300: Rise of an Empire has some things to be admired from the visuals, which director Noam Murro copied from Zack Snyder and Eva Green who is the only one that gave anything resembling a memorable performance and her alone is the only reason one should bother with this sequel.
The Mechanic was the perfect role for Charles Bronson who commonly was known for his roles in the Death Wish movies. His performance here was great and worked well opposite Jan-Michael Vincent.
Lake Placid is a fun horror-comedy, with more emphasis on humor, that might not be the best written flick but it’s a breezy enough 82-minutes of sarcastic one-liners and characters, albeit mostly on-dimensional, that you actually enjoy watching, especially a fouled-mouthed Betty White in a small yet pivotal role.
Parts Per Billion had a lot going for it including an impressive cast who, Frank Langella and Gena Rowlands especially, turn in fine performances it’s just that the story never quite gelled and some of the character’s actions were beyond dumb. But beyond that, it was a slow and honestly boring movie to plod through and there are plenty others with a similar plotline that are a lot better (see: Contagion and Perfect Sense).
The Birdcage is a wonderfully hilarious comedy headlined by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and holds up as well today as it did some 10+ years ago when I last saw it.
Small Time is an easygoing but still well made drama-comedy with great performances all around, but in particular Christopher Meloni, in his post-“Law & Order: SVU” career and Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad” fame having a good time.
The Motel Life is a somber but well acted drama headlined by Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff who both work well together playing brothers. The writing is well done and it’s not your typical, run-of-the-mill film interjecting animation into the storytelling.