DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Date Night
by Locke Peterseim | September 7th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesDVD Review: For a yuk-fest about being forced outside your comfort zone, Date Night is careful to never leave its own. It’s a Nerf-ball comedy that vaguely amuses without leaving a mark. You may laugh a little or a lot (results vary according to taste), but you’ll barely remember any of it by the time it’s over. [...]
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DVD Reviews: Kung-Fu Classics from the Shaw Brothers
by Locke Peterseim | September 1st, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesWhen Quentin Tarantino released his two-part martial-arts epic Kill Bill in 2003-4, the opening title proclaimed it was shot in “Shawscope.” In fact, quite a bit of QT’s action flick was a direct homage to the hundreds of brightly colored, hyperactive kung-fu and swordplay flicks produced and imported to the United States by Hong Kong’s [...]
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Liam Neeson is in (Almost) Every Film in the Redboxes
by Locke Peterseim | August 31st, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesThis spring I realized with creeping Lovecraftian horror that we had six–count ‘em, six – Val Kilmer videos in the redboxes at one time, most of them direct-to-video exercises in bad-movie tolerance and hair, um, “experimentation.” (You can revisit the Val-pocalypse here.) (And you’re still playing the Kilmer game at home, he’s got another one in [...]
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DVD Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by Erika Olson | August 31st, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesDVD review: True to its irreverent and sarcastic roots, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is sure to make fans of Jeff Kinney’s best-selling children’s series want to shout “Zoo-Wee-Mama!” in approval. It accomplishes the tough task of balancing juvenile humor (there will be boogers!) with sly adult wit. The following is a reprint of our [...]
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Locke’s Redbox Picks of the Week
by Locke Peterseim | August 28th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, Movies, Weekly redbox PicksRecommended Smaller, Overlooked or Underrated Movies New this Week in the Redbox Kiosks $5 a Day – I’ve written before about how even “indie” films sometimes fall into their own cliches, especially the “quirky but heartwarming” kind. And this little road lark from British director Nigel Cole will certainly feel familiar: an estranged father and son [...]
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The Back-up Plan
by Erika Olson | August 25th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesWhile The Back-up Plan doesn’t stray too far from the tried-and-true rom-com playbook, it succeeds because of the believable relationship at its core. Chances are that if you like J.Lo, you’ll also like The Back-up Plan (now available in redboxes). In this oh so modern-day “boy meets girl” tale she once again plays a feisty, [...]
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City Island
by Locke Peterseim | August 25th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesThis family dramedy starring a gruff-but-lovable Andy Garcia has just enough safely passionate idiosyncrasies to hit the sweet-and-sassy spot. An indie film with a sitcom heart about a family full of quirky secrets, City Island may not surprise, but it’ll certainly put up a smile. I make no bones about the kinds of film making [...]
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Repo Men
by Locke Peterseim | August 25th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesLike ‘70s & ’80s dystopian films infested with pessimism and paranoia, Repo Men takes pride in its gruesome cynicism. And if its satiric ambitions had meshed more smoothly with its action-movie parts, it might have ended up as effective as its grim ideas are interesting. [The following is a REPRINT of the redblog review of Repo [...]
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Clash of the Titans
by Locke Peterseim | August 24th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesDespite size and volume, Clash of the Titans is little more than a shiny parade of man-versus-monster action–but it does work (mostly) as solemn Saturday matinee silliness. Ask anything more of it and you’ll sulk away disappointed. The following is a reprint of the Clash of the Titans theatrical review. Clash of the Titans is now [...]
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Cemetery Junction
by Locke Peterseim | August 24th, 2010 | Filed under: DVD Reviews, MoviesFans of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant still haven’t seen anything on the big screen as smart, painfully funny, and perfectly realized as The Office and Extras. But while their Cemetery Junction—set in working-class ‘70s Britain—may not reinvent the coming-of-age genre, I adore every nostalgic moment of it. It’s 1973 in blue-collar Reading, England, and [...]
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