4K UHD Review: Face/Off
If I were to make a list of the worst trailers ever, John Woo’s Face/Off would be on it. The clip turned me off so much, I avoided the film in theaters. It was only after countless recommendations from friends that I caught it at the cheap theater several months later. I was happy I […]
Blu-ray Review: The Old Way
In a career that’s spanned more than forty years and over 100 movies, Nicholas Cage had never done a Western. So, it’s no surprise he would want to saddle up and try something new. Sadly, The Old Way is another example of him collecting a paycheck in a subpar film. Perhaps best described as Unforgiven […]
USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (Blu-ray)
Nicolas Cage turns up again as the Captain of the USS Indianapolis, the ill-fated naval ship first given big screen notoriety via a monologue in Jaws. Equal parts wartime weepie, shark attack movie and half-baked court room drama, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage fails on every level to convey the fascinating nature of the true […]
Army of One (Blu-ray)
In what seems like his 12th film in two years–I haven’t counted, but he seems to be in a perpetual state of filming–Nicholas Cage adds yet another unhinged man to his lengthy resume. In Army of One, Cage plays Gary Faulkner, a man who, suffering hallucinations as a result of kidney disease, has a vision […]
Rage (DVD)
Nicholas Cage cashes yet another paycheck with the dull and forgettable Rage. Sporting a hairpiece that no tornado could move, the actor offers little in the way of expression, simply going through the motions in this paint-by-the-numbers tail of revenge. In his first American film, director Paco Cabezas attempts to create excitement with scenes of […]
Blu-ray Review: Honeymoon in Vegas
While Honeymoon in Vegas is far from structural perfection, it’s quite funny (especially if you’re an Elvis Presley fan). With a wonderfully bizarre Nicolas Cage kvetching his way through the story, Honeymoon doesn’t pretend to be anything other than the goofy piece of fun it is. Writer/director Andrew Bergman (Fletch, The Freshman), whom New York […]
Blu-ray Review: Drive Angry
Drive Angry is best described as an absurd comic book comic book come to life. Both a homage to, and parody of ’70s exploitation films, Drive Angry shifts into high gear and never slows down. Using the loose framework of revenge story, the film dabbles in the supernatural as a way of addressing the themes […]
Blu-ray Review: Leaving Las Vegas
Based on a book by John O’Brien, Leaving Las Vegas isn’t typical Hollywood fare. Most love stories are relentless in their optimism, and happy ending is mandatory. Therefore, it’s very unusual when a romance develops and stays entangled in the dark realms of the human psyche as seen in Leaving Las Vegas. This is a […]
Blu-ray Review: Moonstruck
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1987 | 102 mins. | PG Director Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck is considered a romantic comedy classic by many. Released in 1987, the original screenplay by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt) mixes various storylines well, never giving any one plot thread or character short shrift. Shanley may not be Italian, but he accurately captures the […]