Dec 302015
 

The Visit isn’t a bad movie but any stretch and certainly M. Night’s best offering in some time but by the same token, it employs the tired found footage style and although there are some creepy moments, as a whole, it’s not anything memorable. The performances especially that of Olivia DeJonge, are decent enough.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 302015
 

Contracted: Phase 2 is just the latest infection/zombie feature to come in the long line of these that have hit the direct-to-video market. It’s not a terrible movie but it also doesn’t have anything overly memorable but at least the make-up effects weren’t bad. The Blu-ray released through Shout Factory is sadly basic with so-so video and audio and features basically non-existent outside of a couple of trailers.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 292015
 

“True Detective”: The Complete Second Season is definitely a step down from its predecessor, however, for all of its faults from a needlessly complicated storyline, substandard writing and too many characters (main ones anyway), I still found this season fairly entertaining due to the performances by Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and yes, even Vince Vaughn.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 292015
 

“True Detective”: The Complete Second Season is definitely a step down from its predecessor, however, for all of its faults from a needlessly complicated storyline, substandard writing and too many characters (main ones anyway), I still found this season fairly entertaining due to the performances by Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and yes, even Vince Vaughn.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 292015
 

Hitman: Agent 47 might not be a horrible movie experience but it certainly much to be desired with a poor casting choice of Rupert Friend who seems too refined for the role while relative newcomer Hannah Ware came off fairly well. This is the type of film, despite an R-rating, destined to air on FX or FXX with some not-so-creative editing and certainly is not worth a purchase let along a rental.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 272015
 

Pan had some of the right ingredients between a good and capable director and respectable cast but between some odd choices with the soundtrack, mainly a rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and an utterly joyless film which is surprising for a movie about Peter Pan, it makes for a soulless and forgettable flick.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 262015
 

It’s understandable why fans of the novels hate The Scorch Trials adaptation but as someone who isn’t attached to the books in any way, I found it acceptable and entertaining enough. Sure, the film does have its problems especially with the pacing and bloated story taking it over the two hour mark, yet at the same time I don’t regret seeing it.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 252015
 

What started off as an interesting story about the Milgram Experiment turned into a bit of a bore of film in the second half, though Peter Sarsgaard does give a fine performance and director Michael Almereyda certainly didn’t go the conventional route in the story and filmmaking style, so Experimenter does at least stand out in that regard.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 242015
 

Mysterious Island is a fun, light-hearted, fantasy flick highlighted by Ray Haryhausen’s incredible effects work combined with Bernard Herrmann’s score. The Blu-ray released under the Twilight Time line offers some decent features headlined by an extensive audio commentary, and good video/audio transfers.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 242015
 

Jenny’s Wedding had the ingredients to be a decent enough romantic drama but instead the talents are wasted with a sub-par script and little to no chemistry between Heigl and Bledel. With the likes of Tom Wilkinson co-starring and from the director of Beaches, this was a disappointing flick only worthy perhaps of a rental.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 222015
 

There’s really no reason for The Transporter Refueled to exist, let alone one without Jason Statham starring. The writing is bad, the action sequences weren’t well directed and came across more as a commercial for Audi, and the performance from Ed Skrein does not make for a fun or kick ass action hero.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 202015
 

12 Rounds 3: Lockdown is just another bad direct-to-video flick but worse yet, it’s not even a fun bad, just plain bad. The acting is wooden especially on the part of Dean Ambrose who shows no charisma to play the lead and the fight scenes were poorly choreographed. The Blu-ray is rather basic with two thin featurettes, so-so video and adequate audio transfers.

 

Continue reading »

Dec 202015
 

It’s not hard to see why Heist had a very limited theater run before being released to DTV obscurity in spite of a nice cast between Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Robert De Niro. But thanks to a bad script, with far too many contrivances to ignore, this is the type of movie easily forgotten within a day and thrown in with the rest of the subpar flicks.

 

Continue reading »