Category: Film Review

Low-budget horror heads into tight spaces. Again. For those paying attention to the fright film marketplace, the August release, “As Above, So Below,” took audiences into Parisian catacombs, where tunnels were tight and madness was waiting. “The Pyramid” is an uncomfortably similar picture, only this version carries an Egyptian theme and the threat is decidedly hokier. Familiarity could be overlooked if the new feature offered any substantive quality, but screenwriter Gregory Levasseur isn’t ready for his simplistic directorial debut, missing crucial details and easy suspense with this DOA effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Iron Sheik is one of the most famous pro wrestlers in the history of the entertainment business, using his cartoon villainy to achieve worldwide stardom. Of course, there is a real man behind the theatrics, a struggling athlete who’s spent his life clinging to the occupation that’s made him a star, working through chemical dependency and professional humiliations to remain The Iron Sheik for a legion of fans. “The Sheik” is more of a commercial for the wrestler than a true overview of life-shaping events, but the documentary scores in intimate moments and interviews, with a sizable amount of faces from pro wrestling history gathering to discuss the sheer oddity and hidden humanity of this bear of the man. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Life Partners” mines a few very real anxieties when it comes to the challenges of a long-term friendship. It’s not particularly sharp, but it’s warmly realized, with co-writer/director Susanna Fogel trying to communicate the precise moment when life is forever altered by love interests, vocational goals, and the general ticking of the clock. It’s an amusing picture with two likable performances from Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs, but seldom does it rise above its sitcom presentation, feeling a little too restrained with the interpersonal quandaries presented here. “Life Partners” is amiable, capably observed at times, but little of it sticks after a viewing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

War documentaries are plentiful these days, with productions of all shapes and sizes working to impart the horrors of conflict, with special attention to daily unrest in the Middle East. These are important stories, crucial to the understanding of cultural divides and the true impact of violence, but few have a gimmick to help ease audiences into the thick of chaos. “Point and Shoot” has an odd central figure in Matthew VanDyke, an OCD-anxious, everyday American who decided to embark on a “crash course in manhood,” hoping to unearth some sense of self-worth by speeding into the heart of danger. Armed with a video camera that rarely left his side, VanDyke experienced the intricacies of conflict close-up, eventually moving past spectator status to take part in a rebellion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The premise of “Poker Night” is better suited for the short film format, where its small surprises and ambitious structure could be more succinctly communicated, thus improving its sucker punch mentality. As a feature, “Poker Night” often doesn’t know what to do with itself, sweating to fill up a run time with windy monologues, overacting, and jumps in time that doesn’t do the effort any favors. Writer/director Greg Francis is clearly aiming to shape a serial killer mystery with hard, masculine edges, but the picture is impossible to take seriously, finding its mix of dark comedy and shock value painfully awkward, unfunny, and devoid of scares. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are few horror films with the dramatic depth and patience of “The Babadook.” An Australian production, the picture explores real and imagined threats with interest in a blurring of psychological lines, pushing cinematic terrors into the realm of depression. It tends to sinister business beautifully, establishing a frightful monster while playing with the anxiety of dark corners, and it’s genuinely scary in ways few genre efforts can manage to achieve. But there’s another level to writer/director Jennifer Kent’s work, allowing a traditional run of chills and mounting chaos to have new meaning, fulfilling as both a scare machine and a gripping portrait of delayed grief. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private were always the highlights of the “Madagascar” films. Their blend of spy satire and slapstick was good for a laugh in movies that needed the help, creating memorable asides away from the main characters, stealing scenes whenever they slipped into frame. “Penguins of Madagascar” is their first solo feature (after headlining a successful television series), posting the question: can this simple joke be stretched from a few minutes to an entire picture? The answer is yes. Restoring some old-fashioned silliness into animated filmmaking, “Penguins of Madagascar” is a frequently hilarious and exciting effort that hands these tiny action heroes a big screen adventure worthy of their wonderful idiosyncrasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One