Kate & Leopold (Director's Cut) (2001)

i own this on dvd and seeing this on blu ray, i love it!! it's sharp. love the surround sound.. i can hear things and see things i didn't see on dvd... a great buy!!

This s just a great movie. A simple little boy meets girl; boy, Leopold, likes girl; girl, Kate, likes boy. The problem is Leopold is from another time, the past, and does not belong here! Kate's current boyfriend, Stuart, figured out how to time travel to the past and Leopold accidentally followed him back from the past to the current time. The problem: get Leopold back to the past. And oh no, Leopold is Stuart's great, great grandfather. Worse yet, Kate (grandma?) may belong in the past with Leopold, not the future! And who the heck is Otis? Watch the movie and find out. It is a wonderful nights entertainment.

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The film is great but we were unable to view this particular disc as it is zoned for USA only.

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You can't go wrong with Hugh Jackman!! It was funny and hopeful in that the world would be better if we could capture some manners and gentility of the past

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ACTUALY IT IS A WELL THOUGHT OUT MOVIE WITH

NEAR PERFECT CASTING. "THE DOG THAT SAW A RAINBOW"

IS SOMETHING TO MUSE OVER.

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Shoot 'Em Up (2008)

Whoah! If you're looking for mindless action, THIS is the movie for you.

It's over the top, totally unbelievable, physically impossible, but absolutely brilliant all at the same time.

2 minute version:

Clive Owen eats a lot of carrots, and values his privacy. There are many things that he absolutely hates, and he comes into contact with most of these things when he unwillingly gets involved in a plot to kill a very pregnant young woman. Suddenly faced with a nanny job, he shoots his way out of the frying pan and into the fire, each scenario more draw-dropping-ly impossible than the last. Paul Giamatti plays an unlikely criminal mastermind and Monica Bellucci is under-utilized as the proverbial professional with a heart of gold except she's also got a chest of milk to go with it. Things get political, and hopelessly complicated, and of course there's lots and lots (and lots) of shooting, during any (and I do mean ANY) situation.

Good stuff:

1. Clive Owen

2. Clive Owen's one-liners

3. Clive Owen's stunts

4. The hilariously bad but breathtaking, yet impossible scenarios

5. Paul Giamatti's cell phone calls

6. The body count

7. Clive Owen's nude scene

8. Clive Owen

Bad stuff:

1. Carrots are DEFINITELY not good for some people

2. Not enough Bellucci

3. Plot (nuff said) but then again, we don't need no steenkin' plot

If you can forget that this movie professes to have a plot, you're in for a rollicking good (but extremely violent) time. Definitely a must-see if you're looking for mindless adult entertainment, and don't mind looking at Clive Owen.

Rated: 4.5 stars

Amanda Richards, December 9, 2007

SHOOT 'EM UP is well named: this is a whompingly good action movie that is as much parody of its genre as it is a good story. It never for a moment takes itself seriously and it is played by a strong cast of top-drawer actors having a terrific time. Writer/director Michael Davis has found his niche and let's hope there will be more dark comedies that are as much fun to watch as this one.

The story is negligible: lone man Smith (Clive Owen at his best) observes a pregnant woman in chased distress, delivers her baby, then finishes off the huge gang of bad guys who are in pursuit, taking the newborn boy to transient safety. Smith finds a lactating prostitute Donna (beautiful Monica Bellucci), takes her from her business of kinky sex and makes her the baby's surrogate mother. A smarmy gangster Hertz (Paul Giamatti in another career forming role), connected to an illicit arms manufacturer Hammerson (Stephen McHattie), is in pursuit of both Smith and the baby for reasons that are finally disclosed: the baby is part of a ring of potential bone marrow donors for an important Senator. The ending is, well, an ending. But it is the getting there that is all the fun.

The dialog is peppered with hilarious one-liners that have a real edge and the methods of the endless killings include several using the carrot that Smith keeps at hand as a weapon. The shootings are fast and impossible but actually hilarious in the choreography. Clive Owen plays the role straight, with a real gift for humor as well as action. Paul Giamatti is a sinister delight and able to match Owens one-liner for one-liner. Monica Bellucci makes her impossible role credible and as always is gorgeous to look at! This is a fast paced, finely written and acted parody definitely deserving of the comic book title! Grady Harp, January 08

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Yes, this movie is completely over the top. That's the point !!!!!!!!!! The film is a caricature of action films. The action hero is named "Mr. Smith." The hooker has a heart of gold. The body count is enormous! They have a baby in a bulletproof vest!!! I have no idea how anyone could take this movie seriously. You aren't supposed to!!! If you love action movies, and have a good sense of humor, you will enjoy this movie. This movie is great fun. I laughed my *ss off! And Clive Owen is seriously hot!!! (and for the guys.... Monica Bellucci is beautiful.)

