Category: Film Review

What’s so interesting about Woody Allen’s work ethic is how unpredictable he can be. One year, he’s masterminding Oscar-winning material that plays to his strengths of comedy and melodrama, puckered to perfection, as found in last year’s “Blue Jasmine.” “Magic in the Moonlight” represents one of the writer/director’s down years, where the inspiration isn’t quite there and his habitually sharp timing is off. It’s certainly not one of his worst, but after the wonderful layers of his previous effort, which aced every theme and emotion it pursued, “Magic in the Moonlight” spends much of its run time spinning its wheels, failing to gain traction with laughs and interesting conflicts despite a corker of a premise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Mood Indigo” is perhaps the saddest episode of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” The latest from director Michel Gondry, the film is yet another explosion of art-school ambition, this time unleashing his insatiable appetite for whimsy on a melodrama, attempting to fuse matters of the heart with visual idiosyncrasy. The sheer craftsmanship of the movie is astounding, with intricate details filling every frame. Gondry can always be counted on for oddity, but “Mood Indigo” doesn’t bother with consistency or, at times, even coherency. It’s a personal flight of fancy for the helmer, who’s so far up into the clouds with this endeavor, he forgets where to land this insistently peculiar picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The cleansing process of long distance running gets a new workout in “4 Minute Mile,” a drama that often takes on more than it can handle. Director Charles-Olivier Michaud is blessed with capable performances from key cast members, and the picture gets surprisingly far on its sincerity, presenting some real psychological blockage that takes time to work through. “4 Minute Mile” has the capacity to explore some compelling areas of doubt, but the screenplay by Josh Campbell and Jeff Van Wie goes overboard in an attempt to secure tears, torching the third act with brazen manipulation that nearly sours everything that comes before it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To find fault in a picture about the construction of a children’s hospital feels potentially ghoulish, but “Louder Than Words” is a muddled take on a heartfelt subject. Based on a true story, screenwriter Benjamin Chapin has an enormous number of characters and incidents to package into a 90 minute movie. Instead of braiding subplots together to create a richly dramatic viewing experience, Chapin merely samples anguish and moves on the next bit of overwhelming business. It’s frustrating to watch, as “Louder Than Words” does feature some promising conflicts that suggest a more profound film is on the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s difficult to discern exactly what audience “My Man Is a Loser” is intended to appeal to. Male viewers should be offended by the screenplay’s assertion that all married guys are nitwits incapable of managing their problems, constantly befuddled by the opposite sex. Female viewers probably won’t appreciate the paint-by-numbers broheim vibe writer/director Mike Young establishes, with strip club visits and exposed male genital humor likely lost on most ladies. Of course, all could be forgiven if the movie was even the slightest bit funny, but Young doesn’t make much room for wit, depending on tired improvisations and a clichéd battle of the sexes scenario to fill up the feature, which runs out of breath as soon as it commences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Comedy is subjective, perhaps the one genre that divides audiences the most. However, it’s important to spot when a production is actually trying to secure a healthy sense of humor and when filmmakers are simply flinging anything at the screen with hopes something sticks. “Behaving Badly” doesn’t try at all. It’s vulgar and lazy, and most importantly, there’s not a single titter to be had. Co-writer/director Tim Garrick imagines himself the conductor on a symphony of the outrageous with this feature, but its ugliness shouldn’t be underestimated simply because the movie is looking to provide a good time. “Behaving Badly” is one of the worst pictures of 2014, a tribute to “Risky Business” made by people who only read the synopsis on the back of the DVD box. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the race of competing productions, Brett Ratner’s “Hercules” clearly bests Renny Harlin’s January misfire, “The Legend of Hercules.” However, in a way, the audience actually loses twice when it comes to the big screen exploits of the famed demigod, with both pictures so obsessed with mammoth production scale, they forgot how to be fun. With Dwayne Johnson in the title role and Ratner trying to remind viewers that he’s the king of action and comedy, it doesn’t make sense that “Hercules” is as leaden as it is. It’s a bloated, tonally wonky effort that hits all the summer popcorn entertainment highlights but, in the end, it feels like empty calories, lacking the spirit of power and heroism that’s defined this character throughout history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The