Category: Film Review

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

“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