DVD Releases: Interstellar, Hunger Games, Rosewater
Posted on April 1, 2015 by bob in DVD
Rosewater (R) As an ardent fan of The Daily Show, when Jon Stewart left for the summer of 2013 to direct this movie, I was sorry to see him go, even though his decision was not only understandable, but laudable. The film dramatizes the true story of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari who was imprisoned for […]
March DVDs: Hawking, Birdman & Big Hero 6
Posted on February 28, 2015 by bob in DVD
The Theory of Everything (PG-13) After successfully avoiding most math and science courses throughout the discretionary years of my education, I’m not the most likely candidate for grasping the academic content of this fine biopic of megamind Stephen Hawking, covering the years from his graduate studies at Cambridge just before the onset of ALS (Lou […]
Feb. DVDs: John Wick, St. Vincent, Dumb(er)
Posted on January 31, 2015 by bob in DVD
John Wick (R) Keanu Reeves stars in a rather standard-issue revenge flick, stylistically bearing more resemblance to shoot-em-up video games than to cinematic crime fare. He plays a go-to hit man for Russian mobsters who was allowed to retire from the biz for true love about five years earlier. But just after his wife […]
Apes, Food & Aliens: Dec DVD Releases
Posted on November 30, 2014 by bob in DVD
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13) I’m starting to OD on big-budget action flicks featuring massive computer-generated battle sequences. Even so, there’s something to like about this sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The saga resumes about 10 years later, with Caesar (Andy Serkis), the simian who learned how […]
November DVD Releases: Good News, Bad News
Posted on November 1, 2014 by bob in DVD
22 Jump Street (R) As movie origins go, this one’s pretty weird, even for Hollywood. 21 Jump Street was a hip, popular TV crime drama – sort of the 1980’s version of The Mod Squad, for those of us old enough to have grooved on that one in the late ‘60s. A couple of years […]
Oct. DVD Releases: X-Men and more
Posted on October 4, 2014 by bob in DVD
X-Men: Days of Future Past (PG-13) If you’re a fan of the X-Men comics, movies, etc., chronicling the sagas of assorted misunderstood superheroes and the baddies within their gifted ranks, this one will probably satisfy many of your visceral cravings, even if the exposition grows tedious, and the time-travel plot is, well, another time-travel plot. […]
Sept. DVD Releases
Posted on August 30, 2014 by bob in DVD
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (PG-13) Chris Evans returns as one of Marvel Comics’ early heroes – a WW II soldier imbued with great powers via scientific tinkering – to fend off yet another threat to the world we live in, including the superhero and pals agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which one can also follow on […]
Aug. DVDs: Muppets, Horror, Sci-Fi
Posted on August 1, 2014 by bob in DVD
Muppets Most Wanted (PG) — How can one not like a sequel (actually # 8 in the theatrical series) that opens with a big musical number mocking the historical shortcomings and disappointments of sequels? Thus begins a true-to-form comical adventure with an array of gags strewn equitably along the age spectrum. As always, a surprising […]
July DVD Releases: 4-star, 1 1/2 Star, 2 Star
Posted on June 30, 2014 by bob in DVD
Bad Words (R) Starting a title with “Bad” has led to other dark and/or snarky comedies, ending in words like Santa or Teacher. In this one, Jason Bateman directs himself through another amusingly understated performance to fine effect. He plays a 40-year-old drone who finds a loophole in the rules for a hallowed, nationally-televised spelling […]
June DVD Releases: One 4-star
Posted on May 29, 2014 by bob in DVD
Lone Survivor (R) In this grueling, fact-based depiction of a 2005 Navy SEAL mission that went very badly, viewers are given an intimate, riveting look at the chasm that can develop between battle plans as drawn, and their execution. A four-man team is deployed to a desolate Afghani mountain range to kill a high-ranking Taliban […]
