DVD Releases for Week of 6/04/2012
Not a huge opening week for DVDs, just a few and one gem!! One that was practically unseen as well and would be prefect for a $1.20 Redbox rental!
'Safe House' - Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds star in this too kinetic, too frenzied story of a renegade CIA agent (Washington) and his unlikely ally, a rookie CIA operative (Reynolds). The only saving grace is the over the top performance of Washington, who even makes crap look good. Even Reynolds was ok here, a far cry from the terrible 'Green Lantern' and the even worse 'The Change-Up'. Director Daniel Espinosa focuses far too much on quick cuts and mostly poor editing to move the action along. He would have been better served allowing the story to be told through the better efforts of Washington and Reynolds. A 2 star effort at best.
'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' - Everything you would want in a film...if you are a 12 year old boy! Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson tries his hand with family friendly adventure, again (remember 'The Tooth Fairy') and again I was left wishing he would stick to GI Joe type movies; its what he does the best. Poor Michael Cain, he does so many movies, a few would have to be bad I guess. Bottom line, not even worth the time I have given it so far. If you are looking to kep a 12 year old occupied - then rent this mess.
'John Carter' - What if you made a blockbuster and nobody came to see it? That's just what Disney did with 'John Carter' - based on the pulp novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this sweeping and often visually stunning action/adventure was largely ignored at the theater. Maybe its because I am a fan of the novels and comics, I am not sure - but I enjoyed it very much! While it, at times, got a little sluggish and they had a difficult time of keeping the characters in story, this film by director Andrew Stanton was worth the effort and viewing. This would not be a bad purchase on BluRay or, at the very least, a $1.20 rental at Redbox! A 3 star effort that, with a little tweaking, might have made itself into a nice franchise.
'Act of Valor' - With it's unprecedented blend of real Navy Seals with actors, 'Acts of Valor' had the potential to be a huge blockbuster. Instead, a cliche riddled script, poor acting, by the numbers action sequences, doomed this production from the start. it's almost as if the producers and director thought they could simply ride the wave of patriotism all the way to the box office. i would honestly avoid this 1 star money grab.
'Machine Gun Preacher' - Gerard Butler is an ex-biker gang banger who heads to East Africa to rebuild homes destroyed by civil war when he is pulled into the middle of the conflict to protect a orphanage. Really? It's no wonder that this cliché piece of crap never made it to the theaters and went straight to DVD. Save the $1.20 rental and use it for 'Coriolanus' instead. It is by far a better movie with Gerard Butler and gives me promise that he can actually act.