Simply Irresistible is an average romantic comedy headlined by then starlet Sarah Michelle Gellar who was at the height of her fame from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and to some extent, I Know What You Did Last Summer; but even though Gellar is charming, the rest of the movie falls flat. The Blu-ray itself doesn’t have much to offer with no features (not even a menu) and average audio/video transfers.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend never quite fulfills the potential of the storyline but the movie still is fun propelled by entertaining performances by Uma Thurman, Anna Faris and, to a certain extent, Luke Wilson. The Blu-ray offers solid audio and video transfers but leaves out the features from the DVD release. Since the SRP is $17.99, it is a bit pricey for what you are getting, but if you can buy it in the $5 range, then it might be worth the upgrade.
Best Laid Plans isn’t a great film but I suppose one could call it a gem of a crime-thriller. The movie is held up thanks in large part due to the performances from Alessandro Nivola and Reese Witherspoon as well as some slick writing by Ted Griffin. Its debut on Blu-ray is less than stellar, unfortunately with subpar audio/video transfers and none of the special features being ported over.
Howl’s Moving Castle may not be considered one of Miyazaki’s greatest works but I enjoyed the movie for its splendid visuals, interesting storyline and well cast voice actors for both the Japanese and English-dubbed versions. The Blu-ray offered by Buena Vista presented excellent audio and video transfer while the features, albeit lacking, are at least worth one viewing.
Lego Batman: The Movie – Super Heroes Unite has some good laughs and the stop-motion animation is well done, however if you’ve played the game, you’ve already seen the vast majority of the movie with only bits newly created to bridge the scenes together to make a coherent story. The Blu-ray has an OK amount of features, the video is adequate and the audio is merely OK.
Beautiful Creatures is hardly a perfect fantasy movie but it did at least surpass my expectations thanks to the fact it’s a competently film that is way above anything the Twilight movies have done. The two leads are amazing and some of the visual effects are well done even if the story grows a tad thin for its two-hour running time.
National Lampoon’s Vacation is as funny as ever with a great cast, hilarious jokes and an all around fun storyline filled with a mix of low-brow and even, for the time, risqué humor. The Blu-ray however might include the enthralling “Inside Story” documentary but I don’t believe the video has been remastered and is probably the same transfer as the 2010 release.
Safe Haven is an overwrought romance-drama that hits similar chords from the other Nicholas Sparks’ movie adaptations with a bit of a suspense wrinkle thrown in. Even taking the romantic angle aside, the movie is very predictable and while I applaud and give credit to the two stars, neither one were particularly effective. The Blu-ray features a solid video transfer, the audio is merely acceptable and bonus material isn’t anything special.
there’s plenty to dislike about Parker from the one-dimensional characters, lame plot and a star that doesn’t seem able to branch out more. Sure, the main character is interesting given he is not the wholesome hero audiences are used to but even then it’s been done before. Since the movie isn’t terribly long, the stunts are fun to watch and help pass the time. The Blu-ray meanwhile offers some OK features while the video/audio transfers are both excellent.
Iron Man 3 is hardly the perfect comic book movie and while it certainly was better than its predecessor, which was more of a prequel to The Avengers, it didn’t quite meet the standards of the first movie. Even so, Downey Jr. once again hits it out of the park and the plot itself, albeit simple, was engaging enough. I wasn’t overly thrilled with the villains although Kingsley and Pearce give it their all. Iron Man 3 is a fun, entertaining film perfect to kick off the theatrical summer season.