Category: Entertainment (Page 63 of 277)

Blu Tuesday: Jurassic World and More

October 20, 2015 / Jason Zingale

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

“Jurassic World”

WHAT: Twenty-two years after the disastrous events of the original Jurassic Park, Isla Nubar is now home to a fully functioning dinosaur theme park called Jurassic World. In an attempt to raise public interest, the park has genetically engineered a brand new dinosaur called Indominus Rex, but when it gets loose and goes on a killing spree, operations manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) enlists the help of raptor wrangler Owen (Chris Pratt) to hunt it down before it wreaks havoc on the park’s attendees.

WHY: Though it doesn’t hold a candle to Steven Spielberg’s 1993 original, “Jurassic World” is the sequel that fans have wanted (and deserved) for decades – a big, summer spectacle that understands the DNA of the franchise and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The first act is admittedly a bit messy as director Colin Trevorrow gets all of his pieces on the board, but the story really picks up once the Indominus Rex breaks free from confinement, turning into a full-fledged adventure film with no shortage of dinosaur-caused destruction. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are both solid in their respective roles, while Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Khan and Jake Johnson round out the excellent cast. Even the two kid actors (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) are pretty likable, and that’s saying something. Granted, the movie isn’t without its flaws (particularly when it comes to basic common sense and logic, like in the climactic dino battle at the end), but it’s an entertaining piece of fan service that makes up for having to suffer through the last two sequels. And if the film’s box office domination is any indication, “Jurassic World” is just the beginning, although it’s difficult to imagine how John Hammond’s dream could possibly live on after yet another public catastrophe.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes a pair of featurettes on making the film, a behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects, a tour of the park’s Innovation Center, a discussion between director Colin Trevorrow and star Chris Pratt, deleted scenes and more.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Z for Zachariah”

WHAT: After a nuclear war wipes out most of humanity, a young woman named Ann (Margot Robbie) endures on her own, miraculously isolated from the fallout. But when two men – scientist Dr. John Loomis (Chiwetel Ejifor) and mysterious stranger Caleb (Chris Pine) – arrive on her family’s farm, the three survivors form a precarious bond that threatens to unravel when jealousy sets in.

WHY: Director Craig Zobel’s latest drama may be a marked improvement upon the vile and moronic “Compliance,” but it actually shares many of the same themes, including morality, trust and the weight of one’s actions. All three actors deliver solid performances – especially Margot Robbie and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who are given more time to develop their characters – but unfortunately, not a lot happens over the course of the film’s 98-minute runtime that’s particularly compelling. There are some really good moments littered throughout, like Ann’s introduction to Dr. Loomis, or the tense face-off between Loomis and Caleb in the movie’s closing minutes, but they’re surrounded by long periods of nothingness that test your patience. The arrival of Chris Pine’s character adds some much-needed conflict to the proceedings, although it takes the story into more predictable territory, while the religious undertones (from the Eden-like valley, to Caleb’s snake-like instigator) are laid on a bit thick. Though “Z for Zachariah” isn’t quite as boring as it could have been thanks to its outstanding cast, the film never rises above mediocrity, ultimately squandering its promising, post-apocalyptic premise.

EXTRAS: There’s a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, and interviews with director Craig Zobel, writer Nissar Modi and actors Margot Robbie and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F'”

WHAT: Two surviving members of the Frieza Force travel to Earth in search of the Dragon Balls so that they can resurrect their leader. When their wish is granted and the galactic tyrant returns more powerful than before, Frieza sets out to exact his revenge on Goku, who is training off-world with Whis after his fight with Beerus the Destroyer.

WHY: 2013’s “Battle of the Gods” may have been the first “Dragon Ball Z” movie produced in almost 20 years, but while that film served as a sufficient appetizer for fans of the series, “Resurrection F” is the main course, higlighted by the long-awaited rematch between Goku and Frieza. Though Goku has faced off against much tougher adversaries, there’s a reason why Frieza is still the most iconic villain in the franchise, and his fight with Goku doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it more than makes up for the anti-climactic battle in the last movie. “Resurrection F” also improves upon its predecessor by giving the supporting characters more to do. Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Tien and even Master Roshi get in on the action, fighting off the first wave of Frieza’s attack as they await Goku’s return, and although Vegeta is once again relegated to the sidelines, at least he gets to land a punch this time around. “Resurrection F” follows the typical “Dragon Ball Z” formula to a tee, so there aren’t any major surprises, but it boasts great animation, some killer action beats and plenty of fan service for longtime viewers of the anime.

