Annihilation is one of the better surprises of 2018 as going in my interest levels were mild at best after seeing the lackluster trailers. But afterwards, it is a movie that has been on my mind for all the good reasons and is a highlight performance from Natalie Portman.
Terminator Genisys will (and has) no doubt pissed off plenty of fans but taking emotion out of it, I actually didn’t think it was awful. The action scenes, albeit generic at times, were at least well shot, and the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Guardian was welcome. In spite of those, it’s at least a passable and entertaining flick.
Darkest Hour is one of the better movies of 2017 and features a powerhouse, and Oscar-worthy, performance from Gary Oldman who proves once again that he is a chameleon no matter what role.
Gringo isn’t exactly a memorable film, but as dark comedies go, a subgenre I generally don’t enjoy, did have its funny moments excelling with its darkly charismatic cast led by David Oyelowo and even a deliciously terrifying, but funny, performance by Charlize Theron.
The Strangers: Prey at Night is an uneven horror-thriller with certainly some positive things that worked, counteracted by neither a plot that really wasn’t all that interesting nor anything that was nearly that terrifying.
No doubt Die Hard still is an incredible action-thriller after all of these years and has great replay value, also reminding me of Bruce Willis’s charisma of being an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances (something forgotten in the later sequels).
Red Sparrow is a mixed bag of a movie that excels on Jennifer Lawrence’s brave performance and some beautiful photography from both director Francis Lawrence and the cinematographer, but the film is bogged down by thinly written characters and a sometimes half-baked story and script.
The “Limited Edition” release of the current roster of the Jurassic Park franchise (that is until June) is a well done package by Universal, though the 4K transfers weren’t exactly incredible upgrades over their Blu-ray counterparts, outside of maybe the audio.
I’m not giving the poor rating to the movie as it is a wonderful Eddie Murphy comedy vehicle, but instead it’s due to a lazy re-release.
I really like Trading Places and probably have seen it several times over the years, both in disc form and whenever it aired on TV. So, the rating isn’t about the movie but about this latest release which is only worthwhile for those who did not already own it.
Daphne & Velma was an unexpected treat even if it’s not exactly a necessity to really exist but I did have a fun time watching and at least actresses Jeffery and Gilman encompassed the characters nicely and it did feel like a Scooby-Doo film.
This Jackass: Complete Movie and TV Collection is just a re-packaging job done by the studio and as such, if you’re already own them you’re really only getting a more compact set. If you don’t have them, it is at a reasonable price and worthy of picking up.
Fury isn’t the best war drama around, not even in the top 5, but it’s still well made and features a great cast, with Brad Pitt delivering a fine performance (one of his best in some time), that elevates the writing while Ayer’s direction keeps the pacing just right.
The House That Dripped Blood is a fun enough anthology movie that is mostly entertaining seeing this cast which includes Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott and Jon Pertwee, even if they’re not all in the same scenes together.
The 15:17 to Paris is easily one of the worst movies of not only this year, but the past few years, and just a complete misfire for the usually great Clint Eastwood. While casting the real life heroes as themselves was a mistake, there were numerous other issues at play.