Category: Film Review

While "The Divine Order" shares a story of gender discrimination, misogyny, and marital woes, it's almost refreshing to find the tale taking place in Switzerland, avoiding American hostilities for once. The change in location is most welcome, with writer/director Petra Biondina Volpe examining the pains of womanhood from a different perspective, and while American influence remains, the screenplay showcases a distinct cultural fingerprint as it details the jail sentence of being a woman in 1971. "The Divine Order" has its melodramatic urges, but it's an excellent overview of personal need with sharply defined characters, returning to an era of global change with a few details that mirror today's social turbulence. Volpe taps into the zeitgeist and shares a period saga of equality, creating a picture that's essential viewing for those interested in a wider perspective on feminist challenges. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

“Sorry to Bother You” marks the feature-length directorial debut for musician Boots Riley and, for this grand occasion, he’s elected to construct a picture that’s often defies description. Imagine if Mike Judge and Michel Gondry joined forces to make a Spike Lee Joint, and that’s part of the experience watching “Sorry to Bother You.” It’s a unique vision of the world as it exists today, using wit and blunt force to comment on racism, greed, and powerlessness, but it’s also a silly movie for the first half, with Riley showcasing surprising chops with absurdity, trying his best to undermine expectations as the story begins to reveal layers of insanity. It’s not an especially tight creation, but Riley’s enthusiasm for his big moment is understandable, on a mission to go crazy with his first film, with hopes to make a lasting impression on the audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

For his third release in the last seven months, Dwayne Johnson once again portrays a mighty hero up against impossible odds. There was the video game world of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” and the…video game world of “Rampage,” but “Skyscraper” aims to be a more traditional offering of search and rescue, mashing together elements from “Die Hard” and “The Towering Inferno” to make a modern blockbuster, with gobs of tech tossed into the fiery chaos. Writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Central Intelligence”) keeps his influences close, but doesn’t learn much from them, manufacturing a flat, routine Rock-against-‘em-all thriller that’s big on CGI spectacle but very limited when it comes to the creation of true heart-stopping sequences. Other films have done what “Skyscraper” is doing, and they’ve done it better, rendering the feature numbing instead of nail-biting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The poster art for “Siberia” displays star Keanu Reeves with a shotgun, looking mournfully at the ground, as though he’s about to unleash complete hell on those who’ve wronged him. In a post-“John Wick” world, this is how all of Reeves’s movies are going to be sold to audiences, but it’s important to note that his new film is almost nothing like his old ones. Screenwriter Scott B. Smith doesn’t care much about overt violence, and revenge is hardly the motivation for the story. In reality, Smith goes the opposite direction, trying to unearth a love story in the midst of freezing locations and games of suspicion. “Siberia” is aiming to be noir-ish and contemplative, but it’s uncomfortably muddled most of the time, finding Smith trying to reach for a special mood of psychological disturbance, while director Matthew Ross struggles to locate any sign of life. Another “John Wick” this feature most certainly isn’t.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Eugene Jarecki is concerned about America. He’s the documentarian behind “Why We Fight,” “Reagan,” and “The Trials of Henry Kissinger,” making him a filmmaker who’s not afraid to dig into politics to inspire his work, often concentrating on the evolution of the country as it marches from perceived glory into gray areas of conduct, possibly leading to its permanent downfall. For “The King,” Jarecki tries out a more lighthearted way to explore American divide, acquiring a 1963 Rolls Royce once owned by Elvis Presley, using the aged automobile to travel around the nation, visiting cities important to the icon’s legacy while interviewing fans, friends, and musicians in the back seat. The result is a complete mess of a movie, but one that’s fascinating to watch for most of its run time, with Jarecki managing to capture the sweep of the country and its internal ache, only to let the picture’s gelatinous structure wear it down more often than not.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Jody Hill returns to feature-length moviemaking with “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter,” finally following up his 2009 dark comedy, “Observe and Report.” Hill’s been involved with television for the last decade, guiding such shows as “Eastbound & Down” and “Vice Principals,” where he’s masterminded all kinds of craziness, often with collaborator Danny McBride. With “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer,” Hill softens some to examine the troubled mind of a divorced dad trying to making a lasting impression on his son, creating a parody of basic cable hunting shows while attempting to show a degree of serious with emotional ruin. Comedy is here, but not always a priority to Hill, who’s aiming for more of a character study than a laugh riot, and this picture doesn’t benefit from a general muting of silliness.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Having Shana Feste in charge of “Boundaries” is initially unsettling. The writer/director hasn’t inspired confidence with her previous endeavors, making messes out of “Country Strong” and the “Endless Love” remake, and “Boundaries” isn’t material that initially appears headed in the right direction, working with dysfunctional family and disoriented single mom cliches. It comes as a surprise that the picture works as well as it does, but Feste is smart about casting, giving a pro in Vera Farmiga and a legend in Christopher Plummer a chance to buddy up for this road dramedy, which takes a look at the frayed ties that bind. It’s the best thing Feste has made to date, which isn’t saying much, but she shows newfound interest in emotional authenticity here, giving sitcom material a few deeper grooves of interesting behavior.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Rob Reiner has always been a political person, but his passion for world events and Washington D.C. activities has taken over his career as a filmmaker over the last year. Eight months ago, there was “LBJ,” a study of the 36th President of the United States. And now there’s “Shock and Awe,” which also examines a presidency, only this time from the perspective of journalists searching for proof that the man in charge is a liar. Reuniting with “LBJ” screenwriter Joey Hartstone and star Woody Harrelson, Reiner attempts to craft his own “All the President’s Men” with “Shock and Awe,” which takes a look at the invasion of Iraq after 9/11, highlighting the struggle of reporters tasked with understanding presidential motivation, making connections between military preparation and the politicians pulling the strings.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Kings” is a movie that has a time, place, and talent to bring unusual perspective to the 1992 L.A. Riots. And yet, writer/director Deniz Gamze Erguven doesn’t have anything to say with the feature, which thrives on chaos, not drama. Erguven made a remarkable impression a few years back with the French film “Mustangs,” but she has no vision here, adding clumps of urban distress, social outrage, and racial hostility to a tale of domestic unrest, while the actual riots barely factor into the picture. “Kings” is a mess, edited with a butter knife and emotionally constipated, with Erguven giving up on a focal point as she mashes together subplots, hoping that this weird combination of sobering reality and light comedy will somehow gel on its own.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Franchise fatigue is a very real issue with animated features, finding certain productions struggling to dream up something worthwhile to keep up monetary interests and, more often than not, the best ideas have already been used up. Originality isn’t an issue for “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” as the previous two installments haven’t been all that inspired to begin with, giving the screenplay free reign to do anything it needs to do to keep the characters busy for 90 minutes. For returning director Genndy Tartakovsky, “Hotel Transylvania 3” is a shot to purge all his cartoon reverence into an unlikely second sequel, cranking up the silliness and general rubbery nonsense to point where the actual plot gets in his way. Tartakovsky is making this one for himself, folks, and while he’s attentive to expectations (don’t worry, there are fart jokes), he’s also going bananas with previously unseen scale and manic animation, making the endeavor the best of the series just by sheer energy alone. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

