Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers is absolutely not a very good movie but in fairness, I don’t think the filmmakers or cast thought they were making high horror art. The performances are mostly throwaways though Pamela Springsteen does make for an effective psycho, I suppose. Personally I didn’t care that much for this movie, and wasn’t that fond of the first one outside of the now well-known “twist”, but horror fanatics might treasure this sequel.
Asmodexia is the latest exorcism movie and, with the likes of so many others… isn’t very good. The plot has been seen before in some fashion and the acting isn’t the best though the make-up effects weren’t altogether bad. Unless the genre is your thing, it’s not even worth a rental. The DVD itself only has a trailer while the video and audio transfers are merely adequate.
It’s something else, but Camp X-Ray manages to show that Kristen Stewart isn’t a half bad actress (though she still employs the eyes half closed look) and her co-star, Payman Maadi delivers a fine performance as well with the pair sharing a nice on-screen chemistry. The Blu-ray released by IFC is rather basic with thin bonus features while the video and audio transfers are both excellent.
“The Mentalist” season seven isn’t great but still a nice sendoff for a fun, if not uneven, series. The ensemble cast share good chemistry, including the one newcomer, and Simon Baker is as charming as ever while the cases are generally interesting enough. The DVD released by Warner, like the previous season sets, are rather basic and unfortunately we don’t get a nice retrospective featurette on this series’ run.
“Boardwalk Empire” is yet another great show from HBO and although it’s not up to par with “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” or “Game of Thrones,” that standard is hard to meet. That being said, I will say the ensemble cast ranging from Steve Buscemi to Michael Shannon is one of the best and the performances all around, in conjunction with quality writing beginning with Terence Winter, is top notch.
Hombre is a great Western drama with a fantastic performance by Paul Newman to go along with a beautiful cinematography by James Wong Howe and direction by Martin Ritt (The Spy Who Came in Out of the Cold). The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers limited features but the video and audio transfers are both great.
It’s easy to see why Blindsided had a hard time seeing a home video release after some distribution overseas. Michael Keaton is easily the best part of the entire film making it from a utter turkey to something watchable if only one time, though I can’t say it’s worth even a rental.
I didn’t find Stay as You Are (Cosi’ Come Sei) to be anything extraordinary, though it is controversial, but Nastassja Kinski is fantastic and at least the story itself had some compelling elements. Unfortunately the Blu-ray release fails in almost every category with piss poor video/audio and only a trailer. Even if you are a big fan of this film or of Italian cinema, this is not worth the price.
This release of “Walker: Texas Ranger” is utterly ridiculous. The episode itself might be OK – though I haven’t watched enough to compare with others – but the fact you can buy the third season set, where this episode is available, for basically the same price on Wal-Mart.com, makes this a rip-off and with that I cannot recommend it.
“The Nanny” might not make the list as one of the better sitcoms of the 1990s, dwarfed by the likes of “Frasier”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld” and even “Roseanne” but it’s still a well written and often funny series with the right touch of heart and soul along with a charming ensemble that made each episode so much fun.
Love Sick might’ve made for a fine episode of some slapstick comedy, produced by Chuck Lorre no doubt, or a made-for-TV movie to air on Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel, but as it is, there’s nothing really special going on. LeBlanc and Larter share some charming scenes but put together, the comedy just doesn’t work.
Nightlight is yet the latest found footage horror film that takes more than a few cues from The Blair Witch Project though I guess moderate points for taking from a shaky camera to a flashlight instead. The acting isn’t the best but considering the material and environment, can’t judge them too harshly. Perhaps as a rental this might be fine especially combined for that person who enjoys the sub-genre…
Flawless isn’t fantastic with an overwrought crime plotline but makes up for it with two fine performances by Robert De Niro and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman who play well off against one another. Still, it’s not an entirely memorable drama and rightfully fell to the wayside compared to each of the actor’s filmography.
The Drownsman actually isn’t a bad movie but it’s also pretty ordinary for the genre and certainly borrows from Nightmare on Elm Street without the memorable villain instead we get something akin to the Swamp Thing. Aside from that, though, the acting isn’t half bad but the idea of water being scary doesn’t quite work and it seems to take itself too seriously to be considered satire either.
Mississippi Burning is a very well made movie with top notch performances by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe to go along with a story that, in some instances, resonates with the news of the day. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time has good audio/video transfers but is on the disappointing side features-wise.