• Blu-ray Review – Rush Week

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    The worlds of "Animal House" and slasher cinema collide in 1989's "Rush Week," which hopes to throw a big screen party while still tending to the slaughter of young characters. Screenwriters Russell V. Manzatt and Michael W. Leighton aren't invested in originality, dealing with sameness of suspects and a killer on the loose, but they have enthusiasm for genre filmmaking, creating a collection of odd personalities and professional drives, while Bralver (a longtime stunt man who worked on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Road House," and "Battlestar Galactica") tries to make his feature-length directing debut something different, investing in as much style and physical activity as the limited budget allows. There's some genuine moviemaking hustle going on in "Rush Week," which isn't the norm for this type of entertainment, giving it a little extra emphasis while it manages horror formula. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Another Round

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    After trying his luck with a more spectacle-oriented tale of a submarine disaster with 2018's "The Command" (a.k.a. "Kursk"), director Thomas Vinterberg returns to his indie roots with "Another Round." The filmmaker goes bleak with a story concerning four men and their abuse of alcohol for therapeutic purposes, creating a screenplay (with Tobias Lindholm) that examines the state of emotional stasis facing some middle-aged men, who play an extended game of justification just to feel again. Vinterberg make a semi-return to his Dogme 95 roots with the endeavor, going raw and real with the feature, which touches on a few areas of dark comedy before returning to the messiness of people dealing with personal issues and troubled relationships. In a career full of interesting movies, "Another Round" emerges as one of Vinterberg's finest efforts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Honor Killing

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    "Honor Killing" is a triple threat offering from Mercedes the Muse, who takes on directing, acting, and screenwriting duties, endeavoring to pay tribute to the underground cinema scene of the 1960s and '70s. She dreams up a revenge story to follow, and works with digital tinkering to create a "grindhouse" look to the film, which is meant to resemble a battered print. There's ambition to celebrate the power of feminist might in cult cinema, but Mercedes the Muse has no discernable artistic ability, content to make viewers suffer through the longest 67 minutes of their lives as she cooks up a dreary, incoherent, and amateurish picture about one woman's quest to kill all predatory men. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Vivo

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    There’s been a lot of Lin-Manuel Miranda in recent years. He finally brought his beloved stage musical “Hamilton” to screens last year, and one of his earliest career triumphs, the Tony award-winning “In the Heights,” received a cinematic adaptation last June. He’s even participating in the making of “Encanto,” an upcoming release from Walt Disney Animation. He’s been a busy guy, but his musical instincts haven’t diminished, remaining in full force with “Vivo,” where he portrays the titular kinkajou and oversees the creation of the original soundtrack, which is sure to receive regular rotation in minivans everywhere. Director Kirk DeMicco (“The Croods”) feeds off Miranda’s bountiful energy with “Vivo,” launching a vibrant musical with memorable songs and colorful animation that’s fantastically entertaining at times, securing a Cuban-flavored vibe for family audiences in need of a little boost of excitement from an animated adventure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – John and the Hole

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    Pascual Sisto makes his directorial debut with “John and the Hole,” and he’s elected to try his luck with a disturbing story about imprisonment and exploration, mixing casual horrors with a darkly comedic approach. Sisto is playing in the same sandbox as noted provocateurs Yorgos Lanthimos and Michael Haneke, but he tries to bend the material his own way, working with a screenplay by Nicolas Giacobone, which is an adaptation of a short story. Such limited dramatic origins are evident throughout “John and the Hole,” which is filled with thousand-yard stares and character stand-offs, but Sisto finds a way to make the stillness of the movie work in his favor, erecting an eerie and somewhat understandable tale of extreme teenage rebellion that becomes something of a psychological and storytelling puzzle as it unfolds. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Annette

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    To describe the films of Leos Carax as an acquired taste doesn’t quite do justice to the type of surreal, free-flowing work the director typically offers. He’s been away from screens for quite some time, with “Annette” is first feature since 2012’s “Holy Motors,” and the helmer is ready to attempt something truly oddball with the endeavor. It’s an opera, with some rock rhythm to get it up on its feet at times, finding Carax teaming with the band Sparks (comprised of Ron and Russell Mael), who are currently enjoying quite a moment after the release of “The Sparks Brothers,” an Edgar Wright documentary about the group released in June. With such fondness for weirdness shared between Sparks and Carax, “Annette” seems like a major opportunity to blow minds with this merging of artful powers. Alas, appreciating the working parts of the movie and actually sitting through it are two different experiences, and while eccentricity helps the effort get through some stagnant sequences, this isn’t quite the soaring cinematic event it should’ve been. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Naked Singularity

