Category: Film Review

Taking on the world of astrology is an appealing launching point for the drama “Five Star Day.” Numerous movies have made the effort to celebrate the discipline, using the stars to backdrop tales of love and woe. However, “Five Star Day” has a bone to pick with the industry, with writer/director Danny Buday using a confrontational tone to uncover a rather tender story of human connection, following one man as he seeks to unearth a purpose for astrology, to test its validity in an increasingly cynical world.

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By dramatizing the life and times of biker-turned-angel Sam Childers, Hollywood is offered a golden opportunity to explore an inspirational, church-based tale intended to lift the spirits of the audience, while also leaving plenty of room for some butt-kicking action sequences along the likes of a “Rambo” motion picture. Instead of tears, “Machine Gun Preacher” cries bullets, an interesting twist on the “white man saves all” genre, but not subversive or insightful enough to rescue an otherwise limp, muddled biopic about a baffling man saving Africa once orphan at a time. The feature is well-intentioned, but its choice of director is all wrong. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

At this point, Gus Van Sant either makes completely impenetrable cinema for display on his own IKEA shelf of esoteric achievements (“Elephant,” “Paranoid Park,” “Last Days”) or he slips into mainstream mode, working with name actors and poignant material, creating features intended to be appreciated by a larger audience (“Milk”). “Restless” is an attempt to find a middle ground between approachable and cryptic, but it’s mainly affected, disastrously so, to a degree that’s unimaginably punishing. Allegedly a soft tale of lost souls connecting in the dusk of life, “Restless” instead feels like an Urban Outfitters catalog shoot, boasting two intolerable lead performances from young actors who treat extraordinary trauma as a lazy Sunday afternoon acting school exercise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Courageous” is a sloppy feature film that concerns an important subject. It’s a Christian-themed picture, leaving its messages unlikely to be viewed by those who need it the most, preaching to the choir about the challenges of fatherhood and responsibility. However, to achieve those pivotal moments of cloud-questioning submission, writer/director/star Alex Kendrick elects a route of cornball storytelling, encouraging flat performances and employing iffy racial stereotypes, unable to snap the increasingly tedious amateur-hour spell. The Godly messages are direct and sincere, but delivered ineffectively, leaving “Courageous” somewhere between a basic cable cop show and a church infomercial. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If we’re supposed to take Hollywood gossip seriously, it seems there was quite a bit of disagreement when it came to the execution and assembly of “Dream House.” The actors and director have essentially disowned the effort, and Universal Pictures has done their part to hobble the enterprise by issuing one of the worst theatrical posters in recent memory, along with releasing a trailer that honestly gives away the intriguing twist of the movie. It goes without saying that “Dream House” is a distorted mess (and, for the record, isn’t a horror feature), playing like a workprint that somehow fell into a wide release, but the film is not quite the travesty its chaotic production history suggests. I’m not recommending it, but it’s always fascinating to watch a movie where everyone who made it has slinked away from the final product. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The curious case of Anna Faris takes another step sideways with the release of “What’s Your Number?” A confused mishmash of physical comedy and googly-eyed romantic formula, the film is a misfire, though one not content to passively admit defeat. No, Faris isn’t going down without a fight, giving an agreeably daffy performance in need of better material. She’s such an amusing screen presence, it’s painful to see her stuck in this, a contrived offering of relationship blues where the worst thing in the whole wide world to be is single and without dating prospects. You go (away), girl. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“50/50” belongs in that rare subgenre known as “The Cancer Comedy.” It’s not a popular cinematic topic, practically untouched throughout the years, yet this new film from director Jonathan Levine makes the troubling process of merging meaty laughs with exhausting medical emergencies seem like a piece of cake. This is a tremendously endearing, emotionally complex motion picture that gracefully inspects the stages of grief, worry, and, of course, catharsis, approaching a delicate subject matter with a disarming confidence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A glaring hillbilly with greasy overalls, iffy personal hygiene, and an askew trucker cap is an iconic image in horror cinema, guaranteeing a feature of haunting backwoods torment and chaw-spewing threat. Who better than the uneducated, unshowered people of the earth to trap and devour the privileged youth of today? The horror comedy “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil” looks to pull a little switcheroo with creaky genre stereotypes, disrupting the traditional redneck rampage to dream up something sly, frequently funny, and consistently surprising. In a season of routine scares, here’s something silly and occasionally gruesome, ideal for those who like their shock value with a little more slapstick flavoring. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Music resides at the heart of this joyful documentary, yet the picture is more fascinated with the influence of music education, examining how that discipline and interest helped to inform and shape a generation of young African-American men and women. “Thunder Soul” is the story of the Kashmere Stage Band, a student group from Texas who rose to prominence in the 1970s under the director of Conrad O. Johnson, or “Prof” to his students. It’s a film flooded with memories and declarations of respect, laughs and tears, and plenty of funk to keep toes tapping along as director Mark Landsman investigates how one man’s authority carried from high school to the modern day.

