Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero could’ve just been condensed down to Patient Zero has it has no bearing on the first movie and is merely a generic, flesh-eating virus movie like any other. The acting is also a bit wonky with Sean Astin surprisingly giving the best performance and keeping this from being a complete waste of time.
“Criminal Minds” remains one of my favorite shows today (note: I steer more towards procedural crime dramas) and while the ninth season isn’t predominantly special, there are more than a few solid episodes (‘The Inspiration,’ ‘The Inspired,’ and ‘200’) and even the others are entertaining if not routine.
Aftermath is a well crafted, and altogether simply made, apocalyptic thriller that serves more as a psychological character study more than anything else, and certainly more than the cause of the nuclear attacks. The characters themselves can be on the clichéd side but still interesting enough to want to get through until the end.
R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly: Have You Seen My Ghoulfriend? is a sequel to a 2008 DTV flick that I honestly never heard of, let alone having seen. This is your typical young adult entertainment with slapstick comedy, low key humor, bad dialogue, so-so acting (the highlight is Bella Thorne) and a story maybe those used to shows on the Disney Channel will enjoy, for myself it was a chore to even get through.
Continue reading “R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? Blu-ray Review”
Pumpkinhead might not be most well made horror movie coming out of the ‘80s but it has gathered somewhat of a cult following and there are some things to be admired from the late and great creature creator Stan Winston marking his directorial debut, one of only two feature films.
Continue reading “Pumpkinhead: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review”
Trust Me is not the perfect comedy-drama and probably could’ve used a couple rewrites but as a follow-up to his 2008 film, Choke, it’s not bad and he assembles (no pun intended) a fine set of actors and an at least engaging story. The DVD released by Anchor Bay sadly is basic with no features while the audio/video transfers are merely adequate.
Kind of forgotten in the wake of James Cameron’s The Abyss, Leviathan is an OK if not uneven sci-fi adventure. The cast is good and some of the creature effects aren’t bad either, but at the same time it comes across as a rip-off of Alien sans suspense and compelling storytelling.
The Perfect House is a tad better than expected especially compared to some of the other crap from WER. The acting, although hardly faultless, isn’t entirely bad and the plot, at least some of it anyway, is at least interesting. Not sure if I can completely recommend this but perhaps horror junkies might get something out of it.
it’s another great season for “The Good Wife” raising the bar, no pun intended, with its storytelling, character developments from everyone though Julianna Margulies the most, and the departure of one character which shocked fans but was well done.
Continue reading “Review: “The Good Wife”: The Fifth Season DVD”
Scream Park is a student film that somehow wrangled Doug Bradley into a cameo role but even with Bradley, it’s not very well made, is quite dull in places and the acting isn’t very good, even by amateur standards. The DVD released by Wild Eye has average audio and video transfers.
The Legend of Hell House is an effective British supernatural-horror-thriller with fine performances all around but with special notice on Roddy McDowell and Pamela Franklin.
Blended isn’t nearly as bad as some of Sandler’s other recent “works” (i.e. train wrecks) because unlike something like Grown Ups 2, I actually managed to laugh (even mildly) a couple of times and, well, it actually had some semblance of a plot even if it is convoluted. And although the material is substandard, the re-pairing of Sandler and Barrymore is a welcoming sight.
My Gal Sunday is another sweet Hallmark Channel movie where the script is washed down, dialogue trite and acting subpar. This is the kind of movie families (ages 12+ anyway) can enjoy but for everyone else it’s forgettable and throwaway entertainment. The DVD released by Cinedigm offers OK video and audio transfers but with no features.
Eleven seasons in and “NCIS” is still going strong, being able to do the same old, same old and yet switch things up with multi-arc episodes as well as giving its characters, even if little by little, development. The only drawback is the production values seem to be limited but I can overlook it for solid storytelling and, of course, the chemistry between the core cast.
The Buddy Holly Story is a well done biographical drama given life by an Oscar-worthy performance from none other than Gary Busey (yeah, there was a time when he wasn’t completely nuts). The direction and pacing was also fine-tuned making for a nice drama.