Dune is a movie that has plenty of technical achievements by director Denis Villeneuve and his team but very little emotion at its core, even with a respectable cast.
The Hunt for Red October isn’t a favorite of mine within the film franchise but is still a well done, submarine-based thriller and Alec Baldwin made for a fine Jack Ryan, just a shame he couldn’t continue beyond this film.
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.
Ronin is a fantastically slow burning yet still suspense-filled crime drama, a call back to the 60s and 70s preferring realistic car chases, not unlike Bullitt and The French Connection.
Our Kind of Traitor is hardly perfect with a script that probably could’ve used some fine-tuning but with some great performances, headlined by Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård, as well as Naomi Harris who has some wonderful scenes, I think this is worth a rental or, if cheap, outright purchase.
Angels & Demons is technically better than The Da Vinci Code in many regards especially in terms of pacing and a tighter story and while Tom Hanks delivers in his performance and Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard make for fine supporting roles.
Cinderella wasn’t quite as magical as I’d hoped but there’s plenty elements to admire especially in the costumes and production designs which both I’m certain will receive award recognition in some form. The acting and all around casting itself also isn’t bad with Lily James serving as a great Cinderella and Cate Blanchett serves well as a devilish foe. But for all the good, the story itself doesn’t offer much new or different and the conflict is limited and ineffective.
The Railway Man is a well made movie but its main success is with yet another fine performance from Colin Firth who steals the show although Nicole Kidman gets some good scenes as well.
Amistad is another well made film from Steven Spielberg and features several good performances including Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou and Matthew McConaughey who reminds you he’s always had the dramatic acting chops…
This 4K mastered release of Angels & Demons is certainly an upgrade over its Blu-ray counterpart, HOWEVER, it’s not a huge one nor something worth the $15 price point for a release that didn’t bother porting over the features (even if they were placed on a second disc). Still, if you have the proper equipment you’ll see a good difference.