Category: Film Review

There’s been a lot of “Pinocchio” in recent years, with various live-action and animated productions trying various ways to capture the original magic of Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel. For Disney, the material represents the company’s second foray into feature-length animation, with a 1940 adaptation gradually becoming a classic to fans and film scholars, offering a brighter take on the source material, keeping up with the Disney way. To help advance their work on live-action remakes of animated endeavors, the company turns to Robert Zemeckis to help bring “Pinocchio” back to life, with the co-writer/director tasked with reviving the general mood of the 1940 picture while sprucing it up for modern audiences, mixing actors with CGI creations, also changing around some of the storytelling choices and adding musical numbers. It’s not a radically different version of an already altered take on Collodi’s work, with Zemeckis in an unusually subdued mood as he assembles a perfectly entertaining viewing experience, but nothing more. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1997, writer/director Neil LaBute made his debut with “In the Company of Men,” which studied the casual cruelty of male characters covering for their own self-esteem issues by declaring war on women. The picture created quite a stir when it was originally released, helping LaBute achieve a career that’s seen some fairly drastic differences in quality over the decades, though his obsession with heated interactions between genders has remained consistent. LaBute is back with “House of Darkness,” which also deals with growing hostilities between men and women, only this time LaBute is using genre moviemaking to help his cause, reworking a vampiric tale of gradual intimidation into an assessment of male behavior, especially when confronted by female power. Some blood flows in “House of Darkness,” but the helmer sticks with his usual presentation of conversations, which explore some fascinating areas of vulnerability, making this LaBute’s best endeavor in quite some time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2009’s “Miss March” was the last time Zach Cregger directed a feature film (sharing duties with Trevor Moore). It was one of the worst movies of the year, quickly forgotten by the public, which is likely why it’s taken him so long to make another picture. However, instead of returning to slapstick comedy, Cregger goes solo with “Barbarian,” which tries to make something happen in the world of horror. The writing has a little more on its mind than simple scares, trying to untangle the ways of predatory men and problematic choices, using the menace of subterranean terror to connect the dots on some type of gender commentary. Cregger has a stunning opening 45 minutes, offering a smooth communication of his ideas and wonderful suspense involving a disturbing situation of exploration. And then it all falls apart in a way that’s more shocking than the material’s eventual reveal of evil, with Cregger trying to be clever and surprising while he quickly loses command of his unsatisfying endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been killer house movies before, but “Margaux” hopes to update the formula with its presentation of a high-tech dwelling turning on those wishing to spend time inside of it. It’s “smart house” A.I. gone mad, with screenwriters Chris Beyrooty, Chris Sivertson, and Nick Waters cooking up ways to use fantasy technology in a slasher film premise, and, for the opening half of the feature, they manage to deliver some enjoyably wicked violence while gradually introducing the power of the home. “Margaux” gets lost trying to pursue some form of logic, afraid to simply be a picture about a residence that’s interested in destroying humans, but the endeavor gets off on the right foot, with director Steven C. Miller delivering blood and suspense, maintaining a decent pace for the B-movie, which always works the best when leaning into its wilder ideas for wonderful nonsense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

John Hughes brought something special to his movies. It’s a quality that’s inspired other filmmakers to replicate it, offering more sensitive tales of adolescents trying to make sense of the world they inhabit. 1985’s “The Breakfast Club” is arguably Hughes’s masterpiece, delivering rich characterizations and deep high school concerns to explore, sold with a sharp sense of humor and a wonderful handle on music from the era. It seems like such a simple recipe, but few have managed to do what Hughes did, especially with the same sterling technical credits and sense of empathy. “The Class” attempts to revive the Hughes experience as a homage to “The Breakfast Club,” though writer/director Nicholas Celozzi is basically lifting the story and character beats from the original picture. His heart is in the right place, looking to update the premise with a fresh round of aching kids and their communication issues, but “The Class” isn’t refined work, emerging as a feature about an acting class that often plays like an acting class. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Matt Eskandari is no stranger to VOD entertainment, previously helming such movies as “Hard Kill,” “Survive the Night,” and “Trauma Center.” He’s also no stranger to actor Bruce Willis, who appeared in the features, with the pair reteaming for “Wire Room,” sustaining their mutual career interest in generic thrillers largely contained to a few locations, shot in a limited amount of time. Willis doesn’t contribute much to the picture, and Eskandari isn’t putting in much of an effort either, going through the motions on a repetitive, dull thriller with a screenplay (credited to Brandon Stiefer) that contains no surprises, sharp dialogue, or interesting characterization. It’s just another forgettable Randall Emmett and George Furla production determined to simply be product, not an exciting presentation of escapism with concentration on highly cinematic twists and turns. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The workplace has changed over the last two years, therefore it’s time to update the workplace comedy. “Out of Office” is one of a few titles trying to make sense of the new employment rules, examining the screwball communication demands and strange relationships involved with the work-from-home approach, where connection is video conference-based, but the same old peculiarities and tensions remain. There’s potential for a farce, or perhaps a sharp updating of the Mike Judge classic, “Office Space,” but writer/director Paul Lieberstein doesn’t have that level of inspiration for the endeavor. He aims more for mild antics, bodily function humor, and extended improvisations, putting pressure on the ensemble to come up with silly stuff, which the talent isn’t always able to do. “Out of Office” will certainly be understood in a special way by those subjected to current business demands, but the potential of the concept isn’t met by Lieberstein, who doesn’t always know what he wants from the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Thrillers and chillers are everywhere these days. They’re cheap to produce and don’t require star power to attract an audience. And, in these pandemic times, they don’t demand the use of multiple locations, keeping suspense needs to a few select areas. To help break free from the competition, a movie needs a little extra something to be memorable, and “I Came By” offers a bit more edge than most genre offerings. It’s a slickly made endeavor with some notable actors around to handle the writing’s unusual characterization, but co-writer/director Babak Anvari isn’t afraid to bring a little nastiness to the picture, overseeing some genuine surprises to help disrupt formula. “I Came By” doesn’t offer an eye-opening viewing experience, but it does what it does rather well, keeping viewers unsettled as the evil depicted here is genuinely wicked, securing an elevated sense of ruthlessness that makes the feature quite compelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” began life as a short film from Adamma Ebo, with the writer/director taking 15 minutes of screen time to confront certain aspects of megachurch culture and leadership, playing with a mockumentary approach to examine character insecurities and misbegotten behavior. Ebo returns to the material with a feature-length take on the topic, presenting the helmer with a different creative challenge, now tasked to expand on her ideas and generate a larger world for the characters and their raging issues. Those expecting a riff on religious predators with a Christopher Guest-ish approach would be wise to alter expectations for “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” It’s an amusing endeavor with big personalities and strange con games, but Ebo doesn’t go broad enough with the movie, working to find a middle ground between laughs and pathos, which creates interesting moments of friction in a picture that feels a little too scattered at times to hit its intended target. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In “Me Time,” star Kevin Hart does what he usually does when carrying a comedy, offering all the panicked reactions and screaming he can muster. It’s his thing, recently on display in “The Man from Toronto,” and he shows no sign of rethinking his acting choice, always equating loudness with hilarity. Writer/director John Hamburg (“I Love You, Man,” “Why Him?”) finds ways to work with Hart’s agitated state, creating a character in the midst of parenthood, playing up the panic factor of a man trying to be the best for everyone in his life, neglecting his own needs. There’s nothing radical about the work, and it eventually loses its way, but “Me Time” has some behavioral clarity during the first half, touching on the stress of responsibility while playing everything broad for the widest possible audience. There are laughs to be found in the endeavor, just not enough of them, and no amount of Hart hysterics is capable of covering some