Amistad is another well made film from Steven Spielberg and features several good performances including Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou and Matthew McConaughey who reminds you he’s always had the dramatic acting chops…
Flying Tigers is a well made war drama featuring some well done, for its time, special effects, to go along with strong performances by John Wayne and John Carroll. Unfortunately the Blu-ray release from Olive Films, while featuring respectable audio and video transfers, neglects any bonus features so the bang for the buck is not there, though if you are a fan of the movie, or war films in general, it might be worth the price.
Although hardly the strongest in the long line of DC Universe Animated Movies, Son of Batman still has a few things going for it from the animation, save for a couple lousy shots, and an interesting story that probably could’ve been expanded to make it more dynamic. On the negative side, I’m still not in love with Jason O’Mara’s voice as Bruce Wayne/Batman but it’s not as grating this go around.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a film with so much potential squandered for the sake of a buck using blatant in-movie advertising but instead of furthering the story, they only served to take one out of the film despite some good performances, particularly Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig, with honorable mention for Adam Scott for playing one of the biggest/best cinematic douchebag.
The Legend of Hercules gets to have the distinct pleasure of being the first flop of 2014 at the box office and with critics and audiences alike and for good reason. There’s nothing here save maybe for Gaia Weiss who, albeit in a limited role, was decent (and easy on the eyes). Anyway, avoid this as there’s nothing redeeming, not even in the “it’s so bad it’s good” kind of way either.
Home of the Brave is another forgotten film that gets a HD treatment courtesy of Olive Films. And while the picture and audio are hardly anything to brad about, it’s nice for this to get a release. That being said, the price on a title without features is extreme at $30 but if you can find a deal and are a fan, then it might be worth picking up.
Sophie’s Choice is a harrowing drama set against truly haunting images. The performances from Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol are all fantastic.
The Suspect, despite a somewhat convoluted story, isn’t all that bad of a film thanks in large part to two great performances from Mekhi Phifer and William Sadler who play off one another so well.
Labor Day is a fairly dull and despite the best intentions by Reitman, Brolin and Winslet just never resonated on an emotional level plus an inane, ridiculous and unbelievable plotline.
Escape from Tomorrow is notable for one reason and one reason only: getting made, on the fly, and under the nose of the Disney Corporation and for that, it’s a commendable flick, but the story breaks down though the cast do well enough all things considered.
In Rock Star, I can respect Mark Wahlberg’s performance, and some of those in the supporting cast like Timothy Olymphant and Jason Flemyng, but it’s a clichéd drama that never quite hit the, ahem, right high notes to make for an engaging drama.
Torque is a biker version of The Fast and the Furious (from its producer no less) sans any memorable characters and includes terrible dialogue, a lame story (even for a movie like this) and even worse visual effects culminating with an awful, and confusing, finale.
Used Cars is not only a biting and dark satire but it’s also very funny and pretty edgy even by today’s standards to the point I’d doubt a film like this would get widely released. Kurt Russell is fantastic in the lead role and the supporting cast, led by Jack Warden, is wonderful as well.
Ride Along had the potential to be a good action-comedy and despite good on-screen chemistry between its two leads, it gets bogged down with a clichéd screenplay and ho-hum direction.
Get Carter might’ve been yet another unnecessary remake and although hardly perfect is at least passable entertainment, though there’s nothing about it particularly memorable despite decent performances from Stallone and Cook.