafted set design, and superb action set pieces. Simply spectacular.

Ewan Mcgregor and Scarlett Johannson do a convincing job on-screen, and seem well cast. I had my doubts before watching this pairing, but was pleasantly convinced by their portrayal.

The problem with the movie is that we've seen it all before. The Matrix was about robots harvesting humans, whereas The Island is about humans harvesting humans. Add to this, rehashed elements of the classic 70's science fiction show Logans Run, and there you have 'The Island'. Had The Matrix not been released, this movie would have been much more successful.

I've only awarded four stars, as the bonus features on this disc are very poor. All you get is one short 'making of' featurette and nothing more. Blu Ray has so much more potential than this, and so much more could have been added. Also the featurette is not 180p, but 480p.

Worth seeing in true HD. You wont regret it.

kung fu hustle

Kung Fu Wonder!

I hired this materpiece a while back, didn't realise the potential until seeing in all its Blu-Ray glory. At that price is a real treat to the wallet, don't worry about the plot (it's all about visuals!). Just see how clever the Asian's really are. Jackie Chan eat your shorts (shame what Hollywood will do to a man)!!

a bit slow

The visual and audio quality are very good, so I'm glad I rented it on Blu Ray. I'm even gladder I did not buy it, because it isn't the sort of film I'm going to want to see again.

It is not a bad film, I did enjoy it. It does have some good action bits, but these are infrequent. It also has a lot of dialogue that although very well acted, especially by Mr Bales, does get a bit boring.

This is a film about morality, rather than an action film. The ending does make sense in my opinion (though some reviewers disagree), but it is a bit far fetched.

The film is a little like the beginning of the clint eastwood film unforgiven. Tough, gritty, depressing. It most certainly is not like any of the fistful of dollar films.

Rambling review, I apologise, but hopefully you get some sort of idea about the film, without spoilers.

Great acting, great camera work, feels authentic. A little dull. Worth renting if you like cowboy films, not buying.

Low Def Disappointment

The story is great as with all the Oceans predecessors and I thoroughly recommed it.
I wish I had just bought the standard DVD though rather than spend £22 on this so-called hi-definition movie. The video quality was comparable to standard DVD and most definitely not what I have come to think of as high definition. I have over 50 Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies in my collection and this is by far the worst picture quality despite it being VC1 encoded. I am not trolling when I say that this appears to be standard DVD quality. To compound this there is not even a high definition sound track. We have come to expect uncompressed LPCM or other HD sound of at leat 5.1 or even 7.1 channels if we are lucky on new releases but on Oceans 13 we are given as the only option the old Dolby Digital 5.1 - yes the same sound format that we get on standard low def DVD. Where is the HD sound? Where is the HD picture? I wish I had Saved my money and bought the standard DVD of this movie. I am sure it would have been no different as a viewing experience and I would have had change from a £20 note for a nice bottle of Rioja to accompany it.

You have no idea how horrifying dreckiness can be

Once upon a time, a brilliant and talented cult director made a spectacular fantasy epic, full of love, monsters, epic battles and noble kings. It became a cinematic classic.

This is not that movie.

But that doesn't stop Uwe Boll from inflicting another ghastly video-game adaptation on the innocent viewing public, after scrabbling for high-fantasy shreds straight from the wastepaper basket of Peter Jackson. It's not quite his worst work, but it's still a horrendous, vomitous, hilariously wretched experience that inspires pain, tears of laughter, and perhaps a drinking game or two.

A farmer wittily named Farmer (Jason Statham) is living in agricultural bliss with his wife (Claire Forlani) and son. But then a bunch of krugs (low-budget orcs) attack -- kid dies, wife is kidnapped. Naturally Farmer vows bloody gruesome revenge, and teams up with his brother-in-law and neighbor (Ron Perlman, who deserves better than this) to help get said revenge.

But of course, this is no isolated incident -- the unspeakable windbag King Konreid (Burt Reynolds) and his hired wizard Merick (John Rhys-Davies) are opposing the malevolent wizard (Ray Liotta) and his vast army of faceless krugs. But naturally it falls to our humble butt-kicking Farmer to somehow defeat the evil wizard and save the day. And yes, the climax will involve killer books.