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Almost every low review written about "Shoot 'Em UP" is from a person who COMPLETELY missed the point. Anyone who watches this movie needs to understand that this movie is a "S P O O F" !!!!!!

This is one of the funniest spoofs I have ever seen. Hands down.

"Shoot 'Em Up" does not have in depth characters, it IS SUPPOSED TO BE misogynistic, and if you try to take it seriously for one second..... you're going to hate it. Watch this film when you need a good laugh. The dialog is hysterical. Every scene from start to finish is completely "Over the Top", but still executed with big budget precision. The acting is absolutely dead on perfect. I think it was marketed very badly, and THAT'S why it did poorly at the box office.

Watch this movie when you need a good laugh, you won't regret it.

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What should you expect when you have a movie whose stunt crew is about 3 times the size of the cast? One thing's for sure...you should get a lot of action packed sequences. and Shoot 'Em Up delivers.

In fact, it was no surprise to hear that the script was written around a lot of preconceived action . That fact certainly didn't make Shoot 'Em Up a bad movie; it was actually pretty good. But it did come across as a plethora of spectacular stunts that just needed a halfway decent story to get produced as a movie.

The stunts are spectacular. They go nicely with the 100% deliberate hokeyness of the film. A black comedy to some...a kind-of comic book/animation come to life to others. The death defying feats are way over the top, but again, it's all intentional on the part of Writer/Director Michael Davis.

Clive Owen, who's really made a name for himself lately (Sin City, Children of Men, Inside Man), does a fabulous job as leading man in Shoot "Em Up. And Paul Giamatti, in his one billionth role I think, is as fun to watch as ever.

Owen is the carrot-eating good guy and Giamatti is the bad guy. Owen by chance inserts himself a political conspiracy that is run by Giamatti, and the result is a fast-past, surreal, action-packed...well...Shoot 'Em Up.

I was thoroughly entertained, but found myself saying out loud, "oh, yeah, right" over and over throughout the movie. So if you don't mind a little over the top silliness with your action, Shoot 'Em Up is right up your alley.

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2010)

There's a simple reason this movie has taken so long to make, and it's this: while Douglas Adams' classic The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a hilarious book, it's a rubbish novel.

I mean that in the nicest possible way it's one of my favourite books, but it's barely a story at all more a set of dead-eye, deadpan observations on the absurdity of life, and particularly the British way of life, revolving very loosely around a chap in a dressing-gown. While that's great fodder for a comedy read, it's no basis for a coherent, 90 minute motion picture, especially one having the American market in mind.

It's a matter of record that Douglas Adams realised there was no story, but not until it was too late to fix it (about halfway through book two). From that point onwards made several attempts to pull everything back into a single coherent, archetypal story but totally failed, and in the process ruined the remaining three and a half books themselves, none of which are funny, let alone a good story.

A film-maker has a choice, therefore: stick with the material and film something which is not so much a screenplay as an extended, themed version of Saturday Night Live, or do some significant damage to the source material "zap straight off to its major data banks and reprogram it with a very large axe", if you will and make a story out of it.

The first option will in equal measure thrill and infuriate the party faithful, but bore the rest of the population; the second will most likely infuriate the party faithful, but at least has a chance with everyone else. Since the Hitch-Hiker's Guide is now twenty years old, there is probably a whole generation who, so far in their lives, have missed it altogether, so you can hardly blame director Garth Jennings for choosing option two.

What instead we should do is take our hats off to him: he's fashioned a great story but preserved surprising amounts of the source; his innovations are sympathetic and in a couple of cases (the point-of-view gun and the face-slapping devices on the Vogsphere) are a match for the original material; the wonderful production design thoroughly captures the loveable Britishness of Adams' story (the Vogons hover somewhere between the schoolmasters of `70s Pink Floyd and the sort of bureaucrats whom you might find behind the desks of some Ministry of Monty Python's devising), and on top of all that he's coaxed some wonderful performances out of the cast. Martin Freeman captures Arthur Dent's everyman perfectly and has real chemistry with Zooey Deschanel's Trillian; John Malkovich, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey and both the original Arthur Dent and Marvin from the BBC TV series make hilarious cameos, as does the smiling face of the late creator himself, Douglas Adams, as the very last shot of the movie. That was a splendid touch.

