Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Love in the Afternoon is a fun little romance-crime-comedy that excels on the charms of its stars, Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn. The Blu-ray released through the Warner Archive’s Collection doesn’t have much in the way of features but the video and audio transfers are both well done.
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Dirty Dancing is a cheesy but incredibly fun flick propelled on the charm and all around charisma of its two leads, Patrick Swayze (RIP) and Jennifer Grey, as well as a fantastic 1980s soundtrack that still holds up today.
American Pastoral receives, let’s say, mediocre reviews but for my money, I found all of the performances genuine and the story rather compelling, if not outright depressing and sad; for his first outing as director, Ewan McGregor did a fine job.
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I still actually prefer the remake (if only for Nic Cage), but the original Gone in 60 Seconds is pure entertainment for the car chases and that it was independently made. The acting isn’t the best, nor is the writing, but the stunt work was impressive.
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These three movies by Claude Chabrol range from dark, to black dark to more light-hearted and each are, simply, well done with probably my favorite being The Swindle as I tend to enjoy crime-centric movies a bit more, however each feature great performances, most notably though Marie Trintignant.
The Edge of Seventeen might not be the second coming of the John Hughes teen-dramedy, though Kelly Fremon Craig was certainly inspired by the late great writer/director, but with such an obnoxious main character, it was hard to care about her however portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld, it does make the movie more tolerable.
Although it could’ve flowed better with some more editing, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man is still a fine documentary that consists of the man himself and some interviews with those in the music industry so if that’s your thing, this is probably worth a watch.
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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.
Well intentioned as it might have been, and telling a World War II story that’s probably not familiar to the average American, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage features lazy performances, especially by Nicolas Cage though he does have a couple okay scenes, and some laughable visual effects.
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Queen of Katwe is a charming, uplifting true life drama featuring some fine performances by Madina Nalwanga and David Oyelowo under Mira Nair’s quality direction. The Blu-ray released by Disney offers up great video, solid audio and a nice selection of bonus material.
Cross Wars is just an all around bad movie. The acting is poor however they’re not helped with a shoddy script in conjunction with some laughable visual effects. All of that wouldn’t be so bad if this had the fun factor, it was anything but.
John Wick is one of the surprise hits of 2014 and even though Keanu Reeves might not be a great actor, this role was tailor made for his skill sets in fighting and stunt work. Add to that, the story, albeit thin, is good enough to carry the 100-minute running time.
Bells Are Ringing is an absolutely wonderful musical-romance from the 60s and features two charming performances by Judy Holliday and the always suave Dean Martin and come catchy tunes.
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Wait Until Dark is somewhat of a forgotten gem of a thriller with plenty of Hitchcockian elements and features amazing performances by Audrey Hepburn (who receive an Academy Award nomination), Richard Crenna and, especially, Alan Arkin who is absolutely frightening.
Justice League Dark is a middle-of-the-road entry into the DC Animated Universe. It’s also a bit inside baseball in that probably die-hard fans of the comics will get something out if it while others will find it crowded and the magical elements even made it harder to follow.
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