Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Divergent is what I’d like to call a ‘nice’ movie. There’s nothing here terrible offensive but at the same time, it doesn’t break new ground either. The direction is more than adequate and the performance by Shailene Woodley is strong. But for all the good, the story structure is odd.
Neither The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave nor The Red Queen Kills Seven Times are ‘great’ films, though I’d probably give the nod to Red Queen, they are at least passable Italian giallo flicks however anyone new to the genre would be better served checking out Blood and Black Lace (also available on Arrow Video).
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout is pretty much in line with their other entries: the storytelling isn’t great, animation standard and the focus is primarily geared towards kids though adults will find it semi-entertaining.
Anesthesia is a bit uneven in its storytelling with some elements not quite coming together as others, but the performances by Sam Waterston and Kristen Stewart, with honorable mention to Gretchen Mol, makes for a more than watchable drama particularly for those who enjoy ensemble pictures.
Search Party may not be awful of epic proportions but it does come across as bottom of the drawer from writer/director Scot Armstrong, recycling much of his material from Road Trip and The Hangover Part II. Problem is, there’s not many, or at least consistent, laughs and is utterly forgettable.
The Pack isn’t a particularly memorable flick, with a few genuinely frightening scenes, yet it does at least have its moments and the acting isn’t half bad. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory is pretty standard with a throw away featurette and trailer while the audio and video transfers were above average.
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.
Based on a 1970s TV series, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl is an enjoyable little superhero spoofish film with passable performances with two leads in Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart share some fun chemistry with one another. The DVD release offers solid video, so-so audio and a decent enough selection of special features.
Slow and drawn out in spite of its short running time, 600 Miles isn’t great but at least can be admired for the performances by Tim Roth and Kristyan Ferrer so at least with them it’s worth watching.
All I can say is Precious Cargo isn’t nearly as bad as some of the other gems from Grindstone Entertainment yet by the same token, it pretty much met my already low standards. On the plus side, some of the action sequences were finely directed and I at least never found myself bored.
Stressed to Kill is a fun, satirical crime comedy featuring a great performance from character actor Bill Oberst Jr. and some sharp writing to boot. The DVD released through MVD is basic with so-so video/audio transfers and sadly no bonus material.
Cabin Fever, even setting aside being a pointless script-for-script remake, just is a bad movie filled with annoying and/or unlikeable characters and shoddy make-up effects work. The only positive thing I can say is at least the cinematography was nice to look at but that’s about it. In the end, this is the poster child on how creatively bankrupt the studios are.
Continue reading “Review: Cabin Fever (2016) BD + Screen Caps”
Code of Honor is one of the worst movies I’ve come across this year and easily the worst of Seagal’s now free-falling career. The acting was at best average from a supporting cast that at least were trying while Seagal was sleepwalking, action scenes that were poorly shot and laughable post-production work with bad CGI.
The Martian: Extended Edition is a well made sci-fi thriller but admittedly, I think the theatrical version is tighter though there are a couple nice additions to the Extended Cut while other scenes weren’t necessary. As for this Blu-ray release, which should’ve been the initial release anyway, it offers up amazing video/audio transfers and some extensive bonus material.
Continue reading “Review: The Martian – Extended Edition BD + Screen Caps”
This is your basic made-for-TV movie that doesn’t really offer anything new and being based on Braxton’s own memoir, skewed one way thus is a bit biased. Still, the performances aren’t half bad led by newcomer Lex Scott Davis and for fans of the singer, they might get something out of this, otherwise skip.
Continue reading “Review: Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart DVD”