Category: Film Review

I’ve seen some pretty flimsy film concepts in my day, but “The Road Movie” should win some type of award for simplicity. In an age where everything is available online, director Dmitrii Kalashnikov has elected to curate only the finest in Russian dash cam footage, weaving together a fantasia of accidents, speed, and surprises that highlight the pure insanity casually recorded during seemingly average rides across the country. Of course, one can find this stuff anywhere at any time, but the beauty of “The Road Movie” is how it generates a thrill ride atmosphere of horror and humor, with Kalashnikov delivering a vivid viewing experience with his highlight reel of disasters and near-misses. It’s 3D without the glasses.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been about 22 years since the release of Michael Mann’s “Heat,” and the producers of “Den of Thieves” have decided it’s time for a remake. However, it’s not easy to create another “Heat,” a feature beloved in cineaste circles, often hailed as one of the best of the 1990s. Instead of outdoing Mann’s movie, screenwriters Paul Scheuring and Christian Gudegast (who also directs) go the inferior route, trying to toughen up their sprawling L.A. crime saga with enough testosterone and violence to make the audience forget they’ve already seen the picture. “Den of Thieves” isn’t the first film to sneak a few bites off the 1995 endeavor, but it’s definitely chewing the loudest, with Gudegast perhaps aiming for reverence, but comes up with mimicry instead, making for a particularly long 140-minute-long sit, especially without De Niro and Pacino around.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Brian Taylor made his directing debut (joined by Mark Neveldine) with 2006’s “Crank,” a low-budget endeavor that reveled in anarchy, finding a cult following that celebrated the feature’s maniac style and pitch-black sense of humor. “Crank” made a little bit of money. 2009’s “Crank: High Voltage” made considerably less, suggest audience fatigue with the duo’s scattergun cinema style, but they remained committed to the cause, making “Crank”-style movies with “Gamer” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” and both efforts were met with a collective shrug from filmgoers. Making his solo helming debut, Taylor once again goes to the “Crank” well for “Mom and Dad,” a predictably berserk creation that plays like a cross between “Parenthood” and “Dawn of the Dead,” chock full of the needlessly quaking camerawork, random editing, and screaming performances Taylor once required a partner to master.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While war stories are common in American cinema, a project like “12 Strong” doesn’t just come from out of nowhere. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is looking to create his own version of the 2014 smash hit, “American Sniper,” returning audiences to the battleground of the Middle East, where noble military men clash against local enemies, emphasizing sacrifice, honor, and the sheer trained might of U.S. forces. A movie doesn’t simply make superhero cinema money and go unnoticed, and while “12 Strong” doesn’t have the tragic angle of “American Sniper,” daring to go forward with a positive Afghanistan tale, it shares the same simplicity and jingoistic fervor that’s meant to play to certain audiences, buttering up the cruelties of war with fetishistic violence and steel-jawed performances.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I first became aware of Alexander Nevsky last year, when his 2014 thriller, “Black Rose,” was finally picked up for a U.S. release. The picture was painful to sit through, but it showcased a certain fervor for stardom from Nevsky, who handled a good portion of the production’s credits, trying to launch himself as the next big thing in international action cinema. “Black Rose” didn’t find an audience, but Nevsky is back with “Showdown in Manila,” which brings the hulking star to another part of the world to do a little hellraising, but this time the results are weirdly amateurish, with Nevsky handing directorial duties to Mark Dacascos, a longtime actor (and performer on “Iron Chef America”) who makes a particularly clumsy helming debut. For those who can endure the feature’s considerable shortcomings and tone-deaf creative choices, this might be the next “The Room” for action cinema fans, giving Nevsky the spotlight he craves.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s truth in advertising here, as “Acts of Violence” contains plenty of aggressive encounters, embracing the freedom of brutality the title grants. It’s also a hopelessly ugly, moronic picture that appears to be under the impression that it’s a valuable clue in the ongoing assessment of modern law enforcement, criticizing police procedure as ineffective, perhaps intentionally so. In a sharper effort, such a provocative idea would inspire a multi-layered study of honor, duty, and desperation. In “Acts of Violence,” it’s a green light for lame characterizations, dreary action, and a strange consideration of vigilante justice. It’s brutal work, no surprise there, but the production doesn’t consider material deeply, going the urban western route, rendering the feature completely useless.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

