Those Who Wish Me Dead is the pinnacle serviceable suspense-thriller, something that could’ve come out in the 1990s. Angelina Jolie is great in the lead and even the young Finn Little thankfully wasn’t obnoxious.
This 2-Movie Collection of Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life are the same two discs from the individual 4K releases, sans the Blu-rays which contained most of the bonus features.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a half-baked and poorly made sequel that lacked the fun and thrills of the first film though Angelina Jolie appeared to give it her all, or at least her stunt double did, but the action itself was lackluster outside of the opening action sequence.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a fun and entertaining action-adventure, in the cheesy kind of way that features a charismatic performance from Angelina Jolie who seemed to have been made for the part and some absurd CGI to go along with Daniel Craig’s laughably bad American accent.
Kung Fu Panda is perhaps one of the better franchises outside of the Pixar/Disney brand and certainly well above the likes of Madagascar and Ice Age. Still, as family friendly as this third entry is, to go along with a positive message, I wasn’t nearly as entertained though admittedly I found the first two to be merely above average fare anyway.
Hackers isn’t exactly a good movie but still entertaining and of the movies from the ‘90s dealing with technology, like The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, Virtuosity, it certainly holds up better (by comparison), in fact pair it up with one of those to make for a fun double feature.
Maleficent actually isn’t a bad movie per se, but one that never quite hit its potential especially when you get a great performance out of Angelina Jolie who seemed to be the only one giving it her all with such a flashy character. But the issue at hand is a script with little conflict and a movie on the whole that doesn’t even try to challenge its audience.
Alexander: The Ultimate Cut is supposed to be the final cut… the final FINAL cut, and even though I’m still not overly enamored with the film, I can appreciate the production and costume designs, some of the performances and the ambitiousness of the character and story.
I enjoy Playing by Heart for what it is, a fun, if not overly dramatic, ensemble with some good performances as well as clichéd storytelling, especially in one of the storylines. That being said, this is the poorest excuse of a Blu-ray release I’ve ever come across.
The Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special isn’t anything profound or breaks new ground in terms of animation or anything, but with a short running time and a good message, this can be watched by the entire family.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is a fun movie with incredible animation and, like the last installment, a great ensemble of voice talents. I wasn’t as enamored with the story as some, although I do like it wasn’t a mere rehash of the original.
Salt isn’t the best action movie out there and when it compares to the Daniel Craig Bond or Bourne movies probably a cut above Quantum of Solace but well below Bourne, I still enjoyed it for what it was and to appreciate the skill and beauty of Angelina Jolie.
While Taking Lives may not be a top of the shelf serial-killer thriller, it at least has a creepy vibe to it and some decent performances from Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke and the woefully underused Kiefer Sutherland.