In Old Arizona is an interesting time piece of cinema and old Westerns. As the back cover states, this was the first major Western to use the new technology of sound and the first “talkie” to be shot outdoors. Personally, and not a fan of Westerns in general, I found it to be lackluster but Warner Baxter’s performance did stand out.
Driven is an overly dramatic, poorly acted melodrama that never really hits its stride. In 2001 when the movie was released, Sylvester Stallone was still in a funk, aside from Cop Land.
Rendition is an OK film shining light on a controversial practice but the drama is overwrought with over-the-top acting especially from Reese Witherspoon who seemed to have taken the role aiming for another Academy Award. But Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin are quite good in their limited roles.
Killing Lincoln is far from a perfect movie but offers some interesting information not many people might know about. The performances by Billy Campbell and Jesse Johnson are both respectable especially Johnson who probably deserves an Emmy nomination for his great portrayal of James Wilkes Booth.
Spider-Man is an OK superhero movie, satisfying enough debut for the web-slinger but that’s not to say it didn’t have more than one flaw. As far as this new re-release goes, the “Mastered in 4K” transfer is wonderful providing rich video and audio transfers but unfortunately, as with the others, none of the features have been ported over.
This WWII film noir features splendid performances from Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer and good cinematography by Sol Polito and direction by legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang.
Although Olive Films’ releases tend to be pricey especially since they tend not to contain any features, they do often put out, relatively speaking, obscure titles. So for those Humphrey Bogart fans out there, or fans of film noir in general, this is a good pick-up even in the $20-25 range.
While the “Tin Man” miniseries isn’t bad, this budget release however isn’t very good. Although it is nice all of the features were ported over, placing a 4+ hour show on one disc really dilutes the video and audio presentation to average levels compared with the original RHI release which was far better and still available for purchase on Amazon.com for (at the time of this writing) only a couple bucks more.
The 8-part documentary is fascinating and should be viewed by anyone interested in the historical elements of John F. Kennedy from childhood, his run in politics to become President and ultimately, his assassination. It’s a well produced series. This Blu-ray/DVD set also includes some great archival footage so it’s well worth checking out.
Vegas Vacation is the weakest in the series but still somewhat fun thanks in large part to the energy and chemistry between Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo. Given it is rated PG, it is a safe movie yet there are some scenes that will get a chuckle so it’s not a complete loss.
Bedazzled is one, wait for it, Devil of a good time… Actually, it’s a showcase for both Brendan Fraser’s physical comedy with “SNL”-bits strewn together with a fun, if not thin, premise.
Simply Irresistible is an average romantic comedy headlined by then starlet Sarah Michelle Gellar who was at the height of her fame from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and to some extent, I Know What You Did Last Summer; but even though Gellar is charming, the rest of the movie falls flat.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend never quite fulfills the potential of the storyline but the movie still is fun propelled by entertaining performances by Uma Thurman, Anna Faris and, to a certain extent, Luke Wilson.
Best Laid Plans isn’t a great film but I suppose one could call it a gem of a crime-thriller. The movie is held up thanks in large part due to the performances from Alessandro Nivola and Reese Witherspoon as well as some slick writing by Ted Griffin.
Howl’s Moving Castle may not be considered one of Miyazaki’s greatest works but I enjoyed the movie for its splendid visuals, interesting storyline and well cast voice actors for both the Japanese and English-dubbed versions.