It's damning"In the Dane of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" with faint praise to say that this is among Uwe Boll's better efforts. After all, this is not only the director who showed his cinematic ability by literally pummeling his critics -- this is the director who has produced some of the dreckiest, most ghastly films ever to make it into distribution (rather than direct-to-DVD).

As a fantasy experience,"In the Name of the King" is dull, drab and shlocky. The settings are pretty but overcast, the"fantasy" moments are intensely cheesy (swinging on leafy ropes!), and the fight scenes are well-choreographed but full of wild anachronisms -- including kung-fu. Seriously. Despite a relatively big budget,"In the Name of the King" feels like a bunch of dudes went to a Renaissance Faire and decided to stage their own fantasy film. After a few beers.

Granted, none of that inherently marks it as an Uwe Boll film. That is reserved for random ninja that show up (you can hear Boll thinking,"Eff Jackson! It's my fantasy movie, so I can have what I want -- and I want NINJAS!"), humble farmers who fight like Jet Li, maudlin dramatic moments, and truly ghastly dialogue. When it isn't stilted ("Those who you fight... we will help you fight them") it's hilariously pompous ("Wisdom is our hammer").

At the same time, Boll is shamelessly aping Jackson's"Lord of the Rings." No, not just the sets and makeup, although many of these are shamelessly (and less realistically) cribbed. He attempts the same sweeping cinematography and score, but inserted at random and without any kind of dramatic payoff. By the finale, we've also been assaulted by airy elfin sprites who desperately need a smackdown from Legolas' long-knives.

As for the characters, you can find them in any rotten half-baked"high fantasy" novel -- aging king, treacherous noble, good wizard, bad wizard, and valiant peasants. The actors appear to be painfully aware of this fact.

To make matters worse, Statham is playing the same role he's basically played in dozens of other movies -- the stone-faced man of action out to kick some butt. It feels like someone cut-and-pasted the dude from"Transporter" right into this movie. Reynolds creakily sleepwalks through his rotten speeches, and Liotta has apparently decided to embrace the sheer silliness and run with it. As for Kristanna Loken... well, she played Bloodrayne. Nuff zed about her acting ability.

The only cast members who manage to bring any kind of dignity to their roles are Perlman and Rhys-Davies. Rhys-Davies actually works quite well as a kindly old wizard, while Perlman brings more presence and power to the screen than Statham does.

You can guess what kind of movie"In the Name of the King - A Dungeon Siege Tale" will be just by its title, but it dips into new levels of ghastly cheeze that few fantasy movies have managed to. Think"Eragon" for grown-ups, but with worse CGI.

Surprising what Olyphant keeps in his trunk...

Critics were pretty sniffy about this movie on its release, and its true its no piece of art, but taken on its own hyper-kinetic action merits, it's actually not that bad.
Timothy Olyphant plays the Hitman - created, trained and indoctrinated as a consummate killer, known only by his number - 47. After a title introduction establishing his credentials, we see him as he goes on a job in Russia - but all does nto go as planned, and he has to question who is telling him the truth. His only clue is a young Russian woman, who he takes with him as he tries to unravel his predicament. Meanwhile, Dougray Scott is the Interpol officer out to track him down in a remarkably wooden performance. Olyphant himself performs adequately, in a role which requires him to reign in any charisma which is his stock in trade, and become for the most part emotionless.
There is undoubtedly a large suspension of belief required, as the worlds law agencies find it impossible to track a man who wanders around bald with a barcode on the back of his head.. but the action scenes are fun enough, and at least some plot has been inserted to help the unlikely transition from game to big screen. Olga Kurylenko (soon to be seen in the new Bond movie Quantum of Solace) is very easy on the eye in a variety of incredibly unlikely clothes which seem to only barely cover her - and not always that.
Best of all perhaps, are the locations - St Petersburg looks great, and Bulgaria filling in for Russia looks satisfyingly fresh and different to the norm.
All in all, this does not do enough to break the curse of game to big screen adaptations being disappointments, but it's better than most and for brainless and occasionally imaginative action is worth a watch.

Worth every bit of the Export price it you want the Extras!

I had the Region 2 Ultimate Collector's Edition - but I was also given a Region One Ultimate Collectors Edition for Christmas. It was like getting too many toasters at a wedding.

