G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra had some entertaining elements but between some sleepwalking performances and some shoddy visual effects, even by 2008/09 standards, this was a mess of a film.
Although I do appreciate trying to take the franchise is a new direction, Spiral: From the Book of Saw is a complete misfire with really poor acting, bad and predictable writing, pedestrian direction and nonsensical editing.
Mortal Kombat isn’t a terrible movie but kind of a typical one in the video game to film adaptation realm. I did appreciate the use of violence copying the video games but the story isn’t great and the acting to be average at best, however Josh Lawson does steal the show.
Almost Famous is a superbly made music-drama from Cameron Crowe, digging back to his days as a teenager writing for Rolling Stone. The movie features a fantastic cast with Kate Hudson and Billy Crudup being the highlights.
Space Jam wasn’t a movie I cared all that much for upon my initial watch many years ago and revisiting today… it’s okay but nothing I’d revisit yet again.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a delightful and light-hearted family-musical-comedy featuring a wonderful performance from Gene Wilder.
Dead & Buried is a fun little horror-mystery with a plot that would’ve fit in with an episode of Tales from the Crypt. The gore effects from Stan Winston were well done for its time and Jack Albertson was the standout amongst the cast.
Super 8 is yet another well made film by J.J. Abrams, a solid follow-up to the sci-fi reboot/re-imagining of Star Trek. The movie is certainly a nostalgic trip back to the 80s but Abrams puts his own stamp on it, albeit still with plenty of Spielberg’s influence.
Godzilla vs. Kong is a fun-filled entertaining action-monster schlock of a film. The effects work is well done and the story is good enough with the human elements thankfully taking a backseat to the two monsters.
Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection is a great and near-perfect set that includes excellent video and audio transfers now in 4K and Atmos tracks for each film.
This 2-Movie Collection of Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life are the same two discs from the individual 4K releases, sans the Blu-rays which contained most of the bonus features.
My Fair Lady is a musical classic that I wasn’t totally enamored with but can appreciate Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison along with the costumes and music choreography.
Big Fish is perhaps one of my favorite films from Tim Burton, one with a wonderful emotional core and features great performances from Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor.
Django may not be a favorite of spaghetti western in my book but it’s still well done with a good performance from lead actor Franco Nero and features some good fight and action sequences.
Chaos Walking has a more interesting back story than the story itself. The concept is interesting but the plot muddles along and outside of a couple decent scenes and performances from Holland and Ridley, doesn’t have very much memorable going for it.