This is another great release from Shout Factory and although some of the films are far from perfect and even taking into consideration that I’m generally not always the biggest fan of the supernatural-horror genre, this is still worth picking up for any completists out there.
There really is no reason to bother with The Omen (2006) as it offers nothing new to the 1976 version and while I wasn’t over the moon with that movie, it is still well worth watching as it is the original and did at least feature some quality performances.
King of Thieves had an interesting true story premise for sure and while the cast itself is filled with some legendary older actors, the script writing needed some work, the direction was pedestrian and seems like Michael Caine was miscast.
Gosford Park is a strong and finely acted ensemble drama from the king of the ensemble, Robert Altman and even though I don’t consider this his best film, it’s still well done.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid entry into the franchise, the first of the five from Mike Newell, and does a decent job balancing the dark elements with some brighter scenery, a departure from Alfonso Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azakban.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps one of my favorites of the series and kind of a shame director Alfonso Cuaron didn’t return to do more of these and it was a nice, and necessary, change-up as Harry’s storyline advances to darker territories.
The final chapter in the Harry Potter saga, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a fantastic ending highlighted by an intense, action-pakced, third act and nicely closes out giving a fitting conclusion to our favorite characters.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a good start to the final film in the series that started a decade ago and I can only hope it ends in the bang most have promised it would. It’s certainly the darkest of the franchise but also one of the best especially with the performances of the three leads.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn’t quite grab me compared to a few of its predecessors, it’s still an entertaining entry leading way to an intense two-part finale.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t great but still quite good and highly entertaining, excelling due to its amazing ensemble cast as we see the young ones grow up right before our eyes.
Clean Slate is a nice comedic vehicle for Dana Carvey playing to his strengths and although the plot doesn’t exactly stretch well for the duration of the running time, and not all of the jokes quite work, it’s still well worth checking out.
Although I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and movie adaptations, for whatever reason The Casual Vacancy failed to strike a chord with me. I don’t know if it the adaptation work was lousy or what but outside of the likes of Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Julia McKenzie there wasn’t very much that grabbed my attention.
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.
The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 Ultimate Collector’s Edition release will complete most people’s HP collection. Both movies are amazing and are a wonderful conclusion to the series, the features are incredible and the audio/video transfers aren’t half bad either.
Although the Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection is quite expensive ($345 on Amazon as of this writing), for fans of the series, it might be worth it. I know fans will have already owned it but there might be enough here to make it worth your while. As for the set itself, there’s an enormous amount of features including some new featurettes which expands on the behind-the-scenes world and how the franchise was made.