Search Party may not be awful of epic proportions but it does come across as bottom of the drawer from writer/director Scot Armstrong, recycling much of his material from Road Trip and The Hangover Part II. Problem is, there’s not many, or at least consistent, laughs and is utterly forgettable.
Kung Fu Panda is perhaps one of the better franchises outside of the Pixar/Disney brand and certainly well above the likes of Madagascar and Ice Age. Still, as family friendly as this third entry is, to go along with a positive message, I wasn’t nearly as entertained though admittedly I found the first two to be merely above average fare anyway.
All I can say is Precious Cargo isn’t nearly as bad as some of the other gems from Grindstone Entertainment yet by the same token, it pretty much met my already low standards. On the plus side, some of the action sequences were finely directed and I at least never found myself bored.
Cabin Fever, even setting aside being a pointless script-for-script remake, just is a bad movie filled with annoying and/or unlikeable characters and shoddy make-up effects work. The only positive thing I can say is at least the cinematography was nice to look at but that’s about it. In the end, this is the poster child on how creatively bankrupt the studios are.
Code of Honor is one of the worst movies I’ve come across this year and easily the worst of Seagal’s now free-falling career. The acting was at best average from a supporting cast that at least were trying while Seagal was sleepwalking, action scenes that were poorly shot and laughable post-production work with bad CGI.
The Martian: Extended Edition is a well made sci-fi thriller but admittedly, I think the theatrical version is tighter though there are a couple nice additions to the Extended Cut while other scenes weren’t necessary. As for this Blu-ray release, which should’ve been the initial release anyway, it offers up amazing video/audio transfers and some extensive bonus material.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 wasn’t a necessary sequel, at least 14 years after the original, but there were some amusing moments and although I never laughed out loud, I never found myself bored and I suspect fans, and those with large, tight-knit, families will appreciate it far more.
Inserts is an oddball of a film with Richard Dreyfuss turning in a typical Dreyfuss type of performance from the 1970s. The character drama-centric story works well enough and the inclusion of Bob Hoskins as the main antagonist is always a plus.
Not sure how this version compares to the others, even the 1939 one which I saw several years ago, but Hammer Films’ 1959 The Hound of the Baskervilles is still an entertaining Sherlock Holmes mystery featuring a solid performance from Peter Cushing as the great detective.
10 Cloverfield Lane is a strong sci-fi thriller that, even though it’s been many years since I last saw it, equals the original and had the added bonus of not being in the found footage style and features better characters. I’m not sure how well this will hold up in the long run however but at the moment I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.
Gridlocked is probably one of the more surprising movies based on expectations since my history with direct-to-video flicks hasn’t been the greatest. Sure, the acting isn’t anything special but Dominic Purcell and Stephen Lang serve well as the protagonist and antagonist respectively.
The Other Side of the Door is just the latest terrible horror film to hit the market. The scares are basically non-existent but worse yet, it’s such a dumb story in conjunctions with characters making ridiculous decisions culminating with an ending that made little sense.
The Funhouse Massacre isn’t a half bad indie horror flick with some impressive make-up effects and even the performances aren’t terrible, though Robert Englund’s role is very much a cameo appearing in the film for maybe 10 minutes.
Wim Wenders’ character-driven drama wants to be emotional and weighty but fails in both regards. While the performances from McAdams and Croze weren’t bad, Franco seemed to be miscast though he still does enough to make for an amiable character. The screenplay could’ve used an extra draft however all in all, I still found Every Thing Will Be Fine to be satisfyingly above average.
Rollerball is an interesting vision of the future which, if the NFL is an example, seems to have come to fruition. The acting from James Caan is terrific and Norman Jewison’s direction is swift and although hardly the perfect movie, it’s still well worth checking out.