Category: Film Review

2013’s “The Conjuring” was a surprise box office smash, earning its success with a quality horror effort that was smart with suspense and well performed. Instead of a sequel to the picture, the studio has elected to cheapen the experience with a low-budget prequel/spin-off, hoping to cash in on a quickie horror release for the Halloween season. I’m sure most fans would rather have a proper “Conjuring” follow-up, but they’ll have to make do with “Annabelle,” a slack chiller that sets sail with startling confidence, only to sink when it actually has to follow through on its ghoulish promises, resulting in an uneven film that makes one truly appreciate the squeezing sense of terror “The Conjuring” offered. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Most cinematic dissections of the Vietnam War concentrate on the either the early years of the conflict, when morale was high and troops were alert, or the thick of the fight, highlighting a drain of innocence and military interest. True to its title, “Last Days in Vietnam” doesn’t pay attention to anything but the final moments of the American presence in the country, searching to understand the chaos that occurred once evacuation procedures lost their ability to manage hordes of desperate refugees. A vital piece in the ongoing puzzle of the conflict, “Last Days in Vietnam” is an eye-opening documentary that captures the charged emotions and troubled leadership that fed into an overall sense of panic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Good People” plays like a movie that was rushed through post-production, with huge chunks of plot cleaved away to get to the visceral content as quickly as possible. It’s adapted from a novel by Marcus Sakey, but certainly doesn’t feel like a story that could fill pages, with anemic characterization holding hands with halfhearted performances. Director Henrik Ruben Genz is handed potential with this tale of moral choices and criminal interests, but there’s just not enough substance to “Good People” to fulfill, while scenes of physical conflict feel like reheated Danny Boyle mechanics, never hitting bold points of suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If there was ever a low-budget VOD thriller that had the potential to transform into a nifty offering of suspense, it’s “Reclaim.” Boosted by a premise that preys on real-world fears of fraud and foreigner isolation, the picture delivers a satisfying opening act, arranging a situation of betrayal that’s credible and somewhat novel for a cinematic exploration. Unfortunately, the prospect of exploring uneasy manipulations proves unappetizing to director Alan White, who pushes aside the complexity of the story to stage tedious chases and shoot-outs, often without the budget to create an authentic portrait of pursuit. “Reclaim” isn’t a disaster, it’s just disappointing and thoughtless after a potent introduction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Building a reputation for sophisticated B-movies, writer/director Nacho Vigalondo returns with “Open Windows,” his first English-language effort. After guiding “Timecrimes” and “Extraterrestrial” through some puzzling turns of plot, Vigalondo’s ambition gets the better of him here. After a suspenseful, inventive opening half, “Open Windows” takes on more twists and incident than it can handle, slowly suffocating a nifty premise that plays the entire film on a laptop screen, drilling into timely technological fears. Overplotted and underwhelming, the feature gets by on sheer novelty for a considerable amount of time, only to be shut down by the helmer’s refusal to play the premise as economically as possible. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The horror feature “7500” has experienced its share of release date delays and missed seasonal opportunities. Shot in 2011, the picture is finally seeing the light of day, and as expected, the results aren’t encouraging. However, as muddled as it is, “7500” shows promise in its opening act, promising an unremarkable but effective airplane disaster movie, frosted with stock characterizations and jumps of mid-air panic. But such simplicity isn’t enough to challenge director Takashi Shimizu and screenwriter Craig Rosenberg, who try to transform potential catastrophe into a mind-bender with traditional Japanese fright film decoration. It doesn’t work for a myriad of reasons, but it’s certainly not a sloppy effort, just an unnecessary one. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One could go cross-eyed looking over the filmography of director Brian Trenchard-Smith. The Australian helmer, transformed into an industry hero in the documentary “Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation,” is the very definition of a “gotta eat” moviemaker, churning out a run of low-budget productions covering all genres and tastes. “Drive Hard” is Trenchard-Smith’s latest work, boasting a premise that seems right up his alley. It’s a car chase extravaganza, with plenty of scenes devoted to panicked banter and squealing tires, tearing all over the Gold Coast. And yet “Drive Hard” falls a little flat, never quite secure in its insanity and perhaps a bit too ambitious with its screenplay, which spends more time building secretive allegiances than it does tending to the visceral highlights I’m certain most viewers would prefer to see. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Something happened to “Hector and the Search for Happiness” during the adaptation process, something that took a novel by psychiatrist Francois Lelord and turned it into a touchy-feely British film with no sense of timing, tenderness, and character. All over the map tonally, with surprisingly little shame, the feature is a complete mess that carries on as a cinematic band-aid offered to moviegoers probably wondering why they’re expected to cry when they had nothing to do with the creation of this picture. “Hector and the Search for Happiness” is aching to be sweet syrup for the masses, but it never once does it stop and question how it’s setting out to achieve such universal love. The message has clearly been prioritized over the plot. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When producers arrive to adapt the works of author Patricia Highsmith, they gravitate toward her Tom Ripley series, which has spawned numerous movie and television iterations, exhaustively documenting the world of the tentative serial killer. “The Two Faces of January” heads a different direction, and while the menu here still includes death and panic, there’s a fresh sense of paranoia to mine. Writer/director Hossein Amini spins a convincing tale of suspicion with “The Two Faces of January,” generating an inviting level of suspense while preserving the spare details of the crime, utilizing his cast superbly as he feels around the corners of this moody, sneaky psychological thriller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Something has happened to director Antoine Fuqua in recent years. Something that’s made him a very angry man. His filmography has been peppered with extreme violence, with “Shooter” and “Training Day” not shy about sharing graphic content. Last year’s wretched “Olympus Has Fallen” delivered a more malicious Fuqua, with the helmer overseeing a relentlessly, needlessly brutal feature that reveled in its shock value. “The Equalizer” follows the same path to pain, again dishing up scenes of suffering and gore that’s more off-putting than celebratory, turning what should be a thrilling revenge story with an everyday hero into cinematic punishment. A highly ridiculous, extremely unpleasant picture, “The Equalizer” keeps Fuqua foaming at the mouth. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Tracks” has a secret weapon in its outback locations. Bringing the true-life tale of Robyn Davidson and her amazing trek across Australia to the big screen, director John Curran wisely emphasizes the natural expanse and danger of the land, with glorious shots of nature in motion, alternating between punishment and salvation for the lead character. “Tracks” has its share of spirituality and wonderful detail, but it’s often a movie that’s best without dialogue, appreciating the hardship facing Davidson as she embarked on an incredible journey. That’s not to suggest the film doesn’t have dramatic value, but it’s most comfortable covering the daily business of survival in a seemingly inhospitable land. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When it comes to the challenge of bringing the story of Jimi Hendrix to the screen, writer/director John Ridley (who won an Academy Award for scripting “12 Years a Slave”) certainly didn’t have it easy. Denied use of Hendrix’s music to help populate “Jimi: All Is by My Side” with album hits, Ridley cooks up another approach, filling the film with the blues to help inspect the artist’s influences and personal groove. There’s also an amazing performance from Andre Benjamin to hold attention. Even without a familiar sonic presence to provide reassurance, “Jimi: All Is by My Side” gets under the skin of its subject, braiding bio-pic convention and considered editorial work to share a sample of Hendrix during his rise to glory. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Following up their work on the hits “Coraline” and “ParaNorman,” animation studio Laika returns with yet another darkly comic vision in “The Boxtrolls,” an adaptation of the book “Here Be Monsters!” Keeping to studio standards, the picture is a bizarre mix of the broad and the terrifying, handed a distinct English tilt this time around to perfect its dry sense of humor. As with everything Laika works on, “The Boxtrolls” is visually striking and intermittently amusing, but a little of this unusual world goes a long way, with pacing and story issues crippling an otherwise enjoyable romp through cheese worship and creature idiosyncrasies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The “Ocean’s 11” template hits a new low with “Plastic,” a British import hoping to present itself as joyride of thievery, sex appeal, and turns of plot. Unfortunately, co-writer/director Julian Gilbey (“Rise of the Footsoldier”) has difficulty working out the tone of his movie, submitting wretched acts of life-destroying villainy, only to suggest that these ghouls are the good guys. Derivative and weirdly sleazy, the picture is completely cross-eyed, watching Gilbey work overtime to generate a slick offering of escapism, only to stumble with every ridiculous scene. “Plastic” doesn’t simply describe the method of fraud employed by the characters, but the level of cinematic craftsmanship as well. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although “Lilting” is executed with a quiet dignity, the story concerns all the gut-rot guilt people carry around every day, unable to purge their deepest fears and largest regrets. It’s sensitive work from writer/director Hong Khaou (making his feature-length debut), who captures a specific feeling of anxiety that’s boosted here by communication issues and cultural differences. It’s an impressive effort from Khaou, who secures profound emotions without resorting to melodrama, taking the audience on a strange journey of confession that’s heartbreaking at times, showing a rich appreciation for the complication of love and the subtle urges of emotional needs. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Since the advent of digital filmmaking, music documentaries have flooded the marketplace, each production savoring a slice of the industry by sharing anecdotes and showcasing performances. Over the last few years alone, pictures such as “Sound City,” “Muscle Shoals,” and “A Band Called Death” have explored unique stories of adversity and creativity, each blessed with an invigorating soundtrack of flavorful tunes. “Take Me to the River” is the latest effort to deliver musical history to the wider audience, and it’s teeming with legends and memories. Unfortunately, while the work is joyous and respectful, the movie is poorly directed, frequently decimating pure musicianship to spotlight banal conversations that add little to the overall flow of the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a busy year for Liam Neeson, with “A Walk Among the Tombstones” his fifth picture of 2014. After his marquee value exploded with the release of 2009’s “Taken,” it’s been interesting to see the type of material Neeson has gravitated to, selecting a steady stream of blockbuster entertainment (“Clash of the Titans,” “The A-Team”) and downbeat indies (“Chloe,” “Third Person”). “A Walk Among the Tombstones” mixes both interests into one deflated soufflé, with writer/director Scott Frank’s serial killer thriller struggling to inject excitement into a mopey, overly stylized tale of no-nonsense do-goodery. While Neeson commits to the flawed hero routine with grace, the rest of the movie fails to acknowledge its low battery signal during a dismal second half. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After bottoming out with 2010’s “Cop Out,” his stab at a mainstream comedy with broad jokes and big stars, writer/director Kevin Smith stepped back from the movie business, reevaluating just what filmmaking meant to him. He found salvation in a bong and a podcast, returning to screens with 2011’s “Red State,” an interesting misfire that swapped his noted sense of humor for something far more sinister, trying to disturb his audience instead of tickle them. Continuing to mine his revived creative drive, Smith returns with “Tusk,” another demented micro-budget endeavor, only for this round, the horrors aren’t heavenly but frighteningly fleshy, mixing his love for conversation with a newfound interest in the macabre, producing a creature feature that’s original while retaining all the Smith-isms fans love. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Maze Runner” is the latest entrant into the YA box office sweepstakes. While it shares a dystopia setting like its brethren “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games,” this story veers off in a slightly different direction, refusing the rise of the heroine path to play up paranoia and man vs. monster action. The change is refreshing, but “The Maze Runner” is beholden to an adaptation challenge that not only needs constant exposition, but also makes room for a crummy ending that’s not content to give ticket buyers their money’s worth, but demand they immediately save up for sequel. Perhaps a little more thought could’ve been put into the initial installment before a continuation is considered. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Shawn Levy has a way of ruining a perfectly good thing. The helmer of the “Night at the Museum” franchise, “The Internship,” and “Date Night,” Levy isn’t easy to trust with comedy, and he’s virtually untested with the depiction of deep-seated emotions. “This is Where I Leave You” provides a unique creative challenge, forcing Levy to manage a plethora of characters and numerous shifts in tone while preserving a core feeling of family, shooing away melodrama and plastic antics to find the soul of this battered group of sad sacks. While he’s still powerless to sitcom urges, Levy manages to capture dimension and sensitivity, aided in great part by an ensemble who shade their participation carefully, finding satisfying pockets of ache in a familiar but charming look at dysfunction and enlightenment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com