Category: Film Review

While it must be difficult to compete with PBS nature shows, entire cable channels devoted to the natural world, and sporadic Disneynature theatrical releases, it’s clear from the opening shots of “Seasons” that co-directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzard are working on an entirely different level. The helmers behind “Winged Migration” and “Oceans” return with a study of life itself, using the expanse of European forests to identify animal interaction and survival as it moves from an untested realm of activity to one where human influence has reduced the splendor of nature. “Seasons” is as gorgeously crafted as Perrin and Cluzard’s previous efforts, but the difference here is one of environmental concern, highlighting a strange new world where the wild as we know it is being threatened with extinction after ruling for thousands of years. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his last effort, 2012’s “Life of Pi,” director Ang Lee took a creative risk, electing to tell a story that’s light on spectacle in 3D, hoping to create a more immersive viewing experience to boost dramatic potential. It worked to a certain degree, making the movie a box office success, inspiring Lee to cook up new plans for cinematic experimentation. “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” doesn’t feature any bold moments of disaster or animal threat to give it the same scale as “Life of Pi,” forcing Lee to dig deep into his bag of tricks to sell what’s actually a very intimate story of shock and grief. Shooting the picture in 3D and high frame rate, Lee breaks down the barriers of film to put viewers into the moment. It’s a striking endeavor, going for a specific feel of you-are-there drama. It’s too bad few people will actually experience “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” in its native format. Stripped of gimmicks, and the movie is substantially dulled, exposing a feeble story at the heart of all the technical wizardry. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the astonishing and enduring success of the “Harry Potter” film franchise, which managed to squeeze eight movies out of seven books, it didn’t seem possible that the series would simply end after Potter’s tale concluded. While there was still money to be made with the “Wizarding World” brand name, there was also the bottomless imagination of author J.K. Rowling, who teased expansions and detours with her “Pottermore” website and literary projects, along with massively popular theme park environments around the world. Getting the movie machine back up and running is “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” an adaptation of Rowling’s 2001 book (scripted by the author), and while it doesn’t feature Harry Potter, it has wizards and mischief galore, along with plenty of darkness to signify its intent to appeal to an older crowd. “Fantastic Beasts” is big on wand-slinging and monster hunting, but actual magic is in short supply here. While big screen spectacle is appealing, the material just isn’t as deeply felt as previous Wizarding World adventures, making it appear as more of a business decision than rip-roaring new beginning. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Teen comedies in this day and age are either obsessed with mean-spirited mischief or the films of John Hughes. The recent “Easy A” decided to pay tribute to the writer/director of “The Breakfast Club” by simply stealing his moves, ending up with a tired feature of little significance. “The Edge of Seventeen” is likely going to be described as Hughesian, but it’s not. Instead, the movie resembles the work of its producer, James L. Brooks, showing patience with textured characterization and honesty with drama, trying to manufacture adolescent authenticity to best support its triumphant mix of heart and horror. It’s a wonderful picture, alive and achingly human, with writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig (making her helming debut) absolutely nailing the pains of teendom, focusing on awkwardness, busting as many clichés as she can. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After an extended period of dormancy, boxing movies are all the rage these days, but few of them have been worth viewing. For every “Creed” there’s a “Hands of Stone,” making the prospect of yet another boxer bio-pic less than appealing. Not helping matters for “Bleed for This” is writer/director Ben Younger, who previously disappointed with efforts such as “Boiler Room” and “Prime.” Younger tries to find a fresh angle to pugilist blues in “Bleed for This,” dramatizing the life and times of fighter Vinny Pazienza, who battled back from a debilitating car accident to reclaim his reputation as a king of the ring. While the cast and crew are fired up about the subject as his colorful family and friends, the film struggles to connect, missing too many pieces of personality and history, struggling to overcome a one-dimensional screenplay that’s more about the arc of triumph than the journey of a stubborn man. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Anna Biller isn’t only the writer and director of “The Love Witch,” she’s also pretty much the entire crew. As DIY a cinematic effort as I’ve seen in recent memory, “The Love Witch” not only has a defined point of view, but a level of craftsmanship not typically found in low-budget independent productions. The film looks terrific, nailing its intent to be a throwback offering of late-1960s Euro-style exploitation, with Billet taking complete ownership of the movie, from visuals to themes. Her editorial skills leave much to be desired, but when the stitching, hammering, painting, and writing is all done by the same person, it’s not surprising to find a feature that’s terrified to cut away from anything, fearful of losing focus on what must’ve been overwhelming work.