Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Our Brand is Crisis isn’t a bad movie per se but it’s one with some identity issues. Personally, it might’ve worked far better as a satire on American politics but they decided to use the country of Bolivia as a stand-in. This is the type of movie that screams rental, not much more.
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Trumbo is a well made movie that probably will be more remembered for its performances, specifically by Bryan Cranston who received an Academy Award nomination for his great performance as Dalton Trumbo. Outside of the acting, though, I don’t think this was an especially memorable flick but well worth checking out.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs isn’t one of my favorite of Disney’s animated classics but it is a movie to behold for not only the style but its historical significance to the Walt Disney Company, the cornerstone to what it is today.
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The Graduate is probably one of the more quintessential movies of the 60s probably featuring some of the best direction, not to mention editing, ever with incredible pacing and blocking. Combine that with perfect casting from Dustin Hoffman as an unlikely leading man to the nuanced performance by Anne Bancroft, this is one hell of a film that holds so well today.
One could call Code 46 the Minority Report (which also co-starred Samantha Morton) on a stricter budget but more compact story and although I probably give the edge to MR mainly due to the direction from Spielberg, this is still a nice little future thriller featuring great performances by Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton.
Criminal Activities isn’t a half bad crime-drama especially by direct-to-video standards. The performances from Michael Pitt and Dan Stevens were good and even John Travolta in his limited appearance gives the film some weight.
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Amos & Andrew is kind of a lost comedy from the 1990s (akin to Quick Change and Another Stakeout) and although it’s not hilarious, it is a lot of fun to watch two normally over-the-top actors playing against one another in Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson and add in Dabney Coleman and it’s rather entertaining.
I realize there are many fans of the French original, however as someone who has not seen it, I found the Martyrs remake to be darkly entertaining if not thin on plot. The performances from Troian Bellisario and Bailey Noble are both well done.
These three sets are more bargain releases for Mill Creek Entertainment with titles previously on DVD and in some cases Blu-ray so unless you don’t already own these, it might be worth picking up at $10 a pop, though don’t expect any frills and the video and audio transfers are so-so at best.
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Home Invasion isn’t going to challenge one’s mind or anything but it’s not a terrible movie, perfectly passable (not to mention safe) for what it is, a quick direct-to-video flick destined to air on Lifetime.
From the Terrace is an amiable enough drama but it is long, or felt it at times, but the performances for the most part were good including, unsurprisingly, the venerable Paul Newman in the lead.
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Meadowland is a respectable enough debut from Reed Marano to the point that although it misfires on an emotional level, not to mention the screenplay could’ve used a re-write, it does excel with a stellar performance by Olivia Wilde.
Burnt isn’t a bad little drama-comedy, propelled more on the performances by Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Daniel Brühl than the culinary-centric plot itself. I don’t know if it’s worth a purchase (unless you like Cooper) but certainly worth a Redbox or Netflix rental.
Bound for Glory isn’t a fantastic movie and it is a bit long in the tooth at nearly two and a half hours but Guthrie as a person and his journey was interesting combined with an amazing performance from the always charismatic David Carradine does make for a worthwhile viewing.
“Mr. Robot”: Season 1 is a strong show from beginning to end (for the most part) and even with a predictable twist, there was just enough there to enjoy between an interesting story and strong performances from Rami Malek, Christian Slater and Martin Wallström makes this binge-worthy viewing.
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