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April 2023

Blu-ray Review - Lieutenant Jangles

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2018's "Lieutenant Jangles" is an Australian production looking to celebrate rogue cop films from the 1980s, doing so with a tiny budget and limited patience for playing anything straight. Co-writer/director Nic Champeaux goes broadly comedic with the endeavor, which tries to charm viewers with displays of raunchy behavior and cartoon ultraviolence, believing more is more with this type of wacky production. There's a lot of noise and constant penis references in the feature, but laughs are a bit more difficult to find. Champeaux and Co. certainly seem like they had fun making "Lieutenant Jangles," but such mischief is seldom infectious. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Damselvis, Daughter of Helvis

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Writer/director John Michael McCarthy has something in mind with "Damselvis, Daughter of Helvis," but he's not in the mood to share it with viewers. One can appreciate the faint plan to create a graphic novel-style viewing experience with this tale of a young woman and her mission to meet her undead parent, but the details of this universe are mostly muddled and incomplete. Instead of providing cinematic polish, McCarthy delivers a shot- on-video event, and while the production has room to do pretty much whatever it wants, the helmer remains fixated on generating a confusing offering of pursuit, religion, and surreal experiences, supplying a rock and roll slide into screen stasis one too many times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

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The Guardians of the Galaxy haven’t exactly been lying around since the release of ‘Vol. 2” back in 2017, with the space gang caught up in Avengers business while spending some time with Thor and his personal issues. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” looks to return the team to full screen power with a new sequel, but something is a little off with their latest adventure. Writer/director James Gunn made a positive impression with his buoyant vision for the first two chapters of the series, but his instincts for merriment and space opera are dulled for “Vol. 3,” which emerges as an angrier, noisier, and sadder turn for the MCU, with Gunn straining for emotional manipulation as he makes his usual mess of things in the comic book realm. Joyfulness that was present before is mostly gone here (along with more decisive editing), keeping the viewing experience only intermittently appealing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Peter Pan and Wendy

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There’s controversy whenever Disney elects to create a live-action version of one of their animated films. The company isn’t exactly interested in creativity with these offerings, with most emerging as impressive technical achievements content to rehash the same story for a young audience (think “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King”). And then there was 2016’s “Pete’s Dragon,” with co-writer/director David Lowery endeavoring to do something different than the original 1977 musical, finding freshness and big heart in his remake opportunity, emerging with the best of the Disney do-overs. Lowery returns with a true career challenge, dealing with the oft-told tale of J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.” There’s been enough media devoted to Neverland happenings over the last century, putting the helmer in a difficult position of invention. “Peter Pan and Wendy” doesn’t stray far enough from the basics of Barrie’s world and Disney’s 1953 animated offering, but it finds ways to restore a little magic to the tale, and it’s newly focused on the emotional health of the characters, which keeps it interesting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - The Black Demon

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“The Meg” was a hit film in 2018, and it’s taken a long time for the studios to get going on a sequel, which is an unusual choice when dealing with material that explores a rampaging megalodon. There’s a “Meg 2” finally coming sometime this year, but the producers of “The Black Demon” are looking to take advantage of the long wait, cooking up their own version of a rampaging megalodon feature. However, to really make a memorable disaster picture with a monster shark, one has to spend big bucks, and the producers of “The Black Demon” don’t have that kind of money, giving the eating machine more of a cameo in its own movie, with screenwriter Boise Esquerra believing most audiences will be happier to watch a story of ecological ruin and family strife. Of course, that’s not the case, and the new killer shark event on the scene misses its potential by a country mile. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

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In 2016, writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig created “The Edge of Seventeen,” which took a look at a time of adolescence and maturity, when teenage feelings start to intersect with adult realities. It was a magnificent movie, announcing the helmer as a talent to watch. The wait for her follow-up is over, with Craig returning to explore the pains of growing up with “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” adapting the beloved Judy Blume novel for the big screen. And she does a remarkable job with it, generating another sensitive and real understanding of a young person’s education while on the front lines of puberty. Blume wrote with compassion and emotional authenticity, and Craig completely captures such delicate tone, juggling the story with a rich sense of intimacy, following the author’s lead as characterization is beautifully detailed and the dramatic journey finds a nuanced understanding of behavior. It’s one of the best films of the year. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Sisu

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For those who like their cinematic offerings lean and mean, there’s “Sisu.” A Finnish production that clocks in around 90 minutes, the endeavor is all about aggression, with the World War II tale focusing on a basically unkillable soldier doing battle with Nazis trying to murder him over a two bags of gold. Writer/director Jalmari Helander (“Rare Exports,” “Big Game”) doesn’t have much more in mind than revenge, creating a viewing experience that’s simple and visceral, and also has the added pleasure of watching Nazis get slaughtered in increasingly painful ways. “Sisu” isn’t a rollicking good time, but Helander has a healthy sense of the absurd with the effort, delivering a mildly bizarre but commanding actioner that does quite a bit with very little. It's wartime horror sold in a distinctly B-movie way, and for those who usually can’t find an interesting alternative to glossy, pointless bruisers that fill the marketplace, here’s a stark offering of pain and justice to refresh the possibilities of screen intensity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Clock (2023)

