Author: BO
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Blu-ray Review – Thunderstruck
It's hard to believe it's been a decade since the release of "Like
Mike," leaving "Thunderstruck" ample room to pick up where the
teen-centric sports fantasy left off. However, while "Like Mike" at
least made a faint attempt to conjure curiosity concerning the iffy
magic dust it was spreading, "Thunderstruck" doesn't even attempt to
pinpoint its basketball enchantment. It's a peculiar creative choice in
an otherwise bland, feebly acted comedy, concentrating more on laughs
and half-realized messages of adolescent responsibility than solidifying
a truly bizarre premise, at least to a point where it appears as though
the production actually cared about telling a coherent story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Blu-ray Review – The Apparition
The trailer for "The Apparition" contained more story than the picture
it was promoting. In fact, I think the trailer for "The Apparition" is
actually more of a movie than "The Apparition." A wildly incoherent
effort that spends most of its running time avoiding its own plot, "The
Apparition" is one of those major studio releases that's so stunningly
inept, it's a wonder it ever received a theatrical release, possibly
finding a more appreciative audience with the no-risk Redbox crowd,
allowing those with a few bucks in their pocket and heavenly B-movie
patience to sit down and decode the bungled filmmaking. Perhaps there's
someone out there who could possibly explain the feature to me one day. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Playing for Keeps
At this point, I’m positive Gerard Butler selects his scripts by
blindfolded dart throw. There’s really no other way to explain why he,
and a bevy of capable actresses, could be drawn to such a shallow,
predictable hodgepodge of plasticized feelings and sitcom mechanics.
“Playing for Keeps” has moments where its intent as a human story of
yearning and regret is visible, but it takes a considerable effort to
find, forcing ticket buyers to wade through abysmal dialogue and
unfortunate performances to locate a few passably endearing moments. The
rest of the feature is determined to chase nonsense, with the whole
thing so awkwardly orchestrated, I’m surprised director Gabriele Muccino
kept his name on the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – The Fitzgerald Family Christmas
“The Fitzgerald Family Christmas” represents a return to the basics for
writer/director/star Edward Burns, who long ago shot to fame with his
indie darling, “The Brothers McMullen.” Taking supporting work in awful
movies (like the recent “Alex Cross”) to support his micro-budgeted
filmmaking habit, Burns looks to resuscitate a little of the old
Irish-Catholic magic with his latest endeavor, which reunites him with
“McMullen” stars Michael McGlone and Connie Britton. Encouraging the
dysfunction is a seasonal setting, providing Burns with a fertile
battlefield of sibling discontent and parental resentment, creating a
prickly but inviting familial atmosphere that offers enough variation in
woe to ease the script out of its occasional dalliance with clumsy
melodrama. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
A costume drama like “Cheerful Weather for the Wedding” has to have an
emotional hook, some type of profound feeling that eases the rigidity of
the characters and their carefully mapped banter. Mercifully, the
feature has such a grip, though it’s not as tight as hoped, only just
enough to register momentarily before the entire effort washes away.
Charmingly acted and bravely concluded, “Cheerful Weather” entertains
intermittently with its stiff-upper-lip community interplay, only truly
taking command when it focuses on unspoken desires and stymied
confessions, creating more of a captivating fuss with its fixation on
misery over any attempt at biting wit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Chasing Ice
Bring up climate change in a crowded room and a fight is likely to break
out. It’s a controversial subject that raises the ire of those
passionately involved with educational efforts and individuals out to
dispel the notion of such a global event. Sensing an impasse on the
issue, environmental photographer James Balog decided to document the
shift himself, traveling to the far reaches of Iceland, Greenland, and
Alaska to capture unprecedented glacier melt with a multitude of
cameras, hoping to create unforgettable time-lapse shots that might
convince those still wary about the climate reality facing our planet
that something needs to be done. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Blu-ray Review – Comic Book Confidential
Full confession: I'm not a fan of comic books. It's not my field of
expertise, not a page-turning pastime that was burned into my routine as
a young boy. These days, it's difficult to go without an OCD knowledge
of the industry, especially as someone who spends most of the day
watching comic-inspired screen entertainment, hit with all types of
heroes and obscure characters boasting rich ink and paint histories only
the truest of the true fan could decode. And colleagues in possession
of such knowledge? Transformed into message board deities. The beauty of
director Ron Mann's 1988 documentary, "Comic Book Confidential," is
that it requires little homework to enjoy, creating an air of artistic
accomplishment and expression without working through the suffocating
details of history, hitting the viewer with brief blasts of idiosyncrasy
and storytelling that provide a secure appreciation of the
personalities involved with the production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Price Check
"Price Check" is an unassuming dark comedy that packs a decent punch.
