Category: Film Review

Any production that attempts to dramatize autism is faced with a challenge of tone and respect. “A Brilliant Young Mind” tells the story of an autistic boy who’s getting used to the world around him, grasping adolescent and romantic situations for the first time after being thrown into the deep end of socialization. Scripted by James Graham and directed by Morgan Matthews, “A Brilliant Young Mind” is smart and perceptive, and it’s also stunningly sensitive to human needs. While it tells a tale of academic accomplishment and examination, the feature is riveting as a study of frustration and longing, capturing the range of experiences that come with autism, not just focusing on a single degree of understanding. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Second Mother” looks at the emotional impact of housemaid and nanny work, exploring one woman’s experience as her professional and private lives meet for the first time, causing all sorts of chaos. It’s a Brazilian picture with enormous personality and a deep understanding of the employer/employee relationship. It’s light when it chooses to be, but “The Second Mother” is crafty with a few comedic asides, generating a pleasant sense of misdirection, allowing the rest of this finely crafted, patient, and exceptionally performed movie to emerge from unexpected places, identifying the cost of personal sacrifice with outstanding precision. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although there have been a few attempts to alter his filmmaking identity over the years, writer/director Neil LaBute is primarily known for his provocative ways with sexuality, gender, and race. He enjoys poking at taboo topics, armed with acidic, slyly humorous dialogue that periodically cuts to the heart of social woes and emotional instability. While his cinematic career has been lacking lately (his last effort, “Some Velvet Morning” was barely distributed), LaBute revives his impish qualities with “Dirty Weekend,” which teases surprises and extends discomfort. The movie has its moments, but “Dirty Weekend” comes up short when time arrives to truly unnerve the audience, finding LaBute unable to dream up a story that contains a suitable payoff. Instead, he shows more comfort with vague outlines of anxiety, which isn’t as amusing as the production imagines. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Oren Moverman made a critical and industry splash with 2009’s “The Messenger.” He didn’t build on that first impression, with his follow-up, 2011’s “Rampart,” showing early signs of creative fatigue and repetition, resulting in a messy, easily dismissible picture. “Time Out of Mind” is an even more experimental offering from Moverman, who endeavors to put viewers into the mindset of a homeless man as he experiences life on the streets and shelters, and makes a vague attempt to rebuild his ruined life. It’s compassionate work with all the good intentions in the world, but Moverman refuses brevity, transforming what should be an unforgettable education into an indulgent slog. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There were three previous “Transporter” movies, and two of them were immensely fun to watch. The series helped star Jason Statham hit a level of respectability as an action hero, making smart use of his bruiser film presence and mumbly way. The efforts were stunt spectacles, outrageous ones at that, allowing co-producer/co-writer Luc Besson to dream up chases and showdowns for Statham to manage in his own special way. After a failed television series, the driver is back to work in “The Transporter Refueled,” a franchise reheat that ditches Statham and the charmingly loopy vibe that informed the first two efforts. Painfully absurd and dismally acted, “The Transporter Refueled” is a new low for the series, failing to do anything in an even remotely competent manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

An adaptation of a 1998 book by Bill Bryson, “A Walk in the Woods” is a travelogue that’s wide open for a two leading men to take command of the material and infuse the feature with considerable personality. Up for the challenge are Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, who team up to portray two older men crossing America on foot, learning about each other and themselves along the way. Teasing gooey sentimentality and metaphor, “A Walk in the Woods” is surprisingly impish, keeping encouraging distance from maudlin activities to transform into an R-rated romp through the wilderness, subverting expectations for a somber reflection on the fragility of life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a post-Elliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner world, it’s fitting to find “Zipper” taking on the subject of political ambition colliding with sexual addiction. It’s a topic that’s ripe for exploration, and co-writer/director Mora Stephens is certainly enthusiastic about the details that make up such a fall from grace. It’s the ultimate dramatic goals of “Zipper” that remain frustrating, as Stephens isn’t sure if she wants to craft a dark ode to animal urges or a taut paranoia thriller featuring a range of scowling, judgmental characters. The feature does tap into the agitated mind of a man who’s reaching utter powerlessness when faced with carnal temptations, but, overall, the movie takes its unscrupulousness with overwhelming seriousness, opening the effort up to unintended laughs and an iffy handle on taste. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Struggling with a career that’s enjoyed blockbuster highs (becoming a Marvel Studios legend as Captain America) and creative lows (including the recent “Playing It Cool”), actor Chris Evans elects to take control of his professional future with “Before We Go,” making his directorial debut. Putting his heart into a tale of lost souls searching for emotional clarity during one particularly long evening, Evans battles to preserve behavioral authenticity to the picture, holding tight on performances and extended scenes of bonding. However, “Before We Go” contracts a case of the cutes one too many times, hunting for a way to be likeable and romantic when the material demands restraint, trusting in the nature of basic human decency. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Movies about tennis are few and far between, but comedies about tennis are practically nonexistent. This gives “Break Point” something of an advantage, as it’s a perfectly pleasant and frequently funny tennis comedy with a passable handle on character. Far from profound, with a rudimentary examination of familial hostilities and arcs of redemption, “Break Point” does retain a personality thanks to its stars, who work hard, perhaps too hard, to give the effort levels of conflict and tomfoolery, diluting the picture’s programmed feel. Fans of tennis should enjoy the feature’s perspective, but the production manages to create an accessible sports comedy as well. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s not every day that a Chinese war epic starring Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody, and John Cusack is produced, making “Dragon Blade” a significant curiosity. The picture also claims to be based on a true story, but it remains unclear what part of the tale is supposed to represent history. Perhaps taking such an endeavor seriously is a mistake, but it’s refreshing to see writer/director Daniel Lee commit to large scale action and even bigger emotion as China battles Rome in “Dragon Blade.” While the feature isn’t built for an academic response, it does have its fair share of distractions and a significant sweep, and there’s the sight of the three leads trying to make sense of their casting, keeping the effort adequately unpredictable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps “Chloe and Theo” was created with the best of intentions, but what’s ended up in the movie is such a random assembly of guilt, comedy, and tragedy, it’s impossible to detect what the actual message of the picture is. For the most part, “Chloe and Theo” endeavors to teach the audience about climate change and its far-reaching threat to those outside of America. Viewed through the eyes of an Inuit traveler, the story is meant to treat the subject matter with a degree of innocence, coating in the end of the world in cutesy behavior. It’s an admirable shot by writer/director Ezna Sands to preach about environmental damage, but the film is extraordinarily confused and miscast, killing any hope for lasting impact. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“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