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“Clock” is based on a short film, with writer/director Alexis Jacknow offered an opportunity to expand on her original idea, working to deliver a deeper sense of character connection and achieve greater thematic reach with the material. Jacknow examines the state of motherhood, and the choice to avoid such an experience, using intense peer pressure and internalized confusion to generate a semi-Cronenbergian viewing experience that taps into a specific area of unrest. “Clock” tries to be a traditional horror movie in a few ways, with Jacknow overseeing the creation of nightmare imagery and psychological fracture, but it offers a more interesting take on the female experience, especially when it digs into mounting concern and judgment surrounding baby fever. The endeavor doesn’t really have enough to fill a feature-length run time, but Jacknow details unusual topics and behaviors with her screenplay, trying to communicate something few productions dare to explore. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Anvil! The Story of Anvil

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It's easy to describe "Anvil!" as a real-world version of "This is Spinal Tap," but the comparison is incredibly accurate. The comedy of "Spinal Tap" certainly didn't come out of thin air, leading me to believe that the antics of the Canadian metal band Anvil must've played some part in the 1984 comedy classic. While suitably absurd and prone to spotlighting rock cliché humiliation, "Anvil" is a far more loving film than it seems at first glance. Taking a second look at the career of a band who was always this close to the success of their brothers in the headbangin' business, "Anvil!" is a stupendous document of perseverance and crushing music industry realities, brought to life by two men who somehow managed to keep the devil horns raised through decades of disappointment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Attack of the Beast Creatures

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Filmed in 1983, "Attack of the Beast Creatures" (a.k.a. "Hell Island") is a tiny monster movie before tiny monster movies became all the rage in the decade, boosted by the tremendous success of 1984's "Gremlins." Director Michael Stanley and writer Robert Hutton don't have a decent budget, but they have access to a forest, some actors, and a collection of little puppets, setting out to create a horror picture about survival in a remote location. "Attack of the Beast Creatures" isn't a hugely cinematic experience, but there's some charm in the deadly attacks of little ghouls and the humans struggling to make sense of the situation before they're eaten alive. It's not always a compelling endeavor, but when Stanley and Hutton get around to making a mess of things, the effort is enjoyably goofy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Death Magic

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It's not every day when one encounters a tale of black magic mixed with post-Civil War antagonisms. 1992's "Death Magic" looks to blend wartime madness with astral curiosity, giving co-writer/director Paul Clinco a semi-interesting start to his shot-on-video endeavor, showing a little more ambition than the average backyard production. It's a no-budget offering of exploitation, with some gore and emphasis on nudity, but Clinco doesn't lean into the trashier aspects of the movie. Instead of summoning madness, the material becomes caught up in the ways of the occult and bland relationships, moving away from the central menace of a dead military monster pulled from beyond to exact revenge on his enemies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Goodbye, Don Glees

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The emotional lives of teenage boys are examined in "Goodbye, Don Glees," a Japanese animated feature that shows little restraint when detailing the agony of deep feelings. Writer/director Atsuko Ishizuka takes inspiration from Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me," arranging a highly sensitive study of adolescents trying to make sense of the world, going on a journey into the wild that helps them to focus on dreams and mistakes, with occasional shenanigans undertaken along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Evil Dead Rise

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It’s been 42 years since the initial release of Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead,” and audiences are still craving deadite pandemonium, delivered in sequels, video games, comic books, and a television series. Horror returns once again with “Evil Dead Rise,” which isn’t explicitly connected to the 2013 “Evil Dead” remake, but retains the same ruthless spirit of genre engagement, this time taking an outbreak of malevolence to a California apartment building, which, in a way, remains a suitable cabin-in-the-woods replacement. Writer/director Lee Cronin made a strong impression with 2019’s “The Hole in the Ground,” and he sustains promise with this spin-off/remake/thingee, which does some proper “Evil Dead” damage to characters and property, winding the saga up for another satisfying bloodbath with fierce demons and panicky acts of survival. “Evil Dead Rise” is perhaps the darkest chapter of the series, quite literally at times, but Cronin takes the moviemaking challenge seriously, nailing tone and bodily harm with this gore zone event. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Ghosted

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Recently, actor Chris Evans detailed his reluctance to host “Saturday Night Live,” stating that he’s “not a funny person.” Perhaps it’s time to start believing what Evans says. “Ghosted” offers Evans a brighter personality to play, reteaming with co-star Ana de Armas after working together in “Knives Out” and “The Gray Man,” with the pair taking command of an action spy movie that’s also a romantic comedy. Much of the endeavor is dependent on charm and skill with humor, and Evans and de Armas are lacking such chemistry and effervescence, showing limited signs of life while director Dexter Fletcher (“Rocketman,” “Eddie the Eagle”) oversees a paint-by-numbers adventure film that grinds on the senses soon after it begins. “Ghosted” isn’t a misfire, it’s a complete miscalculation, with the wrong people hired to make a picture audiences have seen many times before, and with much more amusing people in the leading roles. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Chevalier

