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.
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.
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.
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.
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.