Minions Blu-ray Review

      Actors: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Steve Carell

Director: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda

Format: Animated, 3D, Widescreen, Digital_copy

Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby TrueHD), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish, English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: PG

Studio: Universal Studios

Release Date: December 8, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2016

 

        Despicable Me was a clever concept in its decision to make a villain the protagonist, and it got away with this by making the narrative about his inevitable redemption. Minions, the off-shoot prequel about the oddball lackeys that do Gru’s bidding, succeeds in having their villainous tendencies (or admiration for those who have them) because of their utter incompetence. In an opening sequence which the rest of the film has a hard time following, we are given the origin story of the Minions throughout all of history. While simultaneously showing their propensity to follow the most despicable creature around, this introduction allows for a series of amusing gags in their clumsy inability to keep them alive.

 

The Hunting Ground DVD Review

      Actors: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Diane Rosenfeld

Director: Kirby Dick

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: December 1, 2015

Run Time: 104 minutes

 

 

        Documentaries are so rarely unbiased that we have sadly come to see the examination of facts on screen as little more than propaganda. This is not to say that there isn’t truth in the information being provided audiences, but it is no longer enough to simply accept everything you are told in a non-fiction film. Most views expressed can be countered by the opposition, but this becomes more impactful when the facts provided in a documentary come into question. It is one thing to share one side of an argument, but it is another to adjust the facts so that your side has more strength. The reality is that many of the truths in The Hunting Ground have been overshadowed by the instances in the documentary where facts are stretched and bent to support the cause.

 

Goodnight Mommy Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Susanna Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz

Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Frank

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

Release Date: December 1, 2015

Run Time: 99 minutes

 

        It is clear about halfway through Goodnight Mommy that the Austrian horror film will make a perfect companion film to either Michael Haneke’s Funny Games or Under the Skin, though the obviousness of which would be more fitting depends on the effectiveness of the film’s red herring on each viewer. Filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala lay out clues to figure out the reality of the film’s narrative early on, but often pairs them with enough evidence to counter with an alternate possibility. This makes the film far less about a final twist and much more about the uncertainty and doubt following the most likely answer to the central question.

 

Santa’s Little Helper DVD Review

     Actors: Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, AnnaLynne McCord, Eric Keenleyside

Directors: Gil Junger

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Region: Region 1

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Studio: 20TH CENTURY FOX

DVD Release Date: November 17, 2015

Run Time: 91 minutes

 

        WWE Studios continues their awkward transition from scripted wrestling melodrama to scripted cinematic melodrama with the latest of their family productions. Santa’s Little Helper stars their regular performer, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin (Can I take a moment to point out the redundancy of including someone’s nickname when it is already an abbreviation of the last name; it ends up just sounding like an echo), along with Paige’s film debut. Despite having two wrestlers in the cast, the film refrains from blatant WWE promoting, and the storyline requires a surprisingly minimal amount of fighting between them.

 

Ricki and the Flash Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Ben Platt, Rick Springfield, Sebastian Stan, Audra McDonald, Kevin Kline

Director: Jonathan Demme

Producers: Marc Platt, Gary Goetzman, Diablo Cody, Mason Novick

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Cantonese, Thai, Spanish, English

Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish

Audio Description: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: November 24, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2018

Run Time: 101 minutes

 

        It is truly a sad state of affairs when the most impressive acting in a film featuring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline is a performance from former rock icon, Rick Springfield. Not since Will Smith and his obnoxious pseudo-celebrity child collaborated with M. Night Shyamalan to make the post-apocalyptic disaster of a film, After Earth, has an actor been so horribly blinded by the urge to work with their own undeserving offspring. This is the kind of performance that would kill most careers, though the lack of famous actresses her age allows Streep the freedom to make a Mamma Mia every few years, without repercussion. As much as Streep’s growling and guttural performance as an aging wannabe rock star may be like nails on a chalkboard to anyone who has ever actually held a guitar, it is nowhere near as obnoxious as the obviously nepotistic casting of her real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer. And all of this is sloppily held together by a lazy and reductive screenplay from Hollywood’s favorite stripper.  

Assassination Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Gianna Jun

Directors: Choi Dong-hoon

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Korean

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: December 1, 2015

Run Time: 139 minutes

 

 

        Assassination is a historical action film, a period ensemble blockbuster with many twists and turns in the narrative and enough characters and tonal shifts to force audiences to work for their entertainment. This doesn’t make for a bad film, just one that requires a bit more attention to fully appreciate the spectacle. Although I am always an advocate for appreciation of international cinema, this is also a film likely to carry additional relevance for those who have lived through (or are at least familiar with) Korean history.

Jimmy’s Hall Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Aisling Franciosi, Karl Geary, Conor McDermottroe, Denise Gough, Mikel Murfi

Director: Ken Loach

Producers: Rebecca O'Brien

Format: Blu-ray, AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: French, English

Dubbed: French

Audio Description: English

Region: Region A/1

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Run Time: 109 minutes

 

        Some films based on a true story are banking on the unbelievable nature of the narrative, whereas Jimmy’s Hall has a screenplay that never hits an unexpected note. Even at the peak of the story’s excitement, the volume of the action remains subdued enough to remain tied to realism above all else. While this may make for accurate storytelling, it does little for the excitement of the entertainment. Though director Ken Loach is able to accurately capture the feel of the period and place in Jimmy’s Hall, this attention to detail does little to improve the thin narrative and underdeveloped characters in Paul Laverty’s screenplay.

