Category: Film Review

Olivia Wilde is looking to expand her career, taking control of her professional future with a move behind the camera for “Booksmart,” her directorial debut. While she’s been growing as a performer, taking a few interesting risks, Wilde seems most comfortable as a helmer, displaying thrilling confidence with her first feature, which takes on the teen sex romp subgenre and finds ways to disrupt expectations and deliver a clear vision for companionship. It’s a buddy comedy that contains a lot of laughs, but Wilde isn’t completely focused on the jokes, instead working with the screenwriters (Katie Silberman, Sarah Haskins, Emily Halpern, and Susanna Fogel) to deliver stronger characters to best support episodic shenanigans, largely avoiding the grimly vulgar nonsense these types of pictures are known for. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For the second installment of Disney’s Year of Animated Remakes, there’s “Aladdin,” which is a live-action reworking of one of the company’s finest animated offerings, with the 1992 picture filled with heart, humor, and wonderful songs. Following in the footsteps of March’s “Dumbo,” the new release tries very hard to downplay cartoon whimsy and fluidity to become yet another underwhelming, CGI-shellacked event, taking audiences to a version of Agrabah that doesn’t look or sound quite right. Director Guy Ritchie (who co-scripts with John August) has the unenviable task of turning something joyous and relatively simple into an epic summertime blockbuster, continuing his recent big-budget career freefall (following duds “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”) with yet another hollow viewing experience devoid of real magic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” is a highly bizarre picture, and this type of strangeness always has the potential to dissolve in the filmmaker’s hands, requiring someone committed to weirdness without permitting the movie to be dominated by eccentricity. The feature is based on a novel by Shirley Jackson, and screenwriter Mark Kruger makes a specific effort to retain as much literary flavor as possible, organizing curious characters and their fried minds as they interact in tight spaces, inspect the depths of dysfunction. Director Stacie Passon (previously reaching screens with the unusual “Concussion”) miraculously maintains control of tone and threat, giving “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” an intriguing atmosphere, joining Kruger to examine insanity and not lose concentration on the storytelling essentials along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As 2019 becomes the year of Charles Manson and the revival of interest in all the chaos he created, “Charlie Says” (the second of three movies about the man this year) makes an effort to move away from some of the famous imagery and characterization that usually inhabits tales about the cult leader. The focus here is on the women in his life, with special attention on the ways of Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins. Reteaming after their collaborations on “American Psycho” and “The Notorious Bettie Page,” director Mary Harron and screenwriter Guinevere Turner endeavor to humanize those involved in barbaric crimes, striving to understand the brainwashed drive of three women who were caught up in something they didn’t completely understand, chasing emotional needs to macabre extremes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The director of “The Girl from Paris” and “Joyeux Noel,” Christian Carion sets up a story of a strange kidnapping for “My Son.” A French production, nothing is immediately clear in the tale (scripted by Carion and Laure Irrmann), which blends the terror of sudden loss and the weight of guilt with those forced to deal with such a horrific invasion. While the nightmare seems to lean toward the bitterness of domestic resentment, Carion has something more visceral in mind, keeping away from a somber Euro analysis of pain to become a thriller of sorts, gifting star Guillaume Canet is own chance to perform in a “Taken”-lite actioner. “My Son” is tense and twisty, and it doesn’t mess around with melodrama, with Carion most interested in feral responses to an unthinkable situation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Scott Adkins has amassed a considerable amount of acting credits during his career, but it’s difficult to tell if he’s been truly challenged by any of these roles. He’s played a henchman, a terrorist, a ninja, and more henchmen, basically permitted to perform in movies that require more physical movement than dramatic depth. “Avengement” is definitely a violent endeavor, and there’s plenty of Adkins action where the star is often stuck in a room with multiple baddies, forced to bash his way out of some deadly situations. However, beyond the bloody knuckles is a performance, and one that single-handedly supports “Avengement,” giving it the grit and groan it requires to register as something more than a mindless distraction. Co-writer/director Jesse V. Johnson tries to execute some storytelling gymnastics along the way, but Adkins is the foundation here, delivering perhaps the best performance of his career. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Funny Story” is a very small movie about rather large emotions. Screenwriters Steve Greene and Michael J. Gallagher (who also directs) initially establish a slight Woody Allen-esque vibe to the piece, playing light with relationship woes and uncomfortable pairings, but there’s a serious side to the material as well, and when it hits, it hits hard. Thankfully, before characters elect to bring the pain, there’s playfulness to the feature that’s enjoyable, with star Matthew Glave delivering a performance of effortless charm and sharp timing, giving “Funny Story” a pleasant attitude before it grows completely dark, and at the very last minute too. It radiates film festival catnip, but the picture stands on its own, paying attention to wounded people and their habitual interest in making mistakes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The genuine surprise of 2014’s “John Wick” led to the equally surprising “John Wick: Chapter 2,” which was the rare sequel to understand what made the original offering tick, electing to develop its strengths while gracefully expanding an assassin universe merely teased in the previous installment. The adrenaline rush should be weakening at this point, but nobody told that to director Chad Stahelski, who returns to active duty with “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” keeping up the good fight with an enchantingly chaotic second sequel that’s ready to deliver the battered and shattered goods once again, only this time there’s a distinct plan to move forward with the series instead of banging around from one sequel to the next. Keanu Reeves as John Wick. There’s not much more one needs from the saga at this point, but “Chapter 3” has plenty of eye-opening moments featuring blunt force trauma, and while Stahelski has some difficulty knowing when to cry uncle, he’s more than ready to showcase an exquisite display of stunt work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

