Predators may not have been as successful of a franchise reboot as last year’s Star Trek in terms of quality, but as someone who wasn’t as enamored with the original as some, I thought there were some elements that did work and the casting was well done.
The Peacemaker has all earmarks of a generic mid/late ‘90s action-thriller and is only remembered thanks to the then up-and-coming star in George Clooney and the beauty of Nicole Kidman otherwise this could’ve easily been just another direct-to-video affair.
Valentine’s Day may be a two-hour cliché but at the same time it’s fairly harmless and might please some people out there, but for me, I like my romantic-comedies to have, oh I don’t know, a little comedy thrown in there. I know… that’s a silly thing to expect.
As a comic book fan, in general, I found Elektra to be one of the most mundane and average comic book movie ever. There’s nothing really memorable, such as an action sequence, nor the performance from the lovely Jennifer Garner. However, Elektra does make a good time-waster and a film you don’t have to think about… at all.
The Relic may not be a top notched film but looking at it as a call back to the old days of monster horror flicks, I think it works well enough to be a satisfactory Saturday movie night viewing party.
Jade may be underrated in its vitriol but by the same token it’s still not a very good movie even with some erotic sex scenes meant to titillate and instead are weird (nothing new from Friedkin) bordering on boring. You add in a plot that isn’t very intriguing and a lead actor who is even less so and you’ve got a movie that deserves to be forgotten.
Sorority Row may just be another slasher pic with some unique kills but the finale is the real killer of this film. However, the audio and video are both solid and although I would’ve liked to have seen better featurettes than the standard EPK-like one’s we got.
The Brothers Bloom is writer-director Rian Johnson’s follow-up his surprisingly fantastic 2005 film, Brick starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. But often sophomore efforts after promising starts tend to greatly disappoint but Johnson’s latest once again surprised me as it wasn’t your typical con genre flick.
I was absolutely enthralled with 2006’s Paris, I Love You as it beautifully showcased the City of Love, Lights, Dreams, Art, et cetera while also giving us stories that made use of each precious minute allotted; and I had high hopes for the follow-up, New York, I Love You where we get to see the City That Never Sleeps. Unfortunately even though the directors try their best to showcase New York, the stories never quite hit the emotional levels (be it for comedy or drama) that I felt with Paris.
Although not as bad as I had imagined going in, Whiteout sadly just isn’t a special suspense-thriller. Indeed it does have a good moment or two but with a story that doesn’t exude feature film quality.
Heat is an incredible and well layered crime-drama featuring two dynamic performances and one of the best supporting cast of any modern film. I’m a little hesitant to give this Blu-ray a full recommendation since the picture isn’t awe-inspiring but it is still a step above the DVD video, so if you can get this on sale, it is well worth picking up.
I think The Number 23 could have been a niche classic but unfortunately, it never quite builds the right momentum to take it across the finish line. Carrey once again gives a good performance, as does Virginia Madsen — who takes some risks with her Fabrizia alter-ego —, and I must give even Joel Schumacher some credit just for Fingerling’s world. The film has some intriguing ideas that might make watching once worthwhile.
If it weren’t for such an average video transfer — since there’s not a whole lot of difference between this and the DVD from what I could tell —, Wrong Turn just might’ve been a moderately acceptable purchase, but with only a nice DTS-HD MA audio mix and the same features, this is one I would skip, unless you don’t already own the DVD and can find it for under $10…
The Uninvited isn’t a particularly a great movie by any stretch but it did manages to exceed my own low expectations given it was advertised as yet another PG-13 teen horror movie. Also, some may not like the ending but for me it was surprising enough, even if the groundwork to get to that point was a bit lazy.
While Taking Lives may not be a top of the shelf serial-killer thriller, it at least has a creepy vibe to it and some decent performances from Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke and the woefully underused Kiefer Sutherland.