Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Amber Alert: Terror on the Highway is an all around bad movie with poorly written characters not helped by inane dialogue but most of all, it’s just a mess of a plot where the villain’s motivation isn’t entirely clear; it’s also filled with side stories, some character struggles which offer nothing but to bad out the running time.
Continue reading “Review: Amber Alert: Terror on the Highway DVD”
Stage Fright from first timer Jerome Sable is a valiant effort for sure with some decent kills, good acting especially from lead actress Allie MacDonald but its oddly paced and doesn’t quite hit the mark in the end, making for nothing more than a rental.
“Pretty Little Liars”: The Complete Fourth Season is actually a step up from season three. Sure, the four ladies make some boneheaded mistakes helping “A” further his or hers vendetta, but there are some good revelations which further the plot along nicely and we do get a few answers not to mention some solid drama for each of the girls.
Continue reading “Review: Pretty Little Liars: The Complete Fourth Season DVD”
“Major Crimes”: The Complete Second Season is successful more on the ensemble cast, with Mary McDonnell leading the way, more so than the plots and the season-long subplot. The DVD released by Warner Brothers has good audio and video transfers but is a bit limited with the bonus material.
Continue reading “Review: Major Crimes: The Complete Second Season DVD”
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”: Chain of Command is a solid two-part episode highlighted more by the performances and plot than the set-up which was at best forced. Still, Patrick Stewart’s acting is some of his best ever on the series and Ronny Cox’s appearance gives that storyline some weight and decent drama.
Continue reading “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Chain of Command Blu-ray Review”
The sixth season of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is one heck of a ride and provides a wide variety from intense drama (‘Chain of Command’), nostalgia (‘Relics’), psychological thriller (‘Frame of Mind’), romance (‘Lessons’) and even comedy (‘Rascals’). It’s not a perfect season as there are a couple episodes I didn’t care for, but on the whole the writing is sharp and the acting top notch.
Continue reading “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Six Blu-ray Review”
Winter’s Tale has a lot going for it from a decently high production design, a well rounded cast headlined by Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe, but with such an apparently difficult novel to adapt for feature film, what we get instead is disjointed and doesn’t have the right pacing.
The Final Terror actually isn’t a terrible movie. It’s low budget and the acting isn’t always the best, though it is fun seeing Daryl Hannah and Joe Pantoliano before they were big, and some of the shots done by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) were quite impressive.
Joy Ride 3: Road Kill shockingly (or not) is an all around bad movie and not in the fun kind of way either. The plot is more or less a rehash of the first film just with more characters who are almost all unlikeable, making it really hard to care for their well being, and Rusty Nail as a villain is just another mundane serial killer rather than a truly scary voice over the radio.
Camp Dread is one bad horror film, amongst so many others that have come and gone; a movie that the likes of Eric Roberts or Danielle Harris couldn’t save. The DVD released by RLJ Entertainment is pretty minimal with OK video and audio transfers and nary a featurette to be found, though to be honest, that might be a good thing…
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, unlike its DCU counterparts, is a big downgrade in quality especially with the story, but I get what the filmmakers were after: a tongue-in-cheek comedy adventure and throwback to the old cartoon series; however the humor is pretty basic and really only anyone under the age of 13 might get anything substantial out of it.
Continue reading “Review: JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time DVD”
The Machine is actually a well made indie science-fiction flick with good performances, some respectable visual and make-up effects. I kind of hope the filmmakers behind the film could at least be a part of any “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation because they did a damn good job with the material here which is more or less around the same concept.
300: Rise of an Empire has some things to be admired from the visuals, which director Noam Murro copied from Zack Snyder and Eva Green who is the only one that gave anything resembling a memorable performance and her alone is the only reason one should bother with this sequel.
Beyond the Trophy isn’t a good movie. Perdiod, end of the discussion. The performances are at best wooden including Michael Madsen and the story is filled with cliché after cliché to go along with a poorly written script. Add to that, the production values are pretty bad making for a terrible looking picture.
The Mechanic was the perfect role for Charles Bronson who commonly was known for his roles in the Death Wish movies. His performance here was great and worked well opposite Jan-Michael Vincent.