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- First reviewMarch 28, 2014
- Last reviewApril 28, 2017
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- Average rating4.4
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![Shelley [Blu-ray] [2 Discs] [2016]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3217/32179665_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
4
Tense film, great Blu
on January 13, 2017
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
With pretty apparent echoes of "Rosemary's Baby," "Shelley" is a tense, compelling thriller. I am happy to have it on Blu-ray. Picture quality and the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio are rock solid. Recommended.
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![The Great Outdoors [Blu-ray] [1988]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5143/5143715_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
One of my favorite '80s comedies
on June 25, 2016
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Universal Pictures for releasing the 1988 John Candy/Dan Ackroyd comedy "The Great Outdoors" on Blu-ray. The kind of film so winning, so entertaining and so endlessly quotable one could watch it every day and not tire of it. The film has never looked better on a home-video format than it does right here on Blu-ray. Highly recommended.
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Orange Is the New Black: Season 3 [Blu-ray] [3 Discs]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/prescaled/500/500/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/0fc7641e-6b23-4f4f-8573-f63c05163f6f.jpg)
This release collects every episode from season three of the popular Netflix original series about Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), a classy woman in her thirties who is sentenced to prison after being convicted of a ten-year-old crime of trafficking money for her drug-dealer girlfriend.
Customer Rating
5
Great series, great disc
on June 25, 2016
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
I watch each season of "Orange Is the New Black" on Netflix when it premieres, but in terms of picture and audio quality, nothing beats the Blu-ray releases. The third season looks exquisite--crystal-clear, full of natural colors that pop and terrific detail. If you are a fan of the series, do not hesitate to pick up the Blu-rays.
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Gone Baby Gone [Blu-ray] [2007]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/2683/2683852_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
Riveting crime drama from director Ben Affleck
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
The provocatively-titled "Gone Baby Gone" peels itself one layer at a time, revealing unpredicted and mesmeric sides to a story that could never be guessed from the initial setup. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and auspiciously adapted for the screen by Ben Affleck (also making his directorial debut) and Aaron Stockard, the film begins as a relatively conventional kidnapping drama but ultimately turns out to be so much more than that. As the investigative procedural gets underway, potential suspects are questioned, and the safety of the victim is put into question, an in-his-element Affleck veers the narrative in sharply diverse directions. The twists, if one wants to call them that, are neither obligatory nor cheaply contrived for the sole purpose of jerking around the audience. Instead, they happen loosely and surprisingly, as real life does, and significantly supplement a motion picture that has a lot to say about human loss, parenting, child neglect, and ethical dilemmas involving whether what is lawful is always the right decision.
When 4-year-old Amanda McCready (Madeline O'Brien) goes missing from a lower-class South Boston neighborhood, young self-employed investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and girlfriend/associate Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are hired by the child's worried aunt (Amy Madigan) and uncle (Titus Welliver) to look into the disappearance. With Amanda's drug-addled mother Helene (Amy Ryan) being of little help, Patrick and Angie work concurrently with law enforcement—namely, Captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris)—in the hopes of either bringing Amanda home safely or bringing her captor/murderer to justice. As details involving Amanda's unsavory upbringing are brought to light, Patrick and Angie are left to question the extent of what is waiting for her if she is found alive.
Ben Affleck, an Oscar-winning screenwriter for 1997's "Good Will Hunting" and an underrated actor last seen in 2006's "Hollywoodland," can safely add filmmaker to his list of talents. "Gone Baby Gone" doesn't look or feel like the work of a novice director, but of a veteran artist who intimately understands the medium and knows how to effectively rattle the senses of viewers without broadly manipulating them. Superficially, the movie's plot reminds of 2006's severely overwrought "Freedomland" and the mellow tone and gritty setting recall 2003's exploitatively self-serious "Mystic River" (coincidentally also based on a novel by Lehane). "Gone Baby Gone" is superior to both of those efforts, staying low-key and naturalistic even as multiple revelations in the second hour force one to reassess certain characters' beliefs and viewpoints while intriguingly depicting their tough moral quandaries. That director Affleck does not indefinitely provide answers as much as he leaves the debates open to personal interpretation is a smart choice that further lifts the film well above a standard police investigation flick.
Casey Affleck (Ben's little brother) gets the lead role, but this is not a case of nepotism winning out over proper casting. In what is turning out to be Casey's year to prove his mettle as an actor to be reckoned with—his Oscar-worthy work in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" also deserves notice—the younger Affleck is commanding yet laid-back as investigator Patrick Kenzie, a 31-year-old who looks much younger than his age and isn't quite prepared for the lengths he is about to go in the name of his job and his conscience.
