Category: Film Review

2023’s filmmaking fascination with the history of consumer products returns with “The Beanie Bubble,” which follows recent releases such as “BlackBerry,” “Air,” and “Tetris,” with these movies all endeavoring to make a slick cinematic ride using the details of business dealings and ethics. For the latest installment in this series, the tale goes small and plush, with “The Beanie Bubble” examining the tremendous popularity of Beanie Babies, which grew from an idea for a different kind of stuffed animal into a billion-dollar business during the 1990s. However, this isn’t the story of eccentric owner Ty Warner and his financial dealings, with co-directors Damien Kulash and Kristin Gore (who also scripts) looking to change the POV to the three women in his life, who all contributed to his success and received nothing but aggravation and betrayal for their efforts. “The Beanie Bubble” carries some high energy at times, but it really strikes gold with performances, with the actors fully understanding the tone of the feature, gracefully playing levels of frustration. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There is some interesting bravery involved in the production of “Oppenheimer,” with writer/director Christopher Nolan using his power in Hollywood to get a major studio to finance and release a three-hour-long examination of atomic bomb development, unleashing it in the middle of the summer moviegoing season. Now there’s a flex one doesn’t see every day, and the picture certainly reflects a steely concentration from Nolan to deliver an extended study of a complex man and his dealings with military, marital, and political forces during a turbulent time in American history. “Oppenheimer” tries to combat the bigness of the production with a depiction of highly internalized behavior brewing within a carefully composed man. Nolan does his Nolan thing with the endeavor, but he’s also making an Oliver Stone film in a way, highlighting the sinister ways of scientific breakthroughs and the poundings of government conspirators, playing with time, color, and a Boys Town-sized cast of actors trying to make themselves seen in a lengthy effort that mostly features men talking. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Barbie” is the first major motion picture for the Mattel toy line, which has enjoyed generational success since its debut in 1959. The doll has become an iconic plaything in the lives of young people around the globe, selling primarily to girls, giving them a world of glamour, fantasy, and vocational possibility (at least eventually) to enjoy, with all the commercialization opportunities a corporation could ask for. “Barbie” is queen when it comes to the toy aisle, and she’s now a movie (at least not an artlessly animated one), and one that will probably have limited appeal to anyone under 13 years of age. Enter co-writer/director Greta Gerwig, who’s out to confront gender inequality and sexism with this endeavor (co-scripted by Noah Baumbach), attempting to use the plasticized universe of Barbie and her friends to take on societal ills, blended with some dance sequences and exaggerated production design achievements. “Barbie” is meant to be whip-smart and challenging, with Gerwig and Baumbach trying to do something inspirational with their feature, giving it sass and style to reach its creative goals. Genuine wit and a focused to-do list of criticism hasn’t made the final cut, which is definitely colorful and built for die-hard “Barbie” fans, but the whole film feels like a first draft of ideas and concepts in desperate need of refinement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Neil LaBute worked out some genre wiggles with 2022’s “House of Darkness,” blending some horror experience into his usual brew of charged conversations, retaining a theatrical presence for a study of unease. LaBute returns with “Fear the Night,” which is an action cinema offering from a helmer not normally known for physical acts of survival, always more comfortable with agitated psychological states. “Fear the Night” retains LaBute’s love of dialogue and head games, but it’s a more violent presentation of exploitation interests, with star Maggie Q portraying a tough woman facing off against a team of men in small town America. There’s death and some destruction, and, true to form, LaBute brings some gender hostilities to the endeavor, which adds something different to the usual submission of survival panic and one-person-army screen activity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s some hope at the beginning of “The Island” that director Shaun Paul Piccinino (“A California Christmas,” “Holiday Harmony,” “A California Christmas: City Light”) will understand the filmmaking assignment ahead of him, working with screenwriters Michael Caissie and Philippe Martinez (“Christmas in Paradise,” “Christmas in the Caribbean”) to deliver a straightforward action movie featuring a furious hero going after a despicable bad guy in a tropical setting. Helping the cause is star Michael Jai White, who tries to go the Van Damme/Seagal/Stallone/Schwarzenegger/Norris