StuffWeLike Related – Page 25

The Light Between Oceans – Blu-ray Review

My late grandmother loved lighthouses. She had lighthouse calendars, lighthouse pillows, lighthouse coffee mugs, and even lighthouse miniatures. When she passed away, I was given several of her lighthouse miniatures. I have them out as a reminder of her and also of her love of lighthouses. After watching The Light Between Oceans, I know that she would have enjoyed the film as much as I did.

The Light Between Oceans is a historical drama about love, lies, and the lengths some will go to create their own reality. It’s a story fraught with passion and tragedy. And at its heart is a lighthouse and the island on which it resides.

Michael Fassbender plays Tom, a stoic, well-mannered World War I vet who seeks refuge as the caretaker of a lighthouse on off the coast of Australia. It’s an isolated, lonely existence for Tom, but all that changes when a chance meeting with a young woman, Isabel (Alicia Vikander), end in a quick courtship and marriage. As the two enjoy their time together on the secluded island, Isabel comes to realization that she is unable to carry a child to term and provide Tom with the family they both want. When all seems bleak and hope ripped from their lives, a lifeboat appears. Inside: a dead man with a living, breathing baby.

Suddenly, it appears that their prayers have been answered. Or have they? On a return trip to the mainland, Tom happens across a woman (Rachel Weisz) in mourning for her lost husband and child. Is their found daughter really hers?

Brilliantly acted, The Light Between Oceans features stunning cinematography, a beautiful score, and carries an emotional weight few films these days possess. Fassbender (the X-Men films, Prometheus) and Vikander (Ex Machina, The Danish Girl) are amazing, and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Deep Blue Sea) also delivers a stellar performance.

The Blu-ray special features include Bringing The Light To Life, which looks at the making of the film; Lighthouse Keeper explores how a film’s setting can be just as important a character as the human cast; and an Audio Commentary with the filmmakers.

I highly recommend The Light Between Oceans. It’s a tear-jerker for sure, but a wonderful film nevertheless.

The Light Between Oceans is available January 24 on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download.

Come and Find Me – Blu-ray Review

David and Claire are a young couple with a promising future. All seems right with the world until one morning David wakes up and discovers that Claire is gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Where is she? What happened to her? It’s up to her devoted boyfriend to find the answers to those questions – and a whole lot more – in the mystery-thriller, Come and Find Me.

Come and Find Me is a labyrinth filled with mysterious characters, crazy twists and turns, and plenty of surprises that will have you guessing until the very last frame. Intermixed within the mystery are flashbacks that give us insight into David and Claire’s relationship from inception to the present. Do the flashbacks hold clues that can help David discover where Claire has gone?

Featuring the amazing talents of Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, The Path, Central Intelligence), Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle, Peaky Blinders), and Garret Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men, Deadwood), Come and Find Me is an exciting and engaging thriller from first-time director Zach Whedon. It’s a solid debut film from Whedon whose writing credits include Halt and Catch Fire, Southland, and Deadwood, along with this film.

The Blu-ray includes the Unraveling the Mysteries of Come and Find Me featurette that gives you and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.

I highly recommend Come and Find Me. It’s solid, suspenseful, and sharp.

Come and Find Me is available January 17, 2017 on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Download.

What’s your favorite mystery-thriller? Leave a comment and let us know!

Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love – Movie Review

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

Without question, Dolly Parton is one of the most prolific and iconic country-music and pop culture icons of our time. Her massive body of work spans decades, ranging from film, TV, and, of course, music. Parton’s life story is as interesting and engaging as the songs she writes and performs and one such story from her childhood is told in Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.

A follow-up to the film Coat of Many Colors, Circle of Love joins Dolly (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and her family during another Christmas season filled with laughter, heartache, and miracles. All young Dolly wants is a white Christmas…and shiny red shoes…and sing on the road with her Uncle…and to play the Virgin Mary in the school Christmas pageant. It’s a big list for a girl who dreams big, but sometimes her dreams – and her mouth – cause more chaos than expected.

Circle of Love is a wonderful, enchanting, and touching Christmas film that is definitely for the whole family. Dolly Parton appears and the beginning and end of the film from Dollywood and even makes a special guest appearance in the film. Along with the talented child cast, Rick Schroder (24, NYPD Blue), Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland, CMA Country Christmas), Gerald McRaney (Major Dad, Mike & Molly), and Cameron Jones (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) do a fantastic job delivering humor and heart that is quality viewing for the whole family. I will definitely add Coat of Many Colors to my Christmas movie viewing list!

