Poker has been increasing in popularity for years now, becoming a game of choice by many famous sports stars and well known actors, including Ben Affleck, Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal. In its online form, the game is played by millions around the world.

Poker certainly has changed a great deal over the years, with the biggest period of change arguably being over the past generation. Its evolution has been well captured in various movies over the years, and this is perhaps the best way to understand the evolution of poker and how its image has changed.

Here are a few of the finest poker flicks ever produced – enjoy!

The Cincinnati kid – 1965

Eric ‘The Kid’ Stoner sets out to prove that he is the best poker player in town. A game between himself and the oldest and reportedly the best player around, the films climax rests on a final hand of poker played between the Kid and Lancey ‘The Man’ Howard.

Starring Steve McQueen and Edward G Robinson.

Here are a few of the finest poker flicks ever produced. If any of these give you the poker bug, play online at www.pokerstars.com after the film credits!

A Big Hand for the Little Lady – 1966

A Western comedy drama, built around a high stakes poker game. A young impoverished family travelling through a town on their way to start a new life in San Antonio, find trouble and excitement when the father decides to take part in a poker game but dies of heart failure before the game is finished. His wife is then left to resume playing in his place, but of course, she knows nothing about how to play.

Starring Peter Fonda and Joanne Woodward.

California Split – 1974

A film about friendship and gambling addiction, two men pool their assets to play the game of their lives with a surprising conclusion.

Starring George Segal and Elliot Gould.

The Sting – 1973

This Academy Award winning film tells the wisdom of not accepting anything at face value, and the moral is that you cannot cheat an honest man. With twists and turns in the plot at every corner, this tale is told about a man seeking retribution for the murder of his friend, by setting up an elaborate ‘sting’.

Starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

House of games – 1987

A female psychologist sets out to help her patient who has a severe gambling addiction. She takes it upon herself to visit one of the men that her patient owes a lot of money to, but gets involved in the underworld when this man convinces her to help him out in a game of poker, by alerting him to the bluffs and hand gestures of the other players.

Starring Lindsay Crouse

Honeymoon in Vegas – 1992

Comedy ensues when Jack Singer loses thousands of pounds during a crooked poker game. His wealthy opponent agrees to erase the debt if he can spend a weekend with Jack’s fiancé, Betsy. Jack agrees but the man whisks Betty away to Hawaii and Jack has to track her down to rescue her. Warning, this film contains flying Elvis’s.

Starring Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Rounders – 1998

Two friends need to earn money fast by playing poker to pay off a large debt. A ‘rounder’ is the name given to those who travel from place to place seeking poker games for high stakes, and this is just what these chaps do in and around New York City.

Starring Matt Damon and John Malcovich.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – 1998

Four young men put all their money into one poker game and lose, resulting in them owing a huge debt to a gangland porn lord. With only a week to find the money, they set out to steal the money from a local rich kid marijuana dealer, but things do not go according to plan.

Starring Nick Moran and Vinnie Jones.

Our good friends over at Grimmfest have recently announced their lineup for the first part of 2013 and boy is it a belter! As usual the team will be bringing a mixture of horror classics and previews of new releases to Manchester Dancehouse and their new adopted home of Stockport Plaza throughout the coming months in what is set to be a series of blood-soaked screenings. The full lineup can be viewed on the Grimmfest website www.grimmfest.com but here is my pick of the films that should not be missed on the big screen:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Wednesday 23rd January - Forget heading to your local multiplex for the latest cash-in on what has unfortunately become a tired franchise and instead check out the depravity of Tobe Hooper’s original and best that inspired generations of film-makers. Paired with Wes Craven’s infamous The last house on the left, this is not a night for the faint-hearted, with both films’ gritty low-budget approach adding to the intensity of these two classic seventies shockers

Tower Block

Saturday 26th January – This special evening features a guest appearance from Tower Block’s prolific screenwriter James Moran ahead of a premiere screening of his new thriller about a rogue sniper, which will be followed by the folklore based horror Hollow whose writer and producer Matt Holt will also be in attendance. Tickets to the event will gain you entry into an audience with these two British film-makers who will be discussing their work with the Grimm up North guys before the films. James has been involved in movies such as Cockneys Vs Zombies and Severance, as well as TV work on Dr Who and Spooks so this is your chance to hear from the creator of some fiendishly good films and shows. Matt will be speaking about his journey from making Hollow and showcasing it at festivals through to getting Uk and US distribution so this is sure to be a fascinating evening that should not be missed.

