Category: Film Review

As Woody Allen struggles to be consistent, losing his very Allen-ness as he ages, it’s encouraging to see others trying to provide a recreation of the director’s early work. After scoring critical hits with “Francis Ha,” “While We’re Young,” and “Mistress America,” writer/director Noah Baumbach sheds his fascination with youth and returns to neuroses in “The Meyerowitz Stories,” which reawakens his interest in splintered families, making a fine continuation of themes and idiosyncrasy he began in 2005’s “The Squid and the Whale.” “The Meyerowitz Stories” plays exactly like an Allen picture at times, which isn’t an unwelcome creative choice, as Baumbach tends to be at his best when capturing NYC bustle and interpersonal awkwardness, offering a loosely plotted character examination that’s periodically hilarious and charmingly restless.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

War at Home movies are difficult to pull off. They arrive with the purest of intentions, trying to shine a light on the emotional and physical wreckage of war, striving to communicate an urgent need to take the welfare of those who fight for their country seriously. When it works, worlds are opened (“The Best Years of Our Lives,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Coming Home”), and when it fails, melodrama is often to blame, overpowering the urgency of the subject as filmmakers wrestle with ways to capture their message and not abuse the audience (“Stop-Loss,” “Home of the Brave”). “Thank You for Your Service” is an unremarkable study of PTSD and numerous domestic disturbance issues, covering familiar ground of shattered men trying to put themselves back together again after serving their country. It means well enough, and writer/director Jason Hall has something to work with in Dave Finkle’s 2013 book of the same name, which provides a study of behavioral authenticity the feature could use considerably more of.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Deconstructing a pop culture legend is always a difficult endeavor. There are facts to consider, along with theories and legends, and when dealing with the life and times of Jayne Mansfield, there are numerous experts who’ve spent decades trying to decode the tumultuous experience of a highly educated sex bomb who wowed millions and died horrifically. Directors P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes play their approach to “Mansfield 66/67” smartly, establishing the documentary as “A true story, based on rumor and hearsay,” thus freeing them to go anywhere with this inspection of Jayne Mansfield and her interest in Anton LaVey, the head of the Church of Satan. It’s quite a story and, thankfully, quite the movie as well, emerging as more of an elastic collection of media and interviews that study the wonders of Mansfield and mystery of LaVey, trying to capture the irresistible camp of the pairing and pick out whatever reality existed between them.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Greg McLean has built his career on extremes of horror, delighting in the chance to frighten audiences with overt frights emerging from watery depths (“Rogue”), the Australian Outback (“Wolf Creek”), and an office environment (“The Belko Experiment”). Perhaps tiring of blood and guts, McLean goes the true story route with “Jungle,” which has a few potent images concerning bodily nightmares, but mostly remains a searching, hallucinatory inspection of one man’s journey of self, hunting for identity through exposure to new cultures and adventurer’s spirit. “Jungle” is an odd picture, never really achieving an identity as something scary or profound, often spinning its wheels with aimless scenes while star Daniel Radcliffe carries the film with a fantastically committed lead performance, doing whatever he can to make moments count.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Encounter a title such as “Halloween Pussy Trap Kill Kill,” and certain viewing expectations are set immediately. It’s a campy name for what could be an entirely silly endeavor for the spooky season, recalling Russ Meyer-style entertainment sold with a contemporary indie film edge. The actual “Halloween Pussy Trap Kill Kill” is nowhere near as fun as the title promises, emerging as more of a “Saw”-style horror feature that details 70 minutes of iffy actors trying to project agony at top volume. In terms of meeting unavoidable expectations, the picture is a colossal disappointment. On its own, it’s a chore to sit through, with writer/director Jared Cohn more content to be abusive than creative.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, “Boo! A Madea Halloween” managed to scare up some sizable box office for writer/director/producer/star Tyler Perry, giving him a hit film for the scary season. It was a cheap, unfunny offering of his typical air horn-style of comedy, but it managed to lure in a new, younger audience looking to “hate watch” the endeavor, laughing at the movie instead of with. Either way, Perry’s financial standing improved, which is why, one year later, there’s a sequel. “Boo 2: A Madea Halloween” isn’t about to deviate from the Perry formula of terrible improvisation and limited locations, charging full steam ahead with a revival of Madea and her special way of dealing with the frights of the holiday. “Boo 2” is terrible, but you know that already, though it does identify just how little Perry cares about the look and content of his features, as the sequel is padded with inane conversations taking place in painfully static locations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The second half of October’s “Whatever happened to that movie?” release event (following “Amityville: The Awakening”) is “Geostorm,” which was shot three years ago, extensively reshot one year ago, and has been waiting for its multiplex debut ever since. It’s hard to believe any studio would hesitate for a moment when it comes to the distribution of a visual effects-laden disaster film. After all, it’s a genre that’s largely appreciated for its campy qualities and melodrama, welcoming hoots and hollers from audiences as the productions detail extravagant nightmares. Take “Geostorm” as an offering of extreme silliness, and there’s some approachable absurdity, but only in small amounts. The majority of the effort is leaden, noisy, and generally tone-deaf when it comes to the delivery of a rock ‘em sock ‘em entertainment, gradually revealing why the studio was reluctant to release it.