Category: Film Review

Throughout his directorial career, Bobcat Goldthwait has developed an interest in darkly comic material, sifting through the ruins of humanity to find uncomfortable laughs and unexpected truths. Switching to non-fiction filmmaking for “Call Me Lucky,” Goldthwait constructs a valentine to his hero, political satirist Barry Crimmins. For the extent of his professional life, Crimmins has been inspired by political neglect and deception, all the while harboring a secret that’s fueled his commitment to activism. “Call Me Lucky” is sweet, bracing, sad, and infuriating, with Goldthwait managing a documentary that grasps the basics of biographical storytelling but ultimately transforms into a call to arms, taking the Crimmins path to understand the details of participation in America’s cultural and political direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Joel Edgerton has emerged as one of the premiere actors of his generation, building a reputation with work in features such as “Animal Kingdom,” “Warrior,” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” He’s also achieved a few screenwriting credits as well, masterminding “The Square” and “Felony.” “The Gift” is Edgerton’s directorial debut, setting out to make a slow-burn suspense effort that pounces on the audience as expected, but ultimately emerges as an offering of sinister business, capturing psychological torment with a dollop of subversion. Edgerton appears completely enamored with his creation, which helps the picture with confidence, but it’s an uneven nail-biter, unable to decide if it wants to freak out viewers with noise or slip under their skin. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year there was “Gone Girl,” which was the first of author Gillian Flynn’s books to hit the big screen. “Dark Places” is the second wave of domestic disaster from the writer, returning to a place of mental illness and gamesmanship, only here the mystery is more of a “Clue” scenario than a gradual unleashing of psychosis. “Dark Places” isn’t quite as engaging as “Gone Girl,” weirdly sharing similar problems with pacing, but it does offer a few charged encounters that hit heights of suspense and pull decent performances out of the cast. It’s not nearly as buzz-worthy as Flynn’s previous adaption, but the movie manages to find its own toxic perspective. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Over the past year, Nicolas Cage has appeared in a handful of iffy movies, shifting into career survival mode to make it through efforts such as “Left Behind,” “Dying of the Light,” and “Outcast.” While committed to a certain degree, Cage’s dead-eyed screen presence couldn’t mask his interest in a paycheck, committing to pictures that have padded his career, not inspired it. “The Runner” doesn’t radically revive Cage’s appeal, but it does offer him an opportunity to act again, remaining the focus of this political drama, which demands a level of concentration and emotion he rarely encounters anymore. “The Runner” has difficulty assembling its puzzle of dysfunction, but it’s almost worth the price of admission to see Cage give a damn again. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The End of the Tour” isn’t a bio-pic of the late author, David Foster Wallace. Instead, it strives to find a way to communicate his soul through conversation, dramatizing a few days in his life that reveal more than he was expecting. Screenwriter Donald Margulies and director James Ponsoldt treat the subject with extreme care, balancing the troubled side of Wallace’s life with his intricate personality and reliance on defense mechanisms. “The End of the Tour” is a verbose but intimate study of intelligence and vulnerability, offering a special perspective on a writer adored by critics and readers, but a man few understood in full. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Samba” is the latest film from directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. The pair’s previous effort was “The Intouchables,” a 2011 production that took most of the world by storm, performing like an art-house “Jurassic World,” only really missing its full financial potential in America, where audiences showed little interest in the French comedy. Handed a golden opportunity to make any type of movie they wanted, the team instead returns to intimate character-based concerns with “Samba.” Lightning doesn’t strike twice for the helmers, who force whimsy into a stark assessment of corrupted behavior and daily survival. Although it tries to put on a happy face for mass consumption, the picture isn’t built for cheeriness, ultimately more compelling with troublesome events. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“I Am Chris Farley” doesn’t approach the late comedian’s legacy with journalistic intentions. Instead, directors Brent Hodge and Derik Murray prepare a valentine for their subject, warmly recalling his professional triumphs and personal intentions. It’s a sentimental documentary that raises more questions than it answers, but “I Am Chris Farley” isn’t built to inspect the man’s darkness and final days. It’s a mournful remembrance piece that’s teeming with famous faces and provides a swell of appreciation for Farley’s explosive sense of humor, physical gifts, and a sensitive side few were permitted to see as he burned through his career at top speed. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Created as a sort of Hail Mary pass, a let’s-see-if-anybody-still-wants-these-movies production, 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” ended up becoming the highest grossing installment of the “Mission: Impossible” film franchise, revitalizing the brand name and infusing the ongoing narrative with renewed outlaw vigor. “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” is the payoff punch, and while it doesn’t reach the thrills of “Ghost Protocol,” the latest chapter in the Ethan Hunt saga remains secure with enormous stunts, blazing chases, and needlessly convoluted villainy. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie isn’t known for spectacle, but he manages an impressive fireworks display here, delivering a first half that frequently bests previous sequels. It’s the second half of “Rogue Nation” that’s worrisome. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1983’s “Vacation” wasn’t exactly a family friendly movie, but its pursuit of R-rated humor was always balanced with smart screenwriting (credited to John Hughes) and marvelous direction (from the late, great Harold Ramis). It’s a bona fide classic that’s stood the test of time, displaying Chevy Chase in top form as lovable lump Clark Griswold, who simply craves a family experience, dragging his wife and children across America to see the sights and visit theme park Walley World. There were sequels, two of them not exactly living up to the brand name, but they remained in step with a sense of humor that was never mean-spirited, just silly. 2015’s sequel/reheat “Vacation” doesn’t bother with taste or spirit, embarking on a long ride of poo-poo, pee-pee humor that’s pure punishment to sit through. It’s a new dawn for the Griswolds, and this time they’re making the journey to family bonding covered in human waste. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While it could easily read as career repetition, “Irrational Man” returns writer/director Woody Allen to a moral void he once investigated to great success in 1986’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” His aim isn’t quite a sharp the second time around, and his timing is a little slack, but Allen has a special perspective when it comes to acts of violence and pangs of guilt. Coming after last year’s dispiritingly shapeless “Magic in the Moonlight,” it’s encouraging to see Allen bare his teeth again, and the picture, while deeply flawed and periodically meandering, does a successful job grasping the art of justification, turning superiority into an aphrodisiac, which creates an interesting air of discomfort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Boulevard” represents the final onscreen appearance for Robin Williams, who passed away last August. While the role doesn’t provide a moment of comedy for Williams to work his customary charms, it does display his range as an actor, portraying a tortured man mummified by his own life. It’s a low-key turn from Williams, who barely raises his voice here, but his command of introspection, isolating a specialized pain that’s muffled by social obligations, is precisely what “Boulevard” requires to find meaning. Director Dito Montiel almost ruins the somber ambiance with hysterics, but it’s Williams (and co-star Kathy Baker) who hold interest, portraying a complex study of self with exceptional humanity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The actual Stanford Prison Experiment has inspired a few post-mortem documentaries and dramatic endeavors over the last four decades, most notably the 2001 German production, “Das Experiment.” It’s a scenario that’s built for screen exploration, offering actors juicy parts to play as average men are lured into extraordinary responses to a pressurized situation. For a director, the premise is thematically rich and wide open for suspenseful extremes, also challenging visual skill with its claustrophobic setting. “The Stanford Prison Experiment” is handled well by helmer Kyle Patrick Alvarez (“Easier with Practice”), who extracts enough tension and bizarre behavior to keep hostilities and cruelties compelling, though the inherent limitations and repetition of the Experiment retains its unsatisfying influence over the entire movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year’s “The Lego Movie” was a glorified commercial for the globally beloved toy line, but it was handled with care, emphasizing the magic of the plastic bricks and their broad, multi-generational appeal. “A Lego Brickumentary” has the unfortunate position of being the follow-up to a story already told, though filmmakers Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge appear to understand the redundancy of their documentary, trying to find fresh avenues to explore when it comes to a toy that’s been around for over 60 years. “A Lego Brickumentary” isn’t stunning stuff, but for those in the mood for heartwarming stories of achievement and concentration, the effort isn’t hard on the senses, working overtime to be accessible to viewers of all ages, which successfully covers the Lego demographic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet doesn’t work very often, but when he ultimately winds himself up into production mode, his output is usually filled with substantial cinematic artistry, dark comedy, and flashes of tart whimsy. Responsible for “Amelie,” “The City of Lost Children,” and “A Very Long Engagement” (his lone dip into poisoned Hollywood waters, 1997’s “Alien: Resurrection,” remains woefully underappreciated), Jeunet doesn’t make lazy movies, but he doesn’t always make precise ones either. “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet” is a head rush of big screen detail and beauty, but as a story, it’s something of a mess, trying to focus on profound pain while the production arranges all types of widescreen minutiae. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Exorcism movies have been all the rage in recent years, with titles like “The Devil Inside,” “Deliver Us from Evil,” and “The Last Exorcism” scratching the itch some ticket-buyers have to see young women possessed by Satan, with clueless, powerless priests unable to draw evil out. “The Vatican Tapes” is yet another installment of embedded demon cinema, and it arrives without a gimmick, basically telling a blah exorcism story with some vague found-footage elements, laboring to summon the end of the world without anything memorable to work with. Dull and somewhat amateurish, “The Vatican Tapes” goes through the motions, working on vomiting and eeriness, but ends up nowhere in particular, with director Mark Neveldine unnervingly comfortable making something everyone has seen before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Pixels” began life as a 2010 short film from Patrick Jean, which detailed an alien invasion carried out by classic video game enemies, giving the director a chance to show off his skill with visual effects and love for arcade gaming. “Pixels” concludes its journey as a big-budget Adam Sandler comedy, which probably isn’t what Jean had in mind when he set out on this journey years ago. Sluggish comedy and tired Sandler-isms aside, the picture definitely has its moments of visual might, successfully translating Jean’s idea, just not his universe. Without Sandler, perhaps “Pixels” would’ve been spectacular. With the comedian slumped over in the starring role, the best the production can do is pay close attention to CGI nuances and gaming references, leaving the jokes to a guy who looks like he needs a nap these days. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“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