The adaptation lacks energy, campy-thrills
Rating: «« out of ««««
Running Time: 107 minutes
It appears that adapting video games to feature film may be one of the trickiest tasks there is. After decades of effort, the results haven’t exactly wowed viewers: Super Mario Brothers, Wing Commander, Tomb Raider...
Film
DVD/Blu-ray Roundup for April 13, 2018
Welcome back to another edition exploring the highlights of new releases arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. It’s a busy one with a wide-ranging group of features and subject matter, meaning that there should be something for everyone. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
All the Money in the World - The Getty family is the subject of this biopic, particularly the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. After the youngster is taken in Italy, his mother is forced to ask the rather cruel and frugal family patriarch to negotiate ransom demands. Naturally, the kidnappers are less than impressed with the methods...
Big New Releases!
All the Money in the World - The Getty family is the subject of this biopic, particularly the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. After the youngster is taken in Italy, his mother is forced to ask the rather cruel and frugal family patriarch to negotiate ransom demands. Naturally, the kidnappers are less than impressed with the methods...
A Quiet Place delivers strong performances, a few gasps
Rating: ««« out of ««««
Running Time: 90 minutes
An excellent cast can sometimes be the difference between a project that doesn’t suspend disbelief or come together, and one that sends chills down the spine. A Quiet Place offers a minor twist or two on the creature feature formula. However, the cast sells the material so well that one can overlook its shortcomings fairly easily. Despite a few questionable tropes simply designed to put the leads in danger, the movie delivers the goods and is an effective little scare flick.
The story is set in a deserted small town and farm, following a family as they anxiously wander through the area in their bare feet. Lee (John Krasinski)...
Running Time: 90 minutes
An excellent cast can sometimes be the difference between a project that doesn’t suspend disbelief or come together, and one that sends chills down the spine. A Quiet Place offers a minor twist or two on the creature feature formula. However, the cast sells the material so well that one can overlook its shortcomings fairly easily. Despite a few questionable tropes simply designed to put the leads in danger, the movie delivers the goods and is an effective little scare flick.
The story is set in a deserted small town and farm, following a family as they anxiously wander through the area in their bare feet. Lee (John Krasinski)...
DVD/Blu-ray Roundup for April 6, 2018
It’s time for another look at highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There’s a good mix of well-known and completely unexpected independents arriving on shelves, giving renters plenty of choice. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
Beast of Burden - In this drama, a pilot with connections to a drug cartel flies to Mexico for one last cocaine delivery. Not only is his life in danger from his dangerous employer but federal agents are pressuring him to squeal ... and he must complete his mission to protect his significant other from being targeted and even executed. Unfortunately, the press...
Big New Releases!
Beast of Burden - In this drama, a pilot with connections to a drug cartel flies to Mexico for one last cocaine delivery. Not only is his life in danger from his dangerous employer but federal agents are pressuring him to squeal ... and he must complete his mission to protect his significant other from being targeted and even executed. Unfortunately, the press...
Ready Player One bets on nostalgia, loses
Rating: «« out of ««««
Running Time: 140 minutes
Maybe I’m getting old. Or perhaps I’m just in a grouchy mood this week. Ready Player One is a fantasy film and homage to the 1980s that should have been tailor made for me. It even comes from director Steven Spielberg, the man who made many of the films that helped me foster a love for cinema. Yet in this particular film, the overall effect is a little flat. The movie certainly has its share of entertaining sequences, but it feels like an obvious attempt to curry nostalgia at the expense of delivering a strong message about its subject matter.
Set in a dystopian future, the story follows teenager Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan)...
Running Time: 140 minutes
Maybe I’m getting old. Or perhaps I’m just in a grouchy mood this week. Ready Player One is a fantasy film and homage to the 1980s that should have been tailor made for me. It even comes from director Steven Spielberg, the man who made many of the films that helped me foster a love for cinema. Yet in this particular film, the overall effect is a little flat. The movie certainly has its share of entertaining sequences, but it feels like an obvious attempt to curry nostalgia at the expense of delivering a strong message about its subject matter.
Set in a dystopian future, the story follows teenager Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan)...
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