 

Bad Boys I & II: 20th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith

Format: Blu-ray, AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2018

 

        What is most remarkable to me watching Bad Boys again, 20 years after its initial release, is how early in his career Michael Bay began the bad habits we now associate with his overblown style of filmmaking. Most disturbing among the similarities Bad Boys shares with his future films is the blatant objectification of Téa Leoni, who looks unbelievably similar to Megan Fox in The Transformers. The manner with which Bay poses his actresses and allows his camera to leer at them is prime example of the “male gaze,” which is as much his signature as large explosions are.

 

The Great American Dream Machine Review

     Actors: Marshall Efron, Andy Rooney, Chevy Chase, Charles Grodin, Albert Brooks

Director: Peter Lance

Format: Multiple Formats, NTSC, THX

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 4

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Entertainment One

DVD Release Date: October 20, 2015

Run Time: 650 minutes

 

        PBS has a longstanding tradition of blending education with entertainment and the arts, and with the early satirical sketch show, “The Great American Dream Machine,” they brought politic discourse into the mix during a time it was most needed. When the series began its short-lived run in 1971, Americans were wrestling with a number of political issues, from the Vietnam War to environmental conservation. “The Great American Dream Machine” provided an outlet for a humorous approach to the conversation, only able to exist because of the unique alternative that PBS provided to traditional commercial networks.

Inside Out Blu-ray Review

Actors: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black

Director: Pete Docter

Writers: Story By Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen, Screenplay By Meg LeFauve & Josh Cooley And Pete D, Additional Dialogue By Amy Poehler & Bill Hader

Format: Blu-ray, AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, Digital_copy

Language: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: PG

Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Release Date: November 3, 2015

         I have always had a difficult time choosing a favorite Pixar film. I end up undecided, bouncing back and forth between several I have equal appreciation of while ignoring the choices I really want to make because of their unevenness. The answer I always want to give is either Up or Wall-E, but only for the realism in their opening sequences. Both of these films also lose me when the grounded style of the beginning is interrupted by a jarring return to a sillier, more cartoonish style. Though Inside Out also utilizes this fantastical style, it somehow also manages to remain as emotionally and intellectually grounded as those opening sequences I love, and with consistency throughout the entire running time. Previously, Pixar has proved more than capable of making clever films, but Inside Out is their most intellectually rewarding endeavor to date. This film provides lessons for young children, with just as many rewards for their parents to appreciate.  

 

The Stanford Experiment DVD Review

     Actors: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan

Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: MPI Home Video

DVD Release Date: November 17, 2015

Run Time: 122 minutes

 

 

        The Stanford Prison Experiment is consistently compelling, a fascinating telling of true events grounded by believable performances and a relentlessly tense tone. The entire experience of watching the film was riveting, despite a disappointing lack of commentary on the events. We are drawn in by the realism of Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s direction and the dedicated performances from the solid ensemble cast, but the screenplay adapted by Tim Talbott from Dr. Phillip Zimbardo’s book fails to contextualize the events. When the experiment from the film’s title was completed, it was followed by endless interviews and studies to understand the events; the audience of The Stanford Prison Experiment is merely given a few minutes to investigate these ideas as the credits roll. 

 

Two Men in Town Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Alain Delon, Gerard Depardieu, Jean Gabin

Director: Jose Gioveanni

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: French

Dubbed: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Cohen Media Group

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Run Time: 99 minutes

 

 

        Labeling Two Men in Town as a crime film is somewhat deceptive, although there are crimes committed and the main character is a recently paroled criminal. The criminal activity we see if carried out by characters other than the protagonist, who spends a majority of the film attempting to earn redemption for his past. This is a drama about the difficulty of rehabilitation, though it does so with the narrative manipulation of a particularly villainous police officer. Created as a strong statement against the death penalty in France (which would be abolished eight years after this film’s release), Two Men in Town is a message movie which manipulates the audience’s emotions a bit too much to stand up beyond its political agenda.   

 

Code Unknown Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Luminita Gheorghiu

Director: Michael Haneke

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: French

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Run Time: 117 minutes

 

        Code Unknown often feels more like a film by Krzysztof Kieślowski than Michael Haneke’s follow-up to Funny Games (1997), and I say this with the highest regard. It is not just that Code Unknown stars Juliette Binoche, who starred in one of the films in Kieślowski’s Three Colors trilogy, but also a similarity in theme and style. Though the narrative construct is different, this film continues discussion of social themes often found in Kieślowski’s work, such as Blind Chance (1981). And like much of Kieślowski’s work, there is an ambiguity to Haneke’s narrative, forcing the audience to participate in the deconstruction of its meaning.

