Like a surfer battling a particularly violent wave, “Chasing Mavericks”
struggles to keep its head above water. Based on the life of Jay
Moriarity, the picture has a strong biographical feel that keeps it
compelling, backed by incredible surf footage and two engaged
performances from stars Jonny Weston and Gerard Butler. However, the
screenplay by Kario Salem doesn’t trust the purity of brotherhood and
the natural challenges of the ocean to fill out the work, bringing in
bullies and assorted melodrama to secure an emotional response that’s
best earned free of overt manipulation. “Chasing Mavericks” is a gentle
effort with modest thematic goals, and while it’s compellingly made, its
spirit is diluted by dreadful formula. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Smashed” represents something of a coming out party for its star, Mary
Elizabeth Winstead. In the business for the last 15 years, Winstead has
rarely found a role that’s supplied a full reach for her gifts, recently
seen slumbering through the pre-sequel “The Thing,” while used as
decoration in pictures such as “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and
“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Although it’s not the easiest movie
to digest, “Smashed” finally brings the actress into view, delivering an
interestingly chaotic interpretation of an alcoholic finally coming to
terms with her path of destruction. She’s marvelous in this small but
effective drama, sweetened a touch by darkly comic flavorings. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Simon and the Oaks” make a curious choice to be a WWII drama without
much in the way of wartime suffering. Eschewing grand displays of
European misery to keep confrontations intimate, the feature is an
unexpectedly bitter effort, surveying the erosion of domestic protection
as a situation of parenting assistance turns into a colossal shift in a
household dynamic. This Swedish picture, based on the best seller by
Marianne Fredriksson, is surprising but also frustrating, especially
when larger ideas on musical liberation and environmental connection are
lost to the melodrama, resulting in an intermittently powerful, yet
vaguely detailed film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

There’s only one filmmaker nutty enough to tackle the manic highs and
lows of “Silver Linings Playbook,” and that’s David O. Russell.
Rocketing forward after his last picture, 2010’s “The Fighter,” was
showered with box office success and Oscar gold, Russell cooks up
another vibrant spectacle of bad behavior and personal triumph, only
instead of boxers and drug abuse, this material covers mental illness
and a profound fear of pills. A slyly hilarious, refreshingly vulnerable
dramedy, “Silver Linings Playbook” is a feature of constant surprise.
And when Russell calls on cliché to dig out an ending, he does so with
extraordinary skill and euphoric cinematic energy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

Like any great film about music, “A Late Quartet” is hardly about music.
A searing drama about the disintegration of a triumphant string
quartet, the picture merely uses gorgeous chamber orchestra sounds as a
method to express pain and frustration when the characters are unable to
speak for themselves. Although it deals with an exclusive world of
exceptional talent, screenwriters Seth Grossman and Yaron Zilberman (who
also directs) keep matters accessible with subplots that detail mighty
betrayals and domestic erosion. It’s a powerful feature, outstandingly
acted and pleasingly measured, employing a sense of refinement to better
emphasize the numerous violations and disappointments that litter the
story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

At its best, “Not Fade Away” is a phenomenal time machine, whisking
viewers back to a time where music could honestly change the world, or
at least America, where the kids were starving for a radical new
direction in rock and roll. It’s a shame writer/director David Chase,
the illustrious creator of “The Sopranos,” has done so little with the
dramatic potential of the piece. While the details feel sufficiently
lived-in, “Not Fade Away” is a weightless viewing experience with little
in the way of riveting conflict and hypnotic musicianship. It’s a mute
button movie, with the textures of the production worth all the
attention Chase pays to them, while the rest of the effort slides around
in a fog, waiting for inspiration that never arrives. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Being a prequel and somewhat inventive with its scares, “Paranormal
Activity 3” managed to cut a small hole in the wall of illogical
nonsense that’s been erected around this franchise, letting a little
light into the darkness. Directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost did a
fine job boosting the cheap thrills of the series, but couldn’t outright
reinvent the formula, leaving the third picture slightly more
interesting than the two that preceded it, but still missing a heroic
sense of purpose. Returning a year later for “Paranormal Activity 4,”
the filmmakers stumble in their quest to push the story forward,
sticking closely to the unchecked stupidity that forms the foundation of
this demonic saga, while encouraging the absurd scare tactics audiences
appear to value more than any pass at suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Nobody Walks” pays specific attention to sensuality, with a certain
rise of sexuality viewed through acts of flirtation, food preparation,
and sound recording. It’s rare to find a movie devoted to the art of
eroticism, though I wish “Nobody Walks” was a picture that deserved an
audience, with something more to offer outside of the occasional moment
of striking intimacy. A dull, flatly arranged offering of cinematic
navel-gazing, the feature refuses form to wallow in the frustrations of
desire, feeling aimless as it makes time for unhappy people forced to
deal with easily avoidable interpersonal discomfort. A few scenes hint
at the potential of the piece, while the rest of the effort seems more
interested in curling up for a nap. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

It’s nearly impossible to fathom that after 50 years of acting, Dustin
Hoffman is only now hunting down a directorial career. It’s about time
for the legendary performer, who brings a sublime sense of human need to
“Quartet,” while permitting a team of premiere actors an opportunity to
investigate emotional highs and lows in their own unique ways,
resulting in a stunningly acted picture. There’s also a profound love
for the performing arts flowing through the effort, taking a few moments
to stand in the presence of greatness. While certainly aimed as an
audience-pleaser, “Quartet” earns its friendliness, trusting in the
power of performance to communicate troubling and euphoric matters with
exceptional nuance. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

