Category: Film Review

A year after making a directorial splash with the Academy Award-winning “Dallas Buyers Club,” Jean-Marc Vallee returns to screens with “Wild,” a similar effort concerning a tortured protagonist working toward enlightenment while facing the possibility of a physical and mental breakdown. Sustaining his reputation as a thoughtful helmer with an interest in the enormity of the human spirit, Vallee captures intimacy in the middle of nowhere, guiding star Reese Witherspoon to one of her best performances. Tending to the nuances of memory and the suffocating weight of guilt, Vallee makes “Wild” very real and periodically profound, allowing a full understanding of motivation and realization behind Cheryl Strayed’s punishing 1,100 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s room for interpretation with the 1977 musical “Annie,” but perhaps the 2014 adaptation is a little too far removed from its source material. Given a pop music makeover and a populated with a cast of non-singers, the new take on “Annie” is missing the charm and Broadway bellow of previous incarnations, resembling more of a music video than a major league song and dance effort. Borderline obnoxious and terribly miscast, the picture struggles to drum up moxie and sentiment, working through the familiar and unfamiliar in mechanical fashion, highlighting director Will Gluck’s inexperience with movie musicals and his suspect appreciation for music in general. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s telling that “Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Tomb” is arriving five years after the franchise’s last installment, “Battle of the Smithsonian.” Clearly, there’s some hesitation from the money people concerning the future of these expensive pictures, with the previous chapter grossing less than the original. To help restore some pluck to the fatigued series, “The Secret of the Tomb” elects rehash over innovation, once again pitting hapless security guard Larry against a community of magically animated museum displays. While director Shawn Levy isn’t one to push himself as a filmmaker, it’s disheartening to see how mediocre the movie is, essentially repeating itself to emerge likable again, encouraging an already dreary screenplay. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While “After the Fall” isn’t the timeliest movie about the economic collapse of the United States, it does capture a sense of frustration with the pressures of unemployment and the humiliation it brings. Editor Saar Klein makes his directorial debut here, and it’s strong work despite a script that doesn’t capture the complexity of the premise, often giving in to sympathy when a more robust examination of the characters is necessary. Still, pressure points are crisply executed and star Wes Bentley is offered a chance to break his habitual screen iciness, contributing to an unusual take on financial ruin that teases criminal exploits, but somehow retains its interest in matters of personal responsibility. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The final chapter of Peter Jackson’s epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” “The Battle of the Five Armies,” brings the anemic series to a blazing close, pulling out all the stops to make it the most violent, emotionally stirring, and propulsive of the trilogy. Yet, there’s still very little reason to invest wholeheartedly in this troubling sequel. Mistaking noise for giant adventuring, Jackson shifts into overkill with “The Battle of the Five Armies,” a film that lives up to the promise of its title, but doesn’t know when to quit. As striking as the visuals are, as thunderous as the war becomes, this is still a superfluous continuation that has almost nothing in common with the previous installments. And if you’re a fan of Smaug, or expect anything near closure on the dragon laboriously set-up to be the primary antagonist of this world, perhaps another moviegoing choice this holiday season will be more satisfying. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Arash Amel and director Olivier Dahan (“La Vie en Rose”) are looking for a fresh way to dramatize the life and times of Grace Kelly. Not interested in tracking the career of the popular actress, the team elects to slice a wedge out of her most volatile years, attempting to stir up intrigue and domestic discomfort with a look at Kelly’s adjustment period during her early days as the Princess of Monaco. It’s a laudable attempt to find an approach that allows for the unexpected, but “Grace of Monaco” indulges in melodrama, diluting its emotional impact and understanding of its subject to play like the average Lifetime Movie, only with exceptional technical credits. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I’m not sure what’s bothering Chris Rock when it comes to the state of his comedy, but his latest, “Top Five,” feels like a purging of ideas and long gestating resentments. It’s his third directorial effort and arguably his best work as a helmer, coming the closest to managing his habitual inability to land a consistent tone. “Top Five” is a mess, but it’s a hilarious mess, portioning out the wacky and the sincere with some degree of approachability, despite how false the feature feels at times. Still, when it’s funny, it works alarmingly well, capturing the coarseness of Rock’s comedy and his ease with other comedians. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The story of Moses and Ramses has been explored in all forms of media time and again, with each production sticking close to the highlights of plagues and sea-parting, approaching a biblical story with emphasis on catastrophe. One might expect director Ridley Scott to sense such obvious repetition, doing whatever he can to avoid familiarity. With “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” Scott tries to out-spectacle the competition, transforming the tale into a CGI-heavy blockbuster with plenty of carnage, populated with a scenery-chewing ensemble. The only element truly innovative is the physical appearance of God, but that isn’t enough to keep the film awake long enough before it conjures the end of the world in its final act. As handsomely mounted as it is, “Exodus: Gods and Kings” is disappointingly routine. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Zero Motivation” is an Israeli production that plays like an American workplace comedy, or perhaps a distant cousin of “Stripes.” Set on a military base, the feature observes the banalities and unfortunate power plays that make up daily life, following a select group of soldiers as they deal with predictability, periodically encountering shocking events and crushing disappointments. It’s a dark comedy that could use a pinch more silliness, but writer/director Talya Lavie has firm handle on behavioral nuance and storytelling, submitting three connected tales of false hope, betrayals, and tests of friendship, while supplying a different perspective through its female protagonists and Israeli setting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s controversy surrounding the release of “Dying by the Light.” Removed from a film he wrote and directed after producers couldn’t find value in his early cut, Paul Schrader has rejected the final production, making claims that substantial work continued on the effort long after his dismissal. View the feature with this protest in mind, and yes, one can see where Schrader’s ideas remain and where the Hollywood B-movie mindset takes over. However, after the wretchedness of Schrader’s last picture, 2013’s “The Canyons,” it surprises me that anyone would want to see what the helmer originally had in mind for this terrorist thriller/meditation on mortality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Atom Egoyan is often listed as a preeminent Canadian moviemaker, but his actual resume displays a wide range of failures and successes. He’s capable of greatness (“The Sweet Hereafter”), but he’s also masterminded borderline unwatchable work (“Where the Truth Lies”). “The Captive” explores Egoyan’s interest in mainstream suspense, overseeing a lurid abduction mystery with a riveting opening, only to slowly introduce basic cable elements to the story that help to thin out its initial complexity and threat. “The Captive” certainly holds the potential for a compelling study of deteriorating characters, and it works quite well for the first half. Once Egoyan loses interest in an intelligent way out of a harrowing plot, the effort sinks to the level of cheap thrills and easy resolutions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

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