Category: Film Review

Two years ago, “Divergent” entered the YA novel adaptation sweepstakes with hopes to tap into post-apocalyptic vibe of “The Hunger Games” to fuel its own box office success. Instead of dominating the competition, the series was merely accepted by a fanbase loyal to original author Veronica Roth, failing to reach pop culture ubiquity. The 2015 sequel, “Insurgent,” achieved the same level of mediocrity, with the production generally ignoring hindsight to mix up the same batch of blah filmmaking. With “Allegiant,” “The Divergent Series” finally threatens closure, but it’s not going without a fight. The first half of a two-part finale, “Allegiant” tries to razzle-dazzle with an increase in visual effects and supporting characters, but a distinct lack of suspense remains, paralyzing a chapter essentially designed to explain working parts while the next feature (2017’s “Ascendant”) is supposed to be the big payoff. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When 2014’s “Heaven is for Real” struck gold at the box office, it was only a matter of time before similar faith-based productions would follow. “Miracles from Heaven” utilizes the same questioning of a higher power formula to tell a story that concerns the elasticity of belief as it’s tested through unresponsiveness and the sheer weight of tragedy. Director Patricia Riggen (“The 33”) treats the iffy material with professional polish, making sure every scene of heartbreak extracts tears, while Godly mysteries are cared for through determined performances. But the actual dissection of miracles on Earth? It’s a bit of a gray area for “Miracles from Heaven,” which would rather stroll around the unknowable instead of actively pursuing careful examination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2014, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong participated in the making of “The Armstrong Lie.” A documentary about his life, love for the sport, and his addiction to performance-enhancing drugs to help secure cycling glory, “The Armstrong Lie” managed to crack open the famously defensive subject, exposing his lies and bitterness, with Armstrong’s interview a fascinating window into the mind of a diseased man. “The Program” is a dramatization of the same story, with director Stephen Frears using a brief summary of temptation and ego to capture Armstrong’s eventful career arc, keeping star Ben Foster front and center as the stained athlete. “The Program” is not without its heated confrontations, but it feels unnecessary, working to depict the downfall of a man who’s beaten them to the punch in terms of addressing his own self-destructive tendencies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Little Prince” is no stranger to film and television adaptations. A beloved 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the material is frequently returned to for generational reinforcement, with productions striving to capture the lyrical fantasy of the original text, hoping to inspire the imagination of audiences young and old. For this incarnation, director Mark Osborne (“Kung Fu Panda”) turns to animation to help fill out his vision, mixing styles and complicated emotionality to bring the original work to life. While “The Little Prince” periodically threatens to become another assembly line CGI-animated endeavor, artistry and sensitivity win out in the end, while an all-star voice cast gives the feature a big boost in personality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Bob Nelson enjoyed critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his work on 2013’s “Nebraska,” attracting attention for his rich characterizations and understanding of Middle American personalities. For his directorial debut, Nelson tries to sustain the same atmosphere of bruised nobility with “The Confirmation,” which almost, if one squints hard enough, resembles an Americanized version of a Dardenne Brothers drama, exploring the plight of the working class during a specific journey of redemption or, at the very least, acceptance. Although “The Confirmation” strives to create warmth through personal discoveries, it’s not the most reassuring feature, successfully depicting abyssal dives into poverty to go along with its tale of askew parenting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Creative Control” brings the audience into a futureworld that’s similar to today, amplifying a tomorrow of omnipresent connectivity and confusion to motivate a standard tale of isolation, desire, and betrayal. Co-writer/director/star Benjamin Dickinson has a vision of loneliness colliding with technological ubiquity, but he doesn’t have an appealing sense of humor, preferring icy emotions experienced by unpleasant characters to something more alert and satiric. Swallowing an entire bottle of Kubrick pills to inspire this black and white voyage into psychological hell, Dickinson doesn’t have anything profound to share in “Creative Control,” which is handsomely made, but lacks grit and knowledge, recycling tired relationship woes and chemical excess other, more inventive features have explored to greater success. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2008, “Cloverfield” rocked the box office, doing so with an air of secrecy and marketing restraint unheard of in an industry that frequently favors complete awareness as a key to success. In the care of producer J.J. Abrams, the feature provided an experience of cinematic exploration, aided by alternate reality games and buzzy trailers to work the audience into a lather before the picture was ready for mass consumption. Eight years later, Abrams and Company have finally worked up the nerve to try again, returning to the famous brand name with “10 Cloverfield Lane,” which isn’t a sequel to the earlier film, but merely shares the same straw when sucking down cryptic revelations and low-budget tension. As with its predecessor, what one brings to the viewing experience is likely going to be the lasting appeal of the effort, which feels uncomfortably twisted into a franchise experience, better off in its own corner of paranoia and discoveries. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sacha Baron Cohen has built a career on his ability to transform into multiple characters. These colorful personalities are often lethal comic weapons, deployed by Cohen to shred pop culture, social disease, and political buffoonery. Think Borat, Ali G, and Bruno. Perhaps he's never been one to pursue classy material, but Cohen's skewering of world ills has been pretty consistent in the laugh department. This level of invention makes an abrupt stop in “The Brothers Grimsby,” which is by far the worst film Cohen has ever been involved with. That he also produces, scripts, and stars in the feature showcases a newfound lack of judgment from the actor I fear he'll take as a personal challenge to top. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As Studio Ghibli ends operations, one of their earliest efforts finally makes it to American theaters. Better late than never. 1991’s “Only Yesterday” is the company’s fifth feature and, for an animation house known for creating faraway lands and fantastical creatures, it’s also one of their most human, turning to memory and regret to inspire an emotional journey of a woman who yearns to reclaim and reassess an earlier, simpler time in her life. Gorgeously animated in the distinct Ghibli style, director Isao Takahata manages to understand the erratic flow of childhood impulses and curiosity, while pinpointing the moment when nostalgia transforms into personal need. “Only Yesterday” is 25 years old, but it remains surprisingly relevant, warmly conceived and executed from beginning to end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making his feature-length directorial debut, actor Robert Carlyle takes on a story that’s as grim as anything he’s been previously involved with. A tale of serial killing, accidental and otherwise, “Barney Thomson” is a darkly comic take on post-murder panic and criminal investigation, with Carlyle trying to juggle locations and psychology with sillier forays into panic and family ties. It’s not entirely successful, but “Barney Thomson” enjoys a great deal of oddity, with the helmer successfully communicating character discomfort as a simple act of manslaughter spins into exposed secrets and a sizable body count. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The War in Afghanistan has been fodder for countless movies, most recently serving as the setting for the Tina Fey dramedy, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” “Hyena Road” seems to be aware that the subject matter is nearing exhaustion, striving to offer audiences already numbed by military conflict something with authenticity and a unique cultural viewpoint. It’s the Canadian military versus radical Islamic forces in “Hyena Road,” which works to deliver nail-biting conflict, maintaining the stranger-in-a-strange-land atmosphere with complete commitment to procedural authenticity. While hardly escapism, writer/director Paul Gross manages to craft a feature that’s horrifying and strangely inviting at the same time, delivering solid characterization to go with all the chaos. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

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