Amber Alert: Terror on the Highway is an all around bad movie with poorly written characters not helped by inane dialogue but most of all, it’s just a mess of a plot where the villain’s motivation isn’t entirely clear; it’s also filled with side stories, some character struggles which offer nothing but to bad out the running time.
“Pretty Little Liars”: The Complete Fourth Season is actually a step up from season three. Sure, the four ladies make some boneheaded mistakes helping “A” further his or hers vendetta, but there are some good revelations which further the plot along nicely and we do get a few answers not to mention some solid drama for each of the girls.
“Major Crimes”: The Complete Second Season is successful more on the ensemble cast, with Mary McDonnell leading the way, more so than the plots and the season-long subplot. The DVD released by Warner Brothers has good audio and video transfers but is a bit limited with the bonus material.
Camp Dread is one bad horror film, amongst so many others that have come and gone; a movie that the likes of Eric Roberts or Danielle Harris couldn’t save. The DVD released by RLJ Entertainment is pretty minimal with OK video and audio transfers and nary a featurette to be found, though to be honest, that might be a good thing…
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, unlike its DCU counterparts, is a big downgrade in quality especially with the story, but I get what the filmmakers were after: a tongue-in-cheek comedy adventure and throwback to the old cartoon series; however the humor is pretty basic and really only anyone under the age of 13 might get anything substantial out of it.
Beyond the Trophy isn’t a good movie. Perdiod, end of the discussion. The performances are at best wooden including Michael Madsen and the story is filled with cliché after cliché to go along with a poorly written script. Add to that, the production values are pretty bad making for a terrible looking picture.
Adult World isn’t perfect with a clumsy story but the performances by Emma Roberts and John Cusack are both quite good and the film itself is at least watchable though has a limited replay value. The DVD doesn’t have much with minimal features and so-so video/audio transfers.
The Pretty One is an interesting little drama toplined by a star-making performance by Zoe Kazan who plays dueling roles. However, the DVD released by Sony is pretty basic with average video and audio transfers and an incredibly short featurette.
Considering Independence Day-Saster is a made-for-TV SyFy film, I have to admit, it’s not that bad with Ryan Merriman making for an amiable leading man though having Tom Everett Scott playing the President is a bit of a stretch, though it is in keeping with Independence Day with Bill Pullman playing the young and inexperienced Commander in Chief.
“Rogue”: The Complete First Season, a series airing exclusively on DirectTV, is a well made crime-drama with great performances by Thandie Newton and Marton Csokas and a compelling story that keeps you engaged throughout the 10-episode long season.
“Jonny Quest”: The Complete Eighties Adventures is a fun enough series even if I, who grew up during that time, barely even recall ever watching it. The animation looks good and the transfers for the audio and video are both OK. Although it is feature-less, it is nice to see it get a release if only through the Warner Archives line.
Survival Code actually isn’t an entirely terrible flick but it is a low budget, made-for-TV affair with some standard action and fight scenes. Even so, some might find it to be mildly entertaining and with a short running time, makes for a quick watch.
This “Power Rangers” Seasons 13-17 set is another solid seasons of the long-running, enduring series. Sure, its cheesy as all hell, the acting isn’t the best but it’s also entertaining in the breezy sort of way. This season set compiled by Shout Factory offers up OK audio/video transfers and some well made, newly recorded featurettes.
Twisted Tales is an interesting concept taking more than a little cue from “Tales from the Crypt” and getting together some decent talent by Tom Holland who wrote and directed each of the nine vignettes. However, more than a few of those aren’t very good or well acted yet there’s a couple that are at least watchable including the one starring William Forsythe and Danielle Harris.
Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz is actually a decent little horror-thriller combining Nazis and zombies for a third time in this series (which honestly I had never heard of). The DVD release by Xlator doesn’t have much going for it with only a trailer and merely adequate video and audio transfers.