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October 2024

Film Review - Time Cut

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The years pass by without mercy, and “Time Cut” is a time travel movie that’s an unsettling reminder of this reality. The story takes the characters all the way back to…2003, out to stop a serial killer who makes life unbearable for a 2024 teenager looking to alter the course of her future. It’s a Gen Z take on the pressures of survival from screenwriters Michael Kennedy (“Freaky,” “It’s a Wonderful Knife”) and Hannah MacPherson (who also directs), and while the pair have a chance to go the more obnoxious Blumhouse way with the endeavor, “Time Cut” doesn’t push that hard on the senses. It’s obviously aimed at a younger audience, taking it easy on gore and violence, but it remains a snappy little thriller with a very strange sense of time challenges. It’s not monumental cinema, but for those outside of its target demographic, the picture manages to deliver a little excitement and characterization. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Here (2024)

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Director Robert Zemeckis loves a technical challenge, and there’s a big test of skill with the adaptation of Richard McGuire’s 2014 graphic novel, “Here.” The source material began life as a comic in 1989, developed into something more substantial for its literary debut, while still retaining McGuire’s concept of a fixed image breaking up into different panels. It’s an exploration of time telling many stories of life lived in one place, making a true big screen adaptation a difficult undertaking. Zemeckis gets most of his ideas across in the feature, which strives to replicate McGuire’s vision while softening it up some for mainstream acceptance. “Here” has its limitations and odd creative choices, but the picture is a fascinating sit, watching the helmer strive to make a workable tale out of an esoteric book, keeping the years and characters on the move as they endure the human experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Music by John Williams

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In Hollywood history, there hasn’t been a career quite like the one that belongs to John Williams. He’s a film composer and conductor, working steadily for the last 60 years, and it’s not enough to simply honor his ability to remain employed in a terribly fickle industry that has a nasty reputation for burnout and cynicism. He’s managed to create the most iconic movie scores around, building a jaw-dropping library of creative triumphs that have carried on for generations, with a few reaching complete pop culture omnipresence. Director Laurent Bouzereau (a respected film historian and documentarian, recently helming “Faye”) looks to understand and respect William’s professional and personal odyssey in “Music by John Williams.” While the tone of the feature is more celebratory than investigative, the experience of this life and work is truly amazing as the endeavor tracks the development of expertise and creativity while reminding viewers of the very real person behind an incredible run of screen magic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Absolution

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While firmly committed to taking fat paychecks to star in mediocre thrillers and actioners, Liam Neeson detoured into more interesting work this year, portraying a conflicted assassin in the Irish film, “In the Land of Saints and Sinners.” The picture presented his best performance in years, offering Neeson a chance to do something a bit different in a more character-based part. He continues this thespian journey in “Absolution,” which reunites Neeson with his “Cold Pursuit” director, Hans Petter Moland, tasked with portraying an aging enforcer suffering from a brain injury confronted by all the mistakes in his life, attempting to find a way to do some good again. “Absolution” has a few moments of violent confrontations, but it’s mostly about a psychological and emotional odyssey, giving Neeson room to feel out all the pain and confusion in screenwriter Tony Gayton’s flawed but reasonably detailed study of regret. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - The Gutter

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Bowling comedies don’t come around often, making “The Gutter” something of an oddity in the marketplace. It’s not exactly a growth sport, and a few other movies have certainly managed to find most of the humor in the subculture, with “Kingpin” and “The Big Lebowski” achieving big laughs while handling the oddity of the game. “The Gutter” looks to offer a wilder viewing experience, as directors Isaiah and Yassir Lester (making their feature-length helming debut) unleash what appears to be a mostly improvisational underdog picture that’s completely dedicated to being as silly as possible. It’s a noble quest, but there’s a familiarity to the effort’s sense of humor that’s disappointing, as most of the offering is devoted to actors trying to pull jokes out of thin air. Goofiness reigns supreme in “The Gutter,” but actual laughs are weirdly limited to just a few moments in this study of bowling alley supremacy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Cellar Door

