High Strung DVD Review

• Actors: Ian Eastwood, Comfort Fedoke, Marcus Mitchell, Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine
• Director: Michael Damian
• Producers: Michael Damian, Janeen Damian
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 2, 2016
• Run Time: 96 minutes

        In describing the plot of High Strung, a movie about an innocent young blond teen dancer who moves to the big city and learns how to integrate a hip-hop style with her abilities in classical dance, I could easily be talking about any number of dance films, from Save the Last Dance to several entries in the Step Up franchise. Literally nothing about this film feels original or fresh, but that might not matter to the younger audience members it seems directed at, many of which may be unfamiliar with how much of the movie is a retread. Even the flaws remain the same, casting actors for their abilities during the musical numbers rather than for convincing acting. Awkward dialogue and predictable plot points give way to some well executed dance choreography and a bit of creative musical composition. If only this were a music video, there would plenty positive to say.

Sniper: Ghost Shooter DVD Review

• Actors: Dennis Haysbert, Nick Gomez, Stephanie Vogt, Chad Collins, Billy Zane
• Director: Don Paul
• Producers: Jeffery Beach, Phillip Roth
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English
• Dubbed: Portuguese, French, Thai
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 2, 2016
• Run Time: 99 minutes

        Sniper: Ghost Shooter, the sixth film in the Sniper franchise, keeps the family connection alive with Chad Michael Collins returning to the role of Brandon Beckett. His father, Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) is absent from the latest entry, though Richard Miller (Billy Zane), a sniper from the original 1993 film, reappears to fill the connection. Mostly, however, these films have standalone storylines which could have easily added the connections to Sniper films as an afterthought.

Guernica DVD Review

• Actors: James D'Arcy, María Valverde, Jack Davenport
• Director: Koldo Serra
• Producers: José Alba, Daniel Dreifuss
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English, Japanese
• Dubbed: French, Thai, Japanese
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 2, 2016
• Run Time: 111 minutes

        Despite being directed by Spanish filmmaker Koldo Serra from a story and screenplay by two Spanish writers about the attacks on the small village in Spain during their Civil War in 1937, Guernica seems made with an English speaking audience in mind. The film is primarily in English and our protagonist is an American journalist. Fortunately much of the rest of the film’s approach feels more European rather than as if it had been constructed by Hollywood, especially since the plot is almost exactly the same as Pearl Harbor.

Traded Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Kris Kristofferson, Trace Adkins, Tom Sizemore, Michael Paré
• Director: Timothy Woodward Jr.
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  Unrated
• Studio: Cinedigm
• Release Date: August 2, 2016
• Run Time: 99 minutes

 

        When cameras first became portable enough to shoot outside of studios, there were plenty of low budget westerns made. Some of them are even considered classics today. While it has gotten increasingly easy to make movies with limited funds, the biggest problems with Traded have less to do with a lack of money and are more about missing talent and originality. The premise of the film is Taken in the western genre, as the unimaginative title suggests. It is so close to the original premise and so riddled with amateur dialogue and performances that Traded often feels more like a parody than a sincere effort at filmmaking.

Born to Be Blue DVD Review

• Actors: Ethan Hawke, Carmen Ejogo
• Director: Robert Budreau
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: MPI Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 26, 2016
• Run Time: 97 minutes

        While Born to Be Blue contains the usual themes of addiction and redemption often seen in biographical dramas of famous musicians, it makes the clever decision to begin where most would end. Rather than showing Chet Baker’s rise and fall in fame, the film focuses on the period in his life when he was sober and struggling to make a comeback. Other than the occasional flashback and clever presentations of past events in a film within the film, we don’t experience much of Baker’s time as a successful artist. Instead, we are witness to his struggles during a key moment during the 1960s.

The Boss Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Kathy Bates, Tyler Labine, Peter Dinklage
• Director: Ben Falcone
• Writers: Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Steve Mallory
• Producers: Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  Not Rated
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 26, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        I can’t begin to understand the dynamics of a relationship between two people in the entertainment industry when one is clearly far more successful than the other. This awkward dynamic might explain why Melissa McCarthy continues to make films with her mildly successful character actor husband. Although I grew accustomed to seeing Ben Falcone appear in small roles in nearly every major film McCarthy has done since Bridesmaids, his attempts at writing and directing with the help of his spouse has been much more difficult to endure.

The Perfect Match Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Terrence Jenkins, Cassie Ventura, Donald Faison, Dascha Polanco, Kali Hawk
• Director: Billie Woodruff
• Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: July 19, 2016
• Run Time: 96 minutes

        Nothing about this film was perfect, including the title. I’m actually at a loss for words, astounded at how atrociously bad a film like this can be. It takes a special kind of disaster to ruin a movie following a structure as predictable as romantic comedy. Essentially all you need for a conventional narrative like this is good chemistry between the leads, and this is only the first of many stumbles for The Perfect Match.

