With the upcoming remake of one of the most successful horror franchise in history, it just make a lot of sense for paramount pictures to release the new deluxe edition of the movie that started it all. Friday the 13th Uncut is being released February 10 2009, just a week and a half before Jason hit’s the silver screen for the 12th time. The new DVD is said to be mastered for High definition, 5.1 Surround sound, new “never before scenes” and some cool special features. For all Jason’s fans if you do not have this movie yet, you have a chance to added to the collection. (although in my opinion if you considered yourself a fan and do not have this movie yet : YOU ARE NOT A FAN!)

Let me tell you what you get with this DVD: the same thrilling movie than before plus a few minutes that do not add any new to the already classical story, its re-mastering is almost as good as the previous DVD, although I have to admit that the sound has been improved considerably, and the special features are nothing you might want to watch more than once. I got to say that the cover is what sells the DVD it look pretty cool in its holographic design. And looks much better than my previous copy.

The movie has to be considered for what it is: a horror classic. There is no doubt that anywhere in the world you might go there always be someone who knows who Jason is. It is his soundtrack and him who has made these series a global success. The movies are not well acted, the stories were pretty basic and repetitive, and the effects although impressive at the time… well let’s face it, it was the 80s. Regardless of all this, his movies Rock, it was and still is a no ending ride of fun, it is this first movie the one that hooks you without letting you go, and out of all of the eleven sequels this one is the one that has give me the most chills. Also seeing Kevin Bacon acted on it makes me realize that I have gotten old. I recommend this movie to everyone who considered himself a horror fan, and most of all to anyone who is planning to go see the upcoming movie, it will be a nice review and base to compared it.

Review By Milo

Release Date: February 3, 2009

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Bringing a world wide known literary masterpiece to film is not an easy task. There has been many successful stories that had lost their magic when they were adapted to the big screen. This type of projects are usually more complicated and challenging than any other project, since it does not only have to appeal to average movie fans, but also they have to gain the approval of the already fans of the book. These last ones being the most complicated to please, since they would not miss a chance to contrast it against the original version. Many of these adaptations end up satisfying either one of these groups, but rarely it manages to satisfy both. Fortunately for Jose Saramago, the adaptation of one of his most famous novels fell in the latter category. Blindness is one of those movies that excels in depicting Saramago’s story in a highly emotional and seductive level.

Fernando Meirelles’s version of Saramago’s novel is one of the best novel to movie adaptation I ever seen. It seems that Fernando and his staff took the time to read and understand what the author wanted to describe and converted it into an exhilarating piece. Mr. Meirelles did everything right: the photography, the settings, the lightning, the camera effect, and of course, the cast. If it is true that Fernando did an outstanding job directing this movie he would not have accomplished a third of what it did in this film if he would not have actors such as Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien) whose performance as King of ward Three surpasses any of his previous roles, Julianne Moore whose role is one of the most convincing and enjoyable. She is the Doctor’s wife, in every single scene she depicts all the emotions with such realism that for moment the audience feel that it is not longer watching a fictitious character but a real person. Mark Buffalo, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya, Yushino Kimura, and of course Danny Glover, make and excellent supporting cast adding chemistry and variety to the film.

Another great aspect about the movie is that it is highly suggestive. The director and staff (sound and visual) create a magnificent atmosphere and show enough footage to make the audience see images that if shown in the screen it will be an MA rated movie. The camera work is fantastic there are some scenes where the audience is put in the position of the characters making them see and experience what they are feeling at that time. And one of the most important aspects the fans of the book would appreciate about this movie is that the director and writers try to be as faithful as possible to the book, the locations, characters like in the book are not named given the impression that it could happen anywhere, and some scenes are shown just how the book describes it.

A major set back is probably that the movie starts slow, the first introductory scenes seem to be to long to an audience who is not used to the book, in them the characters are introduced in a slow pace that many people might considered a waste of time, to me it was necessary to build a more intimacy between the audience and the story. also the depiction of The king of ward three in the movie is depicted in a slightly different way than in the book, his personality is not innately evil like in the book, but it evolves according to the circumstances, nonetheless, Gael performance and version is equally impressive developing this character that does not create a major distortion from the original version, plus makes the audience feel more sympathetic for this character.