As girlfriend and work partner Angie Gennaro, Michelle Monaghan (2007's "The Heartbreak Kid") gives the picture an empathetic maternal edge lacking with Amanda's actual mother, but is otherwise saddled with a character not as fleshed out as she could have been. Monaghan is overshadowed by Affleck, whom she shares all her scenes with, and is more or less left to react to the things around her. If the film hits a snag in its framework—and it's a minor one—it is the fact that Patrick and Angie are as young and wet-behind-the-ears as they are. As investigators, they are good at what they do, but by not having children of their own or clearly having the level of life experiences under their belt as those around them, their heightened emotions and actions pertaining to the kidnapped Amanda are not always wholeheartedly plausible.
Supporting work is superlative. Ed Harris (2005's "A History of Violence") is intense as Detective Remy Bressant, hinting at the anger and willingness to commit violence hiding behind his respected badge. Morgan Freeman (2007's "Feast of Love") is wise and sad-eyed as Captain Jack Doyle, a John Walsh-like figure who has dedicated his life to finding missing persons after the tragic murder of his own 12-year-old daughter. As Helene McCready, mother of the missing Amanda, Amy Ryan (2005's "Capote") delivers a breakthrough performance, essaying a pathetic, self-absorbed creature who somehow shows her humanity even when said humanity is of the unflattering variety. Ryan runs away with her part to the point where she is head and shoulders the most memorable among an ensemble with more screen time than she has.
Transcending its landscape even as it very specifically has been filmed on-location in Boston, "Gone Baby Gone" captures the communal flavor and darker underbelly of that New England city while spinning an uncompromising tale that will prove enthralling and relatable for adult audiences. The true themes hiding underneath the basic kidnapping conflict are where the film earns its power, but they must remain purposefully vague in this review so as to not give anything away. Suffice it to say, the movie does not jump the rails as further plot turns are uncovered, but strengthens itself through them. The final scene, perfectly scripted and performed, sends "Gone Baby Gone" out on a high note. As for the very last line of spoken dialogue, it is as staggeringly telling as it is unremittingly haunting.
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
What's great about it: The performances and writing are first-rate
What's not so great: Some plot developments not always wholly plausible
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season [9 Discs] [Blu-ray]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1407/1407006_sa.jpg)
The fourth season of The Vampire Diaries finds a newly bloodthirsty Elena spending her senior year adjusting to life as a vampire. Stefan, stricken with grief for the girl Elena was before, and tortured by her passionate relationship with Damon, sets off in search of a cure to vampirism he believes may exist due to the presence of mysterious clues inked onto Jeremy's flesh.
Customer Rating
5
Top-notch television series comes to Blu-ray
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
An awesome television horror-drama-romance from The CW keeps going strong in season 4. However, the packaging does not need DVD discs; it is extraneous for high-def enthusiasts who will never use them and bulks up the packaging when it could be a slimmer, sleeker case. Still, well worth getting!
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
What's great about it: A compelling, sudsy, moody TV drama
What's not so great: The Blu-ray does not need DVDs included
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![All the Boys Love Mandy Lane [Blu-ray] [2006]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/2667/2667211_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
Underrated horror film
on March 28, 2014
Posted by: DPutman
from Ashburn, VA
Verified Purchase:Yes
The provocatively titled "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" premiered to much acclaim and fanfare at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. A $750,000-budgeted teen horror picture that excelled at its multiple genres and seemed destined for wide appeal, it was quickly snatched up by The Weinstein Company, who paid an exorbitant $3-million-plus for distribution rights in the U.S. As is characteristic of TWC, the studio began shuffling the release date, scheduling it for July 20, 2007, following a couple winter and spring delays. Mere days before this Friday opening, the release was canceled again.
Senator Entertainment, a new up-and-coming company, bought "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" from the Weinsteins shortly thereafter, promising an early-2008 berth on no less than 1,000 screens. The early months of the new year came and went. Rumors of an April 2008 release never materialized, with Senator throwing out some cockamamie story about how they wanted to sit on the film until director Jonathan Levine's sophomore effort, Sundance favorite "The Wackness," opened in the summer and gained the filmmaker some wider cred. Sure enough, "The Wackness" came out in July, but its mediocre box office in limited release didn't exactly set the world on fire as Senator had assumed. An incredible five more years passed with "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" stuck in limbo. In that time, the Stateside distribution rights have reverted back to the Weinstein's On-Demand/theatrical shingle RADiUS-TWC. The film finally saw the light of day in the autumn of 2013, but how does one accurately sell a movie to audiences that has been widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in most foreign territories for over half a decade?