The Tall Man

Thursday 7th February - Pascal Laugier made one hell of an impact with his brutally visceral horror flick Martyrs back in 2008 and his fans have been eagerly anticipating its follow-up for four years now. The Tall Man treads a slightly different path; veering from straight up horror to a more subtle approach in this dark thriller about an entity of supernatural origin who abducts children. Grimm are then giving those brave enough the chance to experience Martyrs on the big screen because this is a film capable of turning the stomachs of even the most hardened horror fans out there.

From Beyond

Wednesday 13th March  - recently release on Blu-ray, this long-awaited horror classic has been unavailable in the Uk for many years and the opportunity to catch it on the big screen should not be missed. Having recently seen the new transfer I can vouch for the quality of this release and whilst some of the effects have dated slightly, there is still an undeniable charm in witnessing practical effects as elaborate as those in From Beyond. To continue with the H.P. Lovecraft theme, viewers will get a chance to see The Whisperer in the Darkness beforehand, so this will be a night of tentacle filled goodness!

Slice and Dice: The Slasher Film Forever

Tuesday 26th March- This new documentary takes a look at the history of the slasher film featuring interviews with luminaries of the genre such as Tobe Hooper and Scott Spiegel. Scott’s very own cult classic will be shown afterwards, the under-rated 80′s flick intruder, featuring none other than Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. This chance to catch Slice and Dice before it is out on general release should not be passed by, and with the director and producer team in attendance this is sure to be one hell of a night.

Scanners

Thursday 4th April - Cronenberg’s explosive head horror is a cult classic that is revered as one of his more accomplished earlier works. Coupled with Oliver Reed starrer The Brood about a group of deadly mutant children on a murderous rampage, this Cronenberg themed evening is a thousand miles away from his recent efforts and showcases the gruesome body horror which he became synonymous with back in the 70′s and 80′s.

Society

Thursday 18th April - Having never witnessed the depravity of Society first hand, but hearing lots of good things about it, this has got to be one of my most anticpated evenings, with the disgusting events that occur in this movie appealing to my taste in horror. Those who squirm at gory scenes should definitely stay away, but those willing to take a chance on Society may be entranced by the delightfully tasteless horror about a young teenager who uncovers a terrible secret about his family. Followed up by Opstandelsen (The Resurrected), a Danish zombie film, this promises to be one of the most interesting screenings of this season.

Re-Animator

Tuesday 21st May - Another Stuart Gordon classic, Re-animator takes a similarly comedic approach to horror that worked so well in The Return of the Living Dead, which was released in the same year. The laughs come thick and fast but so do the incredibly gross creature effects when a student at a medical centre attempts to bring life back to dead flesh. Its sequel, Bride of Re-Animator, completes the line-up and this is sure to be a very entertaining evening.

There are lots of other films on offer from the Grimm team throughout the first few months of the year, with prices starting at just £7 per ticket, so make sure you check out the full line-up of events over on the Grimmfest website, www.grimmfest.com and I will look forward to seeing you there!

Set in 1858, Django Unchained is a simple tale of redemption filled to the rafters with the writer-directors tell-tale flair. Evident in one hilarious encounter with a poorly prepared Ku-Klux-Klan who cannot see through the eye holes of the masks that one of their wives made for them.

It seems that Tarantino is far from afraid from political correctness, evident in one particular character, a slave played in true fire and brimstone fashion by Samuel L Jackson,  that is far more racist than any of the white characters in the film. In fact there is uproar within Hollywood with the amount of time the N word is used with in the running time of the film, Spike Lee has been reported to have started a boycott of the film. I do find this strange as I am guessing that Django is fairly accurate historically and by boycotting the film how are you going to judge it at all?