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The screenplay for “Cellar Door” provides a terrific hook for suspense. It’s a “Twilight Zone”-style offering of ominous evil, setting up the feature for a macabre exploration of escalating curiosity and madness as a married couple is confronted by possible doom contained within a forbidden area of their new house. Writers Sam Scott and Lori Evans Taylor certainly know how to draw an audience in via their imagination for mystery, but they struggle during the rest of the film. “Cellar Door” isn’t the movie it initially promises to be, as the material looks to explore the dangers of the unknown and the challenges of married life, with the latter taking over the offering. Those expecting an active genre viewing experience are left with little in the effort, which hopes to become a more refined thriller, and that creative choice doesn’t yield much excitement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

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The marketing for “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping” presents the image of a murderous Santa Claus posing menacingly with a bloodied ax. There is a costumed killer on the loose in the feature, but the movie is far from a slasher experience, miles away from the Christmas rampaging found in similar holiday horror offerings, including 1984’s “Silent Night, Deadly Night.” Screenwriter/star David Lenik doesn’t share a command of scary business with the material, which is primarily about a scheming family and their corrupt ways during the yuletide season. A few bodies are mangled and some suspense is promised, but “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping” mostly resembles a filmed community theater production, watching a large cast attempt to participate in uneventful writing, while director Charlie Steeds can’t do much with a limited budget. This isn’t a picture that’s determined to frighten its audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Hitpig!

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“Hitpig” is not a particularly faithful adaptation of “Pete & Pickles,” a 2008 children's book written by Berkeley Breathed. The creator of the beloved comic strip “Bloom County,” Breathed’s original idea of a developing friendship between a pig and an elephant has largely been altered into something else for the production, as screenwriters Dave Rosenbaum and Tyler Werrin attempt to create a more action-oriented animated endeavor for family audiences. Some sweetness remains, but “Hitpig” definitely becomes a traditional cartoon distraction, as directors David Feiss and Cinzia Angelini focus on slapstick antics to connect the dots on the feature. Defined invention and cleverness would be welcome, but the effort has its moments, offering a sharp pace and enough wild characters to hold attention, with younger viewers clearly the target demographic for the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Story of a Junkie

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1985's "Story of a Junkie" welcomes viewers to Hell, or at least a decent replication of it, found in New York City's Lower East Side during the early 1980s. Director Lech Kowalski goes the cinema verite route for the endeavor, which presents the experiences and thoughts of John Spacely, a drug addict working the routine of his life in an especially rough neighborhood. The helmer creates a spare, unflinching look at this daily struggle, but "Story of a Junkie" doesn't seek to help Spacely, simply generating a dramatic space for him to exist in. It's a picture of thoughts and addictions, and while it tends to get a little lost in occasional ramblings, Kowalski captures a time and place with authority, displaying misery for all to see. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Darkness (2002)

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The saga of Bob and Harvey Weinstein is one filled with ugliness, with the pair employing strong-arm tactics to help dominate the film industry. For a while in the 1990s and the early 2000s, it worked, with the siblings managing to build their company, Miramax, into a major player during awards season and on weekly box office charts. Part of this corporate approach involved the acquisition and alteration of genre pictures, with Bob's Dimension Films notorious for re-editing features, reducing length and occasionally softening violence, allowing the company to sell PG-13 experiences to young audiences. 2002's "Darkness" is one of many efforts subjected to the Weinstein treatment, with the Spanish production shelved for two years, eventually handed a quickie Christmas release in a version roughly 15 minutes shorter than its original cut. At the time, "Darkness" was awful, finding director Jaume Balaguero's trendy visuals and inability to summon suspense making for a hard sit. Now his initial version is available (including this Blu-ray release), and the offering is…slightly less awful. That's not to suggest the Weinsteins were correct in cutting down Balaguero's endeavor, but the material and execution are deeply flawed, generating a tedious ghost story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - Ultramegalopolis

