The Singing Detective is a bit jarring in its presentation yet there’s some fine moments especially with the performance from Robert Downey Jr. and to some extent Mel Gibson if only for the weird hairpiece and make-up which was more distracting than anything. The Blu-ray release by Olive is decent enough I guess but there were some minor issues with the video while the audio is better than expected. That said, for the money it’s a bit much.
Hackers isn’t exactly a good movie but still entertaining and of the movies from the ‘90s dealing with technology, like The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, Virtuosity, it certainly holds up better (by comparison), in fact pair it up with one of those to make for a fun double feature.
The fourth season “Person of Interest” is another solid year for the series expanding the world and adding the new element in another machine, an adversary that makes the gang’s lives far more difficult and harder to help those in need. The performances all around are quite good and I only wonder where they go from here going into a 13-episode fifth season which, unless ratings improve, might be the series’ last.
I last saw The Babysitter a few years ago probably on one of the pay channels and seeing it again on Blu-ray only reminded me it was crap then and it’s crap now. The performances from a normally respectable cast was bad, the writing is awful and the movie all around just is a mess and frankly on the dull side rather than anything titillating or thrilling.
A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy isn’t a very well known Woody Allen film and although it pales in comparison with Manhattan and Annie Hall, lacking the same charm, even quirky by comparison, I wasn’t quite enamored with this movie as some though the performances by the supporting cast were quite good to go along with Allen’s typically eccentric nature.
Summer Lovers excels thanks to its exotic Greek locations and scenery more so than the story or characters. That said, Peter Gallagher and Daryl Hannah both turn in good performances and all in all it’s at least a semi-entertaining flick though not sure how much of I’ll remember about it down the line.
Big Game is by no means a good movie but as a lower budget version of Air Force One or any number of action-adventure flicks from the early 90s, it’s semi-entertaining and a film that’s probably more geared towards teenagers. But the cast is impressive enough and although Samuel L. Jackson isn’t his over-the-top self, he does have a couple amusing scenes.
Although I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and movie adaptations, for whatever reason The Casual Vacancy failed to strike a chord with me. I don’t know if it the adaptation work was lousy or what but outside of the likes of Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Julia McKenzie there wasn’t very much that grabbed my attention.
Vendetta is the McDonald’s double cheeseburger of the film world. It’s merely famishing while watching but utterly forgettable by the time it’s over and completely forgotten within hours. It’s actually not terrible and Dean Cain isn’t too bad in the lead and Michael Eklund serves as a delightfully squirmy villain but outside of that it’s not worthy of a rental and with some edits is destined to air on Spike.
True Story isn’t terrible but at its core, there wasn’t enough ‘there’ to make for a very interesting feature film. The performances I suppose weren’t terrible yet by the same token the odd relationship between Finkel and Longo never really did much or make any sort of emotional connection.
Pit Stop isn’t a very well known film and especially not amongst Jack Hill’s semi-lengthy filmography which includes Foxy Brown and Spider Baby but for my money, I enjoyed the heck out of it especially with the impressive stunt work and a generally unpredictable finale. The Blu-ray release by Arrow Video offers great video/audio transfers and a fair selection of bonus material making this a worthwhile purchase.
Hot Pursuit has to be one of the more ill-conceived comedies to come down the pike in a while but even more perplexing are the two leads who aren’t in the least bit untalented actually signed on not only to star but served as producers. Granted, I’m sure the cast and crew had a blast while making it but for the audience, it’s an absolute chore to sit through. This is the type of crap that will end up airing on TBS in no time.
Pound of Flesh could’ve been a fun B-movie but instead it’s yet another in the long line of crappy direct-to-video movies that will in all likelihood end up in the cheap bin at Wal-Mart, Big Lots or your local bargain store. Jean-Claude Van Damme still has some energy to him but when the screenplay is thin on story and production values that are borderline laughable, it’s hard to overcome those obstacles.
Barely Lethal, although hardly anything extraordinary, is at least a passable ‘tween spy thriller that’s heaps better than any of the Spy Kids movies (granted, not that big of an accomplishment). The cast is mostly good with Hailee Steinfeld doing a fine job carrying a thin script. It’s probably worth a rental, nothing more.
The Last Survivors may not be perfect as it could be repetitive at times while the plot was a bit thin but the acting is well done especially by lead actress Haley Lu Richardson and for an independent production it’s an impressive flick. The Blu-ray release offers good video/audio transfers while there’s a fine selection of bonus material headlined by a pair of commentary tracks.