DVD Releases

Move over The Artist. The biggest awards show winner was not that critically praised silent movie. It wasn’t Hugo, and it wasn’t The Descendants. No, winner of 11 honorable awards including Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Ensemble, Worst Remake, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Screen Ensemble, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress and, most importantly, Worst Picture, is Jack and Jill, a movie that stars Adam Sandler as both title characters.

Read FilmJabber’s full Jack and Jill movie review.

Proof that science fiction needs more than the mere combination of "aliens" and "invasion", The Darkest Hour is a dull affair that deserved a Friday night premiere on the SyFy Channel, not the theatrical treatment it received. Its home video debut marks an excellent time not to watch this movie, however.

Read FilmJabber’s full The Darkest Hour movie review.

Steven Spielberg’s War Horse is now on DVD and Blu-ray, and even without watching it again, its bonus disc reminds me just how much the movie comes so close to being great, but completely misses the mark. To call War Horse hollow is unfair – the movie is technically beautiful and not without heart – but it definitely lacks the emotion and grit expected from a Steven Spielberg war movie.

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After nearly a year since it came to theaters, the Easter-themed movie Hop bounded its way onto DVD last week, understandably timed to take advantage of the religious holiday once again. An animated/live-action blend, Hop is more tolerable than other recent films in the sub-genre, though comparing the movie to the likes of Garfield and Alvin and the Chipmunks doesn’t say a whole lot. In other words, the movie will entertain very young kids and not insult parents, but is no comedy classic.

Read FilmJabber’s full Hop movie review.

The Descendants was released on DVD and Blu-ray last week, which allows the few people who didn’t see it in theaters to experience what can only be describes as "the best good movie of 2011."

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The classic Alexandre Dumas tale The Three Musketeers is resurrected yet again for the big screen, bringing to life everything from the book, from extensive swordplay to computer-generated airships. Director Paul W.S. Anderson, who unfortunately makes a lot more movies than director Paul Thomas Anderson, does what he does best: make an action movie on a seemingly nonexistent script. Somehow, he sort of pulls it off. Almost. And sort of.

Read FilmJabber’s full The Three Musketeers movie review.

Every year there are a few worthwhile movies that go wholly unnoticed by the general movie-going public. Sometimes the marketing is poor or the topic unappealing. Other times, the movie is picked up by a small distributor or receives a less-than-prominent release. Such is the case with White Irish Drinkers, a movie that few, unfortunately, have seen, let alone heard of.

Read FilmJabber’s full White Irish Drinkers movie review.

Oscar-nominated actress Vera Farmiga makes her directorial debut with the drama Higher Ground, about a woman who becomes trapped by her circumstances – and by the fundamentalist sect to which she belongs. Also starring John Hawkes and Vera’s younger sister Taissa Farmiga, Higher Ground is an interesting little movie. Unfortunately, it’s not much more than that.

Read FilmJabber’s full Higher Ground movie review.

Juno Temple stars as the title character in the R-rated drama comedy Dirty Girl, about a rebellious, sex-loving teen who goes on a road trip with an awkward, overweight and homosexual friend, both seeking to change their less-than-ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, Dirty Girl lingers too long in that no man’s land between drama and comedy, and instead offers little of either.

Read FilmJabber’s full Dirty Girl movie review.

Cancer is no laughing matter. Life, however, is. In 50/50, which can best be described as a “cancer comedy”, director Jonathan Levine and writer Will Reiser prove that disease can be just as humorous as it is frightening. 50/50 is one of the best movies of 2011.

Read FilmJabber’s full 50/50 movie review.

The Oscar-nominated documentary Hell and Back Again is an intimate portrait of one American soldier’s attempt to transition back to regular life after a harrowing deployment in which he was horribly injured. Unfortunately, despite its strengths, Hell and Back Again does not stand out in any way or form.

Read FilmJabber’s full Hell and Back Again movie review.

Taylor Lautner alert! The perfect six pack is back, now under the tutelage of Oscar-nominated director John Singleton in Abduction, a cheesy action film that pits the lackluster actor against the CIA and other unsavory folk who are trying to kill him. Intended to be a post-Twilight franchise for Lautner and a box office comeback for Singleton, Abduction misses the mark.

Read FilmJabber’s full Abduction movie review.