The Final Word on Physical Media
Red Dawn wasn’t an awful movie and even though the cast, Hemsworth especially, to their best with what they were given, it’s one of those movies that you will forget a day after seeing it. It’s not so bad it’s good and it’s not so good that you’ll want to boast about it to friends or family.
The Marine 3 is yet another forgettable action-thriller with basic fight sequences, a hero played by a bland wrestler-turned-actor and a villain with schemes which, thanks to the limited budget, are cut down to an awful finale. The Blu-ray at least offers an average set of features and video/audio transfers that are on the satisfactory side. If you’re a wrestling fan and you like “The Miz”, then this might be worth a rental, otherwise just skip this turkey.
Despite its 7 Academy Award nominations, The Insider is a woefully under-appreciated drama filled with excellent performances and a compelling story. Al Pacino, Russell Crowe and Christopher Plummer are all incredible and Mann’s direction, alongside Dante Spinotti’s lense, makes for a near masterpiece.
Argo has plenty of problems with regards to historical accuracies, but even when taking liberties with the story and characters, producer/director Ben Affleck highlights a story not many Americans know about and presents a suspense-thriller with greatly intense moments with a couple standout performances.
Wreck-it-Ralph is a great animated-comedy-adventure the entire family will enjoy and, at least for the past couple of years, rivals some of Pixar’s own works. It’s a fresh and imaginative story and the animation is wonderful.
Live Nude Girls, from my perspective, seems to be a predecessor to “Sex in the City” with a lot of girl talk and girl drama. I wasn’t a big fan of the movie but realize it has a core set of fans which makes this Blu-ray release to be somewhat popular to that segment.
Scooby-Doo!: Mask of the Blue Falcon is a wonderful entry into the long-running franchise. The voice casting is well done as always and the story for once holds at least a little mystery, albeit by the third act it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is.
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Anna Karenina is yet another film with plenty of potential but failed thanks to a lifeless script and oft stilted acting from what is normally a respectable cast. This is the epitome of style over substance as Wright attempts to give his portrayal a different flavor than those that have come before.
Deadfall is a simplistic and predictable drama-thriller but thanks to a suspenseful performance from Eric Bana makes for an engaging flick which is well worth at least one viewing.
In Like Flint is a fun comedy for sure although it does overstay its welcome by a good 15-20 minutes. Still, James Coburn is charming once again as the title character and there’s just enough sly fun to keep one’s attention until the end.
A Star is Born is a well acted music-drama by Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand who both share wonderful chemistry.
The Running Man is certainly dated but still a lot of fun in that cheesy fashion that the 1980s and Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for.
Pony Soldier is a well-made Western though mostly remembered for its Technicolor beauty rather than a weak storyline and modest performances from the cast.
Skyfall is a fun entry into the long-running James Bond series. Daniel Craig is still a fantastic Agent 007 and while it’s entirely possible this movie gets more praise thanks to lower standards of the previous outing, I still found it to be highly entertaining. Javier Bardem makes for a great villain and Adele’s theme song is one of the best and really brings back that classic feeling.
Highlander 2: Renegade Version still has many problems which of course were not fixable without major reshoots but I do at least give credit to the editors for trying to present a half-decent movie. No doubt, it’s still not a very good movie although it would make for a fun Friday night drinking game, rife with many scenes worthy of mockery.
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