American Reunion is a great finale to a funny and heartfelt franchise. For a certain generation this cast and characters have meant so much and to find them back together is a great accomplishment by the producers and filmmakers. The movie itself has some memorable moments and thankfully doesn’t restrain itself to the timeline of the direct-to-video sequels.
O is a harrowing movie headlined with strong writing but even stronger performances from a young and impressive cast, primarily Mekhi Phifer and Josh Hartnett. The Blu-ray offers up an OK video transfer but the DTS-HD MA more than makes up for it even when not all the features from the DVD were ported over.
Step Up doesn’t exactly rewrite the music genre but for what it is, it’s a fun movie with some great beats and nice chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. This new Blu-ray release offers up only average video but the audio more than makes up for it as the bass goes into overdrive shaking the floor and walls.
Phenomenon is a well acted and finely dramatic film that seemed primed to be Oscar bait, especially in the acting category if you see a few of the scenes. However, it doesn’t hold much replay value because while the story is well done and features some fine direction by Jon Turteltaub, it’s just one of those movies that’s only worth one viewing every few years, despite a fine performance from John Travolta.
The Faculty is a great movie that takes the old Invasion of the Body Snatchers story and rather than turning it on its head, just gives a slight twist but leaves everything else relatively in line. It also helps that, like the Scream movies before, it’s self aware of the kind of movie this is.
Blade II is a great movie and one of the better comic book films to be released in the past decade. Having Guillermo del Toro helm this entry was one reason for its success especially in the visual realm. The action is well shot and the suspense is maintained throughout. It also features a good performance from Wesley Snipes as well as Ron Perlman who make for a cool baddie.
If you’re looking for a breezy family film, elements that are often missing from modern movies littered with sexual content and questionable material, you can do worse than Mirror Mirror. The movie has fine performances from Julia Roberts, Lily Collins and Armie Hammer, the visual effects are pretty good and the story itself, while obvious and predictable, is at least interesting enough to keep your attention until the end.
Overall, Wrath of the Titans isn’t a bad movie, just a poorly made one. It apparently cost $150 million and it seems you can see every penny of it on screen with some decent visual effects, good production design and well made costumes. However, the characters are paper thin, the story unexciting and the action ultimately forgettable.
Ransom is a well made crime-thriller propelled by some great performances from Mel Gibson and Rene Russo and the story never gets old or is overly complicated and instead plays it straight as a thrilling cat-and-mouse game.
Barbarella might not be everybody’s cup of tea, it certainly wasn’t mine, but there are certain aspects one can appreciate beginning with Jane Fonda’s performance. Otherwise, the film is a bit too far “out there” though it does have some great, memorable, scenes.
Seeking Justice is a serviceable film that’s not going to challenge the brain, especially the plot, but because of a thankfully subdued Nicolas Cage and an impressive supporting cast, it’s at least worth checking out even if it’s only a rental. The Blu-ray isn’t anything to write home about either with a superficial featurette and a trailer. The audio and video transfers are fine if not unexceptional.
The Meatballs Blu-ray release is a mixed bag with decent audio and video transfers but disappointing in the features department especially considering the making-of featurette was not transferred over (no doubt due to the rights being with Sony).
Call it strike two for Sony trying to launch a Ghost Rider franchise. The PG-13 might be constraining for the directors but even with an R-rating, I can’t see it being that much better. Nicolas Cage continues his downward slide with his Rock and Leaving Las Vegas days looking like a distant memory, albeit once in a while he can surprise. Even so, I can’t really muster the energy to hate Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. To me, indifference is worse than hating a movie
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a satisfying sequel but at nearly 130-minutes, it does get a bit long in the tooth by the two-hour mark. Even so, the continuing chemistry between Downey and Law is fantastic and the new additions of Jared Harris and Noomi Rapace makes this at least a worthwhile rental.
Safe House may not offer anything new in the spy-thriller genre but it’s at least entertaining primarily because of Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, both of whom turn in respectable performances.