 

The Golden Cane Warrior Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Christine Hakim, Tara Basro, Nicholas Saputra

Director: Ifa Isfansyah

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen

Language: Indonesian

Subtitles: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Run Time: 111 minutes

 

 

        The Indonesian film industry has seen a boom in recent years, primarily due to the success of a few influential films in the international marketplace. This includes the financial success of the action franchise which began in 2011 with The Raid (the sequel was funded in part by selling the rights for a Hollywood remake currently in the works), as well as the critical reception to Indonesian-based documentaries, The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014). But each of these movies, however successfully they worked within the Indonesian film industry, was directed by foreign filmmakers. The Golden Cane Warrior, on the other hand, proves that an Indonesian director can also create a technically polished film.

 

Seymour: An Introduction DVD Review

     Actors: Seymour Bernstein, Ethan Hawke

Director: Ethan Hawke

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: November 3, 2015

Run Time: 81 minutes

 

 

        There is a magnificently unexpected moment within Seymour: An Introduction, from which the tagline of the film was born. Filmmaker Ethan Hawke is having a conversation with legendary pianist Seymour Bernstein about the struggles of striving to live life “more beautifully.” Bernstein questions whether Hawke can achieve this through his career in film, a question which leaves the actor tongue-tied. If a life dedicated to the arts is not about commercial or financial success, what is the ultimate goal? These are the questions investigated in Seymour: An Introduction, a film chronicling one man’s decision to leave behind fame and wealth for a modest life teaching his art form as way to “play life more beautifully.”

 

Do I Sound Gay? DVD Review

     Actors: David Thorpe, George Takei, Tim Gunn

Director: David Thorpe

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: November 3, 2015

Run Time: 77 minutes

 

 

        Documentaries recently have begun to fall into distinct sub-genres, with a majority made up of biographies and those with political and/or social agendas. Though you could argue elements of the latter in Do I Sound Gay?, it is more of an investigation of a specific social phenomenon, never taking a strong stance or carrying a specific purpose. The answer may be too simplistic for a feature-film discussion, which is why the personalization of the topic by filmmaker and journalist David Thorpe helps to pad the narrative.

 

Hungry Hearts DVD Review

      Actors: Adam Driver, Alba Rohrwacher

Director: Saverio Costanzo

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI Home Video

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Run Time: 113 minutes

 

 

        Even after completing Hungry Hearts, I’m not entirely clear on what type of film writer/director Saverio Costanzo intended to make; what begins with a scene that suggests a subtle romance slowly sinks into a schizophrenic narrative about mental illness unable to decide whether it is a thriller or a drama. Even when it seems clear that the screenplay would have us treat the material as somber melodrama, the music and stylistic camera choices that Costanzo use suggest that Hungry Hearts a psychological horror film in the tradition of 1970s Roman Polanski. Either way that I consider the film, it doesn’t work for me, though I will admit that elements of the narrative certainly succeeded in leaving me unnerved.

 

The Final Girls Blu-ray Review

Actors: Alexander Ludwig, Malin Akerman, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Taissa Farmiga

Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Producers: Michael London, Janice Williams

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, Spanish, English

Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Run Time: 91 minutes

        In Carol Clover’s crucial critical analysis of feminism in the horror genre in her book, “Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film,” the critic popularized the term ‘final girl’ in reference to the sole survivor within the slasher sub-genre. This ‘final girl’ is typically seen to survive due to the purity of her character (no drinking, drugs, or sex), enforcing the conservative ideology of Reagan’s America during the 1980s even further by showing the bloody demise of the characters displaying weaker moral compasses. This is where the significance of the title for The Final Girls originated, though the opportunity to reference classic slasher horror films is wasted beyond a basic premise for the rules of horror. None of the postmodern discussion of horror structure extends beyond one simple observation, and this merely feels like a rehashing of better movies, such as Scream and The Cabin in the Woods.

 

Pixels Blu-ray Review

Actors: Lainie Kazan, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Ashley Benson, Affion Crockett

Director: Chris Columbus

Producers: Adam Sandler, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Allen Covert

Format: Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Cantonese, Thai, Spanish, English

Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish

Audio Description: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: October 27, 2015

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2018

Run Time: 106 minutes

        Adam Sandler’s involvement in another lazily constructed comedy is not surprising, though I find it oddly fascinating that the quality of his films seems to diminish as the budget increases. While none have been masterpieces, some of his smaller productions have fared far better than these sophomoric blockbusters. Pixels boasts the premise of a special-effects driven action-comedy, but it has the approach of a mildly immature family film made on autopilot.

 

Paper Towns Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Nat Wolff, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith

Director: Jake Schreier

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (Unknown), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: 20TH CENTURY FOX

Release Date: October 20, 2015

Run Time: 109 minutes

        This is clearly a film made to be appreciated by young adults alone, and this is apparent by the ultimate message that the worst thing a teenager can be is responsible. Paper Towns actually reminds me a great deal of Juno, another film where pretentious hipster behavior is embraced as superior. Thankfully, unlike Juno, that judgmental representation of pretentious behavior is not found in the protagonist of the narrative. Whether it is me showing my age through my preferences, a poor adaptation of the original text, the failures of model Cara Delevingne as an actor, or a combination of all, less time spent with the character of Margo makes it easier to appreciate Paper Towns.