Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
Love Actually is just an all around fun, charming and heartwarming romantic-comedy-drama that features an amazing ensemble cast and even though I’ve seen this numerous times, it still doesn’t fail to make me smile.
Continue reading “Love Actually: 20th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Review”
Silent Night is a dark drama-comedy featuring Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Annabelle Wallis and Lilly-Rose Depp and arrived on Blu-ray and DVD on March 8th.
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.
Continue reading “Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection Blu-ray Review”
Official Secrets has solid performances from a respectable cast, led way by Keira Knightley and while I wasn’t terribly involved with this true story, this is still worth checking out if you’re into these kinds of movies.
The Aftermath is by no means great but the performances from Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård and Jason Clarke does make this well worth a rental .
Berlin, I Love You is hardly the worst interconnected ensemble dramas and at least one out of the ten vignettes was somewhat entertaining, one was peculiarly creepy and the other eight on the forgettable side.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is hardly terrible and I’d happily watch this over either of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland live-action films, but considering I hated both of those, that’s faint praise.
Continue reading “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Review”
Colette is a well made period drama that excels thanks to some beautiful looking direction by Wash Westmoreland and Keira Knightley’s magnanimous performance, however it was missing emotion at its core.
The Jack Ryan Collection is a solid release from Paramount for what I consider a nice franchise, however there never was one that stoodout, each being fine filmmaking and storytelling and nice performances from the respective actors.
Continue reading “Jack Ryan: 5-Film Collection 4K UHD Review + BD Screen Caps”
Collateral Beauty is the epitome of what is wrong with studios today, especially considering the outright dishonest trailer they put together for this which features really unlikeable characters.
Needless to say, Everest isn’t exactly a lighthearted adventure flick but in spite of that, and some so-so writing, the performances from the ensemble cast, Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin especially, makes it worthwhile, though for myself, I’m not sure if I’d ever revisit it. The Blu-ray released by Universal offers excellent video and audio transfers and a fine selection of bonus material.
The Imitation Game probably gets a solid “B+” for sheer entertainment value but a “D+” for accuracy, something that is an unforced error as the real life story of Turing, as well as co-inventor Gordon Welchman, is interesting enough without having to introduce non-existent plot points and changing around characters to fit the dramatic story the filmmakers wanted to tell. Even so, the acting still is top notched especially by Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.
Continue reading “Review: The Imitation Game BD + Screen Caps”
Begin Again is one enjoyable movie about the music industry without too many inclusionary or referential backgrounds, unlike something like High Fidelity (which is a great movie on its own), and instead is a light-hearted character drama with some catchy songs and actually, Knightley isn’t a half-bad singer. Basically, this is a fun movie that’s neither challenging nor forgettable at the same time.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is hardly the perfect movie, it’s not even a good thriller, but it’s a satisfying enough flick so long as you aren’t a fan of the character or novels. The plot is a bit thin but the action scenes, as dumb since as they may be, were well filmed at least.
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.