May 242023
 

The Transformers franchise is hardly great with maybe only the first two being passably entertaining, the rest just action-porn with non-sensical plot and CGI vs. CGI fights that were more tiresome rather than exciting.

 

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Dec 032017
 

Transformers: Age of Extinction is the latest from Michael Bay and to be honest, it very well may be the worst, even worse than Revenge of the Fallen if only because it clocks in at insanely ridiculous 165-minutes, 40+ minutes could’ve been cut and not have been missed.

 

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Sep 212017
 

Transformers: The Last Knight is another poor entry into a franchise that just won’t die, though its $605M worldwide gross was the lowest so there is hope. In any case, I didn’t feel this was as bad as Age of Extinction but that’s not saying much.

 

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Jun 092017
 

To say I was disappointed in this Beauty and the Beast live action adaptation would be an understatement. Although the technical aspects were impressive, the performances, particularly for Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, were underwhelming, and the new music was rather forgettable.

 

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Nov 082016
 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a letdown mostly because it shows why the final chapter didn’t need to be split into two with extraneous scenes that weren’t necessary in telling the story. On the plus side, the performances for the most part were strong especially from Jennifer Lawrence and the production design, as it was with Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1, was impressive.

 

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Nov 082016
 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 had a lot of potential especially comig after the well received, and all around well made, Catching Fire. What we got instead is what felt like the middle installment of a trilogy that had a thin story and characters who really didn’t develop that much.

 

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Nov 082016
 

Overall, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is heads and shoulders above the first movie which in itself was entertaining. This is a strong and tighter film in terms of story. The UHD release by Lionsgate is more or less the same as its predecessor: a nice 4K video transfer but not quite amazing or worthy of an upgrade.

 

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Nov 082016
 

The Hunger Games is not a perfect beginning as a YA adaptation but it is certainly an entertaining flick and a star-making showcase for Jennifer Lawrence. This UHD/BD release from Lionsgate offers a nice video upgrade but not night and day while the features are all on the UHD disc.

 

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Apr 042016
 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a letdown mostly because it shows why the final chapter didn’t need to be split into two with extraneous scenes that weren’t necessary in telling the story.

 

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Mar 012016
 

Spotlight might not be at the top of my best of 2015 list but it’s still a well made film all around from the efficient direction, tight writing and brilliant performances (save for Ruffalo in the one scene) so I have no qualms with its recent win for Best Picture and say it’s well worth purchase.

 

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Apr 192015
 

Wild Card is one unusual film if only that it comes across as a mish-mash of a feature film mixed with some kind of TV pilot with the variety of colorful side characters and a patch-work of a plot. Statham for his part though was fine albeit no different than any of his other run-of-the-mill crime-thrillers and the supporting cast was good but often underutilized to the point of being useless (Jason Alexander for instance has one scene and is not seen again… at all).

 

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