There is hope for quality in the world of custom artwork.

Starting soon Blu-ray Daily will be compiling your custom Blu-ray artwork into the most comprehensive archive on the Internet, our Custom Artwork section. In addition to indexing submissions, this new section will offer the tools you need to get started; including creation tutorials and templates, information on the best printers and paper stock to use, and community-based award systems that will offer exposure for your creations on our front page.

Above is an example of a custom cover created for Knowing by user Darkman20.

Ever buy a franchise set only to find that the titles on the spines don’t line up?

Custom artwork is the answer.

Ever fall in love with a theatrical poster only to have the Blu-ray completely ignore said brilliance in favor of crap?

Custom artwork is the answer.

We’re excited to offer our bandwidth as a creative haven for Blu-ray owners to customize the titles on their shelves. Look for more on this soon.

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Nick Cage sets the world on fire with his intense gaze.

Director Alex Proyas might be best known for the Will Smith vehicle I, Robot, but it’s his fan-favorite Dark City that earns massive respect in my book. While Knowing is designed to appeal to wider audiences than Dark City, it takes several risks that make it stand out from similar pictures. And it looks really, really fantastic on Blu-ray.

Like a good episode of the Twilight Zone, the sci-fi “what if” premise of is Knowing is instantly intriguing. A time capsule is buried in 1959 containing drawing by elementary school students. Fifty years later the time capsule is exhumed and a very special document is found inside, a series of numbers written out by a student named Lucinda (young actress Lara Robinson). The numbers just happen to contain exact information about every major world disaster since 1959. The most intriguing part of all, several dates remain. Nicolas Cage does well as John, a professor whose son attends the elemntray school at the center of the story, and discovers Lucinda’s code. John becomes obsessed with the Lucinda’s document very quickly when he notices numbers surrounding the September 11th tragedy, and things escalate quickly from there.

Those concerned with spoilers should skip to the next paragraph. One of the things that really made Knowing work for me is that it succeeds in delivering on its larger concepts. Knowing doesn’t just talk about the end of the world, Knowing shows you the end of the world and lets you experience it with characters you care about. In the second act a whole new mystery builds that, I thought, could not be paid off in an interesting way. I’m pleased to have been wrong. The story pays off in a very big way that will be off-putting for anyone not willing to suspend their disbelief and just let themselves have a good time. I will touch on this in the ‘Light’ portion of this review as well, but the last several minutes of the film produce some of the most beautiful imagery I’ve ever seen on Blu-ray, or in a science fiction film.

The performances can seem a little forced at times, especially any scene involving John’s son being a little smart ass. Also troubling is how convenient many of the plot devices are. There was at least one scene that took me out of the movie for its duration while I pondered how ridiculous it was. Knowing is a very strong and confident sci-fi tale that could have been even stronger if the writers had worked a little harder to make the characters a tad more likable and believable. Regardless, you will find Knowing very watchable compared to similar Hollywood sci-fi attempts.

If we had a poll, it would ask "do you like slip covers?"

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A symbol of my youth.

I haven’t watched Ghostbusters in about six years, and I can’t tell you how relieved I was when I forced my fiancé to watch it for the first time — and it didn’t suck. Passage of time be damned, Ghostbusters still has impeccable comedic writing, mostly solid visual effects, classic performances, an intriguging plot, and a feel good ending that makes you hungry for more. Perhaps the only element that took me out of the story was the very dated 80s pop music soundtrack, but even those cheesy tunes have a special Ghostbusters charm. Storytelling is really the greatest strength of Ghostbusters. Three unconventional scientists obsessed with the paranormal take the plunge and go into business as paranormal investigators, eventually strapping nuclear accelerators onto their backs and fighting ghosts all over New York City. Add to this an iconic cast brimming over with comedic buddy chemistry, and you have the recipe for a perfect storm ghost-busting blockbuster.

The dialogue from Ghostbusters has become classic as well. Lines like:

“If someone asks if you’re a God, you say yes!”

