Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
The Spider-Man 2 Mastered in 4k Blu-ray release looks good but is it worth the price of an upgrade (around $15)? I don’t think so especially since, as with the other 4k releases none of the features were ported over. Still, if you own the proper equipment and have made the determination to dive into the field, this is a top title worth having in your collection.
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“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.
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Cohen & Tate is the buddy movie you’ve never seen before. Roy Scheider is excellent, as always, in the lead; for a child actor, Harley Cross is remarkably strong-is performance while Adam Baldwin went over-the-top, in a good way, as a psychopathic killer for the mob.
Gruesome to the extreme, and weird as all hell, The ABCs of Death will probably satisfy some hardcore horror fans. And although the segments are done from film students, it’s interesting to see how each approach the subject from in-your-face gore to light-hearted comedy (i.e. “Fart”), there’s probably something there for everybody. No, it doesn’t work put together but it’s not a complete waste.
The Rambler is certainly one of the stranger movies to come out in 2013 and one where writer/director Calvin Reeder was influenced by the master of oddities, David Lynch. And while this is a unique movie in the midst of sequels, remakes and reboots, it never quite reached its full potential.
Cleopatra remains an epic classic today in every fashion both in front of and, oft because of, behind the camera. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison are magnificent in their respective roles and the spectacle that are the production and costume designs are incredible.
In Old Arizona is an interesting time piece of cinema and old Westerns. As the back cover states, this was the first major Western to use the new technology of sound and the first “talkie” to be shot outdoors. Personally, and not a fan of Westerns in general, I found it to be lackluster but Warner Baxter’s performance did stand out.
Driven is an overly dramatic, poorly acted melodrama that never really hits its stride. In 2001 when the movie was released, Sylvester Stallone was still in a funk, aside from Cop Land.
Rendition is an OK film shining light on a controversial practice but the drama is overwrought with over-the-top acting especially from Reese Witherspoon who seemed to have taken the role aiming for another Academy Award. But Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin are quite good in their limited roles.
Killing Lincoln is far from a perfect movie but offers some interesting information not many people might know about. The performances by Billy Campbell and Jesse Johnson are both respectable especially Johnson who probably deserves an Emmy nomination for his great portrayal of James Wilkes Booth.
Spider-Man is an OK superhero movie, satisfying enough debut for the web-slinger but that’s not to say it didn’t have more than one flaw. As far as this new re-release goes, the “Mastered in 4K” transfer is wonderful providing rich video and audio transfers but unfortunately, as with the others, none of the features have been ported over.
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This WWII film noir features splendid performances from Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer and good cinematography by Sol Polito and direction by legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang.
Although Olive Films’ releases tend to be pricey especially since they tend not to contain any features, they do often put out, relatively speaking, obscure titles. So for those Humphrey Bogart fans out there, or fans of film noir in general, this is a good pick-up even in the $20-25 range.
While the “Tin Man” miniseries isn’t bad, this budget release however isn’t very good. Although it is nice all of the features were ported over, placing a 4+ hour show on one disc really dilutes the video and audio presentation to average levels compared with the original RHI release which was far better and still available for purchase on Amazon.com for (at the time of this writing) only a couple bucks more.
The 8-part documentary is fascinating and should be viewed by anyone interested in the historical elements of John F. Kennedy from childhood, his run in politics to become President and ultimately, his assassination. It’s a well produced series. This Blu-ray/DVD set also includes some great archival footage so it’s well worth checking out.