Shooter is a film that works with Mark Wahlberg’s strengths as an action hero and combined with the fine direction by Antoine Fuqua makes this worth checking out if you hadn’t already in the 15 years since the release.
I actually didn’t think Death Race: Beyond Anarchy was bad, just a bit more of the same from the reboot franchise, though switching things up making Frankenstein an outright antagonist or extreme anti-hero.
The first three Predator movies are fine entertainment with the sequels not quite reaching the level of excellence in my book, though I do greatly prefer the first movie over the others if only for the quality direction from McTiernan and Schwarzenegger’s tough man and charm appeal.
Dreamgirls is a nice enough release and all as I did enjoy the film, albeit I’ll stick with the theatrical version from now on, it’s just a shame the studio didn’t port over all the features from the previous releases making this incomplete.
Monster Trucks isn’t a very good movie but by the same token, it’s not exactly aimed at someone in their mid-30s either and if I were 8 years old again, I’d no doubt dig the film (at 8 I thought Ghostbusters II was the best movie ever made). Some adults might find it passably entertaining, however.
Complete Unknown is a movie that excels more due to the acting, that of Rachel Weisz and, to some extent, Michael Shannon rather than the plot or writing, but on those it was at least compelling storytelling.
Criminal Minds: Season 11 still has some entertainment value mainly for its cast, though it is a letdown after a nice 10th season, but seeing the departure of another veteran cast member makes me wonder if next year will be its last which will be hurt once Thomas Gibson is gone following his much publicized dismissal.
Gridlocked is probably one of the more surprising movies based on expectations since my history with direct-to-video flicks hasn’t been the greatest. Sure, the acting isn’t anything special but Dominic Purcell and Stephen Lang serve well as the protagonist and antagonist respectively.
Blindness might not have been my kind of movie but I appreciate it for the fine performances, excellent cinematography and a story which is at least captured my attention for the film’s duration.