painfully mediocre writing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A common complaint from movie fans is how theatrical trailers often give away too much of the films they’re promoting. It’s a common Hollywood marketing tactic, showing off the good stuff to help bring paying customers to theaters. In the case of “The Invitation,” Sony Entertainment elected to literally give the entire feature away with their preview, walking viewers through the whole plot and even the resolution of the endeavor, exposing all of its twists and macabre touches. Of course, one can’t blame the production for such a suspense-killing decision, and “The Invitation” is a tricky picture to explore without touching on some potentially spoilery material (if you haven’t seen the trailer, don’t read reviews). However, even with the effort’s tricks carefully hidden from view, such surprises don’t magically make it a better film, with writer Blair Butler and director Jessica M. Thompson (“The Light of the Moon”) stumbling through the chiller, which plays a fairly rickety game of misdirection before it becomes ridiculous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Where do superheroes go when they decide to retire from the pursuit of justice? That’s the premise of “Samaritan,” which offers Sylvester Stallone as an aging man of steel, working to live a quiet life on his own before an excitable teenager starts putting the clues to his true identity together. Writer Bragi F. Schut (“Season of the Witch,” “Escape Room”) doesn’t have a particularly unique take on the masked avenger genre, but he does bring a certain grit to the endeavor, generating a tale of redemption and guardianship that works well with Stallone’s older screen presence. “Samaritan” is boosted by crunchy action scenes and broad villainy, with director Julius Avery (“Overlord”) handling formula to the best of his ability, investing in harder edges and a sense of discovery with the feature, which connects as a short story-esque take on comic book relationships and acts of stained honor. And it knows when to end, which is a rare event with superhero cinema, hitting its dramatic beats and concluding. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

George Miller is an accomplished director with a strange filmography. He doesn’t work very often, taking time to craft his endeavors, and he always tries to generate something special when he finally gets around to making a movie. His last release, 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” was one of the most electrified offerings in his career. He went deep to create an often astonishing vision of environmental doom and dystopian war, triumphantly reviving the franchise that helped to introduce his creative interests to audiences. After dealing with the epic scale of “Fury Road,” Miller tries to make something slightly more intimate with “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” which examines the waves of myth and storytelling while striving to generate a powerful romance along the way. Miller provides arresting visuals and attention to editorial detail, but he can’t shake the coldness of the material (co-written by Miller and Augusta Gore), which doesn’t reach the level of profundity the production is aiming to achieve. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Shark movies are still being produced. The market certainly feels saturated, but perhaps audience interest in the killer instinct of deep water creatures remains high, with “Maneater” the latest offering in aquatic horror, pitting a collection of partygoers against the hungry might of a great white hunting warm waters for sport. There’s nothing new in the feature, which offers basic characterization to help define future victims, while shark activity is created with woeful CGI, putting writer/director Justin Lee (“Final Kill,” “Hunters,” “A Tale of Two Guns”) in a position to come up with some inventive ways to subvert expectations and deliver at least moderate suspense. He fails to do anything with the screenplay, which doesn’t supply a growing sense of danger, and he has trouble disguising the vacation vibe of the production, as Maui is basically the star of the endeavor, offering sun and fun for cast and crew as a tale of terror about a shark with a grudge is gradually forgotten. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Adopting Audrey” is based on a true story, and such a claim seems plausible during the viewing experience. Writer/director M. Cahill (who hasn’t been credited with anything since 2007’s “King of California”) aims to create a modest overview of people trying to work through their issues, keeping the feature as low to the ground as possible, reflecting the reserved nature of the characters. It’s a story about a woman searching for connection during a period of isolation, and while the title hints at something a bit more playful, “Adopting Audrey” is more of a meditative exploration of relationships, especially between children and parents. Cahill extracts nuanced performances out of his talented cast, and the ensemble remains the primary reason to stay with the endeavor, which isn’t quite as wise or touching as the helmer believes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s interesting to see how the blockbuster success of 1975’s “Jaws” remains in play to this day, with producers occasionally returning to the people vs. nature formula to give audiences a wild ride of killer creature formula. In recent years, sharks have been used as the demons of the deep, offering aquatic adventures with ferocious antagonists. For “Beast,” a lion returns to power as the focus of horror, with screenwriter Ryan Engle (“Rampage,” “Breaking In”) cooking up a struggle for survival in the heat of South Africa, pitting a father of two against a predator who’s not in the mood for mercy. “Beast” is simple in many ways, and Engle hopes to secure some level of emotional engagement to help power up audience involvement. However, as these movies tend to go, the sheer force of a lion tearing after prey is what carries the viewing experience, and director Baltasar Kormakur (“2 Guns,” “Everest”) respects the hunt, delivering a fast-paced thriller with occasional bursts of violence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The math on “Orphan: First Kill” is a little odd. The original feature was released in 2009, with star Isabelle Fuhrman a child actress hired to play a nine-year-old girl with a taste for murder who was actually a 33-year-old proportional dwarf. Now there’s a prequel, with Fuhrman a 25-year-old woman tasked with playing a vicious nine-year-old again 13 years later. Other productions would’ve recast the role, but the producers are determined to work with the star again, cooking up a prequel which tests the limits of digital de-aging, returning tiny threat Esther to power in a picture that weirdly took an eternity to become a reality. Patience is rewarded, to a certain degree, by “First Kill,” which has a better handle on the absolutely ridiculous premise of “Orphan,” striving to come up with its own level of absurdity to top what’s come before, wisely dialing down some of the distasteful aspects of the 2009 endeavor to nail a more enjoyable B-movie ride. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writers Alison Brie and Jeff Baena previously collaborated on 2020’s “Horse Girl.” They share a fondness for bizarre material and deep character work, playing with tonality and comedy as they visit some shadowy psychological spaces. The duo returns with “Spin Me Round,” which has the initial vibe of an upbeat workplace farce, but Baena (who directs) and Brie (who stars) aren’t committed to a straightforward tale of everyday pressures and absurdities, committed to strangeness that’s slowly massaged into the material. Much like “Horse Girl,” “Spin Me Round” has moments of greatness, but the work eventually runs out of inspiration, getting grabby with silliness and sinister business in the second half, which doesn’t line up with the breezy peculiarities of the first half. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The fate of the universe is decided inside a rest stop men’s room in “Glorious,” which is the latest offering in COVID-19 production limitations, pitting man versus an unseen entity positioned on the other end of a glory hole. Writers Joshua Hull, David Ian McKendry, and Todd Rigney have the difficult task of making something mysterious and threatening while stuck inside of a bathroom for most of the run time, and they manage to get somewhere with the strange premise. “Glorious” favors lead performances from Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons, who deliver intensity that helps to build suspense primarily through conversations, but director Rebekah McKendry has the challenge of making a single location feel like the middle of a cosmic battleground, shaping a successful sense of mystery to the picture. There’s not a lot to the feature, which occasionally struggles to dream up challenges for the characters, but grotesqueness remains, along with an intriguing puzzle of motivation, keeping this small production engrossing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Immaculate Room” presents the experience of two characters who’ve chosen to remain in isolation for 50 days, without access to the world outside, simply stuck with each other in a bare space, left with only themselves to deal with. It’s a take on a social experiment, offered some cinematic extremity by writer/director Mukunda Michael Dewil, who sets out to make a mess of the arrangement, toying with psychological breaks and challenges, working to transform the endeavor into a thriller of sorts. The human condition isn’t thoroughly analyzed in the feature, but Dewil has some compelling ideas to share on the strain of such stressful cohabitation, offering a study of slow mental breakdowns, wild mood swings, and bitter relationship inspection that comes to haunt the players during this lengthy, punishing game of endurance. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com