Author: BO

“The New Radical” introduces the average viewer to the world of Cody Wilson, who, as a young man, decided to release the design of a plastic, 3D-printed gun for the world to download, imagining himself, as the title suggests, to be a champion of First Amendment freedoms, sharing his knowledge with the world. Director Adam Bhala Lough envisions a provocative look at the pliability of American rights and common sense with the documentary, but journalistic intentions fail to materialize. Instead, “The New Radical” is a 105-minute-long commercial for Wilson’s firearms business that’s also filled with zeitgeist-flicking asides on the omnipresence of gun violence and the subject’s connection to a new generation of people looking to rattle the establishment with dark empowerment, using Wilson to detail a David vs. Goliath war between longstanding government rule and Millennials trying to figure out how to implement a new world order.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s fascinating to consider that, recently, the most potent stories of Middle East life and history have been explored through animation. There was “Persepolis” and “Waltz with Bashir,” and now the “The Breadwinner” joins the list. While the feature does inspect a particularly brutal time in Afghanistan history (the Taliban era), the story remains committed to arcs of heroism and perseverance, working to create a sense of hope in the midst of absolute madness. “The Breadwinner” is a thoroughly emotional viewing experience, and while it triggers tears, it’s also a powerful tool of empowerment. The production pursues a particular note of hope found in the bold actions of a little girl in a ruthless land, successfully achieving a portrait of bravery that’s inspiring and riveting, while animation brilliantly balances harsh realities with storybook fantasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Cult films aren’t made, they’re born, often from the strangest of people, with the best worst movies never made cynically or intentionally, finding oddity just pouring out of the creation naturally. The journey for “The Room” began in 2003, where writer/director/producer/star Tommy Wiseau elected to take his thespian dreams into his own hands, creating an awkward psychodrama to best display his acting gifts to the world. The end result was inept from top to bottom, but its passion for tuneless filmmaking launched the picture as a midnight movie oddity, snowballing in popularity as hip audiences latched on to Tommy’s wacky vision. “The Disaster Artist” tracks the construction of “The Room” from the perspective of its co-star, Greg Sestero, who also wanted to acquire Hollywood glory, only to be mortified by Tommy’s creation. For director/star James Franco, the opportunity to dramatize this prolonged agony of production is irresistible, and his wildly entertaining “The Disaster Artist” is a loving ode to the power of delusion.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Kepler’s Dream” is an adaptation of a young adult novel by Juliet Bell, giving it an inherent softness as the material is meant to appeal to pre-teen audiences. Co-writer/director Amy Glazer respects the potential softness of the picture, doing what she can to preserve Bell’s sensitive subplots and defined characterization. It’s not urgent work, but for family audiences, “Kepler’s Dream” is genuine and nicely performed, with Glazer working to combat melodrama as much as possible as she juggles Bell’s plotting, which moves from a broken family story to a detective movie of sorts, adding some surprises to the mix.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Inoperable” suffers from a case of bad timing. Or perhaps its release is intentionally timed to follow the success of “Happy Death Day,” which attracted a young audience with an old concept. “Inoperable” also offers a slight riff on “Groundhog Day,” with co-writer/director Christopher Lawrence Chapman going the time loop route for this decidedly smaller take on persistent déjŕ vu. The horror endeavor doesn’t have much of a budget, and its plot either doesn’t make sense or requires Chapman to sit next to the viewer and explain it all at the story unfolds, creating a slightly underwhelming viewing experience. Gore zone visits are plentiful and Chapman appears to have the right macabre interests, but his feature is missing the noose-tightening appeal of recycled danger, playing far more lethargically than it should.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While the reality of social media is its current mission to enslave humanity as we know it, making movies about it always seem a little silly. It’s impossible to keep up with the movement of trends and technology, and the inherent shallowness of digital societies doesn’t translate well to the screen. Just look at internet-based films from the past (e.g. “feardotcom”). However, “People You May Know” isn’t any type of thriller or chiller, and it doesn’t take the subject matter lightly. Writer/director Sherwin Shilati is making a deadly serious feature about the disconnect of online life, offering a Faustian bargain story to examine the potential corruption of social media success, detailing all the lies it takes to achieve popularity. The message is interesting, but “People You May Know” is too heavy-handed, with moments of unpleasant preachiness and unwelcome comic relief.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Dee Rees is a gifted filmmaker with a clear interest in telling painfully human stories of race, identity, and struggle, always interested in richness of character. She arrived on the scene with “Pariah,” making a splash with a lauded indie production, graduating to more traditional creative interests with “Bessie,” which offered a shot at the creation of a bio-pic, dramatizing the life and times of singer Bessie Smith. With “Mudbound,” Rees’s moviemaking scope widens as she pursues a particularly bleak era in American history, sustaining career interests with an adaptation Hillary Jordan’s novel, taking viewers into the bowels of Alabama during the 1940s. It’s a feature drenched in suffering, hate, weather, and pain, making it a troubling sit. However, Rees does have a vision for the effort, helping to carry “Mudbound” through patches of familiarity, coming through with capable take on prejudice and rural isolation.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Thelma” is best described as an updated version of “Carrie,” even though Hollywood already tried to update “Carrie” recently, and it was awful. This time, Norway takes a crack at the horror of a young girl with telekinetic powers, with co-writer/director Joachim Trier (“Oslo, August 31st,” “Louder Than Bombs”) staging a spare, merciless journey of identity and unknowing menace, working in layers of sexuality, religious influence, and shock value along the way. Expectations for a more robust genre experience should be lowered, as Trier isn’t interesting in making a mess with “Thelma,” instead creating a slow-burn nightmare disguised as a coming-of-age drama. It rarely stuns, but the movie has select moments of effectively grim interactions and does well with its depiction of delayed adolescence.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Martin McDonagh has a special knack for behavioral insight, and the man loves his dark comedy. With “In Bruges” and “Seven Psychopaths,” McDonagh was cautious but somewhat glib with his characterizations, threatening quirk and a disruption of tonality. With “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” McDonagh finds a stunning cohesion between mischief and soul-splitting grief, putting the pieces of this puzzle together with flashes of violence. It’s a magnificent film, with McDonagh almost wizard-like in his ability to surprise with recognizable working parts, creating a powerful and intricate character study that finds tremendous value in the inner workings of damaged people. It always threatens to spin out of control, but McDonagh secures a buzzing atmosphere of threat to the effort, allowing “Three Billboards” to blossom in unexpected ways, and it possesses a few glorious sucker punches to keep viewers from becoming too comfortable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

One year ago, there was “The Edge of Seventeen.” Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, the feature sliced through the claptrap that normally fattens teen cinema to deliver a bruising but honest take on the trials of adolescence, crafted with care and emotional precision. Now there’s “Lady Bird,” and even more effective take on the teenage experience from a female point of view, with writer/director Greta Gerwig absolutely nailing the crushing, combative details of growing up, stripping away most of the requisite profundity to hammer an in-the-moment feel that’s positively miraculous. It’s a phenomenal film, finding Gerwig’s attention to the nuances of young love and life authentic and often hilarious, refreshingly content to simply understand the needs of the juvenile heart, never slipping into manipulation or artificiality.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com