Category: Film Review

We’ve done this before. Twice, actually. In 2004, there was “Hellboy,” with director Guillermo del Toro trying to bring the comic book world of Mike Mignola to the big screen, casting Ron Perlman as the big red hero, struggling to bring idiosyncratic material through the Hollywood studio system. Box office wasn’t bananas, but it was enough to inspire 2008’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” which provided a marked improvement for del Toro’s vision, finding balance between his fantasy itches and the demands of a PG-13 summer sequel. Again, box office wasn’t great, and finally, it wasn’t enough. Instead of betting on del Toro/Perlman for another round of monster fighting, producers are now restarting the franchise, issuing “Hellboy,” which gives David Harbour a chance to portray the titular character, with helmer duties going to Neil Marshall (“The Descent,” “Centurion”), who’s been tasked with taking the series into R-rated extremes of violence to properly match Hellboy to his ink and paint origins. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Writer/director Alex Ross Perry specializes in off-beat character examinations, and he’s done depressive downfall with actress Elisabeth Moss before, in 2015’s “Queen of Earth.” Their collaboration was powerful then and remains vibrantly poisonous in “Her Smell,” with Perry taking his fixation with mental illness to the alternative rock realm, dialing back the clock to the mid-1990s to examine the complete and utter erosion of a music star. Perry doesn’t pull punches here, creating a deep sea dive into madness, with Moss going for broke in a turn that runs exclusively on pain and shame. “Her Smell” demands an audience with enough strength to remain in the vortex of a nervous breakdown for 135 minutes, and those with the proper preparation are rewarded with a raw, often thrilling display of behavioral excess. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1988, there was “Big,” and it was delightful. A fine offering of gentle comedy concerning the magical transformation of a boy into a man’s body, “Big” was sweet, hilarious, and featured one of Tom Hanks’s finest performances in director Penny Marshall’s best film. In 2019, there’s “Little,” which isn’t classified as a remake of “Big,” but let’s not dismiss the lawyers just yet. Here, the magical transformation turns a mean thirtysomething woman into her 14-year-old self. It’s meant to be a comedy with a healthy dose of heart, but it’s also uncomfortably scattershot and ill-defined when it comes to an actual sense of humor. The actors seem to be having a good time, which is perhaps enough to entertain, but actual creative effort is lacking in “Little,” which simply doesn’t have much to share with its audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Terry Gilliam has been dreaming of making “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” for 30 years, craving the chance to bring Miguel de Cervantes’s novel to the big screen. Famously, in 2000, Gilliam almost managed to make such a miracle happen, with stars Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp joining forces to give the helmer’s unusual vision dramatic life. However, a disaster ensued, with schedules, location problems, and actor unreliability shutting down the shoot, crushing Gilliam’s plans to make one of his weirdest movies to date (the experience was chronicled in the 2002 documentary, “Lost in La Mancha”). The project was left for dead, branded cursed, but such toxicity didn’t bother Gilliam, who remained obsessed with the material, emerging in 2019 with a completed interpretation of “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” finally freeing himself from the burden of having to prove himself. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Charm is a big asset to “Ladies in Black,” which is an adaptation of a 1993 novel by Madeleine St. John. Co-writer/director Bruce Beresford is smart to keep the feature as appealing as it can be, using brightness of spirit to combat some peculiar turns of plot and sketchy romantic ideals. It’s a tale of personal growth set inside a Sydney department store during the 1959 holiday season, and while initial scenes give off a distinct “Mr. Selfridge” vibe of daily commerce and employee troublemaking, Beresford doesn’t head in an overly melodramatic direction, finding a comfortable balance of predictability and oddity. “Ladies in Black” doesn’t aim to overwhelm, and it achieves most of the small goals it sets for itself, doing period Australia with interest in character desires and future plans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

“The Best of Enemies” has the best intentions in the world to communicate something basic about the human experience. It’s here to heal, showcasing an unlikely thawing of hostilities between a Ku Klux Klan leader and a black activist in North Carolina during the summer of 1971. The connection is inspiring, but the movie is not. Writer/director Robin Bissell takes the true story of C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater’s meeting and pours on the syrup, making a distinct effort to avoid as much real-world grit and emotion as possible to create something huggable, which is the wrong path to take for a tale concerning institutionalized racism and community violence. “The Best of Enemies” endeavors to stay warm and approachable, but it ends up insulting, with Bissell doing his best to keep the story as cartoonish as possible. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Emilio Estevez doesn’t make many movies these days, but when he does, he’s looking for material that examines the human experience, braiding social and personal issues into fascinating character studies, with his last two efforts, 2010’s “The Way” and 2006’s “Bobby,” achieving a sense of illumination through acts of contemplation and understanding. He’s never been too preachy with his work, and once again touches on community concerns with “The Public,” which addresses the role of the library as a place of research and education, while such safe spaces are being increasingly used as shelter facilities for the homeless and the mentally ill. As with “Bobby,” “The Public” is an ensemble piece, and a frequently terrific one, placing attention on a growing issue in urban areas, and it works as a drama highlighting the concerns of many while situated in a single, and unusual, location. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

