The Pack isn’t a particularly memorable flick, with a few genuinely frightening scenes, yet it does at least have its moments and the acting isn’t half bad. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory is pretty standard with a throw away featurette and trailer while the audio and video transfers were above average.
Kung Fu Panda is perhaps one of the better franchises outside of the Pixar/Disney brand and certainly well above the likes of Madagascar and Ice Age. Still, as family friendly as this third entry is, to go along with a positive message, I wasn’t nearly as entertained though admittedly I found the first two to be merely above average fare anyway.
All I can say is Precious Cargo isn’t nearly as bad as some of the other gems from Grindstone Entertainment yet by the same token, it pretty much met my already low standards. On the plus side, some of the action sequences were finely directed and I at least never found myself bored.
Cabin Fever, even setting aside being a pointless script-for-script remake, just is a bad movie filled with annoying and/or unlikeable characters and shoddy make-up effects work. The only positive thing I can say is at least the cinematography was nice to look at but that’s about it. In the end, this is the poster child on how creatively bankrupt the studios are.
Code of Honor is one of the worst movies I’ve come across this year and easily the worst of Seagal’s now free-falling career. The acting was at best average from a supporting cast that at least were trying while Seagal was sleepwalking, action scenes that were poorly shot and laughable post-production work with bad CGI.
The Martian: Extended Edition is a well made sci-fi thriller but admittedly, I think the theatrical version is tighter though there are a couple nice additions to the Extended Cut while other scenes weren’t necessary. As for this Blu-ray release, which should’ve been the initial release anyway, it offers up amazing video/audio transfers and some extensive bonus material.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 wasn’t a necessary sequel, at least 14 years after the original, but there were some amusing moments and although I never laughed out loud, I never found myself bored and I suspect fans, and those with large, tight-knit, families will appreciate it far more.
Star Trek: The Next Generation”: The Complete Series would make the perfect set… for the few who don’t already own the individual releases. While it is nice to have the series in one box, I actually kind of prefer the season sets as they are easier to handle, but as it is, and if you can get it at a good price, it might be worth picking up.
The Panic in Needle Park is a grim, sometimes hard to watch drama that gives insight into drug addiction and the power it holds. The film features one heck of a performance by Al Pacino marking his first leading role and Kitty Winn keeps up with Pacino is a number of scenes.
Inserts is an oddball of a film with Richard Dreyfuss turning in a typical Dreyfuss type of performance from the 1970s. The character drama-centric story works well enough and the inclusion of Bob Hoskins as the main antagonist is always a plus.
Not sure how this version compares to the others, even the 1939 one which I saw several years ago, but Hammer Films’ 1959 The Hound of the Baskervilles is still an entertaining Sherlock Holmes mystery featuring a solid performance from Peter Cushing as the great detective.
Romeo is Bleeding is certainly a unique movie though also kind of typical Gary Oldman from the 1990s turning in a bizarrely fascinating performance as does Lena Olin who manages to keep up with his insanity, and at times topping it. It’s not perfect but with Oldman and Olin, well worth checking out.
10 Cloverfield Lane is a strong sci-fi thriller that, even though it’s been many years since I last saw it, equals the original and had the added bonus of not being in the found footage style and features better characters. I’m not sure how well this will hold up in the long run however but at the moment I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.
Gridlocked is probably one of the more surprising movies based on expectations since my history with direct-to-video flicks hasn’t been the greatest. Sure, the acting isn’t anything special but Dominic Purcell and Stephen Lang serve well as the protagonist and antagonist respectively.
Rollercoaster is a well made and suspense-filled thriller with an impressive cast that includes George Segal, Timothy Bottoms (who effectively portrays a domestic terrorist) and Peter Fonda in a small role.