The less forgiving purists are bound to gripe about what's missing; but on the whole I'm the more forgiving sort of purist. Perhaps there is something sinister in the conspicuous omission the Babel Fish "proof" for the non-existence of God was that a Disney-required edit or just my perfectly normal paranoia? and I was a bit sad my favourite exchange in all of Douglas Adams' writing was omitted (Arthur: "It's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die from asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young." Ford: "Why? What did she say?" Arthur: "I don't know, I didn't listen"), but overall this was an extremely enjoyable, touching experience and I can't think of a better way to have rounded off an otherwise trying Thursday.

Thursdays. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

Olly Buxton

Having owned the first release of this movie on DVD, when I heard it was coming out on Blu-Ray I had to pick it up; after all, this was the movie that convinced me to pick up Douglas Adams' spectacular written novels (from Hitchhiker's to Dirk Gently) and give them a read. While watching the movie in 1080i was a pleasure, I was rather disappointed to find that many of the special features found on the original disc including the absolutely brilliant interface with the interactive improbability drive that occasionally took you to an Easter Egg were stripped out of the Blu-Ray disc. I could have even dealt with the loss of the interface in exchange for the movie showcase menu that allows you to access features, select scenes, and access the setup while the movie is playing, if only they had provided all the content on the original DVD. I've experienced this now on a couple of Blu-Ray discs and I find it quite upsetting (officially entering rant territory), that despite the capacity for Blu-Ray discs to hold 80% more data than a DVD, and 40% more data than a HD disc, that companies are skimping on features and selling the discs at an inflated price. While Blu-Ray may be the superior format, it's not going to gain in market standing by the release of inferior products.

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Thankfully, the film remains quite faithful to the spirit of Adams' book. For example, all of the Guide entries are taken verbatim from it. The massive budget results in a great looking movie that properly captures the scope and scale of the story. There is extensive use of CGI to recreate intergalactic space travel and the planet showroom inside of Magrathea (some of the film's most arresting visuals), but this is mixed with old school, reliable rubber costumes for creatures like the Vogons that gives them a texture that you just can't get with computers. This movie is light years ahead of the clunky BBC version which resembled a bad-looking episode of Dr. Who.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy may not have done well in North America because it lacked recognizable A-list movie stars (but then again, neither did the original Star Wars) with decidedly British sense of humour. Sadly, it failed to connect on a mass audience level despite a significant marketing push. Regardless, it is still an entertaining, big, splashy science fiction movie that manages to preserve the wit of Adams' book. So long now and thanks for all the fish.

"Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a fairly standard making of featurette. Not surprisingly, director Garth Jennings said that the key to this movie was in the casting. So, he gathered an eclectic group of actors.

Also included is an "Additional Guide Entry" which faithfully recreates the gag from the book about man proving that God doesn't exist but then it fails to include the book's punchline in which man goes on to prove that black is white and gets killed at the next zebra crossing.

There are three deleted scenes that amount to merely extra little bits that include Ford's update entry for Earth as "Mostly harmless."

There are also two "Really Deleted Scenes" that are basically goofy outtakes of the cast hamming it up.

"Sing Along `So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" allows you to sing with the film's catchy Monty Python-esque theme song cum show tune karoake-style.

There is an audio commentary by Jennings, producer Nick Goldsmith and actors Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy. It's a fun, relaxed track as everyone enjoys themselves watching the movie.

Fans of the book will enjoy the additional commentary track with executive producer Robbie Stamp and Douglas Adams colleague Sean Solle. They talk about the movie in relation to Adams' original vision and also speak at length about the differences between the film, the video game, the radio play and the book, justifying the reasons for certain changes. Best of all, Stamp points out the little details that are buried throughout the film in this excellent track.

There is "Marvin's Hangman," that allows you to play a variation of the hangman word game but with Marvin's robot parts.

The extras included on the DVD are done in the style and tone of the movie, including a clever feature known as the "Improbability Drive" that will take you to a completely random moment in one of the extras.

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Do you know someone who absolutely can NOT tell a joke? They're the person who, set up with the most perfectly hilarious joke in the world, will mangle it. Some people can "do comedy" and some people cannot. Douglas Adams certainly knew how to WRITE comedy, and all the written incarnations of "Hitchhiker's" are among the most hilarious passages of the English language.

This film, based on that brilliant writing, is like one of the world's greatest jokes, mucked up in the telling.