Directed by Stephen Herek, whose impressive directing credits include Coat of Many Colors, 101 Dalmatians, Mr. Holland’s Opus, and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the film is a compelling narrative that brings sorrow and joy in just the right doses. Did I cry while watching this film? Yes. Yes, I did. And you will, too, so don’t even deny it!

And, of course, the film offers up plenty of great Dolly Parton music throughout! It’s fantastic!

I highly, highly recommend Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love! It’s quality viewing for the whole family!

Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love is available NOW on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Download.

Decommissioned – DVD Review

There’s plenty of action, explosions, and firepower to be found in the latest revenge flick from Lionsgate, Decommissioned. This is the fifth revenge-based movie I have reviewed for the studio this year, and all of them have been action-packed perfection. Decommissioned delivers over and over again with an entertaining story and patriotic message.

All is well for John Niles (Johnny Messner), a retired CIA agent as he lives out his life with his wife and son. When he finds himself kidnapped and his family held captive, he discovers that he may not be out of the CIA for good after all. Will he be able to figure out what the CIA and his kidnappers are up to, save his family, and safe the United States from falling into chaos?

Also starring Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand; Arrow), James Remar (State of Affairs; The Legend of Korra), and Estella Warren (Planet of the Apes; No Way Out), the film is directed by relative newcomer Timothy Woodward, Jr. who has also directed films starring Danny Trejo, Danny Glover, and Kris Kristofferson.

Decommissioned is a solid revenge flick that is a must for fans of the genre. I recommend it!

Decommissioned is available now on DVD!

What’s your favorite revenge movie? Leave a comment and let us know!

Ants on a Shrimp: Noma Tokyo, The Creation of Fourteen Dishes – DVD Review

Ants on a Shrimp? What the heck does that mean? That and many other culinary questions will be answered in the documentary film, Ants on a Shrimp: Noma Tokyo, The Creation of Fourteen Dishes. Chef Rene Redzepi and his team from the world-renowned Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, travel to Tokyo, Japan on a mission. That mission? To fuse Noma’s menu with the delicacies and tastes of Japan in fourteen unique dishes over the course of a five week timeframe.

What results is a challenge that energizes, a culinary quest to bring two cultures together through the power of food. It’s very interesting to watch as Redzepi and his team search marketplaces for new flavors to infuse into dishes that would not normally be available in his native Copenhagen, Denmark.

Will Redzepi and his team overcome the obstacles put in their way? Will they be able to create fourteen unique and tasty dishes that the locals will enjoy? Is there really a dish called “Ants on a Shrimp” and if so what does it taste like? These questions and more are reveled in this food-centric documentary.

Ants on a Shrimp: Noma Tokyo, The Creation of Fourteen Dishes is available now on DVD.

What’s your favorite film about food? Leave a comment and let us know!

The Childhood of a Leader – DVD Review

childhood

Too often we forget that all leaders – whether it’s Obama, Bush, Clinton, Castro, or Hitler – have one thing in common: they all were children. Each had their own experiences, heartaches, triumphs, and setbacks that made them the leaders they would eventually become. For good or ill, whether they were loved or hated, the leaders mentioned above, and thousands more like them, were influenced by events that transpired in their childhoods.

Enter The Childhood of a Leader, a gripping drama about a young sociopathic boy named Prescott whose primary mission in life appears to make the lives of the adults around him a living hell. With his tantrums and crazy behavior, Prescott’s world revolves around leaving chaos and destruction in his wake for all who encounter him. Taking the brunt of his abuse is his devoted and pious Mother who does everything within her power to control her son; with little effect.

Set against the backdrop of post-WWI Europe, The Childhood of a Leader is an allegory that shows the rise of Fascism that would eventually entangle the rest of the world in the second World War. Is Prescott destined for greatness, or destined for great destruction?

With its superb visuals and excellent score, The Childhood of a Leader is intriguing and engaging entertainment for fans of historical drama. Featuring Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), Robert Pattinson (the Twilight saga), and Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac: Part I and Part II), this brilliant piece by first-time director Brady Corbet is powerful filmmaking at its finest.

I recommend The Childhood of a Leader!

The Childhood of a Leader is available now on DVD.

What’s your favorite period drama? Leave a comment and let us know!