Lego Batman: The Movie – Super Heroes Unite has some good laughs and the stop-motion animation is well done, however if you’ve played the game, you’ve already seen the vast majority of the movie with only bits newly created to bridge the scenes together to make a coherent story.
National Lampoon’s Vacation is as funny as ever with a great cast, hilarious jokes and an all around fun storyline filled with a mix of low-brow and even, for the time, risqué humor.
Experimental film or not, Full Frontal was awful not because of the storyline, or the lack thereof, but it was downright dull and boring, a chore to get through. Steven Soderbergh wanted to do this movie as a counter product to the Hollywood system but while he flipped the bird to the studios, he also managed to do the same with audiences. I found nothing about the film or the characters engaging.
The Hoax is a well made docu-drama/comedy with strong performances from Richard Gere and Alfred Molina. The story is interesting and mostly unknown making for a gripping drama on the whole.
Teaching Mrs. Tingle was never my favorite film but with some biting dialogue and an amazing performance from Helen Mirren, challenging Meryl Streep in The Devil Wars Prada, this teen dark comedy has gathered a following over the years, far more than when it was released back in 1999.
Noon and Shanghai Knights are both fun movies if not a bit forgettable even with Jackie Chan’s amazing fight sequences and stunt work. Even so, as buddy comedies go, Chan and Owen Wilson share good chemistry making both film a breeze to watch on a slow Saturday afternoon.
This 25th Anniversary edition of Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a great set and includes all the features from the Vista Series edition but gets a boost from great audio/video transfers to go along with an all around fantastic movie that is just as good when I last saw it (probably a good 15 years ago).
Mulan is one of the better Disney animated films from the late 1990s and an inspiration for little girls. The sequel on the other hand… not so much. It’s not a disastrous film by any stretch but it is the typical DTV flick which Disney released during that era.
Bounty Hunters features the sexy and cool Trish Stratus and although she’s not a great actress, she does have some mad fight skills even of those sequences aren’t well choreographed often times looking awfully fake. Aside from Stratus, however, this was neither a well made movie nor one that’s particularly entertaining.
Despite its 7 Academy Award nominations, The Insider is a woefully under-appreciated drama filled with excellent performances and a compelling story. Al Pacino, Russell Crowe and Christopher Plummer are all incredible and Mann’s direction, alongside Dante Spinotti’s lense, makes for a near masterpiece.
Live Nude Girls, from my perspective, seems to be a predecessor to “Sex in the City” with a lot of girl talk and girl drama. I wasn’t a big fan of the movie but realize it has a core set of fans which makes this Blu-ray release to be somewhat popular to that segment.
In Like Flint is a fun comedy for sure although it does overstay its welcome by a good 15-20 minutes. Still, James Coburn is charming once again as the title character and there’s just enough sly fun to keep one’s attention until the end.
A Star is Born is a well acted music-drama by Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand who both share wonderful chemistry.
Pony Soldier is a well-made Western though mostly remembered for its Technicolor beauty rather than a weak storyline and modest performances from the cast.
Highlander 2: Renegade Version still has many problems which of course were not fixable without major reshoots but I do at least give credit to the editors for trying to present a half-decent movie. No doubt, it’s still not a very good movie although it would make for a fun Friday night drinking game, rife with many scenes worthy of mockery.