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As noble at its intentions are to celebrate the bravery of those who choose to be power line technicians, taking on the beast of electricity at radical heights and in calamitous weather, “Life on the Line” is far too dopey a picture to be taken seriously. It’s a melodrama from director David Hackl, whose previous credits include “Saw V” and “Into the Grizzly Maze.” Perhaps horror isn’t enough for the helmer, who tries on the blue collar experience for size, overseeing the problematic lives and squashed dreams of those who take care of the nation’s electricity needs. The production aims to create a new version of “Backdraft,” but it ends up a soggy television movie, indulging all manner of overacting and syrupy screenwriting to make sure viewers leave with a lump in their throat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A feature film is the next natural step for author James Bowen. His tales of suffering through drug addiction and homelessness, finding salvation through the company of a cat, have inspired a best-selling book and, quickly after, a popular brand. The feline is Bob, and he’s starred in seven literary offerings from Bowen, gifting his human a chance to turn around his life and inspire others struggling with problems. “A Street Cat Named Bob” is the first big screen adventure for Bowen’s companion, and it’s engineered to be as benevolent as possible, making Bob’s transition to movie work smooth and safe. Bowen’s hardships are compelling, and the picture has its heart in the right place, but director Roger Spottiswood doesn’t quite energize the material, which has a few stretches of flatness before it returns to attention with welcome grit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director James Watkins has made a positive impression with his career choices. He’s taken on tired genre ideas and made them feel at least semi-fresh again, with secure work on the terrifying “Eden Lake” and the unexpectedly digestible “The Woman in Black.” “The Take” moves Watkins away from horror endeavors and into action country, taking command of a chase picture that uses France as a battleground. The helmer’s magic touch is on the fritz here, but “The Take” manages to get rolling periodically, wisely investing in an initially straightforward story and a few inventive stunt sequences to create needed excitement. However, there’s not enough of it, leaving the effort unfortunately underwhelming. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been an interesting last few years for comedian Kevin James. Trying to make something out of a tailspinning film career, James has worked through an abysmal sequel (“Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”), a forgettable family production (“Little Boy”), and a largely scorned aspiring blockbuster (“Pixels”), and now he’s starring in his first major Netflix movie. Keeping it simple, “True Memoirs of an International Assassin” isn’t likely to change James’s cinematic fortune, handing the picture to co-writer/director Jeff Wadlow, who previously helmed disheartening nonsense like “Cry Wolf,” “Never Back Down,” and “Kick-Ass 2.” If you’ve seen one James endeavor, you’ve already seen “True Memoirs,” which serves up the same slapstick the actor is known for, only here the action is more R-rated. But even a little extra violence doesn’t help the feature avoid painful predictability.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Shut In” doesn’t have any sort of originality or energy. It’s a PG-13 programmer meant to fill a gap in a release schedule, and should be treated with such disposability, as I doubt even the creators of the feature sat through it twice. It’s paint-by-number filmmaking from director Farren Blackburn, who has a chance to shake up the thriller genre here, capable of adding some surprises and deep psychological wounds to the effort, to help charge up its motivations and eventual descent into household chases. But Blackburn doesn’t do anything with “Shut In” besides play it as obviously and painfully dull as possible, generating possibly the most uneventful movie of 2016. It just lies down on the screen and expects viewers to do all the work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Denis Villeneuve makes a specific type of movie. The director of “Prisoners,” “Enemy,” and “Sicario,” Villeneuve takes his fondness for the stillness of cinema to the sci-fi realm, assuming command of “Arrival,” which is an adaptation of a short story by Ted Chiang (scripted by Eric Heisserer). While the picture is technically an alien invasion tale, “Arrival” strives to be much more than the average disaster film. It’s intelligent and challenging, questioning time itself between exhaustive examinations of language and meaning. It’s introspective instead of demonstrative. It’s a fine effort, but incomplete, and that’s the way Villeneuve likes it. He’s a made a feature that enjoys questions, not answers, taking on the grand spectacle of visiting aliens in towering spaceships with more of an episodic approach, creating a viewing experience that’s filled with as much frustration as it is with awe. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s that time in the average movie year when a production emerges before Thanksgiving to claim a release date, hoping to be the film that captures the Christmas spirit so profoundly, popularity carries the effort until the New Year. I’m not sure “Almost Christmas” has a shot at sizable box office, but it wins the war of quality, sort of, emerging as a perfectly pleasant, perfectly obvious holiday distraction that isn’t nearly as Christmasified as it could be, but still delivers all the decent laughs and warm fuzzies expected from this style of entertainment. Writer/director David E. Talbert (“First Sunday,” “Baggage Claim”) isn’t reinventing the wheel with “Almost Christmas,” but he’s brought an eager cast and a mild sense of chaos, looking to celebrate the season with the widest possible audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Marketing for “The Monster” sells the film on the