Month: January 2013

“Crawlspace” is a good example of a no-budget picture accomplishing
quite a lot with very little. A blend of “Aliens” and “Scanners,” the
feature has confidence and a definite vision for its claustrophobic
scares. Perhaps originality isn’t a top priority for the screenplay, but
director Justin Dix manages to fuse his inspirations and his
aspirations into a tight 80 minute ride of hallucinations and chilling
medical discoveries, feeding genre fans a moderate but effective level
of gore to snack on while the dialogue explores devious manipulations.
At the very least, it provides hope that Dix, making his directorial
debut here, will go on to a career of satisfying shockers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Tarantino Generation is briefly revived with the release of “Sushi
Girl,” a toe-curlingly violent journey into the black hearts of petty
criminals and their loquacious impulses. Loaded with barbed interplay
and fueled by a mystery of true intention, the movie sustains a certain
anxious rhythm that’s superbly entertaining, eased along by exaggerated
but excited performances from a group of actors who normally get the
shaft when it comes to extended screentime. While it’s nothing
inventive, perhaps a tad too derivative at times, “Sushi Girl” manages
to overcome its limitations with a polished, low-budget style and a
fiery attitude, keeping attention on the argument at hand, while
increasing brutality and a satisfactory ending ease the awareness that
the screenplay, credited to Destin Pfaff and Kern Saxton (who also
directs), is simply walking in the considerable footsteps of other
filmmakers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For the first hour, “The Baytown Outlaws” keeps to a persuasive display
of violence and colorful characters, with co-writer/director Barry
Battles manufacturing a tasty slice of southern-fried grindhouse,
populated with seedy characters and outrageous confrontations. The pace
isn’t kept as the material eventually begs to be taken seriously, which
comes to cripple the entire viewing experience. However, those with a
taste for unsavory events guided by loudmouth participants should be
able to extract some enjoyment out of the determined feature. It’s a
shame Battles loses his nerve in the final act, weirdly assuming viewers
have developed an emotional attachment to material that works best as a
cartoon. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Released during the same period as Gus Van Sant’s “Promised Land” and
its focus on the possible environmental disaster known as fracking, “A
Dark Truth” also explores a little-known area of natural resource woe,
covering the rise of corporations collecting control of water and land
rights in struggling countries. However, instead of a respectful drama
that preaches and teaches, “A Dark Truth” emerges as a political
actioner, with star Andy Garcia spending his screentime wielding a
handgun as his character sets out to expose evil. It’s a smart play to
secure audience attention, but the effort is wasted on a dreary,
formulaic picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I could see “Now is Good” appealing to a certain younger audience. Not
teenagers, but pre-teen girls dreaming of adolescent experiences that
could help to define them, while happily observing a traditional
rebellious attitude. Schmaltz of the highest order, “Now is Good” is
particularly punishing melodrama without a clear understanding of its
message, rewarding awful behavior in an effort to appeal to the only
demographic that will be able to endure it to the end. Surprisingly
harsh when it comes to the dented appeal of its lead character, the
movie is a predictable drag, attempting to cozy up to its young adult
literary origins (adapted from the novel by Jenny Downham) in a
decidedly tuneless fashion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com