Movie Info:
Writers:Kirk Ellis
Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Stephen Dillane, David Morse, Tom Wilkinson, Rufus Sewell, Justin Theroux, Danny Huston, Clancy O’Connor, Željko Ivanek, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Sarah Polley, Andrew Scott, John Dossett, Mamie Gummer, Samuel Barnett, Kevin Trainor, Tom Hollander
Rating:
Studio: HBO

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: March 16 – April 20, 2008
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $45.49

History has always been a subject that I am incredibly interested in. American History was not always my favorite subject in the bunch, though I will admit that there are specific periods in American History that have always interested me. One of those periods is the colonial period and the American Revolution. Over the years there have been countless miniseries’, television, and movie productions concerning this subject matter. A particular favorite subject, especially lately seems to be John Adams. An incredible British miniseries was done a few years back that I thought would be pretty hard to top. However, that was until I had a chance to see HBO’s production, John Adams.

When America was just being formed and was coming into its own as a new nation, John Adams was there to fight for what he thought was right. Countless books and movies have been made about him and this period, though this may end up being one of the defining pieces. All of the major events are highlighted from the Boston Massacre to Adams’ final days.

It is hard to discount a miniseries that has won more awards than any other television production to date. Filled with an all-star, aptly chosen cast, John Adams gives the history lover everything that they could want in a movie and the non-history lover a riveting story that is filled with the twists and turns of real life from start to finish.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writers: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
Director: George Stevens
Cast: Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Gusti Huber, Lou Jacobi, Diane Baker, Douglas Spencer, Ed Wynn, Dodie Heath
Rating: N/a
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 26, 1959
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $21.99

It seems that many young people today do not respect the classic films of yesterday like they once did. While pop culture and entertainment media would be nothing without it’s roots; the roots of movies and celebrities of the 30s and before, it seems as if some can dismiss these roots as if they had little to do with today. The funny thing in that is that many of the movies that were hailed as being fantastic and industry changing are being re-made now. Thankfully, The Diary of Anne Frank is not one of those movies. Of course, it’s seen its remake before, a long while ago, and hopefully it does not see it again. In any case, this version, the original film directed by George Stevens and starring the magnificent Millie Perkins, is the one that you want to see.

Prior to Perkins being chosen, the job was offered to a few other women including Natalie Wood and Otto Frank’s personal first choice, Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn was Anne Frank’s age and lived through the war in the Netherlands. Still, she chose to turn down the role because she felt she was too old to play a teenager and she couldn’t imagine having to relive the war in such a way. Despite not being the first choice for the role, Perkins ended up showing everyone that she had just what it took to offer an emotional and thought-provoking performance.

I have to imagine that it was a labor of love creating a movie like this. Not only that, but on some level it had to be an incredibly emotional experience. Still, everyone involved in the production handled it to the best of their ability. In the end they had a movie that would win three Academy Awards, one of which was donated to the Anne Frank House (courtesy of Shelley Winters) and that was so effective it would change the lives of the actors and numerous people that watched this movie over the years.

It’s shocking to imagine that anyone hasn’t seen this movie at this point, but if you haven’t you need to see it. Buying or renting, doesn’t matter much as long as you choose an option and see it. While some liberties were taken, the movie is very similar to the Pulitzer Prize winning play and the book upon which the story was based. As a child I remember watching this and being so affected by it. It’s one of the few old movies I remember watching. It always made me cry. It also made me want to be a better person.

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Movie Info:
Writers: David Simon, Ed Burns, Evan Wright
Director: Susanna White, Simon Cellan Jones
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Stark Sands, Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas, Jonah Lotan, Rudy Reyes, Billy Lush, Chance Kelly, Eric Nenninger, Michael Kelly, Owain Yeoman, Marc Menchaca
Rating:
Studio: HBO

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: July 13, 2008
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $45.99

Once in a while a mini-series or television show will sneak on and off before I even knew it was there in the first place. This is what happened with Generation Kill. In fact, I knew very little about it when I was offered it for review. I decided to review it based on my experience with past HBO shows. After I requested it I figured out what it was about. During the first phase of the Iraq War in 2003, a reporter was allowed to ride along with the US Marine Corps 1st Recon Battalion as an embedded reporter. For about a month, Evan Wright rode along with 1st Recon like he was a soldier, as well. He wore the protective gear, got caught in battle, and had to deal with the same things the soldiers had to experience.