The film opens somewhere in Texas where two slave traders, The Speck Brothers, encounter a german speaking Dentist, Dr King Schultz played by Christoph Waltz, on the road late one night. It turns out that Schultz is not only the most flamboyant dentist ever but is also a bounty hunter intent on freeing a slave by the name of Django that the Speck’s have in their custody.

Django is valuable as he is the only person that can help Schultz identify the Brittle Brothers. After gaining his freedom Django agrees to assist the German Bounty Hunter in killing these evil siblings. Whilst on this quest they learn that Django’s wife Broomhilda is not in the clutches of Plantation Owner and general southern bad guy, Calvin Candle played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The pair set out on a suicidal mission to free Django’s estranged spouse.

The film is full to the brim with slow mo guns fights, stylistic flashbacks and long and witty monologues. However at 165 mins it can feel at times that we are having too much of a good thing. I am not saying it is not enjoyable, as it is. I was on the edge of my seat with a massive grin on my face for most of the running time, but there are some flabby bits that could have been cut – An awful section of dodgy Australian accents and cameos spring to mind.

Foxx is understated and enigmatic as the vengeful husband, playing the straight man to the OTT and larger than life performances by Waltz, DiCaprio and Jackson. There are some extremely tender moments within the film, but as soon as you get comfy and sentimental, Tarantino unleashes his witty fury, with explosions and gun fights.

Django is as long as it is full of bodies, with stellar performances from the entire lead cast. It may not be the best Tarantino film, but even a medium one is a lot better than the best of a lot of his peers.

Unfortunately I was unable to afford to pay for flights to go (one day, one day) but luckily for us the guys over at AVForums have put together a ‘Best Of CES Video’ which is embed below… Let us all drool. (Also the out takes made me laugh)

Microsoft claims IllumiRoom is a “proof-of-concept system,” but the fit and finish of its promotional video, compared to the low production quality of typical Microsoft Research videos, makes me think otherwise.

“The footage shown here is exactly what appeared in our lab without any special effects being added,”

said Eric Rudder, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Strategy Officer as he introduced the video last week as a bizarre part of the Samsung Keynote speech.

The demonstration starts with an actor commanding the Xbox to “go big,” with a projection showing an Xbox console scanning the room before images are projected onto nearby walls. Microsoft didn’t explain why it chose to demo IllumiRoom with Samsung, but the companies have previously worked together on PixelSense tables and the components for Microsoft’s Surface tablet. Samsung manufactures a number of Pico projectors and has recently added the technology to its Galaxy Beam smartphone — suggesting it’s in a position to offer the tech at a low-cost for the consumer market.

Here is the video, what are your thoughts…

This weekend in UK we were all waiting for Winter to finally arrive. OK it has been cold, but also blooming wet. You should see the field in which I take the dog for her walks, we are talking Swamp Land not Farm Land. But this weekend the big FREEZE was supposed to happen. We all waited, got out sleds out of the garage and got warm clothes on. IN fact my eldest went to bed last night with her fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed hoping for a SNOW day.

Did it arrive? Did it heck!!

A light dusting they called it on the news… BIG deal. Having said that, there was still panic on the news when it came to travel. The UK sucks at winter. When will we realize that it comes every year and we should be ready. But every year the first snow causes chaos across the country. Ah well, that is what makes us British I suppose.

When it comes to film watching this weekend, it has been pretty good. Firstly we saw Pitch Perfect, a film I really didn’t want to go and see, but it was my wife’s turn to pick, and much like Les Misérables I was pleasantly surprised (review below). Sunday we stayed in as a family and watched Ice Age Continental Drift, which is charming and the girls loved to see Scrat and gang back in action. Last night we stuck on Seeking a Friend for the End of The World. I know a lot of you didn’t like this film, but I actually enjoyed it and thought Knightley a girl who I usually hate in everything did a pretty good job.

