Mar 012017
 

I don’t think Penny Dreadful quite met up to its potential but with a fine cast headlined by Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett, to go along with impressive set and costume designs, it’s certainly more than watchable. This Complete Series set is very much for those who don’t already own the individual releases and it is at a reasonable price.

 

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Feb 252017
 

Perhaps one of the best, and somewhat innovative, trilogies ever made (okay, a step below the original Star Wars trilogy), The Before Trilogy is absolutely wonderful featuring two amazing performances by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as we get to see the advancement of each of their characters’ lives evolve.

 

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Feb 202017
 

There really was no need for a Bad Santa 2 as the original has become a holiday cult classic and it has been 13 years since. Sure, it does have the mean streak that made the first popular, unfortunately the humor mostly falls flat.

 

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Feb 182017
 

Manchester by the Sea is a film that excels on the performance by Casey Affleck with honorable mentions toward Michelle Williams in her brief role and the young Lucas Hedges in one of his first major stint.

 

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Feb 172017
 

While not the strongest of the numerous MCU films so far, Doctor Strange at least is still a fun flick helped more by the charisma of both Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton more than a routine, thin plot and another forgettable villain.

 

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Feb 172017
 

Nocturnal Animals might not have engaged me on an emotional level, the writing and storytelling from Tom Ford are still fantastic and the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon were amazing and, at least in Shannon’s case, award-worthy.

 

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Feb 152017
 

American Pastoral receives, let’s say, mediocre reviews but for my money, I found all of the performances genuine and the story rather compelling, if not outright depressing and sad; for his first outing as director, Ewan McGregor did a fine job.

 

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Feb 112017
 

These three movies by Claude Chabrol range from dark, to black dark to more light-hearted and each are, simply, well done with probably my favorite being The Swindle as I tend to enjoy crime-centric movies a bit more, however each feature great performances, most notably though Marie Trintignant.

 

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Feb 092017
 

Although I didn’t think Arrival was a masterpiece critics, and audiences, claimed it to be, there’s no denying that it is one of the more unique sci-fi films I’ve come across in that it’s less sci-fi and far more character driven with a positive message behind it.

 

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Feb 082017
 

Well intentioned as it might have been, and telling a World War II story that’s probably not familiar to the average American, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage features lazy performances, especially by Nicolas Cage though he does have a couple okay scenes, and some laughable visual effects.

 

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Feb 082017
 

Queen of Katwe is a charming, uplifting true life drama featuring some fine performances by Madina Nalwanga and David Oyelowo under Mira Nair’s quality direction. The Blu-ray released by Disney offers up great video, solid audio and a nice selection of bonus material.

 

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Feb 062017
 

John Wick is one of the surprise hits of 2014 and even though Keanu Reeves might not be a great actor, this role was tailor made for his skill sets in fighting and stunt work. Add to that, the story, albeit thin, is good enough to carry the 100-minute running time.

 

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Feb 042017
 

Justice League Dark is a middle-of-the-road entry into the DC Animated Universe. It’s also a bit inside baseball in that probably die-hard fans of the comics will get something out if it while others will find it crowded and the magical elements even made it harder to follow.

 

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Feb 022017
 

Life on the Line is a misfire of a movie if only that they could’ve told a great story of the unsung heroes who work to keep the power on in some of the most difficult circumstances. Instead, this film tosses in a terrible B-plot with unnecessary characters making this just another poor release starring an actor relegated to direct-to-video status.

 

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