I still do not understand how this movie did not do well in the box office, it has all the elements for an enjoyable time. The acting is spectacular, the photography, the settings, the music all gathers together creating an atmosphere of helplessness while addressing important characteristics of the human condition like mixing emotions, physical needs, morality and social reactions, and although the movie might cause a sense of depressiveness trough its development, it also shows us human qualities that make us comfortable and leave us with a sense of hope. I recommend this movie for any person who enjoy the book, people who do not know anything bout it, and in general for anybody who wants to see something different than the average apocalyptic movie. Blindness is without a doubt one of the most intense, smart movies that I ever seen.

Review By Milo

Release Date: February 10, 2009

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REVIEW: George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States of America, is also a man, a regular guy who happened to be born into the prestigious Bush family with a chip on his shoulder and a silver spoon in his mouth. Living in the shadow of his father and trying to keep up with his brother Jeb, he struggles for approval from his family. This movie tells his story in Oliver Stone style. From his less than exemplary youth to his determination to make it in the family business of politics, this film covers the highlights of his life and gives the viewer an interesting perspective on this man we call the President. Leave it to Oliver Stone to direct the first film ever made about a President who is still in office. You can’t criticize the freshness of the subject matter. Nor can you criticize the stellar cast and the make up job to help make each of them look like their counterparts. It is really quite amazing how well cast each of them were and how well they looked and sounded like the person they were playing: Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, James Cromwell as George Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld, Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair, Jeffrey Wright as General Colin Powell, and Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice to name a few. The performance that stands out, fittingly, is that of Josh Brolin as W. The golden glow of an Oscar trophy might be shining upon Josh with this performance. Yeah, I’ll go that far.

Asian Journalist: Mr. President, what place do you think you will have in history?
George W. Bush: History? In history we’ll all be dead!
That may be true but this film will help keep the history of George W. very much alive. He is just a good ol’ boy from Texas who went to Yale, was a heavy drinker, and was not very successful at holding a job for a long period of time. His seemingly aimless life started to come into focus after he married Laura, got involved in politics, and had a religious awakening. He had always been a God-fearing man but he needed to get jolted to straighten out his drinking problem and pull his life together. As a result of all that, his political career took off and the rest, well, is history. This motion picture takes you up to the first days of the Iraqi war. No matter what your opinion is of President Bush you have to admit that the plate he has been dealt has not been an easy one by far. Many a President or President hopeful might have dealt with 9/11, the war on terror, our economic crisis, and all the other prevalent issues in a better way than he has, but I strongly believe that many a President or President hopeful might have dealt with all this in much worse fashion than he has as well. This movie will show you a George W. Bush who is just a man, a cowboy from Texas, who becomes the President and in the midst of all the controversy thrust his way, has the best of intentions and tries to make the right decisions for the people of this country. Each of us has the right to agree or disagree with what he has done as President of the U.S.; this film simply gives you a little more insight on the man.

I try not to get political in my reviews but it’s kind of hard not to with a movie like this one. I’m not much of a fan of political movies anyway unless it’s more historical in nature. For example, I think the movie Thirteen Days is an incredible piece of work, and it focused more on the events and a little less on the President. This movie was well done and better than I expected though, but then again I expected to be bored to the point of falling asleep. In reality, I don’t recall even yawning once. What can you say about Oliver Stone other than another fine job by a successful veteran director. He is taking a gamble with a motion picture of this nature as far as box office pull is concerned, but I really doubt that box office success is one of his top priorities when he directs a movie like this. If you enjoy politics or political movies or even if you’re just curious, watching this movie might not be a bad choice.

Movie Review By Cine Marcos

DVD: The DVD contain entertaining and informative bonus materials including the featurettes: “Dangerous Dynasty: The Bush Presidency” – a look at the Bush legacy from political experts and exclusive to the Blu-ray, “No Stranger to Controversy: Oliver Stone’s George W. Bush” – an inside look at the making of the film. The DVD also contain an audio commentary with Director Oliver Stone.

Release Date: February 10, 2009

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