Anyway here is my review of the hilarious Pitch Perfect…

Pitch Perfect (2012)

I feel like I keep apologizing, I mean last week I saw Les Mis and had to admit to not watching musicals, and this week I have seen Pitch Perfect and again I have to apologize for not liking GLEE. But even though the similarities are there, this and the long running TV Show are very different. Pitch Perfect has a sense of self-awareness and is not afraid to make fun of itself, and of course it is about ACAPELLA, so not backing music, which adds another skill level.

The film follows Beca, played Anna Kendrick, a girl who is an aspiring DJ but her father, a college professor wants her to try out college before jetting off to follow her dream.

Beca is overheard singing in the shower and is very awkwardly recruited into the college’s all-lady acapella group, The Barden Belles. The Belles are old-fashioned and have strict rules, one of which is NOT hooking up with any of the rival All boy group The Treble Makers.

Pitch Perfect is anything but original. But this is not a bad thing. It is a simple underdog story that we have seen a hundred times before, but it is well written and has a good ensemble cast that al hold their own throughout the duration of the film. It is pretty obvious from the get go what the end product will be, but it is not important, the way we get there, the journey is what makes this film work so well.

The characters in the film are well crafted and likable. It is nice to see Kendrick get a leading role, even though this isn’t as meaty as I know she can handle it does prove that she has incredible range when it comes to acting, I predict a bright future for her. The other stand out is the love-her-or-hate-her Rebel Wilson who plays Fat Amy, she has some really laugh out loud moments backed up by a very funny pretty much all female cast.

As the story is base din College not high school the humour is a little more adult but does well to shy away and skirt around too much GROSS out frat boy humour, although there are moments that will make you cringe.

Much like Bridesmaids before it Pitch Perfect proves that an ensemble of women can be funny and have little need for men. I really did not think I would like Pitch Perfect as much as I did, but I found myself laughing and clapping and slightly upset when it finished.

FRC Rating

4 ACA-Stars

I am not usually one to jump on the OSCAR bandwagon. So many other websites do a great job at listing and covering the event. But, this year after the nominations were announced I felt necessary to voice an opinion about the biggest Film award ceremony of the year.

Every year I sit at the computer counting down to the live announcement of the nominations of the academy awards, and every year I sit there disappointed and bored. It is a bit like ordering a medium rare fillet steak at a restaurant and ending up with a well done piece of meat that is full of fat and gristle – essentially it is what I ordered but very disappointing.

This year was no different.

Highlights

Beast of The Southern Wild

It is so nice to see this film getting some great praise from the academy not only for Best Picture and Director but also for Best Actress. Quvenzhané Wallis is not only the youngest ever nomination but she is also stunning in her lead role in this film.

Les Misérables

Nice to see this film (which I loved, read my review HERE) get some well deserved appreciation. I am super happy that Anne Hathaway got a nod as supporting actress, if she got overlooked I would probably have thrown a proper hissy fit.

Amour

Not only up for best foreign language film but also the big one, Best Picture. This says a lot for Haneke’s latest venture into the silver screen. Let us not forget Emmanuelle Riva who is up for best Actress, and also the oldest ever nomination in this category.

Disappointments

Lincoln

I do so hate it when a film seems to sweep the board. I am not doubting that this is an amazing story, well told and superbly directed. But from the outset it felt like Spielberg was aiming at the Academy with this venture. I do so yearn for early Spielberg again, Jaws and Duel are still in my top 20 films of all time.

Argo

What has Affleck done to upset the Academy. OK the film is nominated for many awards, but the one we all wanted to see was Best Direction. Affleck is so deserving of this award. He is becoming one of the best young (ish) directors working in Hollywood today and is now 3 for 3 excellent films. I am so disappointed that he didn’t get a look in for this one. Even if he didn’t win a NOD would have been great for his ego.

The Imposter

Where the hell is it? Arguably one of the best documentaries to come out in the last 12 months and got completely overlooked by the Academy. Reminds me so much of Senna from last year. Tut tut!