First off - Region one's suitcase design is large - 21 cm. x 30 cm. x 6 cm. It has a great sleek design with Harrison Ford written in small unpainted letters - above the Blade Runner red painted title which is centered in the middle front of the raised plastic molding. The plastic molding on the back mimics the front without lettering. It features a silver sticker which says: Blade Runner in reflective print, then Limited Edition in black print, and 000000/103000 - your number that is part of the Limited Edition. A plastic handle folds easily into the suitcase edge, so it's streamlined enough to fit properly in your DVD shelves. It has two tabs you press to open it, and it clicks shut easily! Then once you open it, you realize where you were shorted.

The Black Glossy File Folder that fit into a Digipack sleeve in Region 2 - is now a proper large File Folder 17.5 cm. x 25 cm. - which opens up to 34 cm. x 25 cm. featuring 11 Illustrations from the film on the inside print of the folder.

The File contains 8 wide screen shot photos (4 cm. x 9.5 cm.) on a black background, opposite side has 8 Illustrations (11 cm. x 17 cm.) with a white frame background making them each - 22 cm. x 16 cm. They are a perfect size to frame.

The black folder slides into its sturdy clear reinforced plastic holder, which has a special snap plastic pocket 8 cm. x 13 cm. x 1 cm. - which holds the Lenticular Plastic Blade Runner Film Photo Premium - which is the same Lenticular from Region 2.

The Plastic Ridley Scott letter that fit inside the Digipack sleeve of Region 2 is in a different format for Region 1 sized 29.5 cm x 19 cm. with a 2.5 cm. folded section that tucks into the top side of the support foam within the plastic suitcase. The clear plastic letter actually protects (it's like a display window) and helps hold in place the DVD box, the Origami Unicorn and the Spinner model. It still features Ridley Scott's Sketch Drawing, but at a larger size as well.

The Origami Unicorn - is a plastic form with a shiny metallic covering - to mimic the folded origami featured at the end of the Blade Runner Film. It stands upright on it's own - 6 cm. x 6 cm. x 1 cm. at it's extended points. It's quite beautiful to look at - but a slight wind would knock it over.

The Spinner Model: It's such a vast improvement from the original Spinner die cast they sold when the film came out in 1982: 10 cm. x 5 cm. x 3.2 cm. It kind of rolls if you motivate it, but with the spinner only relying on the two rotating back wheels - your imagination has to make it fly around. I was surprised I liked it so much. When I checked on the Internet - they are now selling similar die cast Spinners for 50 + so even to get one as a perk in the Blade Runner Region One Suitcase spared me having to fork over more cash. You can see through the front clear windows, and the two small clear windows underneath the Spinner. It has great detailing, and a closer resemblance to the actual Spinner Car in the Blade Runner Film.

The difference in the DVD container box is just the outside cover. It is more toned down - featuring the dirty steel protection gate design with the words on the upper portion of the box: 5 Disc Ultimate Edition Collectors Edition in small white print, and Harrison Ford (in white print) above the red title Blade Runner placed in the middle of the DVD box cover. The backside features 3/4's down the outlined Deckard Runner logo, then Warner Brothers Studio Film information in very small white lettering. The Bar Code is on the top edge of the back - which should have just been put on the bottom of the box so you did not have to see it. It has a great sheen, but smudges easily.

The DVD features are identical to the Region 2. So it's the identical Films, Features and Documentaries.

I just wanted to post this for people who were curious about the differences. I gave my region 2 to a friend who was relieved not to get one of the damaged Tin Case Designs.

I am happy with the high quality and definition that this DVD version provides at this time.

I don't have to tell you how great the Films, Documentaries and Extra's are - it's one of the best Sci-Fi Ultimate Sets I have seen for Film. Now you know the differences so you can make a decision to get either the Region Two, or Region One Ultimate Blade Runner Collector Edition. Just make sure you have a Region Free player!

Great Film Great Picture

I am yet to see a Denzel Washington film that wasn't thought provoking and entertaining and this one is no exception.

A clever plot that unfolds and has you scratching your head all the way to the end, with plenty of action. Just be prepared to explain it to whoever you're with when it's finished.

What is also impressive is the picture quality. This is the first Blu Ray disc I have bought for my PS3 / combined with HDTV and it's a big step up from DVD. If this is a sign of things to come, bring it on.