Category: Film Review

Writer/director Rian Johnson took a bit of a beating with his last picture, 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Endeavoring to generate a few surprises to make his space opera sequel stand out, Johnson ended up with a passably engaging but deeply flawed “Star Wars” adventure, and a portion of the fanbase was extremely vocal with their disappointment. He’s back with “Knives Out,” which plays like the clearing of creative pipes, moving away from Reylo and Green Milk to play a game of “Clue” with a cast of eager actors. As with every Johnson endeavor, attempts at wit are pronounced, making cutesiness the co-star of the show here, but he does have a certain hunger to reclaim filmmaking mojo, enjoying the reliability and shock value of the murder mystery genre, baking himself an Agatha Christie cake to share with like-minded folks. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Olga Kurylenko has participated in a number of action films (“Quantum of Solace,” “Centurion”), but she’s never been offered the opportunity to be the main attraction in bruiser entertainment. Kurylenko’s wish is granted with “The Courier,” which tracks a game of survival for a woman caught in a dangerous international incident. The actress is clearly the best thing in the production, displaying admirable commitment to all sorts of physical entanglements and bloody makeup. The rest of “The Courier” can’t live up to her energy level, with co-writer/director Zackary Adler stumbling with a poorly plotted endeavor that plays into most VOD cliches, including the hiring of a major actor (in this case, Gary Oldman) to stand around, bark a few lines, and collect a fat paycheck. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Lena Waithe takes on the enormity of racially charged police shootings with “Queen & Slim.” It’s a vital topic for analysis, and Waithe has all the passion in the world to bring to the material, striving to tap into the fear and frustration of being black in America these days. There’s a lot going on in the picture, which does manage to introduce interesting points about influence and power. However, while “Queen & Slim” initially gives off the impression of complexity, it quickly becomes clear that Waithe only wants to paint with primary colors while creating her portrait of social disorder. The movie can’t be dismissed for being so simplistic at times, but it’s difficult to watch the feature become afraid to challenge itself, truly finding a way to address these hostilities and maintain its flow as a film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Steadily building a career making unusual tales of survival, director Bong Joon-ho reached a new height of oddity with his last effort, the “super pig” adventure, “Okja.” Returning to reality, the helmer takes on class divide in Korea, with the haves attacked by the ingenuity of the have nots, with “Parasite” a wickedly clever chiller that provides a distinct reflection of a global society to come. However, Bong isn’t making an overtly political movie, using his sense of humor and appreciation for horror to come up with a crackerjack endeavor that’s packed with surprises. “Parasite” even rivals the superbly managed insanity of Bong’s “Snowpiercer,” trading the extremes of a dead Earth for the unnerving intimacy of a luxury home, finding a more humanized look at the damage people inflict on one another. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Chadwick Boseman has spent the last few years playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, doing his duty as T’Challa, king of Wakanda in “Black Panther” and the last two “Avengers” blockbusters. Typically drawn to playing powerful men, Boseman makes a move for the supercop genre with “21 Bridges,” which returns the actor to the realm of the real, at least this appears to be the original intent of the project. Screenwriters Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan aim to deliver a gritty police actioner, using the confines of Manhattan as a playground for agonized characters and heavy violence. What ultimately makes it to the screen isn’t as defined, with the writing lunging for any cliché it can find, while Boseman is trying to summon the presence of Sidney Poitier with his performance, only to be stuck striking poses in an incredibly limp thriller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The only person to truly appreciate the wily ways of “Synonyms” is writer/director Nadav Lapid. He’s using a cinematic space to explore the inner turmoil of a character stuck between cultures, and Lapid also provides commentary on political and military behavior as it factors into the history and future of France and Israel. There’s much to study with “Synonyms,” but Lapid has no interest in a straightforward understanding of a polluted headspace. He’s making a performance art piece with star Tom Mercier, chasing every whim to make the effort as unpredictable as possible. In that respect, the feature is an incredible success. However, without any triggering emotional involvement or showing interest in storytelling, Lapid has basically turned his therapy sessions into a two-hour experimental film, and not one that encourages viewer response. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Marketplace expectations were muted before the release of 2013’s “Frozen,” with Walt Disney Animation Studios trying to build on the success of 2010’s “Tangled” by ordering up another fairy tale musical, only with a more pronounced sense of family ties and empowerment. “Frozen” didn’t simply dominate the box office for weeks, it became a cornerstone of Disney entertainment, transformed into video games, theme park attractions, short films, toys and games, and, in 2018, a Broadway musical. The picture became an omnipresent event, with the anthem “Let It Go” becoming the most played song in the history of minivans. Now Disney wants another bite of the apple, delivering “Frozen II,” which doesn’t need to accomplish much to connect to its target demographic, but returning directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee aren’t interested in a cheery return visit to Arendelle, going darker with a sequel that’s trying to age-up with its audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the release of 2018’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary, it’s clear we’re in the midst of a “Fredaissance,” with renewed interest in the life and teachings of Fred Rogers returning to view. Solidifying such a welcome movement is “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” which isn’t a Mr. Rogers bio-pic, but a profound understanding of his mission to identify emotions and celebrate people. There’s no schmaltz here, as screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster approach the Rogers universe carefully, remaining respectful but honest about the PBS star, while showing precise attention to what turned him into a source of comfort for millions of viewers. There’s feeling flowing throughout “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” and there’s Tom Hanks, who ascends to new professional heights by playing Fred Rogers not as an icon, but a being of immense compassion and curiosity, avoiding caricature to absolutely nail the essence of a seemingly simple, but decidedly complex man. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Charlie’s Angels” has been banging around pop culture for the last 43 years, and will probably continue for another century. There’s something about the mix of female spies and costuming potential that keeps producers coming back for more, and now the brand name returns to the big screen after a 16-year-long absence, with writer/director Elizabeth Banks trying to reignite the flames of fandom with…well, “Charlie’s Angels.” It’s a new world of big missions and bad men for the Angels to conquer, and Banks is an unlikely choice to guide a mid-budget actioner. She aims for expected style and attitude, but whiffs big time with the rest of the endeavor. Instead of a rousing bruiser that pays tribute to those who’ve Angel-ed before, the production offers a wooden empowerment experience with the kind of drab cinematic chaos one might expect from the helmer of “Pitch Perfect 2.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Steven C. Miller hasn’t enjoyed the most creatively fertile career, recently managing a string of VOD projects with basically the same title (“Submerged,” “Marauders,” “Arsenal,” “First Kill”), while his last endeavor, 2018’s “Escape Plan 2: Hades,” was recently disowned by its star, Sylvester Stallone. Excitement isn’t really Miller’s specialty, but he does have an interest in violent encounters, finally connecting to a story in “Line of Duty” that demands a little more emphasis when it comes to bodily harm. Miller (not to be confused with colleague Brian A. Miller, who gifted the world “Vice,” “Backtrace,” and “Reprisal”) seems alert with “Line of Duty” (which, amazingly, doesn’t star Bruce Willis or Nicolas Cage), assembling a slightly energizing bruiser that’s heavy on the stunt work and blessedly limited in scope. It’s not a career rejuvenator, but it has a pulse, and that’s good enough to pass. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Now that 2003’s “Elf” has become a holiday classic and a merchandising behemoth, Disney has finally come around with their own version of the elf-out-of-water tale. With “Noelle,” writer/director Marc Lawrence is determined to follow the “Elf” structure, constructing a holiday odyssey where a marginalized member of the North Pole community is tasked with entering human society, experiencing all possible awkwardness and cultural collisions. Instead of Will Ferrell, Lawrence brings in Anna Kendrick, eager to use her chirpy personality to embody the Christmas spirit as it’s newly challenged by family fear and Phoenix heat. “Noelle” is harmless fluff, but it’s definitely no “Elf,” missing any sizable laughs and delightful mischief, with Lawrence missing opportunities to craft a blazing comedy, electing to make a bland one instead. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Whatever happens in “The Good Liar,” it always has the skill of master thespians Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren to support through anything the plot delivers. It turns out, the story delivers quite a bit, but the film waits patiently to unleash its bizarre turns of plot, with director Bill Condon providing a solid hour of character work and intriguing clues before he’s forced to truly attack the structure of Nicolas Searle’s book, adapted here by Jeffrey Hatcher. “The Good Liar” is about the gamesmanship of secrets, and the picture does an impressive job hiding its true form, taking things one way when it ultimately heads in a completely different direction. This curveball is too ambitious for the scope of the movie, but, again, there’s the magic of McKellen and Mirren, with the pair making the material absolutely soar at times, often more interesting than the feature they’re starring in. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Disney’s interest in creating live-action remakes of animated classics isn’t dissipating any time soon, especially after last summer’s “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” do-over collected a fortune at the box office, inspiring the company to crank out more of these problematic productions. Their latest offering is “Lady and the Tramp,” which updates the beloved 1955 original, aiming to hook a modern audience with a CGI-enhanced event that basically replicates the previous feature, but loses troubling racial stereotypes and dynamic hand-drawn artistry. While it refuses to be anything more than a copy of what’s come before, “Lady and the Tramp” plays more like a “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” sequel, presenting a lifeless adventure that doesn’t take any chances or offer much personality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Ben McPherson is trying to put his own stamp on the end of the world, with “Radioflash” examining the power of analog life when the digital universe ceases to exist. It’s not really a horror movie, but the helmer does try to inject some fright into the endeavor. It’s not exactly a thriller, but a few chases and heated showdowns remain. As a relationship picture, McPherson has something compelling with his overview of a family fighting to stay together during a troubling time. “Radioflash” wants to be a lot of things, but never really comes together, with McPherson overwhelmed by his subplots, struggling to find a story here worth following from start to finish. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While it’s been in the tabloid business since 1953, only now is a moviemaker brave enough to assemble a documentary on the ways of the National Enquirer. Mark Landsman (“Thunder Soul”) steps up to examine just how the publication came to be, tracking the rise of its influence and the depths of its reporting, presenting a film about unscrupulous behavior in a day and age when such a thing has become daily bread for us all. Mercifully, “Scandalous” comes prepared, with Landsman assembling an impressive roster of interviewees and visual evidence to help fill out what’s really a string of political and pop culture highlights, following the paper’s efforts to be valued as entertainment and as an example of journalistic integrity. The picture is a bit wobbly when it comes time to challenge these personalities, but Landsman constructs a reasonably smooth ride of outrageous events and professional exposure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director James Mangold has spent a substantial amount of time on comic book-inspired cinema in recent years, finding success with 2013’s “The Wolverine” and 2017’s “Logan,” which also represented a special kind of victory, managing to turn a hard R-rated superhero endeavor into a major hit. While “Ford v Ferrari” returns Mangold to reality, approaching the story behind the 1966 Le Mans race, it also keeps him in the realm of super-powered people, dealing with larger-than-life personalities and their roaring automobiles, communicating a sense of scale that rivals most MCU or DCEU productions. “Ford v Ferrari” isn’t built for nuance, Mangold wants a full-throttle viewing experience with broad highs and lows instead, achieving a major crowd-pleaser that’s packed with amazing actors and brought to life with extraordinary technical skill. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Paul Feig is an earnest filmmaker, often in charge of crowd-pleasing entertainment, managing broad performances, juicy themes, and general wackiness. He took a break from intentional comedy with last year’s “A Simple Favor,” trying to steady himself with a tale of murder and obsession, but he couldn’t mute his bad instincts in full, remaining in a heightened state as he toyed with camp, showing little command of genres. He’s back in big eye mode with “Last Christmas,” which merges the demands of a feel-good holiday picture and the threat of a jukebox musical, with the screenplay (credited to Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings) adapting the lyrics of Wham’s 1984 hit, “Last Christmas,” into a feature-length endeavor, also employing tunes from George Michael, even if they don’t fit the yuletide mood. Feig has his work cut out for him with such a wafer-thin concept, but he’s never one to embrace subtlety, going full gush with habitually ridiculous “Last Christmas.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In this installment of “Nicolas Cage Doesn’t Say No to Anything,” attention turns to the arrival of “Primal,” which, from the film’s marketing efforts, appears to concern Cage’s character as he does battle with a cargo ship full of wild animals secretly released from their cages by a very bad man. Oh, dear readers, if that were the actual picture, what a state of B-movie bliss we’d all be in. The screenplay by Richard Leder (“Christmas on Chestnut Street,” “A Thousand Men and a Baby”) isn’t that bonkers, not even close. Instead of pure exhilaration as the hero(?) is forced to fight for his life against the animal kingdom, the production offers a prisoner escape feature instead, spending more time with a human protagonist. There’s no zoo-gone-mad aspect to “Primal,” but, as always, there’s Cage, and he’s in peak Cage-osity here, trying to give the blandness that surrounds him some much needed thespian spice. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Joel Souza has a lot of competition when trying to mount an effective police thriller. Taking the “Training Day” route without the dramatic flourishes, the helmer offers “Crown Vic,” which takes a long look at a single evening in the lives of two cops, one a fatigued veteran while the other is an earnest newcomer to the L.A. patrol scene. Souza has a lot on his mind with the picture, tapping into current fears of overzealous, powermad police officers and their presence on volatile streets. He also wants to create a dramatic tale of professional duty as it faces impossible odds against criminals, taking a look at one man’s legal and moral crisis. “Crown Vic” isn’t involving enough as it details a range of unstable types the L.A.P.D. is forced to deal with every single day, but there are moments of inspiration, with the feature’s middle-ground when it comes to excessive force provocative enough to carry a tonally uneven endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Gift” endeavors to be a peaceful viewing experience about a turbulent issue. Director Robin McKenna takes her lead from the Lewis Hyde book, “The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World,” attempting to translate the author’s ideas from the 1980s to today’s world of increasing acts of greed and territoriality. The picture takes a look at the concept of the “gift economy,” where individuals work to provide something of value to the world without expectation of payment, working to better the community through a shared experience. “Gift” follows a handful of people around the globe as they attempt to participate in various forms of art and communication, with McKenna exploring their physical labor and psychological state as they create something out of nothing, with hopes to transform lives in different ways with their separate visions of generosity and personal expression. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com