Dressmaker is a well done movie highlighted by a fantastic cast including Kate Winslet, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving. The story does have a familiar feel but with a darker crime twist that makes it all the more investing.
In a Valley of Violence was somewhat of a surprise for a (basically) direct-to-video release mainly because, in spite of a familiar story and Western clichés, featured some solid performances by Ethan Hawke and Taissa Farmiga.
Southside with You is a simple, and incredibly short (74-minutes w/o credits), romance-drama that works more for the two lead performances by Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers who do great work going beyond impersonating and giving the future President and First Lady depth.
Lost & Found is the type of movie you’d probably see on Nick Teen or something and younger viewers (probably 12 and under) might get some enjoyment, others, adults especially, might zone out early on.
Apple of My Eye is a perfectly safe, and predictable, family-drama-comedy that seems more suitable to air on the Hallmark Channel. At its core, through its cheesiness, there is a nice message at least.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is a safe and harmless film mainly for families however for anyone older, the jokes don’t quite land though I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was mildly entertaining.
A bit on the lengthy side (152-minutes), The Bullet Train is still an exciting thriller that, albeit familiar for fans of Speed, features an in-depth story and formidable, and not-cartoonish, villain combined with some adequate visual and special effects for its time.
Come and Find Me actually isn’t a bad movie by any stretch but with a predictable story from beginning to end in conjunction with the development of the two leads, in spite of fine performances by Paul and, for the most part, Wallis, there wasn’t much to enjoy. That being said, this at least might be worthy of a rental.
Sleepy Hollow never was a must-see show of mine, in fact supernatural horrors generally don’t interest me, but this third season at least offers some decent stories and fine performances by Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie.
I.T. may not be a good movie and certainly the script could’ve gone through a few more re-writes, but thanks to Pierce Brosnan’s earnest performance, and a cameo from Michael Nyqvist, this is worthy of a rental but not much more than that.
Count Dracula’s Great Love is another poor adaptation from the 1970s and in spite of a respectable enough performance by Paul Naschy, there were far more unintentionally funny scenes instead of scary. This would probably serve well as a Saturday night flick to watch, and mock, with friends.
An ugly movie from beginning to end, The Orphan Killer was just a bad movie through and through with thin characters and a bad script that we’ve seen numerous times before. As bad as the Saw sequels were, this was even worse even taking the budget into consideration.
LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Complete Season One is another fun show from Buena Vista utilizing the Star Wars history and putting a comedic twist. The plots are genuinely entertaining and voice casting well done making for a show both kids and adults will enjoy.
Gran Bollito, to say the least, is an unusual drama but with compelling performances by Shelley Winters and Max von Sydow (in drag), this might be worthwhile to those looking for the weird.
Overlong and repetitious with its story, American Honey could’ve used a pass or two in the editing bay at which point it would’ve made for an interesting character, and country study, instead is more on the dull side by the two hour mark (if not sooner).