The ‘WHAT THE F*CK’

The Dark Knight Rises

OK so this wan’t one of my favourite films of last year, but it still was a well made and well told climax to the trilogy. I wasn’t expecting it to get a BIG nod, but a few technical ones wouldn’t have gone a miss. I mean if the dreadful Snow White and the Huntsman and the mediocre Mirror Mirror can, why can’t BATMAN (this was said in my best BANE voice)

TED

Best original song??? Really? What the? Jeez as Emma Stone said it was just a way to get Macfarlane to actually turn up… Off the back of that, one reason I will probably not watch the actual ceremony will be because of Macfarlane, he annoyed the hell out of me in just 10 minutes!!

(This is a moan that means nothing and I will probably still stay up late and watch the entire show… god I am shallow)

What are your thoughts on this years Nominations? Comment below…

Django Unchained is set to hit UK cinemas in a matter of days, and to celebrate its release Tom has taken a look at Leonardo DiCaprio’s finest performances in what has been an impressive career to date.

This was quite possibly the hardest list I’ve ever had to put together as DiCaprio has worked with some of the best directors out there – Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan just to name a few - and the films he’s involved in almost always receive a handful of Oscar nods with DiCaprio himself nominated for three so far but still yet to take home the coveted award. Could Django Unchained be about to change this? Here in the UK we will have to wait until the 18th Jan to watch him in Tarantino’s western and the 24th Feb for the Oscar’s ceremony but in the meantime, let’s take a look at his 11 best performances, that’s right, I couldn’t whittle the list down to 10 in the end!

11 -The Man in the Iron Mask

I’m sure there will be some puzzled faces when readers encounter this film in my list but DiCaprio handles the dual roles of the corrupt King Louis and his innocent twin brother Philippe with a depth that belies his late 90′s heart-throb status. It’s certainly no masterpiece but the conflicting personalities of DiCaprio’s characters makes The Man in the Iron Mask well worthy of your time.

10 Titanic

Rereleased in 3D last year, it’s hard to believe that Cameron’s grandiose love story is 15 years old, although DiCaprio’s youthful good looks are a reminder of how much time has passed since our first encounter with the doomed ships maiden voyage when it hit cinemas in 1997. Cameron tugs at the heartstrings at every given opportunity and the engaging romance between Kate and Jack is entirely believable, with DiCaprio proving he is far more than just a pretty face.

9 – Revolutionary Road

Sam Mendes decision to reunite Winslet and DiCaprio 11 years after Titanic was an inspired casting decision, and the emotional turmoil on display in the Wheeler’s ailing relationship led to the two stars putting in powerhouse performances that did not go unnoticed come awards season

8 – Blood Diamond

Set against the backdrop of the civil war in Sierra Leone during the 90′s, Blood Diamond is a hard-hitting thriller about the illegal trading of diamonds that caused many innocent people to lose their lives. DiCaprio received an Oscar nod for Best leading actor with his portrayal of a mercenary smuggler who begins to change his ways after a chance encounter with a native African, but was pipped at the post by Forest Whitaker for his turn in The Last King of Scotland

7 – Shutter Island

Confusion reigns in Scorsese’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s stunning novel about a federal marshall’s latest daunting assignment. DiCaprio’s character, Teddy Daniels, is sent to investigate a missing person case at a government run mental institution for the criminally insane based on an isolated island  Teddy is a war veteran struggling to recover from his traumatic past and as he begins to uncover the secrets of Shutter Island he is forced to question his own sanity. Supported by the ever watchable Mark Ruffalo who plays Teddy’s partner, DiCaprio proves once again that he can accomplish great things when tackling characters who suffer from mental instabilities.

6 – The Basketball Diaries

At the age of just 21, DiCaprio took on the role of Jim Carroll, a young basketball player whose life begins to spiral out of control when, along with his gang of delinquent friends, he acquires an unhealthy appetite for heroin. Based on a real life autobiography, this harrowing tale is one of the best anti-drug movies out there, and Leo’s phenomenal performance adds real punch to what is a difficult yet rewarding film.

