The Internship is a weak comedy and the only success it manages is the re-pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson who generally have great chemistry, otherwise the script (co-written by Vaughn) is half-baked and the funny moments, while a few, is too far and between. This is not a bad movie by a long shot and might be worthwhile as a time waster, but it’s also one you can skip and won’t miss.
Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics is a well made documentary featuring a wide array of participants chatting about the importance and substance behind the numerous villains in the DCU.
Cars is hardly Pixar’s best film, not even in the top 5, but there’s some magic to it and you can’t go wrong with the voice talent of Paul Newman, the perfect choice for the role.
The Other is a thoroughly haunting and creepy psychological drama with stand-out performances from Uta Hagen and twin brothers Chris and Martin Udvarnoky.
Dead in Tombstone is the usual Danny Trejo action vehicle with a supernatural/western twist but everything else is standard quo. The acting is average although Anthony Michael Hall and Mickey Rourke seem to have a hell of a time (pardon the pun) and there isn’t enough of the revenge plot to keep the energy going until the end. I guess if you’re a fan of Danny Trejo, this might be the movie for you, otherwise you can outright skip it.
Embrace of the Vampire (1995) is simply a bad movie made only for a child star in Alyssa Milano trying to strip (figuratively and literally) that persona. The story is lacking, and the performances are bland and the movie as a whole is downright boring leading to something with nothing to offer (even Ms. Milano’s breasts aren’t worth the sludge you have to wade through).
Internal Affairs is a bit of a forgotten crime-drama overshadowed a few years later by Heat and even only 3 years earlier with The Untouchables. Even so, Richard Gere turns in an incredible performance and playing opposite, Andy Garcia is also top notch. I don’t think it’s a perfect movie and I think it had potential to be better, but director Mike Figgis has a good eye and at least makes an above average genre film.
The first Grown Ups movie wasn’t anything special but it did provide a few laughs and a relatively coherent plot, Grown Ups 2 on the other hand has no real plot to speak of but worst of all, there’s no real laughs and seeing this cast back together is hardly enough to hold the film together.
Monsters University might be one of the weaker outings from Disney/Pixar since Cars, yet there’s enough here to make it an enjoyable experience for the entire family. The return of Billy Crystal and John Goodman is great, the animation is still absolutely amazing and the story is good even if it heavily borrows from other college films, although I suppose one could argue it was paying homage to those movies.
Monsters University might be one of the weaker outings from Disney/Pixar since Cars, yet there’s enough here to make it an enjoyable experience for the entire family. The return of Billy Crystal and John Goodman is great, the animation is still absolutely amazing and the story is good even if it heavily borrows from other college films, although I suppose one could argue it was paying homage to those movies.
The Heat is a fun little twist on the buddy cop comedy and even though it doesn’t nearly measure up to Lethal Weapon both in terms of chemistry or the plot and villain, there’s just enough here to make it worthwhile. Both Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are wonderful together and McCarthy uses every opportunity to showcase her comedic talents, albeit at the expense of a coherent or merely serviceable plot. But I had fun with it and laughed at the right moments.
Idle Hands is a film I initially didn’t care much for but have grown a bit fonder of over the years. The cast is great headlined by Devon Sawa and Seth Green, with Jessica Alba making an impressive appearance early in her career and serves wonderfully as eye candy.
Shiver is a weak psychological horror-thriller with poor performances outside of the delightful Danielle Harris who seemingly continues to over-perform some of the dreck horror films. Although she is pretty good in this one, everything else is low-rent and cheap looking to go along with a story which never quite clicks. The DVD doesn’t have a whole lot to offer with no bonus material and average audio/video transfers.
The Colony actually isn’t too bad of a suspense-thriller. It’s a low budget utilizing SyFy-like sets and visual effects (well, perhaps a bit better) but the performances are very good headlined by Kevin Zegers and Laurence Fishburne (in a limited role).
“Inspector Gadget” is a great trip back to my childhood and I suspect there are many others born and grew up in the 1980s feel the same way. No the show wasn’t a masterpiece and the humor often forced, but man I had a wonderful time revisiting the series. With both seasons being released on DVD for the first time, it’s the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the character to a new generation.