Touched with Fire Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby, Christine Lahti, Griffin Dunne

Director: Paul Dalio

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: June 7, 2016

Run Time: 110 minutes

        While I appreciated the discussion of mental illness and its connection to artistic creativity within the narrative Touched with Fire, at times the individual scenarios of the specific plot overshadow the larger topic. Writer/director Paul Dalio based the film on his own experiences, and while this brings honesty to the material, it often also runs the risk of carrying romanticized bias of personal memory. In this case, some distance from the content may have helped to create a stronger film. Despite compellingly convincing performances from the lead actors, Dalio’s narrative often feels aimless at best, and predictably melodramatic at its worst.

 

Vinyl: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review

Director: Martin Scorsese

Format: Box set, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 4

Studio: Hbo Home Video

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2021

        “Vinyl” is a show that seemed destined for greatness, built upon a foundation of elements that should have all led to guaranteed success: Martin Scorsese returning to HBO as producer of the series (and director of the pilot), a collaboration with Mick Jagger as a legendary rocker with unique insight into the industry and time period, and a premise approaching the 1970s music industry in a manner similar to the way “Mad Men” tackled the advertising business in the 1960s. With the constantly shifting landscape of rock during this decade, it seems like a show that should have written itself. There should have been a plethora of material for the first season of “Vinyl,” but instead we end up with a repetitive character study centering on the endlessly flawed protagonist.

Extra Confessional: An Atypical Hail, Caesar! Blu-ray Review

Actors: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

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

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: Region A/1

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        I regularly lecture my students on the significance of Audience Reception Theory in the interpretation of each film we watch, though I found myself a student of this very lesson while viewing Hail, Caesar!, with the Joel and Ethan Coen as my (presumably) unwitting professors. This film theory essentially argues that each viewer’s interpretation of art will be affected by their own background and personal experiences. In the plainest sense, this means that viewers of Hail, Caesar! with previous experience watching classics from the golden age of cinema are more likely to appreciate the references to Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Carmen Miranda, and countless others. But the latest Coen brothers film took on additional significance for me, having had the experience of being on set while it was filmed.

In a Lonely Place Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy

Director: Nicholas Ray

Format: Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Not Rated

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: May 10, 2016

Run Time: 93 minutes

        Despite being adapted from a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, In a Lonely Place says more about the director and stars than it does the author of the source material. Films about Hollywood have this tendency of bringing out the honesty from filmmakers who understand the cynicism of the text better than most, and beneath the violent noir narrative are raw performances and parallels with real life events. Bleak as the film may be, it also offers audiences one of the more unadulterated perspectives of the industry from those who knew it best. Nearly 70-years later and In a Lonely Place remains one of the most accurate depictions of the battle between art and commerce, reputation and reality, and the way that Hollywood often confuses them for each other.

Triple 9 Blu-ray Review

Actors: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Jr. Clifton Collins

Director: John Hillcoat

Writer: Matt Cook

Producers: John Hillcoat, Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros, Marc Butan, Anthony Katagas

Format: NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Rated: R

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 31, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

Run Time: 116 minutes

        If Triple 9 feels vaguely familiar, that’s because it resembles countless other similarly mediocre crime films. There is nothing inherently bad about it, but the unoriginality plagues the narrative until each derivative moment begins to feel like a parody of the genre, despite (or perhaps because of) a deadly seriousness with which the material is approached. A good ensemble cast and solid direction from John Hillcoat (The Road, Lawless) can’t make up for the derivative screenplay which plateaus in the opening sequences.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Review

        Every aspect of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping feels calculated and constructed for success. The structure of the film is largely borrowed from Rob Reiner/Christopher Guest’s classic mock-rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, with a bit of VH1’s “Behind the Band” to update the format for younger audiences. It also updates the subject, switching from the fading hair bands in the 1980s to an indictment of pop/hip-hop stars of today, primarily focusing on a character very obviously based on Justin Bieber. While the jokes are consistently funny for at least two-thirds of the film and the music parodies created by The Lonely Island are at least as successful as the work they have done for “Saturday Night Live” over the years, something about Popstar feels a bit too safe. Even a scene of graphic male nudity (thanks to a contribution from producer Judd Apatow, who takes his efforts to use male genitals in a majority of his film one step further by offering his own for this gag) can’t save this film from being less shocking than reality itself. Anyone who has read about the spoiled-brat behavior of Bieber over the years or follows the narcissistic ramblings of Kanye West’s twitter feed will realize that real life is far more absurd than anything offered in Popstar.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 4K Ultra HD Review

Actors: Jack Huston, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith, Charles Dance, Lena Heady

Director: Burr Steers

Producers: Marc Butan, Tyler Thompson, Brian Oliver, Allison Shearmur, Natalie Portman

Format: 4K

Language: English

Subtitles: Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish, English, Danish

Dubbed: Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Audio Description: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 31, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019

Run Time: 107 minutes

I can’t judge how the blending of zombie horror with Jane Austen’s classic text worked in Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, but it was an all-around awkward cinematic endeavor in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The film adaptation by Burr Steers tries to please too many audience demographics and instead succeeds at none. Many have remarked that the most successful aspects of the film are those which remain closest to Austen’s original story, and though I would agree, these are also the parts of the film that reminded me of the far superior adaptation by Joe Wright a little over a decade ago. Like Spider-Man, apparently this is a narrative we must endure a new incarnation of for each generation.