This experience not only spawned his original article, it went on to create the book, Generation Kill. Eventually the creators of The Wire wanted to get involved and together with Wright, David Simon and Ed Burns made the story television friendly. HBO picked it up and they decided to run it as a seven episode mini-series, which premiered in July 2008. The results are nothing short of remarkable.

Generation Kill is television at its best. This sits in a place at the top of the hill amongst other great war movies. It probably deserves more accolades because unlike many great war tales, this one really happened. Hell, it’s probably still happening to someone out there right now. The story is about a bunch of real life soldiers from the Marines 1st Recon Battalion.

The reason Generation Kill is such a success is because it does an excellent job of showing the shit (pardon my lack of better word) that these soldiers have to go through. Not only do you see them wrestling with their own moral conscience, they also have to deal with lack of equipment, constantly changing orders, and inept superiors that put them in harm’s way more often than not. It is a wild ride, some of which is pretty unbelievable, and it gives a good look to those sitting on the outside, of what it is like to be on the inside where war is concerned.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Frank A. Cappello
Director: Frank A. Cappello
Cast: Russell Crowe, Helen Slater, Etsushi Toyokawa, Michael Lerner, Kyusaku Shimada, Kristopher Logan, Kelly Hu, Andrew J. Ferchland, Ian Ziering
Rating: R
Studio: Sony Pictures

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: December 20, 1996
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $18.49

I am almost torn in my decision (or lack thereof) to tell you to run screaming for the hills rather than watching this movie. No Way Back goes by in a blur. The characters are, for the most part, uninteresting and unrelatable. You understand that there is a struggle and that things need to be done to save lives, but you really don’t care. It’s impossible to care with writing as bad as this. In fact, studios should think long and hard before letting Frank A. Cappello have any of their cash. He’s definitely not worth it.

Being fair, I will state that Cappello wrote Constantine, which was by far his biggest hit. He didn’t direct that though and I think that this is where this goes from bad to worse. As bad a writer as he may be, he’s worse when it comes to directing.

I was shocked to find that Cappello is not listed as a producer for this because it’s just plain awful. Everything about it sucks. This film only has one redeeming quality. Helen Slater is the only thing that makes this movie worth watching. I remember watching The Legend of Billie Jean over and over when I was younger. I absolutely loved that movie and loved Slater because of her part in the film. She is actually the main reason that I wanted to review this. Something told me that if all else failed Slater would make it watchable. Boy, was I right on that one. I don’t think she saved the movie, but she made it bearable if nothing else.

I’ve been a fan of Russell Crowe for awhile and generally like his work. I could be nice and say that he tried his best, but I think the more accurate thing to say would be that he’s come a long way. It’s hard to give your all when your script calls for nothing. If nothing else, I am sure that No Way Back taught Crowe to pick his roles better.

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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Mark Frost
Director: Bill Paxton
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Josh Flitter, Peter Firth, Peyton List, Elias Koteas, Len Cariou, Stephen Marcus, Max Kasch
Rating: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: September 30, 2005
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $23.99

I am a huge sports fan, but not a huge fan of sports movies. There are sports movies I love and then there are sports movies that I can tolerate. When you mention the words golf and movie to me in the same sentence, I begin to get apprehensive. I don’t know why, but the idea of a stimulating golf movie is hard for me to imagine. I suppose it is because for it to be considered a golfing movie, the film has to spend a considerable amount of time showing golfing or filming on the course. I just don’t see a lot of riveting plots going on during a golf game.

The Greatest Game Ever Played is a true story about one of the greatest games (if not the greatest) played in golf history. In 1913, a nobody won the US Open against numerous American challengers and a couple of British men that were shoe-ins to win. They didn’t win though. A 20 year old kid that lived across from the course won. Golf was his passion and he played like a pro, even if he wasn’t at the time. His dedication allowed him to win and decades later they decided to make a movie about his story.

