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Film Review - Generation Um...

There are times when “Generation Um…” is an authentic indie production, and there are moments where it feels like a parody of one. At the very least, it’ll be the one film this year where the audience is treated to a sequence comprised entirely of star Keanu Reeves eating two cupcakes. Perhaps that alone should be a gauge to the must-seeness of the movie. For those who decide to stick it out, “Generation Um…” doesn’t reward the patience, supplying a meandering, intellectually shallow inspection of fried minds attempting to communicate their innermost pain while bombing around New York City. It’s a patience-tester, salvaged only a smidge by Reeves’s uncanny ability to remain perfectly still while his co-stars strap on acting school rocket packs and pinball around the frame. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - The Numbers Station

“The Numbers Station” earns points for being a somewhat original take on the bunker thriller subgenre, using a spy vs. spy world of codes and assassination attempts to beef up an otherwise simplistic siege story. While not a terribly convincing picture, “The Numbers Station” has a few moments of workable suspense and puzzle solving, while star John Cusack supplies an appealing restless energy to the effort, strengthening scenes that would otherwise die on the vine. Strictly for fans of the stars and perhaps those with an insatiable curiosity about career low points, the feature is certainly digestible, but rarely memorable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Arthur Newman

It’s interesting to consider how some actors find their way into starring roles. A few years back, Colin Firth won an Oscar for his work in the worldwide smash “The King’s Speech,” and now he’s found himself in “Arthur Newman,” which is far removed from the high-profile screen challenges the leading man has enjoyed recently. Although the material is threatened with a dark undertow of mental illness, the overall inertia of the effort comes to rob the film of such intensity, meandering through misadventures with the two leads instead of attacking the story at hand. Though Firth and co-star Emily Blunt work to inject honesty into their performances, the feature doesn’t sustain much substance deeper than surface ache. It’s more indulgently mournful than motivated. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - The Big Wedding

It doesn't take long, perhaps five minutes, before it's abundantly clear that "The Big Wedding" is going to be of no use. Commencing with vague introductions, the material is soon asking Robert De Niro to prepare Susan Sarandon for an impromptu session of oral sex on a kitchen countertop before Diane Keaton nervously interrupts, resulting in a touch of physical comedy as the amorous characters try to find their composure while dealing with dangling underwear and an untamable erection. It's how the movie begins, folks, and the next 80 minutes aren't an improvement. Unlikable, unthinkable, and unwatchable, "The Big Wedding" proves that bright stars and a reliable romantic event is no match for an ugly and tone-deaf screenplay, chased by amateur direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - My Brother the Devil

"My Brother the Devil" has powerful individual moments, truly honest emotional searching that gives the material depth the movie doesn't otherwise possess. Though it comes across as yet another inspection of misspent youth in a rap-saturated council estate setting, writer/director Sally El Hosaini scratches a little deeper to explore the bonds between siblings, where influence and approval reign supreme. Being her first film, "My Brother the Devil" is kneecapped by stiff scenes and overcooked performances, but as a whole, the picture introduces the world to a promising storytelling talent with more on her mind than sneers and straightforward criminal interests. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Birdemic 2: The Resurrection

The key to 2010’s “Birdemic: Shock and Terror” was its sincerity. It was a genuinely awful feature from an enormously incompetent filmmaker, a man who thought he could match his idol Alfred Hitchcock in the suspense department, only to make a mind-numbingly tedious, technically disastrous picture about global warming, attacking birds, and young people dealing with vaguely defined vocational triumphs. Of course, it was hilarious to watch, leaning into every last creative pothole writer/director James Nguyen created, studying a movie that had absolutely no ambition beyond being a movie, and it often failed at that. Molded into a midnight movie phenomenon, sold on its badness, “Birdemic: Shock and Terror” transformed into something of a hit. And with any unexpected cinematic success comes a sequel, whether we want one or not. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Pain & Gain

After the 2011 release of the global blockbuster “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” director Michael Bay wanted to challenge himself again. After years of gargantuan features, “Pain & Gain” represented a return to roots planted with the 1995 action comedy “Bad Boys,” offering Bay a chance to cause a comparatively low-budget ruckus in his favorite filming location: Miami. The robots in disguise are gone, replaced by equally destructive bodybuilders on the hunt for the American Dream, and while the potential of this true story is immense, Bay resorts to his old tricks, making the picture more frustrating and deadening than raucous. Intentionally ugly and mean-spirited, “Pain & Gain” somehow believes itself to be a coked-out, body-smashing good time at the movies. Instead, it’s quite a chore to sit through. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Mud

