Category: Film Review

“Lee” represents a rare directorial outing for Ellen Kuras, a well-regarded cinematographer who previously worked extensively with Michel Gondry, including her lauded effort on 2004’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Instead of remaining in the surreal, Kuras goes to real-world horrors with the picture, which examines the World War II experience for photographer Lee Miller, who went into the event with a sense of purpose and duty, coming out the other side fully battered by all that she witnessed, trying to share the depths of doom. It’s not a full bio-pic, but a chunk of Miller’s existence, with screenwriters Liz Hannah, John Collee, and Marion Hume working to adapt a book about the subject’s time, written by Antony Penrose. “Lee” isn’t a large-scale war film, but Kuras finds her way into the shocking elements of the conflict, doing a successful job detailing how such exposure managed to change Miller’s life and career. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Kerry Bellessa has been here before. In 2012, the helmer pieced together “Amber Alert,” going the found-footage, no-budget route with a tale of hot pursuit and everyday horrors. The feature didn’t work, becoming one of the worst films of its release year. Strangely, Bellessa is out to try again, returning to the material with a new take on the same premise of strangers in a car suddenly caught up in a child abduction emergency. The production has ditched cinema verité this time out, going dramatic with a new “Amber Alert,” with stars Hayden Panettiere and Tyler James Williams tasked with keeping things tense as an average day suddenly turns into race against time for their characters. Bellessa and co-writer Joshua Oram do a little better with the basics of the idea, yet, once again, it all falls apart in the end, with the tale beginning as a decently suspenseful manhunt, only to become a dreadful horror movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Empire Waist” is an offering of empowerment cinema, aiming to reach young viewers with a display of empathy that’s not particularly easy to find these days. Writer/director Claire Ayoub makes her feature-length helming debut with the picture, and she’s not out to create a sophisticated overview of high school bullying and self-esteem challenges. She’s painting with primary colors here, with hopes to sweep viewers into a story of teens with self-worth issues trying to find some level of confidence as themselves while the outside world wants them to conform to their standards. The message is wonderful, and while “Empire Waist” is a little shaky when it comes to dramatic urgency, Ayoub has her heart in the right place with the endeavor, also doing well with a spirited cast that brings some flavor and authenticity to the film, handling the material’s ideas well. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s hard to be precious about 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” It’s a classic horror film, but certainly not an untouchable one, and Hollywood has done the work to cash in on the brand name, creating a made-for-T.V. sequel in 1976, and a miniseries with Zoe Saldana debuted in 2014. Heck, even original author Ira Levin wanted in on the action, concocting a literary follow-up in 1997’s “Son of Rosemary.” Producers try again with “Apartment 7A,” which directly connects to the original feature, acting as a prequel of sorts, though for most of the run time, it’s more of a remake. Thankfully, co-writer/director Natalie Erika James (who impressed with the slow-burn nightmare of 2020’s “Relic”) has some ideas to share with the picture, which carries its own unsettling atmosphere. It’s not as stunning as the ’68 effort, but “Apartment 7A” delivers on atmosphere and acting, capably sustaining the world of “Rosemary’s Baby.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Never Let Go” is a mystery, but it’s often trying to be a scary movie to help engage viewers with film elements they’re more comfortable with. Screenwriters Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby have a story to share about family issues and learned behavior, setting up a gothic study of survival focused on a mother struggling to protect her two young sons from an undefined evil in a potentially post-apocalyptic world. Director Alexandre Aja (“Piranha 3D,” “Crawl”) has the unfortunate task of pushing to make one kind of film while the writing is looking to develop another. The helmer gives the picture a nice boost of backwoods mood, and initial scenes of threat are capably handled, but “Never Let Go” starts to fall apart the longer it delays the inevitable, becoming a chore to sit through. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a little while since a filmmaker attempted to play with the particulars of the body horror subgenre. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat (2017’s “Revenge”) takes the challenge quite seriously with “The Substance,” which is an audacious endeavor that transforms the relationship between youth and aging as it pertains to the Female Experience and turns it into a battle of flesh-poking, fluid-draining escalation. The feature is a juicy one, handed a thorough Euro-cinema treatment by the helmer, who’s out to turn stomachs with this visceral understanding of self-loathing and fame. “The Substance” gets ugly, quite often, and it doesn’t really know when to quit, but it mostly stuns as a display of outstanding makeup effects and mysterious atmosphere. And star Demi Moore delivers complete submission to Fargeat’s vision, giving one of her all-time best performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Bernardo Britto returns to the world of time travel with “Omni Loop, going where many, many filmmakers have gone before. He’s choosing the “Groundhog Day” route, following the actions of a woman who can access a week into the past via a mysterious pill, allowing her to replay the days before her own demise. Britto has the stuff of a gripping thriller, but he refuses to pursue it, instead laboring to get emotional with the material, inspecting the heaviness of regret as the main character confronts the decisions of her past. “Omni Loop” isn’t about a ticking clock or a race to deny destiny. It’s much softer than that, with Britto really going for the heart while periodically playing with fantasy events. This patience doesn’t always create riveting cinema, but the movie endeavors to have a soul, making it more sensitive than the usual time travel feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter April Wolfe (2019’s “Black Christmas” remake) arranges a small-scale tale of pressure with “Clawfoot.” The film takes place in a single location, working with a strange situation of routine confrontation to get its juices flowing, aiming to create suspense out of a perplexing meeting between a housewife and the aggressive contractor looking to install a bathtub in her immaculate home. Wolfe relies on mystery, portioning out pieces of information meant to tempt viewers with this study of strange hostility. Director Michael Day (making his feature-length helming debut) supports the mission with a gradual tightening of the vise, pushing stars Francesca Eastwood and Milo Gibson to explore an insane battle of wills. “Clawfoot” makes it to the midway point in decent shape, summoning suspense and encouraging interest in where this tale is ultimately going. It’s the destination that’s quite disappointing, rendering the endeavor an uneven and unsatisfying viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Hounds of War” is a film that walks and talks like many other B-movies in the marketplace. It stars Frank Grillo, who’s currently making a living taking any job that comes his way, always portraying tough men in dire situations of survival and revenge. It’s directed by Isaac Florentine, who’s also made a career out of low-budget actioners, recently helming “Seized,” “Acts of Vengeance,” and “Close Range.” There’s not a lot of originality to the endeavor, which studies the drive of a pained mercenary in one-man-army mode, seeking vengeance on those in political power who’ve destroyed his last hope for a happy future. Entertainment value is the hope here, not dramatic engagement, and “Hounds of War” has just enough of a kick to get by, with Florentine working to inject as much physical conflict as possible to turn an otherwise generic thriller into something passably diverting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Transformers continue to roll out, and so soon after the entertaining “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” released in 2023. The live-action path for the franchise has been put on temporary hold, with “Transformers One” returning the saga to an animated realm, presenting a feature-length adventure that’s the first cartoon offering for the robots in disguise since 1986’s “Transformers: The Movie.” Traumatic events are lightened a bit for the new effort, with screenwriters Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari out to established a fresh frontier for the characters by dipping into their pasts. “Transformers One” is a prequel of sorts, offering a chance to get to know battling robots Optimus Prime and Megatron before they were mortal enemies, offering a lighter side to the violent war, or at least a glimmer of hope as darkness arrives. Director Josh Cooley (“Toy Story 4”) is a little unsteady when juggling silliness and solemnity, but he scores with adventure, delivering appealing artistry and some operatic turns of plot as the characters return to their colorful, smash-em origins. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One of the surprises of the 2021 film year was “Till Death.” A macabre survival thriller, the picture offered star Megan Fox a chance to carry a movie, and director S.K. Dale found a way to make that daunting prospect somewhat appealing, pulling a reasonable performance out of the habitually stiff actress. The feature wasn’t stunning, but it worked, especially with nasty business. Fox and Dale reteam for “Subservience,” which trades the simplicity of endurance and escape for the world of artificial intelligence, detailing the battle of a father trying to work with his new robotic housekeeper. Once again, there’s nothing special about the production, but Dale manages to find opportunities to keep the low-budget offering passably engaging, blending real-world fears with the ways of an erotic thriller from the 1990s. “Subservience” opens with promise, and while the ending is a letdown, the endeavor still hits some seductive and threatening beats that carry the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Hollywood wants to do something with Dave Bautista, but is there really much going on with the hulking actor? He’s been fun in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, playing big as Drax, and he’s done well with villainous supporting roles, including the “Dune” films. As a leading man, Bautista is a hard sell, lacking substantial charisma that goes along with the job, while his range as a dramatic actor is extremely limited. “The Killer’s Game” aims to give the hulking thespian a meaty part as an assassin going through a significant crisis of health and heart, tasking Bautista to carry some emotionality while still delivering hard hits of action. “The Killer’s Game” (an adaptation of a 1997 novel by Jay Bonansinga) is wild stuff from director J.J. Perry (who submitted similar work in 2022’s “Day Shift”), and it needs an actor capable of commanding the screen while all sorts of insanity occurs. Bautista looks the part, but he’s not the right fit for this ultraviolent, broadly comedic offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There was a time roughly two decades ago when all Hollywood wanted to do was find the next YA adaptation for franchise development. The “Harry Potter” gold rush resulted in a few significant hits (including “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games”) and some major misses (“The Golden Compass,” “Inkheart”) while pursuing the allowance money of young viewers excited to see their favorite books on the big screen. “Uglies” is a throwback to such a production era, with screenwriters Jacob Foreman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson taking a shot at adapting a 2005 book by Scott Westerfield, who transformed his post-apocalyptic tale of pretty people dominance and homely citizen revolution into a lucrative literary career, resulting in the release of three sequels. “Uglies” is meant to be the first of many movies, and as these things go, it’s not a rough sit, with director McG (“Charlie’s Angels,” “Family Switch”) keeping the action coming and the exposition palatable as he aims to start something big with the source material. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1998’s “Rounders” is a terrific picture. The film manages to balance character business and tensions involved in the game of poker, creating an unexpectedly fulfilling viewing experience with wonderful suspense. Screenwriter Josh Wilcox aims to recreate the atmosphere of “Rounders” with “Dead Money” (the title is taken from a poker term), which also looks to explore acts of intimidation and escalation in the world of card games and assorted side bets. However, instead of trusting the innate thrill of gambling, Wilcox adds an overt crime tale to the movie, splitting time between action on the table and violence happening elsewhere. “Dead Money” doesn’t amount to much, but director Luc Walpoth has some good ideas and suitably amplifies a few shocking acts of bodily harm. It’s just not enough to make a more compelling endeavor, as most of the feature feels underwhelming and, at times, ridiculous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Azazel Jacobs pulls off the nearly impossible with “His Three Daughters.” It’s a static study of tensions and sadness as three women reunite to care for their ailing father in a cramped New York City apartment, and the writing retains a defined theatrical approach. There’s room for characterizations to develop and performances to bloom, while the scope of the feature is small, mostly contained to confrontations and conversations among the siblings and those around them during this dark time. Jacobs (“Terri,” “French Exit,” and “The Lovers”) manages to take something that’s ideal for the stage and create riveting cinema out of personal problems, doing what few others can when faced with such a storytelling challenge. “His Three Daughters” is obviously boosted by outstanding performances from the entire cast, but it also connects with its ideas on family estrangement, hitting vivid beats of stunted communication during a turbulent examination of finality and pain. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After stumbling with the wild, unpleasant tonality of “Clerks 3” and bottoming out with the borderline unwatchable “KillRoy Was Here,” writer/director Kevin Smith seeks the warm waters of nostalgia to support his latest effort, “The 4:30 Movie.” It’s a comedy about being young in 1986, dealing with suburban challenges, crushes, friendships, and filmgoing at a local theater. Smith sticks to his routine, scripting a feature filled with dialogue and crudeness, but he also tries to make something sweet and heartfelt, pulling from his own adolescence to fuel a trip into the past. “The 4:30 Movie” has its charms and a few laughs, and Smith sustains his interest in cameos and oddity to keep the short picture (76 minutes before end credits) on the move. It’s not an entirely successful study of teendom, yet the endeavor pulls Smith out of his recent creative funk, but only periodically. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Critic” is a film about a nasty drama critic that often resembles one of the plays he’s waiting to tear apart through the art of opinion writing. It’s a picture that doesn’t quite work, yet remains watchable, just to see how far screenwriter Patrick Marber (adapting a novel by Anthony Quinn) goes with the premise, which navigates dark turns and examines the behavior of a few corrupt individuals. There’s potential for something macabre to emerge, but director Anaud Tucker (“Hilary and Jackie,” “Leap Year”) doesn’t exactly unleash hell, aiming for a more atmospheric examination of psychological gamesmanship. The helmer scores with select moments of confrontation, and there’s a sharp cast to manage, with star Ian McKellen sinking his teeth into his role as the eponymous demon, stopping just short of campiness as he portrays a man with no morals newly energized to seek revenge on an employer looking to silence him. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Speak No Evil” was originally a 2022 Danish film from co-writer/director Christian Tafdrup, who supplied a grim psychological chiller using small acts of offense and intrusion, analyzing the behaviors of a family targeted by seemingly friendly tourists looking to welcome fresh faces into their lives. And now it’s been Americanized, with James Watkins claiming writing and directing credits. Watkins is perhaps best known for his work on 2008’s “Eden Lake,” where he managed to sustain suspense and land a viciously dark ending without losing control of the feature. He’s back on the same terrain with “Speak No Evil,” which also studies the evil that men do in a rural setting, only here there’s a little more dramatic depth as the material digs into the weariness of marriage and the threat of strangers. There’s a slightly dull edge to the remake, but intensity remains in spurts, with the endeavor coming alive when it concentrates on the stings of microaggressions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Time travel, or something along those lines, goes for the heart in the coarsely titled “My Old Ass.” Writer/director Megan Park (“The Fallout”) looks to tap into generational dread with the feature, which concerns an 18-year-old woman confronted with her 39-year-old self after a night of psychedelics in the woods. While it initially seems like the stuff of a comedy, Park doesn’t have much interest in big laughs. Instead, she aims for big feels with the picture, which examines the emptiness of aging and the joys of love, working to create something life-affirming from askew perspectives. “My Old Ass” has storytelling issues and performance bigness to endure, but smaller moments tend to count the most in the effort, with Park clearly working something personal out on the screen as she details private pain and secret fears facing the characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Eggers Family is expanding their filmmaking empire. With “The Front Room,” Max and Sam Eggers make their directorial debut after time spent collaborating with their sibling, Robert Eggers, writing the screenplay for 2019’s “The Lighthouse.” Now they take control of their own production, turning to a short story by author Susan Hill for inspiration. And the brothers work hard to turn limited material into a reasonable nightmare, going darkly comedic for this examination of motherhood, religion, and incontinence. “The Front Room” is a wild feature with some delightful surges of insanity, but the writing also struggles to fill out the picture, with the Eggers showing some strain when it comes to expanding plot and character. It’s not an offering for everyone, often going weird and gross, but for those comfortable with pure oddity, the effort has its positives, including a delightfully demented supporting turn from actress Kathryn Hunter, who commits Grand Theft Movie with her striking performance. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com