The Battery actually is a well made indie horror-drama with more emphasize on drama with only a few zombies thrown in, but instead focuses on the two main characters and their day-to-day interactions.
“The Vampire Diaries”: The Complete Fifth Season quality-wise isn’t great but still has some entertaining moments even (or especially) when the dialogue is either corny or laughable. Still, this season never really lost my attention as the actors, for the most, are at least fun to watch, though the absence of Klaus and Rebekah is noticeable.
They Came Together might not quite come together, no pun intended (really) like the filmmakers wanted, and not close to Wet Hot American Summer, but there is a certain charm in its spoofing of the romantic comedy genre mainly due to the comedic timing of Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler.
“Person of Interest”: The Complete Third Season is another good, even great, run for the Jonathan Nolan-created series. The acting is nearly top-notched but most of all, the stories are captivating and fresh, trying new things and presenting different antagonists (this year an organization named “Vigilance”) to challenge our heroes.
Despite its age, going on nine seasons, “Supernatural” is still a well made series with a good balance of fantasy, drama and dark comedy and storylines that is keeping the series fresh.
“Bitten”: The Complete First Season isn’t a horrible nor is it unwatchable, mainly because of star Laura Vandervoort, but I’ve seen this story countless times on better produced series like “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries,” and “True Blood”… Well, two out of the three anyway.
Any Given Sunday is an engaging movie that many sports, especially NFL, will enjoy and not only holds up today, but kind of predicts a few trends that have permeated college and pro football.
Night Moves is not a movie for everybody. It’s a slow-burn crime-drama with some fine performances, particularly by Jesse Eisenberg yet you also have to be patient for the plot to play out with the first 20-minutes or so is all set-ups with the final 80-minutes used for the aftermath of the characters’ actions.
The Quiet Ones actually isn’t a completely awful film and I wouldn’t be hesitant to at least recommend a Red Box rental, but the problem is what started off with some truly dark and spooky atmosphere devolved into the supernatural crap seen numerous times before. That being said, Jared Harris at least isn’t bad and with a short running time, it’s not a chore to get through.
“Revolution”: The Second and Final Season had some potential especially between the production values and ensemble cast, but the storytelling was lacking in substance and style and it’s easy to see why this not only got cancelled but why its viewership dwindled to a pitiful 4 million viewers for the series finale.
Draft Day isn’t a great movie and probably ranks in the bottom half of sports films, but there’s some entertainment value and Kevin Costner helps to elevate the material far beyond what it deserves. The direction is at least interesting by Ivan Reitman and the supporting cast, albeit not well utilized, is respectable.
The Possession of Michael King is the latest in the “found footage” flicks that have permeated theaters and store shelves over the past decade or so and it’s frankly kind of dull and not at all scary.
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero could’ve just been condensed down to Patient Zero has it has no bearing on the first movie and is merely a generic, flesh-eating virus movie like any other. The acting is also a bit wonky with Sean Astin surprisingly giving the best performance and keeping this from being a complete waste of time.
“Criminal Minds” remains one of my favorite shows today (note: I steer more towards procedural crime dramas) and while the ninth season isn’t predominantly special, there are more than a few solid episodes (‘The Inspiration,’ ‘The Inspired,’ and ‘200’) and even the others are entertaining if not routine.
Aftermath is a well crafted, and altogether simply made, apocalyptic thriller that serves more as a psychological character study more than anything else, and certainly more than the cause of the nuclear attacks. The characters themselves can be on the clichéd side but still interesting enough to want to get through until the end.