Black Panther isn’t a great comic book but a culturally significant one and does at least hold some entertainment value with a so-so plot though the villain portrayed by Michael B. Jordan was certainly the highlight.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced the date and released artwork for the drama-thriller, The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana. Click on the link below or image to the left to check out the features and artwork.
Species is simply not a very good movie, not even sure it’s in the so bad it’s good category either, but I did find a modest amount of entertainment value, albeit trashy, for it being a B-horror flick and honestly it’s aged better than I thought.
Rogue One is a solid entry into the Star Wars saga and while it’s not as strong as either the Original Trilogy or The Force Awakens both in story structure and characters, it’s still one hell of an entertaining sci-fi action-er especially a fantastic third act which more than makes up for its flaws.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced the date and released artwork for the latest entry into the saga, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker and directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). Click on the link below or image to the left to check out the features and artwork.
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.
Paramount has announced the date and released artwork for the science-fiction thriller, Arrival starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker and directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario). Click on the link below or image to the left to check out the features and artwork.
Body Snatchers is a decent spiritual successor to the classic Invasion of the Body Snatcher movies and while the production budget wasn’t the best, I did enjoy this cast including a young Gabrielle Anwar of Burn Notice fame.
Taken 3 is a weak sequel and really the epitome of a money grab with a template screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kasen and frenetic direction by Olivier Megaton of some truly generic action scenes. It is disappointing that the series has devolved to this level but I suppose if you like Neeson and can set aside some of the absurd plot points, Taken 3 might make for throwaway entertainment.
Out of the Furnace never quite took advantage of a tremendous cast, especially Christian Bale, with a story that’s not very compelling and although I get the symbolism Cooper was going for, it didn’t gel for one reason or another. However, is it worth seeing? I don’t think you’ll regret at least giving it a rental as there are some solid performances and a couple truly good scenes.
Pawn is an acceptable mystery-thriller that has a respectable cast who unfortunately seemed to mostly phone it in except perhaps for Michael Chiklis who was having fun with his thick Aussie accent. Otherwise, as interesting as the story was and comparatively well done as the flash backs were, the movie falls apart at the end coming crashing down with an utterly unsatisfying finale.
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.
Catch .44 is a mess of a film that would’ve been gone and forgotten on shelves if not for the name cast the filmmakers managed to gather. The writing isn’t the best and the acting, despite having some good talent, doesn’t make it any better. The Blu-ray at least has serviceable video and audio transfers but the features don’t measure up.
“Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” certainly had the potential to be like “NCIS: LA” in distinguishing itself from its parent series, however what makes the original successful isn’t so much the cases but the chemistry between the cast, which is the failure this series had from the start. Forest Whitaker, as good of an actor as he might be, was completely wrong for the role and the rest, in terms of the writing, seemed to try too hard to force something to come together rather than let it form naturally.
The Last King of Scotland may not be as good as I remembered it, but thanks to two fantastic performances from Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy, and at least an intriguing story, it still makes this a worthwhile film to watch.
