Author: BO

Steven Spielberg has been making movies with defined rhythm for decades now, but he’s never gone all-in with a musical before. Sure, there’s the crackerjack opening of 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” and some sections of 1979’s “1941” certainly feel the beat, but Spielberg has avoided making full contact with a Broadway adaptation. And now he’s finally ready to put on a show, taking on “West Side Story,” with the 1957 Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim/Arthur Laurents creation previously realized in a beloved, Academy Award-winning 1961 Robert Wise film. There’s a lot of pressure on the iconic helmer to do something different with the source material, and he does, offering a grittier, more dynamically shot take on the musical, working to shave off a few layers of staginess to best expose the deep feelings in play. It’s still “West Side Story,” but the “Romeo and Juliet” riff is in good hands with Spielberg. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book series has made author Jeff Kinney extremely popular with young readers, exploring the daily punishment of middle school awkwardness, finding comedy in growing pains. He’s managed to crank out 16 titles about the misadventures of Greg Heffley and his friend, Rowley Jefferson, and with such literary success, Hollywood hasn’t been far behind. A big screen adaptation was created in 2010, making Kinney’s simple illustrations painfully real, and the movie did some business, at least enough to inspire two sequels and 2017 reboot, which was essentially ignored by filmgoers. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is brought back to life in 2021, this time as an animated endeavor, using Kinney’s artistry to guide the visual look of the effort, which isn’t long enough to be a feature, but isn’t exactly a television show either. It’s a highlight reel of the original book, with Kinney (who scripts) and director Swinton O. Scott III trying to create a breezy distraction for “Wimpy Kid” fans, launching a new franchise with much smaller dramatic goals. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been 15 years since Adrienne Shelly was murdered inside her New York City apartment, and so much of her career has occurred after that horrible day. Director Andy Ostroy is Shelly’s widower, and he’s fearful that his late wife’s memory is lost, embarking on a mission to capture her talent and lifeforce in documentary form, with “Adrienne” much more than a simple valentine to a wonderful actress and filmmaker. It’s an act of catharsis from Ostroy, who confronts all that’s been left behind with the picture, trying to make sense of a horrific crime that ended the future he imagined, forcing him down a different path of parenthood and grief. “Adrienne” is a highly emotional viewing experience, dealing with raw feelings and memories of a special woman who tried to make her dreams happen, which they eventually did, only long after she was gone. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Just in time for the holiday season comes a film about the end of the world. “Silent Night” offers a Christmas story about family, friends, and the wonders of childhood, but writer/director Camille Griffin (making her debut) isn’t in the mood to be precious with the details of a special reunion. Instead, she’s constructing a sometimes unspeakably dark tale of finality, using the cloak of yuletide excitement to explore how relationships react to the news that everything on Earth will be dead in a matter of days. It’s not exactly a cheerful tale of celebration, but bleakness is what makes “Silent Night” periodically riveting, with Griffin getting into the horrors of this new reality, delivering an askew take on the tenacity of the human spirit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Paul Verhoeven doesn’t make movies for casual viewers. He wants a full-throated response to his endeavors, which always deal with charged conflicts and shocking scenes of violence and sexuality. Verhoeven experienced a career resurgence with 2016’s “Elle,” and now he’s back with “Benedetta,” which provides an unnerving ride of vicious human behavior, with this tale steeped in Christian history, adding a spiked sense of exploration when dealing with matters of power and cruelty. It’s raw work from Verhoeven (who co-scripts with David Birke), but one doesn’t expect anything less from the excitable helmer, who tries his best to make the viewing experience as Verhoeven-esque as the source material allows (the picture is an adaptation of 1986 book by Judith C. Brown), hitting hard with a sometimes crazy mix of insanity and opportunism, sold with burning passion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Michael Pearce tries to approach a story about developing insanity in a slightly unusual way for “Encounter,” which initially positions itself as a sci-fi tale of a potential alien invasion before exposing its true intent with a decidedly more earthbound crisis. Pearce maintains a steady level of dread in the feature, which deals with a road trip that brings an unhinged father and his two sons to an unknown destination, gradually exploring how the parent’s fragile mind is betraying his natural instincts, making things worse for everyone during his pursuit of protection. “Encounter” carries a degree of mystery, but Pearce ultimately wants to focus on feelings as already complicated relationships are pushed to the edge during a mental health crisis. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s no big introduction or conclusion to “Wolf.” It just exists in an area of pure behavior, understanding the movement of potential madness as it comes after young minds used to trusting their own version of reality. It’s a strange picture from writer/director Nathalie Biancheri, who explores the gray areas of psychological ruin, with the feature resembling a project for first year acting students just beginning to learn about physical movement and character exploration. Such energy works for “Wolf,” which does well with smaller dramatic goals, electing to study select horrors and struggles while detailing a specific approach to therapy for patients who are beyond the boundaries of reason. Biancheri commits to her premise and sees it most of the way there, unafraid to make a modest movie about a deep internal itch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been nearly two decades since the release of the original “Resident Evil” film. Writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich worked to create their own take on the popular video game franchise, offering a slick adaptation that brought some cinematic excitement to the largely exploratory experience of the game. The hit movie spawned sequels, five of them, keeping Anderson and Jovovich employed for 14 years, fumbling around stories that quickly became secondary to big screen chaos. Now, after a four-year break, the series has returned to theaters, with “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” a fresh start for this world of horror, with writer/director Johannes Roberts in charge of making it all scary again with a faithful take on the source material, working to get gamers excited one more time for the “Resident Evil” universe. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Halle Berry collected an Academy Award for her work in 2001’s “Monster’s Ball,” portraying a broken character dealing with an enormous amount of grief. The part gave Berry a chance to lose control on-screen, slamming around her emotional range, displaying her ability to dig deep and abandon vanity. “Bruised” is Berry’s directorial debut, and she plays it safe in a strange way, returning to the “Monster’s Ball” era of her career with another turn as a shattered woman clawing around for something to help numb her pain. It’s not the exact same performance, but a similar concept, only this time around, the character has a bit more power to explore, with the picture taking place in the world of mixed martial arts. Berry delivers gut-rot work in the feature, trying her best to make the material meaningful, but “Bruised” is basically a “Rocky” remake with a more violent sense of relationships and sporting achievement, doing little with the opportunities it has to explore different areas of responsibility and sacrifice. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The year of Lin-Manuel Miranda continues with “Encanto,” which follows “Vivo,” “In the Heights,” and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” as the songwriter takes over big screen musicals for 2021. Offered a smaller role in this production, Miranda’s special ways remain, overseeing a roster of expressive, jubilant tunes to help the feature reach its creative goals. It’s the 60th offering from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and while they don’t stray too far from company formula, they manage to make their best film since “Moana” with “Encanto.” It’s a celebration of family and an interesting dissection of fears, also boasting an incredible lead performance from Stephanie Beatriz, who reaches impossible levels of warmth and personality in her voicework, giving the endeavor a rich sense of humanity as the animation explores some brightly colored areas of magic and music. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“A Boy Called Christmas” first appeared as a book by Matt Haig, who attempted to manufacture his own origin story for Santa Claus, creating a fantasy adventure that gradually introduced all the elements associated with the magic of Saint Nick. Co-writers Ol Parker and Gil Kenan (who also directs) are in charge of bringing such world-building to the screen, and they arrive armed with a capable cast and excellent technical achievements. “A Boy Called Christmas” doesn’t feel particularly set-bound or hostile, instead trying to work in some valuable ideas on love and loss while managing the discovery of elves and reindeer. Kenan finds the right tone for the feature, and he’s ready to be playful with the effort, creating an engaging family film that works well with the holiday spirit, approaching the Father Christmas tale from an enjoyably weird angle. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Nobody likes to talk about Kevin Smith more than Kevin Smith, which makes the documentary “Clerk” a bit strange. The filmmaker, podcaster, and comedian has spent over 25 years sharing intimate details about himself on all forms of media, inviting outsiders into his private life, exploring all kinds of topics related to the business of being Kevin Smith. Close friend and documentarian Malcolm Ingram (“Small Town Gay Bar”) clearly thinks there’s more to mine when tracking the life and times of Smith, offering “Clerk,” which is more of a general overview of personal and professional difficulties endured by Smith, who’s front and center for the picture. Those new to Smith’s universe are certainly going to get more out of the movie, which offers a decent education on the helmer’s history and choices. Longtime fans are going to hear some of the same stories here, but Smith’s arc of triumph remains compelling, even in an abbreviated form. Laughs are plentiful and memories are crystal clear, following Smith as he returns to past experiences for Ingram, trying to make sense of a career that’s endured for decades. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his second film of 2021, director Ridley Scott moves from the chilly setting of medieval France (“The Last Duel”) to the chiller setting of the fashion industry in the 1980s, tracking the house of horrors that was the House of Gucci. “Inspired” by a true story, Scott takes such permission and runs with it, working with a screenplay by Becky Johnson and Roberto Bentivegna that transforms the saga of Patrizia Reggiai and Maurizio Gucci into a Shakespearian display of power plays and escalating madness. “House of Gucci” has it all, with Scott presiding over sex, lies, and murder, but he’s not interested in keeping the downward spiral tightly organized, permitting the feature to succumb to excessive length and intensely showy performances. “House of Gucci” offers an introductory hour of compelling deal-making and subtle manipulations, but it doesn’t sustain such speed, eventually slowing a full stop to enjoy the view. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com