5 – Catch Me if you Can

Spielberg’s brilliant caper film is based on an inspirational true story of a crafty con man who swindled millions of dollars while posing as a pilot, doctor and legal prosecutor, without having any suitable qualifications for the positions. The man in question, Frank Abagnale Jr, soon has the FBI hot on his tale, and DiCaprio brings real charm to a role that requires the audience to sympathise with a criminal.

4 – The Aviator

This biopic of the legendary director and keen aviator, Howard Hughes, depicts his incredible career over a period of 20 years, and with DiCaprio at the helm proving his ability to carry a film, it is easy to see why critics soon began to compare his partnership with director Martin Scorsese to that of his previous pairing with Robert DeNiro. DiCaprio’s performance did not go unnoticed at the Oscar’s where he received another nod for Best Leading Actor but once again he just missed out to the coveted title in a year that put him against some very stiff competition.

3 – Inception

There’s no denying that Christopher Nolan’s mind bending sci-fi thriller Inception was a complete game changer in terms of both the scale and ambition that channelled its success and the breathtaking special effects which broke new ground and left audiences speechless. DiCaprio was astounding as Cobb, the dream thief who along with his highly specialised team is tasked with the perfect heist, inception – planting an idea inside someone else’s mind, in a role that pushed his acting ability to its very limits

2 – The Departed

Scorsese’s gripping remake of the Hong Kong crime saga Infernal Affairs relocated the action to Boston without losing the edge of the original, thanks in part to DiCaprio’s pivotal role as an undercover cop who is assigned to infiltrate the local mob. He holds his own in a star-studded cast featuring Hollywood veterans such as Jack Nicholson and Martin Sheen, and this is easily one of DiCaprio’s finest hours.

1 – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

Such is DiCaprio’s acting prowess that people unfamiliar with the young actor mistook him for being disabled, as is his character in this heartbreaking drama centered around a small fictional community. Gilbert (Depp) is faced with caring for his morbildy obese mother and his handicapped younger brother Arnie Grape (Dicaprio) in the absence of their father, and Dicaprio steals the show in this poignant and affecting drama that remains Dicaprio’s finest performance (in my opinion anyway!) and one of my all time favourites to this very day.

Futher Recommended Viewing:

The Beach

Body of Lies

Romeo & Juliet

Gangs of New York

After spending 19 years in prison for the measly crime of stealing some bread Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, is finally given parole. Even after this extreme sentence the officer in charge bears no sympathy and still considers the prisoner a heathen. Officer Javert, played by Russell Crowe, releases him but labels him a danger to society. Considering the crime was only stealing bread to feed his starving family, I already hated Javert with a passion.

While trying to make his way in the world Valjean is showed cruelty by everyone he meets, as the fear this ex-con, he ends up stealing from the one person that showed him kindness, but this priests allows him freedom and lets him keep some pricey artifacts if he promises to use them to change his life.

Years later and Valjean is no Monsieur Madeline, a prosperous factory owner and also Mayor of Montreal-sur-Mer. He himself shows kindness to one of his factory workers, Fantine played by Anne Hathaway, when he realizes she was fired from his employ with no knowledge himself. He discovers her just as she is to be arrested for assaulting a ‘client’ while trying to make some cash as a prostitute. She beg him to take pity on her daughter whom she sends all of her money to. At the time her daughter is locked away with an evil inn keeper and his wife, played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter.

This lengthy description only covers the first act of Les Misérables. The story is a lengthy and sprawling tale of brotherhood, revenge and love. And for those of you who do not know, it is a musical in the truest sense of the word. All of the dialogue is sung, and there is a constant swelling score in the background. Every emotion, decision and argument is sung,  which if I am honest I was worried about. But by the end of the first act I was so invested I didn’t really notice, apart from the amusing talks between Crowe and Jackman, which sounded weird…

Director Tom Hooper certainly seemed to have a vision for how he wanted to bring this stage show to the silver screen, opting for super close-ups, and interesting angles. For some die-hard fans it may not work, but for the uneducated (me for instance), it brings you right up on stage and amongst the action. The standout scene was that of Fantine (Hathaway) singing her big solo song “I dreamed a dream”. The sheer emotion and raw energy displayed is easily one of the most heart wrenching scenes I have seen since the finale of Blue Valentine, or the Mother and Son scene in 50/50. If Hathaway walks away without an Oscar for her role in Les Mis then she would have been totally robbed. The only problem with this scene is that it is very early in the film, and it leaves a very large shoes to fill for the rest of the film.

