Category: Film Review

Writer/director Dito Montiel has enjoyed a very strange career. He’s never had a hit, yet he’s managed to make eight films, somehow convincing producers to keep gambling on his artistic vision, which typically covers rough characters involved in troubling business. “Riff Raff” is his ninth endeavor, and it’s mostly more of the same from Montiel, who works to keep his budget low as most of the story is explored in a single location. And there are periodic bursts of violence to help rough up the writing’s assortment of difficult people placed in situations of confrontation. Montiel doesn’t have much spin on his creative curveball, but there’s a better class of actors involved in “Riff Raff,” helping to elevate an otherwise droopy offering of crime cinema. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The title “My Dead Friend Zoe” seems like it should belong to a Touchstone Pictures release from 1993, hinting at a goofy horror comedy to come. Co-writer/director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes makes his feature-length debut with the movie (adapting his 2022 short), and he’s only marginally interested in laughs. The rest of the endeavor concerns the brewing storm of feelings inside an Army veteran working to avoid the details of her past. “My Dead Friend Zoe” carries a slightly bizarre tone for its first half, but Hausmann-Stokes has a final destination in mind for the material, packing quite an emotional punch with the film, which seeks to examine mental health issues facing military veterans. There’s tough love to survey in the offering, and it’s a capably assembled drama with excellent acting to support its message of human connection and self-examination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“I Heart Willie” is the third production to exploit the public domain status of “Steamboat Willie,” arriving after “The Mouse Trap” and “Mouse of Horrors” (a fourth competitor, “Screamboat,” is due out soon) There’s been a race to see who can reach the newly freed Mickey Mouse first, and with such production speed comes substantial filmmaking sloppiness, as little thought or money is put into endeavors looking to coast on the perversion of brand recognition. “I Heart Willie” is a Mexican production attempting to make a mess of Disney history, putting actor/screenwriter David Vaughn (who receives “characters created by” and sole writing credits) on a mission to generate a terrifying descent into the vicious ways of a monstrous “mouse-man” and his endless appetite for human flesh. Director Alejandro G. Alegre gets about as far as torture and suffering in the feature, which isn’t suspenseful, but something created quickly to cash-in on a trend that, so far, viewers don’t really care about. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the quick box office death of 2023’s “Dumb Money,” it’s amazing that another movie about Reddit-born financial horrors would be put into production. “Cold Wallet” turns its attention to the ways of cryptocurrency and some of the manipulation employed to keep certain people rich while others are ruined. However, co-writer/director Cutter Hodierne isn’t interested in the specific financial ways of the industry, instead using the frustrations of the have nots to fuel a thriller, taking things into a “Panic Room” direction, only without Fincher-led precision. “Cold Wallet” is a little lacking when it comes to thrills, but the feature has a few highlights as it focuses on confrontations and the messiness of a hostage situation. Perhaps those invested in this particular monetary realm might get a little something extra out of the viewing experience, but Hodierne delivers a few scenes of intensity to go with the tale’s long night of paranoia. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Rats” comes from the minds of co-writers/directors Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky, who make their feature-length filmmaking debut with the endeavor. And the partners are trying to stuff as much as they can into the offering, out to make a wild, absurdist comedy that follows the everyday insanity of Fresno, TX. It’s a town home to petty crime, unhinged people, and the site of a possible sale of nuclear weapons to terrorists. Those weaned on Adult Swim programming are the target demographic for the effort, which almost exclusively rides along on shock humor and pronounced oddity, putting Fry and Nalevansky on a journey to make an extreme movie on a minimal budget. “Rats” is definitely crazy, and there are laughs to be had along the way, especially when the helmers try for inspired lunacy. But even the most die-hard fans of cinematic nuttiness might find themselves checking the time during the viewing experience, as Fry and Nalevansky can’t quite sustain their vision for this explosion of egos and bodily fluids. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Uppercut” has a slightly bewildering production history. It’s a remake of a 2021 German film, which was written and directed by Torsten Ruether. The helmer returns to create an English-language remake, which may have been originally conceived as two features, presented in “Still” and “Sparkling” versions. Whatever creative ambition was originally in place for the endeavor has been removed for the second stab at the premise, likely edited together from two tales of boxing challenges and relationship difficulties. Ruether hopes to bring some sporting philosophy and intimate characterizations to the effort, but “Uppercut” loses a battle with pacing and performance. It’s more of a theatrical production than a cinematic experience, and Ruether can’t make it come alive, struggling to generate interesting conflicts and concerns as this extremely talky picture frequently crawls to a full stop. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s always room for a “Die Hard” knockoff. The influential 1988 actioner has inspired a whole bunch of imitators using the central idea of one heroic character battling many villainous ones inside a single location. “Cleaner” seems to have the working parts, mostly taking place around a high rise building, and a team of terrorists are interrupting a business celebration, putting the safety of all in the hands of someone who isn’t supposed to be in the building. And yet, the feature (scripted by Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton) isn’t fully giving into the John McClane way. Perhaps there’s not enough of a budget to really go wild, keeping the physical highlights of “Cleaner” to the final act. While mayhem is limited, the picture remains entertaining, taking on a different kind of antagonistic force, and star Daisy Ridley provides welcome spiritedness, giving director Martin Campbell (who recently fumbled “Dirty Angels”) something to work with as the writing finds its way to more dynamic events. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Written and directed by Noah Pritzker, “Ex-Husbands” is a story about men facing tremendous changes in their lives, and they have very little patience for it. It’s something of a comedy, but it’s mostly dramatic, inspecting how these people handle upheaval and grand emotional challenges while trying to remain social and understanding. Pritzker has the advantage of a fine cast to inhabit these itchy roles, with special attention on Griffin Dunne, who rarely receives a chance to sink his teeth into a character these days, offering an excellent performance while surrounded by strong work from the rest of the ensemble. “Ex-Husbands” has the initial atmosphere of a Woody Allen film, as the helmer threatens to remain with human foibles and New York City moods, but the picture grows more interested in behavior as it unfolds, making for a small-scale inspection of struggling personalities and their adventures in Mexico. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a few years since actor Christoph Waltz enjoyed a major role, but he’s back in starring mode in “Old Guy.” Putting aged thespians in action hero roles has become a common sight in recent years, but Waltz isn’t going all John Wick in the part. Instead, he plays up the creakiness and crankiness of an older hitman receiving his first taste of obsolescence, as his character is confronted by a chilling reality when he’s asked to help support a younger assassin during an important mission for his criminal organization. There’s not a whole lot that’s fresh in the screenplay by Greg Johnson (“The Last Son”), but there’s Waltz, who offers a colorful performance to help liven up “Old Guy” for director Simon West, providing some much needed personality for the endeavor as it goes about the business of underworld scheming and rising anxieties. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Former stunt performer James Bamford is trying to make his mark as a filmmaker as fast as humanly possible. “Jade” is the helmer’s sixth release in just over a year, as Bamford is in the midst of churning out low budget actioners carrying nondescript titles (such as “Utopia,” “Hard Home,” and “Shadow Land.”), attempting to flood the VOD/streaming market with forgettable offerings that all tend to supply the same lack of style and basic fight choreography. “Jade” intends to be a little different, as screenwriters Glenn Ennis and Lynn Colliar make a brief attempt to celebrate the blaxploitation subgenre in this story of a woman facing waves of trouble as she tries to survive a particularly violent night. The feature is an absolute mess, and while Bamford hopes to fog the reality of this dismal endeavor with lots of physical conflicts, he’s still stuck with a movie that has no real story or characters, and, at times, the film doesn’t even seem finished. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director/actor Edward Burns hasn’t made a movie of note since 2012’s “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas,” where he dissected the ways of a dysfunctional family and their unhealthy relationships. Burns returns in “Millers in Marriage,” once again dissecting the ways of a dysfunctional family and their unhealthy relationships. The helmer has his thing, spending most of his career examining troubled characters and their partnerships, and he’s right back into it in his newest film, following a collection of aging people reunited with regret and possibility as they attempt to lead stable lives. “Millers in Marriage” is not a comedy, as Burns gets very somber in the endeavor. Its darkness is mostly an asset, and while the helmer doesn’t show the best judgment with some of his casting choices, he delivers a reasonably compelling overview of sadness in the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Unbreakable Boy” has endured quite a long journey to the screen. It was originally shot in 2020, bouncing around the release schedule since 2022, unable to find a proper launch date. And, after seeing the movie, one immediately appreciates such studio hesitation. The film is an adaptation of a 2014 memoir co-authored by Scott Michael LeRette, who wanted to share his story of parenthood and personal demons while also highlighting the world of his son, Austin, who was born with brittle bone disease and was eventually diagnosed with autism. The material is titled “The Unbreakable Boy,” but, surprisingly, Austin plays something of a smaller role in the story. LaRette elects to make the tale all about himself, putting writer/director Jon Gunn (“The Case for Christ,” “Ordinary Angels”) in a difficult position as he relies on inspirational cinema formula to keep the offering approachable. The picture is all over the place at times, making its sustained artificiality difficult to digest. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The slight success of “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” has really inspired a free-for-all in the realm of low-budget horror films. New introductions to public domain availability are being snapped up and turned into VOD filler, with Pooh himself stretched out for two movies (a third is on the way), and the Mickey Mouse from “Steamboat Willie” is currently inspiring a slew of cheapie productions, joined by Peter Pan and Bambi. And now it’s time for Popeye the Sailor Man. “Popeye’s Revenge” is not a sequel to the 1980 Robert Altman musical, but the newest release from ITN Studios, the home of “Blood and Honey,” and they’re quick to recycle the formula for their latest slasher, as it plays almost exactly like the Pooh offering. And that’s not a good thing, as director William Stead has no idea what he’s doing in the endeavor, which is loaded up with too many characters, a nonsensical screenplay (by Harry Boxley and E.C. Segar), and crude technical achievements. And there’s Popeye in kill mode, and that isn’t nearly as amusing as it could be thanks to the amateurish nature of the effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It took 12 years to make a second sequel to 2001’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” and “Bridget Jones’s Baby” was a mildly entertaining return to the ways of the eponymous character and her struggles in life and love. “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” represents another production gap for the franchise (nine years this time), but this reunion with author Helen Fielding’s creation is much more satisfying. The screenplay (by Fielding, Dan Mazer, and Abi Morgan) sets a slightly mournful tone for the picture, giving it a pleasant softness between expected bits of slapstick and humiliation as Bridget confronts all the losses in her life and deals with new adventures in romance. “Mad About the Boy” is quite amusing and nicely balanced by director Michael Morris, and it’s a treat to see star Renee Zellweger return to screens (six years after her Oscar-winning turn in “Judy”), backed by an outstanding supporting cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Gorge” is the latest film from director Scott Derrickson, who went the lower budget route for 2021’s “The Black Phone” and ended up with a surprising hit. There’s a “Black Phone 2” coming later this year, but before Derrickson returns to small scale horror, he tries the blockbuster business back on for size in “The Gorge,” which was shot two years ago. Screenwriter Zach Dean (“The Tomorrow War,” “Fast X”) cooks up material that’s somewhere between a zombie film and a YA romance, gifting Derrickson room to go big with the endeavor, delivering major action set pieces and monster attacks, which gives the effort a glossy, CGI-laden appearance. The tone and pacing of the picture are off, making for a bit of a slog as the characters gradually find their way to love and eventually encounter dangers. It’s no nail-biter, and Dean’s command of mystery definitely lacks snap, as the unknown is far more interesting than the fully explained in his mediocre offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last summer, Osgood Perkins scored a surprise box office hit with “Longlegs.” The horror picture wasn’t much different from everything else he’s created, but marketplace magic was certainly on Perkins’s side, enticing people to spend time in a deadly serious world of mystery and evil. Less than a year later, the writer/director is back in theaters with “The Monkey,” which is also a tale of mystery and evil, this time sourced from a short story by Stephen King. The iconic genre author required just under forty pages to deliver a strange journey into a cursed life, but Osgood isn’t fully committed to moodiness. Instead, the movie is a presentation of shock value that loses effectiveness the longer it lasts, as Perkins can’t extend King’s ideas for a feature-length offering. He goes spotty with a limp sense of dark humor and gory events, keeping “The Monkey” more about grisly visuals than an engrossing study of dread. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Mark Waters once made big screen comedies of various quality (“Mean Girls,” “Freaky Friday,” “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”), and now he’s making streaming movies of various quality (“Mother of the Bride,” “He’s All That,” “Magic Camp”). It’s a career move that hasn’t inspired a lot of creative filmmaking, and Waters returns to the ease of formula in “La Dolce Villa,” which serves as comfy sweater cinema for viewers who enjoy the reassurance of romantic comedies set in exotic locations. In this case, it’s Italy, offering the production team a pleasant work trip to capture the usual in relationship development and easily solvable problems. Waters doesn’t push himself with the endeavor, but “La Dolce Villa” does have the benefit of an enthusiastic cast, as lead Scott Foley treats the acting assignment with enthusiasm, which lifts up an otherwise leaden effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Captain America: Brave New World” is meant to become the first step forward towards a new “Avengers” movie (due in 2026), beginning to realign heroic forces for a fresh team-up against a new source of evil. The production wants to be a big screen spectacle, but it carries a little homework, as some of it plays like a sequel to 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” and the rest picks up after the 2021 Disney+ streaming show, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” If you haven’t kept pace with the Marvel Universe, the latest chapter will be a tad puzzling. And if you’re a faithful student of all things comic book entertainment, the picture might be a little infuriating. “Brave New World” boasts some impressive technical credits and a wonderful supporting turn from Harrison Ford, who’s new to the superhero game. It’s storytelling that’s a real struggle for the endeavor, as director Julius Onah (“The Cloverfield Paradox”) shows little authority with this collection of battling characters, making it difficult to get involved in the loosely knotted tale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While a fine sequel with a pure heart and a wonderful final scene, 2017’s “Paddington 2” has become a religion for some people, evolving into a true test of cineaste authority, newly treated as one of the best family films of all time. It’s an excellent movie, and it gives the producers a tremendous challenge in following it up, and perhaps this is why it’s taken “Paddington in Peru” so long to reach screens. The second sequel is the first not guided by co-writer/director Paul King (who turned his attention to the “Paddington”-esque “Wonka,” establishing a new franchise), who hands helming responsibilities over to Dougal Wilson. And there’s a change in location, pulling the eponymous bear and his family out of London and into South America for a jungle adventure. Marmalade and slapstick remains, and “Paddington in Peru” successfully sustains the merriment for another chapter, keeping things light and funny while the screenplay attempts to locate a way to match the unbeatable emotional content of the last installment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The comeback story for Key Huy Quan has been remarkable to watch. He was once a child actor who offered wonderful, natural work in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” only to find career opportunities dry up as puberty hit, taking him away from acting for quite some time. Quan returned in a scene-stealing role in 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” restoring his visibility with moviegoers and winning an Academy Award for his performance. With “Love Hurts,” Quan is giving this career revival its first major test, taking a starring role in the hardcore actioner, which marks the directorial debut for Jonathan Eusebio, who previously worked as a stunt performer in the “John Wick” series and “The Fall Guy.” “Love Hurts” is out to display flashy physicality and brutal violence, also looking to sell a few relationship issues along the way. The picture isn’t a stunner when it comes to storytelling, but it definitely packs a punch. And there’s Quan, who continues to impress with his enthusiastic acting, giving the endeavor his full commitment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com