“Star Trek: The Next Generation” Season Four is another fantastic chapter in the “Trek” franchise. In the third season, there were signs of greatness in many episodes and this season offers even more amazing chapters in the saga where even the “worst” episodes sometimes rivaled the first and second season’s best.
Kiss of the Damned has some things going for it. The story is a bit slow to develop but it does at least offers some interesting drama between the sister vampires. The performances from the main cast – Josephine de La Baume, Milo Ventimiglia, and Roxane Mesquida – are well done, however de La Baume and Mesquida are breakouts.
Vehicle 19 had an interesting filmmaking concept in taking the viewer inside the van but instead of making for a suspenseful little flick, it’s one that seemingly meanders and gets downright dull in spite of a relatively short running time. I’d like to say Paul Walker was a saving grace but that’d be a lie as he only shows one expression and has a couple scenes that would even rank low in his career. Plain and simple, this is a movie one can skip.
The Spider-Man 2 Mastered in 4k Blu-ray release looks good but is it worth the price of an upgrade (around $15)? I don’t think so especially since, as with the other 4k releases none of the features were ported over. Still, if you own the proper equipment and have made the determination to dive into the field, this is a top title worth having in your collection.
“Portlandia” Season Three is hit or miss with the jokes, but when they land, it’s quite amusing, especially for somebody born and raised in the state of Oregon. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are both fairly versatile in their outlandish characters and situations.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation actually isn’t a terrible movie, thanks in large part to Dwayne Johnson, and a fair step up from Rise of the Cobra but it’s still a relatively generic action movie with nothing discernibly memorable about the action set pieces or the standard plot itself. Even so, Retaliation is worth a one-time viewing especially if you’re a fan of the “G.I. Joe” franchise.
With Evil Dead Fede Alvarez and company, along with producers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, were on an uphill battle remaking/rebooting a cult classic and in some instances, it works but in many others, it came across as another horror movie amongst hundreds of others with higher production values.
The Last Exorcism Part II is the epitome of the unnecessary sequel. The story is slow to develop, the scares are scarce and the screenplay itself is half-baked. However, for all that’s wrong with it, there are some truly incredibly awful scenes that approach awesomeness that it would make for perfect “MST3K” material.
Bullet to the Head is yet another forgettable action flick. For some, it might be a fun callback to 1980s action but for myself, I found it to be poorly made with awkward storytelling and poor casting with Sung Kang, who I generally find to be a charismatic actor (and was the only good thing in Tokyo Drift) but he had absolutely no chemistry as Stallone’s quasi-adversary.
Sleepless in Seattle isn’t the perfect romantic-comedies but it’s an effective one and respectable given the two leads share very little time on-screen with one another. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are great in their respective parts separated and even though I’ve seen the film dozens of times over the years, it’s still entertaining.
Cohen & Tate is the buddy movie you’ve never seen before. Roy Scheider is excellent, as always, in the lead; for a child actor, Harley Cross is remarkably strong-is performance while Adam Baldwin went over-the-top, in a good way, as a psychopathic killer for the mob.
Dead Man Down is a rare film in Hollywood, one that puts character first and action/thrills second, and both fronts are mostly successful. The chemistry between Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace is palpable and although it was “one the nose”, the lost soul’s aspect to their characters is a nice touch.
Upside Down threw away so much potential that it could have been a cult classic but instead we get a jumbled screenplay and finished product that seems to be missing some key scenes. It also doesn’t help that our two protagonists are barely together early on making Adam’s journey so hard to follow because it’s not immediately obvious why he is so enamored with her.
The “Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special” is just as funny as the show itself and for fan of DC Comics, it’s a hoot to watch. While not all the jokes land, the majority do and alongside some decent talent lending their voices, even if a few are unrecognizable (like Alfred Molina).
The Brass Teapot features some great performances and fine writing and direction from an on-the-rise filmmaker in Ramaa Mosley. Even if the story doesn’t offer many surprises, there is enough here to entertain and at least keep one’s attention until the end.