The power of great cinema is a special thing. With “Mud,” the screening audience I attended the film with fell in love with the picture, physically and verbally invested in story and character to a degree I haven’t been exposed to in a very long time. It was a unique moviegoing adventure for a classically conceived effort, standing somewhere between a Mark Twain novel and a David Gordon Green feature (at least one where he’s not trying to be funny). Somber and engrossing, “Mud” is like paging through a terrific book containing a few dull chapters, with writer/director Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter”) creating an evocative atmosphere of mystery and misfortune, captured through well-rounded personalities, patient screenwriting, and ace acting from most of the cast. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Welcome to the Punch

“Welcome to the Punch” is a steely, stylish picture, yet it lacks much of its titular promise. Weirdly abrupt and largely inconsequential, the feature is only good for a few decent shoot-outs and chase sequences, where writer/director Eran Creevy shows potential with visceral elements. However, consistency of storytelling eludes him, with “Welcome to the Punch” prone to meandering with complex character associations, almost showing disinterest in itself. Thankfully, a cast of solid U.K. actors pick up the slack, bringing intensity and behavioral nuance to an otherwise airy actioner that feels severely pared down from its original intent. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - The Lords of Salem

After flirting with the abstract and the surreal in the midst of slasher film shenanigans with “Halloween II,” writer/director Rob Zombie has decided to scratch the itch in full with “The Lords of Salem.” A bizarre mind-bomb of a movie, the feature represents a slight change in direction for the helmer, who once had a ball raising hillbilly hell and now appears to be consumed with atmospheric nightmares, with a heavy tilt toward psychological erosion. “The Lords of Salem” isn’t for every taste, with those hankering for a vicious joyride into the black heart of witchcraft sure to walk away disappointed. The effort is best suited for viewers willing to allow Zombie time to chase artistic impulses and genre obsessions, to let the doomsday weirdness gradually wash over them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie

Despite a few public animosities and a prolonged break-up period, Cheech and Chong have remained a force of comedy for over 40 years, which is no small achievement. Fans have come to expect a certain impish, pot-laced sense of humor from the duo, and “Cheech & Chong’s Animated Movie” delivers exactly that, playing like a greatest hits album of old bits, interpreted through the click-and-point miracle of modern cartooning. Strictly for the faithful, the feature is essentially a victory lap for the pair, recycling their brand of drugs-n-fart humor in an attempt to entice a new generation of stoners aching to see such antics colorfully rendered onscreen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Manborg

Their name is Astron-6. A filmmaking collective from Canada, the production team specializes in retro entertainment with a distinct wink, fueled by a love of eighties cinema and the freedom of no-budget creative challenges. Their debut feature, “Father’s Day,” was an unexpectedly hilarious, imaginative take on splatter shenanigans, cutting the toxicity of the gore with a sly sense of humor, articulated by a sharp ensemble of capable comedians. Astron-6 returns with “Manborg,” another dip into the warm waters of violent B-movie reverence, this time channeling “RoboCop,” Sam Raimi, and the “Mortal Kombat” video game to generate an acid-washed cornucopia of action and laughs. Short, silly, and superbly crafted with next to no money, “Manborg” is a delight. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Oblivion

“Oblivion” is sci-fi entertainment that recalls genre pictures from the 1980s and ‘70s, where character and spectacle were more evenly matched. It’s a strikingly designed and photographed effort that indulges only a handful of blockbuster bonanza moments, more attentive to its knotted exploration of identity and paranoia, almost old fashioned in its inspection of psychological disruption. That’s not to suggest “Oblivion” isn’t exciting, but it carries more of a literary tone, hoping to extract suspense through intimacy instead of explosions, constructing a beguiling atmosphere of isolation and revelation that keeps the production alert, despite a few convoluted twists along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - The Company You Keep

