We Bought a Zoo

"Travel the stages of grief... but stop right before zebras get involved."
Really, when are folks the most maudlin if not during the holiday season? When they're most likely to forgive one's abundance of sentimentality? WE BOUGHT A ZOO utilizes savvy product placement by coinciding its box office release with the month of December. Not that it mattered to me one bit when this film would've come out. Me, I'm a sucker for the sentimental stuff. The movie's title doesn't lie; you get the gist of the premise. Here's Cameron Crowe again, manipulating your emotions, coaxing a laugh, making you tear up. He's such a user.

It's based on a true story. Matt Damon, one of my favorite actors, plays journalist Benjamin Mee who nurses an adventurous streak. He has interviewed dangerous underworld figures in third world nations. He has flown into Category 4 storms. Benjamin profoundly believes that 20 seconds of insane courage can only alter your life for the better. But how much insane courage can one muster when the love of your life leaves you...

Heart-warming, charming and very enjoyable - perfect family movie!
Heart-warming, moving, funny, and beautifully acted - We Bought A Zoo is a very enjoyable family movie that will both lift your spirits with its graceful humor, and make you reflect on life and family related issues thanks to the profound message it carries. It's a fantastic adaptation of Benjamin Mee's memoir, and one of the most delightful movies I've seen in recent months.

Colin Ford, who plays the troubled son, was absolutely fantastic in his role. Sympathetic and real, he really brought his character to life with his convincing acting. And so did Matt Damon. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Matt Damon, but I must admit that he really fit into this role perfectly. You could tell that he enjoyed himself and that definitely elevated his performance. Scarlett Johansson surprised me. To be honest, I did not think of Johansson when picturing Kelly Foster while reading the book. I imagined someone taller, tougher and more obviously kick-ars. And yet when I saw Johansson on the...

My family Loved This Movie!
This may have been last years only real movie. You'd never know that from the title because its far from a campy kids movie. Matt Damon has never been better, and Scarlet until now has never been a favorite. It's not often that the entire family can enjoy a movie together. My 11 year old son said that he loved it so much that it's tied for #1 with The Goonies, and that's saying something coming from an 11 year old boy. The entire family agreed that laughing, and occasionally shedding a tear in the same movie is a good thing. I wish there were more movies like We Bought a Zoo. Actually, I just wish there were more Cameron Crowe movies.

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Dragons: Riders of Berk - Part 2

The Dragons of Berk Are Back!
Dragons: Riders of Berk Part 2 picks up following the events of the feature film How to Train Your Dragon (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Dragon Double Pack) [Blu-ray] and the holiday special DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons Double Pack (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Online Video Game). Luckily many of the original voice cast from the feature film return to voice their characters in this Cartoon Network TV Series. The few voices that had to be recast are masterfully done to where they sound very much like their feature film counterparts. Beyond the voice acting, the stories & animation present in this 1st season are top-notch and are a great way to pass the time until the 2nd feature film due out in 2014. One touch I like is how Hiccup narrates the beginning & end of the episodes as he did in the original...

More than worth the price (continued)
An excellent movie followed, surprisingly, by an exellent TV series. I hope the series continues. Not only have my grandkids enjoyed watching the episodes, but I found I could watch along with them.

Well made series
My kids have watched all these episodes at least 4 times and we've only had the disks a month. I have even watched all episodes and some twice.

Definitely recommend

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Bones: Season Three

A shortened third season still packs chemistry and some shockers...
**Plot SPOILERS alert**

BONES keeps on keeping on. Two excellent seasons under its belt, and a truncated Season 3 (damn you, writers' strike!) finally all wrapped up, and predictably, these are good episodes, as well. But only fifteen of them! As Season 3's first episode ("The Widow's Son in the Windshield") opens up, we learn that Bones has been reluctant to go in the field with Booth and she won't say why. However, a head flung off a bridge forces her to reconnect with Booth. This episode also begins a new serial killer arc, this one being particularly even more gristly and diabolical than most, and of which resolution later down the season would have tragic consequences.

Season 3 doles out several other subplots. As per the startling news learned at the altar from Season 2's finale, Angela is already married. An ongoing story arc becomes Hodgins and Angela's search for her long-time but vaguely remembered husband. "The Secret of the Soil" introduces Dr...

Bones deviates from the quantifiable morphological norm
What CSI tries to do with unreal science, Bones does right. Every word is pronounced correctly (!) a biggie for us physicians - they push the science, but believably so - 87 complex murders in Vegas per year? No way-50-60 per year under FBI special unit, sure - with the budget to do it. The characters have geek chemistry, and I'm so happy David Boreanaz is bopping w/o Buffy -was afriad he'd die, and he's too good. If you're uneducated, it will lose you - if you want to learn, or already know science, it's a thrill - hot chicks, cool cops, nerdy geeks all together.

Bones Just Gets Better and Better
This season of Bones was as fantastic as it's two predecessors... Ok, the writers strike didn't help and there are only 15 episodes in the season, but the scripts were still fantastic and the chemistry between Brennan and Booth was palpable and very nicely portrayed by the actors. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to buy it!!!

