“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
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.
“Gunsmoke” was an amazing series probably never to be seen again lasting 20 seasons. This ninth season features some stellar storylines and some solid acting starting with James Arness himself. Although it is nine seasons in at this point, the show still felt fresh with good writing and finely fleshed out characters that, outside of the main cast, were one-off. The DVD released by Paramount shows off some impressive digital restoration although the bonus features are non-existent.
“Portlandia” Season Three is hit or miss with the jokes, but when they land, it’s quite amusing, especially for somebody born and raised in the state of Oregon. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are both fairly versatile in their outlandish characters and situations.
“Unforgettable”: The First Season is yet another solid crime-drama on the king of crime-dramas, CBS. Poppy Montgomery is wonderful in the lead role and her character’s abilities is unique and, at least to some extent, based on reality even if heightened for a weekly television series. The DVD released by Paramount provides good video/audio transfers while the features aren’t anything amazing but nowadays getting any features is considered a blessing.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation actually isn’t a terrible movie, thanks in large part to Dwayne Johnson, and a fair step up from Rise of the Cobra but it’s still a relatively generic action movie with nothing discernibly memorable about the action set pieces or the standard plot itself. Even so, Retaliation is worth a one-time viewing especially if you’re a fan of the “G.I. Joe” franchise.
Upside Down threw away so much potential that it could have been a cult classic but instead we get a jumbled screenplay and finished product that seems to be missing some key scenes. It also doesn’t help that our two protagonists are barely together early on making Adam’s journey so hard to follow because it’s not immediately obvious why he is so enamored with her.
Absolute Deception is your typical run-of-the-mill, unrealistic and uber-predictable thriller that it really has nothing to offer. I suspect it was made for some quick tax credits laying aside any substance or mere logic in regards to the screenplay. Cuba Gooding Jr. continues his downward slide which is a shame as even with his overrated signature performance, he’s still a decent actor, though probably more suitable in a supporting role and certainly not in the action hero part.