As these direct-to-video flicks go, White Elephant at least had some elements of a stable production and I will say Michael Rooker was good in the lead while the supporting actors didn’t have a whole lot to work with
Shattered is a forgettable suspense-thriller although I did think both Cameron Monaghan and newcomer Lilly Krug were decent enough in the leads and maybe this is worth a watch when it’s available for free down the line.
The Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection is a good selection of dramas, some better than others and one that is a personal favorite of mine (Lost in Translation). That being said, this is only worth picking up if you don’t own any of the 10 films, though the cost per movie is reasonable.
Mile 22 had a good premise, along the lines of The Bourne franchise, completely ruined by poor editing and obnoxious and annoying characters that were absolutely unlikeable, not sure what Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg were thinking.
The Man in the Iron Mask is a well made adventure film featuring solid performances, namely Gabriel Byrne and Jeremy Irons and fairly impressive for being screenwriter Randall Wallace’s directorial debut.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is hardly the high point of action but I must admit that I actually mostly enjoyed this installment possibly because the previous sequel was so bad that it made this film look like Citizen Kane. In any case, once again the visual effects are incredible and the story was at least acceptable.
Unlocked actually isn’t a terrible movie though it is on the average range of spectrum as the script needed and the villain’s ultimate motive is just nonsensical but at least Noomi Rapace was good in the lead role.
Warm Bodies is a breath of fresh air in what I consider to be the somewhat stale zombie sub-genre with a well written screenplay, based off of a novel, and two wonderful performances from Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer.
RED 2 isn’t as strong as its predecessor, but still incredibly entertaining thanks to is charming and likeable cast that work well together, even if the plot is a bit forced but that’s a sequel for you.
RED is an incredibly fun action-comedy that excels more on its likeable cast than the actual plot which isn’t that great, but a serviceable vehicle for the aging cast, headlined by Bruce Willis whose more at home in this role than his last couple outings of Die Hard.
Deepwater Horizon is an intense action-disaster flick that takes the genre to the next level considering it’s based on actual events. The performances by Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell are top notch while John Malkovich was a bit distracting but still an effective antagonist.
Shadows and Fog is one of the more forgotten films in Woody Allen’s repartee and for the most part, it’s not a bad little comedy though it is typical Allen in terms of his performance and writing. Clearly it’s nowhere near the quality of Manhattan or Annie Hall, or more recently Midnight in Paris, but it might be worth a watch.
Penguins of Madagascar isn’t a great movie yet highly watchable with plenty of inside jokes the adults will like and yet will still be highly entertaining for the kids. The third act seemed to lose some steam but in the end, I laughed at the jokes and found it to be on par or even better in some instances compared with the Madagascar films.
Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United is yet another failed attempt by Marvel in the animated feature department though younger viewers might enjoy it well enough, there’s not much here for an older audience with an amateurish screenplay filled with lousy dialogue.
Jennifer 8 isn’t a terrible thriller but it’s half-baked in spite of OK performances from Andy Garcia (mind you, this is 90s Garcia, so he is a bit cheesy in his delivery), Uma Thurman and Lance Henriksen in a bit seeing playing somewhat against type.