“Let’s show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown.”

“Are you the Keymaster?”

“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!”

“That’s a big Twinkie.”

And many, many more examples come to mind. Ghostbusters is a “love it” movie. No mentally stable person of sound judgment could hate this flick, and if they do, I have a proton pack I’m going to shoot at their face.

This slip cover is shiny!

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A man and his car. And a shotgun.

Gran Torino seems to have been written with Clint Eastwood in mind. An old man with a history as a badass, bitter about society decaying around him while offering up wisdom and lessons in ass-kicking to a boy at a fork in the road. Strangely enough, the film’s setup parallels Pixar’s UP. A man loses his wife and must adjust to life without his spouse, haunted by his past he finds a new beginning through a young man. Clint Eastwood plays a man named Kowalski, a veteran of the Korean War who is less than politically correct. Since his wife’s passing Kowalski is joyless, a man whose greatest pleasure is the company of his dog and bitter banter with his barber.

When Kowalski’s neighbor boy Thao tries to steal his car as a gang initiation (the Gran Torino from the title), it begins a very turbulent and ultimately valuable friendship for both of them. Kowalski has a lot to learn about culture and acceptance, while Thao has a lot to learn about being a man. Early on some of the performances seem stiff, but those performances come to life as the second act reveals a plot rich with obstacles and relationships. Clint Eastwood grumbles through the movie at a low volume that becomes a little annoying and overall he isn’t very convincing with Kowalski’s gunplay, indications that Eastwood’s age is really getting in the way. Age concerns aside, Kowalski is a character you will root for, and Gran Torino is a story worth being told; a story about tolerance and common sense, political correctness and racism.

Slip covers. I can't decide how I feel.

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Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio created enough chemistry in Titanic to break just about every international box office record. Girls all around the globe organized sob parties in which they would listen to the film’s soundtrack and cry over the death of Jack and the end of a storybook romance as the legendary ship sank into icy waters. James Cameron created the perfect cinematic vehicle for two young actors to make a real name for themselves. Now, roughly fifteen years later Kate and Leo reunite and have another go at love. But this is no storybook love. Fans of Titanic looking for a sequel need not apply.

Set in 1950s American suburbia, Revolutionary Road tells the story of Frank and April Wheeler who buy a home on said road and set out to live the American dream. The Wheeler’s have a few children who are practically extras in the film, then realize that time is passing them by and they should live out their dreams now while they still can. Without spoiling the plot, I will tell you that despite bright and cheerful set pieces, the film lingers in darkness for most of its run time. More of a cautionary tale about marriage than a love story, the film delivers on strong performances by all parties involved. Haunting at times, the story is thought provoking and offers an important alternative to the hundreds of Hollywood fairytale love stories that teach us love always wins out in the end. It is for this reason that the flick is a difficult watch, especially if you find yourself about to embark on the journey of marriage *cough* *cough*.

It’s difficult to fault the film’s story for being depressing or dark, and it certainly isn’t uneventful. It’s the emotional detachment common with all its characters that makes the story hard to enjoy. Nobody is particularly likable. It is this fact that makes Revolutionary Road simultaneously intriguing and real downer. Fans of drama and performance will enjoy the film on those merits alone, fans of cinematography will find ample beauty, but fans of hopeful stories should stay far, far away. The performances are worth a viewing, but the storytelling is ultimately weakened by a complete lack of joy.

The shot on the back makes this love story look swell!

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Epics that demand Blu-ray resolution.

Few movies absolutely require high definition playback, but all three Lord of the Rings movies fall into that category. With endlessly vast locations and hugely epic battle scenes, watching these films on DVD is a tragic waste of time and should be avoided at all costs. If I were a high ranking secret government official I would order all DVD and VHS copies of Lord of the Rings be gathered up, shredded, then placed in a container attached to a nuclear war head and launched at North Korea. I would then tax every citizen, even those starving inhabitants of third world countries, in order to fund mandatory ownership of the extended edition of the trilogy on Blu-ray.  

