At the recent Golden Globes award show, host Ricky Gervais now famously took a few cheap shots at some high profile films, including
The Tourist, which is out today on Blu-ray. Typically, putting Hollywood's top actor and actress in a film together should result in instant gold, which tells you just how bad the rest of the pieces must have been for it to earn a 20% rating on RottenTomatoes. As this weeks most popular title, the film does have its fans, but those thinking about a blind buy might want to think again.
For the
The Tourist Blu-ray review , staff reviewer Martin Liebman commented, "It really does come down to quality of script; even the best actors, generally, can't save a dull story, and movies like The Tourist prove critical in understanding the differences between 'strong performers' and 'stars.'" He continues, "Fortunately, Sony's Blu-ray release of The Tourist does offer sparkling video, fine audio, and a nice array of extras."
Yogi Bear is yet another live-action adaptation of a popular cartoon that has resulted in a mediocre film. Children will love the silly antics and juvenile humor, but parents – the people who grew up watching the mischievous bear run havoc on Jellystone Park – will be bored to tears and wonder where the magic has gone.
Staff reviewer Kenneth Brown commented in his
Yogi Bear Blu-ray review, "Yogi Bear is just the latest in a growing line of faulty adaptations, one rendered even more unbearable by the fact that it looks and plays like a direct-to-video bargain-bin release when, in fact, it's an $80 million feature film (that grossed more than twice its production budget at the worldwide box office). At least Warner's Blu-ray release has a thing or two to offer, namely an excellent AV presentation and a short but kid-friendly supplemental package."
While Stephen King may be known for his vast library of horror literature, it was a dramatic novella titled
The Body that ultimately inspired one of the greatest coming-of-age films of all time,
Stand By Me. Out today on Blu-ray, this Rob Reiner directed films stars some of the most popular talent of the era, and 25 years later, is really an interesting study to see what has happened to them since.
For the
Stand By Me Blu-ray review, staff reviewer Martin Liebman concludes, "A story about self-discovery and the effort to better understand life through the prism of death, Stand By Me is built around exceptionally well-written characters wonderfully brought to life through performances that might not be technically flawless, but that certainly benefit from an honesty and sense of camaraderie that make the story work." He continues, "Sony's long-awaited Blu-ray release of Stand By Me yields a 1080p transfer that's a bit rough around the edges but that holds up rather well in the grand scheme of things. Neither the spruced-up 5.1 lossless track nor the mono audio presentation are much to write home about, but the included supplements, limited as they may be in quantity, are certainly of a fair bit of quality."
And while it doesn't have the same serious tone of the aforementioned film,
The Sandlot is also a great pick-up today on Blu-ray. The story is just as geniune while appealing to a younger audience. Another great catalog title finally gets released in high definition.