War of the Worlds (Widescreen Edition)

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

What if this acually happend?, 2010-07-12
War of the worlds is the film adaptation of H. G. Wells's story on the radio depicting aliens taking over the earth. br /The movie does a very good job of protraying what acually would happen using technology and stunning special effects to capture the imagination of the people watching the film. br / The narration is done by Morgan Freeman, who does a great job. The movie starts out with the mom dropping the 2 kids (Robbie and Rachel) at her exhusbands house because she is going to Boston to visit her parents! Communications are not going so until a freak lightning storm hits and all Hell breaks lose! Leaving the dad to protect the kids throught all the chaos. br / Overall it is verg good film that really captures your imadgination and makes you apreaciate nature for all it's worth.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

The oldest story around, 2010-07-12
br /The story of "War of the Worlds" started back before television was even invented. It was told over the radio. Thought many years, "War of the Worlds" has been told through books and movies. br /Steven Spielberg, a great director decided to re-tell the story in the film format. br / br /"War of the Worlds" starts out with the voice narration of Morgan Freeman saying how mankind was too busy with their own concerns that they hadn't noticed they were being watched by aliens with superior intellects and sinister intentions. In hearing this, I had even higher expectations for the film, because Morgan Freeman is in a lot of great films. br /Furthermore, the story of "War of the Worlds" centers on Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise). He is a divorced dock worker in New Jersey. His ex-wife Mary Ann asks him to watch there kids while she is in Boston visiting her parents with her new boyfriend. br /While Ray and his kids are hanging out in the morning, a bad storm rolls over, with lightning that activates the extraterrestrials buried down in the earth. This is when all @#!*% breaks loose, and Ray has the job of protecting his daughter and son. br / br /Overall, "War of the Worlds" was done well by Steven Spielberg. If you are a fan of action films or sci-fi films, you should enjoy this film. br /

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Not a 5 star but worth the watch and entertainment., 2010-07-08
The curiosity of other living creatures out there is an always tempting concept for a Sci-Fi movie. But this concept gets used often and doesn't usually deliver in my opinion. After the 2nd time of watching the movie a new conversation comes up about the original War of the Worlds, and I finally found out it was a remake. Remakes are great ideas, mostly for the technology we have today which can support the classic movies. But I can't compare because of never seeing the first War of the Worlds. br /War of the Worlds, takes a "average" American family on an adventure for survival because of the attacks of an alien species that seems to be "hunting" the World. The aliens seem to be pretty high tech and have been watching us and learning. br /The special effects are mind blowing and really gets you into the story. With Blu-Ray its even more of a treat. The main part of the movie is suspense and this movie perfected it. Every turn is frightful and on the edge of your seat. br /I really enjoy this movie, mostly for the adventure and suspense not for the storyline. Very good entertainment and this movie will not be collecting dust in my movie cabinet.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

"Occupations always fail.", 2010-07-05
War of the Worlds (2005) br / br /This is Steven Spielberg doing what he does best: the action blockbuster. What makes Spielberg's movies stand out from the usual predictable dross is the attention to detail, and the high quality of the performances and script. Against the backdrop of an alien invasion we see a dysfunctional family finally pull together and work out their differences in the face of adversity. br /Almost all of us have a favourite book from our childhood. Mine is The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells. I loved Jeff Wayne's version on double-album vinyl (now audio CD), liked the 1953 movie adaptation, even though the tripods became flying machines and there were many important book plot points missing from the simplified movie script. A gem of a movie is The Night That Panicked America (1975), Joseph Sargent's TV movie, based on the true story of Orson Welles' live radio broadcast, on October 30, 1938. Welles recreated the story of War of the Worlds so convincingly that many believed the martians had indeed landed, resulting in a nationwide panic. Welles is brilliantly played by Paul Shenar. To date this movie has been overlooked for a DVD release, to the chagrin of many fans. br /Spielberg's adaptation has excellent performances from all the cast: Tom Cruise as dock worker, Ray Ferrier, an "everyman" struggling to keep strained relations with his ex-wife Mary Anne (Miranda Otto), his son Robbie (Justin Chatwin), and daughter, Rachel (Dakota Fanning). Tim Robbins plays Harlan Ogilvy, a deranged survivalist who gives Ray and Rachel shelter in his basement. There are also notable cameos by Lisa Ann Walter, as Cheryl, and Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, as the grandparents who appear briefly at end of the movie and were both the stars of the 1953 movie. br /Despite the story being updated, it's still a more faithful adaptation of the book, including in this version the "red weed", a fast-growing organism the martians let loose to spread across the surface of the earth, fertilized by human blood, in order to make the surface of our world resemble their own planet. br /Just as many sci-fi stories, particularly of the 1950's, were symbolic of the paranoia of Communism, in this movie there are visual and spoken references to 9/11 and our fears of terrorism. In the middle of a bright, seemingly-ordinary day, the world is changed forever by an attack that has come with no warning and has devastating results. Victims are reduced to dust, incinerated by the martian's "heat ray". The atmosphere is suitably ominous throughout and some of the images, like the initial attack, seem to strike from nowhere, particularly the scenes in which dead bodies float by on the lake and a runaway train thunders by with every carriage ablaze. br /This is a more superior and intelligent modern sci-fi movie than many that have come and gone over recent years, with superb special effects, and a story that concentrates more on the dynamic of human relationships. br /There are some nice touches: the dockside crane that Ray operates at his job is remarkably similar to the tripods; the earth and its micro-organisms defeat the martians after mankind has been defeated, pushing out the alien invaders in much the same way that Rachel informs Ray that her hand will push out the splinter and, as Ogilvy points out: "Occupations always fail." br / br /John Walker br /Author of Wrath and Remembrance br /[...]

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Another blu-ray not recordered in HD, 2010-06-28
I love this movie but the original release was not recorded in HIGH-DEF so it's not worth paying for the Blu-Ray release. br /The movie industry needs a rating for picture quality stating whether the original release was shot in HI-DEF. I give it 1 star for picture poor quality. br /