Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Scarface might not rank up there with other classics in the crime-drama genre, but it’s a great film combining the talents of Oliver Stone’s scriptwriting and Brian De Palma’s direction, alongside the performances by Pacino, Pfeiffer and Mastrantonio.
Continue reading “Scarface: The World is Yours – Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Review”
Red Heat is a sometimes engaging and entertaining 1980s-era actioner but the pairing of Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Belushi never had much of on-screen chemistry, though if you’re a fan of action schlock, probably worth checking out.
The Shining is a great and eerie atmospheric horror-thriller that might feature Jack Nicholson’s best performance, at least early on, only later when going full-on psycho, but still an entertaining flick from Stanley Kubrick.
Gremlins is a very good mid-80s film that I might not have loved but still an enjoyable viewing experience every time I’ve seen it over the years, and has excellent special effects with the Mogwais.
Pan’s Labyrinth is an amazingly creative movie from filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and while I’m not totally in love with it, the visuals combined with a deeply tragic setting, the film does resonate.
Anna might not break new ground and could be considered a second-rate La Femme Nikita or, more recently, Atomic Blonde, but it still was rather entertaining and Sasha Luss in her first major role actually was pretty decent.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is by no means terrible but it certainly is a weak ending to a franchise and the main issue with this movie is lacked any real emotion, even though the technical aspects weren’t bad.
Continue reading “X-Men: Dark Phoenix 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review”
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum isn’t a great entry into the franchise due to a weak storyline and character decision-making not making much sense; the action itself still was highly entertaining and even exhilarating; however I do hope the filmmakers find a better balance with story and action in the next film.
Continue reading “John Wick: Chapter 3 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review”
Daybreakers is actually a pretty innovative vampire horror film giving viewers an interesting world run by vampires, running short on human blood to survive. The highlight, as he is in most films good and bad, is Willem Dafoe.
Rambo is an excellent entry into the vaunted franchise and a much needed boost after the disappointing third film. Stallone was in top form and still was believable that he could still kick ass.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a movie I had little expectations for considering, at least from memory, not caring a whole lot for the previous entry, but even then, the film feels every bit of its 2+ hour running time and features paper-thin characters.
Continue reading “Godzilla: King of the Monsters 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review”
Hopefully this will satisfy the legendary Francis Ford Coppola. Personally, while I did love Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, and give it an A+ grade, it’s not perfection as the French plantation scene still drags the film down.
Continue reading “Apocalypse Now: Final Cut 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review”
Could be argued Lock Up was one of Stallone’s best movies of the 1980s and its one where he felt right in his element and although the story isn’t the strongest, it still was highly entertaining and consistently thrilling.
Batman: Hush is a not top-of-the-line entry in the DC Animated Universe line and while the deviation from the source material is understandable, even necessary, what they went with was hardly satisfying.
Continue reading “Batman: Hush 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review”
The Doors might not be a great biopic if only because I personally am not a big fan of Oliver Stone (have enjoyed many of movies, however) or of Jim Morrison and his band (though enjoyed many of their songs), it is still worth checking out if you haven’t already, if only to watch the new “Final Cut” version.