Category: Film Review

“Turbo Kid” plays into a recent trend of retro cinema, with a generation of filmmakers raised on VHS rentals looking to revive the features of their youth through replication and exaggeration, trying to grasp the often violent innocence that was once commonplace in the 1980s. “Turbo Kid” is one of the more successful offerings of this welcome movement, playing as a satire and valentine to adventure cinema. It’s rarely without a wink, but it’s also imaginatively realized and marvelously performed, powered by a beaming spirit that delivers nothing but love for video games, post-apocalyptic actioners, and teen cinema. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Siblings John Erick and Drew Dowdle have proven themselves to be extremely disappointing filmmakers, taking passably intriguing plots and reducing them to pure absurdity, or worse, absolute stupidity. Last year’s “As Above, So Below” did nothing to disturb their track record of snoozers, and “No Escape” now joins the list, with the Dowdles once again proving themselves incapable or simply uninterested in telling a tense story effectively. A survival picture that’s never above stooping to cheap tricks to get a rise out of its audience, “No Escape” lumbers around without much purpose, putting its faith in a few stunt set pieces and panicky looks from star Owen Wilson. The rest is just a bunch of heavy breathing, a smattering of deus ex machina, and questionable ideas for suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To appreciate “Z for Zachariah” requires an enormous commitment of patience from the viewer. Scripted by Nissar Modi and directed by Craig Zobel (“Compliance,” “Great World of Sound”), the feature is no hurry to share its drama, leisurely taking in agitation that fuels the story, making the audience feel time passing by instead of passively observing it. A difficult sit, “Z for Zachariah” is boosted immensely by its actors, with Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Chris Pine contributing challenging performances that bring tension to the tale, portraying desperate souls in a troubling position of survival and connection. The movie has difficulty maintaining an even pour of its intentional glaze, but provocative moments do emerge from time to time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” is an explosion of stunning animation. It’s the film version of Gibran’s 1923 book of poetry and essays on the ways of the world, with the production taking famous philosophy and transforming it into pure cinema, with managing director Roger Allers (“The Lion King,” “Over the Hedge”) overseeing a team of artists tasked with creating segments that celebrate the purity of Gibran’s teachings, which cover the range of experience between life and death. The feature sweats to come up with a dramatic hook strong enough to carry the movie, but as an animated event, “The Prophet” is dazzling and enlightening, reworking the author’s passions though a blast of color and design that’s mesmerizing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“7 Chinese Brothers” is a comedy that asks the audience to meet it on its own wavelength. It’s quirky but never insistent, traveling glacially but effectively as it studies the sustained failure of a habitual slacker. There’s truth to the movie underneath its idiosyncrasy, presenting a commentary on maturation and responsibility that’s agreeably communicated by writer/director Bob Byington. It’s also an absolutely hilarious feature at times, especially for viewers who enjoy star Jason Schwartzman, who comes to play (accompanied by his real-life dog) with an inventive take on Peter Pan Syndrome, vibrating with a nervous energy that encourages laughs and concern in equal measure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Joe Swanberg believes in the healing powers of conversation. He’s built a career with semi-improvised features that highlight loquacious characters enduring personal crises, with recent efforts “Happy Christmas” and “Drinking Buddies” helping the helmer to prominence, refining his skill with bigger, brighter casts and a creative maturation that gives Swanberg plenty of grass to mow when it comes to the vast field of thirtysomething discontent. “Digging for Fire” assembles a Justice League of famous faces to help sell a tale of physical and emotional discovery, but familiar faces are only a small part of the pleasures found in this odd picture, which enjoys the art of exploration, achieving genuine dramatic surprises in a fresh, inviting manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Electronic dance music gets a rare shot at big screen stardom in “We Are Your Friends,” but the filmmakers don’t trust its appeal. Instead of big beats and an education in the creation of EDM, the feature chooses to pursue melodrama, feeling around twentysomething malaise to come up with a story that’s primarily about the heartsick woes of a young man in love, trying to make his way in an unfair world. “We Are Your Friends” is a little harder than the average After School Special, but it’s about as obvious, stumbling through dreadful scenes of location identification and male bonding before it’s back to the laptop and headphones, finally returning to the one place it should’ve never left. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Mistress America” is the third film from writer/director Noah Baumbach to investigate the freedom of youth as it collides with the bitter reality of aging. The 45-year-old helmer has become obsessed with the particulars of twentysomethings, already exploring a divide of maturity in last spring’s “While We’re Young.” A straightforward comedy, “Mistress America” is the lightest release Baumbach has had in years, but that doesn’t make it automatically pleasant. He’s still invested in the lives of obnoxious, self-involved characters, and any resistance to that particular dramatic frequency is going to make the film feel like running a marathon on ice skates. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2012, “Sinister” was a Halloween release, taking advantage of the spooky season to introduce a new boogeyman named Bughuul, a hulking beast who resembles a member of Slipknot and enjoys snacking on the souls of children. Despite serving up predictably noisy scares, the picture was a hit. As with any horror success story, a sequel was created, returning screenwriters C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson to the scene of the crime, tasked with dreaming up a new nightmare for Bughuul and his fondness for 16mm cinematography. Bled dry of ideas, the duo gets into the recycling business with “Sinister 2,” constructing another tale of supernatural lure, this time dealing directly with a pre-adolescent perspective. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“American Ultra” wants to be a number of different movies, never settling on a consistent tone to carry out its interests in dark comedy. It’s a mixed bag of highlights, and one that grows tiring the longer it meanders with bland character and jokes. The big draw is the opportunity to watch star Jesse Eisenberg, king of the nebbish performances, become Jason Bourne for the brief moment, portraying a killing machine with severe anxiety issues. “American Ultra” has promise but not much payoff, unless a steady stream of breaking glass, superfluous style, and miscastings are your idea of an enriching night at the multiplex. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

We already endured this less than a decade ago. 2007’s “Hitman” was an attempt to launch another video game-inspired franchise after a few others titles, notably “Resident Evil,” began to dominate the box office, hoping to lure players in with a big screen exploration of genetically-modified ultraviolence carried out by a bald man with a barcode on the back of his head. The feature underperformed and slipped out of sight, but a little profit is still profit. The producers have decided to try their luck once again with “Hitman: Agent 47,” a decidedly more plasticized version of the same old story, replacing previous star Timothy Olyphant with Rupert Friend, though I doubt anyone will notice. The emphasis is on CGI and scowling, and “Agent 47” is filled to the brim with cartoon imagery and angry faces. Anything more challenging simply confuses an already brain dead production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Marlon Brando spent the first half of his life seeking fame, and the second half rejecting everything stardom had to offer. As a Hollywood enigma, he was one of the most enticing, with most of his filmography made up of curious creative choices and pure money gigs, while his personal life was a mystery of social withdrawal and tragedy, finding the blinding spotlight too much to handle as youthful careerism gave way to maturation and concern. “Listen to Me Marlon” isn’t a straightforward documentary on the legend’s life, but it does file though the highlights. However, instead of an outside narrator guiding the experience, director Stevan Riley cuts together Brando’s own words, filing through recordings the actor made while in the mood for confession. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Ten Thousand Saints” marks the return of directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who, a little over a decade ago, made a splash with “American Splendor,” only to stumble with follow-ups including “The Nanny Diaries,” “The Extra Man,” and the unpleasant “Girl Most Likely.” “Ten Thousand Saints” frequently struggles to put together a sizable story with interconnected characters, but it finds warmth, humor, and heartache along the way, allowing Berman and Pulcini a chance to explore dimensional personalities in a flavorful setting. It’s far from a perfect film, but when it locks on to an emotionally complex moment, the feature succeeds more than a fails. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To some, he was just a daredevil. To others, Evel Knievel was a hero, with his fearless attempts to conquer danger providing a unique source of inspiration. “Being Evel” is actually the second Knievel documentary released in the past year, and instead of simply checking off accomplishments and biographical highlights, the production submits a tone of recollection, gathering friends, family, and admirers to reflect on Knievel’s career, with emphasis on his volatile personality. “Being Evel” isn’t a complex deconstruction of the stunt icon’s history. It’s more of a campfire remembrance, asking those closest to the star to share anecdotes and provide perspective when needed. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s tough to be a Pierce Brosnan admirer these days. The talented actor has been caught in a career rut as of late, participating in dreary actioners (“Survivor,” “The November Man”) that merely require him to grimace and shoot blanks at stunt professionals. Truthfully, he’s been the highlight of most movies he makes, but even his tight-faced charm is buried in “Some Kind of Beautiful,” a bewilderingly titled romantic comedy that’s about as warm and humorous as a TSA waiting line. While Brosnan and co-stars Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba try to wind up the effort with a healthy dose of manic energy, “Some Kind of Beautiful” limps along with dud scenes and a weird appreciation for happily ever after. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Any appreciation of “She’s Funny That Way” requires digestion of star Imogen Poots’s comically large Brooklyn accent. The British actress attempts to squawk her way through the latest effort from Peter Bogdanovich, who hasn’t helmed a big screen feature since 2001’s “The Cat’s Meow,” attempting to tap into the picture’s broad style and classic Hollywood exaggeration, only to emerge with a performance that’s shrill and unconvincing. The rest of “She’s Funny That Way” follows suit, struggling to retain a certain madcap snap, only the screenplay doesn’t offer much in the way of punchlines and the actors gathered aren’t especially known for their crisp timing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After watching Rosamund Pike portray a scheming, murderous psychopath in last year’s “Gone Girl,” it’s a little strange to see the actress attempt a variation on the role in “Return to Sender.” As exploitation goes, the picture doesn’t add up to much, delaying the inevitable for so long, it doesn’t really matter much to the movie when violence finally arrives. Rocking back and forth between sensitivity and cheap thrills, “Return to Sender” is kept alive by Pike’s performance, which strives to make the character arc meaningful while director Fouad Mikati (responsible for the cringe-worthy misfire, “Operation: Endgame”) fumbles the essentials in suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After smashing through box office expectations with two highly successful “Sherlock Holmes” movies, director Guy Ritchie tries to keep the same intrigue and action alive, but in a slightly more modern setting. “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” takes special care to revive the 1960s, with Ritchie trying to celebrate the era of the original television show the movie takes its inspiration from, reviving big style and paranoia for a retro romp through Cold War tensions. “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” is stacked with stunning visuals and Ritchie’s dry wit, but it struggles to snap out of its too-cool-for-school slumber, while leads Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer do a terrific impression of male mannequins, robbing the picture of needed charm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

On the album cover of the 1988 N.W.A. album, “Straight Outta Compton,” there are six men displayed. The N.W.A. bio-pic, “Straight Outta Compton,” only focuses on three members of the group. For some, emphasis on rappers Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E is a no-brainer, with the artists forming the identity and sound of the band. However, for dramatic purposes, the highlighting of only half the group immediately rings false. In fact, much of “Straight Outta Compton” comes across as fiction, with screenwriters Andrea Berloff and Jonathan Herman trying to create a superhero origin story that keeps the brand names happy, making Dre and Cube the stars of the show, preserving their reputations as they cloud the true creative nucleus of the group. The picture isn’t really a biography, it’s an application for sainthood. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A talented actor and comedian, Jemaine Clement has never truly found his footing as movie performer. He’s always the bright spot in anything he appears in, but Clement certainly deserves a more significant challenge to bring out his charisma and depth. After scoring major laughs in the delightfully silly “What We Do in the Shadows,” Clement finds a proper sweet and sour balance in “People Places Things,” which truly brings him to life as a leading man. While hilarious, “People Places Things” is also smart about the confusion of divorce and the fatigue of parenthood, launching a dramedy that’s knowledgeable about the human heart while still tending to moments of humor that Clement sells with customary dryness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com