The Jesus Rolls is the long-awaited spin-off of the popular side character from The Big Lebowski starring John Turturro who also co-scripted and directed, clearly a passion project.
The Deer Hunter makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray through Shout Factory’s well done presentation including several new interviews and previously released commentary track. The film features great performances from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.
Excess Baggage is one of those forgettable, borderline entertaining films from the 1990s though at least Alicia Silverstone and Benicio Del Toro displayed some charm, but not nearly enough to overcome a lame story.
Batman Returns is one of the least favorite of all the Batman movies over the years, though it is far more competently made than Batman & Robin, and I still enjoyed Michael Keaton in the lead.
The Addiction is anything but perfect but still a unique take on the vampire subgenre with a terrific performance by Lili Taylor as well as Christopher Walken in his small part.
Father Figures is just the latest in the litany of forgettable throwaway duo/buddy comedies that constantly come down the line and are in-and-out of theaters. That said, it’s not horrible and it did have a few laughs, but otherwise I won’t see it again.
The Jungle Book is a success in Disney’s obsession with adapting beloved animated movies into live action features and while the likes of Maleficent and to some extent Cinderella weren’t great, this one is entertaining for almost the entire family, though some scenes might be a tad too frightening for younger viewers.
The Jungle Book is a success in Disney’s obsession with adapting beloved animated movies into live action features and while the likes of Maleficent and to some extent Cinderella weren’t great, this one is entertaining for almost the entire family, though some scenes might be a tad too frightening for younger viewers.
One More Time doesn’t feature a great story but I can at least admire it for the cast with Christopher Walken, Amber Heard and Ann Magnuson though it’s not quite even worth a rental but instead check it out once it’s available for free. The DVD is bare bones with no bonus material.
Romance & Cigarettes is an odd ball of a film, a mixture of genres and while I can appreciate what director John Turturro attempted to do, it just didn’t quite work but with a cats like this headlined by the great James Gandolfini, to go along with Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet, might make at least watchable.
Sentinel is an uneven yet still creepy supernatural-horror flick with some good performances from a respectable ensemble cast that includes Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach and Christopher Walken. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory has above average video and audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material.
At Close Range is a bit uneven but still effective character drama headlined by a few great performances especially by Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. Despite some flaws, it’s a compelling story and worth checking out at least once. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time is nice and all with good video/audio transfers yet again comes at a high price.
Jersey Boys is clearly a passion project for producer/director Clint Eastwood and although the cast perform admirably enough, I never quite found the feature that engrossing but admittedly, I also don’t have much of a connection with the music or the group, so those who do (older crowd) might get more out of the movie than others.
The Dogs of War is one of the more pleasant surprises to come out of the Twilight Time pike with a great performance from Christopher Walken and a unique storyline that distinguishes it from other war films. The Blu-ray from TT offers good video and audio transfers but unfortunately the bonus material is lacking, though it is nice to have the International Cut available.
A Late Quartet is the surprise gem of 2012 featuring four great performances, one of which from Walken deserving of more recognition, and a story which is rich with great drama, even when certain scenes get on the melodramatic side. Co-Writer/Director Yaron Zilberman delivers a great drama that hopefully will get more notice over the years.