MGM once again goes the well with this now Rocky: Heavyweight Collection which only has a remaster of the first film while the other 4 (Balboa already looks great) are left with old transfers which are nice but nothing notable. Except for a throwaway game, all of the features on the 7th disc have been ported over and placed on the Rocky disc so you’re not going to be missing anything.
Killing Kennedy isn’t the best history drama as even at only 90-minutes does tend to drag but thanks to two strong performances from Rob Lowe (who deserved an Emmy nomination) and Will Rothaar, with special acknowledgement to Michelle Trachtenberg, this is a movie that is worth one viewing especially if you’re interested in getting the perspective of Oswald and his motivations.
Battle of the Damned is yet another poorly made direct-to-video action vehicle for Dolph Lundgren. The story has a been-there vibe, the acting from the supporting players is questionable and the effects are poor, though expected for the kind of budget this movie must’ve had.
Gravity is certainly one of the better movies, though not the best, to come out of 2013 and between the technological achievements by Alfonso Cuarón and the VFX crew, a taut story and Sandra Bullock’s performance, it’s one heck of a journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s not a movie for everybody and admittedly Cuarón utilization of symbolism is at times a bit laughable, I still recommend this movie.
The Front is a welcoming drama seeing Woody Allen playing it mostly straight and sans his quirky persona he’s relied on over the years, albeit most of the time with success.
All is Lost features a top-notch and award-worthy performance from Robert Redford in an ambitious film from writer/director Chandor making a solid follow-up to Margin Call. I can easily say this is well worth a rental.
The Blue Max is a well made, and very long, war-adventure-drama featuring fine performances from George Peppard and James Mason and has well done flight fight scenes to be put on film for the time.
Last Vegas is a movie that despite a weak script and some predictability succeeds thanks to its core cast. It delivers what the posters and trailers promote and that’s seeing four legendary actors on screen together having a grand old time together and there’s not much more one should expect from a movie like this.
Twilight Time’s release of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, a long ignored title within the MGM catalogue line, is a fun flick featuring excellent performances from Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges set against the beautifully photographed backdrop of the Midwest.
Diana relies on innuendo and rumors to complete a romantic story the bulk of which takes place between Diana and Hasnat but even leaving that aside, it’s not a well told story even from a dramatic point of view as it’s hardly effective even at the end which was supposed to be something tragic and heartbreaking.
The Eddy Duchin Story is a well acted, if a bit stretched out, music drama featuring fine performances from Tyrone Power in the title character role as well as Kim Novak.
I don’t mind admitting Chicago is an amazing musical that holds up just as well today as it did 10 years ago and still deserving of its 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture. The performances, both in acting and singing, from Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere are astounding not to mention Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly also turn in wonderful performances.
The praise for Million Dollar Baby might have waned over the years and upon its release got its fair share of spoofs, but 8 years later I still loved just about every minute of it even if it’s as depressing as all hell.
Stop-Loss is a well made war-drama featuring several fine performances from Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum. I wasn’t floored by the film and it doesn’t even compete with the best war movies and it doesn’t possess much replay value, but it might be worth a watch.
A Chorus Line certainly has its fans and detractors with the latter angered at how it was adapted and although I’ve never seen the stage play, I can’t say I’d blame them as it’s not a very well made musical, though the opening musical number was catchy and some of the performances from the stage players weren’t bad.