The Exorcist III isn’t a great movie and can’t touch the original, yet it’s a big step up from the awful sequel and the performance from Brad Dourif and to some extent George C. Scott, is well worth the price of admission along with some genuinely creepy/scary scenes.
On Dangerous Ground is probably not a well known movie in the film noir “genre” but offers solid performances from Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan and a compelling enough story to engage any fans, albeit this is not exactly a memorable movie on the whole.
Nighthawks has elements that is quintessential for the time and features a Stallone performance that I doubt anyone would remember while Rutger Hauer basically stole the show in spite of Stallone cutting down that role and beefing his up during the edit process.
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a messy movie that, as the box office showed, never should’ve been made. The actors seemed uninterested and probably were in it to make a few (million) bucks, Depp especially, but beyond that, it’s such a thin story.
Ghostbusters (2016) isn’t the hot mess the trailers showed it could’ve been (this year’s Alice Through the Looking Glass was far worse) and yet for all of the potential with a talented cast, the screenplay which was co-scripted by Paul Feig, was pretty bad, with the jokes falling utterly flat.
Joshy is a well acted drama-comedy and one should go in knowing it is more drama than comedy but otherwise it’s a bit of a downer film that doesn’t have the best payoff despite the efforts of Thomas Middleditch who does have a few good scenes.
Slugs is a classic 1980s B-movie that is less scary and more hilarious fun that probably would appeal to the B-movie realm of films or grew up in the 1980s. It’s far from amazing but the idea of killer slugs is in itself amusing.
A mixture of 1980s teen comedy with 1980s horror, Vamp technically speaking isn’t a good movie per se but there is some fun to be had and seeing what was likely the inspiration for Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn is interesting.
Skiptrace is the latest direct-to-video turkey that I’ve had the “pleasure” to watch just this year and it’s a sad seeing Jackie Chan in the DTV realm but it’s not hard to see why this one fell flat.
No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
The Iron Giant is one of the better classic animated movies that have come along in the past 20 years and can compete right alongside Disney’s best, it’s just unfortunate Warner dropped the ball marketing it and instead it bombed at the box office. Thankfully since making its way on home video, the film has found a fanbase.
The Legend of Tarzan is hardly horrible and yet it’s also nothing special in spite of some nice work by the visual effects crew and some ernest performances by Skarsgard and, to a lesser extents Robbie and Jackson while Waltz proves once again as a serviceable villain.
Into the Forest is a somewhat depressing but very well acted drama, with the apocalyptical aspect being a catalyst rather than central plot, and specifically Ellen Page was fantastic. Now, this is not for everybody especially if you’re expecting a thriller and it is slowly paced, but if you’re patient and enjoy character studies, this is worth at least a rental.
Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar is a well written western-thriller film that features a powerhouse and spunky performance from Joan Crawford. The Blu-ray released by Olive Film’s new Signature line offers great video, good audio and a solid selection of bonus material.
High Noon, directed by Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal), is a classic western-adventure featuring a top notch, and a features a thrilling finale, who’s who of the 1950s from Gary Cooper to Grace Kelly to a young Lloyd Bridges.