Elvis & Nixon Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Kevin Spacey, Michael Shannon, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks
• Director: Liza Johnson
• Producers: Holly Wiersma, Cassian Elwes
• Format: Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 19, 2016
• Run Time: 86 minutes

          The story of Elvis Presley’s surprise visit to see Richard Nixon at the White House in the 1970s makes for an unlikely pairing and a great story, but after watching Elvis & Nixon I’m not entirely convinced that it’s enough story to warrant a feature-length film. Lighthearted to the point of vapidity, Elvis & Nixon doesn’t have much to say about the world, now or in the ‘70s. Mostly this is a simple recreation of a bizarre historical moment which allows two talented actors to showcase their skills in the title roles. And Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey don’t disappoint with their Presley and Nixon impressions, though the screenplay lets them down without much new insight on the historical figures.

Opry Video Classics II Review

• Disc Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 8
• Rated:
  Not Rated
• Studio: Time Life/WEA
• DVD Release Date: July 26, 2016

        Fans of classic country music will find endless joy in this box set collection of live performances from some of the best. From 1943 to 1974 The Opry was located at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and these performances come from the television broadcast of the “Purina Grand Ole Opry” which first aired in 1955. The name of the show changed with new sponsors, but the content remained the same. This 8-disc set includes over 350 minutes of performances, split up thematically by each disc. Many of them are continuations of the titles released in the first set of Opry Classics.

A Perfect Day Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins
• Director: Fernando León de Aranoa
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
• Release Date: July 19, 2016
• Run Time: 106 minutes

        The ironically titled A Perfect Day is single-minded in its approach to show a 24-hour period in the life and efforts of a group of combat zone aid workers, for better or worse. The simple premise allows ample opportunity to show the realistic frustrations of battling bureaucracy and bullish locals in the attempt to accomplish simple humanitarian goals. This is done with an almost whimsical tone that allows wit to carry the narrative without losing sight of the gravity of war. Even though there is drama and suspense, the dry humor consistently sets the tone for a film about inaction.

Miles Ahead Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Michael Stuhlbarg, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lakeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Ewan McGregor
• Director: Don Cheadle
• Producers: Don Cheadle, Vince Wilburn, Pamela Hirsch, Lenore Zerman, Darryl Porter
• Format: Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish
• Audio Description: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 19, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 100 minutes

        Co-written, produced, directed and starring Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead is clearly a vanity project for an actor often delegated to play supporting characters to show his ability as a leading actor and as a director. Biopics have an awful reputation of providing this opportunity for actors trying to stretch themselves, but this is not reason alone to unfairly judge Miles Ahead. If it is predictable in its conception, at the very least the film takes an unconventional approach to the material. Even with some expected flashback sequences of the usual pitfalls of fame, the portion of the film taking place during Davis’ later years is refreshingly unique despite staying tied to typical themes of addiction and suffering.

Van Gogh Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Jacques Dutronc, Bernard Le Coq
• Director: Maurice Pialat
• Disc Format: NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 159 minutes

        Even by the 1990s the biopic was already something of a predictable sub-genre, just as it has now become traditional fodder for award season. Even in 1991, Maurice Pialat’s Van Gogh was rather innovative in the approach toward a typical narrative of the struggling artist. Nearly every biopic of an artist or a musician that I have seen in the last decade has included some of the same elements of Van Gogh (addiction, suffering, depression), but Pialat doesn’t dwell on the melodrama as others did before him and have since. While Vincent Van Gogh may have even been more tortured than the rest, Pialat doesn’t sensationalize this for dramatic purposes. Instead, he shows us a fairly uneventful recreation of Van Gogh’s final days.

The Dresser DVD Review

• Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Emily Watson, Vanessa Kirby
• Director: Richard Eyre
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: ANCHOR BAY
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 109 minutes

        Cinema has a long tradition of borrowing from the theater, but the two mediums don’t always line up perfectly. Film is a far more visual medium, and the dialogue-heavy stories from the stage can often be noticeably stagnant onscreen. This easily could have been the case with The Dresser, Richard Eyre’s TV movie adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s stage play, had the casting been any different. Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins often approach the material with the rawness only seen in live performances, but also give the subtle nuances often lost without a camera or front row theater tickets.