Rise of the Legend Blu-ray Review

Actors: Eddie Peng, Sammo Hung, Angelababy

Director: Chow Hin Yeung Roy

Format: Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Chinese

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated 

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Run Time: 131 minutes

In the latest adaptation of the Wong Fei Hung narrative, Rise of the Legend, comparisons are bound to be made with previous martial arts film classics that have tackled the same subject. Unfortunately, this latest endeavor starring Eddie Peng in the iconic role lacks the humor of The Legend of the Drunken Master, the epic qualities of the Once Upon a Time in China franchise, and the charisma of their stars, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. What Rise of the Legend does have is polished visuals that modernize the cinematic action to emphasize cinematography over the pure physical abilities of its star. The past films were more about the action choreography, whereas Rise of the Legend becomes about the camera work instead. Sometimes this emphasis on visuals works as a welcome distraction to the obvious shortcomings in other areas of filmmaking, though it occasionally runs the risk of being as soulless as any number of CGI-filled summer blockbusters.

Song of Lahore DVD Review

Actors: Wynton Marsalis

Director: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andy Schocken

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: English, Urdu

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG 

Studio: Broadgreen

DVD Release Date: May 20, 2016

Run Time: 82 minutes

Song of Lahore DVD Review

        For the first twenty-minutes of Song of Lahore, I struggled to find an interest in the material. There were too many individuals introduced into the documentary narrative, without any context to explain to me why I should care about each of them. I’ll admit that I even began writing this review in my head, prematurely condemning the filmmakers for a lack of focus. Though these individuals eventually came into focus over the course of the film, it was the ideals and faith which turned the narrative into a cohesively moving piece. Like the jazz music the documentary is centered on, Song of Lahore is about the spirit of the individuals coming together to create, despite adversity and oppression faced in their daily existence.

The Boy Blu-ray Review

Actors: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson

Director: William Brent Bell

Writers: Stacey Menear

Producers: Jim Wedaa, Roy Lee, Matt Berenson, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi

Format: NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 10, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

Run Time: 98 minutes

I almost feel as though two reviews are needed for The Boy; one for the final climactic sequence and another for the remainder of the narrative building up to that point. They simply feel so disjointed from each other that it is almost unfair to compare them together. Far too much of the screenplay relies upon a final twist of sorts, but it mostly just made me feel as though I had been cheated. Had this been a short film, I would not have minded, but the feature length narrative forces the audience to invest in far too much of the slow-burn mystery for the end revelation to be such a cheap cop-out.

Hostile Borders DVD Review

Actors: Jesse Garcia, Roberto Urbina, Veronica Sixtos, Julio Cedillo, Jorge Jimenez

Director: Michael Dwyer

Producers: Alica Dwyer, John Kim

Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: French, English, Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: May 3, 2016

Run Time: 84 minutes

Hostile Borders DVD Review

        There needs to be some reason for a film to keep my attention, and hating the main character does not suffice. For this reason, I often found Hostile Borders nearly unbearable. Despite ample opportunity within the unique set-up to discuss politics, this inexplicable drama instead forces melodrama and cheap thrills. We spend the entire film with a character that has no apparent opinions beyond her own selfish desires, and even these are often difficult to discern amidst the sparse dialogue given to her and the one-note performance from the lead. Even the most obvious character development you might expect to see is thrown away for mindless action sequences, which are poorly shot and have no gravity since I had no compassion for anyone involved.

20th Anniversary Independence Day Screening

 

        Hollywood is not yet done pillaging the 1980s for revivals in popular franchises, but last Tuesday was a celebration of an iconic blockbuster from the ‘90s which will see its first sequel 20 years after the event release on the 4^th of July weekend in 1996. As director and co-writer Roland Emmerich reminded audience members attending the anniversary screening at The Zanuck Theater on the Fox Studio lot, Independence Day was one of the first event films. Though we have now come to expect large budget blockbusters to hit cinemas every weekend of the summer, this was the trailblazer that helped pave the way for this tradition.

Emelie Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Sarah Bolger, Joshua Rush

Director: Michael Thelin

Format: Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated:  Not Rated

Studio: Dark Sky Films

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Run Time: 82 minutes

 

 

        Emelie is a slow-burn thriller that is extremely efficient in building tension and suspense, keeping me captivated until the letdown of an uninspired final act. Without the strength of Sarah Bolger’s convincing performance as the title character, a psychotic young woman disguised as an average middle-class family’s new babysitter, Emelie would have been far easier to dismiss before the screenplay’s shortcomings failed the film. Instead, I was so impressed with the set-up of the narrative, it made the lackluster final reveal that much more disappointing. It builds wonderfully for more than half the run-time before reaching a monotone plateau act, ending with a whimper when it should have been a bang.

