Category: Film Review

“Southpaw” is demanding to be experienced squarely in the gut. It’s not an intellectually stimulating picture, only an emotionally charged one, with everything the production has to offer poured into scenes where blood and tears flow, and dialogue pushed out of grinding teeth. Unfortunately, while such simplicity triggers visceral reactions, “Southpaw” can’t eye-bulge its way past a disappointing script that’s mostly about recycling moments from boxing cinema classics instead of inventing its own hero’s journey. The feature has a big heart and a tiny brain, and while I wouldn’t deny anyone the opportunity to lose themselves in juicy manipulation, it’s clear the production could’ve tried a little harder to make something significant instead helping itself to the towering pile of “Rocky” clichés. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Unexpected” initially presents itself as your average pregnancy dramedy, focusing on a 30-year-old woman confronted with the possibly of motherhood, refusing to let reality sink in. It doesn’t take long for co-writer/director Kris Swanberg to reveal her impatience with clichés, quickly moving past shock to mine the emotional depths of potential parenthood. “Unexpected” soon finds a plot, but it’s rather remarkable with silences, with Swanberg permitting the movie a chance to observe the lead character’s whirring mind without pausing for formula, depicting the enormity of the challenge ahead in a natural, honest manner, delivering encouraging depth and emotional nuance to the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last summer, “The Fault in Our Stars” managed to break out of the blockbuster stranglehold and become a sizable hit. Adapted from the novel by John Green, the feature had heart and youth on its side, with a largely teenage audience driving ticket sales. Hoping to continue this profitable union, Hollywood reaches back into Green’s career to find “Paper Towns,” a novel published in 2008. While not even remotely close to the emotional volatility of “Stars,” “Paper Towns” does proudly wear Green’s fingerprints, playing directly to a younger audience while maintaining the perspective of its thirtysomething author, emerging with a certain degree of honesty about the teen experience that’s largely cloaked in quirk and thematic indecision. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Building a Scorsese/De Niro-style relationship of fruitful collaboration, director Christian Petzold and actress Nina Hoss continue their successful ways with “Phoenix,” a modest but highly charged drama set in post-WWII Berlin. Their fifth feature together (with credits that include “Yella” and “Barbara”), the team creates another squeeze of longing and loss, this time employing slight noir-ish qualities that develop the screenplay’s central theme of identity. However, “Phoenix” isn’t stylish escapism, but a psychological drama that touches on betrayal in the aftermath of incalculable tragedy, finding Petzold in command of mood and reveals, while Hoss delivers exemplary work in the lead role. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It may be hard to believe, but the original “Joe Dirt” was released all the way back in 2001, a time when movie theaters were open to the idea of running a comedy starring David Spade. Now there’s “Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser,” which took its sweet time to arrive on the scene, though it’s trading a theatrical release for an internet streaming debut, giving away the sequel for free. Despite such an enticing price tag, the follow-up remains overpriced, with Spade and co-writer/director Fred Wolf hitting rock bottom with this cheap, unimaginative effort. Not that the first feature was an example of comic timing and good taste, but the depths of laziness reached in “Joe Dirt 2” are genuinely shocking at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Long before Hollywood immersed itself completely in comic book movies and geek culture, such big screen extravaganzas were few and far between. In the mid-1990s, Batman was really the only game in town, recently flexing box office muscle with “Batman Forever,” which pushed Tim Burton’s franchise down a brighter path of audience engagement, refreshing monetary potential. In the moments before “Batman & Robin” popped the superhero bubble, Warner Brothers was ready to revive another caped crusader for mass consumption: Superman. After burning through its own series of blockbusters, Superman was ready for a facelift, finding producer Jon Peters and the powers that be ready to return to Burton for another radical reworking of known elements. The picture was “Superman Lives,” and it never made it into production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a stand-up comedian, Amy Schumer is known for her biting, off-color material, frequently taking jabs at her sex life and personal appearance. As an actress, Schumer hasn’t been fully tested, with work on her Comedy Central hit, “Inside Amy Schumer,” mostly regulated to broad, satiric antics and straight-man reactions to impossibly awkward situations. “Trainwreck” is her first starring vehicle, scripting herself a tale that’s not entirely different from ones she’s told before. There’s a feeling of repetition to “Trainwreck,” which is more about showing off what Schumer can do instead of changing career directions. Mercifully, she’s outstanding here, delivering a tart, touching performance, reaching surprising depths while director Judd Apatow struggles with tonality and timing, never exactly sure what type of movie he wants to make. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As Marvel Studios completes their “Phase Two” of film production, they’ve decided to sneak in one last superhero before the gate closes. After the gargantuan action of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” rattled multiplexes last May, “Ant-Man” arrives as an after-dinner mint, highlighting a little-known character in the Marvel universe, but one with unique technology. Sadly, to bring the diminutive warrior to the screen, the studio hired director Peyton Reed for the job. With credits such as “Down with Love,” “Bring It On,” and “Yes Man,” Reed isn’t the first helmer that comes to mind when thinking of a proper visionary for a comic book extravaganza, and “Ant-Man,” while second-tier by design, doesn’t benefit from his limited scope and impotent way with comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Mexican Drug War is devastating its homeland, with violence and misery spilling over the border to America. When governments prove useless, with corruption overtaking responsibility, civilians proceed to make themselves the first line of defense. The documentary “Cartel Land” studies aggression fueling cartel butchery and vigilante justice, with director Matthew Heineman embedded in Mexico and America to grasp the subtle ways the average person is striking back at encroaching evil. The you-are-there aspects of “Cartel Land” are compelling, with Heineman capturing street horrors and subtle shifts in power, creating an inherently frustrating but informative look at national defense and human vanity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a summer moviegoing season that’s light on heartwarming entertainment, “Batkid Begins” is specifically designed to make sure every ticket-buyer exits the theater with a lump in their throat and hope for a better tomorrow. Recounting the saga of young Miles Scott, a six-year-old boy from small-town California with leukemia who elected to use his Make-A-Wish dream to become Batman, “Batkid Begins” journeys into the heart of charity and community support, clearing away the ugliness of the world for 80 minutes to bask in the glow of what was intended to be a block-wide event that eventually snowballed into a global phenomenon. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world of Sherlock Holmes has never really gone out of style, but the consulting detective, created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is all the rage these days, inspiring movies, television, and books that continue to mine the character’s obsession with mystery over 125 years after his introduction. “Mr. Holmes” takes a slightly different approach to crime-solving, introducing an elderly Sherlock at the very end of his days, struggling with memory as he winds down his life. Director Bill Condon (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) remains respectful of Doyle’s creation, and purists will likely enjoy viewing a different incarnation of the famous sleuth, but this is a very deliberate picture, restrained and observant, perhaps a bit too slow for its own good. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The idea of “Lila & Eve” is often more interesting than the film itself. A look at abyssal depths of grief and a rather unorthodox method of therapy, the picture is a strange brew of screaming emotions and exploitation interests, with director Charles Stone III never exactly sure what type of feature he’s making. A strong lead performance from Viola Davis is enough to secure some realism to the effort, but the production tends to give in to B-movie hysterics, losing sight of real-world misery that informs the picture’s finest scenes. Sometimes it’s looking for tears, sometimes it’s hoping for cheers, leaving “Lila & Eve” uneven and, at times, frustratingly simplistic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Self/less” is the latest feature from director Tarsem Singh, an artful filmmaker behind “The Cell” and “The Fall,” but also someone looking to preserve industry longevity, masterminding the studios efforts “Immortals” and “Mirror Mirror.” Trying to straddle the line between spectacle and emotionality, Singh has never proven his worth with storytelling. He can shoot the stuffing out of a sunset, but give the man drama, and he’s always baffled. “Self/less” suffers the same fate as his other pictures, though it shows immense promise in its opening act, setting a fantasy mood as mad science morphs into a thriller of sorts, holding together longer than most of Singh’s work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Introduced in “Despicable Me,” the Minions were tiny, yellow, Spanglish-speaking henchmen intended to be periodic comic relief for a movie about lovable supervillain Gru and his adopted family. In “Despicable Me 2,” it became clear that the Minions were becoming a major draw for the blockbuster franchise, gifted a larger presence in the story along with substantial screen time. Now there’s “Minions,” which takes the prequel route to deliver a tale that’s concentrated entirely on cartoon mischief. Unexpectedly, Gru isn’t missed, finding Brian Lynch’s screenplay teeming with knowing jokes and sharp high jinks, keeping the spirit of the Minions alive while delivering an adventure that supports their newfound starring role. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

