Although Desolation of Smaug is an improvement over Unexpected Journey, I still wasn’t crazy about the installment with the action scenes, albeit well filmed, seemingly blurring from one to the next and you once more had references to LOTR, a series I have far more interest in re-watching and caring about than this one thus far.
Transformers: Age of Extinction is the latest from Michael Bay and to be honest, it very well may be the worst, even worse than Revenge of the Fallen if only because it clocks in at an insane (and inane) 165-minutes and 40+ minutes could’ve been cut and not have been missed. Once again we get some bland human characters and a storyline that doesn’t make a heck of a lot sense.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a disappointment for me mainly because I think the first movie set the right tone but the sequel instead squandered many opportunities particularly in the villain department who had little development to go along with a thin plot that for the most consisted of hating Spider-Man more than anything.
I, Frankenstein is not only dumb movie but worse of all, takes itself far too seriously so you take something that could’ve been a fun little ride into a dark and dank film that instead is forgettable in nearly every regard save for Bill Nighy who is perhaps the only good thing in this mess of a film.
3D Sun/Mars 3D is a nice addition to the ever-growing series of videos not only expanding our universe, but Earth’s history as well. The selling-point of this disc is the 3D and while some parts of it aren’t fantastic, others do look incredible and well worth checking out especially if you’re a fan of educational documentaries.
Perhaps R.I.P.D. had potential but between the casting and screenplay, it never really came together. I don’t know nor do I care how it compares to the graphic novel (heard there are major differences), but as a film while some of the action is decent as were the visual effects and the casting Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon, the only two who seemed to be having a good time, was great, everything else fell flat.
Monsters University might be one of the weaker outings from Disney/Pixar since Cars, yet there’s enough here to make it an enjoyable experience for the entire family. The return of Billy Crystal and John Goodman is great, the animation is still absolutely amazing and the story is good even if it heavily borrows from other college films, although I suppose one could argue it was paying homage to those movies.
The Little Mermaid makes a triumphant debut with this “Diamond Edition” Blu-ray containing a fair amount of features and fantastic audio/video transfers making it the best this film has ever looked and sounded.
World War Z isn’t a bad movie, far from it, as it efficiently entertains from beginning to end though Brad Pitt more or less sleepwalks through his role. However, this film is the epitome of wasted opportunities as this could have been one of the best in the genre to come out but instead it’s just a safe movie.
Tad: The Lost Explorer is a harmless animated adventure the entire family can enjoy and the animation itself is fairly impressive especially for a studio outside of the big three or four (i.e. Disney, Fox, DreamWorks).
Star Trek Into Darkness is a fun summer blockbuster featuring a great cast, decent story (even with some of the lazier plot points) and amazing visual effects. It’s a good addition to the Star Trek franchise and hopefully leads to a third film.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation actually isn’t a terrible movie, thanks in large part to Dwayne Johnson, and a fair step up from Rise of the Cobra but it’s still a relatively generic action movie with nothing discernibly memorable about the action set pieces or the standard plot itself. Even so, Retaliation is worth a one-time viewing especially if you’re a fan of the “G.I. Joe” franchise.
Oz the Great and Powerful is a fine piece of film making with Raimi and company doing a fine job at least tying it with The Wizard of Oz, although a side effect being, similar to the Star Wars prequels, you kind of delude the mystery of the Wizard by revealing it in a prequel. Even so, though, it’s an enjoyable and entertaining film that doesn’t quite hit its mark yet still passed the time nicely.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter had an interesting and different premise but from the beginning it never quite found its footing. For one thing, I didn’t buy Renner and Arterton in their roles although the script didn’t help matters so their performances are somewhat forgivable. All told, sadly this is a downright forgettable movie with nothing to offer except for Famke Janssen’s hammy, yet fun, performance.
Life of Pi is a powerful drama featuring a wonderful performance from Suraj Sharma and some of the best 3D and visual effects perhaps since Avatar. Ang Lee has yet another winner with a seemingly simple story that presents some semi-complex undertones.