They combined forces on comic book pages, and now they’re set to conquer animation. “Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” brings together two beloved superhero properties, though with wildly disparate backgrounds and standings in pop culture history. Screenwriter Marly Halpern-Graser completely understands the assignment and does a terrific job uniting Batman and the Turtles to face a common foe. A few of them, actually. Action-packed and humorous without being excessively goofy, “Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” does really well within budget animation standards, with director Jake Castorena presenting a stylized, PG-13 extravaganza that’s peppered with enjoyable characters and major showdowns, giving fans the breezy, bruising sit they’ve been waiting for. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

David Dastmalchian makes his feature-length writing debut with “All Creatures Here Below,” and the actor makes a leap to take control of his career as a character actor, scripting himself a leading role in this downbeat drama. Taking inspiration from Terrence Malick and John Steinbeck, Dastmalchian and director Collin Schiffli present an American story of poverty and travel, trying to find the humanity in pure survival and denial. This is a not a cheery tale of misbegotten liberation, it’s something far grittier and troubling yet impressively managed by the production, which manages to find poetry within a dire living experience. Dastmalchian isn’t afraid to go to dark spaces with the material, but his attention to character behavior cuts through any bleakness, getting to know the personalities presented with unsettling intimacy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a long time since Johnny Depp played a normal human being. Perhaps he’s never played a role perfectly straight, at least since megafame arrived to claim his everyman appeal. “The Professor” provides the most earthbound Depp performance in a very long time, but that doesn’t mean the actor is ready to holster all his thespian quirks. Instead of Depp losing contact with reality to entertain himself, he’s challenged to play a man facing the end of his life, with all sorts of sobering feelings triggered after such a revelation. It’s not an easy turn for anyone, but Depp makes an attempt to dial down his eccentricities for writer/director Wayne Kramer, working hard to follow the helmer’s often bizarre tonal journey that begins with laughs and tries to end with tears, only most of the emotion doesn’t track as clearly as it should, periodically inspiring Depp to manufacture his own version of the movie with expected exaggeration. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2017’s “A Dog’s Purpose” had the advantage of being based on a popular novel by W. Bruce Cameron, giving fans a chance to see the book translated for the big screen. Schmaltz was piled high and its sense of humor was dismal, but “A Dog’s Purpose” found its audience, becoming a hit film. And with any box office success comes a sequel, following Cameron’s lead with “A Dog’s Journey,” which is also based on his work, continuing the adventures of Bailey, the canine who loves to die. While the first feature tried to shoehorn existential consideration into a picture that was mainly about extracting tears and arranging poop jokes, “A Dog’s Journey” doesn’t put in the same effort, eschewing deep thoughts to become a tired melodrama, playing like a Tyler Perry movie, but with dogs. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Edward Zwick has made a few terrific features during his lengthy career (including “Legends of the Fall” and “Glory”), but in recent years, he’s lacked the ability to find decent project, dealing primarily with duds such as “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” and “Love & Other Drugs.” “Trial by Fire” represents Zwick’s effort to get his moviemaking mojo back, turning to the reliably of message-minded cinema for inspiration. The subject here is the death penalty, which has been examined in many pictures, and “Trial by Fire” doesn’t seem to recognize this reality, going through the motions when it comes to unlikely connections and persistent doubt, while the screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher heads to extreme manipulation to squeeze some suspense out of what’s a surprisingly uneventful film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After struggling to find their footing with their remake of the French chiller, “Martyrs,” directors Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz aim to bring a more American crisis to life with “A Violent Separation,” which sorts through family hostilities and murder in a rural southern location. The setting is familiar but always has potential, and screenwriter Michael Arkof has a vision to braid together domestic issues and resentments, aiming for a grand sweep of simmering hostilities. “A Violent Separation” doesn’t meet all its creative goals, but the helmers do try to manufacture gut-rot acts of guilt and maintain a mood of paranoia, with hopes to get the feature up to speed as something suspenseful and meaningful when it comes to the ties that bind. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