One can only hope "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" finds its rightful audience after the unfair abuse it has taken from the clueless Hollywood studio system. The film, twisting in fresh ways that set it apart from the usual paint-by-numbers slasher flick—in this regard, it is reminiscent of 2003's expertly conceived French chiller "High Tension"—has been made with an unusual love and care for detail. This becomes exceedingly apparent from the prologue, a journey through a typical high school hallway scored to Bedroom Walls' gorgeous song "In Anticipation of Your Suicide" that leads to a back-to-school party embodying the insecurity, fun, and foolish sense of immortality that comes with being a teenager.
Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) used to be a wallflower—someone only paid attention to by best friend Emmet (Michael Welch)—but after a prosperous summer she returns to high school a blossomed beauty. Every boy wants her, and every girl secretly wishes she could be her. Nine months following a classmate's tragic accidental death at a pool party, pothead Red (Aaron Himelstein) plans a weekend trip with friends—lustful buddies Bird (Edwin Hodge) and Jake (Luke Grimes), and argumentative gal pals Chloe (Whitney Able) and Marlin (Melissa Price)—to his family's secluded ranch. He invites Mandy along, and she accepts, eager to branch out of her shell even if she's not the type to partake in much of their brand of fun. Frivolity, drinking, recreational drug-taking and relationship tensions lead to confusion and fear when the group begin falling victim to a sociopath on the property.
It is tempting to say that "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" is actually better in the first half, before the more horrific plot elements emerge, but that is because director Jonathan Levine does such an extraordinary job of setting up his characters and the milieu they live within. A scene set on the school's outside track and bleachers, The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" blasting on the soundtrack, is like a great 1980s teen movie sprung to life. A little later, a montage using Juliette Commagere's wistful cover of America's "Sister Golden Hair" proves how powerful the mixture of music, image and editing can be on film when a true artist is at the reins.
Levine takes the valuable time to set up his characters and develop them free of stereotypes so that when a hooded killer enters the equation, first frighteningly glimpsed so subtly in the background that the viewer questions if he or she really saw anything at all, their demises mean more than if they were just one-note caricatures. Before this, suspense is ratcheted with notable skill, as in a scene where a water snake slithering perilously close to Mandy as she swims in a pond turns out to only be an example of intentional misdirection. When the killing spree takes off in the picture's second half, the reveal of the murderer's identity comes a little too early and lessens the potential to outright scare. Still, by the end, the reason for why this occurs is uncovered, leading to a surprise in the finale that totally alters the story's trajectory and adds newfound relevance to our current times.
If a motion picture is going to be so bold as to use a title like "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," it is imperative that viewers understand what makes Mandy so desirable. The casting directors did their job splendidly by casting Amber Heard (2011's "Drive Angry") in the role. Heard is strikingly beautiful, but, in portraying Mandy Lane, she also seems so personable, down-to-earth, and pure of heart that it is easy to see why others would be so drawn to here. More than that, though, Heard develops Mandy into a three-dimensional person, still confronting the effects that the deaths of her parents have had on her, and rather touching as she navigates through a sea of drooling peers who often treat her as nothing more than a prize to be won. The rest of the performances are strong—Anson Mount (2002's "Crossroads"), as the polite, slightly older farmhand on the ranch property, Garth, and Whitney Able (2010's "Monsters"), as the ignorantly self-involved Chloe, are especially characterized with more than one shade—but this is Amber Heard's showcase to steal.
Shot on location outside of Austin, Texas, reportedly only miles away from where 1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" was filmed, "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" is fitfully foreboding in its sun-dappled aura of isolation. As much a comment on the objectification of women—and, more specifically, teenage girls—as it is a grimy, violent, enthralling slasher pic, director Jonathan Levine and first-time screenwriter Jacob Forman have crafted one of the more memorable teen-oriented horror movies of the twenty-first century. Were the death toll to be stripped from the film, there would still be enough layers to delve into for it to still work, and that is the key to a solid script. With distaff remakes overwhelming the genre as of late, it is a shame that something original and demographically relatable like "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" has had such a difficult time reaching the big screen. Its moment in the spotlight is long overdue.
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
My Best Buy number: 2584403475
What's great about it: Smart writing, moody style, excellent soundtrack, Amber Heard
What's not so great: That it took so long for the film to come to Blu-ray in the U.S.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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