BRIAN ORNDORF

Month: June 2024

  • Film Review – Longing (2024)

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    “Longing” is a remake of a 2017 Israeli film, with original writer/director Savi Gabizon returning to oversee its English-language refreshing. It’s been turned into a vehicle for actor Richard Gere, who’s a natural fit for a story following a cold, distant businessman learning of a son he never knew and already lost, inspired to track the young man’s footsteps and understand an existence he wasn’t part of. The part plays directly to Gere’s strengths as an actor, and initial expectations for a more mournful journey are nicely disrupted by the helmer, who attempts to manufacture a darker tale of fixation. “Longing” doesn’t always connect as intended, especially in the third act, but Gabizon launches an interesting mystery of behavior with the tale, adding a few turns along the way to keep the viewing experience involving and enjoyably weird before the whole thing sobers up in the end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Bad Boys: Ride or Die

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    2020’s “Bad Boys for Life” managed to revitalize the franchise for ticket-buyers, becoming the highest-grossing sequel of the series, proving there was still audience interest in the world of supercops Lowry and Burnett. Creatively, new directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Falllah brought nothing fresh to the series, content to ape departing helmer Michael Bay and his brand of visual overkill. “Life” was numbing, overlong, and lacking in humor. There was room for improvement, but the approach clicked at the box office, and Arbi and Bilall (in their first assignment after their “Batgirl” movie was cancelled) are back to business with “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” The film is basically “Bad Boys for Life 2,” offering a direct sequel to the previous chapter, which, once again, finds the main characters in a whole heap of trouble in Miami, while viewers are treated to the same level of sensory overload and haphazard scripting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Am I OK?

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    Comedian Tig Notaro and actress Stephanie Allynne make their feature-length directorial debut with “Am I OK?” It’s the story of a woman’s journey of identity and emotion, touching on the experience of self-acceptance and the long road of realization involved in such an odyssey. The screenplay is credited to Lauren Pomerantz, who’s out to make a comedy with the tale, but also explore some delicate feelings, setting up a tonal tightrope walk for the helmers. Notaro and Allynne manage to make a very funny movie, but “Am I OK?” is also tender when it needs to be, and surprisingly intimate at times. It’s a very small production examining human issues, with Pomerantz never going to explosive extremes to summon drama, and for those who enjoy milder views of character concerns, the picture hits the spot with lots of charm and realism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Under Paris

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    Shark attack movies are now part of release routine, with many filmmakers trying their luck to restore some frights to the exhausted experience of oceanic terror. Director Xavier Gens (“Hitman,” “The Divide,” and “Frontier(s)”) doesn’t have a novel idea for “Under Paris,” but he does have an interesting setting, bringing shark frenzy to France, where teams of cops and activists do battle as a humongous mako makes its way to the Seine river. As most of these pictures go, there’s a race against the clock as the hunt begins, with some looking to destroy the predator, while others seek to protect it during a major event in town. “Under Paris” doesn’t capture attention through originality, but Gens manages to make something mildly fun with the endeavor, which adds periodic violence to delight viewers. It’s not an action-packed viewing experience, but there are surges of panic to work with, and the general novelty of the setting is most welcome. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Mothers’ Instinct

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    “Mothers’ Instinct” is a remake of a 2018 French film from director Olivier Masset-Depasse, which was an adaptation of a 2012 novel by author Barabra Abel. Screenwriter Sarah Conradt is tasked with reviving the material for an American remake, and helming duties are handed to Benoit Delhomme. The respected cinematographer (“The Theory of Everything,” “The Scent of Green Papaya”) makes his directorial debut with “Mothers’ Instinct,” facing a creative challenge with familiar material to some, trying to refresh a story that’s largely dependent on maintaining a level of surprise. There’s a lot going on in the feature, which carries the mood of melodrama but slowly turns into something else, and Delhomme has game actresses in Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, who bring a fine level of itchiness to the movie. The talent brings the endeavor to life, maintaining an appealing atmosphere of disturbing behavior as the story goes to strange places, but not always with confidence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • 4K UHD Review – Little Darlings

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    Summer camp cinema received a boost of popularity with the success of 1979's "Meatballs," which provided an inspired round of campground shenanigans and undersexed characters, supported by the star appeal of Bill Murray. 1980's "Little Darlings" initially seems as though it's headed in the same creative direction, once again returning to the great outdoors with teen players only interested in the mysteries of the opposite sex as they go about their daily adventures. The screenplay by Kimi Peck and Dalene Young is happy to indulge a little silliness when introducing the ensemble and the location, but "Little Darlings" sobers up quickly, daring to be a film about female sexuality and relationships that takes emotions seriously. There's bravery to the feature that's wonderful to see, even when director Ron Maxwell can't always balance the tone of the endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Red Rock West

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    Career-wise, Nicolas Cage was in a strange place in the early 1990s. Finding himself elevated to star status with 1987's "Raising Arizona" and "Moonstruck," Cage struggled to maintain momentum, caught between his interest in strange projects ("Vampire's Kiss," "Zandalee") and more visible Hollywood titles ("Fire Birds," "Honeymoon in Vegas"). For 1993's "Red Rock West," Cage finds a comfortable middle ground, participating in a noir exercise from co-writer/director John Dahl (who clearly loves the subgenre), delivering a measured lead performance with a few thespian explosions along the way. Cage is the glue that keeps "Red Rock West" together, providing dramatic support for a screenplay that's a little too wild with turns at times, but remains an engrossing viewing experience with a terrific sense of escalation in its first half. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Thinner

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    The business of Stephen King adaptations was booming in the 1990s, with the occasional box office success ("Misery") and critical darling ("The Shawshank Redemption") refreshing interest in the prolific author's work. 1996's "Thinner" is another one of the bunch, taking inspiration from a 1984 book written under King's pseudonym, Richard Bachman, with the writer exploring the panic of an obese man dealing with a curse that forces him to shed weight at a nightmarish speed. The premise has potential for something cinematically interesting, providing a thorough creative challenge to manufacture such a distinct vision for body horror. "Thinner" is instead handed to co-writer/director Tom Holland ("Child's Play," "The Temp"), who goes the sledgehammer route with the movie, turning pages of detail and disturbing behavior into a cartoon exploration of desperation. Suspense is missing from the picture, along with a sense of the bizarre, as Holland goes for painful exaggeration with the endeavor. He's also stuck with subpar makeup work for the central journey of an overweight man as he turns into a skeleton, with Hollywood magic missing the mark as star Robert John Burke has to physically work with an ill-fitting transformation in a supremely underwhelming effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Funeral Home

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    A Canadian production from 1981, "Funeral Home" (a.k.a. "Cries in the Night," which is the title on the Blu-ray presentation) dares to enter the then red-hot horror marketplace with a picture that contains extraordinarily little scary business. A few kills are present, and there's a black cat marching around the location, but screenwriter Ida Nelson and director William Fruet offer surprisingly little in the way of frights with the endeavor. "Funeral Home" is more of a missing persons mystery blended with a few drops of "Psycho," with the production focused on the investigative potential of the material instead of building a level of suspense. More of a T.V. movie than a chiller, the effort is capably performed by its cast, but there's lifelessness here that's bewildering, making for a tough sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com