Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
The Buddy Holly Story is a well done biographical drama given life by an Oscar-worthy performance from none other than Gary Busey (yeah, there was a time when he wasn’t completely nuts). The direction and pacing was also fine-tuned making for a nice drama.
Motel Hell is another quirky release in the Scream Factory line and it has its moments headlined by a good performance from Farmer Vincent himself, Rory Calhoun.
I actually found Scooby-Doo: Franken Creepy to be one of the better entries of the recent DTV movies. The animation is more or less the same but the humor is great, include some fun in-jokes and a strangely stylistic direction style seemingly inspired by Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (and a couple others that I can’t remember).
Continue reading “Scooby-Doo: Franken Creepy Blu-ray Review”
Man Hunt is a very well made thriller, with some of that 1940s war propaganda, with some solid performances by Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett and George Sanders, a great score from Alfred Newman and impressive cinematography.
Phantom of the Paradise is a well made and quirky adaptation of the classic opera. The performances, both sung and acting, were good headlined by William Finley and Jessica Harper
Continue reading “Phantom of the Paradise: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review”
Batman: Assault on Arkham isn’t a bad entry into the DC Universe Animated line but the title is misleading with the title character has been relegated to supporting role status as the bulk of the story is centered on the members of the Suicide Squad as well as some on The Joker, though that’s hardly a bad thing.
Follow That Dream is considered one of Elvis’ finest performances and he indeed is charismatic as ever and the lovely Anne Helm works well with him providing a nice spark. Yeah, the story itself feels out-of-date but still fun to watch.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is a well made film with gripping drama, with a bit of comedy, which excels thanks to the performances from the venerable Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani.
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a disappointment for me mainly because I think the first movie set the right tone but the sequel instead squandered many opportunities particularly in the villain department who had little development to go along with a thin plot that for the most consisted of hating Spider-Man more than anything.
Hercules was never one of my favorite Disney animated movies of the 1990s, falling far short of the likes of Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid (and even in some aspects, Tarzan), but it’s still a decent enough film that the whole family can enjoy with some fine music sequences.
The Railway Man is a well made movie but its main success is with yet another fine performance from Colin Firth who steals the show although Nicole Kidman gets some good scenes as well.
Toy Story of Terror is another solid entry in the franchise with some great humor and some decent, kid-friendly, terror. It’s also wonderful that they manage to get the cast back even in limited roles rather than go the cheaper/easier route with voice imitators.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks, while having its fans, isn’t the most well-known Disney musical taking a backseat to the likes of Mary Poppins, but it’s still fun and energetic led by the wonderful Angela Lansbury along with some nice musical numbers.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is one of the more quirky romantic comedies I’ve come across but that’s the appeal for the film written and directed by famed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar with two solid performances from Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas.
Continue reading “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review”
Without Warning is a low-budget and sometimes laughable sci-fi/horror but seeing Jack Palance and Martin Landau was fun and it at least kept my attention until the end