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    “Naked Singularity” is an adaptation of a 2008 book by Sergio De La Pava, which observes the struggles of a public defender who’s nearing the end of his rope, stuck working a system that’s too big and broken to manage. As a legal drama, the material has promise, taking viewers on a tour of courtroom wranglings and lawyer interactions, painting a bleak portrait of justice in America. It’s the rest of “Naked Singularity” that’s more difficult to digest, as a crime movie soon takes command of the feature, offering different degrees of crooked behavior from all sorts of corrupt characters. Co-writer/director Chase Palmer’s job is to make an approachable endeavor out of different tonalities, collecting strange ideas from De La Pava’s novel. He doesn’t quite land a balanced picture, but it’s an engaging ride for most of the run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Rising Wolf

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    “Rising Wolf” has one thing in its favor: it’s a killer elevator movie. Okay, so not the good kind of killer elevator movie, where a supernatural force takes possession of a car, sending it on a deadly ride up and down a shaft, causing all kinds of problems for increasingly panicking riders inside. Co-writer/director Antaine Furlong doesn’t head in a horror director. Instead, he uses the elevator setting to launch a fantasy series, keeping things budget-minded and manageable for its first chapter, following the unfolding nightmare for a young woman forced to endure hard hits and deadly threats while stuck inside a car. The fun factor of “Rising Wolf” is shockingly limited, as Furlong is attempting to create a serious feature about serious peril, and he dreams big with the material, hoping to use this study of close-quarters survival as a way into franchise filmmaking, though he forgets to inspire interest in future chapters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Playing God

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    “Playing God” is being sold to the public as something of a comedy. That’s not writer/director Scott Brignac’s fault, but he hasn’t created something silly with the picture. While it initially positions itself as a story of con artists trying to sell a heavenly connection to an easy mark, the material goes much deeper than basic acts of deception. Brignac looks to examine the body-bending pain of grief and guilt, carefully studying character reactions to significant feelings of hopelessness. “Playing God” starts with a sense of humor, but it eventually gets quite heavy, finding the darkness of the tale a bit too much for Brignac to handle at times, and he forgets what type of movie he’s making. It’s uneven, but the endeavor deserves some credit for trying to work beyond escapism to address some agonizing realities of life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Suicide Squad

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    In 2016, there was “Suicide Squad,” with Warner Brothers trying to expand their interests in the DC Extended Universe by offering a sort of greatest hits package of fringe comic book characters. The feature was a gigantic success at the box office, but didn’t connect with the fanbase, emerging as something of a disappointment to everyone except studio accountants. Fearing a sequel might not be welcome at multiplexes, the keys to the franchise have been pulled from director David Ayer’s tight grip and tossed over to James Gunn, who made monetary magic with two “Guardians of the Galaxy” pictures for Marvel Entertainment. He also managed to charm a wide audience with the films, keeping up the kid-friendly PG-13 plans of the MCU. With “The Suicide Squad,” Gunn is permitted to return to his Troma Entertainment roots, offered and R-rating and carte blanche to transform the do-over into a “Guardians of the Galaxy”-style adventure, only with harsh language, splattery violence, and irritable anti-heroes. This isn’t the cuddly Gunn of recent years, but the “Super” Gunn, who wants to make a punk rock comic book extravaganza with a pronounced sneer, almost declaring war on his success with Disney with this surprisingly graphic endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Amazons

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    While 1985's "Barbarian Queen" was mostly an exercise to photograph topless women and stage swordfights, 1986's "Amazons" aims a little higher in the storytelling department. That's not to suggest producer Roger Corman is giving up his sexploitation ways, but the screenplay by Charles Saunders (adapting his own short story) tries to conjure a complex fantasy world to explore, laboring to become a "Lord of the Rings"-style epic on a meager Corman budget. "Amazons" is unexpectedly ambitious, but its imagination isn't always a participatory event, finding Saunders lost in own world- building while director Alejandro Sessa tries to make sense of it all, resulting in an intriguing but confusing odyssey into a sword-hunting, battle-ready Arthurian-tinged adventure that also makes time to watch actresses bathe. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Barbarian Queen

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    Producer Roger Corman was never one to turn down a trend. For 1985's "Barbarian Queen," the idea was to ride the profitability of hits like "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Sword and the Sorcerer," with Corman launching his own line of warrior epics, this time selecting a female lead to help change the atmosphere of the picture. Star Lana Clarkson makes for an impressive hero in the feature, using his statuesque presence to liven up "Barbarian Queen," which dreams of becoming a violent tale of revenge and rescue, but lacks the cash to do something hugely impressive, forcing director Hector Olivera to scramble with limited resources. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – The Big Bust-Out

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    "The Big Bust-Out" is a 1972 Italian production that found its way into the hands of Roger Corman. Sensing an opportunity to make a quick buck, Corman chopped over 20 minutes out of the movie and oversaw a marketing campaign that emphasized the film's displays of nudity, sexual assault, and action, attempting to lure exploitation fanatics into theaters. The idea was to add another "women in prison" picture to his growing roster of hits (joining titles such as "The Big Bird Cage" and "The Big Doll House") but Corman isn't working with homegrown material here. He's trying to transform "The Big Bust-Out" into a perfectly sleazy romp when the actual feature is more of a depressing viewing experience, highlighting all kinds of suffering and death, keeping things quite grim while the new edit gradually mangles the story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Minnesota Movie Ads – August 1990

