Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
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.
Justice League: Doom has some of the same flaws of other DCU Animated releases, one being a short running time, that it limits any kind of character development or arc. Even so, the action and adventure elements are both fantastic and compared with the other Justice League movies, this is probably the best.
Puss in Boots is a good entry in DreamWorks Animation catalogue, though I’d hardly call it a classic. Even so, the voice talents are all fantastic, the animation top notch.
Anatomy of a Murder is a very well made courtroom suspense-drama thanks in large part to a well put together selection of actors. James Stewart continued his streak of wonderful performances while the story manages to hold its own throughout the duration of the lengthy running time.
Continue reading “Anatomy of a Murder Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review”
As you might imagine, stoner comedies might not be everybody’s bag of weed but even on that level I’m not sure if A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas really works mainly because a fair number of jokes were made because of 3D which is non-existent in the 2D version (and when the joke is made, it just comes off as unfunny or lame). Even so, there are moments where I chuckled and seeing the two stars back together is at least worth a rental.
Continue reading “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas Blu-ray Review”
If you’re fan of “CSI”, this is your chance to get at least one, feature-length, episode in high-definition given Paramount has seemingly given up on releasing the series on Blu-ray now (seasons 1 and 9 are the only two).
What’s Your Number is another rom-com that doesn’t exactly break the mold for the genre. You get the old boy meets girl routine and some convoluted and even inane plot points but help me, I did manage to laugh a few times thanks mainly to Anna Faris. Make no mistake, it’s not a good movie and I’d that it might only be worth to Netflix if anything.
Continue reading “Review: What’s Your Number? BD + Screen Caps”
The Rum Diary is the kind of film that doesn’t linger after it’s over. It’s not bad enough to mock or good enough to recommend, it kind of is just… there. Depp delivers another good performance but even he can’t save an undercooked screenplay.
Although I’d hardly call The Rebound a great romantic comedy, thanks to the chemistry Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha bring, it’s at least worth checking out.
In Time is a movie that had so much but squandered a great idea with a half-baked screenplay, thinly written characters and a plot that is more in line with a Bonnie & Clyde/Robin Hood story than anything else. Justin Timberlake isn’t bad as the main lead while Amanda Seyfried looks good but her character isn’t fully developed.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is hardly the high point of action but I must admit that I actually mostly enjoyed this installment possibly because the previous sequel was so bad that it made this film look like Citizen Kane. In any case, once again the visual effects are incredible and the story was at least acceptable.
Continue reading “Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray Review”
See No Evil, Hear No Evil is Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder at their best. The story isn’t great and in fact is quite dumb but the pair’s comedic timing and chemistry makes the 100-minutes so worthwhile.
To say the least, Abduction is not a very good movie, the acting from Lautner is pretty bad (and at best just OK) while the talented supporting cast can’t overcome a lame script and overwrought storyline. The action sequences are all fairly average but at the same time I at least found some of it to be entertaining even when things get bad.
Traffic still is as engrossing today as it was the first day I saw it in the theaters 11 years ago. The performances all around are fantastic while Soderbergh’s style, now a standard for him, was unique and beautiful.
Continue reading “Traffic: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review”
Shark Night could’ve been an acceptable B-movie horror but instead the PG-13 rating neuters anything good. The acting isn’t up to snuff either but the screenplay hardly does anyone any favors.