Monster Trucks isn’t a very good movie but by the same token, it’s not exactly aimed at someone in their mid-30s either and if I were 8 years old again, I’d no doubt dig the film (at 8 I thought Ghostbusters II was the best movie ever made). Some adults might find it passably entertaining, however.
World Without End is the typical cheesy sci-fi adventure film from the mid-50s with some impressive enough effects (for its time) and an absolutely forgettable story filled with cardboard cutout characters.
War on Everyone certainly caught me by surprise and it is in apt title in a few ways. This is also one of the more un-PC movies I’ve come across and thanks to that, as well as the performances from Skarsgård and Peña, at least makes it memorable even when the pacing was off.
Hidden Figures is a delightful film telling a generally unknown story about three black women who were crucial to the USA’s journey to space; it features three solid performances led way by Taraji P. Henson.
Mad Families is the latest in a long line of crappy comedies, this one co-written by David Spade and starring a couple talented (enough) actors like Charlie Sheen and Leah Remini though it’s apparently neither were exactly trying.
Of these two movies, I found House to be the more entertaining but House II does have its moments but it veers far more into the slapstick comedic territory than its predecessor. As far as this release goes, it is unfortunate that the third and fourth movies weren’t included (they are in the Arrow UK release).
Cinema Paradiso is a wonderful and beautifully shot drama that is absolutely superb for any fan of movies and character drama with a touch of romance and lost love.
Little Nikita is an odd little, and mostly forgotten, film from the late 1980s that has a weak screenplay made up by two solid actors in Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix whose chemistry did work so well.
We Don’t Belong Here is an odd movie but features a respectable cast including the late Anton Yelchin in one of his last roles. The DVD released through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and is rather standard with so-so video/audio transfers but sadly no bonus material.
Office Christmas Party is yet another comedy with an amazing, and mostly proven, cast (Aniston is probably the standout) that fails due to a screenplay that lacked consistent laughs and features an absolutely cringe-worthy finale.
Collateral Beauty is the epitome of what is wrong with studios today, especially considering the outright dishonest trailer they put together for this which features really unlikeable characters.
The Bye Bye Man is an all around bad movie that somehow got a theatrical distribution. The young cast isn’t particularly special, and Carrie-Anne Moss’s talents were underutilized, but get the most out of a bad script and a supernatural villain who was anything but scary.
The final chapter in the Harry Potter saga, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a fantastic ending highlighted by an intense, action-pakced, third act and nicely closes out giving a fitting conclusion to our favorite characters.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a good start to the final film in the series that started a decade ago and I can only hope it ends in the bang most have promised it would. It’s certainly the darkest of the franchise but also one of the best especially with the performances of the three leads.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn’t quite grab me compared to a few of its predecessors, it’s still an entertaining entry leading way to an intense two-part finale.