"Hitchhiker's" is NOT about story, and it is most certainly not about a love story. It's about attitude and a wry observation about how brainless much of the world is. This movie doesn't match the spirit of Adams' writing with two notable exceptions: Sam Rockwell "gets it" with his performance as 2-Headed, 3-armed President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox. Zaphod is the kind of character perpetually in search of his next great party. It seems that the primary benefit to being President of the Galaxy is giving him a great line to pick up girls. Bill Nighy also captures the right Adams spirit as Slartibartfast, a name you don't want to say three times fast. I give one star each for Sam and Bill.

Much of the humor of the book(s) come from asides and lines that are rendered for the benefit of the audience. Hero Arthur Dent learns the same morning first that his house is being demolished so that a bypass can be built, then that the earth is being destroyed by a Vogon Constructor Fleet so that an inter-galactic bypass can also be constructed. His friend Ford Prefect (unknown to Arthur an alien from the planet Betelgeuse) hurries Arthur off to a pub and begins explaining about how the earth is about to be destroyed.

Chapter Two ends:

"This must be Thursday," said Arthur musing to himself, sinking low over his beer, "I never could get the hang of Thursdays."

In this film Arthur neither muses nor sinks and the cleverness of Adams fine and hilarious prose gets passed by quickly as if the Mona Lisa were displayed beside the tracks of a speeding train, and the only glimpse you could get of it was as the train sped you past it.

Douglas Adams' words have ALWAYS been the "star" of Hitchhikers. That and the attitude I mentioned before could have been transformed into a serviceable film. No doubt at the urging of some Hollywood type, a love story that doesn't exist in any prior incarnation of the written word shows up in this movie and stops any momentum that might have been building dead in its tracks.

Marvin the Robot, one of the most memorable non-human characters in literary history, is given the voice of Alan Rickman, but the body of a walking trash can. Three decades after C3PO first appeared, it is inexcusable to botch Marvin the Paranoid Android.

This movie is hilarious and entertaining in a way that is not at all hilarious or entertaining.

*sigh* Now I don't know whether to look forward to "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" or not.

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Once again Hollywood follows the trend of rushing out the DVD of a summer movie, only to release a "deluxe" edition right before Christmas. I can't tell you how excited I was to buy this movie until I heard that the UK is getting a deluxe 2-disc version (which looks like a copy of the Guide itself), and the US will have to wait another 3 months. Keep in mind, I LOVE this movie, it just breaks my heart that such a great movie is getting such a shoddy release. Not everyone will care.. some people just want the movie and don't care about extras, but some of us do. It's become routine that a movie comes out early summer, is released sometime in September, and released again (only better) in late November. They've done it with Hellboy, they're doing it with Sin City, and now they're doing it with this. I urge you to wait for the special edition so maybe Hollywood will stop trying to make us buy the same movie twice.

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Still Waiting... (Unrated) (2009)

The restaurant has a 20% off special for old people from 2 to 4pm. The staff gets busy serving the customers. There is a snotty greeter / hostess, Naomi. When the special is over, all the old people file out. Naomi and our hero manager Dennis wave good bye to the cusomters. Naomi says "Die Die..... die..... die, die.... die..." instead of bye. It's the funniest joke in the movie.

Yeah, no, this one should have never really been made. The Waiting was good because of Van Wilder Ryan Reynolds, Dane Cook, the oh so hot Anna Ferris, and the chemistry between the cast. The nasty things they did to the food, the stupid jokes that were funny, that made that film funny and watchable. Sadly, this version just lacks any chemistry, no stupid good humor.

The new actors try to immitate the same characters from the original, and it just doesn't work. The whole competition between a Hooters (TA TA's) and a Bennigans is just not terribly interesting or funny. Adam Corolla makes a cameo in an self help video.

Oddly, the film is well made. The camera work is good. The sound recording was clear. The shots were in focus. The editing was decent, nice pacing. The film length was just about right. It's just too bad the acting and script weren't better.

The DVD is strange. I've never seen so many previews in my life. There must be an hour of previews. There are deleted scenes bonus features.

Definately rated R, for every reason except there is no violence in this film. Alanna Ubach, the horrible Naomi hostess, probably refused to take off her top for a certain scene. It's just pitiful when they use a body double and then make it so obvious. Naomi's top off is the only nudity. Definately not a film for younger viewers.

Pass on this one, get the first episode, Waiting. If by some wild chance you happen to survive viewing this film all the way to the end, there is a great easter egg after all the credits have run through. Early in the film, Joshua has a nightmare about having trouble serving people and ending up naked in front of everyone at the restaurant. The nightmare montage at the end of the film is much more pleasant.

