Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
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.
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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).
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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.
The Two Faces of January has its moments between the performances by its three leads (highlighted by Oscar Isaac), beautiful cinematography taking full advantage of its on-location shoot and a genuine Hitchcock-esque vibe. However, the pacing is a bit off and the story could’ve used some more work, but all in all, I found it to be an enjoyable little film worth a rental fee.
In spite of my criticisms of The Guest, there are some things to admire from the performances by its two leads (Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe) and some very dark humor with one scene standing out (at the restaurant for those who have seen it), but for all I liked, this was just a shift in tone which really took this from being ridiculously awesome to ridiculously stupid.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is certainly a weak sequel especially compared with the original; however, it’s still a functional entry into the series (not saying much considering the third is a wreck).
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Honeymoon, while hardly perfect with some questionable plot details, is a good little indie horror-science fiction flick well worth at least a rental as it features two fine performances and direction by a new filmmaker who hopefully gets the chance in the future.
The Fortune might be considered a lost gem lost in the sea of the greatness that was 1970s cinema, not to mention The Sting which was released only two years prior, but it’s a weak flick with the occasional funny moments and at the very least might be worth it to see Jack Nicholson cut loose, all before he was a caricature of himself…