The major downfall to a movie like this is that you automatically know what is going to happen. You see Ouimet working as a caddy as a child. You see how important golf is to him. From that point on, knowing that this is his story, you can surmise that no matter what happens, he will win that final game and it will be amazing. Of course, as far as downfalls go it’s not so bad.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Eric Guggenheim
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Cast: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich, Sean McCann, Kenneth Welsh, Eddie Cahill, Patrick O’Brien Demsey, Michael Mantenuto, Nathan West, Kenneth Mitchell, Eric Peter-Kaiser, Bobby Hanson
Rating: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Video

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: February 6, 2004
DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $23.99

Miracle was released in 2004 and I am sure I heard something about it at that time, but I effectively managed to block it out. In fact, when they told me I would be receiving this for review, I didn’t even know what this movie was about. I skimmed through the synopsis and waited for it to arrive, assuming that the movie would help me learn all that I needed to know.

I had read enough to learn that the movie was a true story about hockey, though if I hadn’t read anything I could have guessed that by the hockey players on the front of the Blu-ray cover. Being from Michigan, and a die hard Red Wings fan, it’s safe to say that hockey is near and dear to my heart. Still, I don’t watch too many movies about hockey. I don’t even watch that many movies where people ice skate. The only hockey movies that even comes to mind are Mighty Ducks and Youngblood. Though I am sure I have seen more.

Miracle is a true story about a virtually unknown group of college kids that make up the US Olympic hockey team. In a time when America needed it the most, these boys pulled together and dug deep enough to find a way to be winners. The story is filled with that feel good feeling, but it’s got a good amount of drama packed in with it, too.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

ENTRY RULES:
Blu Ray Authoritay is proud to be giving away one of three copies of The Code. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one.

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible.

GET AN EXTRA ENTRY:
Want an extra entry? Twitter about this contest! Just click the Tweet button in the bottom left corner of this article’s box!

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ENTRY RULES:
Blu Ray Authoritay is proud to be giving away a copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic on Blu-ray. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one.

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible.

GET AN EXTRA ENTRY:
Want an extra entry? Twitter about this contest! Just click the Tweet button in the bottom left corner of this article’s box!

You can post the URL to your Tweet in your initial comment for this contest.

To find out about all our latest contests feel free to add us to your Twitter:

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Movie Info:
Writers: Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, George MacKay, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Tomas Arana, Jodhi May, Kate Fahy
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: January 16, 2009
DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

In Hollywood there are a slew of directors that stand out for the controversial and thought provoking films that they make. These are directors that can be named at the drop of the hat. They are directors like Sam Mendes, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. Then there are directors you know, by body of work, but they have a name that constantly escapes you. For me, this is Edward Zwick to a tee. Zwick has directed a few well known films, such as Blood Diamond, About Last Night, and Glory. Having seen and loved all three of these movies, I feel I know the quality of Zwick’s work much better than I know him by name.

I may not have had a clue who Zwick was, but the names of a few key cast members are names not easily forgotten. Two of the main leads are played by Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. These two men are well known for their acting ability, so that naturally helps quite a bit. In the beginning, there was only one real problem from what I could tell. Before I received Defiance for review, I don’t recall hearing one thing about it!

After watching the movie I went ahead and looked up more details about the Bielski brothers. Come to find out, some of the story that you see in the movie is true. Granted, much of it (especially the fighting) has been trumped up to make a better picture, but the brothers’ trying to save themselves and other Jews from persecution was on the money. This makes the film more interesting than originally anticipated.

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Movie Info:
Writers: Justin Haythe
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, Dylan Baker, Michael Shannon, David Harbour
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: January 23, 2009
DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $26.99

Movies like Revolutionary Road are often in a class of their own. They are dramatic, filled with meaning, and yet sometimes painful to watch. They are interesting because everyone gets a different meaning out of them. Some people love them for the strength they offer in telling a story that few movies will tell. Others shy away from them due to their controversial nature. In any case, when the climate is right, when the director is talented and the cast is deserving of such a role, the result is next to none. It becomes incredibly hard to top these films. Revolutionary Road is at the top of this list. It is a movie that will leave you in awe with nothing to say and a whole lot to think about.

There are movies that you know you will love before you even see them. It does not matter how much you know about them. You just know they are going to be something special. The combination of Kate Winslet and any good leading man is almost always a winning combination. Movies like Finding Neverland and The Reader say all one needs to know about Ms. Winslet’s acting skills. Pairing her with Leonardo DiCaprio though, well that ensures not only success, but an electric performance that will leap from the screen and into you.

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