The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power is what you think it would: really dumb and it doesn’t pretend to be otherwise so on a certain level, for as bad as it might be, it’s a harmlessly bad flick that many can enjoy and at the very least has mock value to hold an “MST3K” movie night. The Blu-ray released by Universal actually has good video and audio transfers and a decent selection of special features.
Francois Herrmann’s The Bride Wore Black some call a homage to Alfred Hitchcock, though some experts disagree, is a unique film experience for sure featuring a dangerously mesmerizing performance by Jeanne Moreau and wonderful cinematography. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers good video/audio transfers while the bonus material was limited, though the commentary was interesting to listen to.
Open Windows, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, The ABCs of Death, V/H/S: Viral), is more or less an experimental film that’s been done more than a few times with the entire picture taking place via a webcam, and although a nifty idea, the execution wasn’t the best.
La Ciénaga is a compelling drama-comedy with great performances from its lead but beyond that, an engrossing story. It’s not normally my type of film, and has little replay value, and for some, as with a fair number of Criterion Collection releases, it’s not for everybody.
Annabelle might have been a good idea on paper and certainly had a built-in audience thanks to the breakout box office for The Conjuring, but its execution was lackluster with not that many scares and the creepy quotient also wasn’t up to par.
Revenge of the Green Dragons is an ambitious film for sure with a fascinating subject matter but in the end, it’s also uneven. The performances are least half-decent and the always reliable Ray Liotta lends it some weight, though the bulk of the picture is led by Justin Chon and Kevin Wu.
Henry V is yet another fine Kenneth Branagh Shakespearian drama with great performances all around including future Dame Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi and Emma Thompson while Christian Bale makes an appearance in one of his early roles. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory has good audio, merely acceptable video but sadly no features.
Gone Girl is hardly David Fincher’s strongest film and arguably might not be in his top 5, but there’s much to admire in spite of a momentum killing third act from the performances by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, the suspension early on and the atmosphere Fincher and company establish.
The Longest Week has a great cast and an interesting story, but the execution was off and seemed to draw from other, often better, movies and filmmakers like P.T. Anderson and Woody Allen, the latter especially. If you can get over the pretentious nature of the two male leads then it might be worth a rental, otherwise skip this misfire of a drama-comedy.
By the Gun is a well intentioned but ultimately lifeless and clichéd crime-drama. Ben Barnes turns in a fine performance and anytime we see Harvey Keitel is a treat but otherwise the writing isn’t up to snuff and the direction is relatively standard.
Jimi: All is By My Side might’ve had the best of intentions and despite an admirable performance from Andre Benjamin, who was clearly 10 years too old to play Hendrix, this was a misfire that began when the Hendrix estate wouldn’t allow the use of his music which right there should’ve cancelled the project.
A Walk Among the Tombstones is an uneven crime-drama but its saving grace is with Liam Neeson who continues his success after his career resurgence following Taken. The story itself doesn’t quite work and the third act is a bit on the clichéd side, however, this might be worth a rental especially if you don’t mind a throwback thriller to the 1970s and 80s (think Charles Bronson).
Jessabelle is plain and simply an unintentionally funny flick propped up primarily thanks to its star, Sarah Snoot who hopefully can find some better material as she wasn’t that bad making the film at least tolerable.
Supernova is somewhat of a controversial sci-fi thriller, some who stand by it while others trash it; for myself, there is some good to the film yet it never quite hits its stride and kind of loses its way by the final act. That said, it’s worth a watch if only for curiosity’s sake (plus Tunney looks mighty good).
88 is a different breed of the revenge plot with a lead actress who is great in a dual role, one squeaky clean, the other bad ass criminal, while it’s fun seeing Christopher Lloyd getting work again making a quasi resurgence appearing in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and a variety of DTV flicks. Outside of the acting, though, this is one of the more insane, and inane (with much love), films I’ve seen in some time and its one hell of a way to start 2015.