Those who were disappointed with the 2006 bare bones Blu-ray release of Total Recall will be overjoyed with this new “Mind-Bending Edition” from Lionsgate, the latest in a long line of home video releases. While a few features were left off from the DVD version, there’s a few new features that are absolutely fascinating to watch and at a price point under $10, it’s well worth picking up.
Clue is one of those comedies that have stood the test of time. The actors are so funny and perfectly cast for their respective roles and despite being based on a board game, and as inane/forced as the plot is, it’s reasonably mysterious to go along with the comedy.
Singin’ in the Rain is a wonderful musical that has influenced so many over the years and has stood the test of time and will surely/hopefully, be prominent for years to come.
Just Cause is an overwrought court room drama that is absolutely boring to get through, despite it only being ~100-minutes, and featuring performances which are at best, uninspiring not to mention a predictable plot.
The Butterfly Effect 2 is a waste of celluloid and time. Although I might not have been the biggest fan of the previous entry, it at least had some interesting ideas behind it, not to mention a character I could actually somewhat care about. This one however has 1-dimensional characters and our main guy is a Grade A douche.
The Butterfly Effect isn’t a perfect movie but it does have subject matters that not many other films, especially mainstream ones, rarely tackle. The performances from an impressive cast are mostly good and while some of the sequences are a bit laughable, I found it to be a serviceable flick.
One would think when you get Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron on the same screen and an intriguing storyline it would make for, at minimum, an entertaining science-fiction thriller. Instead, The Astronaut’s Wife is a complete mess with subpar performances, a story that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and direction that is at best sloppy.
Brainstorm might not be a perfect sci-fi flick but it’s easy to see why this has garnered a following since the DVD release in 2000 (and subsequent 2009 remaster) with great performances from Christopher Walken and the late Natalie Wood.
Even with some necessary suspension of disbelief, Frequency is a well crafted film with fine performances from Jim Caviezel, Dennis Quaid and Andre Braugher. The story is finely written and the premise is certainly interesting and above all else, original.
The Horse Whisperer is an all around beautiful movie. The story is both heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting, the cinematography is Oscar-worthy (unfortunately it was not nominated), the direction inspiring and the acting, especially from Redford and Thomas, amazing.
Impostor isn’t a terrible film, at least not as bad as some have made it out to be, but it does come across amateurish in its style (Fleder seems to love using angles), but the acting isn’t too bad and the production design and, given the budget, visual effects is OK. This isn’t the kind of film that will challenge your brain and compared with other Philip K. Dick adaptations, it’s a mid level release.
Step Up doesn’t exactly rewrite the music genre but for what it is, it’s a fun movie with some great beats and nice chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. This new Blu-ray release offers up only average video but the audio more than makes up for it as the bass goes into overdrive shaking the floor and walls.
Phenomenon is a well acted and finely dramatic film that seemed primed to be Oscar bait, especially in the acting category if you see a few of the scenes. However, it doesn’t hold much replay value because while the story is well done and features some fine direction by Jon Turteltaub, it’s just one of those movies that’s only worth one viewing every few years, despite a fine performance from John Travolta.
The Faculty is a great movie that takes the old Invasion of the Body Snatchers story and rather than turning it on its head, just gives a slight twist but leaves everything else relatively in line. It also helps that, like the Scream movies before, it’s self aware of the kind of movie this is.
Blade II is a great movie and one of the better comic book films to be released in the past decade. Having Guillermo del Toro helm this entry was one reason for its success especially in the visual realm. The action is well shot and the suspense is maintained throughout. It also features a good performance from Wesley Snipes as well as Ron Perlman who make for a cool baddie.