EXTRAS: There’s a behind-the-scenes look at recording the voices for the U.S. release and some interviews with the cast.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Entertainment, Movies

Blu Tuesday new Blu-rays

Movie Review: “Bridge of Spies”

October 15, 2015 / David Medsker

Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell

Steven Spielberg

Certain things go together. Peanut butter and chocolate. Jack and ginger (yes, ginger, not Coke. Try it). “Bridge of Spies,” on the other hand, is proof positive that Steven Spielberg (the film’s director), and Joel and Ethan Coen (the film’s co-screenwriters), absolutely do not go together. In fact, this would have been a much better movie had the Coens directed it themselves. There are these subtle, effective and surprisingly funny moments that are clearly the Coens’ work, and then Spielberg steps in and drowns everything else in syrup. That it remains a watchable movie is in spite of Spielberg’s efforts, not because of them.

It is the late ‘50s, and Cold War paranoia is at an all-time high. The FBI captures Brooklyn resident, and Russian spy, Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance), and the government assigns a local law firm to represent him. The case is assigned to James Donovan (Tom Hanks), even though he is primarily an insurance lawyer. James quickly realizes that no one is interested in giving Rudolph a fair trial, which only leads James to fight even harder to get him one, regardless of the hardships that may mean for him and his family. He loses, but successfully lobbies to pardon Rudolph from getting the death penalty, arguing that the U.S. would be wise to keep him around as a bargaining chip.

Sure enough, James proves to be right, as American pilot Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) is captured after his U-2 spy plane is bombed out of the sky by the Russians, and he is sentenced to hard labor in a Russian prison. The U.S. government asks James if he can negotiate an unofficial trade with the Russians to swap Rudolph for Powers. James is game, but he wants to sweeten the deal by also getting the Russians to convince the German Democratic Republic – who are building the wall between East Berlin and West Berlin as these events are taking place – to also release Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers), an economics student that the GDR has falsely accused of espionage in the hopes that they will get invited to the political big boy table.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg Tom Hanks

Movie Review: “Crimson Peak”

October 15, 2015 / Jason Zingale

Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam

Guillermo del Toro

It’s no secret that Guillermo del Toro has a slightly deranged imagination, as witnessed by the twisted fantasy worlds and creatures from “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the “Hellboy” films, but there’s a beauty to his madness that flows through all of the director’s movies, perhaps none more so than his latest project. A gothic romance that’s equal parts Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Brontë, “Crimson Peak” feels like a nostalgic throwback to the kind of films that Hammer made in its prime. Though the movie’s supernatural elements aren’t as prominent as the marketing campaign would lead you to believe, “Crimson Peak” is a sumptuously designed genre flick that delivers a different kind of horror from the typical ghosts-and-ghouls haunted house story.

Set during the turn of the 20th century, the film stars Mia Wasikowska as young American heiress Edith Cushing, an aspiring author who has no interest in romance, whether in real life or her stories, despite the fact that childhood friend-turned-physician Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam) clearly fancies her. When English baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) arrives in town seeking financing for a clay-mining machine that will help return his family’s business to its former glory, he’s turned away by Edith’s father (Jim Beaver), a self-made industrialist who sees right through Thomas’ façade. That doesn’t stop Edith from falling in love with the penniless aristocrat, however, and after her father is tragically murdered (although it’s covered up to look like an accident), Thomas whisks her away to England to live with him and his ice-cold sister, Lady Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), in their ancestral home of Allerdale Hall, a crumbling mansion that’s literally sinking into the ground due to the red clay mines below it. But when Edith begins to encounter tortured apparitions that haunt her new home, she uncovers terrible secrets about the Sharpe family history that threaten Thomas and Lucille’s ulterior motives.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Guillermo del Toro Jessica Chastain Mia Wasikowska Tom Hiddleston

Movie Review: “Goosebumps”

October 15, 2015 / Jason Zingale

Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Amy Ryan

Rob Letterman

If you were a child of the ‘90s, or a parent of school-age children during that decade, you’re probably familiar with R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps,” the best-selling series of kid-friendly horror novellas that captured a generation of young readers. In fact, the astonishingly prolific Stine is still publishing new books to this day – a sign of the series’ continued popularity that suggests a “Goosebumps” movie has been long overdue. Though this isn’t the first attempt at bringing the YA horror series to the big screen (Tim Burton was attached to produce a film version in 1998 that never came to fruition), it’s a harmless slice of family entertainment that evokes the goofy humor and PG-rated scares of other Halloween classics like “Hocus Pocus.”