30 years ago, there was “Pet Sematary,” the first attempt to bring Stephen King’s popular 1983 novel to the screen. The picture was a success, offering audiences a wacko take on death and resurrection, with director Mary Lambert leaning into the perversity of it all, striving to find the nightmare of loss at the core of King’s work. It’s amazing that it’s taken this long for Hollywood to try their luck with the material again (let’s pretend a 1992 sequel never happened), with “Pet Sematary” a second adaptation that tries to distinguish itself by changing certain elements of the plot, hoping to refresh known events for hardcore fans. While the ’89 effort had its issues, the ’19 take is uncomfortably flat and unadventurous when it comes to the madness of Ludlow, Maine, with directors Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (“Starry Eyes”) playing it safe with “Pet Sematary,” going more for slasher atmosphere than utter psychological ruin. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Julian Fellowes was able to conquer television with six years of “Downton Abbey,” guiding the hit show through creative ups and downs, maintaining a loyal audience who remained with the series for its colorful characterizations, wish-fulfillment aspects of posh life, and period setting, with the 1920s the primary years of inspection. It seems Fellowes doesn’t exactly want to leave such success behind, with “The Chaperone” returning the writer to the Jazz Age, only this time bringing focus to America, highlighting the development of future film star Louise Brooks as she enjoys her first taste of popularity during a key trip to New York City. Fellowes even brings in “Downton Abbey” vet Elizabeth McGovern to star in the picture, which inspires one of the best performances from the actress, who really digs in deep here while the rest of “The Chaperone” isn’t all that committed to emotional depth. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After winning an Academy Award for her performance in 2015’s “Room,” Brie Larson was suddenly faced with a career that could go anywhere. And it did, in a way, with the actress participating in heavy dramas (“The Glass Castle”), violent weirdness (“Free Fire”), and blockbusters (“Kong: Skull Island”). However, right before she embarked on her Marvel Cinematic Universe mission with the stunning success of March’s “Captain Marvel,” Larson decided to mount her own directorial debut, taking command of “Unicorn Store,” a quirky, searching fantasy from writer Samantha McIntyre. Larson showcases a cinematic vision with the endeavor, which delivers color and attention to personality on a limited budget, and while “Unicorn Store” doesn’t make it all the way to the finish line, it’s a promising offering of contorted whimsy from Larson, who clearly shows skill behind the camera and interest in creating strange little worlds. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two months ago, writer/director Daniel Farrands revisited the true crime tale of Ronald DeFeo Jr., hoping to squeeze a little more misery out of “The Amityville Horror” franchise with “The Amityville Murders.” It was a dud, but a strange one, turning to the supernatural as a way to explain mental illness and moral dissolve, with Farrands attempting to make a ghost story in a way, with hopes to approach well-worn material from a different, fictional perspective. Feeling good about his creative choices, Farrands does the same thing for the Tate Murders, reimagining a mass murder as some type of elongated descent into nightmares and premonitions, depicting Sharon Tate as somewhat aware of her horrible fate. Distasteful doesn’t even begin to describe “The Haunting of Sharon Tate,” with Farrands going the B-movie route with a delicate situation of death, toying with the details of the case to manufacture yet another crime tale situated deep in the cartoony unknown. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The 2019 political climate being what it is, who really needs a documentary on the life and times of Stephen Bannon? The hasty answer is no one, but director Alison Klayman (“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”) appears to understand the difficult position she’s in with this subject and this year, putting in a concentrated effort to dial down the filth and the fury when it comes to the man who claims he was the singular reason why Donald Trump won the 2016 Unites States presidential election. “The Brink” isn’t an easy sell to either side of the political spectrum, but it’s an engrossing documentary about a controversial figure who knows he’s a controversial figure. Klayman slips behind the subject’s defense mechanisms and spotlights his casual personality, which helps to understand his professional behavior, and that alone is a reason to remain with the picture as it tracks Bannon’s last two years of campaigning activity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For “Division 19,” writer/director S.A. Halewood tries to extrapolate out current woes with celebrity and surveillance, taking viewers to the futureworld of 2039, where, according to the opening of the film, anonymity is a crime. We’re immersed in a society where everything is available for study, with consent or not, making daily life a commitment to voyeurism, which has turned into the national pastime. Halewood doesn’t go cute with the material, imagining a bleak community of submissive people and the rebellion that’s taking shape in the shadows. She has plenty there for a reasonably engrossing examination of government-branded consumerism and class divide, but “Division 19” doesn’t carry enough screen energy to bring such condemnation over the top. While primed for action, the feature isn’t interested in a visceral display of revolutionary interests, remaining talky with lukewarm dramatics. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

