Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Getting That Girl isn’t the greatest rom-com but the cast are all well cast, highlighted by Gia Mantegna, and work well with one another even if the script delves into high school cliché territory. The DVD release offers a solo BTS featurette and adequate if not average audio and video transfers.
Mischief Night is your typical and cheap direct-to-video horror movie with nothing new to offer although I did find star Noell Coet to be one of the few highlights, so hopefully she finds better material in the future. The DVD released by RLJ Entertainment isn’t overly impressive with merely adequate video/audio transfers and a forgettable bonus feature.
Not my cup of tea, but Casting Me… is a funny enough movie. The DVD comes with a good amount of features including an audio commentary, 3 featurettes, production diaries and trailers.
“Power Rangers”: Seasons 8-12 is yet another great set from Shout Factory with satisfactory audio and video transfers and, as far as I know, all the features captured on one disc. Now, it is quite expensive (it will be around $75 when released), so you really need to be a hardcore “PR” fan but to me, it’s worth it.
Continue reading “Review: “Power Rangers”: Seasons 8-12 DVD”
Shiver is a weak psychological horror-thriller with poor performances outside of the delightful Danielle Harris who seemingly continues to over-perform some of the dreck horror films. Although she is pretty good in this one, everything else is low-rent and cheap looking to go along with a story which never quite clicks. The DVD doesn’t have a whole lot to offer with no bonus material and average audio/video transfers.
“Inspector Gadget” is a great trip back to my childhood and I suspect there are many others born and grew up in the 1980s feel the same way. No the show wasn’t a masterpiece and the humor often forced, but man I had a wonderful time revisiting the series. With both seasons being released on DVD for the first time, it’s the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the character to a new generation.
Continue reading “Review: Inspector Gadget: Season One, Volumes 1-3”
“90210” was never a great show, or even a good one for that matter, but it still was a guilty pleasure if only for the eye candy and flashy sets. This final season DVD set comes with a decent amount of features including a 30-minute+ retrospective featurette while the audio/video transfers are adequate enough.
“Beauty and the Beast”: The First Season might not be the smoothest freshman season or anything, but there’s enough there to keep watching starting with Kristin Kreuk who finally gets to headline a series after many years on “Smallville” playing second fiddle. Yeah, some of the storylines are a bit soapy and although I liked Kreuk, it does take some time taking her seriously as an NYPD detective.
Continue reading “Review: “Beauty and the Beast”: The First Season”
“Leverage” might not be remembered that well but I sure enjoyed the series despite some less than stellar episodes. Still, the cast shares wonderful chemistry and some of the season-long storylines were at least compelling. This final season, granted only 15 episodes, have some solid episodes and the series finale gives nice closure for the fans. The DVD doesn’t have a whole lot regarding features though having a commentary with each episode does provide insight from the creators and others.
“Criminal Minds”: Season 8 isn’t bad with a few highlights throughout the year including a fun supervillain in the Replicator and Jeanne Tripplehorn’s first foray is semi-satisfying though not an equal replacement for Brewster and some of the stories are getting tiresome blending together like a Friday the 13th sequel. The DVD released by Paramount does offer a respectable amount of features and the audio/video transfers are pretty good.
Continue reading “Review: “Criminal Minds”: Season 8 + Screen Caps”
“NCIS: Los Angeles” is what I would call diversionary programming. It’s not terribly creative, outside of an episode or two, but the cast holds it together with wonderful chemistry.
Continue reading “NCIS: Los Angeles: The Complete Fourth Season DVD Review”
“The League” Season 4 DVD is an OK release and with only 13 episodes is relatively cheap, though I’d recommend the Blu-ray (which we were not supplied, unfortunately). The features aren’t anything amazing, though I guess if you’re a fan of the show, the extended episodes might be an interesting bonus.
The Stranger Within is not the worst movie I’ve seen this year, but it’s still really bland. The story is all over the place and the acting isn’t anything special, though special credit to Estella Warren for being able to keep a straight face. This is something I’d expect to air on the Lifetime Channel but that might be an insult to Lifetime as some of their movies are at least acceptable entertainment; this one is merely forgettable.
“The Good Wife” is one of the mostly unknown gems of network television featuring incredible performances, in particular from Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Josh Charles and Archie Panjabi. As a new viewer going into this fourth season, I actually was surprised at how enthralling the show was as it got me hooked from the first episode and I recommend checking it out as it is an entertaining legal drama.
Continue reading “Review: The Good Wife: The Fourth Season DVD”
for all its problems, Rapture-Palooza is a still a surprisingly funny movie featuring some great comedic talents headlined by Craig Robinson. Although it does go a bit flat heading into the third act, most of the jokes and religious satire hits the mark making for a fun film.