Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Dawn Patrol is a decent enough drama/thriller with a fine performance from lead actor and producer Scott Eastwood and he continues his ascent into potential Hollywood stardom. It’s not a particularly special film but it is well directed though it’s the type of movie destined for television with a few choice cuts.
“Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell” wasn’t exactly my cup of tea since, frankly, the jokes weren’t all that funny and some went on far too long. Still, at least each episode, totaling only 6 for its first season, at least they’re not lengthy clocking in at around 12-minutes each. This single disc DVD release offers some good selection of bonus features while the video and audio transfers were good enough.
Continue reading “Review: “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell”: Season 1 DVD”
’71 is a well made and tight war thriller featuring a nice performance from Jack O’Connell who manages to carry the film fairly well. The DVD released by Lionsgate is basic but good enough providing for fine video/audio transfers and a decent selection of bonus material.
Black Beauty is hardly great but it’s a safe enough family film with some OK performances by the three leads and a good enough moral that doesn’t get overly syrupy (i.e. Disney-fied). The DVD released by Lionsgate offers up a couple basic bonus features and decent enough video and audio transfers.
“COPS”: Wildest Chases is a really basic release and the title is a bit misleading because rather than compiling the “wildest” chases, instead we get 7 full episodes from recent seasons. Considering there are “COPS” marathons on both Spike and CMT (in remix form), I’m not sure why one should pay a penny for this release…
The Encore of Tony Duran, which has been around for a few years floating around the Interwebs, finally sees a DVD release and although not polished, still has some charm with its star, Gene Pietragallo. The DVD itself is a bit weak with so-so video/audio transfers but the video commentary makes for an interesting enough listen.
I hate reality TV and I’m tired of zombie movies and Fight of the Living Dead manages to combine the two to make for an annoying series that I’m sure a certain segment will like, myself I won’t think about it ever again. The DVD released by Cinedigm is light on substantive features but I guess it’s better than nothing.
Private Number is just the latest in a long line of cheap DVD releases destined for the cheap bin at Wal-Mart and even then it’s not worth that kind of money. It’s a shame as there was some good elements bogged down by bad writing and a really stupid third act and it’s another movie with Tom Sizemore being prominently displayed on the cover but having little to do with the plot.
Assassin’s Game is the rare “gem” of a film with a once respectable actor headlining relegated to a caricature and starring another who should remain way behind the camera. This is an all around poorly made movie and one can’t just blame the budget because I have seen many low budget movies that weren’t half bad. This one, however, isn’t even deserving of being in Wal-Mart’s bargain bin.
Asmodexia is the latest exorcism movie and, with the likes of so many others… isn’t very good. The plot has been seen before in some fashion and the acting isn’t the best though the make-up effects weren’t altogether bad. Unless the genre is your thing, it’s not even worth a rental. The DVD itself only has a trailer while the video and audio transfers are merely adequate.
“The Mentalist” season seven isn’t great but still a nice sendoff for a fun, if not uneven, series. The ensemble cast share good chemistry, including the one newcomer, and Simon Baker is as charming as ever while the cases are generally interesting enough. The DVD released by Warner, like the previous season sets, are rather basic and unfortunately we don’t get a nice retrospective featurette on this series’ run.
Continue reading “Review: “The Mentalist”: The Complete Seventh Season DVD”
It’s easy to see why Blindsided had a hard time seeing a home video release after some distribution overseas. Michael Keaton is easily the best part of the entire film making it from a utter turkey to something watchable if only one time, though I can’t say it’s worth even a rental.
This release of “Walker: Texas Ranger” is utterly ridiculous. The episode itself might be OK – though I haven’t watched enough to compare with others – but the fact you can buy the third season set, where this episode is available, for basically the same price on Wal-Mart.com, makes this a rip-off and with that I cannot recommend it.
Continue reading “Review: “Walker, Texas Ranger”: Standoff DVD”
“The Nanny” might not make the list as one of the better sitcoms of the 1990s, dwarfed by the likes of “Frasier”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld” and even “Roseanne” but it’s still a well written and often funny series with the right touch of heart and soul along with a charming ensemble that made each episode so much fun.
Continue reading “Review: The Nanny – The Complete Series DVD”
Love Sick might’ve made for a fine episode of some slapstick comedy, produced by Chuck Lorre no doubt, or a made-for-TV movie to air on Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel, but as it is, there’s nothing really special going on. LeBlanc and Larter share some charming scenes but put together, the comedy just doesn’t work.