Category: Film Review

Writer/director Tommy Wirkola specializes in violent content, often sold with a side of silliness to help create exaggerated genre entertainment. He’s previously helmed “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” and “Violent Night,” and he now he takes on the wrath of killer sharks in “Thrash,” pitting a handful of South Carolina locals trying to survive a hurricane against the arrival of aquatic predators looking for something to eat. Wirkola returns to his Sam Raimi-inspired ways in the endeavor (2019’s Raimi-produced hit, “Crawl,” is surely the reason why this movie was made), and he manages to score a few reasonably exciting set pieces along the way, focusing on physical stunts and the chaotic atmosphere of the storm. However, when characters start speaking, “Thrash” (which was shot two years ago) takes a huge dive, with Wirkola delivering painfully clunky dialogue and crude exposition, taking the fun factor out of the viewing experience as stupidity begins to dominate the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actor Jonah Hill made his directorial debut with 2018’s “Mid90s,” finding inspiration from youthful days of camaraderie and social group exploration, making an appealingly loose picture. He returned with the documentary “Stutz,” highlighting his relationship with his therapist, and Hill returns to psychological matters in “Outcome,” which takes a look at a Hollywood star enduring a personal crisis after decades of life in the public eye. Hill co-scripts with Ezra Woods, and he appears to be pursuing a special emotional journey with the endeavor, which touches on the process of making amends and testing the power of honesty with others. It’s also a profane, riff-happy comedy, with Hill’s initial intent for the offering extremely confusing. His message is lost in a painfully unfunny and unenlightening feature, as “Outcome” (which was shot two years ago) fumbles its potential from the opening scene, sending viewers through a baffling study of recompense and silliness with an all-star cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Halle Bailey made her starring debut in 2023’s live-action “The Little Mermaid,” and she made a positive impression, giving the heavily criticized endeavor a big heart and substantial charm, capably carrying the effort with her presence. She’s appeared in a few other projects since then (“The Color Purple,” “The Line”), but she returns to a starring role in “You, Me & Tuscany,” which is meant to be a romantic comedy concerning a young, wayward woman and her various entanglements while trying to experience the pleasures of Italy. Bailey is joined by co-star Rege-Jean Page, and the pair is tasked to bring something sparkly to the feature, which is scripted by Ryan Engle (“Rampage,” “The Commuter,” “Non-Stop”) and directed by Kat Corio. Unfortunately, there’s nothing special about “You, Me & Tuscany,” which is as routine a movie as can be made, offering viewers little enchantment while Bailey and Page attempt to survive a picture that doesn’t ask much of their talents. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John C. Reilly only works sporadically these days, and he hasn’t spent much time on the big screen in recent years, with his last starring role dating back to 2018’s “Holmes and Watson.” He returns in “Heads or Tails,” portraying Buffalo Bill Cody in an Italian production from co-writer/directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, who attempt to merge wild west fantasy with spaghetti western traditions in an askew character study about outlaws on the run. Reilly brings needed color to the endeavor, offering a memorable take on Cody’s theatrical ways, and acting in general is quite strong in the picture, which highlights a number of itchy performances. “Heads or Tails” has texture, and there’s an interestingly twisty tale to follow, but the helmers aren’t terribly focused on pacing, leaving the viewing experience lumpy as adventure is repeatedly interrupted by screen stillness, losing early momentum. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Kristoffer Borgli is the creator of strange movies. He’s a director known for his work on 2022’s “Sick of Myself” and 2023’s “Dream Scenario,” dabbling in indie film oddity featuring abrasive, troubled characters stuck in upsetting situations of their own making. Borgli takes a few steps toward the mainstream with “The Drama,” but he hasn’t abandoned his fondness for uncomfortable situations, scripting another tale of psychological implosion that follows all the trouble that arrives for an engaged couple after the bride-to-be confesses a grim secret right before their wedding day. “The Drama” has its moments of seriousness, but it’s mostly a dark comedy about the processing of disturbing information, with Borgli looking to extend the torment of a groom who suddenly knows too much about his partner for as long as possible. There’s a limit to this type of endeavor, but the material hits most of its targets, successfully getting outrageous without spilling over into crude hysterics. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1978’s “Faces of Death” is largely appreciated as one of the most notorious cult films around. The faux documentary about real-life murders and disasters earned a mighty reputation as a “dare you to watch” title, tempting horror fans and sleepovers with its presentation of gore and macabre situations. The original release launched a franchise that petered out after the seventh chapter of the series was issued in 1999, but the brand’s legacy hasn’t completely faded from view. Enter co-writer/director Daniel Goldhaber (“How to Blow Up a Pipeline”), who elects to celebrate the intimidating atmosphere of the original endeavor with “Faces of Death,” which isn’t a remake, but more of a riff on the 1978 picture, using its special way with evil to inspire a new slasher offering that plays into our world of social media-led desensitization. Goldhaber doesn’t craft a particularly dominating genre experience, but he captures some sinister business with the effort, which carries an effective sense of dread and a feeling of encroaching madness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Exit 8” is an adaptation of a 2023 video game, which offered players a chance to experience a special kind of disorientation with its first-person perspective and maze-like construction. Bringing the gaming experience to the screen provides co-writer/director Genki Kawamura with a tough creative challenge, tasked with preserving the concept of the game while finding ways to flesh it out some, giving viewers a different kind of exploratory event. “Exit 8” is largely contained to the seemingly endless hallways of a Japanese train station, but the script tries to offer a more dramatic understanding of panic and confusion. There’s obvious repetition in play, and the limitations of the basic idea driving the story are found, but Kawamura creates a strikingly cinematic tour of madness at times, working with excellent technical achievements and nicely rattled acting to help explore this unique puzzle. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actress Katarina Zhu makes her feature-length directorial debut with “Bunnylovr,” going the micro-indie route with her examination of loneliness and the sex worker experience. Zhu also handles the screenplay as well as starring in the picture, giving her a level of creative control to help explore a strange cinematic space involving the intimate experiences of someone who deals with intimate experiences for a living. “Bunnylovr” doesn’t develop into anything more than study of bizarre tensions and longing, and Zhu doesn’t pump the feature up with dramatics, showing no interest in going bigger with the endeavor. Instead, she settles on a few scenes of human connection that carry unusual atmosphere at times, helping the effort achieve stretches of seduction and anxiety that offer Zhu as a promising young filmmaker to watch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was treated like an event film release. Here, at last, was an animated production looking to please the hardcore Nintendo fanbase, giving them exactly what they want after 1993’s live-action “Super Mario Bros” left the faithful puzzled and tremendously disappointed in a pass to make something incredibly odd with a seemingly easy lay-up moviemaking opportunity. Illumination endeavored to play it safe with a softer, colorful adaptation, and the house of “Minions” was rewarded with a massive box office success. And now there’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” with the sequel setting out to generate an even larger world for the main characters to explore, putting directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic to work stuffing in as many Nintendo cameos and environments as possible, setting the series up to explode with spin-offs and continuations galore. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” remains action-packed and vibrantly animated, but there’s new heaviness in play as the endeavor gets carried away selling a brand instead of telling a story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When one encounters a title like “Eat Pray Bark,” a certain type of movie immediately comes to mind. And co-writer/director Marco Petry is perfectly happy to deliver such a viewing experience, going big hearted and puddle deep with the offering, which follows the concerns and confusion of travelers looking to make sense of pet behavior with help from a special trainer. The picture intends to be a comedy, soaking up character quirks and strange situations in the Tyrolian mountains, but the German production isn’t fully prepared to deliver laughs. Petry offers a lighter touch instead, going very easy on the senses with mild dramatic entanglements and personal issues. “Eat Pray Bark” isn’t something that demands attention, but for viewers interested in a gentle distraction partially