Apr 272016
 

Although it could’ve been better, I was pleasantly surprised by Regression thanks to Amenábar’s writing and direction combined with yet another great performance by Ethan Hawke with honorable mention for Emma Watson and David Thewlis.

 

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Apr 272016
 

Tumbledown is one of the nice surprises of 2016 showcasing great performances from its two leads, Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis, and while it’s not the most challenging films, I appreciated the understated tone as any movie dealing with death and grief can become overly dramatic.

 

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Apr 272016
 

A Prayer for the Dying could’ve been a great movie and instead, thanks to studio interference, we get something that’s merely ‘good’. The acting from Rourke and Hoskins was probably the saving grace, not to mention Liam Neeson’s brief role, and in the end, I was fairly entertained.

 

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Apr 262016
 

Jane Got a Gun, when you push away all of the pre-production drama and switch-a-roos, isn’t a half bad western-adventure-drama that features two fine performances by Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton backed up by at least a quasi-interesting story.

 

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Apr 252016
 

“Attack on Titan”: Part I is an incredible anime series and perhaps one of my favorites alongside or just behind “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.” The voice acting is excellent and the story compelling from beginning to end, and that’s to go along with beautiful animation.

 

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Apr 232016
 

Countdown is your typical WWE production with shoddy acting, bad writing and pedestrian direction though on the plus side, at least Ziggler possesses some charisma which was often lacking in these other films. Still, as poorly made as the film was, it’s at least watchable and there’s at least one well done scene, so… there is that.

 

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Apr 232016
 

Countdown is your typical WWE production with shoddy acting, bad writing and pedestrian direction though on the plus side, at least Ziggler possesses some charisma which was often lacking in these other films. Still, as poorly made as the film was, it’s at least watchable and there’s at least one well done scene, so… there is that.

 

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Apr 222016
 

“Eden of the East”, and its two feature films, is an incredibly fun and often inventive anime series with well written characters. At only 11 episodes, and about 3 hours for the movies, it’s not a big time investment and is worth watching with an engrossing storyline.

 

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Apr 212016
 

Death Becomes Her definitely has its moments and even though it was made in 1992 well before the visual effects technology had taken off to what it is today, but it features some respectable effects, particularly with the hole in Hawn’s stomach. Outside of that, the jokes don’t entirely work but at the very least the core cast work well against one another, Streep especially.

 

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Apr 202016
 

Cutter’s Way is, I’d say, on the underappreciated side of things. Not only is the story compelling but the performances by Jeff Bridges and John Heard are exceptional to go along with Lisa Echhorn. The Blu-ray released through Twilight Time has a decent video transfer, good audio but does fall short in the features department.

 

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Apr 192016
 

Ride Along 2 is no better or worse than the original. You’ve pretty much got the same type of jokes and the performances from its core cast isn’t anything special, though presumably they at least had a good time while filming. The action is rather ho-hum and although I don’t mind Kevin Hart, even he seemed to be going through the motions.

 

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Apr 182016
 

Julia (1977) is a well made period drama featuring strong performances by Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave, along with Jason Robards well. This “Limited Edition” Blu-ray released by Twilight Time isn’t exceptional yet the video and audio transfers are both well done and the new commentary with Fonda is interesting.

 

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Apr 182016
 

Concussion is, technically speaking, a well made film and features a good performance from Will Smith, but in spite of what works, at its core the movie is missing a soul. In the hands of a more skilled filmmaker it could’ve been emotionally charged and instead it’s rather forgettable.

 

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