Category: Film Review

“Five Nights in Maine” is reserved for viewers who can appreciate the fine art of the gut-wrenching drama. It’s tough stuff, masterminded by writer/director Maris Curran, who takes a messy look at the stages of grief and troubled communication, giving actor David Oyelowo and Dianne Wiest plenty of space to figure out how to play charged reactions. It’s an interestingly spare effort trying to find a spot in today’s flashy movie marketplace, demanding patience from the audience as it gradually reaches a mournful purging, but Curran does stick the landing, rewarding those curious enough to study broken people in exploratory mode with an exceptionally acted, smarty scripted drama that packs a wallop. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It was never going to be easy for John F. Kennedy Jr. The son of a beloved American president, and one who died in such a grisly manner, JFK Jr. was saddled with global expectations just before he turned three years old, destined to live a life of intense scrutiny and privilege as part of the country’s royal family. “I Am JFK Jr.” is a documentary that looks at the life and time of John F. Kennedy Jr., with director Derik Murray granted access to home movies and photographs, along with close friends and associates, trying to sharpen focus on a man who lived his life in the public eye, trying to make the most of a strange situation of notoriety and destiny. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s a new generation of psychological horror filmmakers coming into view who all favor the same elements of movie construction. There has to be colorless, flavorless digital cinematography. Gorging on natural light is a must. A synth score must groan throughout the feature, surging with shapelessness when tensions rise. And performances aren’t achieved through acting, but editing, with directorial influence more important to the production. “Sun Choke” plays many of the same indie cinema cards as it builds a tale of nightmarish control and splintered reality, with writer/director Ben Cresciman more enamored with the visual edge of the picture than its potential as a chiller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making an industry splash with the screenplay for “The Hangover,” writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore strive to raise a similar type of hell with “Bad Moms,” trying to offer a female audience their own style of raunchy comedy. The idea is fun, and the trials of motherhood provide endless inspiration for punchlines, but “Bad Moms” doesn’t want to put in the effort. A dismal offering of R-rated shenanigans, the feature almost makes to the end without a single laugh, with Moore and Lucas relying on their established brand of lowbrow comedy to skate by. Miscast and frequently insufferable, the picture only stands up straight when dealing with the daily routine of parenting and all the anxieties it triggers. The rest is just numbing stupidity, unsure if it wants to indulge wish fulfillment in full or take its loopy characters seriously. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum” was an electrifying final chapter in the Jason Bourne saga, rewarding faithful viewers with a sense of closure and plenty of heated action, giving star Matt Damon another reason to pummel enemies and evade capture. Another chapter wasn’t necessary, and after a problematic spin-off (2012’s “The Bourne Legacy”), the franchise is back up and running with “Jason Bourne.” There was a nine year wait for the fourth installment of this disoriented spy saga, and such substantial patience isn’t rewarded. “Jason Bourne” is a shockingly leaden picture that’s content to retread instead of innovate, conscious of audience expectation when it comes to the titular character stalking and silencing those out to kill him. All this time to cook a full cinematic meal, and director/co-writer Paul Greengrass insists on reheating leftovers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Nerve” attempts to bring online life to the big screen in a credible way, at least for its first act. Screenwriter Jessica Sharzer (adapting a novel by Jeanne Ryan) has big ideas to share on the state of the internet, taking on anonymity, groupthink, and cruelty when it comes to teenagers and their computerized lives, and the feature manages to at least establish the impulse generation, overseeing a compelling introduction of kids addicted to online fame. But in the care of directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, “Nerve” loses its titular gumption right when it gets going, growing moreobsessed with Disney Channel-style social circle hysterics than the greater evil of a life lived in service of a faceless audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Quietly, writer/director Taika Waititi has built an impressive filmography of comedy releases. With “Eagle vs. Shark,” “Boy,” and “What We Do in the Shadows,” Waititi has showcased outstanding timing and creativity, displaying growing confidence with every effort. This experience is funneled into “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” an adaptation of author Barry Crump’s 1986 book, “Wild Pork and Watercress,” which provides Waititi with a chance to display his growing command over disparate moods. Silly with a side of heartache, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” isn’t Taititi’s best work, but it’s impressively executed, making time for broad antics and intimate exchanges without unraveling into a mess of ideas, with Waititi doing an impressive job of storytelling management. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A French production set in America, “Phantom Boy” is the latest effort from directors Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, whose previous collaboration, 2010’s “A Cat in Paris,” rode its popularity all the way to an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film. Returning to their signature style, the team takes on the world of crime-fighting and the supernatural with “Phantom Boy,” which offers an unexpected combination of comedy, heartbreak, and thrills. It’s a superhero origin story in a way, but executed with charming style and human characters, playing broad with villains and near-misses to have some fun in the midst of heavy turns of fate. It’s a delightful picture, but its greatest asset is its as-is approach, refusing melodrama despite ample opportunity to wallow in misery. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Into the Forest” takes on the survival genre from a different angle. Death and destruction are set aside to focus on the long march to doom, focusing on the plight of sisters facing the ultimate challenge in their protected lives. It’s based on a novel by Jean Hegland and the feature retains its literary approach, with writer/director Patricia Rozema preserving the “life goes on” aspects of the story, building events with the momentum of a reader burning through chapters. “Into the Forest” is particularly irksome at times, but the core viewing experience is sustained by Rozema, who handles mounting anxiety and the long apocalyptic waiting game competently, maintaining a feel for the end of the world as it visits those already off the grid. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Rob Burnett is best known to comedy nerds as the former head writer of “Late Night with David Letterman,” enjoying a long career with the television legend, masterminding some of the weirdest jokes and most inspired material. For his second directorial effort, Burnett attempts to find a balance between light and dark with “The Fundamentals of Caring,” an adaption of the Jonathan Evison book, “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving.” While the material explores laughs, often the uncomfortable kind, it’s also fairly heavy stuff, dealing with physical disabilities and personal loss. While Burnett doesn’t provide a full cinematic meal with “The Fundamentals of Caring,” he juggles tone surprisingly well, managing to keep the feature afloat where other helmers would fail within the first act. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world feels smaller these days, creating unique tension when it comes to the ways of free speech. With social media and organizational efforts clouding the national dialogue, it doesn’t take much for someone to be offended these days, finding comedy a frequent target of disdain. The documentary “Can We Take a Joke?” explores the closing gap between thought and action, with director Ted Balaker trying to understand why personal expression is under attack by an unusual enemy, bringing in a host of comedians, experts, and bewildered interviewees to better understand the changing boundaries of provocative comedy and its current position in a most sensitive world. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While the franchise isn’t ailing, “Star Trek” hit a creative dead end with 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness,” which decided to cap a fairly effective sci-fi thriller with disastrous fan service, electing to replicate the ending of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” as a useless offering of familiarity to a fan base known for its ability to adjust to new dramatic directions. Trying to get things back on track, “Star Trek Beyond” loses helmer J.J. Abrams (who took his ball and went over to the “Star Wars” universe), ditches parallel plotting to the original “Trek” film series, and brings in Justin Lin to helm, fresh off his work reigniting the “Fast & Furious” features with refreshed sequels. The change behind the scenes isn’t as obvious as one might expect, but there’s a noticeable shift in tone for “Star Trek Beyond,” which strives to be a traditional adventure to help realign creative chi, while still allowing Lin to play around with widescreen action, giving the 13th “Trek” movie some real velocity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As the horror genre tries to quit its addiction to celebration of pain, movies about supernatural terror have come into vogue thanks to the hits “Insidious” and “The Conjuring.” Both pictures were directed by James Wan, and he’s not about to let a good thing go, returning to produce “Lights Out,” which slavishly follows his formula for scares, making sure every cheap jolt is lovingly tended to. Refreshingly lean (running about 75 minutes sans end credits), the feature offers little more than a series of spooky, shocking encounters, but it really doesn’t have to provide more than that, with director David F. Sandberg effectively staging suspense from start to finish, giving “Lights Out” the disturbances it needs to cover for uninspired dramatics. Then again, who’s coming to this film for the story? Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It may seem hard to believe, but “Ice Age: Collision Course” is actually the fifth entry in the franchise, and nobody seems more surprised by the overwhelming success of the series than its producers. Scrambling to come up with plots to keep the cinematic cash machine open, the production finally reaches a limit to Paleolithic shenanigans with “Ice Age: Collision Course,” which doesn’t really bother with a story, charging full speed ahead with cartoon gags instead, perhaps realizing there’s nowhere left to go with the initial “Ice Age” premise. Essentially committing to film anything that pops into their minds, co-directors Mike Thurmeier and Galen T. Chu go for broke with “Collision Course,” hoping to charm with silliness instead of endear with established personalities heading in a fresh narrative direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Unlike a lot of television-to-feature transitions, writer/star Jennifer Saunders has definitely taken her time bringing “Absolutely Fabulous” to the big screen. While only racking up 39 episodes, the BBC series has remained in and out of production since 1992, generating a loyal audience of fans who appreciate a bit of tasteful debauchery and inspired silliness. While she doesn’t take full advantage of the R-rated opportunity to raise widescreen hell, Saunders cooks up an enjoyable romp with “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,” sticking to the franchise’s core appeal while cranking up its comedic potential, sustaining a pleasingly madcap tone throughout, never completely fatiguing a good thing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his latest picture, Woody Allen is feeling the urge to explore Hollywood once again, romanticizing the glamour and social connections of the movie industry in the 1930s for “Café Society.” The feature is big on costumes, locations, and attitude, but even for Allen (who churns out product every year), the effort is much too meandering to make any impact. Attempting to craft a sprawling comedy with a large cast, Allen encounters focus issues almost immediately, consistently unsure if he wants to make a movie filled with subplots, or turn a to-do list of subplots into a movie. “Café Society” isn’t very funny or memorable, finding Allen on autopilot, halfheartedly arranging bits of behavior, hoping that something will resemble a film by the time the end credits arrive. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2016 is a special year for “Ghostbusters” fans, with Paul Feig’s remake inspiring fresh waves of memories and merchandise, hoping to tap into brand name hysteria once again. Also joining the party is “Ghostheads,” a homegrown documentary by Brendan Mertens that’s hoping to piggyback on current thirst for all things “Ghostbusters,” creating a tribute to superfans that delves into private lives and identifies personal commitments to the cosplay cause. What could’ve been a charming study of cinematic obsession is wildly overcooked by Mertens, who doesn’t really know what story he wants to tell with “Ghostheads,” which veers wildly from lighthearted memories and analysis to teary memories of the gravely injured and the dead. Mertens’s heart is in the right place, but his storytelling instincts are shellacked with slime. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a child actor, Joseph Mazzello found success with parts in “Radio Flyer” and “The River Wild,” but his greatest role was found in “Jurassic Park,” portraying the young, slightly fried survivor of the dino apocalypse, Tim. Time isn’t typically kind to the careers of most young performers, but Mazzello has managed to do something with his experience, funneling creative knowledge into “Undrafted,” his directorial debut. Armed with a limited budget but a distinct point of view, Mazzello scores a success with his first outing behind the camera, crafting an itchy valentine to the world of intramural baseball, studying its humiliations, camaraderie, and gamesmanship with ultimate interest in its characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It was inevitable that someone would eventually work up the nerve to remake the 1984 classic, “Ghostbusters.” Unable to get a second sequel up and running, the studio eventually turned their attention to a full reboot, but their choice of director was Paul Feig, a man not necessarily known for his way with visual effect-laden extravaganzas, previously helming “Bridesmaids” and “Spy.” Feig can’t completely pry himself away from his bad habits, but his refreshing of “Ghostbusters” is actually a substantial amount of fun when it actually makes time for the busting of ghosts. Bellylaughs are scarce, but the picture has sporadic energy, while the cast offers a significant amount of charm to help the material squeeze through a few dismal ideas. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Drake Dormus enjoys making movies about tortured love affairs. The helmer of “Like Crazy” and “Breathe In” returns with “Equals,” a sci-fi-tinged tale of forbidden attraction and emotional restraint. Paying tribute to George Lucas’s “THX 1138,” and lifting a dramatic layer or two from 1997’s “Gattaca,” “Equals” endeavors to explore a futureworld of submission cracked open by primal human instincts. The ambition is there, but execution is missing a few degrees of heat, while miscasting tends to leave sections of the picture a bit too cold for comfort. It’s stylish work with some of the most pronounced architecture porn I’ve seen in some time, but Dormus can’t shake his habits, once again returning to burning passions photographed in extreme, jittery close-up while a feeble sense of tragedy brews in the background. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com