While 20 years later Independence Day doesn’t quite hold up, the entertainment and cheese factor at least still is there and makes for an enjoyable disaster flick, not to mention President Whitmore’s call to action speech still gives me goose bumps to this day.
I Could Go On Singing features a strong performance from Judy Garland in her final film but beyond that, this character drama, with catchy music, is well done directed by Ronald Neame.
“Psycho-Pass 2” builds on the success of its first season with another compelling storyline and characters you actually can care about. On the technical side, the animation is still beautiful and the voice acting, both Japanese and English, is superb.
Garden of Evil may not be a well remember Western from 1950s but it’s still a entertaining film featuring strong yet charming performances from Gary Cooper and Susan Hayward. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers good video and audio transfers and in a nice surprise, some respectable features.
One thing you can’t deny, the Italians know how to make some of the more unusual films and the ‘70s they were at their peak. Apassionata isn’t just soft-core porn-like film but instead a study of the domestic, suburban family and the deep, messed up drama that occurs within.
Considering the talent involved, Joy should’ve been an easy homerun with a compelling story and top notch actors but instead it meanders in places, others don’t feel entirely cohesive and I just wasn’t all that enamored despite its high points.
Not quite as powerful as it could have been, Clint Eastwood’s True Crime at least offers a couple fine performances and has a compelling enough of a story, though the screenplay could’ve used more work.
Manhunter is probably one of the better psychological thrillers and a tad underrated especially for a film of the ‘80s and while there are plenty of elements from that era (look no further than the electronica score) but the performances are so dang compelling led by William Petersen and Tom Noonan.
Although not as strong story wise as “Cowboy Bebop” or “Ghost in the Shell”, “Terror in Resonance” is still one of the stronger anime shows to be produced. The animation style stands out from the bunch and both the English and Japanese voice cast are well done.
“Scream”: The TV Series isn’t great but at least it was better than I expected especially as a fan of the movies series (sans #3). At times it attempts its own identity which was welcoming and I was digging the season… until the finale where the killer’s reveal was hardly surprising.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation” is just a bad series that I suppose young kids might enjoy but any fan of the original will find to be an abomination that will lead one to appreciate the newest incarnation.
There might’ve been an interesting story behind Backtrack and certainly the final 20-minutes aren’t half bad, albeit it was predictable, yet the previous 70-minutes were a bit of a slog to sit through in spite of a respectable performance by Adrien Brody.
Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre is the latest movie attempting to take advantage of the Sharknado craze and while I guess some might find some fun out of it, I never found it funny and was a chore to even sit through.
When it comes to animated movies, especially those geared solely toward younger viewers (8 and under), I can be lenient when critiquing them but man, Norm of the North has to be one of the worst “modern” animated films in recent memory.
The Driftless Area isn’t a great movie but it’s still watchable thanks to a few strong performances, specifically Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel and John Hawkes. The DVD released through Sony is pretty basic with only one extra while the video/audio transfers are OK.