Synopsis: The movie takes place a couple years after Waiting... took place. Dennis (played by John Michael Higgins) is the store manager for Shenaniganz and is told by his boss Dan (David Koechner) that if he doesn't raise $9,000 by the end of the day, he'll be passed up for a big promotion he's looking forward to. That won't be an easy task as the hot new restaurant in town, Ta-Ta's Wing Shack, has taken a sizable amount of Shenaniganz's business; not to mention their employees as Calvin (Robert Patrick Benedict), Raddimus (Luis Guzman), and Theo (Max Kasch) defected to Ta-Ta's from Shenaniganz. Gone are most of the familiar faces except for Naomi (Alanna Ubach) and Nick (Andy Milonakis); now they've been replaced by an all-new waitstaff, bar staff, and kitchen staff. Dennis tries his best to motivate the staff to raise the money while Calvin's enjoying life; transforming from a neurotic waiter into a restaurant manager who's a ladies man. Will his transition last? Will Dennis and the waitstaff raise the money necessary for him to get the promotion? Justin Long has a cameo as Dean, Chi McBride has a cameo as Bishop, and Adam Carolla appears as Ken Halsband, motivational guru.

While direct-to-DVD movies aren't necessarily critically-acclaimed, I was really disappointed with how little of the previous movie's legacy this retains. Some of the jokes in the film called back to the first Waiting... film, but then just fumbled the joke or weakly carried it out. While some of the characters improved, most actually devolved since the last film (most notably Justin Long's character) and just left the film to be carried by weak jokes, weak developments, and a not-ready-for-prime time cast that seemed like weak substitutes for the cast of the original film.

It wasn't the worst film I've ever seen and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments, but there were too many inconsistencies for me to give it a higher mark. Recommended for the fans of the first film only; I doubt anyone else would be able to get into the story otherwise; much less get whatever humor's in the story.

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First thing out I want to say this is much better than other direct to DVD sequels. Sure the "big names" weren't here but why would they be? In the storyline two years have passed and it's not unrealistic in two years time to have people move on or change roles in a work environment. How many direct to DVD sequels get as many of the orginal cast to return as this did? I actually can't think of any. Alanna Ubach once again brings big laughs as Naomi. If you liked the first (and like plenty of T & A) check this out. Worth it just to see what happned with the returning cast.

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Just wasn't what I was expecting from a part 2. Not as funny and a cheap rate of the first one.

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sometimes, sequels are okay, but this one was just awful. If they could've gotten all the original cast members back; it probably would've been okay and/or i wouldn't have noticed the storyline was terrible.The chef, the pee-shy guy, the hostess, and the ANGRY girl(naomi) all appear again. It was almost like they were trying to make everything funny and some parts really didn't need to be. I still like the franchise, but wished i hadn't bought this movie; thinking it would've been as funny as the first one.. sad......

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Black Dynamite (2009)

Wow. All i can say is Wow. This movie was so damn funny that I started crying in the theater. I had to wipe my eyes of the tears of laughter because I was missing the next scene. If you like the Naked Gun film series, or "I'm gonna git U sucka!" Then Black Dynamite should be right up your alley. So impeccably made to resemble the 1970's Blacksploitation films while incredibly tongue-in-cheek, Black Dynamite is just a non-stop laugh fest of obscure sight gags & goofy dialogue. When the boom mic hits Black in the afro in the 1st 10 minutes I knew we were in for a good time!

It's really a damn shame that this movie fell on deaf ears, after 1 week in the theaters you couldn't even find local showtimes b/c it was bumped out but it is more than worth the little attention it received nationally. I'll be buying copies of this movie on DVD for all my friends for Christmas without a doubt. I predict that Black Dynamite will go down in film history as a great cult classic. Ten years from now every college kid will have Black Dynamite in their Blu-Ray collection. From the opening scene with Black Dynamite's brother Jimmy being found out as a rat, Black Dynamite hits the ground running & the audience hits the floor laughing.

I really can't say enough about Black Dynamite. It is undeniably the most fun I've had in theaters in the last 5 years! "Main Man Black Dynamite!" "But Black Dynamite, I SELL DRUGS IN THE COMMUNITY!" Classic comedy gold!

Buy Black Dynamite on DVD without a doubt that you will be entertained. Fans of the Simpsons, Mr. Show, Always Sunny in Philadelphia will all enjoy Black Dynamite.

This is the FUNNIEST MOVIE I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE. (And I've been around since the ACTUAL 1970's. And, I'm a MOVIE COLLECTOR.) There are a LOT of funny movies out there, and a lot of different kinds of comedy that I like, dating back to classics from the 1930's; but for ME, this is THE BEST OF THE BEST.

