Natural Born Killers is a frenetic thriller-drama from writer-director Oliver Stone and while it’s not a movie I ever really liked, it does have great style and amazing performances from Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis.
Could be argued Lock Up was one of Stallone’s best movies of the 1980s and its one where he felt right in his element and although the story isn’t the strongest, it still was highly entertaining and consistently thrilling.
Can’t say The Assault was a movie I had high expectations for although I had hoped it at least was a middling action-thriller but alas it was just another poorly made direct-to-video flick.
Speed Kills is another dud for the once great John Travolta but I do like the guy and hope he had one more resurgence in him otherwise he’ll likely be stuck in these terrible direct-to-video films.
Saving Private Ryan is just one incredible experience from the amazing war sequences from the D-Day invasion to the Ramelle scene but in between are some excellent performances headlined by Tom Hanks, and should’ve taken home Best Picture especially over Shakespeare in Love.
Well intentioned as it might have been, and telling a World War II story that’s probably not familiar to the average American, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage features lazy performances, especially by Nicolas Cage though he does have a couple okay scenes, and some laughable visual effects.
Cross Wars is just an all around bad movie. The acting is poor however they’re not helped with a shoddy script in conjunction with some laughable visual effects. All of that wouldn’t be so bad if this had the fun factor, it was anything but.
Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich is an interesting historical drama that features some great production and costume designs and an earnest performance from Sean Patrick Flanery.
Weaponized is the latest gem from filmmaker Timothy Woodward Jr. who seems to churn out 2-3 movies a year with the usual suspects, with return appearances of Tom Sizemore, Johnny Messner, Danny Trejo and Michael Paré. I guess technically it’s “better” than his previous movies but that really isn’t saying a whole lot.
Devil in a Blue Dress is a fine drama/thriller propelled by its performances more so than the plot. Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beals and even Tom Sizemore, who straddles the line of hammy acting, all are good and make this a worthwhile venture. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time is decent but not great with so-so bonus material though the video and audio transfers are nice.
Private Number is just the latest in a long line of cheap DVD releases destined for the cheap bin at Wal-Mart and even then it’s not worth that kind of money. It’s a shame as there was some good elements bogged down by bad writing and a really stupid third act and it’s another movie with Tom Sizemore being prominently displayed on the cover but having little to do with the plot.
Assassin’s Game is the rare “gem” of a film with a once respectable actor headlining relegated to a caricature and starring another who should remain way behind the camera. This is an all around poorly made movie and one can’t just blame the budget because I have seen many low budget movies that weren’t half bad. This one, however, isn’t even deserving of being in Wal-Mart’s bargain bin.
The Intruders actually isn’t a terrible movie but it should be noted that the target audience in all likelihood is the ‘tween demographic. As a PG-13 flick, it’s pretty light with the bulk of the rating being for “scary” images but remove a couple swear words, this could easily air on LMN or ABC Family with minimal edits. Miranda Cosgrove is decent as a lead actress however she’s not given much to work with.
Reach Me is a mess of a film that began with the screenplay and continued on with some poor performances by a mostly respectable cast. This is something not even worth a rental and will no doubt be in the bargain bin in no time.
Passenger 57 is a silly action film typical of the 1990s era but between Wesley Snipes kick-ass nature and Bruce Payne’s delightfully ham-filled villainous performance, it makes for at least a fun viewing even if it doesn’t offer anything new to the genre. But outside of a couple of lines, it’s fairly forgettable.