Session 9 doesn’t feature great performances, though Caruso is a lot of fun to watch, though Peter Mullan and Josh Lucas had a few solid scenes, and the writing is, at best, so-so, but writer/director Brad Anderson did take full advantage of the real-life creepy location of the mental hospital to great effect.
“Person of Interest”: The Fifth and Final Season may have benefited from a few more episodes, if not a full season order, but considering we got 13 episodes is nice as it gave the writers a chance to wrap things up.
I Am Wrath is hardly a great action flick and although Travolta is a shell of what he once was, he at least possessed some charm to make the thin plot enjoyable, along with some nice scenes with Christopher Meloni as well. This is the quintessential rental type movie and one where you shouldn’t expect anything profound.
Blood and Black Lace is easily one of the better in the giallo sub-genre and the place to start for those new to it. The suspense is generally intense and the plot is well developed with true intrigue throughout. This Blu-ray released through Arrow Video offers excellent video/audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material.
Criminal is your run-of-the-mill action/thriller that succeeds mostly with a strong ensemble cast led way by Kevin Costner who gives a nice performance while Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Ryan Reynolds are more background noise. This is the perfect movie as a rental, but not much more.
Barbershop: The Next Cut is the latest installment in the vaunted series and actually might be the best of the four (including the Beauty Shop spin-off). No, the acting isn’t the best as Ice Cube’s range isn’t exactly that great, but the story has a fine emotional core and it’s a solid advancement for these characters.
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition does plenty things to correct the hacked up theatrical version though if you didn’t like the plot the first go-around, the UE won’t change your mind. For myself, as a fan of Batman in particular, found it entertaining mainly for Ben Affleck’s portrayal as the Dark Knight and a nice glimpse of what’s to come for Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
Criminal is your run-of-the-mill action/thriller that succeeds mostly with a strong ensemble cast led way by Kevin Costner who gives a nice performance while Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Ryan Reynolds are more background noise. This is the perfect movie as a rental, but not much more.
The Perfect Man isn’t your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy so that’s a plus, unfortunately it’s not very funny in spite of a well rounded cast. Still, I guess I’ve seen worse and might say it’s worth a rental but not much more than that.
“iZombie”: The Complete Second Season continues and expands on the first season’s fun take on the zombie craze. The performances from this ensemble are fantastic led by Rose McIver who continues to play some fun off-beat characters. New this season, although introduced last year, is Steven Weber portraying a great new nemesis.
Term Life for sure is not a good movie but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was at least moderately entertained. At only 90-minutes long, it’s a decent enough time-waster but that’s about the extent of it for a movie that will easily be lost in the shuffle of the numerous STV releases.
“iZombie”: The Complete First Season is an incredibly fun series that takes more than a few cues from the likes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Veronica Mars” just taking advantage of the zombie craze. Still, this primarily unknown cast works so well together and Rose McIver is a star in the making.
Allegiant is the latest mundane entry in the Divergent Series and while I didn’t think it was classically bad and not an original moment from the production to the visual effects, heavily borrowing from other dystopian-set movies, I can’t say was bored and I at least did care about the Tris character.
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout is pretty much in line with their other entries: the storytelling isn’t great, animation standard and the focus is primarily geared towards kids though adults will find it semi-entertaining.
Anesthesia is a bit uneven in its storytelling with some elements not quite coming together as others, but the performances by Sam Waterston and Kristen Stewart, with honorable mention to Gretchen Mol, makes for a more than watchable drama particularly for those who enjoy ensemble pictures.