Another blessing and an element that adds to the raw emotion of the film is Hooper’s decision to record the cast singing LIVE (poor sound man) rather than lip syncing them in a studio after. OK, so it shows up some of the casts mediocre singing voices but it adds an element of realism to the feelings they are going through.

Les Misérables is a stunning film that while at times it lacks a little EPIC scale, it more than makes up for that in heartfelt emotions. Hathaway is every bit as good as you have heard and shows that she is most definitely an alien – I mean no one should be that pretty, be that good an actress and be able to sing pitch perfect – It is not human.

Film of the year (so far).

Searching for Sugar Man is a very unusual tale of an American musician who went by the name of Rodriguez and put out two records in the early 70s before disappearing after his career didn’t take off in the USA.  Whilst Rodriguez was deemed a commercial failure, his records were extremely popular in South Africa.  The film follows two South African fans: Stephen “Sugar” Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, as they try to find out if the rumours of Rodriguez’s death are true, and what exactly happened to him.

The pre-internet age was a simpler time, and had Rodriguez been popular now then it would just be a case of looking him up on Wikipedia, but what makes Searching for Sugar Man so interesting is that there are a lot of conflicting stories of what happened to Rodriguez.  I’m not about to spoil the film, and much like The Imposter (also out this year), to get the fullest effect from the film it is best to go in knowing as little as possible.

The cinematography is oddly flashy for a music documentary – there are lots of swooping aerial shots over Cape Town, a favourite of mine is a lengthy take up a glass lift, as it goes higher we see more of the city.  Even the interview footage is very proficient – there is a great shot where an angry American record producer becomes angry and the camera is right in his face as if he is shouting at the viewer.

As to be expected from a music documentary – the soundtrack is excellent and gives you a real feel for what Rodriguez’s music is like.  One of the most interesting aspects of the documentary is seeing how Rodriguez influenced South African music and how his work was perceived during the Apartheid.  I hadn’t heard Rodriguez until very recently, so there is no need to have any prior knowledge of him or his music to enjoy this film – in fact it is quite the opposite.

Upon its original run in cinemas, praise was bestowed on Searching for Sugar Man almost universally – and it is easy to see why.  It is a passionate, inventive documentary which deserves as wide an audience as possible.  The extras are a little bit lacking on the blu-ray (just one making of) but when the film is as remarkable as this one, this is a minor grievance.

As a film fanatic and tech geek, I tend to be an early adaptor. So when Blu-ray became available to the public back in 2006, I jumped on board right away. I bought my first Blu-ray player back in the summer of 2006, a piece of crap Samsung machine for $1,000! It only lasted for about 3 months before I traded in for a better player, Panasonic’s first BD player. That one lasted for almost a year before I decided to buy the PS3; I used the PS3 as my main movie watching machine for close to 4 years until last year when I bought a new Panasonic 3D Blu-ray player. I’m still haven’t upgrade to a 3D projector yet but it will happen soon.

As an early adaptor, I own many Blu-ray discs in the early days and now that the technology became somewhat popular, I’ve decided to come up with a list of really great BDs, I’m just talking about the technical side. Great sound and picture but the actual films were pretty bad.

I have a 7.1 home theater set up, an Onkyo THX certified receiver that pumps out 130 watts per channel; Definitive Tech speakers and a JBL subwoofer. For display I have a 100 inch screen that’s set up as 2.20:1 aspect ratio, a DVDO video processor for aspect ratio control and Epson 8700UB 1080p 2D projector.

