Category: Film Review

I’m not sure if it’s a tale of career redemption, but “The Tribes of Palos Verdes” marks the return of directing duo Emmett and Brenden Malloy, who were last seen on the screen with 2001’s snowboarding comedy, “Out Cold.” You remember, the movie that featured a pre-fame Zach Galafianakis portraying a character who gets his penis caught in a hot tub jet? The Malloys didn’t score with crude entertainment, but they fare better 16 years later, showing confidence with this adaptation of a Joy Nicholson novel, which allows them to pursue more meaningful drama and deeper characters. “The Tribes of Palos Verdes” isn’t an upbeat film, but the production doesn’t get caught in the undertow of despair, managing to find a level of alarm that keeps the story engrossing while it surveys some desperate emotional issues.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Small town hostilities and murder in a working class community isn’t a new idea, but writer/director Scooter Corkle handles the routine well in “Hollow in the Land.” Evocative and capably scripted, the film attempts to launch a whodunit with emphasis on the misery of an upbringing interrupted, exploring the true strength of family ties when put to the ultimate test. “Hollow in the Land” has all the identifying marks of a low-budget production, but Corkle captures a welcome intensity to the unfolding drama, and he finds a terrific lead in Dianna Agron, who makes a move to expand her career possibilities with a turn as a downtrodden detective, showing newfound range as she carries the weight of this effective but bleak picture.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When we last left the world of “Star Wars,” Rey was about to hand a special lightsaber to Luke Skywalker, arriving at the end of her long, perilous journey to locate the missing Jedi Master. Now, two years later, Luke finally has a little more to do than deliver haunted looks and a long pause. Luke Skywalker speaks in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which is a promising development. In fact, he does a lot more than simply speak in the eighth chapter of the space fantasy saga, returning to the mess of the galaxy as it succumbs once again to the battle between good and evil. Weirdly, “The Last Jedi” is not a completely Luke-centric movie, with new writer/director Rian Johnson (taking franchise reins from J.J. Abrams) using the aging hero sparingly, concentrating on the group effort as the Resistance squares off against the First Order, summoning a mix of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” to inspire this latest adventure, which remains thrilling, but only in fits and starts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

It was always strange that 1995’s “Jumanji” never received a sequel. Yes, there was 2005’s “Zathura,” which was more of a remake than a true follow-up, but a true continuation of the animal rampage antics never materialized. Now Dwayne Johnson has the urge to battle fantasy creatures, leading an eager cast for “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which offers a few ties to the earlier picture, but mostly reheats the gameplay formula for a new generation. Director Jake Kasdan and the screenwriters (four in total) try to rework the central concept of panicked adventuring, giving the premise a video game setting, moving away from board games and suburban hellraising to make noise in the tropics. It’s an entertaining romp, wisely avoiding the burden of topping what’s come before, with Kasdan mindful of silly business and CGI chaos as he strives to remain true to character, offering as much personality as this type of extravaganza allows.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Bullet Head” is a fairly aggressive title, and conjures images of a brutal actioner starring a host of menacing characters. It comes as a great surprise to learn that the feature, while violent, is more about guys sharing long stories about their lives while an abused dog, one trained to fight, wanders around the setting, periodically chewing on the participants. It’s Quentin Tarantino meets “Jaws,” though writer/director Paul Solet isn’t interested in summoning a rousing genre exercise, preferring to maintain a low-key vibe, preserving the story’s idiosyncrasies. “Bullet Head” is a strange picture, and perhaps it’s ultimately unsatisfying, but Solet maintains his vision throughout, creating an iffy crime story that’s blended with the horrors of animal abuse, adding an unusual wrinkle to the routine of loquacious cretins trying to get away with stolen cash.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps David E. Talbert hasn’t been the most inspired director in the business, handling titles like “Baggage Claim” and “This Christmas” with some degree of personality, but generally keeping vanilla with softball subjects like family dysfunction and the pitfalls of romance. With “El Camino Christmas,” Talbert graduates to a dark comedy, and one that’s fairly violent, generally choosing antagonisms over laughs. It’s also dreadful, but it’s difficult to tell who’s to blame for this mess, as Talbert tries to deliver professional work with a semi-accomplished cast, while screenwriters Theodore Melfi and Christopher Wehner assemble a familiar display of reckless characters hashing out their differences during a pressurized situation. Perhaps there’s a longer cut of “El Camino Christmas” somewhere, as the version finding release now has been stripped of rhythm and reason. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been nearly 30 years since the release of “Bull Durham,” and writer/director Ron Shelton hasn’t come close to replicating the pleasures and textures of his outstanding helming debut. In fact, he’s made a series of mediocre and crummy movies over the last three decades, eventually breaking away from theatrical releases with 2003’s “Hollywood Homicide.” “Just Getting Started” isn’t a return to form for Shelton. In fact, it’s actually the worst picture he’s ever made, returning to screens with a Christmas dud that’s tonally bizarre, lazily performed, and deeply unfunny. Considering that the effort was shot at a luxury Palm Springs resort and features multiple scenes set on a golf course, it’s pretty easy to see why the project came to be. “Just Getting Started” must’ve been a pleasure to shoot, but it’s a horror to watch.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It isn’t easy to grasp what “I, Tonya” wants to be, and perhaps that’s what screenwriter Steven Rogers (“P.S. I Love You,” “Love the Coopers,” “Kate & Leopold”) is ultimately after with the project, creative an elusive tone for a specialized subject. Nobody was begging for a Tonya Harding bio-pic, and Rogers doesn’t exactly create one with the picture, which doesn’t make much time for the details of Harding’s life beyond her battles with abusive loved ones and the mental and physical combat she endured during her quest to become a figure skating champion. And there’s the whole Nancy Kerrigan thing, referred to here as “The Incident.” There’s a lot to unpack with “I, Tonya,” but Rogers offers only a tug of war match between tonalities, with part of the film trying to remain sincere when dealing with the downfall of a damaged woman, while the rest plays like a John Waters movie, populated with broad characters and cartoony performances.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s hard to picture Gilbert Gottfried as a normal person. He’s not the Average Joe type, building a career as a comedian with a specifically nuclear-style stage persona, decimating audiences with X-rated material and ear-splitting vocal volume. He’s a unique persona, but director Neil Berkeley isn’t particularly interested in Gottfried’s professional achievements, using the documentary “Gilbert” to expose the performer’s average domestic experience, searching for the man behind the yelling and raunchy punchlines. Berkeley manages to uncover Gottfried’s true self in the film, and it’s as unsettling as a one can imagine. However, such rarity comes in handy with “Gilbert,” which supplies a fascinating look at a seemingly meek guy who lives to offend, highlighting career experiences and family ties, creating a portrait of a beloved funnyman that’s, at its best, eye-opening, especially when it comes time to observe Gottfried as a husband and father — two domestic roles few thought he would ever play.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With the career of Woody Allen, there’s expectation for creative peaks and valleys, but lately, the writer/director has been stuck in a rut, serving up a series of clunkers after the stunning success of 2013’s “Blue Jasmine.” After “Magic in the Moonlight,” “Irrational Man,” and “Café Society,” Allen’s slump continues with “Wonder Wheel,” an ill-considered take on romantic folly and dramatic invention. Allen’s working with a significant budget to resurrect ‘50’s-era Coney Island, and he has a fabulously talented lead in Kate Winslet, but Allen being Allen, only the slightest attention has been paid to approachability, leaving “Wonder Wheel” amazingly unlikable and, periodically, unendurable. Allen likes to maintain his one-film-per-year pace, but there are scripts, like this one, that need a little more time in development.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a big year for Operation Dynamo, the 1940 evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France. The event has already been featured in “Their Finest” and Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, “Dunkirk,” and now plays a pivotal role in “Darkest Hour,” which explores a critical month in the life of Winston Churchill. The subject also enjoyed another cinematic inspection this year in “Churchill,” but “Darkest Hour” employs a more precise vision from director Joe Wright and screenwriter Anthony McCarten, who use the pressure point of Hitler’s encroaching army to examine the stress of leadership, especially in England, where Churchill rubs against those who would rather surrender than fight. Wright tones down his usual visual flourishes, but his dramatic command is the strongest it’s been in years, mounting a gripping look at the solidification of Churchill’s legacy, aided by a terrific lead performance from Gary Oldman. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The New Radical” introduces the average viewer to the world of Cody Wilson, who, as a young man, decided to release the design of a plastic, 3D-printed gun for the world to download, imagining himself, as the title suggests, to be a champion of First Amendment freedoms, sharing his knowledge with the world. Director Adam Bhala Lough envisions a provocative look at the pliability of American rights and common sense with the documentary, but journalistic intentions fail to materialize. Instead, “The New Radical” is a 105-minute-long commercial for Wilson’s firearms business that’s also filled with zeitgeist-flicking asides on the omnipresence of gun violence and the subject’s connection to a new generation of people looking to rattle the establishment with dark empowerment, using Wilson to detail a David vs. Goliath war between longstanding government rule and Millennials trying to figure out how to implement a new world order.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s fascinating to consider that, recently, the most potent stories of Middle East life and history have been explored through animation. There was “Persepolis” and “Waltz with Bashir,” and now the “The Breadwinner” joins the list. While the feature does inspect a particularly brutal time in Afghanistan history (the Taliban era), the story remains committed to arcs of heroism and perseverance, working to create a sense of hope in the midst of absolute madness. “The Breadwinner” is a thoroughly emotional viewing experience, and while it triggers tears, it’s also a powerful tool of empowerment. The production pursues a particular note of hope found in the bold actions of a little girl in a ruthless land, successfully achieving a portrait of bravery that’s inspiring and riveting, while animation brilliantly balances harsh realities with storybook fantasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Cult films aren’t made, they’re born, often from the strangest of people, with the best worst movies never made cynically or intentionally, finding oddity just pouring out of the creation naturally. The journey for “The Room” began in 2003, where writer/director/producer/star Tommy Wiseau elected to take his thespian dreams into his own hands, creating an awkward psychodrama to best display his acting gifts to the world. The end result was inept from top to bottom, but its passion for tuneless filmmaking launched the picture as a midnight movie oddity, snowballing in popularity as hip audiences latched on to Tommy’s wacky vision. “The Disaster Artist” tracks the construction of “The Room” from the perspective of its co-star, Greg Sestero, who also wanted to acquire Hollywood glory, only to be mortified by Tommy’s creation. For director/star James Franco, the opportunity to dramatize this prolonged agony of production is irresistible, and his wildly entertaining “The Disaster Artist” is a loving ode to the power of delusion.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Kepler’s Dream” is an adaptation of a young adult novel by Juliet Bell, giving it an inherent softness as the material is meant to appeal to pre-teen audiences. Co-writer/director Amy Glazer respects the potential softness of the picture, doing what she can to preserve Bell’s sensitive subplots and defined characterization. It’s not urgent work, but for family audiences, “Kepler’s Dream” is genuine and nicely performed, with Glazer working to combat melodrama as much as possible as she juggles Bell’s plotting, which moves from a broken family story to a detective movie of sorts, adding some surprises to the mix.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Inoperable” suffers from a case of bad timing. Or perhaps its release is intentionally timed to follow the success of “Happy Death Day,” which attracted a young audience with an old concept. “Inoperable” also offers a slight riff on “Groundhog Day,” with co-writer/director Christopher Lawrence Chapman going the time loop route for this decidedly smaller take on persistent déjŕ vu. The horror endeavor doesn’t have much of a budget, and its plot either doesn’t make sense or requires Chapman to sit next to the viewer and explain it all at the story unfolds, creating a slightly underwhelming viewing experience. Gore zone visits are plentiful and Chapman appears to have the right macabre interests, but his feature is missing the noose-tightening appeal of recycled danger, playing far more lethargically than it should.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While the reality of social media is its current mission to enslave humanity as we know it, making movies about it always seem a little silly. It’s impossible to keep up with the movement of trends and technology, and the inherent shallowness of digital societies doesn’t translate well to the screen. Just look at internet-based films from the past (e.g. “feardotcom”). However, “People You May Know” isn’t any type of thriller or chiller, and it doesn’t take the subject matter lightly. Writer/director Sherwin Shilati is making a deadly serious feature about the disconnect of online life, offering a Faustian bargain story to examine the potential corruption of social media success, detailing all the lies it takes to achieve popularity. The message is interesting, but “People You May Know” is too heavy-handed, with moments of unpleasant preachiness and unwelcome comic relief.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Dee Rees is a gifted filmmaker with a clear interest in telling painfully human stories of race, identity, and struggle, always interested in richness of character. She arrived on the scene with “Pariah,” making a splash with a lauded indie production, graduating to more traditional creative interests with “Bessie,” which offered a shot at the creation of a bio-pic, dramatizing the life and times of singer Bessie Smith. With “Mudbound,” Rees’s moviemaking scope widens as she pursues a particularly bleak era in American history, sustaining career interests with an adaptation Hillary Jordan’s novel, taking viewers into the bowels of Alabama during the 1940s. It’s a feature drenched in suffering, hate, weather, and pain, making it a troubling sit. However, Rees does have a vision for the effort, helping to carry “Mudbound” through patches of familiarity, coming through with capable take on prejudice and rural isolation.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Thelma” is best described as an updated version of “Carrie,” even though Hollywood already tried to update “Carrie” recently, and it was awful. This time, Norway takes a crack at the horror of a young girl with telekinetic powers, with co-writer/director Joachim Trier (“Oslo, August 31st,” “Louder Than Bombs”) staging a spare, merciless journey of identity and unknowing menace, working in layers of sexuality, religious influence, and shock value along the way. Expectations for a more robust genre experience should be lowered, as Trier isn’t interesting in making a mess with “Thelma,” instead creating a slow-burn nightmare disguised as a coming-of-age drama. It rarely stuns, but the movie has select moments of effectively grim interactions and does well with its depiction of delayed adolescence.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Martin McDonagh has a special knack for behavioral insight, and the man loves his dark comedy. With “In Bruges” and “Seven Psychopaths,” McDonagh was cautious but somewhat glib with his characterizations, threatening quirk and a disruption of tonality. With “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” McDonagh finds a stunning cohesion between mischief and soul-splitting grief, putting the pieces of this puzzle together with flashes of violence. It’s a magnificent film, with McDonagh almost wizard-like in his ability to surprise with recognizable working parts, creating a powerful and intricate character study that finds tremendous value in the inner workings of damaged people. It always threatens to spin out of control, but McDonagh secures a buzzing atmosphere of threat to the effort, allowing “Three Billboards” to blossom in unexpected ways, and it possesses a few glorious sucker punches to keep viewers from becoming too comfortable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com