According the picture’s opening crawl, “Dude Bro Party Massacre III” is a film from the 1980s that was banned and destroyed by President Reagan due to its monumentally violent content. The only copy of the feature that managed to survive was a VHS tape of an early morning public access showing in Minneapolis, allowing the legend of “Dude Bro Party Massacre III” to live on once again, complete with awkwardly edited commercial breaks. At last, the public is gifted a chance to witness one of the most grotesque B-movies in cinema history, with its unrelenting terror, gore, and fraternity neuroses, stuffed into a slasher extravaganza that finally brings to the screen what the horror genre has been missing: a Larry King cameo. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In July, 2011, at the age of 27, Amy Winehouse died in her London home. A combination of a weak heart and alcoholism ultimately took her life, with frailty brought on by substance abuse, fame, and mental disorders, paving the way to the end. Her life wasn’t a mystery, encouraging attention from cameras before she was imprisoned by them, leaving director Asif Kapadia (“Senna”) with plenty of footage to work through when assembling “Amy,” his ode to her turbulent life. For fans, the documentary supplies an open-eyed look at a star who took over the world in the mid-2000s. For newcomers, it’s an introduction to a gifted singer who too easily submitted to others, with Kapadia stitching together a snapshot of her creativity and her recklessness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The summer moviegoing season of 2015 is a little light on horror films. Needing a mid-year chiller to plug a hole in the schedule, Warner Brothers picked up “The Gallows,” which was in production nearly three years ago. Hoping to make a little extra money from younger audiences on prowl for a communal scream, the studio isn’t coloring outside the lines with this endeavor, which is a straight-up, seen-it-all-before found footage terror feature starring a bunch of untested actors, directed by two men who have no interest in disrupting audience expectations. “The Gallows” is tedious and painfully conventional, with its unwillingness to try anything new more frightening than anything this achingly dull picture dreams up. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The family road trip comedy takes on unusual gravity in “What We Did on Our Holiday,” which combines a sense of domestic chaos with the very real experience of death. While it traffics in combative behavior in strained relationships, there’s warmth to the film, watching directors Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin (who also script) labor to maintain an inviting tone that doesn’t sour as the tale works through uncomfortable discoveries. “What We Did on Our Holiday” is an amusing picture with a few laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s more interesting as storytelling tightrope walk, studying the feature as it navigates troubling turns of plot. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If you must seen one film about 17th century gardening in Versailles this year, “A Little Chaos” is the right choice. Iconic actor Alan Rickman returns to directorial duties (also co-scripting) after an 18-year-long break with this period piece, which takes a look at royal interactions and the majesty of landscaping during a time of national pride. Dramatically, “A Little Chaos” isn’t out to overwhelm, sticking close to formula when dealing with romantic interests and bottomless pain, but Rickman knows how to spin predictability in a satisfying manner, guiding a compelling journey into companionship and construction that’s boosted considerably by a gifted cast who make the mundane meaningful. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Colin Jost is best known as the co-anchor of “Weekend Update” on “Saturday Night Live,” where he also serves as head writer for the show. “Staten Island Summer” is his first produced screenplay, and there’s one thing is clear about his work: he loves “Caddyshack.” A valentine to his favorite New York City borough and a classic sports comedy, Jost fills his writing up with nostalgia and reverence, trying to maintain a decent hit ratio when it comes to laughs. He’s mostly successful, as “Staten Island Summer” is a genial viewing experience boosted by a lively cast, who manage to connect when the movie occasionally gets a little too casual for its own good. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com