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Die Hard: Ultimate Collection (Die Hard / Die Hard 2: Die Harder / Die Hard: With a Vengeance / Live Free or Die Hard)

GREAT movies, but FOX dropped the ball hard
First, let me start by saying I love the Die Hard movies. So when I saw this collection on BD, I just couldn't refuse!

You already know the movies, so let's get to the overall package.

Positives:
+ DTS MA on every movie that really reinvigorates the films
+ Good set of extras, not a single feature from the standard DVDs is left out, making you think these are the definitive versions to have
+ Special box saves you space on shelf and keeps discs safe. It's a little bigger than the Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray] boxset (without the slipcase).
+ Exactly the same discs as individual releases, so you're not getting gimped versions of the already released BD movies --they're the same.
+ Live Free or Die Hard is a total show-stopper, demo material, A+ reference disc. Both in terms of video and audio, this is one of the best movies to showcase what High...

2009 version replaced with this 2013 version
This review was for the original Die Hard Collection released in 2009, not the recent 25th Anniversary Collection released in 2013. So this review below is for the 2009 set, not the 2013 set. I do not own the 2013 set (25th Anniversary Collection). Check when other reviews were written by other members to see if they posted recent reviews for the 2013 edition.

When I think Blu-ray, I expect high quality video and sound, otherwise there is no point to buying a blu-ray version of an already existing dvd.
The first two movies, Die Hard 1 & 2 from the 80's, look terrible visually. FOX did a horrible job in re-mastering these for blu-ray, or they did not re-master them at all. It is possible they used the regular dvd's and just up-converted them without remastering/restoring them digitally. Sound is decent. The third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance is more recent from the 90's, but it doesn't look great. The fourth film does look good and sounds great, but it would be...

Good, but could have been better.
I grew up with the Die Hard movies. I really liked the 1st movie and am in the minority becuase I also enjoyed the second. The 3rd and 4th movie I liked, though not as much, because they didn't feel like Die Hard movies as much as the first two did. 1&2 consentrated mostly on John McClain. With the 3rd you had Samuel Jackson. He was a big focus during the movie, but was similar enough to Bruce Willis' character that it didn't distract too much from the movie.

With the 4th movie, it didn't feel like Die Hard so much. At times, it almost felt like a sequel to 16 blocks, that had been watered down to a PG13. Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy the movie, but it definitely isn't the Die Hard I grew up with.

The audio was very good on all films, but I was disappointed by the earlier films video quality. After recently seeing what Warner Bros. were able to do for Blade Runner, the first two movies are pretty disappointing. BR is 25 years old and they were able to...

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Don Jon [Blu-ray]

A fresh turn on relationship films
Don Jon is a witty and thoughtful film about relationships. Jon treats everything in his life as objects he gains pleasure from, including the women he "scores" every weekend. But nothing can compare to the porn he accesses on his computer. The real life girls have the complications of being, well, REAL and don't always exactly match his lofty expectations. The porn girls don't disappoint, so he always returns to them.

Jon is a creature of habit - from his workout routine, to going to church (and confession, although he never actually changes his behavior), to cleaning his apartment, to Sunday dinner with his family (his family is wonderfully portrayed by Tony Danza, Glenn Headly and Brie Larson. All hilarious and convincing). When he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johannson), things are turned somewhat upside down. She's a true "10" and Jon is willing to change himself to get a chance to sleep with her. As much as Jon objectifies her as a sex object, she also...

`There's only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.'
Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps testing his boundaries as an artist and that is to be applauded. The strength of his performances in the past few films grows steadily and now he branches out in to writing, directing, and starring in a film that is truly his own. Is it a great film? No, but it is an inventive one - and that is a breath of fresh air in the current Marvel Comics shoot-`em-bang-bang-explode obsession. The fact that it deals with the current focus on sex-rated themes may be off putting to many, but that the theme is solely that speaks loudly for a young writer/director to register a parody of our current shaky quasi-relationship fad.

There is not a lot of story so the more brief the synopsis the better: A New Jersey guy, Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love. Though he has many sexual liaisons those...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs, & stars in 'Don Jon'
If you believe the porn industry has no relevance in the modern world, you're sadly mistaken. Like it or loathe it, porn is big business, earning somewhere in the ballpark of $10-15 billion per year. Much like Hollywood, the adult film industry has stars of its own, a few of which have managed to become household names, most notably of which include Linda Lovelace, Jenna Jameson, and Ron Jeremy. It should come as no surprise that pornography has been around since man began using the printing press, and speaking of men, they are by far and away (statistically) the greatest abusers of the material. As it pertains to relationships, and depending who you ask, porn will either ruin a relationship or stimulate a relationship. All of this and more, including the impact porn has on the male species and how it comes into play during relationships happens to be the basis for the new comedy, Don Jon.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his feature length directorial debut, also writing...

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