Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Death Race3: Inferno is your typical direct-to-video movie meaning a script with thin character development, poor acting even by the pros (at least Dougray Scott seemed to have fun with his cackling) and generic action which leaves this more or less forgettable.
The Words may not be as special of a film as it things it is, but there are many aspects which I did like from the multi-level story to some good performances including Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, and especially, Jeremy Irons who deserves far more attention than he’s received. And despite any problems I had with the screenplay itself, I still found the film mostly compelling and at least worth a look if only once.
House at the End of the Street might not have been the worst of 2012 but it’s certainly forgettable. The screenplay is something that was more appropriate for a made-for-TV production and the performances are nothing special, even though Jennifer Lawrence will turn heads with her, ahem, wardrobe choices.
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Looper is an inventive sci-fi action thriller with two solid performances from Willis and Gordon-Levitt. The DVD has some decent features though the Blu-ray apparently has more to offer. Unfortunately we were only provided a DVD screener, so I cannot state how much more there is or the quality of either the features or the audio/video transfers.
The Bourne Legacy is a fine entry in the series and while it’s not as good as the previous three or as well polished, it’s still a fun movie with solid action scenes that keeps good pace after the first 10-15 minutes. Even though Legacy is as well refined as the other movies in the series, the potential is there for another sequel and a finale that involves the title character again.
The Amazing Spider-Man certainly had opportunities to be a great movie and although I still enjoyed the film, sometimes even immensely, there are times the script could’ve been tweaked. Even so, the casting was pretty good starting with Andrew Garfield who will hopefully find more bearings with the sequel(s) while Emma Stone was a delight.
“The League” Season 3 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.
“NCIS: LA” is one of the few spin-offs that actually works. It’s far enough removed from the mothership and yet shares the same type of chemistry that takes the show away from crime-of-the-week to something a bit more meaningful. The third season DVD has some good storylines going for it, allowing for each character to get some screen time and more background.
“Gossip Girl” is a fun tween soap opera with various storylines which help keep the attention span even when the episodes can sometimes sputter. The DVD itself offers up good video and audio transfers and a decent set of features, though it’s still fairly light and only worth one viewing. Given the price, and assuming you’re a fan, this fifth season is worth it.
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“Criminal Minds” Season 7 might not the best in the series, but considering the hole the producers had to dig out of with the whole Paget Brewster situation, they did a fine job with a reset buttons of sorts. The season also offers up some nice character development for each member of the team to go along with new cases.
The ninth season of “NCIS” is one hell of a ride. As in previous seasons, the cast works so well together and the chemistry and dynamic is why the show has been as successful as had been the past couple of years. The storylines are getting richer including a multi-part finale which is fantastic.
Battleship is what’s wrong with Hollywood. I have no problem with movies with mindless, simple plot-lines but at least show some effort rather than throwing $200M+ at the screen and hope people merely call it good.
Lockout isn’t a bad movie but it’s hardly a memorable one. It’s yet another sci-fi thriller which fades into the background with the other wannabes. The visual effects is pretty bad especially early-on and the characters are one-dimensional but at the same time, at only 90-minutes (sans credits), it’s at an OK time-waster, nothing more, however.
American Reunion is a great finale to a funny and heartfelt franchise. For a certain generation this cast and characters have meant so much and to find them back together is a great accomplishment by the producers and filmmakers. The movie itself has some memorable moments and thankfully doesn’t restrain itself to the timeline of the direct-to-video sequels.
“Missing” The Complete First Season isn’t a well oiled machine compared with other serialized dramas and I suspect if it weren’t a mid-season replacement and only 10-episodes, not to mention starring Ashley Judd, this wouldn’t have been picked up in the first place. Even so, because it’s a short series plus a fantastic cast, it’s worth checking out even with a cliffhanger ending.
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