Author: BO

When approaching cinematic investigations into the pope and Vatican affairs, most features take extra caution, often depicting the Catholic authority with a severe attitude befitting such religious and cultural power. “We Have a Pope” doesn’t attempt to deface the organization, but works to understand the clouded headspace of a man suddenly thrust into the spotlight, handed authority and publicity he’s not fully prepared for. The psychological study makes this film special and enlightening, seeking to find a human side to the misgivings inherent in any papal election, creating an uncertain lead character facing unimaginable responsibility, struggling with his fears as the world waits patiently for him to step forward and accept his heavenly duty.

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For Disneynature’s sixth worldwide release, the company turns their attention to chimpanzees and all the curiosity and cuteness they provide. “Chimpanzee” has plenty of personality to share as it constructs a tale of a baby fighting to find his place after the death of his mother, but this feature is more reality show than distanced animal documentary. Building a narrative out of random footage, the production aims to control nature to meet the needs of tired formula. The technical achievements of “Chimpanzee” are nothing short of stunning, but missing here is an authenticity of behavior and stillness of observance, wiped away to give audiences a cartoon rendering of the wild — the producers fearful they might not sit still for the real thing.

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Here’s a documentary that expands a 10-minute-long subject into a hypnotic 80 minutes of food preparation and philosophy. “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” approaches the fine art of meal construction with a goal to revel in the gifts of a sushi master, only to discover something far more appealing about a highly respectful family dynamic behind the counter. Foodies will likely lose their mind watching a genius assemble bite after bite of world-famous sushi, but the picture’s command emerges from a heartfelt place of craft and expertise, working beyond gastronomy particulars to understand a deep sense of tradition and quality that’s carried on for decades, found in a most unlikely place.

