The Legend of Hercules gets to have the distinct pleasure of being the first flop of 2014 at the box office and with critics and audiences alike and for good reason. There’s nothing here save maybe for Gaia Weiss who, albeit in a limited role, was decent (and easy on the eyes).
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial isn’t just a 1980s classic but a classic period and influential to many generations due to a tightly written script, characters we can actually care about and just an adorable little alien who evokes emotions from laughter to sadness. It may not be Spielberg’s masterpiece, but it is timeless.
While I grew up in the 1990s, and in the Pacific Northwest, I never really got into grunge music, though I knew all about Nirvana of course, so Hype didn’t do a whole lot for me but at the very least did give a good history of the music from that time and the bands that sprung from it.
The Resurrected is a quirky but fun enough horror-thriller with some so-so performances that is relatively unknown (I personally never heard of it). Not sure I’ll revisit this any time soon, but for fans of the genre, its worth of watch.
Supernatural: The Complete Twelfth Season isn’t great but still offers some entertaining episodes here and there and I do enjoy the core cast, especially Misha Collins.
Criminal Minds: Season 12 is a slight step down from previous years due to the drastic cast changes that began with Shemar Moore’s departure in the eleventh season and now the firing of Thomas Gibson. Still, I do enjoy the core cast and the stories are compelling enough.
My Cousin Rachel was one of the bigger disappointments for me as I do like the cast, mainly Rachel Weisz, but the story never really came together as it could’ve and the pacing was dreadfully slow.
I didn’t feel The Mummy was a bad movie but worse yet, a completely forgettable one. Tom Cruise never really felt at home, Annabelle Wallis was rather bland in the female lead, Russell Crowe unremarkable in a forced appearance as Jekyll/Hyde and Sofia Boutella makes for a hot mummy, but not very threatening.
This fourth season of The Originals is, for me, more of the same. Some of the stories aren’t terribly compelling (so to speak) but I still enjoy Joseph Morgan’s Klaus character and at least the season is watchable and being only 13 episodes
I honestly had a good time watching Security not so much that it’s “good” but it is solid entertainment and a throwback to the action-thriller from the 1980s with a simple plot and an even simpler villain. The movie also works thanks to Banderas who continues to show he can be a bad ass.
First Kill was admittedly a tad better than I expected but not due to the point-and-shoot direction, a poor script or even Bruce Willis who seemed to give more of a damn compared to his other Grindstone DTV films, but a genuinely charm-filled performance from Gethin Anthony.
All Eyez on Me might be the long-awaited and most anticipated bio-pic on Tupac Shakur but speaking as someone who didn’t really follow his career growing up but this drama is underwhelming to say the least with some poor writing and so-so performances, though Demetrius Shipp Jr. is the spitting image of Shakur and does well in the role.
The Cabin in the Woods is a well made and darkly humorous horror film that takes on the tropes of the genre quite well and has a pretty good bloody creature clash in the end which was wonderful before an ending that wasn’t nearly that satisfying.
T
his “Signature Collection” release of The Lion King isn’t anything special but the video and audio transfers are both pitch perfect and while the features aren’t that great, it’s nice to see this amazing movie get back on Blu-ray.