One year after his father’s death, mopey teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) relocates from New York City to Madison, Delaware with his mother (Amy Ryan) when she accepts a job as the vice principal at the local high school. Zach quickly makes friends with the charismatic girl next door, Hannah (Odeya Rush), but when he suspects that her creepy, overbearing father (Jack Black) is harming her, he breaks into the house with new schoolmate Champ (Ryan Lee) to investigate. Once inside, they discover a bookshelf filled with “Goosebumps” manuscripts that have been mysteriously sealed with a lock, and after Zach unwittingly opens one titled “The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena,” the eponymous monster magically leaps from the pages into the real world. As it turns out, Zach’s neighbor is R.L. Stine himself, whose imaginary creations actually exist and must be contained under lock and key. But when another book is opened amid the chaos of the Abominable Snowman’s escape and evil ventriloquist doll Slappy the Dummy (voiced by Black) is released, he steals the remaining manuscripts in order to free his fellow monsters from their hardbound prisons and wreak havoc on the entire town.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Jack Black

Blu Tuesday: Justified, Tomorrowland and More

October 13, 2015 / Jason Zingale

“Justified: The Complete Series”

WHAT: U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home – the poor, coal-mining town of Harlan, Kentucky – where he faces off against a group of backwoods criminals, including Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), a smooth-talking outlaw who will lie, steal and cheat his way to the top of the food chain.

WHY: “Justified” is one of those shows that never really got the credit (or the audience) it deserved, because it’s a sharply written and well-acted neo-Western that managed to pull off what most series have failed to do: stick the landing. Though it started out as a more formulaic, crime of the week-type drama, “Justified” evolved into something much richer over the years by focusing on the relationship between Raylan and Boyd, two men who grew up under similar circumstances but ended up on different sides of the law. Both Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins deliver strong, well-rounded performances in their respective roles, but while it would be difficult to imagine the show without either of them, the supporting cast is just as important, especially Nick Searcy as Givens’ crusty boss, Jacob Pitts and Erica Tazel as fellow Marshalls, and Joelle Carter as Boyd’s fiancée/partner in crime. The rotating cast of guest stars is also impressive, adding to the series’ rich tapestry of down-and-dirty hillbillies, criminals and lawmen to create a lived-in world that feels more genuine than just about anything else on television. The fact that “Justified” was able to maintain its high quality throughout all six seasons is pretty extraordinary, but it’s also one of the few shows to produce a satisfying series finale, and that definitely earns it a spot among the TV drama elite.

EXTRAS: In addition to the previously released bonus material (consisting of audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes and outtakes), there’s an additional disc of all-new extras that includes a look at making the final season, a tour of the writer’s room with creator Graham Yost, the cast and crew’s favorite moments and a gag reel. The box set also comes packaged with a branded flask to carry around your own personal supply of (hopefully not poisoned) apple pie moonshine.

FINAL VERDICT: BUY

“Tomorrowland”

WHAT: After discovering a pin that magically transports her to a futuristic world called Tomorrowland, science prodigy Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) teams up with cranky inventor Frank Weller (George Clooney) – who was exiled from there as a young boy – to return to Tomorrowland in order to save Earth from its impending destruction.

WHY: Director Brad Bird certainly didn’t do himself any favors by shrouding “Tomorrowland” in so much secrecy, although it’s easy to see why, because the movie doesn’t really appeal to any particular audience. It’s too grown-up for kids, while most adults will have a difficult time buying into its childlike idealism. The film also happens to be incredibly boring, bogged down by a bloated runtime and unnecessary opening sequence that could have easily been addressed with a few lines of dialogue. It feels like Bird and co-writer Damon Lindelof created the titular world first, and then tried to build a story around it, because “Tomorrowland” doesn’t always make sense. In fact, while the movie features several flashbacks and large chunks of exposition designed to do exactly that, the purpose of Casey and Frank’s adventure is never totally clear. There are some fun set pieces along the way, and youngsters Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy make up for George Clooney’s lifeless performance, but there’s very little payoff. After all, for a film that generates so much excitement and mystery around Tomorrowland, you’d think the audience would get to spend more time there.

EXTRAS: There’s a trio of featurettes on production, casting and the score, as well as director Brad Bird’s video diaries, deleted scenes, a faux children’s TV program hosted by Hugh Laurie’s character, an animated short about Tomorrowland and more.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Entertainment, Movies, Television