No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
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.
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.
The Levenger Tapes blends traditional filmmaking with the overused found footage style but beyond that, I never found this very compelling though the acting from a mostly unknown cast to be half decent (at times).
The American Side starts out well enough as a throwback crime-mystery before, for whatever reason, the writers decided to throw in a “Da Vinci Code”-like story arc that really failed to connect. On the plus side, the cast isn’t bad led by Greg Stuhr (who co-wrote), Camilla Belle, Matthew Broderick and Robert Forster.
OUTATIME: Saving the DeLorean Time Machine is a well made documentary yet I still wanted something more in-depth though knowing the limitations the director was facing, it’s not half bad and any fan of Back to the Future will find it fascinating and a good addition to their BTTF video library.
Louder Than Bombs is an uneven but well acted drama featuring strong performances by Gabriel Byrne and Jesse Eisenberg. It’s nothing memorable but for who enjoy character dramas, it’s certainly worth a rental. The DVD released through Sony offers good audio and video transfers.
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.
I give a brief breakdown on Mill Creek’s June 7th multi-movie pack releases, specifically Streets of Fear and Midnight Movie Madness. None of these movies are of high-quality and are mainly remembered for the stars sometimes in smaller roles. At basement bargain prices, these might be worthy for collector’s of these cheap sets.
High Strung is a movie everyone has seen before from Fame to Step Up filled with the usual stereotypical characters that more than not were annoying. I suppose the Step Up series was your thing, this might hold some entertainment value.
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.
Vigilante Diaries is based on a 2013 series that also starred Jason Mewes and Paul Sloan amongst others and while it’s nothing special, there’s just enough there to have it standout amongst the rest, though the screenplay could’ve used a rewrite or two.
“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.