New Movies 2 Review & Personal Collection!
Hi everyone. I got some more movies in the mail recently (& today) so I thought I’d post them here.
Review Movies –
Blu-ray – Why Did I Get Married Too? (Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson) featuring the same cast from the hit comedy/drama Why Did I Get Married? this sequel is set in the Bahamas, a perfect getaway for 8 former college classmates celebrating their life-long friendship at their annual reunion. Unexpectedly, Sheila’s ex-husband arrives hoping to break up her new marriage and win her back. Tensions mount and committment becomes a challenge for all four couples when they return home they try to fix their strained relationships.
DVD – The Legend Of Bruce Lee (From the 50-part Bruce Lee series of the same name, Danny Chan, Michael Jai White, Ray Park) Following Lee’s well-known, short-lived 32 years on this world, The Legend Of Bruce Lee shows us some sides that might not have been as well-known as his movie career, particularly the constant challenges against other martial arts masters in his quest to form the best martial arts strategy for himself and his students and later for the fans of his movies worldwide. Sometimes the fighting goes wire-fu with unrealstic moves, but for the most part the fight scenes are the highlights of this three-hour film. The lowlights come in the form of shoddy acting and dialogue/editing. Still the fight scenes alone are well worth the price of admission and Danny Chan almost literally becomes Bruce Lee, in looks as well as acting.
Fierce People (Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Kristin Stewart) A coming-of-age story about the downside of privilege. Ironic that I get this film and Wall Street to review on the same day as they touch the same base about the evils of those with money and greed. 16-year old Finn (Anton Yelchin, Terminator Salvation, Star Trek) wants to spend the summer with his anthropologist father that he never met, but his drug addicted mother (Diane Lane) shatters his dream as he is arrested for his effort at helping his downward-spiraling mother. Liz (Lane) moves the pair into a guesthouse at a vast country estate of a former client and billionaire (Donald Sutherland). Finn and his mother face a danger far worse than any South American jungle…the power, privilege that belong to the super rich.
Wall Street (Michael Douglas, Charlie & Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Hal Holbrook), Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is lured into corporate espionage by the ruthless and greedy Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) who is out to get as much money as possible, legal or not and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal. Fox learns that there is a price he is not willing to pay when he sees Gekko for what he is, but is he too late to save his soul? Wall Street represents the greed of 80’s stock-brokers who live only for money, power, status and high-finances.
The Secret Of Moonacre (Tim Curry). A big inspiration for J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter books, this is the story of 13-year-old Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards) who’s father dies leaving her orphaned and homeless. She is forced to go life with her previously unknown, eccentric, uncle Sir Benjamin (Ion Gruffudd – Fantastic Four, King Arthur) at the mysterious Moonacrew Manor. Soon her world is torn apart by ann acient feud with the sinister De Noir family. Maria discovers that she is the last Moon Princess and must uncover mysteries of the past before the 5000th moon rises and Moonacre disappears into the sea forever.
Personal Collection –
Blu-rays – Poseidon (Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Fergie) A remake of sorts of The Poseidon Adventure this time out with a more serious tone and special effects galore. This movie wasn’t a smash hit mostly because of the lack of time given to developing characters to care about when all the death and destruction hits. I mainly like this movie for Kurt Russell’s performance and some good special effects (as well as the lousy ones).
Kill Bill : Volume 1 (Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Quentin Tarantino) Outside of Pulp Fiction and Grindhouse this is one of my favorites from Quentin Tarantino. Uma Thurman shines here with a character that was written specifically for her. The acting and action are both outrageous and fun. A throwback to Golden Harvest’s Bruce Lee films (note her yellow costume throughout the last part of the movie) as well as cool sprinkle of Brian De Palma during the hospital scenes. Kill Bill is certainly over-the-top (as are all Tarantino films) and great fun as well as hilarious comedy. An amazing cast and great music that most people wouldn’t think about until they see this film and realize the coolness of the soundtrack.
Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver). One of Bill Murray’s all-time best movies as his character and comedy is at an extreme high here. Working with fellow SNL-alum Aykroyd, Murray steals the show, even though he was the main star to begin with! Ghostbusters will have you laughing out loud and worrying for the good guys at the same time. The chemistry of the cast is outstanding and the story is ahead of it’s time as family-friendly-fun. (try saying that 10 times fast, family-friendly-fun-familyfriendlyfun)
Related Articles
- Bruce Lee – 12 Best Pictures (chicagonow.com)
- Their Best Role: Bruce Lee (cinematical.com)
- Here’s to the grindhouse – in all its nasty, loopy glory (theglobeandmail.com)
- Tokyo Film Festival honors Bruce Lee (variety.com)
- Oscar Eye: Predicting Which Newcomer Will Crash The Best Director Category (cinemablend.com)
New Movies To Review & Personal Collection Updates
Hello. I got a few arrivals and personal orders –
Blu-ray – Frozen – (Shawn Ashmore) A horror film about three snowboarders who get stranded on a ski lift at a resort that is closed until the following weekend. Looks like a really good Anchor Bay release! That Evening Sun – (Hal Halbrook, Dixie Carter (her last role). An interesting movie about a man who returns to his house/farm where he finds people living there as his son rented the place out to the family of a man he didn’t like. Refusing to return to his retirement home he clashes with the father/husband. This movie very much has the feel of Sling Blade. Even a line from that movie “You ought not talk like that.” It’s a decent movie, just not a must-buy. Solitary Man – (Michael Douglas, Danny Devito, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker) – A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of business and romantic indiscretions.
DVD – Good – (Viggo Mortensen) – Set during the 1930’s, A literary professor with family problems – neurotic wife, 2 demanding children & a mother suffering from senile dementia. His novel is used by the Nazi party to push their agenda. He can either sit back and do nothing, enjoying his fame and wealth or fight against the Nazi party and lose everything. Growth – (Mircea Monroe, Brian Krause, Alexi Wasser) – Beginning in 1989 a breakthrough in advanced parasitic research on Kuttyhunk Island gives scientists a jump in human evolution, heightened physical and mental strength. But something goes horribly wrong and a lethal parasite kills off three quarters of the island’s population, with the rest fleeing for their lives. Stripped Naked – (Sarah Allen, Jon Cor) – The story of a determined woman who’ll do anything to get ahead. Casesie, an exotic dancer wants to get out of the business. She witnesses a drug deal gone bad, she takes a chance and the money from the scene of the crime. She plans to leave the country and start a new life. She meets people willing to help her and others wanting her dead. Stripped Naked is a Grindhouse-style flick that will appeal to a certain part of the audience who loves those cheap movies from the 70’s and 80’s that populated drive-inn theaters in the heyday. Soundtracker – Sound recordist Gordon Hempton travels America in search of silence. His mission to find and record these places where civilization hasn’t intruded on the wildlife. Wade In The Water, Children – Six months after Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of New Orleans, filmmakers Wood and Nussbaum moved to New Orleans with a free art program, intending to help students express their thoughts with video-cameras to take home and tell their stories, on their terms. Thriller: The Complete Series – Boris Karloff hosts this 67-episode series featuring works by writers like Robert Bloch (Psycho) and Edgar Allan Poe and actors like William Shatner and Leslie Neilsen (I was only sent a one-disc screener of this so my review of it will be limited).
Personal Orders – (Blu-rays) – Poseidon (Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss), Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Sigourney Weaver) Kill Bill: Volume 1 (Uma Thurman)
Escape From New York Blu-ray/DVD Review
Escape From New York is a unique futuristic look (at the time, which was 1981) at the world and New York in particular. Director John Carpenter brings his greatest talent to the table creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Kurt Russell gives his best action-hero performance as the timeless Snake Plissken, a man who kicks ass and doesn’t take names. The sound is the typical soundtrack in the earlier Carpenter flicks and supports the film very well. The supporting cast is pretty good here and the film has a tense/suspense feeling that doesn’t let up until very close to the end. This is not really horror and by today’s standards the action is fairly tame but this is a fun movie. At least give it a rental and this is a great buy for both the DVD and Blu-ray if you don’t have this at all. No extras here but the Blu-ray looks really good.
Movie Review Slate
Blu-rays – $5 A Day (Christopher Walken, Amanda Peet, Sharon Stone), Abandoned (Brittany Murphy’s Final Movie), After. Life (Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci), Beatdown (Bobby Lashley, Eric Balfour, Danny Trejo), Brooklyn’s Finest (Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle), Bull Durham (Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, , The Diplomat, Escape From New York (John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence), Kalifornia (Brad Pitt, David Duchovney, Juliette Lewis), Lock Up (Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, Tom Sizemore), The Man With No Name Trilogy (Clint Eastwood), Mother, The New Daughter (Kevin Costner), Puppet Master, Puppet Master : Axis Of Evil, Rambo: The Complete Collector’s Set (Sylvester Stallone), Someone’s Knocking At The Door, The Warlords (Jet Li)
DVDs – Acceptance, Castle Freak, Deadly End, Helen (Ashley Judd), Thief Undercover, Under The Mountain (Sam Neil)
Some of these are older titles still having to be viewed/reviewed due to lack of time because of my mom’s health. There are some other titles I can’t recall offhand, but will post later in an edit.
Joe's Blu-ray, Movie & DVD Reviews 