Category: Film Review

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

As the big guys and gals of superhero legend slowly wind down their cinematic reign, more obscure characters are now being tested for multiplex domination. “Deadpool,” which, according the film, takes place in the “X-Men” universe, is perhaps the most daring comic book adaptation yet, with the red-suited antihero a troubling figure of cynicism, sarcasm, and murder, with his journey very different from the troubled but noble titans audiences are used to. Instead of soberly working through yet another origin story, “Deadpool” looks to spice up the norm with a freewheeling sense of humor and loads of R-rated mischief, separating itself from the pack. And it’s a successful experiment, jazzing up the genre with a blast of unexpected energy from an unlikely source. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After taking a detour to make a meditative adventure with 2013’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Ben Stiller is back in the business of being crazy with “Zoolander 2,” his long-awaited sequel to the 2001 hit. Stiller’s always at his best when hip-deep in mischief and slapstick, and while the freshness of the premise is lacking, the sequel’s preference for the absurd is divine, offering a nutso continuation that lives up to the brand name while finding new areas of fashion and media to lampoon. “Zoolander 2” not only satisfies, it explodes with a level of craziness that plays to Stiller’s strengths, making sure to leave the audience with a little more than just rehashed bits. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For more information, please visit soundunseen.com

When the band Twisted Sister comes up in casual conversation (I swear this happens), the first image that usually comes to mind is the cover of the “Stay Hungry” album, which features singer Dee Snider crouched on the floor of an abandoned house, clutching a giant leg of undefined meat while snarling at the camera. It’s the ideal introduction to the group’s legacy, and the entry point for a large number of fans in the 1980s, helping to launch “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” as indefatigable hair metal anthems. And that’s the story most people know. “We Are Twisted F***ing Sister” takes viewers back to the beginnings of the group, with director Andrew Horn meticulously tracking every step of the group’s history, highlighting their unique tale of persistence, survival, and periodic dalliances with bad luck. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s no doubt that “Bad Hurt” is a difficult film to watch, especially as a claustrophobic study of a blue-collar family in the throes of disintegration, filled with enough heartache and tragedy to fill five movies. Miraculously, co-writer/director Mark Kemble discovers a type of beauty in the midst of uneasiness, focusing on the numbing mechanics of routine, the power of myth, and the struggle of love. “Bad Hurt” is powerful work, superbly acted and surprising along the way. Although it makes sure to sand down a few of its rough edges in the end, the material remains startlingly sincere, leading with secure, profound characterizations and a sensational understanding of toxic environments. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As B-movie productions go, “Standoff” doesn’t try to be anything more than an intimate showdown between tough guys. It primarily takes place inside a single house, and relies on extended dialogue exchanges to shape most of its story. While other helmers fail to bring to bring their productions to a boil, writer/director Adam Alleca does a fine job with “Standoff,” beating predictability with two strong performances from Thomas Jane and Laurence Fishburne, who breathe life into the feature’s limited scope. Perhaps there’s not much to the effort, but suspense needs are met, while the screenplay preserves a few surprises along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“How to Be Single” arrives in the guise of a female empowerment picture, where the lead characters are tough, independent women who don’t require the comfort of men to enjoy the revelry and adventures of life. At least that’s the idea of the movie for about five minutes, then it’s back to relationship woes and dating scene perils, quickly becoming the very thing it was condemning for a brief, obnoxious moment. A confusing effort from director Christian Ditter, “How to Be Single” at least enjoys pretending to be thematically and emotionally substantial, but the actual feature is a jumble of plots and characters, with no clear way to communicate the state of the sisterhood union. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Michael Moore took a little break from filmmaking after his last effort, 2009’s “Capitalism: A Love Story,” failed to live up to box office expectations set by previous pictures such as “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Moore’s a little out of practice, but he’s lost none of his passion for the docutainment subgenre, returning to theaters with “Where to Invade Next?”, a mostly lighthearted expedition around the globe to collect examples of functional government and social systems that could be transferred to the United States, with Moore our guide into foreign lands working to benefit the greater good. Once again, America and its increasing ills is the helmer’s subject, only for this round of satire and sermonizing, Moore forgets how to juggle his examples, creating an uneven spanking machine that’s only periodically enlightening. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A Swedish actress with dreams of following her vocation to stardom, Ingrid Bergman managed to enchant a worldwide audience during her time in front of a camera, with classics such as “Casablanca,” “Spellbound,” and “The Bells of St. Mary” helping to solidify her status as an industry icon. However, after a charging through a career during her twenties and thirties, Bergman relaxed her desire to act, becoming a mystery to many as she relocated around the globe and enjoyed the comfort of several husbands. “Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words” is director Stig Bjorkman’s attempt to demystify the woman who brought special emotional power to the screen, using access to home movies, diaries, letters, and offspring to shape Bergman’s personality in a way that might surprise even longtime fans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

25 years ago, the pairing of Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino would’ve guaranteed plump box office returns and film enthusiast concentration, finally bringing acting titans together to have an out-act-athon. In 2016, the thrill is gone, with both men currently scrambling to secure paycheck roles for reasons not entirely understood, willing to torch their legacies for a few extra dollars. While it’s difficult to judge such decision-making, it certainly easy to reject it, with “Misconduct” the latest in a long line of forgettable efforts from both Hopkins and Pacino, who sleepwalk through this dreary, nonsensical movie, professionally trading lines with co-stars as their eyes slowly glaze over. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com