Simply put, watch the trailer, which you can find either on youtube, or right here on Amazon, on the main Black Dynamite DVD product page. Just below the product image of the DVD product, is a small video window with a trailer. The movie is JUST LIKE THE TRAILER. If you love the trailer, you'll love the movie. I don't know HOW they made the ENTIRE MOVIE every bit as good as the trailer, but they did! (usually the trailer is always "the best parts of the movie" not here!).

Most importantly, BOTH the main actor, AND the guy who did the soundtrack, have an obvious un-deniable LOVE for what they were doing. It REALLY COMES THROUGH. You can tell they THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND, and LOVE, this style of movie, and the classic 1960s-70s style of vintage soul music. This entire movie was actually the brainchild of the lead actor, Michael Jai White, who himself is an avid Blaxploitation movie collector, who would invite friends over for parties where they'd watch old Blaxploitation films then he started Dressing The Part in '70s suits & the afro wig and it grew from there.

Black Dynamite is a real LABOR OF LOVE, and it's FROM THE HEART... and it's DY-NO-MITE!! (Once you see the movie, you'll want to pick up the soundtrack album by multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge, too!)

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If you have even a smidgen of Blaxploitation film viewing under your belt you will LOVE Black Dynamite. I had the pleasure of seeing this in NYC a month ago with my friends. We were constantly bowled over laughing ourselves silly. From the opening moment to the "sex" scene to the climax, Black Dynamite lovingly parodies the genre while making a film that clearly looked and sounded like it was from the Grindhouse era.

Michael Jai White is absolutely the MAN and his performance is perfect. Purposely stilted (as is everyone else around him), White unleashes Kung Fu and Jive-talking-Fu to his many enemies and friends. The film's payoff is one of the funniest I've seen in years.

I appreciate all the love and stupendous silliness put into the making of Black Dynamite and I, for, one would love to see Mr. White return as the title character.

I hope the dvd has all the Fight Smack in the Orphanage site clips, that "Ding Dong Roar" rip on Sesame Street was almost as funny as the film.

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It all began when actor Michael Jai White ("Spawn", "The Dark Knight", "The Underground Bounty Hunter") was listening to "Superbad" by James Brown on his iPod and suddenly he came up with an idea to have a film spoofing '70s blaxpoitation films (1970's exploitation films targeting urban Black audiences). White got together with a few friends and began taking photos of himself in '70s outfits and hooked up with director Scott Sanders ("Thick as Thieves") and their friend and fellow actor Byron Minns ("Undisputed", "South Central") to help craft "Black Dynamite".

The low budget independent film was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Sony Worldwide Acquisitions for distribution and now is being released on Blu-ray and DVD.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Black Dynamite" is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). What the film does well is capturing the look of a 70's film by shooting via 16mm color reversal which brought in more grain and contrast. Blacks are deep and gave the film an older look. Thus when combining 70's classic footage (such as scenes from "Charlies Angels", "Swat", etc.) from the Sony Library, it works with this film. The grain is intentional and so the colors are definitely not natural but it works for this film as yellows and brown colors definitely stick out and blacks are much deeper. Also, the Blu-ray manages to capture the detail of the clothing, the hair, the hardware, the walls and surfaces. It's a very cool looking film on Blu-ray.

As for the lossless audio presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, again...I was very surprised and impressed by the audio. It helps when they brought in Adrian Younge, a musician who still plays 70's music and brought in that 70's style of feel for the film. Dialogue is clear through the center channels, music and action come on strong as well. There are many action scenes from fighting to car chases, car explosions, gun shots, especially near the end of the film that takes advantage of the surround channels.

I suppose for a low budget independent film, I was not expecting too much from the audio. So, to hear the lossless audio being utilized with crystal clear dialogue, music and special effects, I was very pleased with the film's soundtrack!

Subtitles are in English, English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Black Dynamite" comes with the following special features in standard and high definition with English stereo. Included are:

*

* Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Scott Sanders, Actor/Co-Writer Michael Jai White and Actor/Co-Writer Byron Minns A fun and hilarious commentary as the three creators of the film talk about certain scenes and how it came about, what they were trying to achieve and more.

* Deleted and Alternate Scenes (25:15) Featuring 17 deleted and alternate scenes.

* Lighting the Fuse (22:48) The making of "Black Dynamite". How the film came to be, the music, the costumes, the look on film and more.