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The creative goal of “Chevalier” is to provide some illumination on the achievements of classical composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He was a man of extreme talent and confidence, but he was the child of a white aristocrat and a black slave, ushered into a world that had little interest in a public celebration of his achievements. Screenwriter Stefani Robinson and director Stephen Williams don’t deliver a traditional bio-pic with “Chevalier,” instead looking to dissect a short amount of time in his life, where the pressures of conformity collided with the development of rebellion in France. There’s combustible energy in the endeavor, which gets off on the right foot, focusing on racial and social challenges for the main character, highlighting his coping mechanisms while facing constant dismissal. It’s not a cinematic spark that remains for the entire run time, but it’s there to get the picture going, generating interest in the ways of a virtuoso and his battle to be treated humanely. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Beau is Afraid

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Writer/director Ari Aster previously helmed two pictures, and they managed to get under the skin of select viewers. With 2018’s “Hereditary” and 2019’s “Midsommer,” Aster pulled together tough and taxing studies of nervous breakdowns, showing a deep interest in the agony of psychological erosion while paying tribute to his favorite genre offerings, delivering disturbing efforts for those with the patience to remain invested in his somewhat meandering ways. He’s a specialized moviemaker for a specialized audience, and there’s rarely been a more specialized endeavor than “Beau is Afraid,” which is Aster’s first offering in four years and, quite possibly, could be his last for the foreseeable future. He’s making a journey here that’s tight with anxiety and loose with reality, asking for a three-hour-long commitment for material that goes everywhere and nowhere, coming across as a filmed adaptation of an Aster therapy session. It’s indulgent, but that’s the point. It’s also artful at times and unbearable, and that’s also the point. But it’s seldom meaningful, emerging as a feature only for Aster, who crafts quite the endurance test with “Beau is Afraid.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

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Guy Ritchie is eager to work, and he’s ready to graduate to a possessory credit. His fifth movie in four years, and his second offering of 2023, “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” seeks to disrupt the helmer’s love of criminal shenanigans and “toff guy” entertainment, sobering up with this examination of extreme bravery during the latter years of the Afghanistan war. Slickness and cynicism are left behind, with “The Covenant” trying to nail a more aggressive tone of threat, going into the heart of Taliban country to study an unusual relationship between two men who eventually trade acts of heroism. Suspense is big here, with Ritchie blending wartime pressure points with explosive moments of frustration, backed by a production team that’s dedicated to making a propulsive viewing experience. Ritchie gets most of it right, capturing fear and guiding exceptional performances, with stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim securing optimal intensity for this violent odyssey. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - To Catch a Killer

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There’s certainly something very familiar about “To Catch a Killer,” which is a procedural cop thriller about the hunt for an armed and dangerous lunatic who’s developing an interest in committing mass murder. It’s the stuff of film history and, more recently, television, with dozens of shows all chasing the same formula for weekly consumption, playing it safe as viewers begin to treat human misery and sleuthing as comfy sweater entertainment. What’s different about “To Catch a Killer” is its rawness and timing, with co-writer/director Damian Szifron (helming his first picture after 2014’s “Wild Tales”) digging into our modern world of mental illness and armament, emerging with a compelling study of psychological fracture on both sides of the law. There’s striking violence in the movie which is meant to snap viewers to attention, but Szifron brings a balance of realism to the hunt, blended with theatrical police activity, giving the endeavor an unusual atmosphere that should keep its audience invested to the end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Somewhere in Queens

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We know Ray Romano as a comedian. And we know Ray Romano as an actor. Now, he wants to be a director, graduating to new creative responsibilities with “Somewhere in Queens,” also sharing writing duties with Mark Stegemann. To keep things manageable, Romano plays to his strengths with the endeavor, with the Queens-native attempting to capture the vibe of his neighborhood experience and the bustle of his family life, using this reality to support a soft-on-the-senses study of parental responsibility and young dreams, taking some ideas from the “Rocky” playbook. Romano doesn’t bite off more than he can chew with “Somewhere in Queens,” and he’s wise to gather a cast of real pros to support his helming debut, sharing time with talented actors who bring extraordinary charm to the effort, giving it the color and heart it needs to make a positive impression. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Quasi

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Comedy troupe Broken Lizard was last seen on screens in 2018’s “Super Troopers 2,” which acted as an opportunity for people to get reacquainted with the performers and their crude sense of humor after the team endured a series of box office busts. The sequel managed to make money, but instead of marching right into “Super Troopers 3,” Broken Lizard tries to do something a little different with “Quasi,” which is their take on 13th century France misadventures featuring a physically disabled character of literary renown. There’s no trace of Victor Hugo here, with the screenplay more interested in silliness, oysters, and a scrotum nailed to a log. “Quasi” isn’t a radical creative departure for Broken Lizard, who still revel in their love for vulgarity, but it does have a pleasing energy during its first half, gleefully going weird and lowbrow with its take on French history and culture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com