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Fast & Furious 6 Blu-ray Review

Actors: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
  • Director: Justin Lin
  • Writers: Chris Morgan
  • Producers: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, Clayton Townsend
  • Format: Color, Widescreen
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
  • Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Universal Studios
  • Blu-ray Release Date: December 10, 2013


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            This was supposed to be the last film of the Fast and Furious franchise; the real last film amongst what seemed many. The only problem came down to a timing issue for Actor Jason Statham, who was set to play the final villain. When he was unable to film this one this franchise set up for Fast and the Furious 7, boasting even more cast members in the already impressive ensemble. With the early departure of Paul Walker, the film franchise’s main protagonist from film one, the last film’s future looks uncertain. Fast and the Furious 6 is not a masterpiece, but it is a solid action film from the initial racing premise, only slightly less exciting than Fast Five. 

     

            Two films prior had seen the demise of Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Letty, who suddenly comes back from the dead with a case of amnesia in Fast and the Furious 6. This revelation brings the whole gang back into action, in pursuit of a mastermind criminal (Luke Evans) leading a team of mercenaries on a mission to steal a top secret weapon. Teaming up with the government officer previously hunting them (Dwayne Johnson), Dom (Vin Diesel) and his team of criminally good drivers set out on a mission to take down this deadly enemy. 

     

    Paranoia Blu-ray Review

  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Dubbed: English, Spanish
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox
  • Blu-ray Release Date: November 19, 2013
  • Run Time: 90 minutes







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            Paranoia boasts an impressive cast, perfectly balanced with both veteran actors and young stars. Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford carry each scene they are in, while Liam Hemsworth and Amber Heard are pretty to look at while the real actors perform. In the end, however, it is all cancelled out by an uninteresting script that hardly has enough thrills to qualify this as a thriller. Only a twelve-year-old would think this film is intelligent, and the rest of us are just bored. It fits in perfectly as a double feature with Brian De Palma’s equally unimpressive Passion.

     

            Based on the best-selling novel by Joseph Finder, Paranoia is a cat-and-mouse thriller in the business world, and Adam Cassidy (Hemsworth) is the mouse stuck between two deadly feline aggressors. Cassidy works as a lowly employee at a powerful technology corporation dealing primarily with cell phones, but even that job is threatened because of the way he thinks outside of the box. When his boss Nicolas Wyatt (Oldman) fires him, it comes with an interesting offer of espionage. Blackmailed into working for the competition in order to steal their trade secrets, Cassidy finds himself working for another business tycoon; Jock Goddard (Ford).

     

    Throwback Thursday Review: After Life

     
  • Actors: Liam Neeson, Justin Long, Christina Ricci, Josh Charles, Celia Weston
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Rated: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
  • Release Date: August 3, 2010
  • Run Time: 103 minutes


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            The premise of After Life (I refuse to call this film After.Life, because I have no idea what the point of the period is) is rather compelling. In fact, it seems like the kind of scenario which would work perfectly as a short film. As a feature film, it is nothing but frustrating. At first I was convinced that the film was compelling simply because it kept me guessing about the end.

     

    I knew that the film was going in one of two directions; ghost story or serial killer. As long as I didn’t know what type of film it was, I couldn’t predict where it was going. Here is the problem: the distinction is never made. Rather than make a decision, this film backs itself into a corner which makes either implausible, giving no final conclusion either way. It is one thing to allow the audience to decide, but only when the clues are there. After Life attempts to have it both ways, failing miserably.