Category: Film Review

As Liam Neeson enters his eighth decade of life, some have questioned his ability to keep up his career path as an action hero, dealing with all sorts of physical challenges. “Retribution” hopes to participate in the ways of Neeson bruiser cinema, but it doesn’t ask much of the actor besides dramatic commitment to the part. The star is sitting for most of the run time, portraying a panicked man dealing with a car bomb under his seat and a mysterious antagonist making numerous demands. It’s not an especially robust acting challenge for Neeson, but there’s little human movement and a few surges of adrenaline to play, with the movie a remake of a 2015 Spanish thriller. The new version is directed by Nimrod Antal, who’s done capable work before (“Vacancy,” “Predators”), but he stumbles with the simplicity of the premise, struggling to sustain suspense and confusion while the lead actor does what he can to make emotional moments count. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Good Mother” is a film that tries to be a gritty tale of grief concerning the state of drug addiction in 2023, but it also desires to be something of a mystery thriller, with a few turns of plot to explore during the run time. The two sides of the endeavor aren’t paired especially well by co-writer/director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, who often has trouble deciding what type of picture he ultimately wants to make here. There’s some power in the material’s depiction of depression and social ruin, with the movie delivering a few sharp scenes that bring a real sense of pain to viewers. But these potent moments are few and far between, with Joris-Peyrafitte more invested in a crime story involving a broken family, and that’s been done much better in other features. “The Good Mother” often loses its way, stuck with a dud screenplay and undemanding direction, leaving the effort an offering of mood without much emotion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose” isn’t a title normally associated with the claim “based on a true story.” However, the material is tied to some level of history, exploring a tale of animal communication and all the curiosity it created on the Isle of Man in the 1930s. Writer/director Adam Sigal assumes command of this strange picture, looking to generate a bit of mystery while handling an enormous amount of oddity, generally following the structure of a detective story where the main suspect is a mongoose with an English accent that delivers potent poems and triggers existential reflection. Sigal has quite the tale with “Nandor Fodor,” and for the first two acts, he does a fine job bringing viewers in close to this bizarre investigation. The last act isn’t as involving, but the feature mostly finds its way with occasional peculiarity and a puzzling story, which is supported by a capable cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When the words “erotic thriller” are uttered, usually only one person comes to mind: Shannon Tweed. Director Anthony Penta seeks to change such conception with “We Kill for Love,” which is a documentary about the subgenre, which was developing long before Tweed was even born, and continues after her retirement from acting. There’s an entire history to explore here, with erotic thrillers developing over the decades, eventually exploding in the 1980s and ‘90s, and the helmer is determined to sniff around every corner of interpretation and thought. There’s a lot to “We Kill for Love,” which runs a whopping 163 minutes, which is a major sit for a subject that could probably be successfully examined in an hour and a half. Penta is determined to oversee a behemoth production, and he’s not having a lot of fun with it, as the endeavor is more analytical than anecdotal, going the “Room 237” route with a stern, film theory approach, which is undeniably interesting, but with this absurd run time, it occasionally feels like running a marathon with no finish line. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Adam Sandler has never been shy about bringing family members into the film business. He’s always surrounded himself with loved ones and pals, but with “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” Sandler truly makes it a domestic affair, hiring his daughters, Sunny and Sadie Sandler, to star in an adaptation of a book by Fiona Rosenbloom, while his wife, Jackie, plays a supporting role. It’s all Sandler, all the time in “Bat Mitzvah,” but director Sammi Cohen (“Crush”) doesn’t get caught up in the power play, managing to step back and form a mildly entertaining look at the horror show of adolescence, focusing on the first year of teendom and all the world-shifting nightmares it involves. The feature is obviously built for a younger audience, but the Happy Madison-ness of the endeavor offers some appeal for those far removed from middle school drama. It’s more Disney Channel than John Hughes, but the picture has its moments, especially when focused on the pressure points of adolescence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Vacation