Category: Film Review

Three years ago, “Olympus Has Fallen” was supposed to be the lesser of the two “Die Hard in the White House” movies, released in the spring to little acclaim, trying to sneak in before Roland Emmerich’s “White House Down” destroyed the competition. But something strange happened. Audiences showed up for “Olympus” instead, drawn to its hard R-rated action and liberal pilfering of “Die Hard,” not just its formula. It was a surprise smash, leaving the arrival of a sequel, “London Has Fallen,” completely expected. The producers aren’t about to disturb the chaotic tone of the franchise at this point, leaving the follow-up just as noisy and ugly as its predecessor, only changing the location and limiting a clear view of the central fight. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Building on her work in “Admission” and “This is Where I Leave You,” actress Tina Fey returns to her semi-dramatic side with “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” which provides the comedienne with her most challenging role to date. Based on the memoir by Kim Barker, the feature is a war story with a sense of humor, searching for the idiosyncrasy and contradictions of journalism on the front lines, using Fey’s natural timing to lift heavy material off the ground. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (“Focus,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love”) don’t always have the firmest grip on storytelling needs, but they manage to find life in the middle of Hell, with “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” achieving levels of entertainment other pictures of this ilk have failed to acquire. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For their 55th production, Walt Disney Animation reaches for a deeper understanding of race relations via an effort that’s populated with anthropomorphized animals. “Zootopia” is actually something of a creative gamble for the studio, trusting that a thinly veiled (and sometimes offered no veil at all) depiction of interpersonal tensions in a most unusual melting pot might be of interest to younger audiences on the hunt for colorful and cute fun. To the picture’s credit, it’s ambitious and elaborate, eschewing the easy route of slapstick and songs. “Zootopia” is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to entertainment value, but for the first time in a long time, Disney’s attempting a high wire act with tone and content, making the feature intriguing but not always triumphant. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

At this point, it’s clear that whatever writer/director Terrence Malick wants to do with his movies, he’s just going to do. There are no producers, stars, or low box office returns that can throttle his interest in esoteric journeys of sight and sound, returning to the screen with “Knight of Cups,” which resembles nearly every film he’s previously made. After years of dormancy, Malick has suddenly become the Woody Allen of impenetrable cinema, issuing odysseys into the mind and depths of space with surprising frequency, playing to his fan base with habitual interests and familiar technical achievements. On the Malickian scale of confusion and artfulness, “Knight of Cups” has a great deal of passion for itself. However, it’s not something that’s casually approached, with those unable to tune into Malick’s point of view rewarded with another wandering spirit of a feature, and one that’s content to recycle the helmer’s particular brand of soul-searching. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Zoe Bell first appeared on the film scene as a stuntwoman, and one particularly favored by Quentin Tarantino, who slammed her around in “Kill Bill” and rewarded her with a supporting part in “Death Proof.” Now Bell’s developed into an appealing actress, gifted no-nonsense characters in parts that favor her natural physicality and intimidating stance. “Camino” arrives as a rare dramatic test for Bell, handed a lead role that challenges her range as much as her stamina, with the jungle adventure asking a great deal of the actress as she’s pummeled by enemies and the elements. “Camino” is solid work, with periodic highlights of suspense guided superbly by director Josh C. Waller. However, the movie is perhaps best valued as a chance to see Bell transform into a lead, handling everything thrown at her with nuance and ferocity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Not content to simply sit and watch Hollywood have all the fun, Norway elects to get into the disaster movie business with “The Wave,” working to figure out the balance between character dimension and widescreen spectacle. Mercifully, director Roar Uthaug doesn’t take the Roland Emmerich route, submitting a thoughtful take on catastrophe, using the presence of a crumbling mountain and ensuing tsunami to inspect family matters and nail-biting acts of survival. Perhaps “The Wave” is tame compared to junk food like “2012,” but its retains sincerity when dealing with characters and threat, making its harrowing vision for oncoming doom all the more chilling and, in a way, relatable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a very peculiar way, “Rams,” a production from Iceland, emerges as the most sincere study of