Category: Film Review

Dance films are common, and they generally share a common goal of choreographed movement, trying to nail elaborate big screen routines with precise timing. “Polina” is the rare picture to challenge the boundaries of traditional dance, viewing the rigidity of the art form as a necessary for training, but hard on the heart. It’s not a radical rejection of established dance education requirements, but “Polina” has bigger ideas than simply becoming an overtired ballet effort, locking in on creative yearn and the sheer ecstasy of bodily release. It’s a terrific feature, but not for expected reasons, teasing cliché while achieving a deeper understanding of dancer headspace, which is dominated by a need to please and a searing frustration with any repression of artistic expression.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Vengeance” is the latest B-movie endeavor for actor Nicolas Cage, who’s turned his career into a video store stocked with only bottom shelf titles, with gems once plentiful now few and far between. However, none of these latter-year bombs can claim inspiration from a Joyce Carol Oates novella, while Cage steps back into a producer role, giving the effort a shot at actual interest from the star. While a personality doesn’t emerge, Cage does the one-man-army routine rather well, turning himself into a statue while the rest of the cast is tasked with providing emotional performances. “Vengeance” is missing pieces of its puzzle, but accepted on its level of blunt hostility, and it works with one eye closed, becoming a vigilante thriller that’s straight to the point.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John Malkovich and Glenn Close famously teamed up almost 30 years ago, playing troubling games of seduction in “Dangerous Liaisons,” which presented two wonderful actors in their prime a chance to play challenging period roles, inhabiting unhealthy characters. The same idea applies to “The Wilde Wedding,” which reteams Close and Malkovich in a contemporary tale of seemingly pleasant people up to no good while in the midst of a celebration. Writer/director Damian Harris isn’t remaking “Dangerous Liaisons,” but he’s offering the ensemble a chance to play in wide open spaces, going for more of a mid-career Woody Allen vibe as personalities collide and predatory behaviors are exposed during the titular event, with a jazzy score keeping the pace as the helmer simply unleashes his cast on the script, making a casual disaster movie with exceedingly talented leads.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Following current crime story trends, “Wetlands” is a heavy viewing experience, offering a level of bleakness that’s difficult to endure, especially when it loses concentration on its most promising elements. Writer/director Emanuele Della Valle aims to achieve a sort of mediation on the scars of sin and the struggles of redemption, and he’s chosen an interesting location to summon the ghosts of the past, with the outskirts of Atlantic City setting the scene for an odyssey that turns the lead character inside out. However, while effective in certain areas, boosted by a fine cast and a knockout turn from Jennifer Ehle, “Wetlands” tends to revel in mood instead of using it to create grim momentum, with the tale’s shock value far too numbed to make its intended impact.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It took some time after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, for the movie industry to feel comfortable dramatizing the horrors that occurred on that dreadful, emotionally crippling day. Eventually, producers worked up the nerve to try and visualize something most Americans are loathe to remember, and intriguing cinema emerged, including Paul Greengrass’s “United 93,” Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” and a host of smaller pictures and television efforts. Most of these endeavors were trying to understand incredible behaviors of the day and mourn unimaginable sacrifices, hoping to make some sense out of a heinous, cowardly act. Now comes “9/11,” which is a little late to the party, but labors to live up to the “never forget” mantra surrounding the disaster, offering a micro-budget story of survival inside the crumbling North Tower of the World Trade Center. And when one considers the depth of sorrow, the pain of loss, and the boiling rage of frustration surrounding the 9/11 experience, it makes perfect sense for director Martin Guigui to hire Charlie Sheen to star — a man who’s gone on record questioning the reality of the attacks. It’s the first of many cringe-inducing goofs “9/11” makes on its quick journey to obscurity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

While adaptations of Stephen King novels are common, the big screen has enjoyed a recent revival of the author’s work, making it feel like the 1980s all over again. Unfortunately, August’s “The Dark Tower” was a mess and perhaps a poor choice for a cinematic experience to begin with, finding its labyrinthine story too complex for a 90 minute run time, leaving behind more questions than answers. Far more successful is “It,” which brings King’s 1986 book to life in extraordinary ways, with director Andy Muschietti capably handling the curves and history of King’s source material, doing an excellent job of focus when dealing with a massive book (over 1,000 pages). “It” is frightening, as to be expected with a demonic clown for an antagonist, but it’s also richly realized (supported by an epic sense of childhood fears and desires), evocative, and outstandingly acted. While it liberally cuts material from the original book, Muschietti still fashions a complete and irresistible experience of fear, easily topping “The Dark Tower” as the premiere King joint of the year, but it’s also one of his finest translations overall, with the production getting the author’s macabre imagination just right. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Little Evil” is a comedic version of “The Omen,” not to be confused with “The Omen” remake from 2006, which, let’s face it, had more laughs. It’s the long-awaited new film from writer/director Eli Craig, who’s last movie, 2010’s “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil,” was a genuine surprise, competently blending slapstick comedy and blood-spattered horror. It was a lively picture, and while Craig’s been away attacking television productions in the intervening years, his sense of humor hasn’t been diluted. “Little Evil” is highly amusing, but more importantly, it offers enjoyable speed and dips into wackiness, never losing its rhythm as the story gets weirder and more wicked. Craig is backed by a game cast of comedians and a love of the genre, which is evident through inside jokes and an overall push into demonic events, keeping the effort fun while it teases a taste for the frightening.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When your parents are filmmakers Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, I supposed getting into the family business is unavoidable. Making her directorial debut with “Home Again” is Hallie Meyers-Shyer, and instead of serving up a piping hot slice of offspring rebellion, the helmer basically makes the same movie her parents have been offering multiplexes for the last 30 years. Making a decidedly underwhelming first impression, Meyers-Shyer is barely trying with “Home Again,” which offers a slow-pitch softball game of love with weirdly emphatic and unlikable characters, and maintains the family formula of upper class opulence and first-world problems, which the production means to present as escapism. Instead, it’s deathly dull and haphazardly scripted, making for a long viewing experience as Meyers-Shyer slowly traces over previous screenplays.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I don’t think it’s controversial to suggest that “Year by the Sea” is made with a specific demographic in mind. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as it’s a demographic habitually ignored by Hollywood, forcing this indie production to reach out and find an audience that’s in step with its depiction of life as a woman of a certain age. “Year by the Sea” deserves some credit for committing entirely to the inner workings of a sixtysomething character, and there’s necessary texture in the unsettled life presented here. Writer/director Alexander Janko often goes out of his way to cater to an older audience, but his most important choice is the casting of Karen Allen, a wonderful actress who builds on her work in last year’s “Bad Hurt,” offering another layered view of domestic containment, albeit in a cheerier effort, but one that’s wise to the ways of aging, choices, and personal need.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

30 years ago, Hollywood was beginning its obsession with body-swap comedies, with movies such as “Like Father, Like Son,” “Vice Versa,” “18 Again,” and “Big” offering variations on the “Freaky Friday” formula, finding mischief in the confusion of people stuck in different bodies. “Second Nature” escalates the concept, altering human history to fit its fantasy quota. What should be a zeitgeist-snapping effort of gender examination and appreciation is left a bit underwhelming, with co-writer/director Michael Cross unable to get the juices flowing when it comes to laughs or societal inspection, left with a middling endeavor that doesn’t stimulate enough smiles, but benefits from two engaged performances from leads Collette Wolfe and Sam Huntington, who often save the picture with their spirited work.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A film like “Clowntergeist” doesn’t just happen by accident. With Stephen King’s “It” poised to do significant business at the box office this month, there’s always room for interlopers — knock-off productions looking to collect a few bucks from those hungry for more. In this case, it’s a question of killer clowns emerging from a demonic space, with writer/director Aaron Mirtes going the no-budget route when assembling his take on heavily painted horror. “Clowntergeist” doesn’t exactly live up to the promise of its title, but it hopes to jolt viewers with shock jumps on the soundtrack and clown-based imagery, giving the movie some hustle while it tries to machete through amateurish production efforts, including dismal acting. It’s hard to image a movie with this title could be disappointing, but the picture just doesn’t bring the clownpocalypse like it should.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Limehouse Golem” establishes itself as a tale of serial murder without ever truly becoming one. Perhaps some will be comfortable with the picture’s subversion of expectations, using the lure of horror to explore one character’s history of abuse, but I can’t imagine the movie is going to satisfying many. Sold as a Jack the Ripper-style procedural thriller, and “The Limehouse Golem” emerges as a mix of the grisly and the mundane, with director Juan Carlos Medina trying to pretend this type of entertainment isn’t common on public television. The effort has its grungy style and a sturdy lead performance from Bill Nighy, but it can’t shake a sense of smallness and familiarity, forcing screenwriter Jane Goldman to use extreme violence as smelling salts for the audience, trying to keep them interested in a plot that’s been done before, often weekly for fans of BBC entertainment.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Considering the last “Twilight” movie was released in 2012, it’s a little strange to see a film like “Fallen” produced, missing relevance by many years. Much like “Twilight” and its imitators, “Fallen” is an adaptation of a YA book series (four in total, from author Lauren Kate), offering audiences a dewy romance with troubled teenagers, while a strong supernatural element carries the franchise, giving it a chance to play into fantasy extremes, which always helps to lubricate forbidden love. It’s all so familiar and routine, with the primary difference being the source material’s religious interests, skipping the business of monsters to tinker with angels and demons. However, even with the potential of God’s army in motion, the feature still plays a banal game of teen angst and longing looks.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Nile Hilton Incident” takes a common detective story and positions it into the middle of world-changing history. It’s a special way to squeeze suspense out of a lukewarm mystery, with the story taking place during the countdown period to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, giving the production an end game of protest chaos (partially inspired by police brutality) that hangs in the air like a toxic cloud. Writer/director Tarik Saleh is smart to bring the picture to a boil in this special way, as the rest of the “The Nile Hotel Incident” is largely lacking in suspense and intrigue, with its cultural fingerprint doing most of the work as the journey winds through corruption, blackmail, and murder.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The biggest story this weekend isn’t the film “Tulip Fever,” but the fact that feature was even released. Shot three years ago, the picture has stumbled since its creation, missing release dates and subjected to various hands tinkering in the editing room. The initial idea was to bring Deborah Moggach’s popular book to the big screen, but development and post-production woes had a different plan. And now it’s been slipped into theaters on one of the worst weekends to release a movie, condemning what was once intended to be a major Oscar season force to the land of obscurity. The truth is, “Tulip Fever” isn’t a terrible effort, it’s merely a mess, and a tedious one at that, with too many cooks in the kitchen trying to flatten down all the oddity that was likely a primary point of pride for director Justin Chadwick (“The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”), rendering the endeavor without much personality or drive.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a lively last couple of years for Taylor Sheridan. Entering the entertainment industry as an actor, Sheridan made a transition to screenwriting, scoring major successes with “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water,” my choice as the best film of 2016. While he’s directed before (the little-seen “Vile” from 2011), Sheridan graduates to the big leagues of helming with “Wind River,” which puts him in the driver’s seat for his own material, now in charge of grim criminal and police procedural interactions he was previously limited to simply writing about. While it doesn’t have the definition and timing of “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water,” “Wind River” is an assured addition to Sheridan’s oeuvre, once again examining an alien setting with concerned characters, fashioning a western out of contemporary grievances. It’s mournful, more pained than exciting, but it offers some real craft from Sheridan, who proves he has a long career ahead of him, should he choose to remain fascinated with the cruelty of life.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

William H. Macy has enjoyed an incredible career as an actor, with lauded turns in such classics as “Boogie Nights” and “Fargo,” while his presence in other productions has managed to salvage lesser films. He’s even made an impression on pay cable with the long-running show, “Shameless.” Macy is now transitioning to direction to help refocus his professional ambition, making his debut with 2014’s largely unseen “Rudderless.” To make more of an impression, Macy abandons most of his dignity to craft “The Layover,” a profane, mildly raunchy comedy that’s big on silliness but shockingly low on laughs. Perhaps in Macy’s mind, “The Layover” is a throwback to goofy European farces from the 1960s, but it plays far more uneventfully in 2017, struggling to do something, anything, that might trigger a smile.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2011’s “Goon” was a real surprise. Not only was it an effective comedy that prized a degree of silliness, it was a decent hockey picture as well, living up to the legacy of “Slap Shot,” arguably the greatest hockey picture of all time. “Goon” found its identity early, forging ahead as a brutally violent summary of life as an enforcer, following Doug “The Thug” Glatt as he learned the ugly business of hockey, which requires the beating of men to keep fans interested and testosterone flowing during games. It took the producers long enough, but now there’s “Goon: Last of the Enforcers,” which picks up Doug’s story at the end of his playing days, hoping to find dramatic inspiration in a retirement situation. While “Goon: Last of the Enforcers” has its share of blood-spattered fights and weirdo supporting characters, it goes a little soft, which doesn’t feel appropriate, especially after the freewheeling shenanigans of the original movie.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Four years ago, “In a World…” turned actress Lake Bell into a writer/director. It was a valentine to the world of voiceover professionals and a neuroses-laden behavior from itchy characters, establishing Bell’s interest in feelings and mild jesting, though she was much better with confrontations than hugs. Bell returns to the power of ellipsis with “I Do…Until I Don’t,” which goes deeper into intimacy, this time taking on the brutality of marriage, exposing its nuance, hostilities, and strain of commitment, but with a pronounced comedic approach that find Bell in a Woody Allen mood, picking up on behaviors instead of giving her story a major presence. While her debut had charm to save it, “I Do…Until I Don’t” tries too hard to silly and sincere, finding Bell’s effort to preserve a causal vibe crushing its lasting appeal.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s a good reason to hope for the best when it comes to the career of Noomi Rapace. She’s a wonderful actress and an atypically focused talent, often drawn to characters with severe psychological damage. Her skills were put on view recently, in Tommy Wirkola’s “What Happened to Monday,” which challenged Rapace to play septuplets, each with a distinct personality. While she’s had her professional ups and downs, she’s trapped in career carbonite in “Unlocked,” which sticks Rapace in the middle of a terribly formulaic thriller, which often plays like a television pilot. She’s handed another roughhouse role here, tasked with mastering spy-on-the-run moves, and Rapace is one of the few highlights of “Unlocked,” which is faced with tough competition on screens big and little, but doesn’t pursue anything novel or ferocious enough to make a deep impression.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com