All the good intentions in the world can’t prevent “Freak Show” from becoming a trite, borderline obnoxious tale of empowerment via a quest for identity inside a conservative battle zone. Director Trudie Styler has her heart in the right place, hoping to reach out to a younger demographic with this tale of persistence in the face of prejudice, scraping the zeitgeist as the material confronts uncertain sexuality and gender identification, with hope that its saga of personal inventory is able to provide a light of hope for those who remain in the dark. “Freak Show” has a to-do list of clichés to work through, and few of them retain any dramatic impact, finding Styler more interested in dressing up the main character in wild fashions than truly dealing with the psychological tears that comes from social rejection and a broken family.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I certainly get why many are rooting for the success of Taraji P. Henson. She’s a talented actress and a force of nature, but her taste in scripts leaves much to be desired, as found in recent gigs such as “Term Life” and “No Good Deed.” After scoring positive notices for her turn in last year’s “Hidden Figures,” Henson returns to the bottom shelf with “Proud Mary,” a wannabe Blaxploitation effort that’s more like a Lifetime Original, spending 80 minutes on banal relationships and the remaining five on stiffly imagined action. Henson looks bored throughout the picture, which doesn’t challenge her in the least, merely asking her to cry on cue and pose in black outfits, with the promise of creating a fascinating, empowering character of authority erased by the production’s strange obsession with screen inertia.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Moviegoing surprises are always the best, and 2014’s “Paddington” was one of greater ones in recent memory. Sold as a crude, dumb comedy for little children, “Paddington” was actually a cute and clever picture, with unexpected warmth and a decent sense of adventure. Co-writer/director Paul King brought author Michael Bond’s creation to the big screen with care, and now he does it again with “Paddington 2,” a sequel that manages to best the original in laughs and tenderness. King sticks to comedy formula, but he makes a grander, slightly weirder follow-up that offers plenty of bear-based mischief, backed by an exceptional supporting cast of British talent who seem genuinely delighted to be part of the franchise, showing needed enthusiasm for the marmalade-smeared high jinks.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Jaume Collet-Serra and star Liam Neeson enjoying working together. They’ve collaborated on three previous occasions, showcasing a professional comfort and a shared interest in B-moviemaking with A-list credentials. However, this partnership hasn’t delivered significant thrills, with 2011’s “Unknown,” 2014’s “Non-Stop,” and 2015’s “Run All Night” providing lackluster viewing experiences with little suspense, generally tripping over promising premises for slick, efficient entertainment. The latest addition to this dispiriting tradition is “The Commuter,” which aims to be a Hitchcockian nail-biter featuring an average man caught up in extraordinary circumstances, but Collet-Serra and the screenwriters (three in total) don’t push beyond the visual of Neeson in paranoia mode, delivering a contrived, slapdash, and ultimately useless thriller that has no perceptible interest in pace or surprise.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Sam Hoffman plays it safe with the plot of “Humor Me,” his directorial debut, making a movie about the arrested development of a man facing substantial responsibilities, moving in with his father for a free room and to find some clarity. However, formula is thinned out by personality, with Hoffman generating appealing characterizations, putting the players through amusing challenges as he hunts for significance in the dramedy. As the title suggests, there’s plenty of levity and passive-aggressive behavior to enjoy, and Hoffman secures success with the pairing of leads Jemaine Clement and Elliot Gould, who pull off an itchy family dynamic with terrific timing, bringing heart and laughs to “Humor Me,” which benefits greatly from their unique talents.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s difficult to understand any reason for remaking pictures that were part of the French new wave of extreme horror, which was all the rage with genre enthusiasts about decade ago. They were features created during a specific time and in a specific region, making translations difficult, especially for material that perhaps should remain attached to a single interpretation. After dealing with the deflation of 2015’s “Martyrs,” now comes “Inside,” which hopes to rework the 2007 Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (who recently helmed the crummy “Leatherface”) endeavor for mainstream audiences, under the impression that a wide assortment of moviegoers might be interested in 80 minutes of a pregnant woman being threatened with sharp objects. That a new take on “Inside” is unnecessary is a given, but director Miguel Angel Vivas fumbles whatever debatable tension was there the first time around, delivering a routine chiller that’s largely free of suspense.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

George Romero’s original “Dead” trilogy has already experienced multiple remakes and reworkings, with “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead” producing passably regarded do-overs. It’s 1985’s “Day of the Dead” that perpetually confounds the reheating process, with “Day of the Dead 2: Contagium” and 2008’s “Day of the Dead” (with Nick Cannon and Mena Suvari) failing to do anything with Romero’s original vision. Now there’s “Day of the Dead: Bloodline,” which is being promoted as a more respectful version of the 1985 endeavor, juiced up with modern visual effects and additional movie science. It’s not like there isn’t room for improvement with “Day of the Dead,” but “Bloodline” is a complete waste of time, taking part in what’s now become a bad movie tradition: watching dismal filmmakers botch Romero’s relatively simple zombie outbreak.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game” marks the final acting effort for star Martin Landau, who passed away last summer, leaving behind a varied career with consistent work. The picture provides unusual punctuation for the thespian, who’s asked to not only communicate the ravages of medical and marital strife, but also, at the age of 88, he simulates masturbation and the digital manipulation of a loved one. While it initially appears to be a kissing cousin to Michael Haneke’s “Amour,” “Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game” eventually strives to be something of an “American Pie” sequel, with writer/director Howard L. Weiner unafraid to depict nursing home shenanigans and senior sexuality, adding a tremendous sense of surprise to what’s typically a funeral dirge for the lead characters. The horrors of life soon visit the players, but the game is mostly about bedroom interests. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the “Insidious” series is watching how writer Leigh Whannell manages to squeeze out new directions for the saga to take after exhausting all his ideas in the 2010 original film. After going the prequel route for “Insidious: Chapter 3,” Whannell makes a sequel to the prequel with “Insidious: The Last Key,” which is meant to lay track up to the first movie, creating a crooked circle of character connection for a franchise that never had a decent road map to bring it through various installments. “The Last Key” promises finality for the brand name, but endeavors to squeeze out a few more scares using the proven fright formula that turned the three previous pictures into low-budget hits. Whannell is out of ideas, but he goes soft for the new journey into the Further, giving a fan-favorite character the spotlight she deserves. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

In recent years, writer/director Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself in the world of horror. He pulled off the impossible, making a compelling sequel to a complete turkey with “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” and last year he successfully loaded up nightmares with the tense, profoundly macabre “Gerald’s Game,” managing a successful Stephen King adaptation. And there was “Hush,” a little-seen but celebrated chiller executed with limited dialogue. Now finally seeing release after experiencing several delays due to a bankrupt distributor, “Before I Wake” (shot in 2013) joins the growing list of Flanagan achievements. While it’s not a true genre exercise, the feature has its scary stuff, but it’s after something more heartfelt between moments of shock and terror, with Flanagan and co-writer Jeff Howard digging a little deeper with the material, trying to keep “Before I Wake” as human as possible while still delivering requisite unease.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After years becoming part of the television routine, author Agatha Christie is suddenly big business these days, experiencing a cinematic resurrection as talented filmmakers try their hand at adapting the famed mystery writer’s puzzles for grander budgets and bigger stars. Last November, there was “Murder on the Orient Express,” which became a major box office hit, securing the return of Hercule Poirot for Kenneth Branagh in 2020. And now there’s “Crooked House,” which doesn’t have the financial means to generate a grand whodunit, but it does have the better story, launching a sinister mystery that, much like “Orient Express,” is largely contained to a single location, simmering with a collection of restless, possibly murderous characters. “Crooked House” lacks scale, but of the two recent Christie efforts, it’s the tighter, more compelling endeavor, providing a jolt of evil to go along with all the psychological gamesmanship.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Colette Burson has a lot of nervous energy she wants to release with “Permanent,” wielding this coming-of-age comedy like machine gun that’s a little too heavy to handle. There’s quirk galore in the film, which details the pains of adolescence and adulthood from a possibly biographical standpoint, attempting to make a funny movie about characters who are trapped in self-imposed prisons of vanity and frustration. “Permanent” isn’t particularly funny, and Burson’s furiously idiosyncratic approach registers as borderline obnoxious at times, but the “Hung” creator does have a way with providing dimension for all characters, with interesting neuroses to periodically explore when the production steps away from cartoon behavior. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To experience “The Strange Ones,” one must summon all patience humanly possible, as directors Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff (who also scripts) aren’t going to make the cinematic journey easy on anyone. It’s cryptic work from the indie film-minded duo, and paced deliberately, offering a slow leak of symbolism, heavy breathing, and enigmatic behaviors that often make the 76 minute run time feel like 76 years. Perhaps for some viewers, the artfulness of Radcliff and Wolkstein’s efforts might be appealing, with the picture refusing the comfort of appealing characters and easy answers. However, “The Strange Ones” isn’t much of a puzzle, often too laborious to inspire deep consideration, missing a fundamental screen energy that could help with all the layer-peeling going on.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To create a big screen spy series takes a lot more than sticking to the basics these days. “Stratton” is the latest attempt to explore government heroism, taking inspiration from author Duncan Falconer’s series of novels, exploring the life and death struggles of the titular character, who’s part of the Special Boat Service. Such affiliation is rarely celebrated, giving the material something unique to help separate itself from the competition. Unfortunately, it’s the last defining trait in “Stratton,” which is quickly weighed down by clichés, most executed without an ounce of concern from director Simon West. He’s sticking to the basics with this globetrotting thriller, and while it’s far from a bad movie, it’s not an inspired one, testing patience as the production tries to pretend it’s an original vision.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com