The Final Word on Physical Media
Although I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and movie adaptations, for whatever reason The Casual Vacancy failed to strike a chord with me. I don’t know if it the adaptation work was lousy or what but outside of the likes of Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Julia McKenzie there wasn’t very much that grabbed my attention.
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Vendetta is the McDonald’s double cheeseburger of the film world. It’s merely famishing while watching but utterly forgettable by the time it’s over and completely forgotten within hours. It’s actually not terrible and Dean Cain isn’t too bad in the lead and Michael Eklund serves as a delightfully squirmy villain but outside of that it’s not worthy of a rental and with some edits is destined to air on Spike.
The first season of “How to Get Away with Murder” is compelling from beginning to end and getting Viola Davis to headline was a brilliant move as she gives much needed weight and her ability to keep viewers off kilter helps to build momentum throughout the season.
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The tenth season of “Criminal Minds”, while not great, is still quite strong and the ensemble cast including newcomer Jennifer Love Hewitt (albeit in her one and only season) makes the series as enjoyable and enduring as it has been going on 10 years. The set itself is fine with a modest amount of bonus material while the video and audio transfers are both well done.
True Story isn’t terrible but at its core, there wasn’t enough ‘there’ to make for a very interesting feature film. The performances I suppose weren’t terrible yet by the same token the odd relationship between Finkel and Longo never really did much or make any sort of emotional connection.
Pit Stop isn’t a very well known film and especially not amongst Jack Hill’s semi-lengthy filmography which includes Foxy Brown and Spider Baby but for my money, I enjoyed the heck out of it especially with the impressive stunt work and a generally unpredictable finale. The Blu-ray release by Arrow Video offers great video/audio transfers and a fair selection of bonus material making this a worthwhile purchase.
Hot Pursuit has to be one of the more ill-conceived comedies to come down the pike in a while but even more perplexing are the two leads who aren’t in the least bit untalented actually signed on not only to star but served as producers. Granted, I’m sure the cast and crew had a blast while making it but for the audience, it’s an absolute chore to sit through. This is the type of crap that will end up airing on TBS in no time.
Pound of Flesh could’ve been a fun B-movie but instead it’s yet another in the long line of crappy direct-to-video movies that will in all likelihood end up in the cheap bin at Wal-Mart, Big Lots or your local bargain store. Jean-Claude Van Damme still has some energy to him but when the screenplay is thin on story and production values that are borderline laughable, it’s hard to overcome those obstacles.
Barely Lethal, although hardly anything extraordinary, is at least a passable ‘tween spy thriller that’s heaps better than any of the Spy Kids movies (granted, not that big of an accomplishment). The cast is mostly good with Hailee Steinfeld doing a fine job carrying a thin script. It’s probably worth a rental, nothing more.
The Last Survivors may not be perfect as it could be repetitive at times while the plot was a bit thin but the acting is well done especially by lead actress Haley Lu Richardson and for an independent production it’s an impressive flick. The Blu-ray release offers good video/audio transfers while there’s a fine selection of bonus material headlined by a pair of commentary tracks.
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Innerspace is a fantastic sci-fi comedy that not only has a fun story but excels courtesy of the cast relying on each of their strengths to make for a good time; and not to be outdone, the effects work is still impressive decades later. The Blu-ray released by Warner is rather basic porting over the features from the previous DVD while the video/audio transfers were both well done.
“Adventure Time”: The Complete Fifth Season is another solid year for the now venerable animated series. The plots are still great fun and the variety of unique characters keeps things fresh in spite of going on hundreds of episodes. The 2-disc Blu-ray release by Warner is a tad disappointing as there are only a couple of features while episode commentaries for whatever reason were completely dropped.
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Burying the Ex probably could’ve been one of the better surprises of 2015 but instead it’s bitten with a half-baked screenplay that doesn’t take advantage of the fun story. Even so, Joe Dante and company do pay homage to horror of old which will certainly satisfy fans of the genre and even beyond that, the core cast all turn in good performances and make something mundane and average to be somewhat entertaining, flaws and all.
The Longest Ride is just another typical Nicholas Sparks adaptation and frankly, I can at least say it’s better than The Best of Me though doesn’t hold a candle to The Notebook, and not many of Sparks’ book-to-films have. Still, the two leads weren’t terrible and it’s nice seeing Alan Alda with a bit more material than usual.
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Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is a terrible movie. I mean, really bad and the latest blight on the Happy Madison production company, hard to believe they could get much worse, but they’ve done it (though I suppose it’s not as bad as Jack and Jill, so that’s something). The release by Sony offers some thin bonus material while the video/audio transfers are both sufficient.
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