route, delivering a charmingly tough guy performance in a picture that truly needs a hit of enjoyable steeliness, playing up the western atmosphere the production is occasionally trying to conjure. “The Island” doesn’t sustain such fury, with Piccinino throttling any potential excitement, trapped between the dramatic inclinations of the material and audience expectations, with viewers left shortchanged when it comes to hard-charging genre activity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Chris Thomas Devlin, who scripted 2022’s lame “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” reworking, returns to the darkness with “Cobweb,” which is another genre effort from a person who struggled to come up with something passably menacing for a horror icon to do. Thankfully, the stakes are lower this time around, as Devlin returns with a haunted house story in way, taking inspiration from the work of Edgar Allan Poe to generate a fear factor for “Cobweb,” which examines the terror of a young boy stuck in a house that contains something living behind the walls. Director Samuel Bodin is tasked with conjuring the creeps for viewers in the mood for sinister business occurring around a static location. He has some fun ideas for nightmare imagery, but the writing clearly struggles to provide a feature-length experience with short film material, adding some unnecessary stillness to a premise that should be played as swiftly as possible. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The screenplay for “They Cloned Tyrone,” written by Tony Rettenmaier and Juel Taylor (who also directs), recalls the golden age of Spike Lee moviemaking, where the talented filmmaker took genuine creative risks with his work, creating cultural and social commentaries with skill. Lee has nothing to do with the effort, but his essence remains in the picture, which is a compelling mix of mystery and conspiracy, endeavoring to understand the Black Experience from a different, more bizarre perspective that retains a sharp satiric edge. “They Cloned Tyrone” is unusual and engrossing at times, with Rettenmaier and Taylor blending the vibe of 1970s cinema with an incisive understanding of character and paranoia, dealing with the broken ways of life as it’s experienced today. It’s never quite outrageous or intense as it initially appears, but it’s a fascinating story told well by the production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If Sandra Bullock isn’t going to agree to do a sequel, it’s time to expand the universe. That’s the general vibe of “Bird Box Barcelona,” which is an attempt to do something with the monster streaming success of 2018’s “Bird Box,” where Bullock did battle with mysterious forces as her character made her way through a world gone mad, protecting children in her care. The feature was odd but effective, capturing a rich sense of confusion and horror as an unexplained event unfolded for a desperate woman. Bullock was the major selling point of the movie, but she’s not around for “Barcelona,” which passes the franchise to a new lead character experiencing a bizarre crisis of faith and sanity. Writer/directors David and Alex Pastor are tasked with expanding the “Bird Box” universe with the new picture, and they go to some interesting places with the premise, which retains the apocalyptic grimness fans are looking for, only lacking some star power when it needs it the most. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2019, there was “Crawl,” with director Alexandre Aja tasked with creating a tense chiller featuring a raging hurricane, characters trapped in a flooded space, and the presence of alligators looking for an easy meal. Instead of being just another B-movie, Aja managed to achieve tremendous suspense and a full sense of danger with the film, which was rewarded with healthy box office returns. “The Flood” features basically the same plot, once again observing characters getting wet and restless as they search for safety, trying to avoid advancing alligators during a hellacious weather event. Similarities are perhaps intentional, but “Crawl” had something of a budget and a commitment to screen tension. “The Flood” looks cheaply produced and remains shockingly slow, with director Brandon Slagle refusing to pick up the pace for this simple study of terror. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Miracle Club” carries the initial glow of a simple tale of Irish guilt, meeting four characters all dealing with domestic and emotional issues, setting out to find a way to cure all that ails them through the power of faith. Screenwriters Jimmy Smallhorne, Timothy Prager, and Joshua D. Maurer work with a period setting and seemingly tight community interplay to get the picture on its feet, but there’s some darkness to the endeavor that becomes prioritized by the material, making a seemingly candied time with eccentric personalities much more interesting as the story unfolds. “The Miracle Club” takes some time to drill to the core of personal issues and fears, but it gets there, with compelling ideas on religious influence and trust, and