Category: Film Review

A decade is an eternity when it comes to the wait for a sequel. That’s an entire generation, and horror franchises generally keep puffing along when chapters are issued annually, maintaining whatever freshness was there originally that beguiled audiences. 2008’s “The Strangers” was a low-budget success, securing a certain future of follow-ups, but they never arrived until today, with “The Strangers: Prey at Night” taking on the unwelcome challenge of connecting to the original feature and showcasing a sense of renewed purpose to appeal to a younger audience. “Prey at Night” remains stuck with some editorial issues, and there’s the dead-end premise to grind things to a halt, but the newest celebration of nihilism and chart-topping hits from the 1980s is actually quite effective when it wants to be, finding signs of life in a brand name that was on its way to the morgue. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 book, “A Wrinkle in Time,” is a beloved “science fantasy” novel that’s often been described as impossible to adapt for the screen. There was a 2003 television movie that attempted to bring the author’s rich imagination to life, and now director Ava DuVernay tries her hand at interpretation, armed with a substantial budget and a bit of star power. Of course, DuVernay isn’t a seasoned filmmaker, previously working on smaller scale pictures such as “Selma,” and her inexperience riding the bucking bronco of CGI, whimsy, and world-building is evident from the first frame. “A Wrinkle in Time” doesn’t work, and while the helmer struggles to transform the complex material into the starting line for a fresh Disney franchise, she often comes up short, finding the feature too stiff and underdeveloped to connect as an awe-inspiring tribute to the power of science and love.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s no fighting Rob Cohen’s directorial style, which is meant to simulate a jackhammer to the senses. He’s a crude architect of mainstream entertainment, unwilling to make something special when he can just blow something up, and “The Hurricane Heist” is exactly the type of movie he does repeatedly and poorly. After bottoming out with the worst Mummy sequel (2008’s “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”), the unwatchable “The Boy Next Door,” and the strangely mean-spirited “Alex Cross,” Cohen remains revved up for this mix of “Twister” and “Hard Rain.” It’s meant to be spectacle, but the helmer only knows noise, offering a 100-minute-long cluster of puzzling action, dreadful performances, and a loose understanding of how Mother Nature works. Not that “The Hurricane Heist” needs to be a documentary, but a little meteorological authenticity would’ve been a fine distraction from all the bottom shelf creative decisions peppered around this dud — the latest addition to a particularly odious filmography.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2008’s “The Square” marked the feature-length directorial debut for Nash Edgerton, who crafted a wonderful homage to Coen Brothers cinema while stoking his own interests in macabre turns of plot and damaged characters. Weirdly, he never produced an immediate follow-up, spending time in television and creating shorts, but now Edgerton has returned to the big screen with “Gringo,” which carries a few of the same mischievous impulses that made “The Square” such a winner. Sadly, the effort as a whole is a let-down, watching the helmer take on too much characterization as he masterminds a cat’s cradle of combustible personalities trying to control aspects of Mexico, with some hoping to make it out alive. “Gringo” is a misfire, and a periodically painful one too, almost unwilling to come together with any sort of welcome ferocity, watching Edgerton spend too much time on narrative dead-ends and not enough on an end game for all this widescreen bustle.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Cory Finley is a playwright making a transition to film, but he doesn’t leave behind the theater in full. “Thoroughbreds” is his helming debut, and it plays very much like a theatrical piece, focusing on the construction of personalities through tightly considered dialogue, not screen movement or cinematic escalation. It’s something to be shared inside an intimate space with talented actors, and as a movie, “Thoroughbreds” lacks vigor, especially with a static finale. Despite some issues with widescreen urgency, the feature certainly isn’t short on commitment, with stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, and Anton Yelchin doing a fantastic job getting into Finley’s writing, finding character beats worth savoring as the effort as a whole fights to remain on its feet without act breaks. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Armando Iannucci has a long history with improvised comedy, and a reputation for intelligent satire, previously masterminding such productions as “The Thick of It,” “Veep,” and his last big screen directorial endeavor, “In the Loop.” Continuing his interest in political bickering, panic, and ambition, Iannucci takes on the Soviet Union with “The Death of Stalin,” an ominous title for a movie that periodically shows interest in wacky behavior. An adaptation of a graphic novel, the feature remains in line with other Iannucci efforts, with the helmer putting his faith in behavioral extremity and thespian excitement, coming up with a lively but overlong examination of behind-the-scenes unrest after the loss of a feared leader. It plays to expectations, but it also offers some unusual tonal choices that keep it unpredictable.