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Between 1990 and 1995, filmmaker Larry Wessel toured parts of Los Angeles with a camera. He wasn't hunting for a story, but attempting to capture the experience of the city, away from the glitz and glamour typically associated with Hollywood. "Ultramegalopolis" is a document of this time, offering a wandering, mostly repetitive understanding of the world as it was. Wessel aims to capture experience with the endeavor, and he's successful, but 157 minutes of "Ultramegalopolis" is a lot to ask of viewers, who are treated to a picture that's filled with both interesting and agonizingly dull sequences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Blu-ray Review - In the Land of Saints and Sinners

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Liam Neeson has been making the same type of movie for quite some time now. While box office returns haven't been strong, someone is making money, because the actor keeps finding work with violent entertainment. Neeson doesn't exactly distance himself from the usual with "In the Land of Saints and Sinners," but the feature is a slight break from the norm, reteaming with his "The Marksman" director, Robert Lorenz, for an Irish tale of revenge and protection. "In the Land of Saints and Sinners" handles with pleasing hostility, and the script by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane creates dimensional characters to follow, making for a deeper inspection of danger. It's a sharp, involving film, and one of the better Neeson endeavors of the last five years. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Don't Move

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If you’re tired of overcomplicated thrillers stuffing in too many characters involved in too much business, writers T.J. Cimfel and David White have something fairly straightforward with “Don’t Move.” It’s a tale about a madman trying to control the victim he’s recently incapacitated, keeping the pair dueling as they experience a particularly active day of survival and intimidation. Directors Brian Netto and Adam Schindler have the central premise and the great outdoors to explore, and they deliver an effective battle of persistence with the feature. “Don’t Move” isn’t an extraordinary example of pulse-pounding filmmaking, but it delivers decent excitement, and a few turns of plot certainly help the cause. It’s not a puzzle meant to be solved, but a B-movie experience built for viewers hunting for a lean genre exercise that’s short and direct. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Venom: The Last Dance

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The “Venom” series has certainly divided fans of comic book cinema since its debut in 2018, offering a wacky tone that’s been passably amusing to see. The first film and its 2021 sequel, “Let There Be Carnage,” offered entertainment with heavy amounts of visual effects and complete thespian commitment from star Tom Hardy. He indulges his love of slapstick and jaw-clenching intensity in the main role, seemingly enjoying an opportunity to play as wild as possible as a human fighting to cohabitate normally with an alien creature living inside of him. The joyride is mostly over in “Venom: The Last Dance,” as writer/director Kelly Marcel looks to get a little more serious in the second sequel, envisioning the effort as the conclusion of a trilogy, but not necessarily the end of a franchise. Heart and soul are new to the “Venom” experience, and Marcel battles to juggle offerings of goofiness and sincerity in this uneven endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

 


Film Review - Canary Black

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In 2008, director Pierre Morel struck gold with “Taken.” He created a lean, mean actioner that didn’t waste time on distractions, and the feature’s enormous success helped to launch his career. However, Morel has been making basically the same kind of movie ever since (including “The Gunman,” “Peppermint,” and the 2023 bomb, “Freelance”), and he returns to old business in “Canary Black,” which is yet another tale of a character with a particular set of skills facing direct threats and physical challenges in a spy game-type of world. It’s Kate Beckinsale’s turn to command a breathless thriller, but the screenplay (credited to Matthew Kennedy) holds no surprises, and Morel’s command of visual hits is limited to the same old stuff in the picture. “Canary Black” certainly isn’t snoozy, but it’s too glossy and routine to inspire excitement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - The House From...