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  • Blu-ray Review – Pinocchio

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    1883's "The Adventures of Pinocchio" is a beloved book from author Carlo Collodi, bringing a vivid tale of behavior and consequences to readers of all ages. It's also a public domain tale open to anyone with interest in adapting the work. Over the decades, numerous versions of the story have been manufactured for film, radio, television, and the stage, with no shortage of creative people looking to leave their fingerprints on Collodi's most famous creation. Perhaps sensing he has to come up with something memorable to compete in a crowded marketplace, co-writer/director Matteo Garrone ("Gomorrah") tries to respect the source material with his version of "Pinocchio," restoring Collodi's plotting and darkness while delivering a vivid study of animal kingdom activity. Those accustomed to the softness of previous takes might be overwhelmed by this picture, which is imaginatively made with amazing technical achievements, but not an endeavor that touches the heart. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Queer Japan

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    Director Graham Kolbeins finds an interesting subject matter for his documentary, "Queer Japan." He travels to the country to explore its burgeoning LGBTQ+ culture, getting past the image of a reserved, conservative Japan to detail the inner workings of what many hope is something of a revolution, offering an equal presence for all. Kolbeins captures the lives of those who crave the same ideal, exploring artists, politicians, and activists as they attempt to be seen in their own special ways. "Queer Japan" offers numerous interviews with a wide range of people, offering a heartfelt understanding of need and representation, with Kolbeins working to identify what makes these individuals and gatherings so special, offering exposure to subcultures previously concealed. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Nightbeast

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    1982's "Nightbeast" was intended to be writer/director Don Dohler's return to sci-fi/horror after achieving some success with 1978's "The Alien Factor." Production challenges were plentiful, but Dohler managed to squeeze out another E.T.-on-the-loose adventure, this time focusing on action and sexploitation to keep audiences interested. As with "The Alien Factor," the appeal of "Nightbeast" isn't found with filmmaking polish, but general low- budget craziness, finding Dohler in an angrier mood this time around, ready to make something R-rated and ridiculous, offering scoring duties to a teenage J.J. Abrams, who comes armed with a synthesizer and a handful of genre ideas. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The Last Mercenary

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    Jean-Claude Van Damme has made some very heavy films in recent years, using his naturally gruff screen presence to support dark tales of crime and revenge (“We Die Young,” “The Bouncer,” “Black Water”). While he’s skilled at playing dangerous men, it’s nice to see Van Damme break away from his usual gloom, with “The Last Mercenary” a pleasant reminder of his lighter side. The action hero leaves a good portion of the comedy to the rest of the cast, but he’s the big draw in the picture, portraying a former secret service agent trying to save the world while connecting with his lost son. Director David Charton comes to play with “The Last Mercenary,” keeping the French production in a constant state of wildness and wackiness, which offers a few big laughs as the production aims to please. And there’s Van Damme, who delivers one of his best performances in years in the movie, hitting hard when necessary, but also eager to get a little loose, which is highly amusing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Jungle Cruise

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    Disney struck gold with 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” which proved to the studio that audiences were willing to line up for features based on theme park attractions. And it ended up being the only brand name to attract an audience (sorry “Country Bears”), putting the company in a position to relentlessly merchandise and sequelize the film, ending up with five Jack Sparrow cinematic adventures. Interested in a fresh I.P. to transform into a major movie event, Disney turns to a classic ride with “Jungle Cruise,” which has been operating in Disneyland for 65 years. There’s not much to the experience, with guests enjoying the sights of a cartoony jungle and the sounds of their wisecracking skipper, but that’s not stopping the screenwriters (Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, and John Requa), who make a direct effort to revive the “Pirates of the Caribbean” atmosphere for “Jungle Cruise,” once again hitting the water with heroes, villains, and the cursed for a shockingly familiar viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Ride the Eagle

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    There have been a few movies made about the COVID-19 global pandemic and, really, who wants to sit through that story right now? “Ride the Eagle” isn’t about a health emergency, but it represents what filmmaking is like these days, with co-writers Trent O’Donnell (who also directs) and Jake Johnson (who stars in the picture) working with the bare minimum in actors and events to create a tale of human beings in isolation striving to make connections previously thought to be impossible. There are no grand dramatic stakes in “Ride the Eagle,” and the production sticks close to interiors for much of its run time, but the screenplay creates an intriguing intimacy with lonely characters, while the production makes an interesting choice to be as broad as cinematically possible while dealing with a few real emotional challenges of life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com