Belladonna of Sadness Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Aiko Nagayama, Tatsuya Nakadai, Chinatsu Nakayama
• Director: Eiichi Yamamoto
• Disc Format: DTS Surround Sound, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Cinelicious Pics
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 87 minutes

        There is little reference for a film like Belladonna of Sadness in modern cinema, a psychedelic adult animated feature from 1973 which is equal parts exploitation and art film. One could easily find the influence of director Eiichi Yamamoto’s film in modern manga and anime, and somehow Belladonna of Sadness still remains unique in its style and tone. The film exists in the world of exploitation, but titillation rarely seems to be the purpose of the shocking imagery. Mixing psychology with the supernatural in order to tell an erotic tale of revenge, this is a cult film unlike any other, now or then.

Marguerite & Julien DVD Review

• Actors: Anaïs Demoustier, Jérémie Elkaïm
• Director: Valérie Donzelli
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  Unrated
• Studio: MPI Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 103 minutes

        The only consistency within Marguerite & Julien is the idiocy with which it is constructed, each moment failing to achieve the desired result unless director Valérie Donzelli only intended to make a movie for the purpose of mockery. This is a film of vanity mixed with vapid stylistic decisions, all resulting in a romance which is all pretension and no pathos. Adapted from a screenplay originally written for François Truffaut, even the moments of anachronistic additions to the true story come off as imitation rather than originality. This is an awful film which feels like a copycat attempt at an art film from a filmmaker who doesn’t even understand the sources being mimicked.

The Preppie Connection DVD Review

• Actors: Thomas Mann, Lucy Fry
• Director: Joseph Castelo
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: MPI Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 97 minutes

        Based on a true story that was scandalously diverting enough to be picked up by the media outlets in 1984, the premise of The Preppie Connection is effortlessly engaging. The problem is that there isn’t much depth beyond what made the headlines, even with liberties taken with character development and added action. Nearly all of the relationships in the film feel rather self destructive, and even a last-minute moral crossroads which hints at redemption from the greed mantra of the 1980s comes a bit too late to care. Because of the headlines the film is based on, we know that their crimes will eventually be exposed and it is difficult to feel any sympathy for those involved.

The Dark Horse DVD Review

• Actors: James Rolleston, Cliff Curtis, Kirk Torrance
• Director: James Napier Robertson
• Disc Format: Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Broad Green
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 124 minutes

        Despite being based on a true story, the narrative in The Dark Horse resembles the type of formulaic plot seen so often cinematically that few surprises are offered within the lengthy run-time. Fortunately, this New Zealand drama is held together by the committed performances of the cast rather than any originality in the script. It may not offer many surprises, but it tells a familiar story well and does justice to the real people and events it was based upon.

Miracles from Heaven Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Kylie Rogers, Eugenio Derbez
• Director: Patricia Riggen
• Producers: T.D. Jakes, DeVon Franklin, Joe Roth
• Format: Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Thai, Spanish, English
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish
• Audio Description: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 109 minutes

        For those with religious beliefs longing for a better faith-based film, Miracles from Heaven is a massive step in the right direction, though it still offers little help to bridge the gap for mainstream audiences unconcerned with religion. The elements of Christian belief are not as prevalent as they have been in the hokey films from the Kendrick brothers (Fireproof, Courageous, War Room), but many of the amateurishly bad filmmaking habits still remain. And there is also the glaringly obvious comparison to Heaven is for Real, which this film imitates with only a gender reversal as its distinguishing alteration on the formula.

Naked and Afraid XL: Season 1 DVD Review

• Directors: Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 3
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 622 minutes

        For those who long for the basic premise of “Survivor” without the games, prizes, and teams, “Naked and Afraid XL” provides much more of what remains. They are not competing for a million dollars and don’t have the luxury of a host appearing to offer them food and resources to make it through the ordeal, but the social element is nearly as important when such clearly different personality types are placed together in extreme conditions. The fact that they are naked is just another obstacle in their survival, though it doesn’t make much difference to the viewing experience beyond an occasional bare butt and the distraction of constant blur.

Kill Zone 2 Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Jing Wu, Tony Jaa, Simon Yam
• Director: Cheang Pou-Soi
• Format: Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
• Language: Mandarin Chinese, English
• Subtitles: English
• Dubbed: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  Not Rated
• Studio: Well Go USA
• Release Date: July 19, 2016
• Run Time: 121 minutes

        While the plot is heavily reliant on moments of coincidence and melodrama which demand more suspension of disbelief than the physical feats created with wire-work, Kill Zone 2 provides a showcase for the most thrilling martial arts and impressive camera choreography an action film has seen since The Raid 2. Even with the loss of the two biggest names from the original 2005 film, this loose sequel stands on its own merits and provides Tony Jaa with his best cinematic opportunity in years as their replacement. Moments of the story’s drama and some convoluted non-linear editing in the first act are far from perfect, but all is forgiven whenever any of the film’s major action sequences begin.