Friends” was a streaming hit for Hulu, presented as an R-rated comedy break from the pandemic blues, going blue and silly with a sitcom premise involving an uptight man trying to manage two intrusive pals he’s connected with while on vacation with his girlfriend. Co-writer/director Clay Tarver wasn’t aiming high with the material, but there was a modicum of charm to be found in the film, supplying a mild level of entertainment with slapstick misadventures. The picture didn’t need a sequel, but now there’s “Vacation Friends 2,” which returns to Tarver and the cast, only this time around, a faint sense of appealing nonsense is missing. The follow-up goes completely lazy instead, delivering lame shenanigans with no visible effort, happy to gift fans of the original endeavor a dispiriting viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For screenwriter Joachim Heden, a second chance to work with his concept for suspense has been provided. 2020’s “Breaking Surface” was a Swedish production concerning trouble in the deep waters for two sisters who don’t have anyone else to turn to when trying to survive a nightmare scenario. “The Dive” is an English-language remake, with Heden once again returning to script the endeavor, joining co-writer/director Maximilian Erlenwein for a reworking of the concept, trying to approach the same viewing experience in a different way. There’s not much to the story, which largely consists of vague relationship issues, leaving the bulk of the viewing experience to tense situations of rescue and endurance. “The Dive” mostly scores with dread, with Erlenwein providing a tense take on the central crisis for most of the run time. The effort does occasionally spin its wheels trying to come up with things to worry about, but a defined sense of claustrophobia and frustration is never far from view. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Feel-good cinema goes to the financial world in “Bank of Dave,” which explores the “true-ish” tale of Dave Fishwick, a decent man with money looking to help the residents of Burnley, a small U.K. town in need of assistance, coming up against the predatory ways of the London banking gatekeepers. It’s a Capra-esque attempt at gentle filmmaking, loaded with anti-greed messages and reminders of close-knit community power, and who better to helm the picture than Chris Foggin, who previously encouraged audience tingles with 2019’s “Fisherman’s Friends.” There are no shades of gray in “Bank of Dave,” which plays broadly for most of its run time, almost absurdly so, but Foggin and screenwriter Piers Ashworth aren’t too concerned about true grit when it comes to the David vs. Goliath story. This one is purely out to charm, and it does periodically, handed some lift by energetic performances and a buttery reminder of good people trying to do good things for one another. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Superhero cinema receives a major test of brand recognition with “Blue Beetle,” the latest comic book property to be turned into big-budget entertainment. The character has been around for quite some time (debuting in its initial form in 1939), but Blue Beetle hasn’t been a breakthrough creation for D.C. Comics, retaining more of a cult appreciation for fans of the company and its literary offerings. With most of the top-tier heroes already brought to the screen, it’s time for the JV squad to have a shot, and director Angel Manuel Soto (“Charm City Kings”) certainly understands the challenge. “Blue Beetle” is a lively introduction to the highly specific world of the character, with the screenplay (by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer) aiming to provide a vigorous origin story that’s heavy with cultural representation and action. It’s not a particularly rousing study of empowerment, but the feature offers some personality before the sameness of the subgenre takes over for a numbing finale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been a strange summer for the R-rated comedy. In June, there was “No Hard Feelings,” a mediocre endeavor that failed to attract much attention from moviegoers. In July, raunchiness continued with “Joy Ride,” another forgettable film that was almost completely ignored by the public. For August, there’s “Strays,” which is the bluest offering yet, presenting a profane take on canine adventures, following a team of pooches who speak with celebrity voices and experience all sorts of sex and bodily fluid events, it’s almost difficult to tell when one ends and another begins. Dan Perrault is credited as the screenwriter, with his presence felt in the vague sense of drama that’s trying to keep the feature together, while the rest of the picture is just animals cursing and exploring the wonders of genitals. “Strays” is a rough sit, trying to be filthy fun without putting in the effort to come up with clever lines, and while director Josh Greenbaum (“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”) has a cute cast of highly trained animals, he doesn’t take advantage of potential insanity, remaining witless instead. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sibling relationships and all the awkwardness and unspoken feelings that go along with them are examined in “The Adults.” Writer/director Dustin Guy Defa doesn’t do the usual routine when it comes to the insecurities of brothers and sisters, offering a more peculiar overview of communication issues and stunted growth. He has a sharp cast in Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, and Sophia Lillis, who inhabit profoundly anxious characters trying to make sense of their connections after many years apart. Defa doesn’t bother with a story, going full steam ahead with these personalities and their journey of behavior, achieving some rather wonderfully bizarre yet entirely universal truths when it comes to the dance of disputes and confession. There’s strangeness to “The Adults,” but also a disturbing truth to much of the movie, with Defa getting into some psychological muck while handling the dark comedy aspects of the writing with skill. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Landscape with Invisible Hand” is a tough title to sell to a broad audience, and the film itself is even stranger. It’s an adaptation of a 2017 novel by M.T. Anderson, with writer/director Corey Finley (“Thoroughbreds,” “Bad Education”) taking on the challenge of bringing such an odd story to the big screen. It’s an alien invasion tale in a way, with Anderson using the premise of visitors from another world to comment on economic disparity and the casual brutality of class divide, all the while delivering a study of an alien society trying to become more human, but only with the worst influences. “Landscape with Invisible Hand” deals with art, family, and society, offering a sharp commentary of American life, and it’s a mostly effective drama, with the helmer working well with Anderson’s details, making for an interesting sit with material that makes sense of the writer’s unusual imagination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The expanse of The Troubles receives a straightforward examination of revenge in “Dead Shot,” which offers a refreshingly merciless approach by co-writers/co-directors Charles and Thomas Guard. The helmers have been away from the business for many years, last seen on screens with the dreadful “The Uninvited” in 2009. The siblings revive their career with a look at rising tensions between IRA members and British Army soldiers, taking to the streets with help from burning feelings of vengeance and furious displays of survival. “Dead Shot” is a tight thriller on a mission to stir up some suspense, and the screenplay is attentive to characters and motivation, creating psychological challenges for the personalities as they deal with so much over a welcomingly short run time (85 minutes). It’s not a grand detailing of the era and its woes, but the Guards wisely get raw with the material, making for a riveting sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Puppy Love” has all the elements of the usual Lifetime Movie routine. It deals with good-looking actors playing neurotic people, offers a plot detailing the development of romantic feelings between opposites, and the story mostly presents easily solvable problems featuring characters who refuse to get out of their own way, despite ample reminders to do so. The big addition here are dogs, with cute animals a common sight in the picture, and there’s a strange creative choice to make such a fluffy concoction into an R-rated comedy, bringing some coarseness to material that’s usually played as easy on the senses as possible. “Puppy Love” is diet cinema at best, but the screenplay (somehow credited to five writers) is rough to endure, supplying dreadful scenes of “charm” and “funny” scenarios, with the endeavor bringing hard bad sitcom energy to a feature-length exercise in pure tedium. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A remote hotel in the dead of winter. Troubled characters dealing with the possible melting of their minds. Strange visions around the property. Murder coming for all. There’s clearly a beloved horror film serving as the inspiration for “Bad Things,” with writer/director Stewart Thorndike looking to revive the chilling ways of isolation and psychological disruption with the effort, taking viewers to a strange getaway for a group of friends who have little respect for one another, facing unexpected finality during what’s meant to be a week of partying. Thorndike doesn’t have a budget, but she has a location, doing okay with the emptiness of the hotel setting and all the secrets it contains. However, a little disturbing behavior doesn’t carry “Bad Things,” which only connects in select moments, while the rest of the endeavor plays like a community theater production of “The Shining.