While dabbling in television direction, Amy Poehler makes her feature-length helming debut with “Wine Country,” and it’s amazing how long it’s taken her to make the career leap. To help cushion the experience, Poehler has stacked the cast with friends and frequent collaborators, trying to give the effort a lived-in feel to best support the material, which examines the anxious highs and lows of a 50th birthday party weekend in Napa Valley, California. Joined by screenwriters Liza Cackowski and Emily Spivey, Poehler guides a pleasingly scattered production, merging her skills with casual comedy with tales of tattered bonding, unleashing incredibly talented people on a production that welcomes shenanigans. There’s room for sobering realities, but “Wine Country” mostly remains silly and quite funny, with Poehler happy to let her cast run wild with emotional mood swings. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It feels uncomfortable to criticize “Poms” for its many filmmaking issues. It’s a harmless picture that’s meant to inspire an older audience commonly unrepresented in mainstream releases, presenting them with mildness all around. However, such vanilla interests fail to sustain the viewing experience, with the feature playing like a basic cable production, showing no interest in amplifying jokes or developing compelling obstacles for characters who could use a little more in the way of personal and athletic challenges. “Poms” is made for a specific audience, but that crowd deserves a little better than this movie, which has the potential to tear off into a proper farce, only to be more comfortable as a saccharine, predictable underdog story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Third time’s the charm? Not in the case of “The Hustle,” which is a remake of 1988’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” which was a remake of 1964’s “Bedtime Story.” The tale of two con artists and their special way with manic swindling is certainly ripe for a periodic reworking, and the new film delivers an update with a female point of view, turning to Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson to play parts previously worked over by Michael Caine, Steve Martin, Marlon Brando, and David Niven. The shake-up is necessary, but Jac Schaeffer’s screenplay isn’t adventurous, playing the do-over game by reviving scenes from the earlier features, unwilling to color outside the lines with a premise that could do with a change in scenery and plotting. If you’ve seen “Bedtime Story” or “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” you’ve seen “The Hustle,” only the newest version is least effective, least refined version of the tale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

The world of “Pokemon” has been around since 1996. However, its true popularity has always been a mystery, finding the fanbase treating the brand as a secret code (at least in America), permitting its producers to make a fortune without the burden of overexposure, with the last wave of “Pokemon” mania hitting in 2016, after the release of a beloved augmented reality game. The source material has been turned into movies before, plenty of them, but they’ve been animated, some very cheaply too. Now comes “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu,” which brings the characters and their battles to the big screen with a large budget and the participation of U.S. actors, giving this universe its first real test of global appeal since the late 1990s. People seem to love “Pokemon,” and “Detected Pikachu” tries to be respectful of such adoration, blending fan service with blockbuster intentions, coming up with a feature that’s enjoyable, but only when it takes matters seriously. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Tapping in the social issue zeitgeist, “Working Woman” takes a very potent look at the state of sexual harassment in the workplace. It’s an Israeli production from co-writer/director Michal Aviad, who uses brief moments of personal invasion to create an overall view of horror, approaching the subject from an achingly human point of view. “Working Woman” isn’t a message movie or a melodrama, but an unsettlingly realistic assessment of shame and confusion, examining how a spirit is diminished, and nearly destroyed, by unprofessional and criminal actions. While small in scale and deeply internalized, the feature is tremendously powerful and frightening, skipping hysterics to cut to the core of the hot button issue. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It was difficult enough to bring “The Lord of the Rings” saga to the screen, and now movie producers seek out the source of all the fantasy magic with “Tolkien,” which serves as a bio-pic of the famed Middle-Earth creator, J.R.R. Tolkien. Instead of returning to the depth of fantasy that turned the Englishman into a household name, “Tolkien” tries to remain an emotional event, studying how small ideas from a brilliant mind develop into iconic pages filled with creatures, quests, and harrowing acts of survival. The production can’t fit in everything and it shows, but the feature remains powerful in parts, with actor Nicholas Hoult doing a superb job pulling out the inner life of the author, giving much more than a simple understanding of creative influences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com