Using cover fire provided by the picture's workplace setting, with its
numbing talk of stats and strategies, the screenplay is actually quite
poisonous, treating the lure of temptation and casual lying with a
refreshing forthrightness, unencumbered by melodrama. Guided by a
fireball performance from Parker Posey, "Price Check" is uncomfortable
to watch in all the good ways, finding authenticity from an ugly
situation, while working through "Office Space" particulars with a sly
sense of humor and an appreciation for the humiliation and anxiety of an
exhaustive 9-5 life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Killing Them Softly
"Killing Them Softly" isn't your average hitman movie. It isn't your
average heist picture. Heck, it's not really your average Brad Pitt
starring vehicle either. Reteaming with his "The Assassination of Jesse
James by the Coward Robert Ford" director, Andrew Dominik, Pitt assumes
another role that's cushioned by an ample amount of atmosphere, never
really requiring his full participation. Stylish and bleak, "Killing
Them Softly" is also profoundly political, using the basic tenets of the
mob genre to comment on the financial state of the nation, where even
men who've devoted their lives to murder can't make a buck these days. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – The Collection
I wonder how many people outside of horror genre fanatics even remember
the release of 2009's "The Collector." A low-budget effort slipped into
the summer moviegoing season without much fanfare, the feature only
attracted a small audience before it was shipped off to home video,
where I presume it found its fair share of admirers. After all, over
three years later, we now have "The Collection," a sequel that takes its
job of continuation seriously, despite greeting potentially hazy
memories at the multiplex. Vicious, loud, and shockingly short (72
minutes long), the follow-up only manages to match the scattered
highlights of its predecessor, unwilling to challenge the proven formula
the production orders up for round two. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Hitchcock
After a thorough peeling in last month's unexpectedly bitter HBO
offering, "The Girl," the life and times of cinema's reigning master of
suspense returns to the screen in the appropriately titled "Hitchcock."
Although the mood has been considerably lightened from the cable
offering, "Hitchcock" remains equally troubled when it comes to the
internal workings of the filmmaker, once again wading into the vast
reservoir of the man's neuroses to decode how such a distanced,
manipulative pop culture figure and industry legend went about his daily
business during a particularly stressful stretch of his career. The
results are entertaining and capably acted, but true insight remains at
arm's length, despite a feature cooking up all sorts of ghoulish visions
and barely concealed jealousies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Sister
The easy move would be to compare the drama "Sister" to the 2011
feature, "The Kid with a Bike." Both pictures invest in the
thinly-veiled agony of lost youth, following two boys as they deal with
parental abandonment in aggressive yet painfully insular ways. While
"Bike" was more demonstrative with its fits of pain, "Sister" takes a
path of misdirection, conjuring an absorbing tale of thievery on the
Swiss slopes while director Ursula Meier works her way into
uncomfortable areas of truth and neglect. For the most part a distant
film, "Sister" supplies a full behavioral experience that's riveting at
times, with lead performances by Lea Seydoux and Kacey Mottet Klein
communicating isolation in bravely vulnerable ways. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Blu-ray Review – Double Impact
While never greeted with a rapturous response befitting a world-class
thespian, Jean-Claude Van Damme made a welcome impression performing in
low-budget actioners that didn't tax his English language skills,
focused primarily on his feats of strength and flexibility. He was a
built guy with a thick accent and a wide-open face that could register
fear and fury (not to mention a stupendous command of plausible
confusion), and his early work benefited from that simplicity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Blu-ray Review – Crooked Arrows
"Crooked Arrows" is a film I wanted to like, came close to enjoying, but
was consistently pulled away by some poor storytelling decisions. It's
one of the first movies to concentrate solely on the game of lacrosse, a
sport that's grown in popularity in recent years after spending
centuries as a sacred activity for Native American cultures, where it's
known as "The Creator's Game." It's a highly athletic, fast-paced sport
that deserves a better onscreen celebration than "Crooked Arrows," which
slaps around every cliché imaginable, looking to win over viewers
through the comfort of familiarity. It has charm and a refreshing
cultural perspective, but the predictability is often too much to bear,
tanking the potential for a proper cinematic exploration of lacrosse. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Hellgate
“Hellgate” comes from writer/director John Penney, the helmer
responsible for the 2006 thriller, “Zyzzyx Rd,” which holds the
distinction of being the lowest-grossing movie of all time. Ouch.
Returning to screens with a more marketable premise and pronounceable
title, Penney develops a “Ghost Whisperer” riff with “Hellgate,”
showering the viewer with images of bloodied demons, overly emotive
actors, and supernatural happenings, molded into a strangely lifeless
tale of alternate worlds and survivor guilt. Made cheaply and
formulaically, the feature’s only real asset is its Thai locations,
which provide the picture with personality and atmosphere Penney doesn’t
bring to the writing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com -
Film Review – Holy Motors
“Holy Motors” is a puzzler with a mischievous spirit. It’s nearly
impossible to understand the overall movement of this abstract French
production, but its individual scenes possess sizable power, playing
with emotional speeds and film genres while always on the hunt for ways
to keep the viewer guessing as to where this collection of images and
sound is going to head next. It’s far from an engrossing excursion into
experimental cinema, yet “Holy Motors” remains determined to chase
impulses and stage fascinating moments of life, death, sex, and musical
performance. It’s not always the easiest sit, but it’s frequently
memorable and commendably demented. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com
BRIAN ORNDORF 