While well intentioned, The Color of Time is basically a student film, by Franco’s pupils, with high level actors filling the roles. The story isn’t that well written and all in all just not that interesting. The DVD released by Anchor Bay is very basic with no features and so-so video and audio transfers.
Lost Legion might have admirable costumes and props but otherwise this is community theater-level of quality when it comes to the performances with more than a few were over-the-top and utterly laughable, though not helped by terrible dialogue. The DVD released by Lionsgate is yet more filler for the studio destined for the $5 dump bin at your local Wal-Mart but even that price is far too much…
The Longest Week has a great cast and an interesting story, but the execution was off and seemed to draw from other, often better, movies and filmmakers like P.T. Anderson and Woody Allen, the latter especially. If you can get over the pretentious nature of the two male leads then it might be worth a rental, otherwise skip this misfire of a drama-comedy.
By the Gun is a well intentioned but ultimately lifeless and clichéd crime-drama. Ben Barnes turns in a fine performance and anytime we see Harvey Keitel is a treat but otherwise the writing isn’t up to snuff and the direction is relatively standard.
Jimi: All is By My Side might’ve had the best of intentions and despite an admirable performance from Andre Benjamin, who was clearly 10 years too old to play Hendrix, this was a misfire that began when the Hendrix estate wouldn’t allow the use of his music which right there should’ve cancelled the project.
One knows what they’re getting with a movie called Gnome Alone: a lot of bad puns, hamfest acting and so-so (at best) make-up effects. While I didn’t care very much for the movie, it does deserve the “MST3K” treatment and the lead actress Kerry Knuppe wasn’t bad considering the material she was given.
Supernova is somewhat of a controversial sci-fi thriller, some who stand by it while others trash it; for myself, there is some good to the film yet it never quite hits its stride and kind of loses its way by the final act. That said, it’s worth a watch if only for curiosity’s sake (plus Tunney looks mighty good).
Cam2Cam is yet another movie which had potential but it’s squandered with a half-baked screenplay and poor pacing from an ineffectual director in spite of the exotic Bangkok locale. The DVD released by MPI Media Group has subpar video and (at best) average audio.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is certainly a weak sequel especially compared with the original; however, it’s still a functional entry into the series (not saying much considering the third is a wreck).
Planes: Fire and Rescue err Wings: Sky Force One, like its predecessor, is a knockoff of Disney’s Planes which in itself sad, though even worse, we get this one which copies its sequel. The animation is dodgy, the voice acting is OK while the story is only suitable for very young audiences while adults may find it to be tedious.
This is a trashy movie with terrible acting and an all around bad and disgusting screenplay… even by Lifetime Channel standards which are already pretty low. Beyond that, it’s a horrible cash grab and is nothing more than tabloid dribble offering innuendos and unsubstantiated stories which should place this squarely into fictional territory.
Zodiac: Signs of the Apocalypse is yet another forgettable SyFy Original Movie that is more filler for that station than anything. Its uber-cheap production budget is evident with utterly laughable visual effects, subpar acting and a paint-by-numbers script that utilizes the same formula of other TV movies used in the past 10+ years. The DVD released by Anchor Bay is really basic with no bonus material and average/adequate audio/video transfers.
The Fortune might be considered a lost gem lost in the sea of the greatness that was 1970s cinema, not to mention The Sting which was released only two years prior, but it’s a weak flick with the occasional funny moments and at the very least might be worth it to see Jack Nicholson cut loose, all before he was a caricature of himself…
This is Where I Leave You is a bit uneven where the comedy seemed to work far better than the overindulgent dramatic areas. Jason Bateman and Tina Fey are both great but by far Adam Driver steals the show to the point I kind of wish his character got his own movie, a dark comedy in the vein of Bad Santa perhaps.
Although this Funny Girl sequel doesn’t possess the magic of its predecessor, the performances are all well done headlined once again by Barbra Streisand as well as then newcomer James Caan with catchy music and a well written story.