Day: July 8, 2020

Tom Hanks has spent a large portion of his acting and producing career making sure stories from World War II are told with the utmost attention to realism and honor. With projects such as “Band of Brothers” and “Saving Private Ryan,” Hanks has reinforced his dedication to the veteran experience, trying to highlight the sacrifices of service and might of bravery. With “Greyhound,” the actor returns to duty in a wartime naval adventure, also taking on screenplay responsibilities with this adaptation of a 1955 C.S. Forester novel (“The Good Shepherd”). Hanks brings along his customary concentration on the steeliness of leadership, joining director Aaron Schneider to create a riveting oceanic battle of skill and ammunition, offering viewers a taut viewing experience that doesn’t have much use for anything that isn’t directly tied to the central mission of protection and survival. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1966, on a bet, filmmaker Harold P. Warren tried to make his own horror picture armed with almost no money, spare sets, and a cast of amateurs. When “Manos: The Hands of Fate” premiere, it was greeted with laughter (an unwelcome reaction to a scary movie), soon falling into obscurity. In 1993, the classic television show “Mystery Science Theater 3000” selected “The Hands of Fate” for the full riff treatment, striking comedy gold with one of their finest episodes, soon putting the forgotten endeavor back into cult circulation. Suddenly, there was interest in Warren’s disaster, resulting in merchandise sales, a re-riffing from the heroes at Rifftrax, and a years-long restoration of the original workprint, bringing the effort back to its original theatrical presentation. And now, in the tradition of “Showgirls 2: Penny’s from Heaven,” comes “Manos Returns” — a sequel nobody asked for, reuniting viewers with Torgo, Debbie, and The Master (sort of), with co-writer/director Tonjia Atomic making something slightly silly to beat potential mockers at their own game. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Palm Springs” is co-produced by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, better known as the comedy trio The Lonely Island. The feature is even introduced as a “Lonely Island Classics” production (a funny riff on Sony Pictures Classics). And yet, “Palm Springs” doesn’t provide the same comedic jolt as earlier efforts, such as “Hot Rod” and “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.” It’s not really a Lonely Island experience, handing creative reins to screenwriter Andy Siara and director Max Barbakow, who attempt to give Samberg a romantic comedy makeover while still retaining a bit of the wily weirdness he’s known for. “Palm Springs” has its select moments of insanity, but it tries to cut a little deeper, moving past gags to deal with pained characters going through a lot while experiencing something unreal. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2014, writer/director Jennifer Kent created “The Babadook.” It was a tale of a demonic presence, and while Kent was very clear with her spooky intent, she was also painting a portrait of parenthood, which is often an experience of unrelenting horror. It was a sharp, stunning feature with a delicious claustrophobic atmosphere. The type of viewing experience is found in “Relic,” which turns its attention to the various challenges of dementia and how the personal experience of such degeneration greatly taxes all those involved. Co-writer Natalie Erika James impressively merges the real-world agony of aging with a haunted house story, coming up with a complex film that’s richly detailed and performed, reaching above and beyond a simple ghost story to tap into deep emotions involving the nightmarish decline of a once vibrant loved one. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s kind of amazing that Hollywood hasn’t gotten around to remaking the 1986 adventure film, “Highlander.” Sure, they’ve tried, but nothing’s come together, leaving the original offering and its frustrating sequels to explore the angst and action of a life lived with violent encounters and never-ending tomorrows. “The Old Guard” is the best chance to huff “Highlander” fumes right now, with screenwriter Greg Rucka adapting his own 2017 graphic novel for the screen, introducing audiences to the ways of Andy and her team of eternal warriors, some who’ve lasted for centuries trying to make sense of their endless existence. “The Old Guard” is most engaging when it remains in comic book mode, presenting a heightened take on longstanding relationships and the trials of eternal life, giving director Gina Prince-Bythewood, a helmer known for her dramas (“Love & Basketball,” “Beyond the Lights”), an opportunity to explore genre bigness that’s often restrained by the demands of continuous exposition. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Theo James hasn’t delivered much excitement during his career, making a wrong turn into the flaccid “Divergent” franchise, while recently stumbling through the Netflix release, “How It Ends.” James gets to show a little more dramatic grit with “Archive,” which puts the actor in the realm of robots and grief, basically on his own for much of the picture, receiving a chance to play an ethically dubious character. It’s a fine performance, perhaps his best work to date, and James is boosted considerably by writer/director Gavin Rothery, who makes an impressive feature-length filmmaking debut with “Archive,” finding ways to stretch his budget to help create an immersive study of futureworld technology and personal desperation. Rothery can’t make the mystery go the distance, but the first two acts are compelling thanks to a helmer who really has a vision he wants to see come alive on the screen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Unlike a lot of VOD actioners, “Money Plane” actually has a promising premise. It takes viewers to a casino in the sky where anything goes involving the worst people on Earth, giving them a free space to indulge their awfulness in games of skill and chance. Writers Tim Schaaf and Andrew Lawrence (who also directs) provide a solid reason to track such unrepentant ugliness, which retains a delicious camp factor, but they’re mostly interested in following heist movie formula, aiming for suspense that never emerges. There’s a circus there for the taking, but “Money Plane” plays it safe, delivering familiar beats of intimidation and brutality, trying to wow viewers with twists and turns when they might be better off with a blunt study of evildoers taking to the sky to make a fortune. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Credit should be paid to writer/director Jeffrey A. Brown. Making his feature-length helming debut, Brown attempts to deliver a refreshing of the body horror subgenre, doing so without a large cast or a major budget. He pushes for atmosphere and heavy tension, working like crazy to stretch a minor idea into a major picture. “The Beach House” has nothing but good intentions to provide a B-movie immersion for fans of this type of entertainment, and those who live for this stuff will likely devour it without hesitation. Wider appreciation for the effort is up for debate, as Brown is in no hurry with “The Beach House,” forgoing a ripping pace to build the endeavor as slowly as humanly possible. Brown asks a lot of his audience, and while the film has style and a macabre imagination, it never really moves in a fully captivating manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com