Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Criminal is your run-of-the-mill action/thriller that succeeds mostly with a strong ensemble cast led way by Kevin Costner who gives a nice performance while Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Ryan Reynolds are more background noise. This is the perfect movie as a rental, but not much more.
Allegiant is the latest mundane entry in the Divergent Series and while I didn’t think it was classically bad and not an original moment from the production to the visual effects, heavily borrowing from other dystopian-set movies, I can’t say was bored and I at least did care about the Tris character.
I know plenty have hated the Divergent Series thus far and although hardly great, I found portions at least semi-entertaining but that’s about it. Unlike Hunger Games: Catching Fire and to a lesser extent Mockingjay Part 1, Insurgent just kind of “is”.
Divergent is what I’d like to call a ‘nice’ movie. There’s nothing here terrible offensive but at the same time, it doesn’t break new ground either. The direction is more than adequate and the performance by Shailene Woodley is strong. But for all the good, the story structure is odd.
Star Trek Into Darkness is a sometimes fun summer blockbuster featuring a great cast, decent story (even with some of the lazier plot points) and amazing visual effects. It’s a nice addition to the Star Trek franchise though my hopes any problems with the plot, or lack of originality, is corrected with the upcoming Star Trek Beyond.
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Star Trek (2009) is an incredibly fun and innovative way to reboot the long-running franchise. The story is interesting enough but what makes the movie excel is with the ensemble Abrams and company put together from Pine to Quinto to Urban, who often steals the show.
Sense & Sensibility is a well made adaptation of the Jane Austen classic headlined by a stellar cast but especially Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant and is well worth watching as it has its heartfelt but funny moments. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time has good video and audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material.