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Stephen Chow is listed as the executive producer of “The Monkey King,” and while his role in the production isn’t clear, his movies are certainly used as an influence on the feature. The helmer of “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kung Fu Hustle,” Chow’s manic energy is special, with his peculiar sense of humor infused into lovably oddball endeavors that merge big action with broad slapstick. That’s the general idea behind “The Monkey King,” with the animated picture looking to generate a level of hyperactivity while exploring a fantasy mission for a special monkey, his sentient staff, and a young girl trying to save her village from disaster. Director Anthony Stacci (“The Boxtrolls” and “Open Season”) looks to crank up the scale of the effort, taking the tale to Heaven and Hell, and there are plenty of high-flying moments to enjoy here. The aggressive tone of it all starts to grind on the senses in the final act, going overboard with craziness, holding the film back from the rip-roaring good time it wants to be. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With the James Bond franchise on hiatus, Netflix is certainly trying to fill the void left behind by the superspy franchise. Recent efforts such as “6 Underground” and “The Gray Man” have attempted to provide fans with a similar hit of big action and globetrotting locations, endeavoring to find ways to provide a blockbuster rush for home viewing. “Heart of Stone” is the latest offering of superhuman heroism, with Gal Gadot hired to handle the dangers of the world as a secret agent dealing with a brewing threat involving A.I. and vengeful villains. A lot of the feature resembles last July’s “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One,” only here the results are more plasticized and less engaging, watching Gadot and plenty of CGI work battle to save the world. “Heart of Stone” is determined to launch a fresh franchise, hoping to appeal to a mass audience with plenty of mayhem and spy happenings, but the screenplay (by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder) isn’t inspired, never showing enough raw energy for this type of cinema, going video game instead. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many takes on the 1897 novel “Dracula,” with Bram Stoker’s tale of vampirism and letter-writing launching the imaginations of filmmakers for a century. What’s different about “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is the focus of the adaptation, with the screenplay (by Zak Olkewicz and Bragi Schut Jr.) not reviving the book as a whole, but merely concentrating on a single chapter. It’s a grand embellishment of Dracula’s trip to England, with the material trying to build nearly two hours of movie with the thinnest of inspirations. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (which was shot two years ago) certainly plays like a feature without much to do, pushing director Andre Ovredal to somehow create suspense out of a simple tale of survival, and one with a known conclusion. There’s early hope that the endeavor might somehow explain its very existence during the bloated run time, but Ovredal doesn’t have that kind of touch, sticking with a draggy Hammer Films tone that provides little suspense and zero frights. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Earlier this year, Nintendo caused pandemonium at the box office with the release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And now PlayStation gets their chance to test some brand loyalty at the multiplex. “Gran Turismo” is based on a racing simulator series that debuted in 1997, and it’s still going strong to this day. The dramatic challenge is clear, with screenwriters Jason Hall and Zach Baylin in charge of bringing a story to a game about speed and strategy, finding one in the real-life saga of Jann Mardenborough, who crossed the line between gamer and driver, joining the professionals on the track, trying to achieve an impossible dream. The production goes the “Rocky” route with “Gran Turismo,” which is big on formula and predictability, but also emerges as an entertaining and periodically thrilling feature, with director Neill Blomkamp selling the speed and danger of it all, which is far more inviting than the film’s dips into cliché. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2018’s “Puzzle,” director Marc Turtletaub worked to create a special atmosphere of humanity with a story that’s usually fodder for clichéd entertainment. The film explored the quirky world of competitive puzzling, and while the premise invited a shallow sense of personality, Turtletaub handled it carefully, making for a sensitive picture. “Jules” is about an alien visitation in a rural, older Pennsylvania town, and it’s another tale that seems like a launching point for silly business, or perhaps something along the lines of 1985’s “Cocoon.” Once again, Turtletaub generally avoids the obvious, with “Jules” a deeper examination of aging and loneliness, and it just so happens to have a little blue creature in it. Screenwriter Gavin Steckler pairs real characters with an extraordinary situation, emerging with a thoughtful understanding of needs, blended with some mild comedic beats that connect as intended, sold with terrific performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com