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We’re not faced with the wide release of “Abduction” because Shawn Christensen wrote a scintillating screenplay with engorged silver screen promise. We’re faced with the wide release of “Abduction” because actor Taylor Lautner hit the big time with his role in the “Twilight” franchise and he’s ready to cash in on his fame. What better way to test box office appeal than with a PG-13 actioner that promises mild fisticuffs and heavy opportunity for shirtlessness, delivering exactly what the core demographic is paying their babysitting money to see. The rest of the world? We’ll just sit here, rolling our eyes, watching Hollywood’s latest heartthrob grunt his way through a junky thriller of no distinguishable personality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In dramatizing the true story of Kathryn Bolkovac, “The Whistleblower” is required to confront a few harsh realities of life, investigating and displaying the horrors of human trafficking in explicit detail. This is not an easy film to watch, but a critical story to share with the world, using one woman’s experiences to shed needed light on a growing epidemic of sexual and psychological invasion. However, as vital as the message is, director Larysa Kondracki is making a movie, with the conventions of the thriller genre occasionally stifling the story’s inherent terror. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Killer Elite” claims to be based on a true story, adapting the novel “The Feather Men” by Ranulph Fiennes for the big screen. It’s difficult to buy into anything the picture has to offer, but it’s a determined effort, working with a convoluted script built out of last names and random encounters. It’s a political thriller with bloody knuckles, merging explosive, physics-defying stunt work with protracted exposition, and it rarely works. Nevertheless, there’s some merriment to be devoured for those magically able to block out the story and focus on the slickly produced mayhem. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the very same time period “The Lion King” has returned to multiplexes, flexing substantial box office muscle, “Flypaper” is debuting, in far fewer multiplexes. Practically none. Both endeavors were directed by Rob Minkoff, representing quite a drastic difference in terms of filmmaking interests for the helmer, who once helped to conjure a mighty animated vision of the animal kingdom, only to find himself 17 years later masterminding a low-budget Patrick Dempsey bank robbery caper, and a tepid one at that. Where’s Simba when you need him. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been a great number of exceptional baseball films, but very few films about baseball. “Moneyball” eschews home runs, cutesy player idiosyncrasy, and game day excitement to permit a peek at frosty front office interaction, where the true mechanics of the sport are worked out in full. “Moneyball” is a pleasure to watch, insightful and entertaining all the way, but the educational elements shouldn’t be discounted. Even for baseball fans, the feature illuminates the managerial process, understanding that games aren’t won and lost by the players themselves, but how they’re meticulously assembled as a team. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Dolphin Tale” is a true story of sea creature survival handed a sticky Disney-esque treatment. It’s a script with tight hospital corners and cast with dimpled child actors, hoping to offer mildly inspiring entertainment to family audiences starved for something that isn’t animated. Take it at face value and it’s a perfectly pleasant matinee diversion, overflowing with easy solutions, animal antics, and approachable adversity. Any scrutiny underneath the sunny exterior will reveal some questionable editing, cushy screenwriting, and a few performances ready to burst due to overt earnestness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps hardcore anime and martial arts fanatics will find something to appreciate in the futuristic bruiser “Bunraku,” but there’s very little here for an outside audience to savor. A supremely labored, visually exhausting actioner, the picture is an overstylized, overwritten, overinflated jumble that doesn’t have a clue when to quit. It’s definitely colorful and eager to please, but a little of this convoluted mess goes a long way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Stay Cool” is the latest effort from the Polish Brothers, the identical twins who’ve somehow managed to stay afloat in the industry after a decade of tedious esoteric efforts and box office bombs. Sure, the men have unearthed some exquisite screen poetry during their filmmaking years, but nothing profound, always lost in their own fog of indifference despite plots that encourage engorged passions. “Stay Cool” is their most grounded effort, attacking the formulaic discomfort and confusion of an impending high school reunion. It doesn’t always convince, but it’s the most approachable Polish production to date.

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The obvious question: Why remake a movie largely considered to be an aesthetically sound, culturally significant effort of raw filmmaking from 1971? Why attempt to rework what came so naturally to legendary director Sam Peckinpah? The feature that shocked the world is back in a slightly dopier form courtesy of helmer Rod Lurie, who doesn’t bother reorganizing or deviating from the original material. Instead, he’s lessened the impact of this violent saga, preferring to tell instead of show, straining to introduce a classic to a new generation of moviegoers better off renting the original. Despite its dated appearance and stiff storytelling, Peckinpah infused tremendous threat with minimal fuss. Lurie practically burns his film to the ground, yet can’t summon a single surprise or suspenseful interaction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With “Bronson” and “Valhalla Rising,” Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn established himself as an uncompromising architect of esoteric European cinema, creating two taxing features of poetic structure, brutal violence, and dreamscape storytelling. “Drive” motors the filmmaker over to Hollywood, transferring his persnickety tastes to a heist-gone-bad tale of mobsters and loners and the cars they salivate over. It’s familiar ground, but electrifyingly projected through the director’s cracked prism. “Drive” is a sensational picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“I Don’t Know How She Does It” is an apt title for this dramedy since, by the time the end credits roll, there’s not a clarification on how the lead character, you know, does it. A spunky but disjointed rant on the severity of the business world and the nagging demands of motherhood, the feature doesn’t answer any questions, trying much too hard to come across likable and relatable when confronting rather provocative issues of self-loathing and extraordinary stress. To this film, there’s no head-squeezing dilemma of the heart and home a little slapstick can’t cure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com