New in Home Entertainment
May 16, 2017
The Space Between Us
Rated PG-13 for brief sensuality and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 17%
This sweet sci-fi adventure kept getting pushed back and pushed back until it was released in theaters in February of this year, only to be met with a thud at the box office. Telling the story of a young boy who is born as his mother is on a mission to Mars, only to remain a secret until he comes to Earth to chase down the girl he has been secretly talking to online, The Space Between Us is a nice enough way to spend two hours and doesn’t deserve the bad critical rap or lean audience it was met with. The film has a few problems, but its stars, Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson, cover for them admirably and I found the film to be far better than tolerable, even to the point where it is likable. 2016 proved a tough year for the sci-fi romance mash-up, but this attempt turned out a pretty solid teen romance with a nice twist. B
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Rated R for sequences of violence throughout
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%
This sixth and apparently final chapter of the Resident Evil franchise finds Mila Jovovich heading back to Raccoon City to fight one last time with the Umbrella Corporation in order to find the antidote for the disease that has been thrust upon the planet. I don’t want to fool you into thinking that this is some kind of good film, but it’s not as bad as the others, which I guess is as close a compliment as I can muster. There are some nice revelations which makes the writing seem somewhat logical and planned, therefore giving the franchise a goal which I didn’t see coming. Yes it tries too hard to be a Mad Max/Walking Dead hybrid, but it just can’t seem to get there. I’m certain the fans of the series will have a greater appreciation, though, since it might be working through some pretense of creating a good ending more than creating a money-printing sequel. C+
XXX: Return of Xander Cage
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of gunplay and violent action, and for sexual material and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 43%
For those that consider the Fast and Furious franchise to be too intellectual, there is XXX. This time Vin Diesel is back (rather than the last even more horrific outing with Ice Cube) to fight a rogue government agency who is committing assassinations with crashing satellites. The plot is awful but if you like action there is plenty of it there hoping to disguise the lack of a real story. I didn’t hate it but I did find it mind-numbing and only rarely impressive. I’m sure there’s an audience for this kind of film – but it ain’t me. C-
Paramount Classic Crime Drama Releases
With Mother’s Day gone, its time to start thinking about the dads and I am in love with the new classic Paramount releases this week including The Godfather Trilogy, Chinatown, The Untouchables, Chinatown and Road to Perdition, all in new Blu-ray editions for super cheap. While they don’t feature anything new per se, these are all must-own movies in a slick new packaging, and at around the $10 range, they won’t make you feel like you just got robbed.