Lionsgate has repackaged these re-releases in anticipation for the upcoming Avengers live action summer blockbuster, so if you already owned these you’re getting the exact same content except in a more convenient single Blu-ray case.
This “High-Powered Action Pack” might not have the greatest movies – Equilibrium and The Lookout are the best – but at a low SRP of $30, it comes to $5 per movie and maybe less depending on which store you go to (i.e. Best Buy had it for $10), so if you’ve enjoyed any of these and don’t care about features or average audio/video transfers, then by all means check it out.
Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire might not be a homerun when compared with some of the more recent direct-to-video animated movies, yet there’s still some good humor and I will give the writers credit for at least attempting something new adding a musical element into the mix. The animation is good especially the few 3D animated scenes and the story is serviceable.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is easily the best of the series with the original and third movie after it. The action is intense, the suspense well done and the comedy is right on the money without going over-the-top.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy excels in the acting category, and more specifically an excellent performance from Gary Oldman, but the story doesn’t hold as much water as I’d hoped.
If you don’t have anything else on the shelf for your kids to watch, then Hop might be worth a rental. If you don’t have kids, then skip it completely.
American Wedding despite the issues I had with Stifler as he changed from obnoxious to plain annoying, still has some funny scenes and even though it doesn’t nearly stack up to its predecessors, retains some of the charm that made them so good and memorable.
American Pie 2 is another good entry in the series and in between the titillating and raunchy humor, the reason the film still resonates a decade later is because there’s a genuine heart at its core.
American Pie is still a fun movie that might not have any sense of reality given most of these characters only exist on celluloid, but even so, it’s a movie that even with its age still manages to make me laugh be it for the gross-out, raunchy jokes or sex humor.
The Town marks Ben Affleck’s sophomore effort following the excellent Gone Baby Gone and once again he makes a well crafted picture with some solid performances, an intense plotline and an all around finely paced movie that proves Affleck has talent in front and behind the camera (especially with a well-written script)
Striptease isn’t a good movie yet at the same time I have to admire the energy Demi Moore and the supporting cast brought despite a poorly written screenplay.
Reindeer Games isn’t too bad of a movie and although it does feel too long, it’s still passable entertainment headlined by a unique performance from Gary Sinise. However, I cannot say this Blu-ray release is any good.
Tower Heist has a few issues dealing the plot’s logic but thanks to a fine ensemble cast, I’m able to overlook any of the script’s shortcomings; it gets the job done with both the crime and comedy.
It’s a shame Columbus Circle wasn’t better as it has a good cast and, at its core, at least an interesting premise. Although the script does them no favors, I give a pass to the cast as they seem to struggle through stilted dialogue and contrived situations, especially a finale that flies in the face of what we watched before.
J. Edgar is one of those films that you can see the passion be it from the costume design, production design and the cast. It’s unfortunate that the screenplay never quite gives the viewer a reason to care either way. Worst still, the movie plods along at a slow and arduous pace and although I appreciate the non-linear storytelling (it worked for Scorsese in The Aviator after all), it doesn’t do any justice for the character in the long run.