Now You See Me 2 Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Daniel Radcliffe, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo
• Director: Jon M. Chu
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Release Date: September 6, 2016
• Run Time: 94 minutes

        The basic premise for the Now You See Me franchise resembled Oceans 11 with magic rather than grifters, filling the film with an impressive cast of actors to distract from the gaps in logic. Although there were moments of real illusions and magic tricks, eventually the first film slipped into CGI nonsense rather than providing a realistic explanation for the events. It should come as no surprise that a plot giving the writers a computer generated ‘deus ex machina’ for every impossible situation would turn into a series of films, and if Now You See Me 2 is any indicator, the third film should be off-the-charts absurd.

Maggie’s Plan Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Travis Fimmel
• Director: Rebecca Miller
• Producers: Rebecca Miller, Rachel Horovitz, Damon Cadasis
• Format: Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Russian, French, Polish, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, English
• Dubbed: Thai
• Audio Description: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: August 23, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 99 minutes

        It has become difficult for me to decipher whether Greta Gerwig is a good actress, or simply proficient at finding roles that resemble her own personality. Nearly every character that the actress has played in the last decade feels like the same bubbly, narcissistic, and irresponsible New Yorker. The characters get older as Gerwig does, but they are maturing at a glacial rate. Maggie’s Plan is no exception, giving Gerwig the title role of another self-absorbed Manhattanite desperately trying to exist in a Woody Allen film.

Hard Target 2 Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Rhona Mitra, Ann Truong, Temuera Morrison
• Director: Roel Reine
• Writers: Dominic Morgan, Matthew Harvey
• Producer: Chris Lowenstein
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Hungarian (DTS 5.1), Russian (DTS 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Polish (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Portuguese (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: Portuguese, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Czech, French, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Thai, Turkish, English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 6, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        If every other property from the 1980s and ’90s is being pillaged to make money off of sequels and remakes, they might as well begin cashing in on Jean-Claude Van Damme classics. This past week we saw the revival of the Kickboxer franchise, with Van Damme following in the footsteps of Sylvester Stallone by retiring to the mentor role. Hard Target 2 also returns on home video, without Van Damme, or any connection to the original film beyond loose similarities in the plot. Although more technically accomplished and visually polished than a majority of DTV action sequels, this film shares little beyond a title with John Woo’s original film. 

Genius DVD Review

• Actors: Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Colin Firth, Guy Pearce
• Director: Michael Grandage
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG-13
  Parents Strongly Cautioned
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• DVD Release Date: September 6, 2016
• Run Time: 98 minutes

        Thankfully Genius is not a biopic in the most traditional sense, which often makes it difficult to guess the direction or point of the story being told. Untraditional as it may be, the film is biographical in nature in that the screenplay is based on a non-fiction book about famed editor Maxwell Perkins, though it focuses exclusively on the time in his career spent with writer Thomas Wolfe. But what the film lacks is thematic consistency and a direction for the true story to go in, before the natural end becomes a narrative closer in replacement of actual resolution. What the film has is a great period look in the production design, and a cast at the top of their game under the direction of first-time filmmaker Michael Grandage, better known for his work in the theater.

Compadres DVD Review

• Actors: Omar Chaparro, Aislinn Derbez, Kevin Pollack, Eric Roberts, Joey Morgan
• Director: Enrique Begne
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R 
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• DVD Release Date: September 6, 2016
• Run Time: 94 minutes

        Compadres could be pitched as an international film featuring collaboration between Mexico and the United States, but I think Hollywood would prefer little association with this politically incorrect action/comedy from filmmaker Enrique Begne. Despite using the generic structure of a Hollywood buddy action-comedy, having Eric Roberts and Kevin Pollak appear in two of the supporting roles, and the fact that half the dialogue in English, it is quite obvious that this is a Mexican film with some American actors, not the other way around. At its best, this cultural style influences the direction and tone of Compadres’ comedy, though the objectification of the female characters is overwhelming even for Hollywood.

Blunt Talk: Season 1 DVD Review

• Actors: Patrick Stewart, Jacki Weaver, Adrian Scarborough, Richard Lewis
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  Not Rated
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• DVD Release Date: August 30, 2016
• Run Time: 300 minutes

        Despite the fact that Sir Patrick Stewart has lent his voice to countless episodes of “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” not to mention his contributions to three of Seth MacFarlane’s feature films, the unexpectedness of his involvement in this live-action Starz sitcom is half of the fun. The role of Walter Blunt is so different from the persona we have come to expect from Stewart  that it becomes humorous just to watch the talented British actor play against type. The role actually resembles many of those that Stewart has played in MacFarlane’s animated shows, but it is somehow far more shocking to see the actor rather than just hearing him.