Volcano isn’t exactly a memorable disaster movie as it utilizes every cliché in the book but Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche and, to a lesser extent, Don Cheadle, each give admirable performances slugging through stilted dialogue and utterly laughable situations. Still, it’s passable entertainment but don’t go in, or leave, with anything more than what it is.
While Fright Night 2: New Blood actually wasn’t that bad given a limited budget and cast of unknowns, but there’s really nothing special about it and it was more or less another remake to a classic. This is the kind of movie you no doubt will see on FX or FXX in a couple of years.
The Amityville Horror Trilogy set released by Shout Factory has one semi-classic movie, a serviceable sequel and a third movie that is downright silly. The set also has a good amount of features to keep you occupied and the first two movies have good audio/video transfers while the third, at least the video, was awful.
“Beauty and the Beast”: The First Season might not be the smoothest freshman season or anything, but there’s enough there to keep watching starting with Kristin Kreuk who finally gets to headline a series after many years on “Smallville” playing second fiddle. Yeah, some of the storylines are a bit soapy and although I liked Kreuk, it does take some time taking her seriously as an NYPD detective.
The Hangover Part III by definition as unnecessary but despite two cruel scenes as well as some scenes that just didn’t hit the mark, I still enjoyed this sequel although I’m not sure if it’s because it’s actually funny or if it’s relative to the fact Part II was a complete rehash of the first sans laughs. In any case, I’m not giving this a glowing review for the obvious reasons however it is at least worth a rental.
To be honest I’ve never been the biggest fan of “Glee” but there are some good moments here and there and the musical covers tend to be reasonably good all things considered.
The Little Mermaid makes a triumphant debut with this “Diamond Edition” Blu-ray containing a fair amount of features and fantastic audio/video transfers making it the best this film has ever looked and sounded.
I Spit on Your Grave 2 is, to say the least, a disturbing movie and like most sequels, the writers and director attempts to amp up the anguish to the next level which it mostly does.
“Leverage” might not be remembered that well but I sure enjoyed the series despite some less than stellar episodes. Still, the cast shares wonderful chemistry and some of the season-long storylines were at least compelling. This final season, granted only 15 episodes, have some solid episodes and the series finale gives nice closure for the fans. The DVD doesn’t have a whole lot regarding features though having a commentary with each episode does provide insight from the creators and others.
The Frozen Ground excels in many areas from a welcomed subtle performance by Nicolas Cage, a mature turn for Vanessa Hudgens and John Cusack playing the thankless role as the creepy and thoroughly disturbing serial killer. However, for all the good acting by the main cast and beautiful, Oscar-worthy, cinematography, it never quite reaches its potential.
World War Z isn’t a bad movie, far from it, as it efficiently entertains from beginning to end though Brad Pitt more or less sleepwalks through his role. However, this film is the epitome of wasted opportunities as this could have been one of the best in the genre to come out but instead it’s just a safe movie.
World War Z isn’t a bad movie, far from it, as it efficiently entertains from beginning to end though Brad Pitt more or less sleepwalks through his role. However, this film is the epitome of wasted opportunities as this could have been one of the best in the genre to come out but instead it’s just a safe movie.
Halloween is still one of the best horror movies with genuine scares and the introduction to one of the best villains in movie history. While the movie might be great, Anchor Bay continues to milk the franchise releasing multiple editions with some nice new features but failing to port over anything from the others.
“Arrow”: The Complete First Season is off to a good start and I can’t wait to see what the second season brings between the drama and new characters to help expand the universe even further.
“Criminal Minds”: Season 8 isn’t bad with a few highlights throughout the year including a fun supervillain in the Replicator and Jeanne Tripplehorn’s first foray is semi-satisfying though not an equal replacement for Brewster and some of the stories are getting tiresome blending together like a Friday the 13th sequel. The DVD released by Paramount does offer a respectable amount of features and the audio/video transfers are pretty good.