I’m happy that Warner, through their Archive line, released “Young Justice”: Invasion as a companion to the first season. It’s a great show through and through with excellent action, engaging storylines and nice animation.
While Stonehearst Asylum never quite reaches its full potential, the film does succeed with an admirable cast and fine performances from Jim Sturgess, Kate Beckinsale and, especially, Ben Kingsley who alone is well worth the time investment.
Jingle All the Way 2 is another unfunny “comedic” vehicle for Larry the Cable Guy to do this schtick and I hated just about every minute of this movie. Simply put, it’s another pointless DTV movie that’s not in the least bit entertaining and I cannot stress enough to pass this one by, if only to save your soul.
Into the Woods is apparently a popular Broadway musical – and is getting a big screen Disney adaptation starring Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp and Chris Pine – but having never seen it before, I found it enjoyable for a musical (not a fan, personally) yet the Blu-ray released by Image is downright terrible with no features and, especially, one of the worst video transfers I’ve come across.
Lord of Illusions is an uneven yet admirable little supernatural-thriller-horror that Barker himself described as a cross between Chinatown and The Exorcist, and although in the end I wasn’t that enthralled, the director’s cut is still well worth checking out.
Bird Man of Alcatraz is certainly a lengthy film clocking in damn near 3 hours, but the performance from Burt Lancaster is phenomenal and the subject matter in itself is interesting, that being said, not sure when I’d revisit it, but hopefully soon.
The Giver is a perfectly acceptable sci-fi suspense/thriller but outside of being passable, it doesn’t really offer much else, although Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep both help keep it afloat from a story that falls a bit short in terms of weight.
What If excels on its two leads in Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan as well as a great supporting cast, rather than sharp, witty dialogue or even the plot which has been done in the past, including 500 Days of Summer. Still, it’s well worth a watch.
Gutshot Straight maybe had the best intentions at being a solid crime-drama but instead falls far short with a half-baked plot, some so-so acting despite a respectable supporting cast led by Stephen Lang and Ted Levine, and shoddy editing that stymied any momentum early on.
Into the Storm despite being another found footage flick, and certainly with flaws in others such as story and character, does excel with the visual and some practical effects, culminating with an incredible lossless score.
The November Man doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre and is more in line with the Bourne franchise with both grit and geopolitics centric to their respective stories. But what makes this stand out is finally seeing Pierce Brosnan returning to form and kicking ass instead of, you know, singing…
The Expendables 3 continues a franchise that had more promise than delivering the goods, but still this wasn’t a terrible film, just underwhelming and at times a tad dull. I still enjoyed seeing these 1980s action stars together so it’s not a complete waste of time, but at best this is only a rental.
Maleficent actually isn’t a bad movie per se, but one that never quite hit its potential especially when you get a great performance out of Angelina Jolie who seemed to be the only one giving it her all with such a flashy character. But the issue at hand is a script with little conflict and a movie on the whole that doesn’t even try to challenge its audience.
1987’s Dolls is an incredibly fun, if not somewhat cheesy, horror flick that is one to watch with friends to have an even better time. The cast is great working together especially Carrie Lorraine who’s not bad for a child actor.
The “Robot Chicken”: Christmas Specials collection is geared more toward casual fans as, from what I can tell, everything on this disc was previously released in some fashion in the season sets, features included. The DVD itself has OK audio and video while the commentaries are at least entertaining.