New DVD Releases This Week – 6/5/12

While last week was skewered towards the small, indie type films, this weed’s DVDs come at you with action and explosions, and then a little bit more action just to make sure. And that happens to be a pretty good thing this week.

Act of Valor

I am recommending three movies this week, and while I usually rank this list from best to worst, I will go ahead and say that all three of these movies are pretty equal, each bringing their own thing to the table. Act of Valor brings the most action, which was pretty obvious if you’ve red anything about it. The footage from this movie started out as nothing more than promotional film for the Navy, but once they realized what they had was pretty badass, they decided that they might as well turn it into a full length feature film showcasing the elite unit that are the Navy Seals as they try and prevent a catastrophe. And from that synopsis, you can probably tell that this movie is all there when it comes to story and characters; and you’d be correct. But honestly, that didn’t matter. Following the Seals around in this movie is pure fun, witnessing tactics and movements that you probably haven’t seen before, or at least at this type of level. I am somewhat surprised that they didn’t release this a month ago to go along with the one year mark of the Seals taking down Osama bin Laden, but maybe I’m just crazy (which I won’t deny).

Verdict: Watch It

Machine Gun Preacher

I had quite a few reservations about this movie. First with all the possible Oscar talk behind Gerard Butler’s performance, I figured this would be a piece built for that and that alone. That, and although I enjoy watching him in whatever he does, Butler hasn’t exactly been on a roll the past couple years. The Bounty Hunter? The Ugly Truth? Gamer? Even if I enjoyed Law Abiding Citizen, it wasn’t the greatest work, either. And after the first five or ten minutes of this one, I thought I was in for another movie that would eventually be nothing but a movie playing on the background while I type up this article. One of the reasons why this article is being posted so late in the day, however, is because this movie became fascinating to watch. Once they got passed the troubles that Butler goes through in the beginning of the film and he lends himself to the betterment of others, this movie really does kick into another gear that had my full attention and my interest piqued. The movie does become overbearing at times, but it’s in short spurts and doesn’t become a detriment to the film.

Verdict: Watch It

Safe House

With lesser actors, this movie would’ve been nothing more than a lesser B movie that you could easily avoid and wouldn’t miss anything. I’m not guaranteeing you that won’t be the case anyway, but it’s Denzel and Ryan Reynolds that we’re talking about here. Sure there’s also Brandon Gleeson and Vera Farmiga, but this movie is for Denzel and Reynolds, and those two alone. In my ignorance, I actually thought that his was directed by one of the Scott brothers. Only when did I bring the IMDB page up for this article did I find out that it wasn’t. Whoops. The action in this was a little choppy at became hard to follow at times, but overall it’s put together pretty well and a film that delivers exactly what you’d expect out of it. At the end of the day, it gets my seal of approval.

Verdict: Watch It

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

I will preface this by saying that if you plan to watch this alone, that it probably won’t be worth your time. If you plan on watching it with your kids, then they may enjoy it as long as they are able to keep up. The movie starts off as a National Treasure rip-off (a movie that I will proudly say is one of my guilty pleasures), and turns into unbelievable nonsense after unbelievable nonsense. Dwayne Johnson does his best to help keep the movie afloat, but the movie probably deserves it’s 42% Rotten Tomatoes score, although I am kind of surprised it’s not lower. So if you have kids, give it a try. If you don’t, skip it by all means.

Verdict: Watch It If You Dare

John Carter

Oy. I really, really wanted to enjoy this movie. At the very least, enjoy it more than everybody else did. This was ripped apart by critics, and is one of the biggest box office disasters of all-time, if not the biggest failure. But I will say that this thing was ripped apart for a reason. The first 20 minutes is a bunch of nonsensical running around, and even after John Carter ends up on Mars, the movie doesn’t really go anywhere. There was one part late in the movie that was pretty well done and I thought might turn into a saving grace as Carter fights off a bunch of natives intertwined with flashbacks of home that could’ve been very cathartic, but the rest of the movie falls flat on it’s face. You may want to give it a try, and I will go ahead and say that it will be disappointing, even after expectations have been lowered so much.

Verdict: Skip It

What movies do you plan on watching this week? Do you agree with the masses on John Carter, or did you enjoy it?