Tag Archives: True Grit
PHIL vs BILL The only similarity between this and ‘70s conspiracy classic 3 Days of the Condor lies in the title. Kevin Costner may play an old-school CIA agent but everything else is as extreme and absurd as you’d expect from the combined forces of director McG (Charlie’s Angels) and writer Luc Besson (The Transporter, Taxi). Costner’s ex-spook is dying of brain cancer when he’s offered an experimental drug in exchange for terminating the world’s most wanted terrorist – while still finding time to reunite with his estranged family. This extended cut is a corny, clunky shambles leavened only by its sturdy lead and two terrific action sequences. -- Phil Wakefield.

Bill O’Byrne’s Bargain Bin Blues: 3 Days to Kill

3 Days to Kill (Extended Cut) | Value for money: $$  Directed by McG. Written by Luc Bresson.  Starring Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld. You just know an action movie isn’t doing what should be when halfway through it you pick up the back of the movie case to see the movie is 122 minutes long […]

Read more
Tonight in HD: April 1

Tonight in HD: April 1

Sky Movies Premiere: True Grit (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1)  True Grit is true bliss in HD. The transfer does breathtaking justice to the autumnal, painterly compositions that grace the Coen Brothers’ darker, more sophisticated – but not necessarily superior – spin on the 1969 western that won John Wayne his first Oscar. Leaner and meaner, but […]

Read more
My Sky + ... Movies in April

My Sky + … Movies in April

Yahoo! A couple of rootin’-toootin’ westerns will saddle up in HD for the first time on NZ TV next month when Sky Movies premieres the re-make of True Grit and the Oscar-winning ‘toon Rango. The Coen Brothers take on the John Wayne classic will kick off the month, on April 1, with the animated frontier […]

Read more
New to Blu: June 8-14 (Movies)

New to Blu: June 8-14 (Movies)

Three westerns — a re-make and two re-issues — contribute to a bonanza week for Blu-ray releases. The Coen Brothers’ take on True Grit scored universal “Yahoos!” for its HD audio and video specs. Blu-ray.com hailed the transfer “as faultless as the movie. Clarity is striking in every single frame, allowing detail to shine and […]

Read more
New to Blu: April 27-May 3

New to Blu: April 27-May 3

The 45th anniversary edition of The Sound of Music at last lands here on Blu-ray – just in time for its 46th anniversary. It’s one of a slew of back-catalogue classics coming out this week but has taken nearly six months longer to go on sale here than in the US or UK. Moreover, only […]

Read more
Due on Blu: True Grit (1969)

Due on Blu: True Grit (1969)

Yahoo! Jeff Bridges may have missed out on an Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn but you’ll be able to see why John Wayne won his when Paramount Pictures releases the original True Grit on Blu-ray next month. A date has yet to be confirmed for the Coen Brothers version, either in NZ or the US. […]

Read more
 Hi-tech Facelift for Oscars

Hi-tech Facelift for Oscars

This year’s Oscars will offer a hi-tech blast from the past. Sky Movies will broadcast the 83rd annual Academy Awards ceremony live in HD from 2.30pm on February 28. Producers Don Mischer and Bruce Cohen have told The Hollywood Reporter the show will use digital projections instead of a traditional set to reflect Tinseltown’s history. […]

Read more