* The 70's Back in Action (14:13) Michael Jai White, Scott Sanders, cast and crew talk about utilizing styles and lingo from '70s blaxpoitation films in "Black Dynamite" and what they enjoyed about the films and the talents back then.

* The Comic-Con Experience (18:03) The "Black Dynamite" panel at San Diego Comic Con with Scott Sanders, Byron Minns, Michael Jai White and Salli Richardson Whitifeld.

* Trailers Trailers for upcoming releases from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

* BDLive enabled with movieIQ This BD-Live feature can connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie! Also includes an interactive playlist where you can bookmark your favorite songs featured in the film and email yourself a customized playlist! NOTE: You need a profile 2.0 Blu-ray player (that connect online) to access movieIQ.

JUDGMENT CALL:

At first, I was a bit skeptical about "Black Dynamite" but after watching the film, I can tell you that I absolutely enjoyed this film.

The storyline spoofs '70s blaxpoitation and Kung-Fu films but where a lot of those films back then were cheesy and were being pumped out like crazy because they were what was making money for the film companies during that time, "Black Dynamite" manages to capture the good from those films and make it a hilarious, action/comedy film. What makes this film work is the costume design, the afro's, the slang, the jive talk, utilizing '70s footage, along with finding homes that still have maintained the '70s look (yes, shag carpets and all) and of course, the use of '70s style funk and soul music. For characters, you got the jive-talking pimps, the militants, the crooked cops and politicians, the whores, the drug dealers...all integral to the film with dialogue filled with'70s expletives and ethnic slurs. An obvious nod to "Shaft", "Superfly", "The Mack", "Return of the Dragon" and "Foxy Brown" and other films and the talents of that era.

Just a tremendous job by the filmmakers and performances that worked for this film. The fact that it was done for under $3 million is quite impressive!

From the naked women, to the militant and his men armed with machine guns, the talent made this film quite believable as if it was a '70s film. The choice by director Scott Sanders to use the Super 16 Color Reversal film stock was a perfect choice as the film literally looks and feels like like a '70s film. For a low budget independent film, the Blu-ray manages to enhance the look and feel of this film as you can see a good amount of grain and the colors are just vibrant. Audio quality from the dialogue, music and the special effects are well-done and also a good amount of special features are included as well.

If there was one thing that I felt wasn't impressive was the studio's handling of the distribution for the film for its theatrical release. There have been a lot of small, absolutely dumb comedy films that have received decent screenings across America and for once, we have a creative and enjoyable African American comedy film written and directed by African-Americans with a multi-ethnic cast and a film that has received positive reviews from film critics but yet it received a very limited screening nationwide. Definitely not cool. But fortunately we get a solid Blu-ray release for "Black Dynamite" and if you have any interest in this film, I can easily recommend this film to be included in your collection.

"Black Dynamite" is a film that just makes you laugh from beginning to end. For those with familiarity with blaxpoitation and even old Kung-Fu films, you can't help but be amused and impressed by what the filmmakers were able to accomplish. Even for those who aren't familiar with the films back then, there are enough jokes that viewers can still enjoy. It's a well-crafted, very creative film that is worth checking out and worth owning, especially if you enjoy comedy films. And yes, I am hoping that there is a sequel.

"Black Dynamite" is a solid Blu-ray release and definitely recommended!

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The first time I watched this movie I laughed my butt off. The second time I watched this movie I laughed my butt off. The third time I watched this movie... well you get it! This is a must own movie for anyones movie library. This movie will take you back to the 70's is other blaxploitation films. Love it!

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Definitely Maybe

The concept here is great: on the eve of his divorce, a father tells his daughter the story of how he fell in love with her mother by changing names so she has to guess who she is in the story. What's so amazing is how they were able to pull off this story with three female leads all interacting with the same man, and yet somehow make us cheer each of them on in their own way. Ryan Reynolds is great in the lead, easily flowing from the caring father of the present to the stricken college student of the past and beyond. As the story unfolds, you'll meet Emily, April, and Summer--three women who will have a dramatic impact on his life in various ways.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this film, and I honestly can say I never really got bored at any point. It was like watching three romances unfolds and ultimately fall apart for different reasons. No doubt you will find yourself choosing a favorite, and like Maya (the daughter), you'll be hoping your favorite will turn out to be her mother. Be prepared to be surprised though.

As the movie drew closer to the end, I honestly thought I was going to be disappointed in how it ended. But the movie managed to end perfectly. Reynolds is a great actor who can be flippant and cocky one moment, then broken-hearted and in love during the next. Isla Fisher does a great job as April, the outgoing copy girl who works with him during the Bill Clinton campaign.