With the success of “The Purge” and its sequels, there’s clearly an audience for dystopic visions of the near-future, where a world teetering on the edge of chaos finally plunges into darkness. Writer/director Mike P. Ryan sets up to the plate with “The Domestics,” his take on end-of-civilization horrors, and, unlike “The Purge,” he seems to understand the need for pace and performance when feeling out the edges of inhumanity. It also helps to have an unusual setting, with “The Domestics” a “Mad Max” riff that crosses Wisconsin, finding Hell on Earth in Midwestern surroundings. Ryan has fresh ideas and rhythm to go with his cinematic tributes, with the film also taking notes from “The Warriors,” setting up a chase picture that’s heavy on barbarity and oddity, and smart enough to only take a few pit stops as Ryan arranges apocalyptic violence and bits of dark humor.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Ideal Home” brings writer/director Andrew Fleming back to screens after some time away, last seen with 2014’s disappointing “Barefoot.” Fleming was once a promising filmmaker with a string of creative successes in “Threesome,” “The Craft,” and “Dick,” but he lost his vision along the way, getting stuck with underwhelming fare such as “Hamlet 2” and an ill-advised remake of “The In-Laws.” The good news is that Fleming is back on solid ground with his latest endeavor, and it’s one from the heart, taking a comedic look at gay parenting in “Ideal Home,” which does an impressive job riding the line between camp and syrup. It’s a silly picture, which helps to extract a good number of laughs, but the effort also gives Fleming some much needed inspiration, finding his helming mojo with a very funny movie.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director James DeMonaco ran out of macabre ideas with 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year,” taking matters to their natural conclusion by serving up the same style of carnage as the previous two chapters, while somehow encouraging the worst acting the series has ever produced. With nowhere to go, DeMonaco now pulls a prequel out of his back pocket, which provides a chance to refresh a moldy premise for future sequels, keeping the low-budget mayhem going for another two years. “The First Purge” isn’t here to provide answers or even properly set up the cruel American order that’s established the free-for-all murder night. It’s simply DeMonaco making yet another terrible exploitation movie, only now he fully exposes TrumpWorld touches that were teased in the last installment, turning alleged subtext into finger-painting to fully pander to the target audience.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Released in 2015, “Ant-Man” was a slight gamble for Marvel Studios, who were trying to branch out beyond the traditional roster of superheroes, tinkering with tone to see what the fansbase could handle while still moving forward with their grand plans of “Avengers”-sized war zones. Directed by Peyton Reed, “Ant-Man” found its audience, and one that was in the mood for something sillier to pair with extensive visual effects, creating a wackier viewing experience that was still attentive to blockbuster expectations, even while it dealt with the miniature universe, even entering the forbidden Quantum Realm. After appearing in “Captain America: Civil War,” Ant-Man returns to his own series with “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” which tries to replicate the mix of laughs and spectacle found three years ago, often contorting itself in awkward positions to do so. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Released in 2015, “Sicario” used U.S./Mexico border issues to inspire a thriller about service and revenge, with screenwriter Taylor Sheridan using the gray areas of conduct involving the war on drugs to create a feature that studied nihilism as it constructed taut scenes of suspense. It worked due to creative efforts from Sheridan, director Denis Villeneuve, and cinematographer Roger Deakins, managing to become a small-scale hit in a difficult marketplace, attracting a sophisticated audience in the mood for a grim but effective chiller. The world didn’t need a “Sicario” sequel, but now there’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” which isn’t just a follow-up, but a cinematic foundation poured for a new franchise of border-hopping adventures featuring leathered characters and twisted moral cores. Only Sheridan returns to duty behind the camera, and the absence of those responsible for the original installment is felt in a major way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

