Category: Film Review

The experience of fraternity pledging is usually depicted a certain way, putting heavy emphasis on the brutality of hazing rituals, which often push pledge minds and bodies to the breaking point, guaranteeing lasting loyalty. Rarely does a film showcase the initiation process as one of hearty exchanges and firm handshakes. “Burning Sands” is the latest in a long line of college disaster movies, but it manages to locate a few new avenues of humiliation to explore, taking in the choreographed barbarity of fraternity life at a black college, pitting the savagery of daily abuse against clearness of though provided by historical leaders who’ve truly gone through their own version of hell night. “Burning Sands” has a problem with formula and predictability, but it’s also distinct in its point of view, with co-writer/director Gerald McMurray creating terrific scenes of anxiety and confusion to help support a periodically disappointing feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Douglas Schulze should be commended for at least trying to pull off something a little different. “The Dark Below” is thriller cinema, and a B-movie that’s searching for ways to unsettle its audience, also hunting for a gimmick that might help the feature to stand out from the genre pack. First and foremost, the film is partially set underwater, with the lead character struggling to survive under ice. Secondly, there’s no dialogue for the majority of the effort, with Schulze using silence as a way to shake up expectations. “The Dark Below” supplies an unusual viewing experience, but not a satisfying one, with Schulze coming up short in the chills department, exhausting the audience with iffy offerings of style that do next to nothing for the endeavor’s fear factor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Like many B-movies, “Atomica” submits a vision for the end of the world. However, it’s a slow ride in planetary decay and filmmaking, with director Dagen Merrill struggling to make a picture that’s basically conversational in nature exciting. There’s some design effort at work in the feature, which gives it a visual presence despite a clear lack of funds to truly bring a dying Earth to life, but “Atomica,” which aims to increase tension through a story of questionable identities and industrial exploration, rarely has the emphasis an endeavor like this requires to rise above its limited means. Merrill wants to transform limited spaces and dark motivations into a Hitchcockian ride, but it rarely grips as tightly as the production would like. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With the release of 2014’s “Godzilla,” Legendary Entertainment kicked off the “MonsterVerse,” their answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only instead of costumed superheroes, the company’s features will tie together building-sized creatures unsure if they want to tolerate or decimate humankind. From a moneymaking standpoint, it’s a tired idea, with seemingly everything open for franchise material these days, but Legendary has enthusiasm for their monsters, building on a best parts of “Godzilla” to inspire “Kong: Skull Island,” which turns the tragic super-ape into a ferocious defender of his jungle territory. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts keeps up the pace, but also spends time on his “Apocalypse Now” and “Jurassic Park” fandom, pouring his energy into a lively picture that brings out a fresh side of the titular menace, making the effort less about broken hearts and stunning beauty, and more about pummeling puny invaders. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2013, director Mike Mendez broke through with “Big Ass Spider,” which miraculously turned a basic monster movie premise into an entertaining ride of thrills and comedy. The film showcased what Mendez was capable of doing with a limited budget and cast, giving the picture some scale to compete with trends in wink-happy schlockbusters. I didn’t make time for the follow-up, “Lavalantula,” which was more of a “Police Academy” reunion than a creature feature, and 2016’s “The Last Heist” was fairly forgettable. Thankfully, Mendez returns to form with “Don’t Kill It,” a wild and inventive comedic chiller that really doesn’t have much of a budget, with the production working extra hard to give the effort some presence with lighting and mayhem, putting its faith in the power of gore and the charms of its lead actor, Dolph Lundgren. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2015, director Alex Gibney created “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” a documentary that attempted to cut the religious organization deep, exposing its curious and possibly destructive practices to the world, with hopes to disturb its secretive methods of physical and mental control. The picture was a smash success, attracting near-record viewers during its HBO debut, bringing Scientology back into the national conversation, stirring up fascinating debate on its methodology. Last year, the show “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” aired to high ratings, providing a look at someone once part of the machine now facing a future away from her once vital network of support, with the actress growing critical of Scientology, dissecting it with an insider’s perspective. And now it’s Louis Theroux turn to take Scientology for a spin, though his documentary, “My Scientology Movie,” isn’t nearly as dire, tracking the comedian’s attempt to replicate the experience of the religion instead of merely highlighting its fallacies, dangers, and mystery. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s a cult following for 2001’s “Haiku Tunnel,” and those people are going to be very happy that brothers Jacob and Josh Kornbluth have finally decided to return to the source of their only big screen success, albeit unconventionally. In many ways, “Love & Taxes” is another pass at “Haiku Tunnel” without remaking the whole thing, offering writer/star Josh Kornbluth a chance to explain his tumultuous life during the creation of the earlier picture, and doing so in the monologue format, where he’s most comfortable. It’s a performance piece broken up with dramatic interpretations of key events, delivering a mischievous take on Josh’s profound tax problems while director Jacob tries to transform stage work into a beguiling no-budget version of his brother’s ruined life. “Love & Taxes” is a bit unsteady at times, but Kornbluth charm and eccentricity remains as potent now as it was 16 years ago. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To his literal credit, writer/director Martin Koolhoven takes complete responsibility for his latest endeavor, which is titled “Koolhoven’s Brimstone” on the print, picking up where artists such as John Carpenter and Lars von Trier have left off. While there’s undeniable production heft on display throughout the picture, it’s Koolhoven who’s standing up for the effort, which concentrates on lessons of punishment in the American west, frosted with incestual appetites, ultraviolence, and a 148 minute run time. “Brimstone” is punishment, but that’s the idea, trying to inflict as much pain as possible as it explores kinks and sadism, bending genre traditions with an unnerving fixation on prolonged suffering. It’s a brutal film, in aggression and pacing, and I can only hope some of Koolhoven’s helming fee went to some badly needed therapy sessions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Disney has been doing very well with their recent corporate decision to make live-action versions of their animated classics, putting a new coat of paint on old stories and familiar characters, with passable interest in restoring elements of source material. “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Jungle Book” both made a billion dollars at the box office, while “Cinderella” made half as much but won the war of quality. Now the suits have turned their attention to “Beauty and the Beast,” which, to many admirers, is considered one of the finest Disney animated efforts of all time. And what better way to celebrate such an important chapter in the studio’s history than to mount a live-action take that’s largely without heart, soul, musical achievement, visual appeal, and judicious editing. Perhaps maybe, just maybe, we should all confront the reality that Bill Condon isn’t a very effective director. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Before I Fall” isn’t a faith-based production (at least not an overt one), but it provides one of the more stimulating spiritual stories of the past filmgoing year. An adaptation of a 2010 novel by Lauren Oliver, the production does indulge its YA origins, keeping matters of the heart close to the humiliation of high school and home life, but there’s more here than initially meets the eye. Once the feature purges most of its juvenile behavior, it settles into an engrossing study of personal awakening and, gasp, kindness, staying on message as it files through the usual teenage concern. “Before I Fall” isn’t stunning, but that it works at all is kind of miraculous, treating its characters with dignity and taking their hidden concerns seriously. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Jeffrey Blitz hasn’t made a feature film in a decade, and there’s a very good reason why. “Table 19” is his first big screen effort since 2007’s “Rocket Science,” and it’s an attempt to get his helming groove back after years in television, put in command of a screenplay co-conceived by indie golden boys, Jay and Mark Duplass. An overstuffed, undernourished attempt to turn a wedding reception into an intimate character study, “Table 19” isn’t funny and it certainly isn’t profound, stuck in neutral with deeply disturbing, virtually unexplained characterizations and random editing, helping to repeatedly disrupt what initially appears to be a farce, but soon reaches clumsily for something deeper. Blitz is lost here, flailing with terrible scenes, trying to make something meaningful stick with stillborn material and a dead-eyed cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are days when one desires thoughtful, refined cinema, and there are days when one craves a movie where star Anne Heche and Sandra Oh beat the stuffing out of each other for 90 minutes. “Catfight” is the latest from ultra-indie director Onur Tukel, who’s inching his way into the mainstream sunlight, but doing so with his sense of humor fully intact. While the feature does present the visual of the two actresses locked in brutal combat, working each other over with fists, hammers, and wrenches, “Catfight” is also a reasonably sharp satire of motherhood, politics, and the art world, with Tukel putting in an effort to beef up his picture with satisfying, sly characterization. The film is also frequently hilarious, delivering bellylaughs to go with broken faces, keeping the bizarre endeavor wonderfully entertaining.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actor Macon Blair made quite a favorable impression in 2014’s “Blue Ruin,” embodying a weary level of rage in Jeremy Saulnier’s outstanding revenge thriller. Blair returned to Saulnier country in last year’s stunner, “Green Room,” making something out of a supporting role. Now taking charge of his own filmmaking destiny, Blair graduates to the director’s chair for “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,” which shares DNA with Saulnier’s work, but follows its own direction of quirk and violence. The feature is amusing, but also astute in its understanding of depression and loneliness, with Blair (who also scripts) trying to turn everyday malaise into a foundation for thriller-style developments with a collection of oddballs and vicious criminals. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As most professionals involved in comedy like to remind civilians outside the industry: there are no taboos when it comes to funny business. A comedian should have the right to roam wherever their instincts lead them, touching on the worst elements of life in a way that brightens assured darkness. “The Last Laugh” is a documentary that explores the nature of envelope-pushing and how there actually is a topic that causes most comedians to pause: The Holocaust. From Mel Brooks to “Life is Beautiful,” director Ferne Pearlstein delves into the limits of joke construction, interviewing bright stars and educated people, working to understand how anyone could make The Holocaust funny, along with other world events that trigger immediate heartache. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s impressive that filmmakers continue to find fresh areas of World War II to explore, moving beyond simple Allied heroism to discover harrowing trials of moral code and survival from unexpected sources. “Land of Mine” offers viewers a piece of history from Denmark, picking up the story right as the world was picking up the pieces after years of senseless destruction masterminded by German forces. It’s a tale of punishment and understanding, but “Land of Mine” provides plenty of suspense as well, albeit the gut-punch kind that typically shadows a specific challenge of macabre endurance. Writer/director Martin Zandvliet isn’t above a few unnecessarily manipulative moments, but he handles intense drama with confidence, delivering a WWII saga that’s engrossing and harrowing, adding another piece to the puzzle of wartime anguish and rehabilitation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Ceyda Torun set out to make a documentary on cats, but ended up with something slightly more soulful after time with the knee-high stars of the movie. “Kedi” is a study of the feline population in Istanbul, where the creatures largely roam free, carrying on with their lives with and without help from the local human population. Perhaps trying to avoid a dry viewing experience dependent on wily cat behavior to fill 75 minutes, Torun looks at the bigger picture of interaction, with the animals acting as therapy for the community, offering unique terms of companionship that bring joy and purpose to those in need of something to care for or simply pet on occasion. “Kedi” is simple, but it finds a tone of kindness that’s special and endearing while still offering all the feline behaviors a “Cat Fancy” subscriber could love. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It hasn’t been an easy ride for director Bart Freundlich. After making a splash with his debut feature, 1997’s “The Myth of Fingerprints,” the helmer failed to build on his buzz, instead painting himself into a career corner with mainstream flops such as 2004’s “Catch That Kid” and 2009’s “The Rebound,” losing indie cred and professional opportunity over the last two decades. With “Wolves,” Freundlich attempts to merge his love of crowd-pleasing storytelling with art house emotion, making a team sports picture about individuality, digging below surface antics of a dysfunctional family struggling with a monetary nightmare to preserve character, taking his time massaging anxieties and betrayals out of the gifted cast. “Wolves” handles itself like a distant cousin to 1979’s “Breaking Away,” with Freundlich aware of moviegoer needs, yet he offers engrossing dramatic depth to make sure the effort is more than a series of coming-of-age clichés. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2013, director Ed Gass-Donnelly faced an unwinnable situation when he was hired to helm “The Last Exorcism: Part II,” a sequel nobody asked for to a movie that wasn’t beloved. Attacking the material from a slightly different direction, Gass-Donnelly did as good a job as possible, laboring to revive depleted creative batteries while testing the limitations of studio work. Box office wasn’t kind, but Gass-Donnelly is back to scary stuff with “Lavender,” a semi-ghost story that permits him more room to show off his abilities, taking on creepy houses and fractured memories with stabs at style and thick genre mood. “Lavender” is familiar in many ways, which serves the production well for the most part, but it’s not always a tasteful film, eventually making positive accomplishments difficult to track by the third act. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Eran Creevy is looking to achieve a big screen rush. He attempted something aggressive a few years back with “Welcome to the Punch,” which brought in respectable actors (James McAvoy and pre-“Brothers Grimsby” Mark Strong) to make a genre film. It didn’t quite connect as intended, so Creevy is trying again. With “Collide,” the helmer returns to interesting, perhaps unexpected casting and picks up a co-producer in Joel Silver, the former king of 1980s action pictures. Striving to replicate an adrenaline rush with this mix of a heist feature and “The Fast and the Furious,” Creevy puts his faith in speeding cars and loose logic, hoping to deliver passable escapism with “Collide,” which, if you squint hard enough and hop on one foot, is actually an entertaining B-movie, delivering some agreeably frantic moments in a European setting, coming up with the basics in chases and intimidation to please paying audiences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Jordan Peele is primarily known for funny business. After last year’s “Keanu,” perhaps there’s no recent evidence of it, but Peele is best known as half of “Key & Peele,” which became a popular sketch show for Comedy Central after debuting in 2012. While former partner Keegan-Michael Key is out there taking every role that comes his way, Peele has remained choosy, focusing on building a directorial career. Like many first-time helmers, Peele has selected the horror genre to introduce himself to audiences, but “Get Out” isn’t your typical shocker. It’s a far more sinister and slapstick, combining a real love of chillers with racial commentary and broad jesting. Peele is laboring to make an audience-pleasing nightmare with “Get Out,” and it’s a successful endeavor, but not overwhelmingly so, with iffy taste and timing of humor disturbing the hypnotic spell it’s itching to cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com