If you're looking for a great romantic movie, this is the one.

In most romantic comedies, you have a story where boy meets girl, then boy loses girl, and finally boy and girl re-unite and live happily ever after (or v.v.).

"Definitely, Maybe" is definitely not your usual run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and refreshingly so: taking a very different approach to the subject.

For starters, the storyline revolves around the relationship between a father (Ryan Reynolds, played by Will Hayes) and his daughter, Maya (played by Abigail Breslin). Throughout most of the film, Ryan's romantic adventures (and misadventures) are potrayed as a series of flashbacks, as he relates the story of his life to his daughter in the form of a bedtime story.

Some of the dialog, particularly Maya's lines, are hysterically, if not shockingly funny such as a very clinical discussion she has with her father about procreation as he picks her up at school after a "sex ed" class: she asks, for instance, how a baby could be "mistake" after going through all that effort to try and make one. Later, she asks her father (after he relates his past relationships to her) "What's the male word for 'Slut'?" To which he sheepishly responds "They're still working on that one."

An interesting twist is that the father thinks he's helping Maya to become more mature and sophisticated in her knowldge of the many emotional dimensions and complexities of adult relationsips. In fact, there's more to it than that: as Maya's dad tells the story of his relationships with three very different women: "Emily", "Summer" and "April" to his daughter, you see him growing in maturity as he drifts from one relationship into another (and back again). You also begin to understand why his marriage to Maya's mom failed (as is hinted at the start of the film): he's the one who needed to grow up. A point emphasized when Maya explicitly tells him so.

Ultimately, this movie spoke to me about the importance of maturity in relationships, and about how Love doesn't always come in the package (or place) you expect.

I give "Definitely, Maybe" four stars not likely to get an Academy Award, but certainly a sweet, funny story with excellent performances.

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Wow, what a great movie. I havent seen such a heart-felt romantic comedy in so many years and this really jumpstarted that romantic side of heart that's been dying to see a good romantic comedy. This movie is simply superb in execution and performance... touching and funny in all the right places and I never once felt bored despite its seemingly long duration. I thought of doing some internet surfing but couldnt bear to tear my eyes away and miss those good moments, and there are many.

I would rate this on the top of my list for romantic comedies. I hope we see more of Ryan Reynolds because I liked him a lot in 2 guys and a girl and a pizza joint. The actresses were all memorable and amazing (especially Isla Fisher). Anyways, you cant go wrong with this one when you want to make your heart warm a little.

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Is Ryan Reynolds capable of making a bad movie? I am sure he must have somewhere, but I have yet to see one. And this film may be the best one yet. All three of the leading ladies were good, with Isla Fisher pitch perfect. And young Abigail Breslin will surely be a gem for decades to come.

A good comedy shows us things about human nature and truth. It is no accident that the only great writer who appears in any of Plato's Dialogues is Aristophanes [in the Symposion]. Even the ancient Greeks understood this simple factthat comedy can teach the deeper truths about humanity far better than drama. This comedy goes far beyond the usual cheap Hollywood formula to truly explore what happens as people fall into and out of loveand perhaps how real love begins. This is not about winning or losing at loverather it is about how our character is what makes love possibleor impossible. In short, this film really explores that part of human nature that is entertwined with romance. Aristophanes would have approved.

So this actually is a romantic comedy that does not follow the standard formula. Yet, despite the premise, it DOES have a happy ending.

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This was billed as a romantic comedy but I didn't find it anywhere near a comedy. Maya delivers the best comedic, if not the only, comedic lines. That being said, it was a nice family film. Will is reluctant to talk about his past because it's "complicated" and Maya is tired of hearing "it's complicated". Finally, the two make a truce and Will shares his life's story--romance wise--with as much innocence as he can muster up. But as the story unfolds, it's not Maya that gets a lesson in life, but Will. Some consider the character of Will to be rather dull, but you have to remember that he's supposed to be depressed. He'd gotten burned so many times in his relationships--his best friend, his girlfriends, his job--that he's all but given up on finding true happiness. When his daughter tells him he needs to get happy again, he tries to tell her that he is--that he has her, but wise beyond her years, she sets him straight. She loves that he feels she's the best thing that ever happened to him, but she knows he needs more, he deserves more. If you spend your life doing everything for your children and find that you aren't as happy as you'd like to be and worry that doing things for you--to make you happy--could hurt your children's happiness, then you must take a queue from Maya and find happiness because when you are happy, so are your children.

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