Director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) turned in one of the year’s most stunning visual epics with his adaptation of Life of Pi and was rewarded with an Oscar for his work.  Now you can enjoy the beautiful spectacle and powerful message of the story in the comfort of your own home with the movie’s release on Blu-ray.  Life of Pi is one of those rare films where the 3D component actually complements the viewing experience in a noticeable way, which is why it’s drawn comparisons to James Cameron’s Avatar.  This description works just fine on a superficial level, but Life of Pi has so much more to offer; new discoveries both on screen and embedded within the story make repeat watching a rather rewarding experience.  Hit the jump for my review of Life of Pi on Blu-ray.

Another Oscar season is upon us, and Warner Bros. is marking the occasion with the release of three of its Best Picture winners on Blu-ray. Or, to be more precise, one of its Best Picture winners and two MGM winners to which they currently own the rights. Driving Miss Daisy, Mrs. Miniver and Grand Hotel all claimed the top prize their respective years. Together, they make a mighty case for the Academy’s utter irrelevance to cinematic history. Hit the jump for my full review.

Shout Factory has become the Criterion Collection for horror and B movies, or – if nothing else – the company that Anchor Bay tried to be on DVD. Recently they’ve released some John Carpenter films that he either produced or directed. They are the magnificent They Live, with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Meg Foster and Keith David, and the first two Halloween sequels, Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Our reviews of all these Blu-rays follow after the jump.

Things certainly quieted down this week in Charming (if by quiet one means car chases, fights with police and visits to porn sets, and I do).  SAMCRO is still struggling with some of the remnants of last season with Tig’s inadvertent murder of Veronica Pope and the wrath of the Niners, as well as the club’s involvement with the Galindo cartel, the Irish and the CIA.  Then of course there are the new threats of the break-ins and the RICO case that Otto brought upon them (plus whatever Clay has up his sleeve, and you know it’s something).  SAMCRO really can’t catch a break, but just as too many chefs spoil a broth, too many open-ended threats to the club make the show more about running from place to place then about the relationships among the characters we’ve become so invested in.  For more on that and why nothing says true love like capital murder, hit the jump. If you missed our review of season five of Sons of Anarchy, get caught up here. 

Stylistically recalling the likes of David Lynch and dependent on at least passing knowledge of 70s Italian horror films like Suspiria or The Beyond, it’s safe to say that Berberian Sound Studio isn’t a movie for everyone. Thankfully, that’s also exactly what makes it special. This is certainly one of the strangest damn movies that will screen at TIFF this year and also one of the most fascinating. A surreal horror thriller just as insane as its main character and an act of sensory deprivation that will ensure you’ll never be able to look at watermelons the same way again. This headtrip is not an easy film to shake off or forget, which is a good thing since it will probably take a few viewings to sort the whole thing out.  Hit the jump for the rest of my review.

This time last year TIFF held the world premiere of Paradise Lost 3, the latest chapter of the ongoing documentary series about the West Memphis Three, a group of teenagers (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley) who in 1993 were wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to either life in prison or death sentences. That was an odd film to watch at the time as the three men were finally set free mere weeks before the film festival following bizarre guilty pleas (while maintaining innocence), but the movie was completed too late to mention it.

It’s not a huge surprise that another documentary about the case would find its way to TIFF this year given the unexpectedly abrupt ending to the last Paradise Lost film. What is a bit odd is that this movie doesn’t come from Paradise Lost directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, but an entirely new team in producer Peter Jackson (nuff said) and director Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil). Viewed entirely on its own merits, West of Memphis is an intriguing overview of the case. It’s just not quite as resonant as the Paradise Lost series and it’s a real shame that those filmmakers weren’t allowed to properly conclude their series.  Hit the jump for my review.

Wednesday and Thursday had the Los Angeles Film Festival be the host to a number of events including a conversation with Sylvester Stallone, and a poolside chat about twitter featuring Richard Kelly and Eli Roth. It was also the host for the premiere of the latest Twilight film which ended up making the festival an extremely busy and jam packed place to be.

After the jump you can read my thoughts on the documentaries Life With Murder and Make Believe, the latest film from French filmmaker Claire Denis White Material, and the documentary Seperado! about Super Furry Animal’s lead singer, Gruff Rhys, trying to find out more about his ancestors.  My write up after the jump:

The Los Angeles Film Festival continues in downtown L.A. through out the week and so do the various screenings, interviews, and retrospectives taking place there.  After the jump you can read my thoughts on Of Love and Other Demons, the excellent Cold Weather, Venice Film Festival winner Lebanon, and the latest documentary from Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) Waiting For Superman. My write up after the jump:

What do you get when you put various sets of professional killers against Federal Agents?  For starters, you get Smokin’ Aces and its prequel Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball.  In at least one, they blow up a clown.  That has to count for something, right?  My full reviews after the jump: