Category: Film Review

There has to be a reason why fine actors such as Kate Winslet and Idris Elba were drawn to “The Mountain Between Us.” There’s no professional challenge to the project, which tonally resembles a Lifetime Movie, presenting the stars with a tale of unexpected love emerging from a traumatizing survival challenge. Director Hany Abu-Assad has done fine work before, with “Paradise Now” and “Omar,” but he’s wrapped up in the nothingness of the picture as well, pretending that the sudsy elements of the screenplay (an adaptation of a 2011 novel by Charles Martin) are soulfully meaningful. “The Mountain Between Us” is a silly feature, but there’s no sense of such awareness from the production team, who plow ahead with a tedious, shallow soap opera that wastes the time of everyone involved. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982’s “Blade Runner” started off life as a box office disappointment in a particularly lively summer release season. Its reputation and influence developed radically over the decades, taking the Ridley Scott film on a wild ride of reappraisal and celebration, building a protective fandom who championed the construction of multiple cuts and numerous home video releases. Keeping up with trends of the day, there’s now a sequel, released 35 years after the original picture, hoping to give the faithful the cathedral tour they’ve been requesting for the decades now. The good news is that “Blade Runner 2049” is a sensational movie, loaded with outstanding technical accomplishments and revelatory performances. Even better, the follow-up manages to line up with the pure cinematic glow of the Scott endeavor, with helmer Denis Villeneuve paying careful attention to homage and narrative extension as he attempts to pull off what’s long been considered to be an impossible task. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

After a rocky start this year, Stephen King adaptations are having a thrilling autumn. After the shocking success of the recent “It,” which has gone on to break box office records and rescue a grim moviegoing year, “Gerald’s Game” arrives on the scene. It’s a smaller production than “It,” but just as twisted, with an endless appetite for the macabre and the grisly, bringing King’s vivid imagination to the screen, seemingly unmolested by outside interference. After scoring creative hits with “Hush” and “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” co-writer/director Mike Flanagan returns to his horror interests with this wicked tale of imprisonment, refusing to let the smallness of the story get in the way of its potential to unsettle. “Gerald’s Game” is not a slam-bang genre exercise, but a slow descent into psychological depths, keeping Flanagan busy as he attempts to visualize a tale that largely takes place inside one panicked woman’s mind.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Barracuda” is a homecoming tale in a way, opening as a story of a reunion between sisters before it develops into so much more. It’s set in Austin, Texas, and keeping the film sufficiently weird are directors Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, who invest in a slow-burn sensation of discovery, asking audiences to be patient with a movie that gradually evolves from a relationship saga to a horror endeavor, but not in an obvious, blood-and-guts way. “Barracuda” is sinister stuff, smartly conceived and executed by the helmers, who conjure darkness without announcing it, using the power of folk music to disarm viewers while the characters are carefully positioned for more macabre, distressed reveals. It starts small, but the picture escalates magnificently.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Shane Abbess has something planned with “The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One.” He’s attempting to go big with a sci-fi epic, but doesn’t have the necessary funds to truly indulge his franchise fantasies, requiring not just invention, but complete confidence to piece together an homage to B-movie escapism without a major push of financial comfort. Abbess doesn’t iron out all the kinks, but “The Osiris Child” is an engaging actioner with some striking visuals and a tireless need to entertain, making something about of next to nothing. The production hopes to disrupt expectations with a non-linear storytelling approach, mixing things up dramatically, but the picture comes through with periodic clarity, with urgent performances, appealing visual effects, and a sense of genre love coming together to create an energetic, pulpy feature, with Abbess succeeding where many other have tried and failed.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The endlessly unfolding saga of World War II on the big screen takes a visit to Norway for “The King’s Choice.” It’s a historical film, detailing the plight of King Haakon VII as he confronts growing Nazi interests in his country, forced to deal with the encroaching threat when it finally reaches his front door. It’s a story of contemplation and debate, with periodic bursts of warfare, but director Erik Poppe isn’t entirely interested in detailing the visceral elements of combat. He’s made a theater piece in a way, concentrating on verbal jousting and acts of intimidation as Norway faces a German future. Poppe crafts a talky picture, but also a compelling one, understanding the internal unrest of a man who’s trained to be a royal ornament, only to find himself with a direct opinion on the arrival of an enigmatic enemy.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

31 years ago, there was the first “My Little Pony” feature, created to cash in on the surprising success of the Hasbro toy line, giving fans a long-form version of the thing they love, expanding the world and the potential of the brand name. After a long breather from the multiplex, Hasbro returns with “My Little Pony: The Movie,” which is meant to amplify the very strange but sincere success of the “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” universe, which helped to make magical ponies relevant again and spawned an intriguing subculture hauntingly known as “Bronies.” “My Little Pony: The Movie” doesn’t generate an epic march for its big screen graduation, but it tries to open the world up in smaller ways, bringing in a hero’s journey plot and celebrity voicing to reach beyond the core demographic and offer family audiences something colorful, empowering, and semi-silly to enjoy together.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Walking Out” takes viewers deep into the wilds of Montana to experience a particularly harsh survival challenge for a father and son on a hunting trip. It doesn’t shy away from formula when it comes to analyzing the pain of men unable to communicate properly while enduring difficult challenges together. You’ve seen this type of story before, but what “Walking Out” offers are beautiful locations and a more precise understanding of paternal influence, using generational woes to deepen the feature. Directors Alex and Andrew J. Smith are determined to generate atmosphere during the picture, but there’s not much going on with the lead characters besides pressure points of masculinity and physical endurance, leaving the effort a bit lacking in the drama department, even with a few terrific scenes to hold the movie together.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The strangely titled “So B. It” is an adaptation of a 2004 novel by Sarah Weeks, and perhaps it should’ve remained in literary form. Despite its classification as a children’s book, the material covers difficult emotional ground, putting the protagonist through the wringer as she claims independence and searches for the truth behind her family history. Sent in to tame the writing is director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Gary Williams, who try to create a warm glaze to pour over frightfully abrasive interactions, doing their duty to make the picture approachable for a wide audience. Unfortunately, “So B. It” is stunningly unpleasant, asking viewers to endure scenes of hysteria and loss that are almost impossible to process in a loose 90 minute run time. The feature aims to be a tearjerker and something of a mystery, but it misses a sense of settled discovery and catharsis by a country mile.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Cold Moon” is being advertised as the latest work from the man who co-wrote “Beetlejuice,” and that’s an accurate claim, as Michael McDowell wrote the original 1980 novel that’s inspired the new film. And that’s pretty much it for connective tissue to the Tim Burton classic. While “Cold Moon” does deal with the horrors of the afterlife, it does so with a sobering haunting, far from any comedic promises the marketing makes. Co-writer/director Griff Furst has an interesting challenge with McDowell’s material, striving to keep the more sellable elements of the picture alive while the story slowly creeps away from nightmarish violence and demented characters. It’s more Florida Gothic than “Beetlejuice,” so buyer beware.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Say what you will about the career of director Joel Schumacher, but in the midst of creating overcooked garbage over the years, he managed to manufacture a few gems as well. 1990’s “Flatliners” is one of them, yanking viewers into the pulse-racing fantasy of medical students testing the boundaries of death to discover life’s secrets, only to be confronted with their own vast reservoirs of guilt and shame. Drenched in color, twitchily performed, and committed to a special spooky mood, Schumacher was firing on all cylinders 27 years ago, crafting a mighty offering of youth-market entertainment. Why the need to remake the feature in 2017 isn’t completely understood, but one wonders if screenwriter Ben Ripley (“Species III”) even watched the original picture, as his reworking of the story rudely sheds the ethical and moral urgency of the 1990 movie, more interested in drafting a simplistic horror endeavor with paper-thin characterizations and deadly dialogue.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many movies like “American Made,” which details the life and times of a simple man who stumbled into a criminal empire, amassing a fortune he can’t handle during a politically turbulent period of time. Ted Demme’s “Blow” employed a similar formula of wish-fulfillment screenwriting while exploring addictive, destructive behavior. However, other productions aren’t directed by Doug Liman and star Tom Cruise, who reunite after their creative success with “Edge of Tomorrow,” focusing on a much more human tale of bad ideas lubricated by greed and hubris. “American Made” is rendered loose and funky by Liman, who offers his signature hustle to a familiar story, directing the heck out of the picture, which provides irresistible energy and a strange saga of corruption, while Cruise is simply a force of nature, delivering one of the best performances of his career.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton don’t work very often, but when they do decide to make a movie, it’s always been something worth paying attention to. The “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Ruby Sparks” helmers return with “Battle of the Sexes,” which dramatizes the famous 1973 tennis match between 29-year-old Billie Jean King and 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, with both sides playing for the glory and dignity of their gender on national television. It was a publicity circus meant to playfully poke at period resentments during the era of the Women’s Liberation Movement, but Dayton and Faris aren’t interested in manufacturing a straight recreation of the match. They, along with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, cut deeper, studying the tentative lives of the players as they struggle with domestic issues and, for King, burgeoning sexuality during a rocket ride to nationwide fame. True to form, the pair treat the subject with care, and make a stirring, colorful, and amusing effort, finding different ways to approach an oft-told tale.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The bond of sisterhood is examined in “Different Flowers,” which begins as a runaway bride tale and evolves into a pleasant understanding of personal freedom. Making her feature-length directing debut is Morgan Dameron (also scripting), who graduates to a larger canvas after working in shorts and television (also credited as J.J. Abrams’s assistant on multiple movies), using what feels like an autobiographical take on sibling interaction, putting more emphasis on interplay than plot, giving the effort a loose, conversational mood with dabs of quirk. “Different Flowers” isn’t a radical creation out to redefine the screen potential of sibling rivalry, but as a quieter, kinder, and more emotionally knotted odyssey of clarity in the face of marital submission, there are a few ideas here on personal worth I’m sure a lot of viewers will relate to.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Mateo Gil (“Blackthorn”) doesn’t make it easy for himself, creating a movie that asks the universal question: what does it mean to live? It’s not a topic that can be contained to a single feature, but Gil handles himself artistically with “Realive,” which endeavors to examine a living experience interrupted, introducing thoughts on existence that weave into a compelling sci-fi story about cryogenic stasis. Gil is curious about the subject, putting thought into his story of resurrection, finding interesting, emotional ways to inspect a fantasy topic, electing a mournful filmmaking approach to a tale that threatens to crumble at any moment. That “Realive” manages to sustain its fascinating ethical and existential questions throughout is impressive, never sacrificing the central mystery of a man out of time trying to make sense of everything he left behind.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the montage that opens “Dolores,” there are shots of triumph featuring the documentary’s subject, Dolores Huerta, and a few shots of media types and other folk wondering just who Huerta is. Director Peter Bratt understands her lack of fame, at least in this day and age, creating a cinematic inspection of the labor leader and civil rights activist that’s meant to be a celebration and something of an introduction. It’s a smart way to approach Huerta’s arc of defiance and organization, transforming “Dolores” into a valuable educational tool and an engrossing feature, supported by impressively varied footage of Huerta in action and a slew of interviewees who’ve come together to recount amazing resilience and focus during turbulent decades of injustice and prejudice for Mexican laborers.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Sound” marks the directorial debut of actress Jenna Mattison, and she’s scripted for herself a small-scale haunting to best try out her helming abilities. Save for a few introductory sequences, the picture largely takes place in the dark, with traditional dialogue replaced by Twitter postings and texting. It’s a modern ghost story, but “The Sound,” while fighting to be relevant to a younger generation of moviegoer, doesn’t offer much in the way of suspense. It’s static work, intentionally so, leaving Mattison to figure out ways to keep the protagonist compelling while she’s sitting on the floor, banging away on her laptop. It’s not a completely ineffective effort, but Mattison’s attempting a different route to chills, and it doesn’t work, especially when there’s 90 minutes of screen time to fill.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Fashion has always been part of filmmaking, but now were seeing a rise of fashion designers making movies instead of simply dressing them. Tom Ford has found success behind the camera, hitting emotional highs with “A Single Man” and oddness with last year’s “Nocturnal Animals.” “Woodshock” isn’t as defined as Ford’s efforts, but it does introduce sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy to the helming ranks, taking a brief leave from their day job as the masterminds behind Rodarte to assemble this floating journey into altered states and bottomless pain. Imagine if “Up in Smoke” was played as seriously as possible and starred Kirsten Dunst, and there’s “Woodshock” in a way. The Mulleavys have a vision for their debut, but pretty pictures and thousand yard stares do not make for a satisfying or profound viewing experience, even as artfully presented as the endeavor is.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Ryan Eggold is an actor who’s been hacking away at a career for a long time. “Literally, Right Before Aaron” is his directorial debut, taking control of a big screen endeavor to scratch some artistic itches, pouring his energy into the creation of a relationship drama featuring a single character. “Literally, Right Before Aaron” feels like deeply personal work, with Eggold peppering the dramedy with life experience and knowledge of broken-hearted ambition. The movie isn’t confident with humor, putting a little too much pressure on star Justin Long to spin gold in most scenes. Eggold’s better with the darker, more emotional areas of the plot, capturing the intensity of bad decisions when they’re motivated by desperation, and the sting of love that’s no longer returned.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The altered consciousness of sleep is a common playground for horror cinema. Dreamlike states offer pliable logic and room for outrageous visuals, and it also preys on a universal fear of vulnerability, with a snoozing body no match for whatever ghouls and goblins are in position to attack. “Don’t Sleep” is another addition to the ongoing exploration of bedroom exposure, though it initially takes a more psychological look at the dangers of nightmares, eventually transforming into a weirdly elaborate fantasy for a feature that opens with the visual of a decomposing woman snacking on a dead rat. Simplicity doesn’t interest writer/director Rick Bieber, who endeavors to muddy the waters of his genre effort, hoping to provide more of an intellectual ride before launching the film into space. Parts of “Don’t Sleep” are satisfying, but the majority of the picture struggles to land frights and character insight, shedding appeal as it lumbers towards its bizarre conclusion.   Read the rest at Blu-ray.com