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director S. Craig Zahler made a strong debut with 2015’s “Bone Tomahawk,” which arrived in the form of a traditional western and gradually transformed into a vivid horror show. Zahler showcased a commitment to patient reveals, meaty characterizations, and ferocious violence, while his command of escalation was chilling, making “Bone Tomahawk” unforgettable. He’s returned with “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” which arrives in the form of a grindhouse-y prison free-for-all, though, once again, the danger is portioned out deliberately, with each scene building toward something unsettling. And bless his heart, Zahler delivers with the feature, which is unbearably ugly at times, but in all the right ways, presenting an exploitation pummeling that’s moody, grim, and utterly mesmerizing. And it doesn’t hurt to have star Vince Vaughn provide one of the best performances of his career.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Heroism is difficult to define on the big screen. These days, most offerings of selflessness belong to fantasy characters from comic books, providing a larger-than-life depiction of boldness to achieve a sense of escapism and wish-fulfillment. There’s nothing wrong with the movement, but every now and then, it’s vital to be reminded of the human side of courage. “Only the Brave” details the rise of Granite Mountain Hotshots, a wildfire fighting team that suffered a catastrophic loss of life in 2013, bringing national focus to what these men actually do when they stare down untamable infernos. There’s a certain way such a tale can be played, but screenwriters Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer don’t take the bait, working on the creation of living, breathing characters, choosing to celebrate complexity over extravaganza. “Only the Brave” is a powerful feature, partially due to the sacrifices depicted, but primarily because it remains so grounded, appreciating the firefighters on a relatable level, without slopping on layers of melodrama. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

This past week, director Tomas Alfredson went to the press to admit that his latest movie, “The Snowman,” doesn’t work. He’s not kidding. While it’s a rare move for a filmmaker to disparage his own picture before it’s fully released (shades of Josh Trank and “Fantastic Four”), Alfredson should be commended for his honesty, as the feature displays a shocking lack of coherence and suspense. Previously helming the sublime “Let the Right One In” and the complex “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” it’s very strange to watch “The Snowman” fall apart almost immediately after it begins. It’s meant to be a franchise-starter, pulling inspiration from author Jo Nesbo and his Harry Hole detective series, but this is no way to start a big screen relationship. Alfredson goes in with the best intentions, but he ends up checking out long before the story reaches its non-conclusion.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1974’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is a horror classic, but the nightmare didn’t end there. There were sequels (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III”), a whatever (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation”), a remake (2003’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), a prequel to the remake (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”), and a sequel to the original that wasn’t very good at math (“Texas Chainsaw 3D”). It’s a franchise that’s carried on despite enduring a few bombs and general confusion, but the genre loves a defined brand name, leaving the producers of “Leatherface” to come up with another reason to detail human butchery in the wilds of Texas. It’s not exactly a sequel, not precisely a prequel, and possibly not remake. “Leatherface” is just 90 minutes of nothingness posing as a scary movie, with fans subjected to the same old buzzing, maniacal business, while newcomers might wonder how such a singular filmgoing event over 40 years ago has managed to survive in pop culture consciousness for so long.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Killing Gunther” marks the directorial debut for actor Taran Killam, who’s perhaps best known as a former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” also appearing on Broadway in “Hamilton.” A talented comedian and a fan of the absurd, Killam preserves all silliness for his first effort as a helmer, stoking laughs and weirdness as he attempts a faux documentary approach for an action film, working to twist the Christopher Guest formula in a more manic direction. “Killing Gunther” has some big laughs and a fair amount of chuckles, though tonally, it dips on a few occasions, suggesting that while Killam marched into the production with a concept, he never fully worked out all the scenes. Still, it’s confident work with some sharp, impish performances and a chance to see Arnold Schwarzenegger play as loose as he’s even been, keeping up with the practiced comedians in his own inimitable fashion.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps writer/director Kurt Voelker deserves kudos for not turning “The Bachelors” into a comedy, which it might appear to be from the outside, slapped with ill-fitting title and a premise that would feel comfortable on a CBS sitcom. However, the screenplay is serious about grief and familial relationships, with Voelker creating characters in dire need of human contact, hit with painful loss, which has knocked their instinct out of whack. It’s a relationship drama, but Voelker doesn’t pour on the syrup, creating an approachable but deeply felt picture that’s curious about behavior and therapy. The production presents a fine cast capable of matching Voelker’s sincerity, resulting in feature that’s as genuine as it can be, handling topics such as loss and adolescent love with genuine concern for the characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are mysteries within mysteries in “Never Here,” a beguiling take on the madness of art and the dangers of impulse control issues. It’s a bewildering picture, but that’s exactly how writer/director Camille Thoman wants it, keeping characters enigmatic and the plot fluid, though she achieves select genre appreciation at times, identifying a true filmgoer spirit in the midst of all this interpretive fog. Thoman also casts smartly, unleashing Mireille Enos on a role that plays to her strengths of physical communication and psychological unraveling. “Never Here” isn’t the smoothest viewing experience around, but it’s full of haunting images and provocative ideas, blending art world immersion with detective noir, offering the curious plenty to sift through as reality bends and obsessions graduate into horror.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s going to be a generational divide when it comes to the audience for “Tragedy Girls.” There will be those who understand, possibly even relate to the modern depiction of teenagedom, which is showcased here as a marathon of social media anxiety, bullying, and insincerity. Older audiences will likely spend the viewing experience being grateful they are no longer adolescents, forced to compete in a ferociously connected world. Thankfully, “Tragedy Girls” isn’t a documentary, but a horror comedy, offering satiric touches and exaggerated performances to help viewers ease into the challenges of juvenile life, which, for this endeavor, include murder. Co-writer/director Tyler MacIntyre pulls off a bit of a miracle here, finding ways to connect to unpleasant characters, while the rest of the movie speeds ahead with macabre twists and turns, and shares a love for bloody mischief.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Horror is a game of influence, and while certain directors (e.g. John Carpenter) receive a lot of attentions these days, “Shortwave” makes a different choice. Writer/director Ryan Gregory Phillips seems to be in a Shane Carruth mood for his helming debut, conjuring a style and dramatic distance that’s similar to “Primer” and “Upstream Color,” but with a decidedly more macabre intent. Perhaps this approach will be most appreciated by cinephiles, as “Shortwave” always feels just out of reach, working to summon a different form of menace with artful technique but a loose appreciation of authentic suspense. It’s a striking picture at times, and one can see Phillips is a talent in the making, but the feature always feels more interested in the visual experience, rendering the storytelling somewhat flat, even when it touches on unbearably devastating events.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Surfing movies were once a common event in specialty theaters, but they aren’t as popular these days, perhaps due to market saturation. Director Rory Kennedy tries to avoid the appearance of a daredevil surf film with “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton,” which positions itself as an examination of one of the most famous surfers of all time, tracking Hamilton’s life as it burns through behavioral issues and wave-based trial and error. Glorious oceanic cinematography remains open for inspection, but the documentary strives to celebrate the concept of Hamilton as a god of the sport and a man for himself, eschewing prolonged clips of surfing performance for something slightly more intimate, but never abyssal in its inspection of a complex personality.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When it comes to the dissection of the life and career of Steven Spielberg, I’m not sure what exactly director Susan Lacy was expecting to achieve. There’s no way to get one’s arms around the enormity of Spielberg’s achievements, professional and charitable, leaving Lacy at a distinct disadvantage, tasked with highlighting 50 years of artistic accomplishments and family ties. And yet, with some help from an impressive roster of interviewees, “Spielberg” the documentary comes through with stunning clarity, offering the most rounded portrait yet of a complex individual who, for most of his career, has enjoyed unequaled success and cultural presence. It’s not easy to summarize Steven Spielberg, but Lacy has achieved that and so much more with the picture, which isn’t truly a trip down memory lane, but a guide map to influences and interests that helped to define an impressive man who’s made more than a few all-time classics during his career. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

While there are always strange horror movies hitting it big at the box office, blame for “Happy Death Day” belongs to 2014’s “Ouija.” A minor PG-13 chiller and a terrible film, “Ouija” managed to find a sizable pre-teen audience looking for vanilla frights on a late October weekend, surpassing all expectations. And now there’s “Happy Death Day,” which offers the same type of banal scares and screenwriting aimed directly at 12 year olds. It’s certainly a brighter picture, almost qualifying as a comedy, but director Christopher Landon isn’t putting in much of an effort with this “Groundhog Day”-inspired time loop endeavor, keeping a macabre premise cuddly for mass consumption, while the material’s juvenile tonality only takes minutes before it begins to feel like multiplex imprisonment.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Marshall” is not a bio-pic of the late Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. Frankly, the film that bears his name isn’t even really about his career as a triumphant lawyer dealing with seemingly impossible cases steeped in prejudice. The Thurgood presented in the picture is more of an inspirational figure, handed defined attitude and authority as a black man trying to achieve justice in a white world. The screenplay by Jacob and Michael Koskoff (2015’s “Macbeth”) endeavors to transform Thurgood into a beacon of defiance, almost superhero-ish in design, gifting “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman a rare opportunity to play two men of action in his blossoming career. And he’s terrific in “Marshall,” handling the Koskoffs’ broad writing with care, making the most out of what becomes a supporting role in the feature, which probably wouldn’t welcome the same titular posture if it was called “Friedman.”  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com