Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 10th, 2016
“No rules, no ref. Just your wit and skill to keep you alive.”
Last year, Creed became a critical and audience favorite by reviving a beloved dormant franchise and re-casting its brawny original star in a supporting role as a mentor. I'm not going to pretend that 1989's Kickboxer (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) is anywhere near as beloved — or as good — as Rocky. But Kickboxer: Vengeance, a reboot/remake of Van Damme's campy action favorite, hits some of the same notes as Creed...except for the part where it's a critical and audience favorite.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on February 22nd, 2016
My, my, my, it is always interesting to watch established actor leave their comfortable circumstances and explore other areas. I imagine it is easy to be complacent with your work and very difficult to find roles that continuously challenge you, so why not seek out new titles? In the case of Criminal Activities, the actor I am referring to is Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), who makes his director debut with this tale about four men who end up way over their heads. In my experience, actors either hit or miss when they step into the big chair; you can either end up with soul-crushing reviews or an Academy Award. Although this film is unlikely to reach such meteoric heights, I would still call it a success by a large margin.
Four high school friends (Michael Pitt, Rob Brown, Chris Abbott, and Dan Stevens) reunite at a funeral following the tragic death of another one. It is clear that these four have not spoken for some time and are at different junctures in their lives but decide to spend some time together to relive old memories and catch up. In the midst of their reminiscing, one of them mentions some inside information overheard regarding a breakthrough a company has made that is about to quadruple the value of their stock. Eager to invest and reap the benefits, however short on the parcel, the group unknowingly borrows the money from let’s call it a less than accredited source (i.e. the mob).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on February 1st, 2016
My first All Hallows' Eve experience was an unexpected fright delight. The 2013 horror film featured a trio of stories tied together by a creepy clown and a familiar “babysitter-in-peril” plot line; it was a fun, unsettling, and grungy throwback to low-budget scares. So you can't blame me for actually being pretty excited when I found out they'd made another one. Unfortunately, this sequel is a disappointing, thoroughly unsatisfying mish-mash that undoes practically everything that was good about its predecessor.
Things start out familiarly enough: a lonely woman (Andrea Monier) who conveniently owns a VCR find herself in possession of a ratty-looking videotape. The first film had a babysitter find the tape among her two young charges' trick or treat haul, and the action was tied together by Art the Clown, who brought back unpleasant memories of the first time I can remember being terrified. This time around, the woman is stalked by a pumpkin-masked, knife-wielding Trickster (Damien Monier) who deposits the tape at the woman's doorstep. Naturally, she pops it into her VCR and away we go.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 31st, 2015
“We're in hell.”
The Blu-ray cover for Bone Tomahawk features a grizzled Kurt Russell donning a cowboy hat. That image immediately indicated to me that I would be in steady, exceedingly capable hands for the forthcoming Western adventure. What I didn't necessarily expect was for Bone Tomahawk to also deliver one of the more frightening, engrossing, and pulse-pounding movie-watching experiences of the year.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 7th, 2015
We've seen this story before: a family tragedy compels a tortured young soul to return home after a long absence. It's almost always about a prodigal son who is forced to come to terms with his past so he can heal in the present and get on with his future. (Think Garden State or Elizabethtown.) Where Children Play absolutely deserves credit for inserting a more diverse cast of characters into that familiar template. However, the filmmaking here is too heavy-handed and inert to truly make an impact.
Belle (Teyonah Parris) is a chronic underachiever living in Savannah, where she works a dead-end job and shamelessly mooches off her male roommate/sorta-boyfriend. One day, her aunt Helen (Macy Gray) arrives to inform Belle that her mother Gayle (Edwina Findley) has died. Belle has been estranged from Gayle and the rest of her family for a long time, but she returns to Compton for her mother's funeral. During the visit, Belle reconnects with Jeremy (Brian White), a do-gooder former athlete who (unlike Belle) made something of himself. More importantly, Belle is horrified to learn that she must now serve as a nurse for her ailing father David (Leon Robinson), since Gayle had been taking care of him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 4th, 2015
Feel like your girlfriend can be a little clingy? You've got nothing on Max, the slacker at the center of Burying the Ex. The movie operates in a genre — mixing broad comedy and horror — that has been largely (and sadly) missing from the big screen for the better part of two decades. That's why I was delighted to see that the man at the helm here is none other than Joe Dante (1978's Piranha, Gremlins 1 and 2), who has made some of the best horror comedies of all time. Burying the Ex isn't near that level, but it's still a fun and welcome diversion.
Max (Anton Yelchin) is a 20-something underachiever who works as a clerk in a horror-themed shop. His big goal in life is...to open up *his own* horror-themed shop! Max's live-in girlfriend is Evelyn (Ashley Greene), a hardcore environmentalist with a type-A personality. Everyone's in Max's life — especially his boorish half brother Travis (Oliver Cooper) — can see Evelyn isn't the girl for him. The only person who can't see this is Evelyn herself, who seizes on Max's promise that they'll be together forever. The good news for Max is that he doesn't have to go through the awkwardness of a breakup. The bad news is Max dodges that bullet because Evelyn is killed in a freak accident right before he can dump her. The worst news is his promise that they would be together forever was made shortly after a satanic genie arrived in the shop where Max works.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 14th, 2015
“To truly know a man, you must walk in his shoes.”
On the lone special feature of any substance included on this Blu-ray, director/co-writer Thomas McCarthy admits The Cobbler was inspired by the well-known idiom listed above. I’m all for getting as many original ideas on the big screen as possible. But even if you don’t think basing a feature film on a popular saying is a shaky proposition, The Cobbler severely underwhelms because it totally fails to capitalize on its high-concept premise in an intriguing way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2015
"It's a comedy...hopefully."
It's been six years since Hugh Grant teamed up with director Marc Lawrence. It's their fourth collaboration. It doesn't appear that Lawrence is willing to direct a film that doesn't feature Hugh Grant, because he hasn't. Let's just say the fourth time wasn't the charm. In fact, it wasn't even all that charming. And the problem is that Grant and Lawrence have attempted to build careers out of making Grant charming. By now they're just trying too hard, and the result is a poor showing that was in desperate need of a Rewrite.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 16th, 2015
For your safety you should keep him away from the booze and doughnuts.”
Wolf Cop wasn’t a film haphazardly thrown together; instead its path to being made was epic in its own right as the filmmakers entered their concept into a Canadian online competition where people voted week after week on what potential film would be lucky enough to get made. Wolf Cop slayed the competition, and as they say, the rest is history. Now audiences around the globe can take in this campy, B-cinema darling from the comfort of their living room. But is it all just a gimmick for a title, or is there more than meets the eye? Well, it’s a gimmick for sure; as for there being a story, it depends how hard you look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 9th, 2014
“I wish...”
There's no shortage of wishing (not to mention pining, longing, yearning, etc.) in some of our most beloved fairy tales. Into the Woods — the Tony-winning Broadway musical created by Stephen Sondheim and frequent collaborator James Lapine — illustrates what happens when certain characters get their storybook ending. Since there's a big, shiny Disney adaptation on the way, it made sense for Image Entertainment to offer a performance of the stage show on Blu-ray. However, I wish...some more effort had been put into this release.
