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.
Celeste and Jesse Forever does have some things going for it like the chemistry between Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg but how the main character, Celeste, was written (partially by Jones herself) made her come across as awfully self-centered and the key scene where she seeks redemption doesn’t help matters as it takes place at her best friend’s wedding.
This fourth and final volume of “Animaniacs” is full of funny episodes that are sure to satisfy fans and non-fans alike. The DVD however doesn’t offer any features which are a shame as it would’ve been nice to hear from the creators and/or writers but the audio and video transfers are good.
Peter Pan is not my favorite Disney cartoon but it is still a magical film for the entire family. The animation is, of course dated, but there is a certain charm which gives that special something extra the newer styles don’t have.
The Jazz Singer digibook is a fantastic release with a wonderful and historical film to go along with a plethora of special features and short films that anyone interested in the era will absolutely love. The audio and video transfers are also wonderfully restored which has never looked or sounded better.
Looper is an inventive sci-fi action thriller with two solid performances from Willis and Gordon-Levitt. The DVD has some decent features though the Blu-ray apparently has more to offer. Unfortunately we were only provided a DVD screener, so I cannot state how much more there is or the quality of either the features or the audio/video transfers.
Dick Tracy is hardly a perfect movie but star/director Warren Beatty does a tremendous job translating the source material into the feature film format. Between the art direction, production and costume designs, the visuals on the movie are fantastic and Beatty as Tracy was perfect.
The Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special isn’t anything profound or breaks new ground in terms of animation or anything, but with a short running time and a good message, this can be watched by the entire family.
Although the disc is pretty light on features – damn near empty, in fact – the fact that Deathtrap finally gets a proper widescreen release is good news for any fan, especially those in North America.
Ritual is a second-rate supernatural thriller that features a decent performance from the lovely Jennifer Grey. Is she enough for one to sit through 90-minutes? Probably not, but I suppose if you’ve enjoyed even below average “Tales from Crypt” episodes, you might find this to be an adequate outing.