strength of its director, Bryan Bertino, who helmed “The Strangers,” a sleeper hit at the box office. And yet, “The Strangers” came out eight years ago, raising interest in what Bertino has been up to in the interim, with another production, “Mockingbird,” coming and going in 2014. “The Monster” isn’t likely to revive a fledgling career, but it does provide an unexpected viewing experience. Using genre elements and formula to buttress a mother/daughter story of mutual bitterness melting in the presence of a genuine threat, Bertino aims high with this violent chiller, but the material’s quest to be a profound study of dysfunction always outshines its horror ambitions. It’s a slow effort, painfully so at times, but the reward is a sharp psychological study that ends up being the most interesting conflict in the movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Rainbow Time” is a Duplass Brothers production, which means that conflicts aren’t going to be resolved with weapons, but with long confessions and emotional vulnerability. It’s the second directorial effort from Linas Phillips, who last helmed “Bass Ackwards,” remaining in the indie hot zone for his latest, which details the intensity of family relationships and the frustration of shrouded sexual desires. Also contributing a colorful supporting performance, Philips maintains command of “Rainbow Time,” which periodically threatens to float away as art-house fluff, only to restore urgency with a keen sense of physical and emotional need. It’s a comedy too, often a hilarious one, but as with most Duplass-ian projects, appreciation for the picture’s layers of hurt require patience, allowing Phillips time to mix the brew of dysfunction, looking for the right consistency of anxiety. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The easiest way to describe “Operator” would be to compare it to Spike Jonze’s “Her,” which explored the relationship between a lonely man and his operating system. “Operator” isn’t the same picture, but it’s similarly interested in the ways of connection to the artificial world, with its lure of control and its promise of loyalty. Co-writer/director Logan Kibens collects provocative ideas and fascinatingly warped characters and finds compelling ways to tie big ideas to intimate encounters. His take on technological obsession does away with most sentimentality and darkly comic pursuits to spotlight a scenario where a lack of self-control divides a man from the women he loves, only this distraction emerges in the form of a voice, and one that just happens to belong to his wife. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Love and desire hit normal adolescent roadblocks in “Being 17,” the latest from co-writer/director Andre Techine (“Thieves,” “Wild Reeds”). The 73-year-old helmer is an unlikely source for adolescent woes, but Techine taps into something very personal and primal with the picture, which attacks displays of universal dysfunction with raw passion, gifting the feature real spirit as it inspects teenagers and their personal battles. “Being 17” isn’t the sharpest work from Techine — it actually doesn’t even have an ending. What the director gets absolutely right here are those abyssal feelings and paralyzing concerns that touch everyone’s life, treating arcs of attraction and friendship with the concentration and realism they deserve.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the movie business’s never-ending quest to find tales of heroism to exploit, especially military ones, the tale of the USS Indianapolis is finally realized. A story of combat, disaster, and shark attacks, the WWII adventure was referenced during a key scene in “Jaws,” providing the kind of real-world horror that identifies the root of the human experience: life and death. Decades later, we have “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage,” a dramatization of the disaster that sunk the ship and stranded hundreds of the crew in open water. With Spielberg long gone, the production has to make do with director Mario Van Peebles, who has experience with “Jaws” (albeit a supporting role in “Jaws: The Revenge”), but little training with war extravaganzas. And this inexperience is obvious throughout the clumsy, cheapie “Men of Courage.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, there was “Strange Magic,” which welcomed audiences into a fantasy realm populated with magical creatures who communicated through jukebox musical hits. Now there’s “Trolls,” which is basically the same movie, only with more adorable protagonists, a more marketable soundtrack, and a famous brand to exploit for its debut feature. Thankfully for “Trolls,” nobody saw “Strange Magic,” giving the new release an opportunity to impress with its attempt to create a cinematic world for a toy that’s been around since 1959. Keeping to the basics of animated endeavors, the film doesn’t color outside the lines, delivering big songs and heart for family audiences, but not much originality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After kicking off “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with last summer’s superhero battle royal, “Captain America: Civil War,” Marvel Studios returns to experimental mode with “Doctor Strange.” Attempting to establish a comic book character that’s different from the costumed savior norm, the producers try to bring a little magic to multiplexes, messing with time and space to give the titular warrior a unique widescreen space to show off his capabilities. Much like 2015’s “Ant-Man,” “Doctor Strange” isn’t based on a household name, requiring a little invention from the production to make the weird world of Stephen Strange something special. While the feature recycles Marvel origin story formula, it’s a mostly successful and visually dazzling introduction for the wizard, who fits in comfortably with the ongoing brand name world-building, making him a welcomingly oddball avenger. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com