• Film Review – Dirty Grandpa

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    Midway through “Dirty Grandpa,” there’s a scene that features Jason (Zac Efron) emerging from unconsciousness on a Florida beach after an evening of smoking crack, answering a Face Time call from his high-strung Jewish fiancée Meredith (Julianne Hough), who’s introducing the rabbi hired to oversee their wedding. In his daze, Jason doesn’t realize he has a swastika inked on his forehead. The character is also trapped without clothes, with only a stuffed bee toy strapped to his groin. A little boy, playing on the beach, spots the bee and immediately begins tugging on it, much to Jason’s horror. The ensuing physical confrontation creates the image of the child performing oral sex on Jason from afar, inciting anger from the boy’s inattentive father. That’s “Dirty Grandpa.” If you choose to see it, it’s your own damn fault. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Exposed

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    Declan Dale is the credited director of “Exposed,” but the name is a pseudonym for Gee Malik Linton, who walked away from the film after executives drastically recut the movie. Even without this information, it’s clear something is awry with “Exposed,” which is all over the map in terms of story and character, stumbling around while on the hunt for a grander meaning that never arrives. It’s a baffling feature, especially in its current confused state, providing little reward for those electing to piece together what appears to have been an eerie exploration of sexual abuse and police corruption at one point during its troubled production history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – The 5th Wave

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    “The 5th Wave” is Sony’s latest attempt to play the Young Adult adaptation lottery, recently striking out with 2013’s “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” Chasing “Hunger Games” money (though I’m sure they’d settle for “Divergent” grosses at this point), the studio selects a strange book to bring to the screen, with author Rick Yancey’s coming-of-age saga set against the backdrop of an alien invasion a troublesome tale to manage on the big screen. Unfocused and dull, “The 5th Wave” doesn’t offer much of a punch, sticking close to YA formula that emphasizes teen heartache over a global battle for survival. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Son of Saul

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    Most World War II Holocaust films tend to remain at a respectful distance, permitting the audience to understand the atrocities in play without a full submersion into horror. “Son of Saul” is a Hungarian picture that does away with boundaries, dragging the viewer along as a specific point of view is explored, with graphic details evident, but just out of focus to represent a true perspective with a character living inside the nightmare. Exploring a fractured sense of honor in the face of extinction, “Son of Saul” is brilliantly executed and chillingly evocative, creating a screen space that, while suffocating, also provides a window to pure behavior, with co-writer/director Laszlo Nemes locating a fresh chapter of the Holocaust to inspect. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – 45 Years

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    Subtle and haunting, “45 Years” is often an extraordinary dissection of a marital union that’s carried on for decades, where routine has replaced intimacy. It’s not an angry offering from writer/director Andrew Haigh (“Weekend”), remaining insightful while exposing rising discord in a once seemingly happy home. Stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are exquisite in their respective roles, capturing behavior authenticity with care, making the characters feel lived-in. However, the true star of “45 Years” is time itself, with the screenplay carefully shifting perspective and reflection to become an emotional thriller of sorts, studying the sudden disruption of complacency. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Martyrs

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    It’s difficult to tell if there’s still an audience for a movie like “Martyrs” in 2016. The product of a bygone era in horror filmmaking, the feature is soaked in pain and agony, spending most of its run time in state of panic. Now that we’re past the “Saw” era, it feels little strange to be pulled back into a suffering machine such as “Martyrs,” which isn’t scary or intimidating, it’s just persistent. Working to find a sense of profundity in the midst of ugliness, directors Kevin and Michael Goetz (“Scenic Route”) try to make an artful, intense picture, but they come up short, battling a one-dimensional premise that’s entirely constructed out of feeble attempts at shock value. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Mojave

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    William Monahan is perhaps best known as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “The Departed,” also credited on “The Gambler,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” and “Edge of Darkness.” “Mojave” is his second directorial effort, coming after the effective “London Boulevard.” Monahan has a taste for violence and threatening behaviors, indulging himself with his latest work, which pits two broken men against each other in a game of intimidation. “Mojave” isn’t a sophisticated foray into the heart of darkness, but it’s a loquacious one, asking viewers to endure rambling monologues and permissive performances, with Monahan gradually revealing style and suspense, but no real direction for this strange chiller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Jeruzalem

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    “Jeruzalem” attempts to sustain interest in the fading found footage subgenre, taking its characters to an unusual location to help mix things up for audiences tired of the same frights and surroundings. A blend of “Cloverfield” and “World War Z,” “Jeruzalem” has the right intentions, but its execution leaves much to be desired, taking an eternity to arrive at any type of suspense, only to define the end of the world in the vaguest possible ways. Ideas are more interesting than actual screen events, with writer/directors Doron and Yoav Paz struggling to make their limited budget come alive with material that isn’t inspired. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Synchronicity

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    Time travel pictures used to be wild creations that had fun with visions of the far future and the distant past. Independent moviemaking tastes erased all that, with 2004’s “Primer” changing the game, inspiring productions to take the details of time travel with the utmost seriousness, working overtime to decode the science of fiction. “Synchronicity” is the latest installment of furrowed-brow filmmaking, with writer/director Jacob Gentry (“The Signal”) trying to warm up the subgenre with passion, mixing the needs of the heart with tears in time. “Synchronicity” is a laudable attempt at mood and emotionality, but its ways with repetition and performance test patience, reducing the potency of its mysteries. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Monster Hunt

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    While it’s just beginning to play in American theaters, “Monster Hunt” has already proven its box office muscle overseas, currently standing as the highest grossing film in China. That’s no small feat, and it’s easy to see why the picture has become a phenomenon in its homeland, boasting furious action, cute creatures, and a comfortable balance of dark humor and slapstick. It’s a weird feature, slightly unhinged at times, but director Raman Hui keeps a firm grip on screen adventure and broad antics. “Monster Hunt” is an acquired taste, but those able to dial into its special frequency of fantasy and pandemonium are rewarded with a breezy, amusing extravaganza. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues

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    1955's "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" makes a ballsy move in its opening scene, revealing the underwater creature that goes on to cause all kinds of trouble for a California beach community. It's a stuntman inside a cheap rubber suit, haphazardly bumping into objects underwater, but the reveal also serves as a declaration from director Dan Milner that he can top it with additional horrors. Sadly, the production never reaches beyond fleeting shots of a crummy monster, but what's more disappointing about "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" is that it doesn't even try to give the audience a proper B-movie thrill ride. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – The Fourth War

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    Adapted from a novel by Stephen Peters (who co-scripts with Kenneth Ross), 1990's "The Fourth War" asks a provocative question: what do Cold War commanders do when their era is over and their service is no longer required? Directed by John Frankenheimer, "The Fourth War" works to build a thriller on faded memories, exploring a rusting war machine that's threatening to make American Col. Jack Knowles (Roy Scheider) and Russian Col. Valachex (Jurgen Prochnow) obsolete. A fantastic premise is handled unevenly by the production, which never decides if the central conflict is a source of suspense or dark comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Blue City

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    1986's "Blue City" was part of a career strategy to mature leads Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy, who were working their way through teen cinema, hitting an apex with 1985's "The Breakfast Club." Of course, it's not easy to suddenly go from high school hallways to twentysomething agitations, making the evolution bumpy in "Blue City," which also has the unfortunate reality of being an incomplete, dismally performed film. Judd and Sheedy are only a small part of the feature's woes, but their miscasting doesn't help director Michelle Manning, who doesn't quite know how to piece together this adaptation of a 1949 Ross Macdonald book, trying to tart up the endeavor with shoot-outs, sex, and wiseacre behavior. Her efforts fail to congeal, leaving the picture disjointed and ridiculous, best appreciated as a makeover movie for two stars who weren't ready to graduate. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.

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    After branding their first superhero with "The Toxic Avenger," Troma Entertainment goes in for a second helping with "Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.", with co-writer/directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz returning to a broadly comic realm of monstrous mutations and personal foibles as they head eastward to find a creation worthy of the studio name. Craziness ensues, as does tastelessness and directorial incompetence, but the scrappy, can-do spirit shared by the helmers doesn't salvage what turns out to be an overlong endeavor that takes a passably insane idea and ruins it with excess. Even by Troma standards, "Sgt. Kabukiman" feels like a first pass that was pushed into release, in need of reshaping and timing to make the premise work. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – The Bed Sitting Room

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    1969's "The Bed Sitting Room" is perhaps the most British film I've ever seen. It emerges from the minds of Spike Mulligan and John Antrobus, who bring their oddball play concerning the fate of England after a nuclear attack to the screen, with direction handled by celebrated mischief-maker Richard Lester. It's impenetrable work, often caught in a weird cycle of repetition as it works through misadventures episodically, but for admirers of Mulligan's famed sense of humor, "The Bed Sitting Room" collects an impressive roster of actors to bring such persistent peculiarity to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Blu-ray Review – The Siege of Firebase Gloria

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    After 1986's "Platoon" cleaned up at the box office and claimed Oscar gold, the global film industry looked for ways to replicate the success with additional tales from the Vietnam War. Perhaps the most obscure of the bunch is 1989's "The Siege of Firebase Gloria," a particularly irritable offering of combat shock from director Brian Trenchard-Smith, the prolific author of numerous B-movies. Perhaps a more refined helming touch was in order, but Trenchard-Smith grasps the essentials of wartime behavior and duality with obvious passion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Ride Along 2

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    Little was expected of 2014’s “Ride Along,” which paired comedian Kevin Hart with Ice Cube, but audiences responded to the mixture of screaming and glaring. The feature turned into a significant hit for the studio during a softer box officer period, leaving a sequel unavoidable. Cooking up a continuation in a hurry, the stars are back in charge for “Ride Along 2,” which understandably doesn’t deviate from the formula that made the original movie a smash. However, while there’s nothing new here, the old stuff feels half-baked, finding the production struggling to come up with comedic scenarios and action scenes to fill 100 minutes. It’s the Cube and Hart show once again, but “Ride Along 2” plays even sleepier than its predecessor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – 13 Hours

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    The last time director Michael Bay lunged for legitimacy, he unleashed 2001’s “Pearl Harbor” on the world, laboring to locate the fine line between respect for history and profitable extravaganza. He’s after a different type of disaster story with “13 Hours,” which dramatizes the 2012 Benghazi diplomatic compound attack, pitting military contractors against Libyan militia. Bay’s not known for his light touch, and the opportunity to pound audiences with his traditional pyrotechnic display proves to be too great a temptation for an event that’s loaded with complexity and various participants. “13 Hours” doesn’t deliver a maturing Bay, just one taking a temporary break from the “Transformers” universe, embarking on a 2 1/2 hour celebration of American bravery and explosions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

  • Film Review – Intruders

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    While deliberately paced, “Intruders” is a movie worth the time invested. It’s the directorial debut for Adam Schindler, who makes a strong impression with this unsettling chiller, which is scripted by T.J. Cimfel and David White. Although it seems easy to predict the events of the film from the opening ten minutes, the effort does a fantastic job with misdirection and surprise, keeping the viewing experience flavorful as the plot negotiates a few twists and turns. “Intruders” isn’t explosive, but as slow-burn pictures go, it retains an encouraging amount of menace as it goes about the business of making bad people suffer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com