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As the famous line of dialogue from “The Wizard of Oz” goes, “There’s no place like home.” That is, unless your dwelling also appeared in a popular movie or television show, resulting in a mass of gawkers and tourists looking to stand by your front door, run around the backyard, and peek inside your windows. Suddenly, the place begins to feel like a prison. Director Tommy Avallone looks into the realities of such living spaces in “The House From…” (narrated by Jason Lee), endeavoring to understand the popularity of these locations and the experiences shared from the homeowners, who are left to deal with so much, often without fully understanding why they’ve been drafted into duty as a pop culture gatekeeper. Avallone plays the feature brightly but also fairly, examining both sides of the tourism situation, visiting numerous properties who’ve either submitted to the ways of fandom or thrown up gates to keep trespassers out. “The House From…” is ridiculously fun for the most part, as Avallone maintains a snappy pace and sense of humor about the subject, also acquiring access to locations most fanatics could only dream of visiting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Magpie

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Daisy Ridley has been doing interesting work this year. A few months ago, she was immensely appealing in “The Young Woman and the Sea,” adding pep and feeling to the terrific underdog sports drama. She plays a much darker part in “Magpie,” offering her take on a mother of two being slowly driven insane by the realization that her husband is looking to cheat on her. Ridley gets to show off more of her range, going for intensity in the new picture, which is scripted by her real-world husband (and longtime actor) Tom Bateman, with this his first produced screenplay. “Magpie” isn’t flashy, hunting for a more intimate examination of betrayal and seduction, and it’s nicely portioned out by Bateman, who creates defined characters and problems to explore for 90 minutes. Director Sam Yates (a theater veteran) also understands the assignment, giving “Magpie” moments of intensity as a troubling situation unfolds. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Your Monster

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“Your Monster” delivers a version of “Beauty and the Beast” that’s lighter on romantic connections and a little harder with violence. It’s an unusual picture from writer/director Caroline Lindy, who makes her feature-length helming debut with the endeavor, which is an adaptation of a 2019 short. One can vaguely detect some stretchmarks on the material as it aims to broaden character conflicts and showcase Broadway atmosphere, and Lindy has a little trouble with tonal stability as the effort moves from dark comedy to mental breakdowns. “Your Monster” remains an imaginative take on relationship woes and empowerment, and leads Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey contribute amazingly fiery performances. Their passion helps Lindy reach a few of her dramatic goals, getting into the depths of hurt people processing humiliating situations in both the fantasy realm and the real world. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Brothers (2024)

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There are many talented individuals contributing to the making of “Brothers,” yet the film, shot three years ago, goes wrong in a hundred different ways. Chief among the professionals is director Max Barbakow, who acquired a lot of industry and viewer goodwill with his 2020 time-travel romantic comedy, “Palm Springs.” Much of it is burned off in his latest effort, which tracks the itchy relationship of twin brothers returning to a life of crime they once shared. Perhaps it’s meant to be a Coen Brothers-type of offering, as screenwriter Macon Blair certainly pushes hard on silliness and strangeness. What “Brothers” truly becomes is a mighty test of patience, as Barbakow seems to be making a live-action cartoon with the endeavor, while Blair attempts to add some emotional weight to relationships. Nothing connects as it should in the movie, and it quickly snowballs into one dud scene after another. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com


Film Review - Classified

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“Classified” is a superspy thriller that will likely qualify as one of the most uneventful films of 2024. It’s unclear what kind of screenplay was originally submitted by Bob DeRosa, but he delivers a strange game of stillness and feeble turns of plot to fuel this actioner, which features very little in the way of physical entanglements. Director Roel Reine isn’t known for refined work (previous offerings include “Hard Target 2,” “The Condemned 2,” and “The Man with the Iron Fists 2”), but he’s positively asleep on this production, barely making an effort to move things along as the characters sit and contemplate their next moves. And they don’t have next moves. “Classified” is meant to be a hard study of confusion and survival, but it doesn’t go anywhere of interest, also taking a hit with casting, finding leads Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin sharing zero chemistry as they’re forced to make sense of a picture that has no creative gas. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com