Although uneven in its tone (as it deviates from effective to cheesy drama), I enjoyed Valley of the Dolls particularly for the performances from Barbara Parkins and, especially, Sharon Tate. The writing isn’t the best and I’d actually welcome some sort of modern remake or even a mini-series
Dead End Drive-In is the typical 1980s movie, attempting to replicate the dystopian future storyline that started with 1979’s Mad Max, a fellow Aussie action-thriller. It’s not a very good movie but with its limited budget and so-so acting, it’s not a terrible horror-thriller and holds some entertainment value especially for fans of the era.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is certainly one of the best sci-fi horror/thrillers out there and just might rank behind Alien and Aliens, though I still prefer those two. Where this succeeds, much like those two, is the claustrophobic atmosphere with the added subtext of paranoia.
Raising Cain isn’t high up compared with some of the other films by Brian De Palma even with the over-the-top performance by John Lithgow. However, this is a nice “Collector’s Edition” release by Shout Factory offering solid video/audio transfers and a good selection of bonus features.
I’m giving this a 2.5/5 not because Aliens is a bad movie, far from it, but that it’s a blatant cash grab by Fox. Now, one could argue this is for the casual movie watcher but for fans, all you’re getting is new packaging and “collectable art cards” and a booklet.
Captain America: Civil War is a good movie for sure and I did enjoy elements of it and the fight between Cap and Iron Man was well done, however, the film does have its issues but on the whole is entertaining.
Limitless was a fun show with plenty of potential, building off of the intriguing premise of the feature film and giving it a quasi procedural format and with Bradley Cooper guest starring gives it some needed weight. Sadly, the ratings apparently were not good enough and, as of this time, couldn’t pull off an Unforgettable and see new life elsewhere.
The French drama Standing Tall has a strong story at its core and a great, non-pretentious, message to boot even if it can feel like a Hallmark Movie of the Week feel and the performances by Catherine Deneuve and Rod Paradot are both excellent.
oddly paced and ones patience could be tested, Genius is a movie that excels more on the cast than the actual story. Jude Law is fine as Wolfe though the highlight is Colin Firth.
Center Stage: On Pointe is the fourth in the series and is no different than so many of these contemporary dance movies (a la Step Up) with a pretty cast with so-so acting talent, though it is nice seeing Peter Gallagher reprise his role.
Marauders isn’t a half-bad crime-thriller though it has plenty of problems from a villain portrayed by Bruce Willis who once again phones-in his performance to some atrocious dialogue and a needlessly complicated plot. However, I did enjoy Christopher Meloni in the lead role and the director at least attempted to bring atmosphere.
Money Monster, in spite of the talent involved, never delivers. George Clooney and Julia Roberts give good performances but I had a really hard time feeling sorry for Jack O’Connell’s Kyle character even as the filmmakers try to pull at the dramatic strings in the third act.
This long lost film by Cecil B. DeMille, The Captive is an interesting time capsule and makes for an interesting, if not quick, viewing just to see a film from that era. The Blu-ray released through Olive actually is half impressive; although there are no features, the video doesn’t look bad and the music comes through nicely enough.
Supernatural: The Complete Eleventh Season manages to keep up the energy in spite of going on over a decade on the air. The performances are pretty much standard for Padalecki and Ackles but they’re still in top form and the storyline for the season at least feels fresh and is entertaining.
Hard Target 2 isn’t a half-bad DTV flick though it is pretty standard fare and probably went on a good 10-minutes too long. Still, Scott Adkins makes for a serviceable action hero with the right amount of charisma to pull off the role while seeing Robert Knepper playing a villain is always a welcome.