When there’s no creativity to be found, shock value always rears its
ugly head. “InAPPropriate Comedy” is the latest picture to mistake
crudeness for cunning, trying to nab attention through bad behavior and
wretched use of comedy’s current crutch: interminable improvisation.
It’s racist, gross, and vulgar, and for all the time the production put
into constructing this movie (though that could be debated), there’s not
a single laugh to be found. “InAPPropriate Comedy” strains to be
outrageous, but it’s a corpse from the get-go, making the ensuing 75
minutes of screen time an extreme chore to sit through. The feature
doesn’t offend, it just bores. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After their stab at epic storytelling with last holiday's "Rise of the
Guardians," Dreamworks Animation reduces the heat on the big movie
sweepstakes with "The Croods," a production that's willing to be silly
and sincere, employing a cartoon ambiance of pinballing people and
exaggerated body language to produce a considerable amount of laughs,
while also tending to the demands of heart that squeezes every family
film offering released these days. Toppling cliche to make a deep
impression as a fulfilling offering of entertainment, "The Croods" is
superbly constructed, dazzlingly animated, and genuinely hilarious, with
a spirited mood of adventure and a pleasing read of maturation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Olympus Has Fallen" is one of the dumbest films I have ever seen. And I've watched all of Tyler Perry's movies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I'm willing to give writer/director Harmony Korine the special
consideration he requires when he makes a movie. He's an impish artist,
prone to deep free dives into excess while treating stupidity as sport.
He's created interesting pictures during his career, including "Gummo"
and "Julien Donkey-Boy," though even his best work has a way of feeling
like an endless night spent inside an art-school drunk tank, surround by
oddities as nausea sets in early. His latest is "Spring Breakers,"
currently sucking up blog buzz for the provocative way it parades around
former Disney Channel stars in various stages of undress and
intoxication. I wish there was more to the viewing experience than
gyrating flesh and deep inhales, but Korine is trapped in a shtick coma,
attempting to collect random images, poorly-defined fears, and swinging
bare breasts and form it all into cinematic poetry. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps we were spoiled with “30 Rock,” Tina Fey’s whip-smart,
heroically silly network comedy show that recently ended its run on NBC.
Graced with ace timing, a remarkably pliable cast, and a commitment to
playfulness, the show was a free spirit that never grew old. “Admission”
is Fey’s introduction to the world of Serious! acting, and while she’s
capable of expanding her craft, this movie doesn’t challenge the actress
in a manner that’s expected. Contrived and eventually gutless,
“Admission” is boosted by a few meaningful moments and a sharp ensemble
who always seem to be aware they’re being handcuffed by a disappointing
screenplay. It’s certainly a pleasant picture, but far from the
knuckleball wit and goofball wonder Fey is typically associated with. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Waiting Room” is a documentary about health care. While a touchy
subject these days in America, it’s also a topic worth every moment of
exploration, allowing for a deeper education and a wider appreciation
for patient and medical staff. Mercifully, it’s not a politicized effort
eager to turn heads with opinions, instead treating the topic with the
directness it deserves, highlighting the frustrations and complications
that take place during an average day at a public hospital. “The Waiting
Room” is grim but enlightening, perhaps required viewing for those who
care to debate themselves blue about a crisis they’ll never fully
understand. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Christian Petzold has proven himself to be a nuanced filmmaker with a
specific interest in the heartbeat of his characters. With “Yella” and
“Jerichow,” he’s displayed tight command of mood and visual
communication, using body language to express what long passages of
dialog cannot possibly convey. Even when the material doesn’t quite
stimulate the senses, Petzold shows an investment in the life of his
screenplay, refusing to hand his audience easy answers. “Barbara” isn’t a
tightly wound story of sacrifice, yet its distance is alluring,
retaining secrets and motivations, building to a satisfying conclusion.
Petzold may not summon a gripping pace, but his concentration on the
minutiae of behavior remains riveting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I don’t discount the importance of the message contained within “Eden.”
Taking a look at the elaborate system involved in human trafficking, the
feature is noble in its efforts to depict the horrors of prostitution
and the psychological void of its victims. However, it’s not a very
comprehensive picture, brushing by salient points of submission to
achieve a conventional arc of consciousness punctuated with violence.