performances are outstanding, bringing true depth to seemingly shallow writing. The cast helps “The Miracle Club” find its way and avoid the lure of cliché, touching on some richly dramatic areas of ache during this strange journey to salvation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s truth in advertising with “Quicksand,” which mostly takes place in a pit of the viscous stuff, watching two characters manage a fight for their lives as they deal with survival challenges while slowly sinking into the ground. It’s a simple concept, and the screenplay by Matt Pitts doesn’t push too hard when trying to add complications to the situation, sticking with physical attacks and psychological decline. As for suspense, “Quicksand” doesn’t provide much of a thrill ride, with the low-budget nature of the production greatly limiting its ability to create tension. Instead of chills, director Andres Beltran hopes to hit the heart, transforming a dire situation of certain doom for a troubled couple into study of long-term commitment, which limits the potential for B-movie excitement I’m sure many are expecting from this slow-burn endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director William Kaufman (“The Marine 4: Moving Target,” “Jarhead 3: The Siege”) has spent most of his career making action movies, and he tries once again to contribute to genre highlights with “The Channel.” It’s a tough guy examination of brotherly duty and catastrophic mistakes made while in the pursuit of criminal activity, giving the helmer plenty of time to stage shoot-outs and chases, and he keeps the masculine energy flowing throughout the endeavor, which is not short on characters referring to one another as “bro.” There’s clear intent to do something manly with the production, but Kaufman doesn’t have a lot of fresh ideas for the feature, which is reliant on cliched events and bland personalities, putting most focus on the replication of other, better crime films, including “Heat,” “Scarface,” and “Point Break.” “The Channel” (a title that refers to a special neighborhood in New Orleans) can’t get beyond predictability, with sameness overwhelming the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Happy Madison factory is back with “The Out-Laws,” which is directed by Tyler Spindel, who’s Adam Sandler’s nephew, previously helping his uncle deliver Netflix content with efforts such as 2018’s “Father of the Year” and 2020’s “The Wrong Missy.” Spindel has one speed when it comes to creating comedy, and he returns to it with his latest picture, which looks to offer a wacky good time with crude jokes, lots of improvisation, and an aggressive lead actor. In this case, it’s Adam Devine, who brings his poor man’s Jack Black shtick to the feature, screaming and squealing his way through a simplistic performance for a thoroughly uninspired film. “The Out-Laws” is rough on the senses, in desperate need of a more imaginative helmer and some sort of writing, as the movie basically wanders from scene to scene, counting on the cast to bring their own ideas to the limp endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2011’s “Insidious” was a fun ride from director James Wan, who visually transformed Leigh Whannel’s small-scale study of a suburban haunting, delivering one of the better films of his career. One could argue there was no need for a second installment, but producers weren’t going to stop with one hit movie. “Insidious: The Red Door” is actually the fifth chapter in the franchise, aiming to pick up after 2013’s “Insidious: Chapter 2,” luring stars Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, and Rose Byrne back to the brand name for another session of demonic entanglements, with Wilson handed the keys to the series, making his directorial debut. “Insidious” is mostly a one-note horror event, giving the fourth sequel a real challenge of freshness, but Wilson and screenwriter Scott Teems (last year’s dreadful “Firestarter” remake) aren’t invested in a fear factor with the endeavor, primarily out to make a study of fatherhood and trauma. “The Red Door” is more of a drama than a horror event, but the emotional pull of the material is limited, and scares are as routine as they come. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Dead Man’s Hand” is based on a graphic novel by Kevin and Matthew Minor, and it’s billed as “A Brian Skiba Flick,” which is meant to signal to the audience that this western is going to be anything but traditional. There seems to be some vision to shake up the norm when it comes to cowboy problems in the old west, but the screenplay (by Skiba and Corin Nemec, best known as the star of the T.V. series, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”) doesn’t have an extended sense of hellraising, and the production isn’t blessed with a significant budget (18 producers are credited), greatly limiting the genre punch the endeavor wants to deliver. “Dead Man’s Hand” is bizarre, dealing with an underwhelming cast and lukewarm mysticism, and it’s not much of a revenge story, with Skiba unable to get the movie rolling along with all the shootouts and hard stares people want from a western. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After the success of 1996’s “Mission: Impossible,” the series embarked on an interesting creative experiment, allowing different directors to have their way with the big screen spy game, bringing their own essence to the franchise. Such tinkering with tone ended with 2015’s “Rogue Nation,” with star Tom Cruise finding his guy in writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, with the pair returning for 2018’s “Fallout.” McQuarrie’s handling of IMF adventures has been slightly uneven, delivering massive visuals and unsteady storytelling, but he finds his rhythm with “Dead Reckoning Part One,” which is the most cohesive and thrilling sequel since 2011’s “Ghost Protocol,” with the helmer (and co-writer Erik Jendresen) finding ideal balance between spectacle and espionage. “Dead Reckoning Part One” is a massive feature and the longest picture of the “Mission: Impossible” series (164 minutes), but Cruise and McQuarrie are determined to make it a rocket ride, crafting a delightfully propulsive and suspenseful movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Two men left to live inside a controlled environment with no chance for escape, forced to rely on themselves for survival and companionship. It’s not the “Bio-Dome” sequel that’s been threatened for the last decade, but a new production from Jay and Mark Duplass, who love to tinker with potentially comedic studies of relationships under duress. In “Biosphere,” the situation is quite grim, studying the experience of the last two men on Earth, watching them deal with an encroaching reality as they try to keep themselves alive inside a dome. However, there’s a lighter, stranger tone to the picture, with co-writers Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn (who also directs) looking to take viewers on quite a ride of feelings and revelations, attentive to the element of surprise while endeavoring to make something truly human, especially when it comes to the complexity of emotions. “Biosphere” isn’t a crisply edited movie, but it’s a periodically involving tale of partnership, held together by outstanding performances from Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The story of the English pop group Wham! only covers four years of recording and touring success, where two young men who became friends as pre-teens elected to try their luck in the world of music, ending up as one of the biggest things in the world for a very short amount of time. It’s a tale of industry triumph and personal camaraderie that’s remarkable to behold, watching as small dreams transform into a potent reality. Director Chris Smith (“American Movie,” “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond,” and “The Yes Men”) looks to explore that burst of fame and fortune with “Wham!,” a documentary that uses archival interview audio with members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley to track the development of their friendship as it transformed into a musical “brotherhood.” Smith doesn’t always cut deep with the material, but he finds an appreciation of success and its profound impression on the band members, who stepped into the spotlight as young adults without any deep understanding of who they truly were, trusting in the power of pop to help guide them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A few months ago, there was “Mercy,” a low-budget endeavor that tried to sustain “Die Hard” energy with its version of a battle between armed thugs and a lone hero stuck in a single location (in this case, a hospital). The picture didn’t connect but the premise had potential, and filmmakers return to the source with “Call Her King,” which brings “Die Hard” to a courthouse, with gun-toting bad guys hunting for justice while a judge is looking to shut down any rising violence. There’s no touching the 1988 masterpiece, but “Call Her King” gives it a proper B-movie shot. Director Wes Miller tries to keep suspense in play, and he’s open to action as well, working to bring a little tension to formula, with this study of survival and injustice aiming to deliver a more potent message on the justice system while organizing dangerous situations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Crusades” carries a mighty title suggesting an historical adventure movie to come. In reality, it’s a high school comedy, and one that follows the exploits of teenage boys striving to make sense of life and love as they deal with a single day of torment. Co-writer/director Leo Milano isn’t offering a stunning reinvention of the teen comedy here, playing with the basics in hallway intimidation and tested relationships. The tone of “The Crusades” never gels, as the material introduces itself as a comedy and concludes as a drama, and Milano never finds the right balance of silliness and emotion to really make something memorable. There are spirited moments in the picture, but the endeavor as a whole is uneven, lacking inspired goofiness and a deeper, more human feel for the characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com