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.
Epic Showdowns features four action movies including Kull the Conqueror, The Cowboy Way, The Jackal and End of Days and features a variety of stars like Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Kiefer Sutherland and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is slightly better than its predecessor yet still not great although Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom was easily the highlight while we still get the CGI vs. CGI fight sequence during the finale which I find rather boring.
Solo: A Star Wars Story might be unnecessary and it’s also not all that memorable, yet it was entertaining enough for what it is and featured some fun action set-pieces and the performance from Ehrenreich.
Despite characters who came across as unlikeable, The Glass Castle is by no means a terrible drama, not in the least, because this engaging cast headlined by Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson, does make it watchable if nothing else.
War for the Planet of the Apes is a strong conclusion to a well done trilogy. This one features a fantastic motion-capture performance from Andy Serkis and some excellent visual effects to aid.
The Edge of Seventeen might not be the second coming of the John Hughes teen-dramedy, though Kelly Fremon Craig was certainly inspired by the late great writer/director, but with such an obnoxious main character, it was hard to care about her however portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld, it does make the movie more tolerable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Now You See Me 2 is not the type of movie that will tax your mind but instead is a perfectly serviceable caper-comedy, one that succeeds more on the chemistry with the ensemble, with newcomer Lizzy Caplan being the highlight, rather than anything to do with the thin plot, though I did appreciate some of the magic even if it’s CGI-generated.
Triple 9 didn’t exactly fulfill its potential given the cast and a solid start yet still it’s very entertaining with some well shot action scenes and fine performances by Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie and Clifton Collins Jr. who at times steals the show.
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.
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 (though at least Lawrence’s Katniss does make a bit of progress) and is merely there to bridge one movie to another. This is a case where splitting two movies was a mistake and I think it would’ve made for a solid final entry.