There should be more to chew on with a story as horrific as this, yet
writer/director Megan Griffiths isn’t interested in the crucial details
of decay, robbing the film of necessary motivations and a lasting welt
of reality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Tempted by the success of all things Nicholas Sparks, the producers of
“Love and Honor” attempt their own take on the proven formula, offering a
story trafficking in warm acts of attraction and nostril-flaring
moments of decision. Also mirroring the Sparks touch is the picture’s
distracting weightlessness, tackling a significant story of choice and
heartbreak with all the impact of a soap opera, failing to find the
feral emotions inherent to such a taxing series of life choices. It’s
easy enough to digest, yet “Love and Honor” is capable of much more than
predictable melodrama, though director Danny Mooney seems absolutely
determined to ease this effort into a honeyed coma as quickly as
possible. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Upside Down” is a stunning visual experience spoiled by a trainwreck of
a screenplay. It’s an awful film that’s easy to watch, utilizing
intense CGI artistry to manipulate frame activity in a way that’s rarely
been seen before, out to manufacture a bizarre alternate universe of
swirling gravity defiance and megacity juxtaposition. Dramatically, the
feature goes nowhere fast, wasting the potential of the premise on
tiring clichés and absurdly earnest characterizations. Perhaps
writer/director Juan Solanas understood he had a clunker of a script,
watching him gradually downplay the story in favor of elaborate visual
effects. “Upside Down” is certainly something to see, but difficult to
sit through. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With “The Machinist,” “Session 9,” and “Vanishing on 7th Street,”
director Brad Anderson has developed a reputation for smart, challenging
thrillers that embrace the art of manufacturing suspense instead of
pulverizing the audience with cheap thrills. Well, intelligence
apparently doesn’t pay the bills, finding Anderson in command of “The
Call,” an idiotic offering of tension (co-financed by World Wrestling
Entertainment) that plays like an exploitation picture made by a man
who’s never seen an exploitation picture. With plot holes galore, hammy
performances, and an easily telegraphed screenplay, “The Call” goes from
passably engaging to insulting in a hurry, finding Anderson unable to
make the sloppily cut puzzle pieces fit, relying on moldy trends in
horror cinema to maintain pressure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” is a great title for a promising
premise involving dueling Las Vegas magicians fighting for stage glory.
Unfortunately, the feature moves beyond the basics to beef up a sense of
character and fuel formulaic story arc ambitions, dropping its sense of
cartwheeling absurdity to tend to a tale of spray-tanned rebirth I
doubt few will be on the edge of their seats to see played out in full.
Thankfully, it’s an entertaining picture when locked on silly business,
and hilarious when the gifted cast is permitted to let loose pantsing
casino entertainment icons long overdue for such a treatment. It should
be funnier and tighter, but there’s amusement to be had for those who
can endure a few considerable comedic roadblocks. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Even with the monster success of “The Artist,” the 2011 French
production that cleaned up at the box office and took home Oscar gold,
it seemed unlikely that similar silent film endeavors would follow. The
Spanish feature “Blancanieves” is proof that perhaps a renaissance of
the lost cinematic art form is in order, returning directorial ingenuity
and blissfully exaggerated performances to the screen. It’s a humorous,
heartbreaking return to old moviegoing habits, using fairy tale
inspiration to emphasize heroes and villains while retaining a
bittersweet quality that keeps the effort earthbound, despite a sense of
humor that tends to carry the picture away at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Lore” is a post-WWII picture, but don’t let the relative familiarity of
the setting fool you. This is a powerful, sensorial effort to
understand the mentality of hate and its programmed origins, mixed with a
survival story set during a dark period of countrywide evaluation.
Exceptionally crafted by director Cate Shortland, “Lore” is a film of
few words but contains robust atmosphere, sifting through the pieces of
soulful wreckage with an unflinching concentration on the erosion of
routine and the bitter challenges of truth, using a quaking Malickian
visual sense of nature and intimate struggle to bring a troubling tale
of acceptance to the screen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Stoker” is Korean director Park Chan-wook’s English language debut. A
master of the macabre, Park’s previous ventures include “Oldboy,”
“Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,” and “Thirst,” solidifying his taste for
the violent and the extreme, though he’s a very patient filmmaker,
interested in manipulating his audience with baroque visual elements and
suffocating emotional weight. Refusing to go Hollywood, Park retains
his personality with “Stoker,” a vicious head-rattler of a feature that
blends horror and raw psychological exposure, while inspecting a most
diseased family tree. Unpredictable and enchantingly outlandish, the
movie is often extraordinarily composed. Perhaps it’s far from perfect,
but the atmosphere is deliciously thick with psychosis and the
characters ideally unraveled.
Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The animation masters at Studio Ghibli are well-versed in the realms of
fantasy, routinely offering odd creatures and faraway lands to
adventurous viewers (recent efforts include “Ponyo” and “The Secret
World of Arrietty”). “From Up on Poppy Hill” returns the filmmaking
collective to reality, avoiding the fantastical and the bizarre to focus
on a tender story of human connection, feeling out a delicate mood of
thinly veiled emotions while expectedly gorgeous animation supports the
characterizations. “From Up on Poppy Hill” might initially come off as
inconsequential, yet it actually isolates what Studio Ghibli does best:
constructing an evocative landscape of vivid personalities scrambling
around a compelling conflict dusted with idiosyncrasy and visual poetry. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With “Ginger & Rosa,” writer/director Sally Potter searches for ways
to isolate the internal churn of adolescence as it’s rocked by troubles
ranging in intensity, from global fears to silent shame. It’s an
intimate story brought to life by a sharp cast, who locate the wounded
spirit Potter is looking to communicate, while the inherent burn of the
screenplay creates a welcome heaviness despite a few corners cut in
characterization. “Ginger & Rosa” is emotional and real, even when
it takes a few soap opera detours, always returning to a place of
scrambled teen introspection that’s engaging and, in many ways,
relatable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com