Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Two Weeks Notice isn’t the most memorable romantic-comedy or anything but Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock share good chemistry together even if the story is a bit thin. The catalog Blu-ray released by Warner ports over all of the features from the DVD and offers a moderate upgrade in both the picture and audio.
City of Angels has some cheesy moments and Nic Cage early on doesn’t quite exude leading man who can act creepy yet still nab pretty (and smart) surgeon, but once you get beyond that, the story mostly works and somehow Cage and Ryan share good on-screen chemistry.
Darkman is a cheesy but really fun throwback to the B-movie horror days of Hollywood. Liam Neeson is wonderful and turns in a great performance considering the amount of make-up he had to work under while Sam Raimi, far from perfect direction, shows what would come with his Spider-Man franchise.
Continue reading “Darkman: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review”
Ender’s Game is a perfectly entertaining yet safe sci-fi action/thriller. Asa Butterfield is splendid in his follow-up to his breakout role in Hugo. That said, the rest of the movie borders on mediocrity and only saved due to some impressive visual effects and a story that was compelling enough to keep one’s attention until the end.
Twilight Time has another wonderful Blu-ray release on their hands with a fantastic restoration for both the video (especially amazing) and audio that any fan of Khartoum will hopefully appreciate.
Escape Plan is a fun throwback to the 80s and 90s action genre culminated with starring the two biggest actors of that era. Although neither one of them are at the top of their game, this is still an enjoyable flick well worth at least one viewing if only to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger fight.
The Shadow had plenty of potential but thanks to budgetary constraints and a screenplay that probably could’ve used a polish, that’s all this film is left with. But now 20 years later, it receives new life on Blu-ray to the point hopefully it finds a new audience and Hollywood takes another stab considering the advancement in visual effects with value to the dollar.
Continue reading “The Shadow: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review”
is a poorly made thriller that wants to be Misery but without the top-notch acting and well-written screenplay adapted from a Stephen King novel. I can’t say I hated this movie yet I have no issues saying it’s really bad, just not bad enough to get angry over. There’s no doubt this one will get lost in the fray of other terrible films, though the cover will probably garner some interest.
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is one of the best documentaries made on a single franchise cutting through the typical back-slapping you tend to get with interviews and instead there was honesty about the flaws the movies had, difficulties filming and how the franchise ultimately built New Line Cinema.
“Crossing Lines” as a drama isn’t bad but it is a show carried by its characters which are mostly well done and finely acted led by William Fichtner and Marc Lavoine. The stories do seem culled from “Criminal Minds” but even so, they are compelling enough to make each episode entertaining.
Continue reading “Crossing Lines: Season One Blu-ray Review”
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box is a perfectly suitable family action-adventure though the ending has much to be desired with muddy editing and poor focus. The Blu-ray released by RLJ offers standard audio/video transfers while the solo featurette wasn’t bad. For what it is, it’s not a bad movie and probably worth renting.
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Man in the Dark is not the best film noir or anything but it kept my attention for its 70-minute duration, though I’d hardly recommend it especially for fans of the genre.
Big Sur is a solid drama featuring great performances, particularly from Jean-Marc Barr while the cinematography and score are both absolutely beautiful. The DVD released by Ketchup Entertainment is pretty minimal with good audio/video transfers but limited in the bonus feature arena.
Cat People is another weird and certainly unusual cult classic released through Shout’s Scream Factory line. The Blu-ray offers up adequate if not, at least to these eyes, over sharpened picture, and solid lossless audio tracks.
Zulu is an exhilarating war-drama with great performances and incredible cinematography by Stephen Dade.