Category: Film Review

Nicolas Cage is no stranger to playing vampiric characters, delivering one of his kookiest performances in 1988’s “Vampire’s Kiss.” However, for “Renfield,” Cage is tasked with bringing Count Dracula to life, not just an average lunatic, and the notoriously extreme actor takes the professional challenge seriously. Cage is most of the fun of the feature, putting in the work to create a nightmarish interpretation of the original creature of the night, but the film is more of a graphic novel-style experience than Bram Stoker-minded. Director Chris McKay has some experience in the world of cartoonish entertainment, previously helming “The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Tomorrow War,” and he gives “Renfield” a defined sense of silliness and acrobatic violence, going for a semi-lighter take on all the death that surrounds Dracula. There are elements to the effort that don’t connect as intended, but McKay and screenwriter Ryan Ridley try to merge action cinema with an absolute bloodbath, delivering a highly bizarre and periodically electric endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A lot of strange creative choices went into the making of “Mafia Mamma,” which attempts to offer viewers some big laughs and acts of shock value, trying to turn underworld life into a sandbox for star Toni Collette. She’s in Goldie Hawn mode here, asked to carry a story of a personal awakening that also touches on criminal management and broad romantic activity. Collette is more than capable of playing daffy, but her choice of material is underwhelming, with screenwriters J. Michael Feldman and Debbie Jhoon unable to master a balance of light and dark “Mafia Mamma” requires. The picture is all over the place, but it’s never funny, which appears to be the primary goal of the endeavor. Instead of laughs, the effort grows tiresome, which only inspires director Catherine Hardwicke to hit harder when it comes to wacky misadventures in organized crime. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Mummies” is a Spanish animated production that’s hoping to use Disney formula as it explores a world of strange magic and restless characters. Screenwriters Jordi Gasull and Javier Lopez Barreira don’t offer an original take on the needs of a princess and the concern of a future prince, trusting in the familiarity of it all as cartoon shenanigans carry the endeavor. Perhaps younger audiences won’t mind the formula, and there’s something potentially compelling about the concept of mummies on the loose, but the feature isn’t pushing too hard when it comes to excitement, making it hard for those who’ve seen this kind of story before to sit through it again. “Mummies” plays it safe, dealing with slapstick comedy, broad villainy, and the torment of easily solvable problems, and director Juan Jesus Garcia Galocha doesn’t challenge any of it, electing to coast on bright animation and occasional silliness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Christian entertainment receives a necessary jolt of suspense with “On a Wing and a Prayer,” which dramatizes the experience of Doug White, an aspiring pilot caught in a desperate situation when he’s forced to take the controls of a plane after the official pilot dies in mid-air. The picture is based on a true story, and it’s one that just so happens to be structured like a Hollywood disaster movie, with screenwriter Brian Egeston tasked with juggling multiple perspectives as a team of professionals try to help Doug land his plane safely, and if he can’t do that, land in the ocean. “On a Wing and a Prayer” is suspenseful and sharply paced, with director Sean McNamara (“Cats and Dogs 3: Paws Unite,” “Bratz”) wisely sticking to the essentials of panic, making a mostly lean, procedural endeavor with occasional questioning of God’s way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a creature of folklore, the Chupacabra is a mysterious beast, meant to inspire fear with its history as a vampiric animal looking to suck blood out of its victims. Director Jonas Cuaron (“Desierto”) tries to rehabilitate the reputation of the Chupacabra with “Chupa,” which seeks to create an “E.T.”-like connection between a boy and a furry baby he learns to befriend, making for a spirited family film adventure. Cuaron endeavors to make something approachable for all ages with the picture, which doesn’t wow with its emotional magic, but gets far enough on charm, elements of Mexican culture, and the innate warmth of a story that involves kids trying to protect a cute critter from harm. “Chupa” is a pleasant feature, with Cuaron offering an easygoing journey of family and honor, buttering up the viewing experience with some nostalgic looks at the way the world once was. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world of Nintendo’s Mario character has grown exponentially since its debut in the early 1980s. The little Italian man and his mighty jump has developed into a media behemoth, with the “Super Mario” video game series transforming the brand name into an event, leaping out of console play to become a fan obsession in T.V., books, theme park additions, and, of course, the movies. One of the early stabs at a game adaptation was 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” To a few, the endeavor was a daring reimagining of the character’s adventures in unreality. To most, the feature was a cringe-inducing bastardization of the source material. Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” seeks to take back the big screen, with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (“Teen Titans Go! To the Movies”) putting in a major effort to respect the Mario universe, delivering a bright, colorful, and swiftly paced odyssey for the Brooklyn plumber that’s packed with references and reverence, absolutely determined to satisfy loyal button-mashers who’ve been let down before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bob Ross was a painter who hosted his own PBS show, “The Joy of Painting,” which aired for 11 years. He’s the “happy trees” guy, with his bushy hair and unnervingly peaceful on-air demeanor reaching a small but appreciative audience of art enthusiasts and students. Today, Ross is big business, with Bob Ross Inc. protective of his image, but happy to turn the man into a merchandise machine, keeping his spirit and moneymaking potential alive decades after his death. There’s no way the company is going to allow Hollywood to make a Bob Ross movie, leaving writer/director Brit McAdams to invent Carl Nargle, a bushy-haired, unnervingly peaceful character going through major emotional upheaval in “Paint,” which plays with Ross’s world of creativity while generating its own study of a man dedicated to his ego, failing to noticed the changing times. “Paint” does its own thing with the not-really-Bob-Ross experience, and McAdams mostly lands a mellow, periodically amusing character study with this subject, doing his best to avoid a thin parody of a public television legend. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making his way through the film business, actor Scott Caan appeared in many movies, trying his best to establish himself as a big screen presence. It didn’t quite take, but Caan made a wise career decision when he agreed to star in a remake of the television show “Hawaii Five-0,” spending an astonishing ten years with the program, maintaining steady employment as a network player, likely amassing a fortune in the process. Instead of jumping back into T.V., Caan tries his luck again in the movies, creating the screenplay for “One Day as a Lion,” giving himself the lead role in a tale of mistakes and misunderstandings. The endeavor teases a darkly comedic side with aggressive characters and their bristly interactions, but Caan mostly keeps everything simple and slow, putting his faith in mild tensions to carry the effort. Unfortunately, he needs something more than basic antagonisms to make this tale come to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Richard Connell’s 1924 short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” has inspired many adaptations over multiple forms of media, with storytellers routinely drawn to the central idea of hunters going after human prey for sheer thrills. The premise has been done to death, recently too (including a 2022 adaptation starring Casper Van Dien in the villain role), giving writers David Lipper and John Saunders a challenge to bring something different to the screen. This slight deviation from the usual barbarity comes in the form of a semi-feminist take, with “Hunt Club” turning to the ills of modern society to cook up a battle between the sexes. Perhaps there’s potential in such a war, but “Hunt Club” doesn’t take the assignment seriously, electing to skip on sustained action and suspense to meander with humdrum characters and unadventurous direction from Elizabeth Blake-Thomas, who seems reluctant to turn the endeavor into the mean machine it could easily become. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Author Taylor Jenkin Reid looks to bring her novel, “One True Loves,” to the big screen, sharing screenplay duties with Alex J. Reid. The pair have the challenge of transforming a literary experience into a film, and one that deals with tender feelings concerning separation and loss, with Reid using pages to examine the inner lives of characters stuck in a confusing situation of loyalty. There’s a love triangle of sorts to confront, featuring wounded people at their most vulnerable, requiring a moviemaker capable of selling the tender feelings with some level of emotional authenticity while also tending to the soap opera-ish ways the plot. Enter Andy Fickman, who’s not known for subtlety, with the “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” helmer in charge of making something gentle for the masses. He fumbles the assignment, turning “One True Loves” into a mediocre television production, unsure how to handle performances and tone as the endeavor grows increasingly insincere. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2019’s “Murder Mystery” used some star power to attract a streaming audience, with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston joining forces to have some fun with screenwriter James Vanderbilt’s (“Independence Day: Resurgence,” “White House Down”) take on wacky whodunit happenings involving a puzzle of suspicion and a large cast of characters. The feature was fluff, but managed to survive some lame creative ideas due to Sandler and Aniston’s energy and the production’s general interest in speed as the tale maneuvered around exotic locations. The Adam Sandler Vacation Universe adds another chapter in “Murder Mystery 2,” with the stars reteaming for tropical and Parisian hellraising, with Vanderbilt returning to bring even more chaos into the lives of these characters. “Murder Mystery 2” isn’t really much of a mystery, with the production interested in action events, with more stunt work, less sleuthing this time around. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Based on a true story” is the opening claim of “Tetris,” with the “based” part perhaps the key word here. Screenwriter Noah Pink attempts to turn the creation of the video game “Tetris” into a nail-biting study of negotiations and global tensions, hoping to inhale some Aaron Sorkin fumes to deliver a riveting understanding of how the puzzle game was turned into an international sensation, compelling millions of players to remain intently focused on the movement of bricks as they fall into place. Pink endeavors to make something of a spy story with “Tetris,” aiming to crank up elements of paranoia and manipulation, while director Jon S. Baird (“Stan & Ollie”) gives the feature an initial jump of wheeling and dealing, pushing to make the story of a video game acquisition the most suspenseful effort of the year. Instead of supplying edge-of-your-seat entertainment, the picture falls into repetition and overlength, teasing the breakout of an “SNL” parody as Pink goes overboard with the seriousness of it all. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Casablanca Records was founded in 1973, dealing with the severe ups and downs of the music industry during a time of transition. The label strived to present an eclectic roster of artists, each with a powerful voice and/or image, emerging from heavy financial losses to score big on the disco scene, guaranteeing the company a short life in terms of pop culture relevance. “Spinning Gold” is being marketed as the story of Casablanca Records, but it’s more of a valentine to the man who helped to start it all, Neil Bogart, with his son, Timothy Scott Bogart, claiming writing and directing duties for the endeavor, trying to celebrate his father’s wild ride of fame and, eventually, fortune. Those coming to “Spinning Gold” expecting a gritty look at the birth of a brand are going to be disappointed in the picture, which mostly presents a glossy, low-budget understanding of financial pain and emotional trials, aiming to push Neil as a legend in the music business. And perhaps that’s justified, but the film about part of his life is deeply underwhelming and, at times, bafflingly executed. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The idea for “Air” is to explore the story of how Nike’s Air Jordan line of shoes came to be, before the footwear became a behemoth brand for the company, going billion-dollar big with merchandise sales every year. The aftermath of the deal is common knowledge, but screenwriter Alex Convery attempts to track the development of such a partnership, placing emphasis not on the world-famous athlete, but the corporate team trying to do something radical with a sagging company. Director Ben Affleck finds unique inspiration to explore this study of determination, rebounding from his last helming effort, 2016’s dismal “Live by Night,” with impressively buoyant work for “Air,” which is soaked in ‘80s nostalgia and supported by excellent performances that communicate the struggle and the vulnerability that occurred to secure a special agreement that changed the shoe world and sports business forever. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While different filmmakers tackle different subjects for their pictures, writer/director Quentin Dupieux has maintained a steady interest in creating absurdist comedies, doing so with remarkable consistency (curiously, his last endeavor, “Incredible but True,” was not made available for review). He’s a man in love with oddity, giving the French film industry a healthy dose of nonsense, creating some impressive and hilarious offerings of insanity. For “Smoking Causes Coughing,” Dupieux looks to merge the adventuring of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” with the horror of “Tales from the Crypt,” doing so with a tiny budget but a grand imagination for silly business that comments, to a certain degree, on the human condition. “Smoking Causes Coughing” is broken down into bits of lunacy, presented as an anthology film where tales of horror and personal reflection emerge from anywhere. It’s traditional Dupieux, but the feature is hilarious at times, reinforcing his skills as a moviemaker. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Assassin” is a forgettable picture, but it does offer something that will likely keep it memorable for some viewers. The feature represents likely the last screen performance from iconic actor Bruce Willis, who’s currently battling frontotemporal dementia, forcing him to pull out of the public eye and deal with his health challenges. There’s certainly been no shortage of Willis movies over the last decade, with the star on a tear to collect paychecks in mostly terrible endeavors, allowing viewers to track his physical decline with increasingly stiff screen movement. There’s a book to be written about the situation involving Willis and his handlers, but “Assassin” represents the end of this era, with the actor once again looking unwell in a body-switching thriller that’s light on filmmaking invention and heavy with dullness, with the central idea better suited for an episode of television. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While building a directorial career with television projects, actress Kyra Segdwick graduates to the big screen with “Space Oddity,” taking command of a screenplay by Rebecca Banner (“True Spirit”). Sedgwick plays to her strengths with the project, which examines the emotional health of a family that’s been hit by tragedy, with the eldest son going to a special extreme to handle his various psychological issues. Banner creates an interesting household dynamic and she’s even better with specific points of pressure on the human heart, giving Sedgwick something to work with as the helmer oversees an excellent cast who do well with the tricky tonality of the material. “Space Oddity” isn’t an overly cinematic viewing experience, but it has deep feeling for its characters and an unusual approach to the trials of grief, going in compelling directions as the whole thing works hard to avoid becoming a melodrama. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The role-playing game “Dungeons & Dragons” has been around for nearly 50 years, and Hollywood has certainly tried to capitalize on the popularity of the brand name over the decades. Perhaps the most notable was a charming, violent Saturday morning cartoon that began a two-year run in 1983, and the most notorious offering was a 2000 feature, which merged mid-budget extravaganza with the comedy stylings of Marlon Wayans. Hoping to reestablish a new cinematic realm for the tabletop experience is “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” with co-writers/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein aiming to bring a more respectful adaptation to the screen while still playing in a big-budget sandbox that requires some level of accessibility for the mass audience. “Honor Among Thieves” is at its best in adventure mode, with the helmers delivering visual gymnastics and plenty of fantasy components, but the pair often favor their funny bone, which isn’t nearly as enjoyable as wild encounters with strange creatures and perilous environments. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Lost King” hopes to illuminate an otherwise forgotten bit of recent British history, sharing the story of Philippa Langley and her quest to locate the remains of Richard III, endeavoring to dig through rumor and research to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. It’s a fascinating tale of obsession, handed a smooth dramatic ride by screenwriters Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan (adapting Langley’s book, “The Search for Richard III”), who strive to focus on the woman’s journey through the darkness of doubt and rejection, forced to rely on belief to achieve desired results. Director Stephen Frears (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “Philomena”) helps to keep the feature on the move, settling on a semi-Hitchcockian tone for the picture, which is both unexpected and most welcome. “The Lost King” has ideas to share on inequality and historical inaccuracy, and the writing successfully balances the human drive of the story with the details of the hunt. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If the story of the “Last Sentinel” was the basis for an episode of television, it could work, dealing with a short run time and more focus on achieving a certain level of suspense with fewer dramatic moves. However, this is not T.V., but a movie from writer Malachi Smyth and director Tanel Toom, and they’re not in a hurry to generate any sort of nail-biting viewing experience with an endeavor that inexplicably runs for nearly two hours. The material has some ambition to detail the habitual cycles of destruction found in humanity, and there’s some interest in replicating a chain-of-command thriller, where duty and survival are forced to battle it out. “Last Sentinel” is a confusing picture, showing no interest in screen movement despite taking on a plot that has the potential for a more active sense of danger, leaving the audience with very little to rile up the senses as one comatose scene after another fills up a painfully overlong run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com