“Ghost in the Shell: Arise” albeit not as strong as “Stand Alone Complex,” still have its moments and for the most part, the designs aren’t bad, though it does take some time to get used to. The two stories featured in these two seasons (or Borders) are decent and give some good background of these characters
The Good Lie is perhaps one of the more overlooked films of 2014 and unfortunately the studio for whatever reason dumped it for a limited release in less than 500 screens in early October.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a fantastic drama featuring Maggie Smith who shows why she received her Academy Award for Best Actress. It’s an amazing performance to go along with the supporting cast including Celia Johnson, Pamela Franklin and Robert Stephens.
Inherit the Wind is one of Stanley Kramer’s best films amongst an already amazing filmography and features a fine performance by Spencer Tracy.
Dolphin Tale 2 is an unnecessary sequel but a harmless one with a wholesome message and something families will immensely enjoy especially young ones. The performances are pretty basic but having a couple respectable actors like Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman helps elevate a thin script and predictable story.
With The Night Porter, I might be in the minority, but despite a good premise and set-up, I found this to be utterly dull and boring to the point where I nearly dozed off a time or two. For sure the performances by Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling were fantastic but the pacing was slow and on the whole, I just didn’t find it very engaging.
Heaven and Earth is another passion project for Oliver Stone and while it never quite gels together was a war-drama, the performances for the most part are good and the cinematography was utterly fantastic.
I’m happy that Warner, through their Archive line, released “Young Justice”: Invasion as a companion to the first season. It’s a great show through and through with excellent action, engaging storylines and nice animation.
Jingle All the Way 2 is another unfunny “comedic” vehicle for Larry the Cable Guy to do this schtick and I hated just about every minute of this movie. Simply put, it’s another pointless DTV movie that’s not in the least bit entertaining and I cannot stress enough to pass this one by, if only to save your soul.
Into the Woods is apparently a popular Broadway musical – and is getting a big screen Disney adaptation starring Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp and Chris Pine – but having never seen it before, I found it enjoyable for a musical (not a fan, personally) yet the Blu-ray released by Image is downright terrible with no features and, especially, one of the worst video transfers I’ve come across.
Lord of Illusions is an uneven yet admirable little supernatural-thriller-horror that Barker himself described as a cross between Chinatown and The Exorcist, and although in the end I wasn’t that enthralled, the director’s cut is still well worth checking out.
Bird Man of Alcatraz is certainly a lengthy film clocking in damn near 3 hours, but the performance from Burt Lancaster is phenomenal and the subject matter in itself is interesting, that being said, not sure when I’d revisit it, but hopefully soon.
1987’s Dolls is an incredibly fun, if not somewhat cheesy, horror flick that is one to watch with friends to have an even better time. The cast is great working together especially Carrie Lorraine who’s not bad for a child actor.
This “Garfield”: Holiday Collection is perfect for the fans as these aren’t the easiest to find and to have five of them on one disc, to go along with a fun interview with Jim Davis, makes for a nice set and well worth the price especially at or below the $15 SRP.
The “Robot Chicken”: Christmas Specials collection is geared more toward casual fans as, from what I can tell, everything on this disc was previously released in some fashion in the season sets, features included. The DVD itself has OK audio and video while the commentaries are at least entertaining.