My Cousin Rachel was one of the bigger disappointments for me as I do like the cast, mainly Rachel Weisz, but the story never really came together as it could’ve and the pacing was dreadfully slow.
I didn’t feel The Mummy was a bad movie but worse yet, a completely forgettable one. Tom Cruise never really felt at home, Annabelle Wallis was rather bland in the female lead, Russell Crowe unremarkable in a forced appearance as Jekyll/Hyde and Sofia Boutella makes for a hot mummy, but not very threatening.
This fourth season of The Originals is, for me, more of the same. Some of the stories aren’t terribly compelling (so to speak) but I still enjoy Joseph Morgan’s Klaus character and at least the season is watchable and being only 13 episodes
I honestly had a good time watching Security not so much that it’s “good” but it is solid entertainment and a throwback to the action-thriller from the 1980s with a simple plot and an even simpler villain. The movie also works thanks to Banderas who continues to show he can be a bad ass.
First Kill was admittedly a tad better than I expected but not due to the point-and-shoot direction, a poor script or even Bruce Willis who seemed to give more of a damn compared to his other Grindstone DTV films, but a genuinely charm-filled performance from Gethin Anthony.
All Eyez on Me might be the long-awaited and most anticipated bio-pic on Tupac Shakur but speaking as someone who didn’t really follow his career growing up but this drama is underwhelming to say the least with some poor writing and so-so performances, though Demetrius Shipp Jr. is the spitting image of Shakur and does well in the role.
T
his “Signature Collection” release of The Lion King isn’t anything special but the video and audio transfers are both pitch perfect and while the features aren’t that great, it’s nice to see this amazing movie get back on Blu-ray.
No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
Batman and Harley Quinn is a movie that in theory should’ve been great with Bruce Timm as a writer, but what we get instead is a weak story, and what amounted to an average episode of The New Adventures of Batman, where the jokes don’t always land and even relegated to potty humor.
Daredevil: The Complete Second Season is yet another success story from the Netflix/Marvel line-up that I’ve seen and this season features some solid performances, even though I still can’t buy Charlie Cox in the lead, headlined by Jon Bernthal who is great as The Punisher.
While not exactly an obscure movie from the ‘70s, Night Moves has been largely forgotten or lost amongst the classics of what was arguably the best decade for cinema. Hackman is, per usual, amazing.
Jessica Jones: The Complete First Season is a great series that is dark, gritty and film noir in its style and storytelling… just with mutants/metahumans/them thrown in for extra measure. Krysten Ritter and David Tennant deliver amazing performances opposite one another.
The Slayer isn’t exactly top-notch 1980s horror as it is slow plodding and thinly written characters, but the atmosphere of taking place on a deserted island hold up in a house with a storm outside (and inside) approaches, it’s at least an entertaining experience.
Kid Galahad is a fun Elvis Presley sports musical (not many of those out there) that features some catchy 1960s tunes and some fine performances from Presley and Gig Young.
Maurice is a finely crafted, socially relevant and fantastically acted drama based on the novel by E.M. Forster, namely James Wilby and Hugh Grant. The Blu-ray released through Cohan Media Group offers up excellent video and audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus features.