A pretty face, even prettier on Blu.

While the theatrical cuts will soon be available, no collection is complete without Peter Jackson’s much longer, and arguably superior edits. It would also be a nice treat if some of the fantastic bonus material from the DVD set made its way onto Blu-ray in full 1080p. And finally, I would like the entire set to come in thick, pre-weathered leather casing. I want the set to feel heavy when I pick it up, its weight reflecting the grand scope of the Hobbit’s journey. And would some Hobbit scent soaked into the leather be too much to ask for? I think not. 

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I can already feel my brain exploding inside my skull.

In 2008 Panasonic sent a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for a 3D BD standard. Not being too quick to hand over a ruling, the BDA has put together a task force to examine the best possible format solutions. In the meantime, brilliant 3D projects like Coraline and UP will continue to be released in really terrible and ancient anaglyph 3D on Blu-ray.

1. Avatar Smashes UK Blu-ray Sales Record Avatar, it seems, has hit UK Blu-ray sales with quite a resounding thu
2. Cameron confirms Blu-ray 3D plans for Avatar $230 million blockbuster will utilize recently announced 3D technology

The new Magnavox NB530MGX is going dirt cheap.

Wal-Mart, the friendly little retail chain responsible for destroying small businesses all over the world (but mostly in the U.S.) has launched a killer deal on a Blu-ray player in their U.S. stores just in time for Father’s Day (the plot thickens). The Magnavox NB530MGX is selling for $128, just a little more than high-end DVD players, and even features a 24 frames per second playback mode for a more theatrical experience. We did a little investigation and found Wal-Mart’s U.S. locations to be stocked to the ceiling with the new budget players. 

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Finally, I agree with the Academy.

STORYTELLING: ★★★★★ 

Mumbai, 2006. Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?

A: He cheated
B: He’s lucky
C: He’s a genius
D: It is written

Rags to riches stories are meant to be motivational, uplifting, and reassuring. Slumdog Millionaire is all of those things, but with rich, dark texture and a sleek, oddly hip attitude, and a sweet romance at its core. “What the hell can a slumdog possible know?” (00:06:11) “I knew… the answers.” And with that we begin a fascinating exploration of Jamal’s life as a slumdog starting with him as a boy. A lot of what Jamal experiences is heartbreaking, one or two scenes almost unwatchable due to their extreme sadist nature. But there’s always a feeling of hope in the film, and it’s this balance that keeps things tense yet enjoyable. Jamal’s undying love for Latika is the final ingredient in a wonderful film worthy of Oscar gold.

Double the pleasure... or just lower res?

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Who would suspect that face?

STORYTELLING: ★★★★★ 

Dexter is a blood spatter expert for Miami PD. He’s good at his job and passionate about his work. Joking with his co-workers, dating a single mother of two, Dexter seems like a pretty normal guy. Even if Dexter really were a pretty normal guy, actor Michael C. Hall would no doubt portray that normal guy brilliantly. Thankfully that’s not the case. Thankfully, Dexter is a skilled serial killer. Living by his adopted father Harry’s ‘code’, Dexter must first prove that a person is a good-for-nothing killer before he can take them out. But it’s the next part of Harry’s code that is the focus of Season Two, and that is “don’t get caught.” Beware some early plot spoilers in the next paragraph (SPOILER! ALERT!)

Extremely cautious and thorough, Dexter is shocked when the bodies of his dismembered and anchored victims are found by scuba divers in the bottom of Bay Harbor. As the bodies continue to pile up the FBI is called in to work with Miami PD in order to make sense of the underwater graveyard. The unknown killer is dubbed ‘The Bay Harbor Butcher’ by the media, and Dexter finds himself in the awkward position of working an investigation into his own crimes. Dexter is also surprised when many people voice their support of The Bay Harbor Butcher, some even trying to emulate him. It’s this brilliant premise along with solid character development and stellar writing that elevates Dexter: The Second Season above its previous season and into the realm of truly great television.

It's a bloody good time.

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