The Mask (1994) (Blu Ray) - 8/10

A perfect vehicle for Jim Carrey, I checked out The Mask on Blu Ray with commentary this afternoon and was intrigued by all the benchmarks this film represented to CGI in the film industry. Based on a darker and more violent comic strip, director Chuck Russel and a variety of technical and animation advisors go through tons of details of how this movie was the first of it's kind integrating live action people and realistic animation in ways that would pave the way for even bigger films to come. Hearing from ILM was cool with how the tornado technique used in this was the blueprint for Twister or the way lighting was being used on this to help with Jurassic Park. I like that this movie kind of is in it's genre where it's borderline violent yet uses terrific CGI to emphasize the comedy aspect which they say had never been done before. The casting of the unknown Camerion Diaz was also a highlight for them as well as the talented dog who they said needed to have no hair b/c it would have been impossible for them to create an animated version of it when it puts on the mask. From the over the top comparisons to looney toons cartoons, this movie is all about the physical comedy of Jim Carrey and the one liners are great to where he really gets to unleash his fury of craziness and quote tons of other movies. Overall, the blu ray was fun to revisit and I learned how big of a gamble the filmmakers took on this movie's technology so it's a testament to how well it holds up today that it exceeded expectations and is hilarious every time.