On his own, director Rob Cohen is responsible for movies such as
“Stealth,” “The Skulls,” “XXX,” and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon
Emperor.” On his own, star Tyler Perry is responsible for “Madea’s
Witness Protection,” “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Madea Goes to Jail,”
and “Madea’s Family Reunion.” To the financier who decided to pair these
two up for “Alex Cross,” I ask, are you crazy? It doesn’t take a genius
to comprehend that two dreadful forces of filmmaking are going to
manufacture an abysmal film, and “Alex Cross” is an exceptionally rancid
feature. When it’s not being completely idiotic, it’s frightfully
tasteless, with both Perry and Cohen making sure the entertainment
factor is thoroughly sucked out of this ludicrous thriller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

“It’s a Disaster” features a perfectly clever premise ripe for a screen
exploration interested in tonal extremes and adventurous
characterizations. Filmmaker Todd Berger prefers to play this darkly
comic doomsday tale somewhat on the safe side, forgoing a rigorous
display of beguiling panic to poke fun at relationship woes and
religious paranoia. Berger also overestimates the freshness of the plot,
dragging out what appears to be a nifty short film to 90 minutes of
sporadic comedy success. There’s something about “It’s a Disaster”
that’s ripe with potential, but a slack atmosphere populated with
overeager actors grows tiring, lessening interest in their ultimate
fate.
Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Reviewed at the 2012 Twin Cities Film Fest

“Stag” arrives in the shadow of “The Hangover,” though this tale of
bachelor party shenanigans emerges from the Canadian film industry. Just
how Canadian is this movie? Well, there’s a stripper, but she remains
clothed for 99% of her screentime and the feature ends with a father
reaffirming his love for his family. “Stag” isn’t exactly a raunchy
explosion of men behaving badly, and it’s not all that funny either.
True to its Canadian heritage, it’s mild stuff, hoping to come across
triumphantly ill-mannered with erection jokes and the occasional curse
word, missing a devilish spark that could amplify its tightly mittened
tomfoolery to pleasing extremes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I missed out on reviewing last year’s “Atlas Shrugged: Part I” for many
reasons, with limited theater availability and a lack of personal
interest my primary motivation to pass on an opportunity to screen the
picture. Also a compelling reason to dodge the feature was the furor
surrounding the film’s inspiration, as I knew little about author Ayn
Rand outside of her basic philosophical leanings, which appear to cause a
great deal of wonderful people a considerable amount of unnecessary
frustration. Despite an admirable push to generate some hoopla around
the release, “Atlas Shrugged: Part I” bombed at the box office and then
gathered dust as a home video release. It seemed as though this “Part I”
of a proposed trilogy would be as far as Rand’s most successful work
would get on the big screen. However, never underestimate the power of a
wealthy producer (in this case, John Aglialoro). 18 months later, and
we now have “Atlas Shrugged: Part II – The Strike.” It’s time for me to
bite the bullet. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With the release of “Smiley,” the horror genre has reached a new low. Or
perhaps a total exhaustion of malevolent possibilities is a more
accurate summary of the monumental nonsense that’s intended to pass for a
story, which two screenwriters have bravely taken full credit for. A
ludicrous condemnation of hacktivism layered with worn out slasher
clichés, “Smiley” is witless, charmless motion picture that imagines
itself an ideal vessel for co-writer/director Michael J. Gallagher to
purge his rudimentary ideas on the fragile state of online ethics,
hoping to offer younger audiences a lesson on reckless behavior while
mounting one of the most inept movies of 2012. The only thing truly
scary about this terror film is that somebody paid to have it produced. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If the triumph of “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town” wasn’t enough to
solidify Ben Affleck as a directorial force to be reckoned with, “Argo”
is a feature that should silence even his most persistent critics. A
nail-biter of the highest order, “Argo” is crackerjack mix of world
politics, classic screen suspense, and knowing Hollywood ribbing,
creating a strange cocktail of fact and fiction that Affleck handles
with an exquisite cinematic polish. Riveting from start to finish, the
effort manages to maintain a firm grip on a harrowing international
incident while keeping an eye on the basic needs of dramatic tension.
There aren’t many filmmakers capable of executing this style of tonal
juggling anymore, and now Affleck has nailed his third consecutive
attempt. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before he acquired directorial legitimacy and accolades for his work on
2009’s “Precious,” helmer Lee Daniels made his debut with 2006’s
“Shadowboxer,” starring Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr. It was
spectacular trainwreck of a movie, inconsistent and overheated,
attempting to generate a typhoon of emotions and violence without a
steady creative force guiding the way. Daniels returns to this murky
realm with “The Paperboy,” a feature that practically revels in its
disorder. Chasing a sweat-stained sense of Floridian turmoil to buttress
a thoroughly uninteresting story of murder, Daniels once again mistakes
permissiveness for artistry, creating a picture that looks like it was
shot on a reel of dirty underwear, developed in a mixture of spit,
semen, and alcohol. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Sinister” joins a growing trend of horror movies offering characters
who don’t react appropriately to unequivocal proof of their own future
doom, a bewildering screenwriting concept recently explored in the last
three “Paranormal Activity” pictures. Genre admirers generally don’t
seem to mind this gap in storytelling logic, but for those who like a
little more thought put into their fright films, “Sinister” is a
patience-tester with some genuinely interesting, atmospheric elements to
cushion its fall. However, passage to the solid stuff is blocked by
brazenly cheap scares, a hazy monster mythos, unreasonably idiotic
characters, and excessive length, making “Sinister” an absolute chore to
enjoy in full. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com