Here are the disks that I thought were great when it comes to picture and sound but the actual films were pretty bad: 

Stealth

This was one of the early Blu-ray discs Sony put out and I thought it’s one of the best discs that I own when it comes to picture and sound. The picture was encoded in the ancient MPEG2 but you wouldn’t notice it because the picture is gorgeous. As for the sound, one word: WOW! The Uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround sound is one of the most bombastic surround sounds I’ve ever heard. Seriously if you have a new surround sound system and wants to show it off to your friends and neighbors, put this disc in and they’ll be wowed by it. You can just skip to the action scenes because let’s face it, who wants to see Josh Lucas and Jessica Biele act anyway right?

Spiderman 3

Yes this film’s crap but man-oh-man the disc just rocks. The picture quality if top-notch and of course the lossless surround sound gets a 5 stars rating from me. Sony offered two HD audio options; you can choose to listen to either the Uncompressed PCM 5.1 or Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Whichever one you chose you won’t be disappointed. Personally I prefer the TrueHD 5.1 because it’s in 24bit while the PCM is 16bit, the bass just sounds much deeper in TrueHD. If you want to test your new system, pop in this disc and you’ll be blown away by it. My favorite scene to show off is the first big action scene where Harry attacked Peter, if you have a 7.1 set up, let your receiver or player matrix it to the extra two speakers in the back and you’re going to love it!

Troy: Director’s Cut

 When I saw this film in theater, I almost walked out of it, don’t remember why I stayed through the whole film though. But wow was it bad, from acting to directing to writing and music. James Horner’s theme for this film was probably the worst I’ve ever heard for a big tent pole picture. Of course it wasn’t really his fault since he had to finish the music in the 11^th hour because Warner Bros. fired the original composer.

A couple of years later the film’s director Wolfgang Petersen convinced Warner Bros. to let him release his cut, which includes additional scenes and more graphic violence. Even though the film was a box office disappointment here in the States, it did make quite a bit of cash overseas. I liked this cut better but it’s still a bad film.

The Blu-ray disc on the other hand is top-notch. If you have a big screen TV or front projector, you want to show it off with this disc. The Uncompressed PCM 5.1 is stellar, from the arrows swooshing all around you, to hearing Brad Pitt slicing people in half; you can hear all of those great sound effects in this disc.

X-Men: Last Stand

Ahh yes this Brett Ratner’s masterpiece was pretty excruciating to sit through. From the plot that didn’t make a lick of sense to the bad editing and directing, you’ll find them all in this film. Now if you want to talk about the BD, then it’s another story. This was the first BD to come with a 6.1 DTS-MA surround sound and wow it was awesome. The scene I love to watch just for the audio is the beginning where the X-Men were in the Danger Room and being attacked by the Sentinel robot. The deep bass is so loud my entire room shook, so make sure you calibrate your speakers correctly or you might blow one or two of them out with this disc.

Total Recall (2012)

Sony’s expensive remake of Arnold’s classic sci-fi action thriller is probably one of the most unimaginative remakes ever made. I mean if you’re going to do a remake of an already good film why not hire some talented people to do it? Instead they hired two of the biggest hacks in Hollywood, writer Kurt Wimmer and director Len Wiseman. I imagine the meeting between Wimmer and Wiseman went like this:

Wiseman: I’m going to copy every popular sci-fi films that came out in the past and just make my movie a little prettier

Wimmer: Great! I’m not going to change much from the original film but give winks to fans of the original. We’ll even include a scene with the three breasts lady and they’re going to love it!

Thankfully no one loved the film and tanked big time. That scene with the three breasts lady just didn’t make any sense whatsoever; in the original version it was weird and funny but it made sense.

Even though I hated this film, I did enjoy some of the cool action sequences. So I knew it would look and sound great on BD. In fact I thought the Dolby TrueHD on this disc is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time. Too bad the actual film was so lousy.

Well if you’re just getting into Blu-ray or have a new surround sound, you can use one of these discs to test out your system. You can actually find the first four discs online for a very cheap price.