 

Son of Saul Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn

Director: László Nemes

Format: Subtitled

Language: Hungarian

Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Spanish, English

Audio Description: English

Region: All Regions

Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R                                  

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: April 26, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019

Run Time: 107 minutes

        Nearly every year there seems to be a Holocaust film competing (often successfully) for award-season recognition. Last year it was Poland’s Ida that won Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, and this year Son of Saul received the same accommodation for Hungary. Although there have been countless Holocaust films to win this award, this was only the second time a film from Hungary has won an Oscar, and the first time winning a Golden Globe. Skeptics might automatically assume that the subject matter alone was enough to earn this honor, but Son of Saul is a technically meticulous piece of filmmaking deserving of endless praise.

 

Meet the Hitlers DVD Review

     Actors: Gene Hitler, Romano Hitler, Emily Hittler

Director: Matthew Ogens

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1 

Studio: Virgil Films and Entertainment

DVD Release Date: April 5, 2016

Run Time: 84 minutes

 

 

        Meet the Hitlers is a seemingly narrow documentary about people with the name Hitler, and how it has impacted their lives. Although I found the premise for this documentary intriguing, I was concerned that there would not be enough material to hold my attention for an entire feature. This problem is helped a great deal by adding a secondary story about the investigation into Hitler’s actual bloodline, but the greater solution comes in the filmmaker’s ability to make this a film about the people rather than their name, which also seems to align with the overall message within the narrative.

The Great Hypnotist DVD Review

     Actors: Xu Zheng, Karen Mok

Director: Leste Chen

Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Chinese

Subtitles: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1 

Studio: Well Go USA

DVD Release Date: April 5, 2016

Run Time: 104 minutes

 

 

        As I watched The Great Hypnotist, I couldn’t help but feel that there was something being lost in the translation. There is a fantastic tradition of dialogue-heavy narratives with two characters verbally dueling through a series of twists and revelations, and this certainly seems to be a fitting categorization for this film as well, but it had little success in captivating my attention. This is why I wondered if it was the subtitle translation preventing me from becoming gripped by the dialogue, or if it were merely uninspired writing to blame.

 

Stealing Cars DVD Review

    Actors: Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo

Director: Bradley Kaplan

Disc Info : Subtitled, NTSC

Language: English

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

Dubbed: French, Japanese

Region: Region 1

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Rated: R                                  

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: April 5, 2016

Run Time: 101 minutes

 

 

        It would be too easy to criticize Stealing Cars for having an unoriginal plot, though that is certainly the case, but it isn’t the existence of other troubled youth narratives that are the problem. The real issue comes from the construction of this film, which done well would have helped excuse the unoriginality in the narrative. Instead, each cloying moment in a screenplay that feels written by an angst-filled film student is then indulged without logic or balance by the director.

 

Only Angels Have Wings Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth

Director: Howard Hawks

Disc Info: NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1 

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: April 12, 2016

Run Time: 121 minutes

 

 

        Only Angels Have Wings is sandwiched between two other collaborations with Cary Grant in the filmography of Howard Hawks, showcasing his range as a director along with the star’s versatility. 1938’s Bringing Up Baby and 1940’s His Girl Friday gave audiences two different personas for Grant, one meek and bookish with the other cocky and masculine, but both utilized his comedic abilities within the screwball sub-genre. While 1939’s Only Angels Have Wings also made use of the witty repartee and masculinity, it gave audiences a chance to see Grant in a dramatic role and allowed Hawks to capture the excitement of aerial action sequences.

 

Mediterranea DVD Review

     Actors: Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy

Director: Jonas Carpignano

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: Arabic, English, French, Italian

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: March 29, 2016

Run Time: 110 minutes

 

 

        Director Jonas Carpignano’s stylistic approach to Mediterranea often feels akin to a documentary, limiting the musical score’s encroachment on the narrative and enough shaky handheld camera work to help the audience feel each jarring moment with an enhanced level of discomfort. And it is a subject which both the truthful depiction and uncomfortable realism, one which remains narrow in its character depiction while simultaneously telling a story with universally wide relevance. The African immigrants depicted in Mediterranea could very easily be any number of other immigrants across the globe, and that is why it is important to also anchor the realistic narrative with a character to empathize with.

 

The Hateful Eight Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R                                  

Studio: The Weinstein Company

Release Date: March 29, 2016

Run Time: 168 minutes

 

Combining (and often enhancing) the social commentary and western setting of Django Unchained with the simple story structure and collection of violent character types found in Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight seems an accurate composite of Quentin Tarantino’s entire filmography, from beginning to present. In terms of violence, The Hateful Eight continues the progression of extreme and exaggerated practical effects, which seems to have started in the universe of Kill Bill with spurting blood. At the same time, the amount of violence is often surprisingly restrained; when your cast of characters is limited by remote location, each death is that much more significant. It is the simplicity of this plot, the restraint in storytelling that it demands, which ultimately allows Tarantino to create one of his greatest cinematic achievements.