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A few years back, I was assigned to review a parody effort entitled “The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It.” It marked the filmmaking debut of Craig Moss, and it was truly awful. Just a pitiful, exceedingly unfunny piece of junk trying to pass itself off as goofy, edgy satire. After another failed attempt to pants Hollywood successes (last year’s “Breaking Wind”), Moss has dropped his obsession with mimicry to expand content from the internet, perhaps encouraged by the development of the “Fred” franchise beyond its original three-minute blasts of obnoxiousness. Passing on a Maru bio-pic or a Rebecca Black musical extravaganza, Moss has elected to funnel his energy into dramatizing the story of Thomas Bruso. Maybe you already know his work as the “Epic Beard Man.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With “God Bless America,” writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait has manufactured an exhilarating sensation of disgust, funneling a reservoir of frustration into an acidic script that somehow manages to be hilarious while remaining enormously unnerving. It’s a sniper-sure shot of rage striking the heart of American culture, having a blast wiping away the scum of the Earth. It’s a chaotic tear through reality shows, social irritants, and amateur singing contests that’s finessed superbly by the helmer, who commits in full to a lunatic idea. Even for a filmmaker who’s made pictures about bestiality, autoerotic asphyxiation, and alcoholic clowns, “God Bless America” still manages to astonish with its audacious content and ballsy execution. It’s a couch potato battle cry capturing the zeitgeist in a bold, bloody fashion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The premise of a life relived is a favorite one for filmmakers. It’s a tempting fantasy, allowing viewers a chance to reconsider their personal choices through the experience of the lead characters, losing themselves in significant displays of nostalgia and perspective. Think “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Peggy Sue Got Married,” two features extracting an ideal amount of wonder and misery from their oddball presentations of askew time travel. “Touchback” isn’t quite as polished or deep, but it retains a sizable heart and commitment to a theme of appreciation, providing those who enjoy slightly hokier entertainment with a warm viewing event that’s predictable yet engaging. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: dopey college kids, off on a trip to a remote forest getaway for the weekend, encounter a force of evil that picks them off one by one while the barely sober unit makes pathetic survival choices during a hellacious night. Turns out, screenwriters Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have grown tired of the horror routine, cooking up “The Cabin in the Woods,” a delicious satire of the genre that takes the art of cinematic deconstruction seriously, fusing black comedy and formula into a thoroughly satisfying terror experience. It’s funny, occasionally too silly, but also wildly committed to the bloodshed and jolts gorehounds have come to expect. It’s a smart, nasty picture, reinvigorating stale screenwriting ingredients — a delirious valentine to slasher archetypes and monster mayhem. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As The Three Stooges, Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine created a comedy institution. A vaudeville act that grew into a popular series of shorts and features, the Stooges developed into a household name, with young fans spending long hours replicating the trio’s signature moves of pain, to the consternation of parents everywhere. They are legends with a brand name that’s endured throughout the years, maintaining pop culture position despite an origin that dates back to the 1930s. Attempting to highlight their love for all things Stooge, filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly have brought forth “The Three Stooges,” a bizarre attempt to return classic comedy flavors to the big screen, using an all-new cast to ape classic slap-happy moves. Although the mimicry is sincerely impressive, the picture is anything but, stumbling through a series of unfunny scenes in an effort that’s more for the kids, finding the Farrellys hoping to trigger a new wave of fandom with this love letter to ocular trauma, angry nicknames, and hair pulling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Luc Besson’s action factory burps up another disappointment with “Lockout,” a witless, sloppily constructed picture that carries the promise of a thrill ride in the opening five minutes. A prison adventure set in space, this should’ve been one of the premiere escapist extravaganzas of the year. Instead, untested directors and feeble creative efforts gradually scrape away the fun factor of this snoozer, which grows more tedious and oddly joyless by the minute. It’s not for lack of trying either, as “Lockout” puts forth thespian endeavors meant to be colorful and visual effects intended to be special. However, the labor is mismanaged, with time better spent constructing a stronger script and working with a seasoned editorial department. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s easy to be caught up in the mournful atmosphere of “Bully.” A documentary on the ravages of violence and humiliation in schools across America, the effort is dutifully impassioned and direct with its tales of unimaginable grief. However, pieces are missing in this call to arms, which jumps at the chance to film grief-stricken people is extreme close-up while a larger portrait of the problem is ignored, save for a handful of provocative, strangely unanswered moments. Certainly, this a picture worthy of study by both kids and adults, with director Lee Hirsch making a strong play for a grassroots revolution. The feature’s hope for hallway harmony is commendable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The account of a music star hit with a debilitating drug addiction while facing turmoil in their band isn’t anything new, inspiring scores of documentaries and bio-pics. What’s fresh here is the subject, with director P. David Ebersole investigating the life and times of Patty Schemel, the openly lesbian drummer for the band Hole, who spent a good chunk of her career sitting behind Courtney Love, absorbing her never-ending drama on a nightly basis. “Hit So Hard” is familiar in its examination of personal ruin and fortysomething redemption, but the alternative music era on display here brings a unique perspective to Schemel’s story. It also helps to have such a charismatic subject, who’s open and honest about her mistakes, hopes, and fears as she recalls her experiences as a female drummer, her wasted years, and her time as a cog in the Courtney Love machine. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Blue Like Jazz” is a faith-based production that preaches individual thought and makes the effort to display characters unsure of their devotion to religion as they search for God in their own lives. It’s an admirable endeavor, adapted from the book by Donald Miller (who co-scripts), yet it’s inescapably glacial as a motion picture. Bereft of personality and pace, “Blue Like Jazz” loses influence the longer it lingers on stillborn atmosphere, while the performances all lack conviction beyond the basics provided by the screenplay. It’s a drab movie about big ideas, best suited for die-hard fans of Miller’s writing. Newcomers will have to fight tremendously hard to stay invested in the humdrum antics and banal confessions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Meeting Evil” is a film that requires its audience to simply shut down and go along with the experience. Any outside intrusion of common sense immediately destroys the viewing event, leaving the picture best served to those able to swallow massive leaps in logic and sketchy characterization. Though not without a handful of sincerely intense scenes, “Meeting Evil” is a missed opportunity for a twisted ride with a confrontational stranger, gradually working its way to a wasteful anticlimax when the entire movie appears to be gunning for something grandiose, pitting enigmatic malevolence against the vanilla might of an average man with ordinary problems. There’s something about seeing Samuel L. Jackson with a gun and an attitude that promises more than this meager effort is willing to offer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“4:44 Last Day on Earth” is a violently esoteric feature about a shared experience. It comes from Abel Ferrara, a moviemaker perhaps best known for 1992’s “Bad Lieutenant” and 1995’s “The Addiction.” Ferrara makes a considerable amount of art films these days, though none carry as provocative a premise as his latest effort. While it teases end of the world events and emotional breakdowns, the picture holds tight to the lead character, studying his feelings and frustrations as a peculiar design of doomsday arrives. Uncompromising in its hallucinatory qualities and densely symbolic, “4:44” is a difficult sit, better appreciated for its appealing thespian swings than any of its intended meaning. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com