Like A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Snoopy Come Home is a Blu-ray release for big-time fans only. Both of these have been previously released on DVD already so what you’re buying here are upgraded picture and audio, but the lack of features makes me hesitate to give it a recommendation.
Love Me or Leave Me is a fun music-romance-drama featuring two wonderful performances from the elegant Doris Day set against the rough-and-tumble James Cagney in one of his many gangster roles and for this one, received an Oscar nomination.
Edge of Winter is a slow burn, character-driven, thriller with some potential but never quite reaches it in spite of an earnest performance from Joel Kinnaman with honorable mention to Tom Holland.
Mankillers might be a fun romp for those longing for the crappy low budget flicks of the ‘80s and ‘90s, but for me I didn’t find it all that amusing though I did manage to enjoy some of the “performances”, otherwise this release is for die-hard fans only.
Neighbors 2 is yet another needless sequel to a comedy and although it deviates somewhat from the original, the laughs, albeit a few, weren’t as consistent and there was an uncomfortable mean streak at times, something I generally loathe from a comedy.
The Jungle Book is a success in Disney’s obsession with adapting beloved animated movies into live action features and while the likes of Maleficent and to some extent Cinderella weren’t great, this one is entertaining for almost the entire family, though some scenes might be a tad too frightening for younger viewers.
Elementary: The Fourth Season is another fun ride with some decent mystery storylines mixed in with further character development, and obstacles, for Sherlock and company.
It’s not always a given that a series going into its seventh season would be any good but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed NCIS: Los Angeles thus far and appreciate the advancements the writers and producers have made with these characters.
Although uneven in its tone (as it deviates from effective to cheesy drama), I enjoyed Valley of the Dolls particularly for the performances from Barbara Parkins and, especially, Sharon Tate. The writing isn’t the best and I’d actually welcome some sort of modern remake or even a mini-series
Dead End Drive-In is the typical 1980s movie, attempting to replicate the dystopian future storyline that started with 1979’s Mad Max, a fellow Aussie action-thriller. It’s not a very good movie but with its limited budget and so-so acting, it’s not a terrible horror-thriller and holds some entertainment value especially for fans of the era.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is certainly one of the best sci-fi horror/thrillers out there and just might rank behind Alien and Aliens, though I still prefer those two. Where this succeeds, much like those two, is the claustrophobic atmosphere with the added subtext of paranoia.
Raising Cain isn’t high up compared with some of the other films by Brian De Palma even with the over-the-top performance by John Lithgow. However, this is a nice “Collector’s Edition” release by Shout Factory offering solid video/audio transfers and a good selection of bonus features.
I’m giving this a 2.5/5 not because Aliens is a bad movie, far from it, but that it’s a blatant cash grab by Fox. Now, one could argue this is for the casual movie watcher but for fans, all you’re getting is new packaging and “collectable art cards” and a booklet.
Limitless was a fun show with plenty of potential, building off of the intriguing premise of the feature film and giving it a quasi procedural format and with Bradley Cooper guest starring gives it some needed weight. Sadly, the ratings apparently were not good enough and, as of this time, couldn’t pull off an Unforgettable and see new life elsewhere.
The French drama Standing Tall has a strong story at its core and a great, non-pretentious, message to boot even if it can feel like a Hallmark Movie of the Week feel and the performances by Catherine Deneuve and Rod Paradot are both excellent.