In the 1990s, writer/director Harmony Korine was an appealing disaster, feeling out the far reaches of his imagination to summon depictions of poverty, cruelty, and poetry, making arresting indie film messes. With 2012’s “Spring Breakers,” Korine made something nobody, including the helmer, saw coming: a hit movie. While failing to grow out of his mischievous urges, Korine crafted a polished picture for a change, taking in the wonders of Florida through the eyes of deranged and broken people. It was sun-drenched burlesque and borderline insufferable, but it found an audience, with “Spring Breakers” the career boost Korine was waiting for. So, how does he follow up his only profitable venture? By doing it all over again. “The Beach Bum” isn’t a sequel to his previous endeavor, but it’s close enough, this time highlighting Matthew McConaughey in Florida-funk mode, and the actor seems to adore this ride to nowhere, having a ball smoking weed and fondling extras while Korine pretends he’s making some sort of comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

While he doesn’t make audience-friendly movies, writer/director S. Craig Zahler has managed to find his footing as a filmmaker. The man adores meaty male characters, preferably chewing on hard-boiled dialogue, and his latest, “Dragged Across Concrete,” delivers true submersion into neo-noir atmosphere, with sharp, cruel violence erupting periodically. While it’s not as precise as “Bone Tomahawk” and “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “Dragged Across Concrete” does retain Zahler’s fascination with blunt force trauma and the sacrifice of characters who put themselves in harm’s way. It’s accomplished work from the developing helmer, and while Zahler gets a little crazy with a 160 minute run time, he does find ways to fill it, bringing in stars Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson to guide the viewing experience with steely, verbose performances to support an extended journey into criminal behavior. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

There hasn’t been a new “Critters” adventure since the release of “Critters 4” all the way back in 1992. It’s a mini-monster franchise that weirdly hasn’t been touched over the decades, with a devoted fanbase left with little to enjoy beside the original films, and even those are problematic, with the quality of the last two installments nowhere near the B-movie delights of the first two chapters. Coming out of the blue is “Critters: A New Binge,” which isn’t a feature, but a streaming series consisting of eight mini-episodes (most clocking in under 10 minutes) meant to reintroduce the skin-tearing mischief of the Crites to the faithful and possibly make new fans along the way, with co-writer/director Jordan Rubin (“Zombeavers”) tasked with updating the showdown between an intergalactic menace and hapless humans, working to add fresh challenges to help kickstart a new franchise direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the success of last December’s “Aquaman,” D.C. Entertainment continues the general brightening of the DC Extended Universe with “Shazam.” The character (also known as Captain Marvel, though not anymore for obvious reasons) dates back to 1939, with a movie serial from 1941 exploring the magic powers of Billy Batson and his special incantation, but the superhero hasn’t been explored much since, making this major motion picture the first blockbuster-style rendering of a character who doesn’t lend itself easily to cinematic storytelling. “Shazam” arrives with a big spirit and an impish sense of humor, but it’s an unwieldy feature, with director David F. Sandberg (“Lights Out,” “Annabelle: Creation”) mismanaging tone as “Shazam” swings from silly business to mass murder. While loaded with good intentions, it’s an overlong, underwritten film with casting issues, giving Shazam a rocky introduction to the big screen world of costumed heroism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a way, we have Tim Burton to thank for the current state of Disney business. The eccentric helmer elected to bring his wilder visions for fantasy entertainment to the company when they decided to transform their animated classic, “Alice in Wonderland,” into a live-action epic, trusting in Burton’s ability to conjure enough oddity to make the experiment interesting. The film was a dreary mess, but it connected with audiences, grossing a billion dollars worldwide, giving Disney the green light for additional live-action translations, including “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Jungle Book.” “Dumbo” is the latest hand-animated gem to be reworked, and the first of three productions the studio has planned for the year. Burton, needing a career boost, returns to duty with his take on the famous flying elephant, once again prizing style over substance, but here the visuals are amazing, almost making the bloated, oppressive viewing experience worth enduring. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many film and television projects covering the exploits of the outlaw couple, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Most famously in Arthur Penn’s 1967 picture, “Bonnie and Clyde,” and most recently in similarly titled 2013 television mini-series. There’s no shortage of interpretations and overviews of the duo’s criminal and romantic entanglements, but screenwriter John Fusco (“Young Guns,” “Hidalgo”) endeavors to provide a different perspective on the situation, exploring the manhunt that stretched across states and eventually brought the pair’s violent reign to a close. “The Highwaymen” tells the story of such dogged pursuit, inspecting the efforts of Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, two senior Texas Rangers, as they experience a return to the field and a reunion with death, urged to reexamine their past as they fight to prevent future loss of life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While her taste in scripts leaves a little to be desired, it’s promising to watch Olivia Wilde participate in off-beat productions to vary her resume, making a clear effort to distance herself from simplified roles that require little from her. With “A Vigilante,” Wilde goes to the dark places within to portray a woman who’s been mentally shattered by domestic violence, channeling that rage to provide help for those who can’t fight for themselves. The role demands a lot from the thespian, who clearly relishes the chance to play raw emotions and blunt physicality. “A Vigilante” isn’t quite the bravely unhinged picture it initially appears to be, but Wilde turns in one of the best performances of her career, providing a reason to remain with Sara Dagger-Nickson’s screenplay, which veers from an unnerving understanding of true fear to something close to wish-fulfillment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com