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I freely admit I'm a movie freak. I regularly admit that I'll sit through any film once in the hopes of finding some morsel of merit in each piece of celluloid I subject myself to. Even though I had read absolutely terrible reviews about Mike Myers' The Love Guru, I went into it with an open mind. Admittedly, I decided after seeing the trailer several months ago, that I wasn't going to spend money to see this movie in theatrical release but I was more than willing to give it a shot on blu-ray. All my friends said it was a stinker and most of the reviews I read seemed to concur. Still, as a longtime fan of Mike Myers, I remained hopeful.

Generally, I'm not a big horror fan. However, I have always appreciated the work of David Carradine. Recently, I reviewed both Kill Bill films in which Carradine does a masterful job in the role of Bill. I had heard several months ago that Lionsgate was releasing a special edition DVD of a 1990 film, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat but I couldn't recall ever seeing it. However, since the film starred David Carradine and Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness), I knew I had to give it a look. What a strange, fun move it was!

David Harrison (Jim Metzler) and engineer, is told to go Purgatory, Utah, where an artificial blood manufacturing plant he designed has been constructed. The town's economy is dependent on the plant working, so David's arrival is considered vital. Harrison brings along his wife Sarah (Morgan Brittany) and his two young daughters. As soon as the Harrison's arrive in town, it's pretty clear something strange is going on. All the townspeople wear a lot of sun block and they look at the Harrison's very strangely. After a few choice events, it becomes clear that these people are all vampires.

Along with An American in Paris, Warner Brothers has recently released Gigi, in a two disc special edition. Released in 1958, the film reunited director Vincent Minnelli with producer Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner and actress Leslie Caron. After the success of An American in Paris, Freed and Minnelli were more than happy to put a new twist on what had proven to be a very successful formula. Once again set in Paris, the screenplay was written by Alan Jay Lerner, who also wrote the music (lyrics) along with his partner Frederick Loewe (music). The film is based on the bestselling novella of the same name by French author Colette, which was first adapted for the screen with Danièle Delorme in 1949.

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the 1951 film An American in Paris was inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant, the script was written by Alan Jay Lerner, who together with Frederick Lowe, created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre. Of course, the music in An American in Paris is by George Gershwin, with lyrics by his brother Ira, with additional music by Saul Chaplin, the music director.

I first saw An American in Paris when I was about seven years old and can remember being completely transfixed. I was simply amazed that Gene Kelly could sing and dance so well. It was after seeing An American in Paris that I was introduced to the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell and the great musicals like My Fair Lady, Meet Me in St Louis, Gigi and countless others; so An American in Paris holds a bit of a special place in my heart and the soundtrack has a permanent place in my CD collection.

It's hard to believe Chucky is twenty years old already! MGM is celebrating the sadistic dolls birthday with Child's Play - Chucky's 20th Birthday Edition, an extras filled DVD release that comes with a nice looking anamorphic widescreen transfer of the 1988 cult horror hit. Fans who recently purchased the box set of the sequels, will undoubtedly find this inexpensive upgrade the perfect companion to that set.

Young Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) wants nothing more for his sixth birthday then for his mom Karen (Catherine Hicks) to buy him a large-sized, talking "Good Guy" doll. But widowed working mom Karen didn't have enough advanced notice of Andy's birthday wish to save the 100 dolllars needed for a new store-bought doll. Tipped off by her friend Maggie (Dinah Manoff) to a homeless guy whose selling a used "Good Guy" doll out behind the department store where she works, Karen is able to buy her son the toy he covets. Unbeknownst to her, Karen sets in motion a blizzard of demonic horror and violence.

Bringing a popular television series to the big screen has always been a hit or miss proposition. For every successful Addams Family or Star Trek film, there's an equally dreadful adaption of Get Smart or Flipper. Filmmakers are faced with the inevitable question of whether a successful television series will translate well to the big screen. The makers of The Addams Family films created a successful film franchise by using the basic premise of the television series but interjecting some modern twists to give the films a unique feel. The Star Trek films had the benefit of the original cast and a rabid fan base.

Out of the crop of current directors, David Gordon Green is one of the few who makes a point of focusing on the realities of American life. In a time where most directors are trying to outdo themselves with more special effects and impressive CGI animation with each successive film, in movies like George Washington and All the Real Girls, Green continued to explore the concerns of average people, examining how they get through their everyday problems and the mistakes they make and the struggles they endure.

In the 1950's, the relatively new medium of television was all the rage in American homes. Families no longer felt the same desire to trudge to their local cinema, when this new "tube" could beam entertainment to them in the comfort of their own homes. Feeling the pinch, Hollywood movie makers new they had to come up with something new and exciting enough to get Americans away from their television sets and back into the movie houses where they belonged. Hollywood's answer was to make movies even bigger, in the form of Cinerama. Cinerama was so big, it often required three separate projectors and three wraparound screens to fit it all in. That makes it easier to understand the need for the ultra-wide 2.89:1 aspect ratio on this DVD set.

I should preface this review by saying that my initial interest in Transformers grew from the films role in the HD vs. Blu-ray format war. When Paramount released the high-definition version of Transformers exclusively on HD DVD back in 2007, it looked as though HD might be gaining the upper hand. The move also angered Blu-ray enthusiasts that the HD DVD became one of the biggest selling high-definition movies of all time, and it's been a long ten months or so waiting for Paramount finally to issue it in Blu-ray format. Well, the wait is over and the film looks better than ever with a higher video bit rate and a new Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

Al Pacino is one of the greatest film actors of the last thirty-five years. His performances as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Frank Serpico in Serpico and Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon are just a few of Pacino's most memorable roles in a celebrated career. With a resume like that, one would think Al Pacino would want to try to avoid any real stinkers. Granted, in the last fifteen years or so, Pacino has done some films that can't begin to match The Godfather and many of his other films, but 88 Minutes can only be described as a dud. After watching this film, I simply can't fathom why Pacino and director Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes) would agree to take on this project.