Johnson Family Vacation is a dud of a comedy though I can’t place a whole lot of blame on the cast, Cedric the Entertainer in particular, and more so on the dull and unfunny script. It’s one of those movies that isn’t fondly remembered and is more of an afterthought when comparing similar films.
Amistad is another well made film from Steven Spielberg and features several good performances including Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou and Matthew McConaughey who reminds you he’s always had the dramatic acting chops…
Flying Tigers is a well made war drama featuring some well done, for its time, special effects, to go along with strong performances by John Wayne and John Carroll. Unfortunately the Blu-ray release from Olive Films, while featuring respectable audio and video transfers, neglects any bonus features so the bang for the buck is not there, though if you are a fan of the movie, or war films in general, it might be worth the price.
Home of the Brave is another forgotten film that gets a HD treatment courtesy of Olive Films. And while the picture and audio are hardly anything to brad about, it’s nice for this to get a release. That being said, the price on a title without features is extreme at $30 but if you can find a deal and are a fan, then it might be worth picking up.
Sophie’s Choice is a harrowing drama set against truly haunting images. The performances from Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol are all fantastic.
The Suspect, despite a somewhat convoluted story, isn’t all that bad of a film thanks in large part to two great performances from Mekhi Phifer and William Sadler who play off one another so well.
In Rock Star, I can respect Mark Wahlberg’s performance, and some of those in the supporting cast like Timothy Olymphant and Jason Flemyng, but it’s a clichéd drama that never quite hit the, ahem, right high notes to make for an engaging drama.
Torque is a biker version of The Fast and the Furious (from its producer no less) sans any memorable characters and includes terrible dialogue, a lame story (even for a movie like this) and even worse visual effects culminating with an awful, and confusing, finale.
This “Power Rangers” Seasons 13-17 set is another solid seasons of the long-running, enduring series. Sure, its cheesy as all hell, the acting isn’t the best but it’s also entertaining in the breezy sort of way. This season set compiled by Shout Factory offers up OK audio/video transfers and some well made, newly recorded featurettes.
Used Cars is not only a biting and dark satire but it’s also very funny and pretty edgy even by today’s standards to the point I’d doubt a film like this would get widely released. Kurt Russell is fantastic in the lead role and the supporting cast, led by Jack Warden, is wonderful as well.
Get Carter might’ve been yet another unnecessary remake and although hardly perfect is at least passable entertainment, though there’s nothing about it particularly memorable despite decent performances from Stallone and Cook.
Wild at Heart is a, well, wild ride featuring bucko performances by Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe while it’s fun seeing Laura Dern in a different role.
Young at Heart is a great romance/music/drama but it features good performances from its three leads, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Gig Young but otherwise it’s just a nice little movie that, no doubt I will forget in a day’s time.
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a well made if not slightly disturbing or off-putting 1980s British drama featuring three great performances.
No Holds Barred is silly and yet a lot fun with the overacting from Hulk Hogan and Tommy “Tiny” Lister and Kurt Fuller milks his villainous scenes whenever possible reminding you why the 1980s was such a glorious time for overkill in the acting department.