It’s important to note that while the promotional push for “Black Water” highlights a reunion of “Universal Soldier” stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, the Swedish action hero has more of a cameo role in the picture. There’s disappointment with this realization, with Lundgren tucked away in a prison cell for most of the feature, and the film could use his unusual chemistry with Van Damme, giving the two a rare shot at playing allies for the run time. “Black Water” doesn’t indulge such B-movie fantasies, instead serving up a serviceable but unremarkable thriller that takes place inside a tight setting, but director Pasha Patriki doesn’t call down the thunder with his screen mayhem, keeping the effort lively with gunplay but finding little else to separate it from the competition. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Uncle Drew” began life in 2012 commercials for Pepsi, which were apparently popular enough to inspire a plan to make a feature film out of the idea of a young basketball player made up into an old basketball player who still dominates the game. It’s a thin premise for a movie, but screenwriter Jay Longino cranks up the Cliché 9000 machine to help churn out enough conflicts to fill two pictures. Thankfully, there’s some natural charm to “Uncle Drew” to keep away the sense of deja vu that threatens to overwhelm the production, as the effort is always at its finest when leaning on chemistry and oddity to land laughs. Longino pushes hard to give the endeavor structure, but the comedy doesn’t need boundaries, doing just fine with silliness and underdog cinema aspirations.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Woman Walks Ahead” is based on a real relationship between portrait painter Caroline Weldon and Sitting Bull, with the pair sparking to one another while she assigned herself the mission to capture his likeness on canvas. However, to make the relationship meaningful on screen, writer Steven Knight has softened many of its sharp corners, hoping to locate elements of attraction between two people on opposite ends of the cultural spectrum. “Woman Walks Ahead” doesn’t becomes a Harlequin romance novel, but it certainly threatens to break out in heaving chests and wind-blown hair, with director Susanna White preserving Knight’s quest to transform art into heated activism and eventually forbidden commitment, which takes away some of the essential drama the movie communicates particularly well in its first act.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Distorted” aims to be a thoroughly jarring viewing experience. The film takes a look at the concept of a psychotronic takeover, where dark forces, possibly the government, use subliminal messaging and mind control to turn Average Joes into puppets. It’s an interesting idea, but this is not a movie to take seriously, as screenwriter Arne Olsen serves up the same old platter of paranoia and mildly strange occurrences, trying to remain one step ahead of the audience as he attempts to engineer a proper freak out. Trouble is, “Distorted” plays one too many tricks, and its casting is abysmal, handing an intricate breakdown to an actress who isn’t capable of playing all the notes the character requires, while the actor is more concerned about covering his hair in numerous ways than he is giving an engaged performance.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

No matter the limited box office potential of the subject, filmmakers love the story of Pablo Escobar. He’s a special figure in South American criminal history, with the reach of his influence legendary, giving writers and directors plenty of violent incidents to choose from. After “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” “The Infiltrator,” and even television’s “Narcos” comes “Loving Pablo,” which sounds like the stuff of a romance novel, but helmer Fernando Leon de Aranoa (“Mondays in the Sun,” “A Perfect Day”) once again details Escobar’s vicious ways with enemies and confidants, working through familiar acts of brutality and intimidation to basically recount the rise and fall of a cocaine kingpin. The twist here is a female perspective, with Escobar’s short-term lover sharing her tale of seduction and agony, handing de Aranoa just enough reason to rehash The Escobar Experience for viewers who haven’t tired of this stuff.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com