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been fascinating to watch the developing career of Daniel Radcliffe. The once and future Harry Potter has been trying to make interesting career decisions, picking roles that take him far away from the Boy Wizard, eschewing fantasy for the hard edges of reality. “Beast of Burden” isn’t a particularly exhausting psychological thriller, but it does merge Radcliffe’s love of the theater with his big screen endeavors, offering him the chance to command a movie basically all by himself. It’s just Radcliffe and an airplane for most of “Beast of Burden,” resembling a higher altitude “Locke” as the actor is tasked with communicating a heightened emotional range, portraying a character dealing with professional, criminal, and domestic pressures while high in the sky.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The timing of the theatrical release of “Death Wish” couldn’t possibly be worse. In America, the subject of guns and the lunatics who possess them is headline news, and has been for the better part of 2018. And here comes a film that celebrates the destructive wonders of firearms and the value of reaching beyond the legal system to set things rights. All this would be incredibly distasteful if “Death Wish” was a passably provocative feature, but this remake of a 1974 Charles Bronson chiller is directed by Eli Roth, who has yet to fashion a moviegoing experience that didn’t involve the repeated rolling of eyes. Roth goes all Roth on the material, trying to turn the complexity of vigilante violence into a modern exploitation picture, keeping his take on aged material tone-deaf and painfully dim. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Without opening titles and end credits, “The Party” is roughly 65 minutes long. In this day and age of bloated run times and overly plotted wipeouts, it’s refreshing to encounter a film that’s bravely short and to the point, giving audiences a direct shot of drama that’s all about the moment, not the aftermath. It also helps that “The Party” is a wicked little wrestling match of wits that’s darkly hilarious and expertly timed. Writer/director Sally Potter serves up a lean, mean machine of a feature, reveling in social discomfort and the possibility of violence, using a setting of celebration to release the art-house Kraken of suppressed hostilities, giving gifted actors a chance to run wild with pure emotional escalation. 65 minutes is just right for this dip into domestic chaos.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Frances Lawrence and actress Jennifer Lawrence previously worked together on the last three “Hunger Games” installments, likely forming a creative bond that was cushioned by the brand name’s Teflon appeal. Now they trade Panem for Russia, reteaming for the Cold War-style spy game, “Red Sparrow,” which once again situates Jennifer Lawrence in a position of pained resignation, playing another character battling against an oppressive government, doing anything she can to survive. “Red Sparrow” also has something else in common with the “Hunger Games” saga: an unwillingness to end. Two Lawrences fail to find anything approaching suspense in the thriller, which spend 139 minutes in extended conversations, trading deflated threats. Frances Lawrence appears to be under the impression he’s making opera, but all he’s doing is brewing a pot of Sleepytime Tea.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Ted Geoghegan made his debut with 2015’s “We Are Still Here,” an effective horror effort that celebrated malevolent ghosts and cinematic tension. He pulled off an impressive B-movie with limited funds and locations, showcasing a love of the genre that helped to patch a few creative potholes. Interestingly, Geoghegan goes a different direction for his follow-up, and while he remains invested in gory events and shock value, “Mohawk” emerges as a period chase picture, with the production turning to the 19th century for inspiration. A sort of low-budget take on “Last of the Mohicans”-style adventuring, “Mohawk” has the right idea for suspense and mood, offering a propulsive pace and deep synth to support a tale of woodsy survival and bloodthirsty revenge.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Up to this point, Duncan Jones enjoyed a colorful filmmaking career. He’s typically drawn to sci-fi/fantasy ideas, going from small, sneaky tales (“Moon”) to the construction of an entire world (“Warcraft”). Between the extremes, he made his best movie (“Source Code”). Jones is a strong visual helmer, good with actors and tone, but his instincts mostly fail him with “Mute,” which is presented as an extended “Blade Runner” homage, but lacks a hypnotic sense of mystery and otherworldliness, trying a little too hard to show love to the Ridley Scott masterpiece. Unfortunately, Jones is too busy arranging lights and painting things DayGlo to pay attention to his own story, which goes from a mildly arresting detective tale, a future noir, to pure ugliness, stretching on for what becomes an interminable two hours. Jones faces his first real whiff with “Mute,” which grows into a colossal disappointment.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As an actress, Hedy Lamarr was defined by her beauty, using good looks to support a Hollywood career that included turns in films such as “White Cargo,” “The Conspirators,” and “Her Highness and the Bellboy.” During her heyday, she created a stir wherever she went, wowing the public with extraordinary glamour. “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” endeavors to find the woman underneath the attractiveness, identifying the star as a brilliant mind interested in the mastering of inventions, with a strong pull toward science, reaching a specific breakthrough during World War II that’s largely responsible for the world of wi-fi that we know today. “Bombshell” has the benefit of shock value, with director Alexandra Dean selecting an extraordinary topic for documentary dissection, working to redefine Lamarr’s legacy as a figure of allure to one of unheralded brilliance.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Submission” examine a common tale of teacher-student impropriety, but it doesn’t simply rest on the simplicity of bedroom manipulations, working to explore the details of obsession when it reaches beyond common attraction. Based on the novel by Francine Prose, “Submission” establishes a curious perspective when it comes to inappropriate urges, trying to disturb expectations for something more lustful by making the central connection between a professor and his comely student more about creative potential and competition while also detailing some unsavory predator business. Writer/director Richard Levine doesn’t always play things subtly, but he does work effectively, creating a small-scale battle of power and credit that feeds into the dual meaning of the title.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The feature is titled “The Vanishing of Sidney Hall,” and he’s a character who should probably stay lost. Co-writer/director Shawn Christensen tries to utilize the legacy of reclusive author J.D. Salinger to inspire this tale of creative and psychological burden, but in an effort to become the most serious movie of all time, he overcooks dramatic passages, creating a painful self-serious vibe that transforms into punishment as the film reaches two hours in length. “The Vanishing of Sidney Hall” isn’t meant to be light, but it shouldn’t be suffocating either, with Christensen piling on tragedies and hopelessness to a near-comical degree, trying to make a bleak statement on the stain of guilt, armed with all the wrong cinematic tools to properly excavate intended profundity.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Annihilation” is the second directorial effort from Alex Garland, who issued “Ex Machina” in 2015, starting a career that’s apparently going to specialize in deeply unnerving sci-fi. Already an established screenwriter (with credits such as “Sunshine,” “28 Days Later,” and “Never Let Me Go”), Garland’s helming interests have been drawn to nightmares, first with the lure of A.I., and now the end of the world. “Annihilation” isn’t easily digestible or even quickly identifiable, but it’s hypnotic and, at times, quite frightening, with Garland trying his hand at an alien invasion story that offers no defined antagonist for much of its run time, requiring the audience to take a journey, often to places they won’t want to go. While “Ex Machina” was modest but disturbing, Garland attempts a bigger canvas for his idiosyncratic ways, coming up with a humdinger of a horror show that’s sure to be polarizing, but difficult to shake. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Game Night” has a terrific premise, and one that’s been used multiple times in television and film. However, the concept of clueless gamers expecting fun but embarking on a very real quest to solve a murder mystery remains ripe for recycling, giving any production a wide open shot at silliness, with potential for real suspense. “Game Night” feels like a botched opportunity to have some major movie fun with naive sleuths as they inch close to danger but aren’t quite aware of impending threat, but it remains a modern mainstream comedy, spending more time fishing for punchlines and sticking to scripted formula, never showing interest in transforming into a delicious romp. “Game Night” is strangely free of imagination and timing, with only a handful of moments hinting at the possibilities of a production brave enough to embrace the madness in full.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A few years ago, writer/director Alex Ross Perry masterminded “Queen of Earth,” his valentine to mental illness. In a career that’s already welcomed any sort of behavioral erosion, the feature played right to his interests in unraveling people and overall powerlessness. “Golden Exits” is merely about bad relationships, which is something of a change of course for Perry. Obviously, he doesn’t take it easy on his characters, sending them through trials of communication and jealousy, but the end game isn’t complete exhaustion, and that’s a welcome development. “Golden Exits” isn’t as thunderous as “Queen of Earth,” but accepted on a smaller scale of disturbance, and Perry’s windy screenplay and care for actors is fascinating, creating a movie with no defined direction, but still involving as it negotiates claustrophobic environments.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Those in the mood for a creepy gothic chiller might respond highly to “The Lodgers,” but the picture seems intentionally made for fans of Hammer Films and their unique legacy of horror endeavors. Director Brian O’Malley makes a distinct effort to replicate the deliberate moves of the studio’s creepy productions, and screenwriter David Turpin fills the story with enough guarded perversion and unease to maintain interest in the unfolding tale. However, “The Lodgers” is a slow-burn viewing experience, almost to a point of complete stoppage at times, finding O’Malley so caught up in the atmosphere of his work, he periodically forgets to nudge it along. There are enough macabre interests to maintain an absorbing sit, but to reach a point of actual momentum, one must accept O’Malley’s overly cautious handling of the feature’s fright factor.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Heather Graham has been making movies for over 30 years, but “Half Magic” marks her directorial debut. It’s a personal project for the actress, often resembling a to-do list of grievances in love and work, dressed up as a mischievous comedy to best reach its audience. Graham gets halfway to her goal with the screenplay, which introduces itself with authority and concludes in a winded state, with the helmer seemingly overwhelmed by the demands of feature-length storytelling. “Half Magic” has a distinct fingerprint for some of the run time, and that’s a good thing, showcasing perspective in the battle of the sexes, with Graham trying to make a war cry for women that teaches a thing or two about self-esteem and communication. Intentions are pure, but inspiration slowly dissipates.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com