highlighting the world of canine behavior, this is at least a capably acted feature, and some of the open world locations can’t be beat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s evidence in “Wardriver” that screenwriter Daniel Casey (“Kin,” “F9: The Fast Saga”) is greatly inspired by the films of Michael Mann and the surprising success of 2011’s “Drive.” He’s created another criminal creature of the night, and one who’s skilled in the way of computer crimes, using his car as a kind of hacking station, putting the character on the move as he goes about his dirty business. The writing looks to provide a bumpy road of lustful interests and underworld entanglements, putting director Rebecca Thomas (a television vet) to work generating a cool sense of mystery and movement for the picture. It’s all been done before, but “Wardriver” handles well during its first half, creating a tight space of trouble for the players in the game, and technological additions are interesting, providing a fresh reminder that online security is often no security at all. The endeavor loses a lot of potency as it unfolds, but Casey and Thomas get halfway there with the film, generating proper mood and threat before most of it melts away. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Mukunda Michael Dewil specializes in low-budget filmmaking, previously helming pictures such as “The Immaculate Room,” “Vehicle 19,” and 2024’s “Prey.” He returns to limited scope and low stakes in “The Patient,” challenged to make a thriller that takes place almost entirely inside a single hospital room. There’s potential in close-quarters tension, especially when elements of confusion are introduced via a character’s brain injury, sending him into war with his own mind as Dewil explores the messiness of memory. “The Patient” doesn’t aspire to reach Hitchcockian highs with its premise, and while Dewil scores some early interest in the central medical bed crisis, he doesn’t sustain it past the opening act, running out of things to do before the effort reaches an anticlimactic ending. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sylvain Chomet is best known as the writer and director of the French animated film, “The Triplets of Belleville,” which managed to charm art house audiences in 2003. He’s returned on occasion, with 2010’s “The Illusionist” and he tried live-action moviemaking on for size in 2013’s “Attila Marcel,” but Chomet falls back into animation with “A Magnificent Life.” And it’s a personal story as well, using colorful artistry to bring the life and times of French playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol to the screen. It’s an usual choice for a bio-pic viewing experience, but Chomet has his passion for the subject, endeavoring to push past reputation and work to better understand the man’s drive to create and endure adversity. “A Magnificent Life” is a gorgeously crafted effort, but it’s extremely specific in its fandom, with Chomet charting the growth of creative expression and emotional challenges, but he struggles to get his arms around the “true story,” offering a picture that’s always appreciable but only periodically illuminating. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Just last week, there was “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” which followed a desperate character as she spends an evening trying to escape a building filled with Satanists who want to murder her. And now there’s “They Will Kill You,” which features basically the same premise, once again tracking the progress of a reluctant warrior facing waves of Devil-worshiping aggressors around a contained setting. Co-writers Alex Litvak and Kirill Sokolov (who also directs) don’t score points for originality, and their execution is all out of whack, launching a hyper-violent actioner that’s more about video game-inspired conflicts and missions than a cinematic ride of survival. “They Will Kill You” gets old quick, with Sokolov putting his faith in overkill to make a distinct impression with the picture, coming up short with chaos and character as the endeavor labors to find a single moment of true invention. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Longtime actor Rick Gomez makes his feature-length directorial debut with “She Dances,” sharing a co-writing credit with star Steve Zahn, who also makes his screenwriting debut. The pair call in a few favors to help add familiar faces to the picture, but they don’t need much assistance with the endeavor, which touches on family communication and support, also offering at least some understanding of dance competition atmosphere. “She Dances” isn’t a major dramatic event, but it retains a lot of heart, giving Zahn one of his most appealing roles in a long time, playing with levels of silliness and solemnity as the writing inspects the fragility of feelings during a father’s journey to confront his strained relationship with his daughter. And there’s nobody better to play the part than Audrey