great thing about “Lucy” is how it brings writer/director Luc Besson back from the dead. At least career death, with recent fare such as “The Family” and “Arthur and the Invisibles” showcasing a once vital filmmaker trying to find his voice again. “Lucy” isn’t that strong of a movie, but it has guts, a real sense of bravery for a summertime release, trying to give audiences a little more to chew on than your average slam-bang production. It’s surreal, exploratory, and interpretational — a puzzle of the mind that Besson manages with immense concentration, even when it reaches for the stars in terms of philosophical and scientific concepts. Trying to create his “2001,” Besson overestimates his ability to tie it all together, but when it’s interested in challenging viewers with its brain-melting ways, it’s quite the spectacle. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While watching “And So It Goes,” I experienced a strong feeling of déjà vu. So much of the curmudgeonly character played by Michael Douglas felt like a watered down riff on the role Jack Nicholson portrayed in “As Good as It Gets,” which earned him an Oscar. Sure enough, both films are scripted by Mark Andrus, who’s attempting to reheat the golden formula for director Rob Reiner, who’s never met an act of cinematic repetition he didn’t suck the marrow out of. “And So It Goes” is practically a remake of “As Good as It Gets” with a few key changes in supporting personalities, and while James L. Brooks is skilled at creating human moments out of cliché, Reiner can only manage a tedious obviousness that strips the life out of most scenes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Without an interior drive to whip this story into a frenzy of melodramatic panic, writer/director Richie Mehta finds a reflective position of concern in “Siddharth,” which manages to deepen already understated emotions. It’s a heavy film, but cautiously so, working to preserve an experience of discovery and understanding for the audience, without resorting to clichés to finger-paint conflict. It’s moving, aching work, outstandingly performed by lead Rajesh Tailang and crafted with an evocative sense of India, understanding the pressures of poverty instead of exploiting it. Due to its subject matter, it’s not the easiest sit, but “Siddharth” rewards the brave with a study of pained determination and portrait of Indian life that offers a few surprises. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In many ways, Anton Corbijn’s “A Most Wanted Man” feels like a reaction to his last picture, 2010’s “The American.” The George Clooney effort was esoteric and distanced, refusing to indulge audience expectations for a thriller, creating a considerable divide between those who appreciated its artistry and those who found the film cold to the touch. “A Most Wanted Man” is a more traditional spy story, utilizing the rattled remains of a post-9/11 world to set the scene for a story that concerns the limits of trust and the demands of manipulation, isolating the frigidity of duty, taking its inspiration from a 2008 John le Carre novel. Although it remains deliberate in pace, “A Most Wanted Man” is more approachable and engrossing, failing to tarnish the helmer’s considerable reputation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Joe Swanberg makes tiny movies. He’s built an impressively determined filmography of no-budget productions, some that remain quite obscure, while others, boosted by star power, have reached the art-house circuit, connecting with audiences on the prowl for modest but meaningful stories about feelings and fears, such as last year’s “Drinking Buddies.” “Happy Christmas” goes out of its way to articulate a loose sense of conflict, but Swanberg’s intent is crystal clear, crafting a fidgety picture that’s flush with human behavior. It’s not focused in any traditional manner, but little portions of comedy and domestic tension get the feature where it needs to go, even if the destination is nowhere in particular. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it’s gifted a rich summery atmosphere and the potential for honest emotions, “Very Good Girls” can’t quite shake its position as a lukewarm effort, often resembling forgettable young adult fiction. There are troubles writer/director Naomi Foner (making her helming debut) has trouble navigating, and the longer she lingers on awkward interactions emphasized by poor editing and mismanaged characterizations, she loses whatever power the picture retains with its perspective, following a confused young woman on the precipice of adulthood as she endures seismic personal problems at a most vulnerable time. What could be illuminating and heartbreaking is left merely serviceable, as Foner gradually abandons control of her own work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Beneath” is a mining disaster picture that teases its opening with an “inspired by a true story” tag. The reality behind this label is dubious at best, but I suppose the production could claim it’s based on any mining mishap over the last century. I wish director Ben Ketai avoided this route of realism, as it adds nothing to what’s actually a possession story set 600 feet below ground. Repetitive and