could argue that 2011’s “Horrible Bosses” tapped into the frustration of the average working stiff — the 9-to-5ers facing wretched superiors who abuse and discard without a second thought. Or maybe the feature was the crude movie du jour, pulling audiences in during a dry spell in American comedy releases. Either way, the picture was a hit, paving the way for a sequel three years later, and one that’s determined to top the previous endeavor’s comfort with vulgarity, stupidity, and, worst of all, improvisation. “Horrible Bosses” was a terrible offering of funny business, sloppy and dull all around. “Horrible Bosses 2” somehow sinks lower, stumbling through a meaningless plot while fumbling around in the dark for jokes. And it’s ten minutes longer than its predecessor. Oof. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Foxcatcher” is a film that’s so deliberate, it doesn’t just get under the skin, it possesses an unnerving force born from attentive direction and committed performances. It tells the story of John du Pont and his intense relationship with Olympic wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz, but it’s not always a linear appreciation of a toxic union. Instead, director Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”) creates a series of haunted silences punctured by unsteady behavior, creating an exceptional mood of unease that aids appreciation of these fractured psychological states. “Foxcatcher” isn’t interested in speed, just character, and it achieves a stunning depiction of obsession and jealousy, punctuated by a devastating true-crime conclusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Calling in favors from all over Hollywood, writer/director John Herzfeld (“15 Minutes,” “2 Days in the Valley”) gathers a promising cast for “Reach Me,” an Altman-esque collection of characters and neuroses, sold in clusters of conflicts. Probing the anxieties of interconnected residents of the southwest, Herzfeld has the potential to create a colorful and sincere atmosphere of introspection, especially with a plot that details the highs and lows of the self-help headspace. The picture is sincere but always on the wrong side of melodrama, failing to come together as a revelatory whole. Herzfeld is determined to make these puzzle pieces fit, yet there isn’t much to solve with “Reach Me,” which gradually limps to a cop-out close. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Theory of Everything” is an interesting title for a bio-pic that only provides a surface appreciation for Stephen Hawking and his now ex-wife, Jane. The “Everything” part is most certainly avoided here, replaced with an average study of a brilliant man and his dutiful wife, with their ups and downs carefully tended to by the screenplay, which ultimately has most interest in the couple’s strange dynamic. “The Theory of Everything” is given a substantial boost by its stars, who deliver exceptionally nuanced performances. They’re often the glue holding the picture together, finding director James Marsh trying to find the romantic poetry of this union instead of tending to the textures of such an unusual relationship. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After two successful films, a choice has been made to turn the last chapter of “The Hunger Games” saga into a pair of movies. While an argument could be made that creative breathing room is the reason behind the sudden expansion of sequels, it’s most likely colossal financial possibility that’s driving the decision. Much like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter,” the studio wants to keep the cash machine powered for as long as possible, even willing to torpedo the fantastic momentum that was left after the conclusion of 2013’s “Catching Fire.” “Mockingjay – Part 1” returns viewers to the world of Panem and its power struggle between President Snow and Katniss Everdeen, but instead of providing economical storytelling and a nail-biting pace, the movie slows down the series to a dead stop, now subjected to the repetition and stasis the previous efforts largely avoided in their quest to shave Suzanne Collins’s books down to a manageable single-feature size. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Extraterrestrial” arrives after a long drought of alien invasion pictures. Not the world-decimating kind, but the sneakier offerings that play with images of big-eyed, gray meanies from another world, here on Earth to cause nothing but trouble. And probe. Lots of probing. Director Colin Minihan gives the genre a go with “Extraterrestrial,” but he doesn’t arrive with a game plan. Trying to marry laughs with aggressive violence, the helmer does a poor job of tonal juggling, botching an effort to restore some fright to an alien visitation. Derivative and cynical, the feature squeezes out a few effective moments, but the rest is poorly managed and rarely terrifying. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Mule” is the rare movie to actually contain a motivation to include fecal matter in its story. A dark semi-comedy with crime film overtones, the picture largely concerns the durability of a man’s digestive system, watching the character endure a week of forced constipation to protect a potentially life-ruining secret. While missing bellylaughs, “The Mule” does have pace and sharp performances, and the script is mindful of twists and turns, also good with gross-out incidents, making the ick factor a substantial part of the viewing experience. To make a feature where evidence of diarrhea is a critical part of the plot? That’s a real creative accomplishment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The great thing about 2013’s “V/H/S/2” was how it greatly improved on its mediocre predecessor, developing a confidence that drove the sequel to dizzying heights of horror and found-footage mayhem. “V/H/S: Viral” returns the unlikely franchise back to square one, issuing a handful of terror shorts that mostly underwhelm, while the wraparound tale is a complete mess, balling up and tossing away the very premise of the series. After the last movie managed to get almost everything right, it’s a disappointment to watch “V/H/S: Viral” flounder, unable to locate a spirited rhythm of ghoulishness and devious editing to help lackluster chapters come to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Miss Meadows” isn’t a terribly convincing movie, but it does feature a refreshingly twisted turn from star Katie Holmes. The actress, often gravitating to mediocrity, takes a chance with this oddball vigilante saga, clearly having a ball playing a derange woman buffering herself from the outside world through good manners and happy thoughts. A dark, violent tale with periodic blips of comedy, “Miss Meadows” could do with a great deal more oddity, moving carefully into madness with a lead character who openly commits crimes, trying to manage the aggression as heroism. In a rare display of confidence, Holmes nails the unease surrounding the woman, along with her enticing fixation on fantasy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Apparently, if one works with Terrence Malick, one becomes Terrence Malick. “The Better Angels” is directed by A.J. Edwards, a frequent collaborator with the famously media-shy filmmaker, looking to strike out on his own with a feature that closely resembles a Malick picture. Replicating swirly, nature-intensive cinematography, wandering performances, and maintaining a goal to capture life in motion, not drama, “The Better Angels” is familiar work but not a parody, with Edwards taking the whole production with the utmost seriousness, determined to mime Malick while figuring out his own helming interests. The effort is also the Abraham Lincoln origin story, but that intriguing detail is flushed out of the movie early on, leaving viewers with artful intent, not storytelling determination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

At this point, I’d say they peaked with 2000’s “Me, Myself, and Irene.” Even since the release of their last major hit, Peter and Bobby Farrelly have endured a creative tailspin where they’ve lost their directorial mojo, gradually exploring a mental fatigue that’s prevented efforts such as “Hall Pass,” “The Three Stooges,” and “Stuck on You” from achieving comedy bliss. They’ve become reliant on their formula of shock value and excessive heart, and now they’ve arrived at their first sequel. It’s been two decades since the release of “Dumb and Dumber,” with fans hungry for a new adventure featuring lovable idiots Lloyd and Harry. Sadly, “Dumb and Dumber To” isn’t much of a reward for such patience, finding the Farrellys once again muzzling their instincts to play it safe, essentially remaking the now-classic 1994 feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Trying to create a film as severe as he is, Tommy Lee Jones saddles up quite a grim picture with “The Homesman,” his fourth directorial effort and first western since 2005’s “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” A casual viewing of “The Homesman” is not advised, as Jones is determined to communicate the harsh conditions and mental drain of prairie life. The feature requires a special mindset that’s open to exceptionally managed filmmaking and an evocative sense of location, because when the movie gets dark, and boy does it ever, it also retains a strange beauty about it that’s a testament to Jones’s talents behind the camera and his way with casting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It takes a special touch to make this type of entertainment work. Audiences have seen romantic melodramas time and again, with most barely putting in the effort to engage on an emotional level, merely content to display love, not feel it. “Beyond the Lights” has considerable flaws, but it manages to find intimacy in a way that feels natural, with such warmth smoothly communicated by leads Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Nate Parker. Writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood indulges hysterics on occasion, but her mission to bring an organic chemistry to the screen is successful, while also targeting the toxicity of current pop queen standards, aiming to spank the music industry while caressing her characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com