brotherhood to come along in perhaps the last decade. It’s about dysfunction and isolation, but it details subtle acts of protection and support that come with family ties, developing an estranged sibling tale in the middle of remote Icelandic farmland, which adds to the unusual mood of the movie. Writer/director Grimur Hakonarson is careful and patient with “Rams,” and the reward is a confidently observed drama that bathes in behavior, adding bits of comedy and tragedy to help underline pleasing idiosyncrasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Alex Proyas doesn’t direct very often, and when he does, it’s usually a disappointment. Building a reputation with his work on “The Crow” and “Dark City,” Proyas suddenly turned around and pursued mediocrity with “Garage Days,” “I, Robot,” and “Knowing.” It’s not an encouraging batting average, taking another percentage dip with “Gods of Egypt,” a garish attempt to explore ancient myth with video game sensibilities, with Proyas blasting the screen with enough CGI to make a “Transformers” sequel blush. Misfiring on multiple levels and hard on the senses, “Gods of Egypt” crashes quickly after takeoff, with Proyas using excess to numb his audience, mistakenly believing that he’s entertaining the stuffing out of ticket-buyers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2011, writer/director Janet Grillo made her feature-length directorial debut with “Fly Away.” A harrowing but sensitive study of autism and parental challenges, the picture was unexpectedly illuminating and sensationally performed, identifying Grillo as a talent with a unique point of view. She returns with “Jack of the Red Hearts,” and while this project is allowed a little more room to breathe, it remains an intense overview of the neurodevelopment disorder, inserted into a formulaic but convincing tale of desperation and fraud. Grillo is one of the few filmmakers out there who possesses an understanding of autism and the drain of personal care, and she once again uses this knowledge to deepen material, giving it a perspective few productions dare to offer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director John Hillcoat earned considerable industry and film enthusiast respect with his previous features, “The Proposition,” “The Road,” and “Lawless.” He’s enamored with the illness of life, its dark corners and tests of allegiance, creating a trilogy of sorts that celebrate suffering, finding soulfulness in the strangest of places. Growing a little tired of grind, Hillcoat takes command of “Triple 9,” trying a corrupt cop drama on for size, looking to play on a more Hollywood-ized playground of gunfire and puffed-chest confrontations. While still dire to keep Hillcoat engaged, “Triple 9” is also woefully formulaic and strangely performed, with fans of Michael Mann, Antoine Fuqua, and numerous other crime movie architects sure to feel déjŕ vu while watching this limp shoot-em-up. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Eddie the Eagle” wants to be the premiere feel-good movie of 2016. It’s an underdog story, already loaded with broad sweeps of melodrama and misfortune, but director Dexter Fletcher isn’t content to get by on the basics of triumph and failure. He wants everyone inside the theater to stand up and cheer by the end credits, tears streaming down faces. Violent in its need to please and only marginally successful as inspirational cinema, “Eddie the Eagle” doesn’t waste a moment on nuance, charging ahead as a bio-pic that only has a slight interest in the inner workings of its subject, preferring to celebrate vague sporting achievements and personal accomplishment in a frightfully superficial manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2012’s “No,” writer/director Pablo Larrain delivered an original take on political commentary, using technical creativity and dramatic passion to articulate a specific moment in time, lightened to a degree by the intricacies of creating propaganda. “The Club” emerges with a far more sobering reality, sinking its teeth into the plague of corrupt Catholic priests and church officials who refuse to take responsibility for unpardonable sins. It’s powerful work, with richly detailed performances that cover a full range of insidious behavior. “The Club,” while not without serious pacing problems, also reinforces Larrain’s unique vision and his ability to understand disease in subtle forms. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“A Country Called Home” attempts to be a genuine take on the estranged family formula, with co-writer/director Anna Axster filling the picture with all kinds of ache and wounded behavior, spread across a collection of idiosyncratic characters. Most of it borders on quirky, but the effort is much too dour to be any fun. Somber and stilted, “A Country Called Home” is undone by miscalculated performances and screenwriting that doesn’t value the truth of the moment. Axster strives to create an introspective mood, but the feature isn’t especially deep, often resorting to painful cliché to piece the whole thing together. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A few years ago, writer/director Tobias Lindholm entered the international film scene with “A Hijacking.” A sensational examination of terror and the weight of power, the feature solidified Lindholm as a helmer to watch, finding a single picture managing to detail complete directorial clarity. Lindholm returns to screens with “A War,” continuing his interest in the aftermath of decisions, this time taking pressure points to Afghanistan to inspect soldiers ordered to balance survival instinct with the intricacies of diplomacy. Again, Lindholm guides tremendous performances and establishes a strong thematic presence, with the questions “A War” raises forcing the viewer to confront painful realities of combat and the cost of military service. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Released during a particularly holy season, “Risen” looks to remind audiences about the suffering and benevolence of Jesus Christ, only it begins where most movies end. The picture also has an unusual helmer in Kevin Reynolds, the director of “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Waterworld,” who brings a blockbuster sensibility to what becomes a detective film for the most part. Select ingredients are interesting in “Risen,” but as an overall stew of spiritual illumination, the feature is far too sluggish to crack open the spirit. Still, Reynolds is an inspired choice, finding intermittent success with a resurrection mystery. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It comes with some relief to find that “Race” isn’t an extensive biographical examination of the life and times of athlete Jesse Owens. The production doesn’t show much interest in anything beyond his skin color and speed, keeping the movie to the basics of competition and confidence. Director Stephen Hopkins (“Lost in Space,” “Predator 2”) isn’t out to change the world with his vision of a sporting world icon, treating Owens and his battle with adversity with kid gloves, trying to make the most palatable and accessible feature for the widest possible audience. “Race” has limited depth and its depiction of evil belongs in a cartoon, but there’s charisma to embrace with star Stephen James, and the sheer skill of Owens is vividly recreated, generating decent highlights in a largely unadventurous, sanitized picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making a rare screen appearance together, Kiefer and Donald Sutherland deliver their best work in years in the western “Forsaken,” which provides substantial roles to the acting dynasty, rescuing them from television and YA franchise routine. A meat-and-potatoes genre offering with a strong sense of location and character, “Forsaken” isn’t out to wow audiences with invention. Instead, it invests in simplicity to best achieve dramatic potency, leading with shattered psyches, not blazing six-guns, though violence plays a critical role in the story. With adjusted expectations, the movie plays with surprising depth, inspecting the redemption of a ruined life with care and attention to thespian detail. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Instead of simply recycling “The Crucible” to investigate religious hysteria in the 17th century, writer/director Robert Eggers (making his feature-length debut) tries to concoct his own take on self-destruction with “The Witch.” An atmospheric and intentionally distant effort, the picture aims to conjure a sustained feeling of dread, studying the unraveling of innocents as paranoia and the possible presence of the supernatural conspire to destroy a vulnerable family. Eggers does his duty, delivering creepy forests, agitated performances, and gradual escalation of terror, but “The Witch,” as unnerving as it is, doesn’t know when to quit, with the final five minutes of the movie almost torpedoing the entire film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While anthology films are all the rage these days, “Southbound” attempts to smooth out the inherently episodic nature of the subgenre by connecting, albeit loosely, the grim stories it’s out to tell. The extra attention to continuity is refreshing, giving the production a boost in pacing and overall connectivity, allowing its dark interests a little more room the breathe. “Southbound” is a nifty horror production, showing imagination with surprises and intensity, and it retains a cinematic mood, drenching the feature in synth and violent escalation to make sure each of the chapters has a fighting chance to disturb the viewer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2003’s “Cabin Fever” wasn’t a hit, but the micro-budgeted picture was profitable, urging distributor Lions Gate to figure out a way to milk the brand name without putting in much effort. There was a sequel, 2009’s “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever” (a film director Ti West has disowned), and a prequel, 2014’s “Cabin Fever: Patient Zero,” with neither production managing to catch much attention. To reignite the franchise, a remake has been brought forward by original creator Eli Roth, who passes directorial control to Travis Z, tasked with using Roth and Randy Pearlstein’s original script to fuel a new round of flesh-eating horrors. Instead of reimagining “Cabin Fever” for a new audience, it’s simply been recycled, offering the same strained stupidity for a new generation of genre fans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com