Robert Redford is no fool. The screen icon and celebrated director knows full well that audiences wouldn’t be very patient with his latest film, “The Company You Keep,” without the security and color of a large cast made up of famous faces. It’s a smart move, providing a sense of stability with this labyrinthine tale of aging radicals, weighty secrets, and dubious journalism, with the talent helping to ease the often scattered feel of the storytelling -- an effort that faces a difficult job of establishing numerous names and places. Never underestimate these modest flashes of star power, as the ensemble manufactures the suspense and reflection necessary to make “The Company You Keep” stick as a stirring drama and as a statement of generational idealism greeting the golden years. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Disconnect

In the interconnected world we live in, dangers are abundant. With so many people exchanging their inner most thoughts and fears, along with all kinds of sensitive information, the potential for catastrophe is great, yet the warning signs remain hazy. “Disconnect” seeks to navigate the divide between machine and humankind, initially setting out to inspect intimate violations brought to life via online communication. It’s a fascinating topic and one of utmost importance in today’s plugged-in society. Unfortunately, director Henry-Alex Rubin doesn’t examine the issues long enough, soon clearing away a promising cautionary tale to sermonize with a heavy, almost suffocating melodramatic approach to close out this crushingly formulaic picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - To the Wonder

Terrence Malick makes a particular type of movie. There’s nothing wrong with an artist in possession of a singular style, with many filmmakers enjoying mighty careers basically making the same feature over and over, with subtle shifts in approach. “To the Wonder” is Malick’s latest work (his sixth project since 1973), and it resembles his previous accomplishments in numerous ways. What’s lacking here is character, watching the helmer construct his traditional ode to environmental instability and human weakness, yet there’s not a single interesting figure onscreen capable of holding attention. A sudsy wash of sensations, “To the Wonder” is gorgeous and ambitious, but cold to the touch, nearly carrying on as a parody of a Malick endeavor instead of solidifying its poetic ways as a step forward in the slo-mo evolution of the reclusive creator. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Antiviral

It seems the poisoned apple doesn’t fall far from the rotting tree. “Antiviral” marks the feature-length directorial debut for Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg, the master filmmaker behind such classics as “The Fly,” “Videodrome,” and “Dead Ringers.” Following in his father’s footsteps, Brandon conjures a diseased take on our engorged celebrity-fixated culture with this ominous, gruesome production. While the younger Cronenberg is undeniably sipping from his dad’s reservoir of corporeal nightmares, he proves himself to be visually fascinating helmer with a unique perspective on societal decay. “Antiviral” is stimulating work with a fulfilling grasp on agitation, though it works ever better as a glimpse into futureworld psychosis and extremes of consumption. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Scary Movie V

“Scary Movie V” opens with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan in bed. Then they begin to have sex. Then “Yakety Sax” kicks in to score their gymnastic lovemaking session. And this is the type of viewing experience “Scary Movie V” becomes, with bad ideas spread like curdled butter over lousy ideas, and it doesn’t let up for 75 minutes (add another 15 for the end credits). What began with the Wayans Brothers spoofing “Scream” has now turned into a cinematic garbage bin for the franchise’s fifth outing, with a reduction in budget, casting surprises, and fodder for satire flattening the potential for even a single responsive titter. If you absolutely need to experience the feature, bring a pillow, as there’s nothing to the effort that promises to keep the viewer awake. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - 42

Jackie Robinson was a miraculous baseball player, but one would never know that after watching the bio-pic “42.” Instead of focusing on a sterling Major League Baseball career that lasted for nine years, the feature only covers Robinson’s introductory season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he faced torrential amounts of bigotry as he broke the color barrier. Racism is primarily on the mind of writer/director Brian Helgeland, and it often results in dramatic dead ends, beating the same drum of intolerance while a towering portrait of a sporting legend is left behind. “42” isn’t a baseball movie, it’s a flaccid, obvious melodrama with occasional moments of dazzling diamond activity. What a shame. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Film Review - Trance

After soaring to box office heights and striking Oscar gold with his last two pictures, “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours,” director Danny Boyle comes crashing back down to Earth with “Trance,” a soggy jigsaw puzzle of a movie that’s so intent on frying the brains of its viewers, it completely forgets to invite them in on the grisly festivities. Crafted with Boyle’s traditional electro bounce and cinematographic A.D.D., “Trance” is best left for those who either adore the filmmaker no matter the inconsistency of the work or those who love taffy-pull strands of interpretational material, working the stickiness until it makes some type of sense, even if the creator didn’t intend such meaning. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com