anticlimactic, “Beneath” has a host of problems to deal with before it tackles any issue of authenticity, emerging as a labored chiller that depends solely on claustrophobia and darkness to create points of pressure. The rest just doesn’t wind up as Ketai imagines, struggling to transform a limited setting into a hellish playground of madness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One year ago, “The Purge” arrived in theaters with a deliciously sinister premise. After pulling in a sizable opening weekend audience based on the marketing of this big screen idea, “The Purge” was greeted with a largely underwhelmed response, with viewers complaining that for a movie that promised citywide mayhem, the feature was actually a home invasion thriller. Couple in crummy performances and shabby filmmaking, and “The Purge” was nothing more than a fluke hit, with grosses tumbling when word of mouth spread. However, profit is profit, and now we have “The Purge: Anarchy,” a sequel that attempts to match expectations missed by the original picture, while creating a whole new batch of mistakes that continue to take this inspection of lawlessness in disappointing directions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Just by the title alone, “Sex Tape” promises to be a saucy romp taking advantage of digital-age narcissism and its potential to embarrass, yet the film, directed by Jake Kasdan, often feels like a Steve Martin/Goldie Hawn collaboration from 1989. There are a few scenes that bring out bawdiness, but the picture as a whole plays it remarkably safe, insisting that its cast of characters deserve understanding, not mockery. It’s a strange tonal choice from Kasdan, but after creating one of 2011’s worst movies (“Bad Teacher”), perhaps his antennae are bent when it comes to creating funny business. “Sex Tape” doesn’t contain many laughs, even less heat, leaving the viewer with the sight of Segel and Diaz trying to turn a DOA script into the farce it has no interest in becoming. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One thing is certain about animated films: they take a long time to produce. Years are needed to perfect images and hash out the story, but Disney was so confident that audiences would show up to see 2013’s “Planes,” they put a sequel into production while the first effort was still being worked on. This is why, less than a year after the release of the original picture, there’s a “Planes: Fire & Rescue,” which hopes to continue down the same modest but profitable box office path, wasting no time between installments. While hindsight wasn’t available to director Roberts Gannaway, confidence was, and this sequel manages to fly a little higher than before, finding a passable mix of action and pathos as the “Cars” spin-off takes off on a new adventure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2004, actor Zach Braff made his directorial debut with “Garden State,” a modest indie production that became a cult hit, pulling in an audience excited to share generational malaise with a screen character. For some viewers of a certain age, the picture became gospel. Shockingly, it’s taken Braff a decade to follow up on this success, with “Wish I Was Here” a little late to the party. Reheating elements of ennui that secured himself a hit years ago, Braff doesn’t advance as a filmmaker with his latest effort, a disastrous, insufferable movie that bungles emotion at every turn, coating everything in a toxic glaze of self-importance. “Wish I Was Here” is almost a parody of “Garden State,” with Braff flailing to recapture what was lost long ago, calling his shot instead of organically finding a mournful rhythm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it isn’t billed as the ultimate document of the industry, “Video Games: The Movie” certainly hints at an exhaustive overview of console and arcade achievements, dating back over 50 years. Those expecting some type of gritty, candid look at the world of gaming are going to be sorely disappointed with Jeremy Snead’s effort. While it’s a frantically edited exploration of innovation and attitude, “Video Games: The Movie” is pure kitten play, avoiding any type of abyssal discussion of controversy and artistic accomplishment. It’s such a toadying picture, it’s as if gaming corporations decided to fund the feature, knowing that in exchange for footage, they’ll be treated with kid gloves. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it’s a minor credit, Drew Barrymore is listed as a producer of “Animal.” Primarily known for shepherding romantic comedies (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Barrymore starring vehicles (“Charlie’s Angels”), that her Flower Films company is even partially involved with a gruesome horror picture is a little strange. However, maybe this oddball influence is a positive thing, as “Animal” navigates an incredible amount of formula to emerge as a passably engaging creature feature, with emphasis on characters and suspenseful showdowns. It’s not revelatory in any way, but director Brett Simmons is a capable helmer, presenting a few choice moments of bloodshed and intimidation to make a pile of clichés sit upright for a change. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com