Blu-Ray Review: 'Cloud Atlas' Is an Ambitious Mixed Bag

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 | Bob Grimm

Three directors and a game cast tell interconnecting stories over centuries in Cloud Atlas , a mightily ambitious project from Tom Tykwer ( Run Lola Run ) and the Wachowski siblings (Andy and Lana of The Matrix films).

The likes of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Jim Sturgess don heavy makeup to play multiple roles as the movie tries to show how lives and people interconnect through time. The ex...

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The Video Depot Top 10 List for the Week Ending May 19, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013 | Staff

1. Jack Reacher (Paramount)

2. Mama (Universal)

3. Safe Haven (20th Century Fox)

4. Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)

5. Broken City (20th Century Fox)

6. Silver Linings Playbook (Starz/Anchor Bay)

7. Texas Chainsaw (Lionsgate)

8. Gangster Squad (Warner Bros.)

9. The Guilt Trip (Paramount)

10. A Haunted House (Universal)

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DiCaprio Does It Again: Baz Lurhmann’s 'Gatsby' Is Indeed Great

Tuesday, 14 May 2013 | Bob Grimm

The moment when we first see Leonardo DiCaprio’s face as the title character in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish adaptation of The Great Gatsby is perhaps the biggest “movie star” moment of DiCaprio’s career to date. As fireworks pop off in the night sky behind him, he turns and raises his glass to the camera in a way that exudes high-octane star charisma.

If you are a Luhrmann fan, and you appreciated his over...

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Blu-Ray: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Returns With a Resounding Thud Thanks to 'Not Fade Away'

Monday, 13 May 2013 | Bob Grimm

Writer-director David Chase, the man responsible for The Sopranos , virtually disappeared after that infamous, sudden black screen six years ago. He returns with Not Fade Away , about a bunch of kids trying to form a rock band in the ’60s—and while it’s far from awful, it’s a bit of a dud.

Much of the blame for the plodding pace of this movie goes to John Magaro, who fails to ignite the screen as Dougl...

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Blu-Ray Review: This Pairing of Rogen and Streisand Is Surprisingly Mediocre

Monday, 13 May 2013 | Bob Grimm

I’m sure it sounded good in the pitch meeting: Put Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in a car; send them across country; let the sparks fly. Rogen is always good with stream-of-consciousness humor, and Babs plays a good pain in the ass.

Problem is, director Anne Fletcher and team totally stifle Rogen in The Guilt Trip , basically making his Andrew Brewster a dull, unlikable character. As for Babs, she’...

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