Zahn, Steve’s real-life daughter, who brings her history of dance and a natural comfort with the camera to help secure the careful tone of the dramedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Pretty Lethal” is the latest co-production from 87North, the company best known for their work in the action genre, bringing such endeavors as “The Fall Guy,” “Nobody,” and “Bullet Train” to life, while their origin story is tied to the industry-changing ways of the “John Wick” franchise. Writer Kate Freund sets up a proper physical challenge for the stunt team with the story, which concerns an American ballet squad caught up in vicious gangster business in Hungary, forced to battle their way to safety. Director Vicky Jewson (“Close”) isn’t dealing with the most original filmmaking assignment, but she’s up for keeping things hostile, guiding the material through a few set pieces that make use of balletic moves and Central Europe-style intimidation. “Pretty Lethal” is reliable entertainment with a handful of highlights, reaching its potential when it finally gets around to creating panicked scenarios for the main characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” is a crime story that recalls the heyday of Quentin Tarantino knockoffs during the mid-1990s, where other filmmakers, chasing a trend, offered their take on fast-talking hoodlums and their often violent problems. New to the mix is an element of time travel, giving writer/director BenDavid Grabinski an interesting angle to work with as he tries to disrupt the usual in tough guy activity with a sci-fi twist. It’s something of a surprise to watch “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” fail to build up much in the way of excitement and laughs, especially when it has certain conflicts that could be more combustible in the right hands. Grabinksi (who did okay with 2021’s “Happily”) goes the wrong way with the endeavor, which struggles with its low-energy approach and hackneyed way with action sequences. What should be an insane feature bursting with surprises ends up far sleepier than expected. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Jenna Milly and Ann Marie Allison explore the dangers of love and commitment with “You’re Dating a Narcissist,” which attempts to resemble an anti-romantic comedy while actually becoming one. It’s Hallmark Channel-style entertainment, delivering all kinds of wish-fulfillment elements and vacation spot glory. However, it stars Marisa Tomei, who’s usually good for wonderfully spirited acting, this time portraying a mother trying as hard as she can to prevent her own daughter from falling in love too quickly. Milly and Allison (who also directs the feature) make an unusual picture here, and one that tries to play into formula and somewhat subvert it at times. Such unexpectedness should result in a more engaging endeavor, but “You’re Dating a Narcissist” isn’t sprightly enough to truly charm. Tomei has her moments, but she can’t carry an unfortunately leaden movie on her own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

An actor for some time now, Matthew Shear makes his directorial debut with “Fantasy Life,” and he’s trying to keep the feature as small and contained as possible. It’s a film about a handful of characters going through a rough, confusing time in their lives, with mental health issues providing an unexpected connection over the course of a year. Shear (who also scripts) doesn’t add anything explosive to the material, offering a mild take on developing anxieties and strange responsibilities, always putting focus on relationships and personal problems. “Fantasy Life” opens like a Woody Allen tribute, but it develops its own personality as it unfolds, and Shear has a cast capable of mastering small moments and delivering some internalized intensity as well. It’s not an overwhelming viewing experience, but for those who can appreciate a picture of modest intentions boosted by terrific performances, it’ll scratch a few indie film itches. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The state of young American males is explored in “Our Hero, Balthazar,” with co-writer/director Oscar Boyson hoping to crack open fragile mental states and dig around strange behaviors and buried feelings. In many ways, it’s a deeply unsettling picture, examining impressionable young men who have nothing but social media and toxic influences to rely on as they figure things out in all the wrong ways. Boyson tries for a little black comedy along the way, sniffing around for small hits of humor while examining character reactions and impulses. However, most of “Our Hero, Balthazar” is pretty severe, taking a look at an unlikely bond developing between two people who need more help than they could possibly imagine. Boyson (joined by co-writer Ricky Camilleri) doesn’t stick the landing, but this tale of trouble has its moments of disturbing behavior and commentary on adolescent issues. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com