Category: Film Review

The challenge of education, or at least one of many, is how to engage young minds when they’re so easily distracted these days, disengaged from the real world as a battalion of glowing screens vie for their attention. This organic connection to creation is on a path to extinction, threatening the purity of experience at a chaotic time of personal development. The documentary “If You Build It” (try hard not to complete that title) settles into a small town to explore how such an impossible task of concentration is achieved, observing students confronted with labor and design for the first time in their lives, studying how these kids react to a considerable effort of construction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Adult World” strives to articulate the test of maturity facing today’s college graduates as they move from adolescence to responsibility while working out the true price of dream chasing in the marketplace. Trouble is, screenwriter Andy Cochran (“Super Sweet 16: The Movie”) doesn’t have a firm grasp on the subject, caught between a compulsion to instigate comedic situations and tend to the frustratingly vague needs of his characters. Unfunny and unenlightening, “Adult World” remains in a troubling holding pattern, unable to land on a profound development that might instigate some type of tension worth paying attention to. A handful of scenes find their footing, but the overall impact and generational perspective of the story is missing, resulting in a deflated film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

LARPing (live-action role playing) has been explored cinematically in such movies as “Role Models” and the documentary “Monster Camp,” but it’s never been treated with the utmost respect. The pastime lends itself to mockery, watching costumed participants play fight with elaborate rules, leaving “Knights of Badassdom” an opportunity to handle the subject matter as exhilarating fantasy combat, weaving colorful characters with a war saga that celebrates the lifestyle and the game. Something went horribly wrong in the translation. Although spirited at times, “Knights of Badassdom” takes on familiar targets, while its escalation of oddity is forced when it isn’t confusing. Going broad instead of observational, the feature stumbles right out of the gate. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As the underwhelming “RoboCop” remake enters theaters this weekend, the flexibility of fandom is put to the test, asked to accept an inferior product with an iconic brand name. However, there’s an alternative, and it doesn’t cost any money to view. “Our RoboCop Remake” is a fan-based parody of the 1987 Paul Verhoevan picture, with 50 filmmakers uniting to build a silly valentine to a beloved movie, creating comedic madness scene by scene, without a stitch of connective tissue beyond vague attention to the original narrative. Juvenile but inventive, with more than a few bellylaughs, “Our RoboCop Remake” is a creative lark that transcends its corner-of-the-internet position of obscurity, showing off some substantial no-budget craftsmanship. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The unfortunately titled “Jimmy P.” takes a semi-serious look at a man’s unraveling. The psychological potential of the picture is outstanding, promising a richly defined plunge into an abyss of fear, with special attention paid to the unease of cultural divide and the immobility of festering guilt. There are plenty of combative elements to the feature, yet “Jimmy P.” carries itself with a frustrating detachment, electing to attack fertile elements of distress with a casual sense of exploration. Solid work from stars Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric lubricate the movie’s hunt for understanding, but overlength tends to erase the effort’s achievements in the end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The 2014 version of “Endless Love” has taken some drastic steps to avoid comparison to other incarnations of the same story. Originating from a 1979 novel by author Scott Spencer and adapted into a popular 1981 picture starring Brooke Shields (featuring an omnipresent theme song that ruined roller skating for everyone in the early eighties), “Endless Love” is a tale of dark obsession and manipulation, powered by a bittersweet quality that reinforces the dangerous games of affection played by the characters. The New “Endless Love” is defanged claptrap for 13-year-olds with no sense of how the world actually works, drained of any threat, heat, or logic as it manufactures a love story where idiocy is celebrated as laudable passion. If you’re familiar with the book or the earlier feature, this “Endless Love” won’t be recognizable. Imagine if “Star Wars” was the cinematic adaptation of “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” and that’s as close as co-writer/director Shana Feste gets to the source material here. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Like Father, Like Son” is a sensitive Japanese drama that asks pointed questions about the true definition of family and the environmental effects of childhood. It explores a test of nature versus nurture, but in a gentle manner, acutely aware of the fragility of feeling that’s overtaken the characters. Writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda (“I Wish”) mounts an emotionally restrained but expressive portrait of parental reflection and choice with “Like Father, Like Son,” employing a refined cinematic language to articulate the struggle within, doing away with expected hysterics to connect with the viewer in a more instinctual manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Akiva Goldsman won an Academy Award for screenwriting for his work on 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind.” He also wrote 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” The yin-yang balance of Goldsman’s career achievements is important to keep in mind while watching “Winter’s Tale,” as the inconsistency of his career unravels whatever lofty dreams of the fantastic and the romantic are meant to show up onscreen. Muddled and distractingly bizarre, the writer/director attempts to craft a complex fairy tale featuring heavenly forces of good and evil, flying horses, and agelessness, only introductions aren’t properly made, launching viewers into a mystifying world without a compass to help guide the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To watch “Gloria” is to behold a magnificent performance from star Paulina Garcia. It’s a tricky role, walking a thin line between empowerment and misery, yet the work is frighteningly real, brimming with vulnerabilities and frustrations that any person who’s had to hunt for love could easily relate to. Co-writer/director Sebastian Lelio wisely elects the observational route with this picture, stepping back to inspect the titular character as she begins to shape a sense of self while enduring a disrespectful relationship. “Gloria” has a casual atmosphere that sneaks up on the viewer, and the reward for such patience is the opportunity to spy a seasoned character realized onscreen with refreshing honesty. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The horror genre has a nasty habit of repeating itself, with productions rabidly pouncing on trends, churning out product until a concept dies from exhaustion. Zombie entertainment is big business these days, leaving the producers of “The Returned” all the opportunity in the world to cough up a lazy chapter in the ongoing saga of the undead. Instead, some imagination takes hold, submitting a tale that’s not precisely about the details of the plague, but how average citizens avoid transformation into ghouls through the power of medicine and commitment. “The Returned” doesn’t overwhelm, but it manages a smart tone of dread mixed with panic, reviving stale elements by attacking the subject matter from an unusual point of view. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Although it didn’t make much of an impact during its American release in 2012, “Easy Money” was a sensation in its native Sweden, conquering the box office with its vision of suspense and class desperation, using style and violence to turn an age-old tale of ambition into something exciting. Two sequels have been produced to continue the story, with “Easy Money: Hard to Kill” assuming “The Empire Strikes Back” role in this unexpected trilogy, torching structure and satisfaction to bring the characters to an impossibly low point, thus setting up a rebound scenario for “Easy Money: Life Deluxe” (which currently doesn’t have a U.S. release date). Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s interesting to note that “About Last Night” isn’t an update of David Mamet’s 1974 play, “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.” It’s a remake of the 1986 screenplay adaptation by Tim Kazurinsky and Denise DeClue, making sure to avoid Mametian poison to pattern itself off the original Hollywood take, which starred Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Elizabeth Perkins, and Jim Belushi. It seems strange to go to all this work, rehashing a pleasant but safe take on sexual politics, and unleash four unlikable characters in the process, killing off the potential for a truly eye-opening, frighteningly honest inspection of relationship nuance. It strives to be warm and funny, but “About Last Night” mostly dishes up moldy leftovers from the he said/she said recycle bin. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1987’s “RoboCop” is a special film. A roaring mix of satire and action, the movie is unspeakably violent, slyly scripted, and masterfully crafted by director Paul Verhoeven, who gorged on police procedural pictures and vomited up a hardcore ode to heroism and humanity. For 2014, there’s a remake, a chance to return the iconic character to the screen, bewitching old fans and tempting new. Of course, all the CGI, chaotic action, and screaming characters can’t even begin to match the assertive steamroller experience of the original feature, and while the remake tries to have an identity of its own, it forgets a personality. It’s easy to label the new “RoboCop” a failure, a pale imitation, but the effort makes dismissal painless, coming off as a basic cable production from CNN. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the opening five minutes of “Nurse,” a promise is made by director Douglas Aarniokoski (“The Day”) that the next 70 minutes of the feature will be devoted to an atmosphere of sleaziness so thick and colorfully B-movie, it will be impossible to resist. The promise isn’t kept. As mischievous as “Nurse” is, winding through extended displays of nudity and violence, it’s also surprisingly uneventful, only coming alive when it has ghoulish behavior to detail. Actually, for all the ugliness this effort commits to, it’s surprisingly tasteful, electing to mount a tale of obsession over a more enticing plot concerning a gradual psychological unraveling fueling a twisted vision of heroism. “Nurse” is gruesome, but it’s never nasty. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps J.K. Rowling should contact her lawyers. “Vampire Academy” is the latest young adult literature adaptation with dreams of becoming the next big screen sensation, spawning sequels and hysteria as it marches into a profitable future. The source material is a six-book series from author Richelle Mead that was first published in 2007, right in the midst of “Harry Potter” mania. The similarities between the franchises are striking, with “Vampire Academy” providing a vague prophecy of purpose for the lead characters, a school for special beings who practice magic, and a revolving door of adult characters with nothing but secrets to share. All that seems to be missing is the butterbeer, but blood will have to do here. A road map and a glossary would’ve been nice to have as well to help navigate through this convoluted mess. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

This production takes the time and effort to hire a group of comedians and habitual improvisational types, and it’s Jean-Claude Van Damme who turns out to be the funniest part of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Going for a workplace-gone-mad comedy, director Rob Meltzer hits more than he misses, though this is surprisingly slack work with a guaranteed premise. The stunt casting of Van Damme is the only true inspiration of the film, asking the normally stoic action star to play silly for a change, bestowing the picture with some surprise as it hits familiar targets. Laughs are present, but “Welcome to the Jungle” could be a tighter production — it merely entertains, and is quickly forgotten. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Lego Movie” is a 100-minute-long commercial for the world-famous building bricks, but it’s marketing executed in a truly inspired manner. Taking advantage of the cinematic possibilities of the construction toy, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller explore a vast realm of color and cartoon snap, creating a boldly designed, stop-motion-style tour of the Lego universe, arriving with a pronounced sense of humor and an unbeatable sense of screen energy. It’s a snappy, amusing picture with a long list of characters to help flavor the film, but its greatest asset is imagination, living up to the promise of Lego play with a charmingly berserk creation that’s wickedly entertaining and effective as a tool to sell more bricks. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s no way around it: “The Monuments Men” is flawed work. The latest from George Clooney, who co-scripts, stars, and directs, the picture lacks the firm narrative glue that its deserves, making the film feel like random chapters in a compelling book that’s missing every tenth page. However, many of these chapters are wonderfully executed, brimming with tension and an oddly mournful approach that maintains interest in the wartime quest at hand. Cohesion is missing, but Clooney makes up for the random quality by making moments stick beautifully, blurring the limitations of the feature by treating its working parts so well. “The Monuments Men” can be a frustrating sit, especially when it becomes clear that greatness rests just outside its reach. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“After the Dark” posits provocative questions of survival in the face of certain doom, approaching such quandaries from an academic point of view, establishing a cooler approach to situations of panic and emotion. It’s an interesting picture with a different sense of dramatic conflict, rooted in hypothetical situations instead of realism. However, “After the Dark” doesn’t maintain its intellectual muscle, eventually giving in to a Hollywood mentality that demands a melodramatic arc of obsession to taint the purity of debate. Predictability doesn’t sour the viewing experience, but it does leave a nagging feeling that writer/director John Huddle isn’t pushing hard enough to challenge his audience in a manner that befits the plot. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Without anyone paying attention, writer/director Brian A. Miller has been amassing a handful of credits in the low-budget, bottom-shelf action movie genre. With “Officer Down” and “House of the Rising Sun,” Miller has demonstrated an interest in the lives of vicious men, emphasizing brutality as a way to cover up the fact that his productions are left with little money to work with and less imagination to cover the seams. “The Outsider” is as nondescript a thriller as they come, trying to merge technological bustle with fist-first screen activity, failing to make any sort of impression as Miller fights to create panic out of nothing, employing a bland leading man and a repetitive sense of violence to snap this snoozer awake. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com