Category: Movies (Page 56 of 191)

Blu Tuesday: Ant-Man and Minions

December 8, 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.

“Ant-Man”

WHAT: Ex-convict Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is given a chance at redemption when genius inventor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) enlists his help to break into his company’s research facility and stop former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from weaponizing Pym’s groundbreaking particle technology. In order to do so, Scott must assume the mantle of the Ant-Man using a suit that grants its wearer increased strength while microscopic and the ability to telepathically control ants.

WHY: “Ant-Man” may have been a decade in the making, but despite its troubled production, director Peyton Reed has produced a funny and fast-paced standalone adventure that weaves in small references to the MCU without feeling slavish to the material. In keeping with Marvel’s tradition of exploring different genres with each new movie, “Ant-Man” is primarily a heist film that strikes a nice balance between comedy, action and drama. It’s also a movie that has serious daddy issues, featuring parallel father/daughter stories that drive the overall narrative, add some emotional weight and strengthen the connective tissue of Marvel’s expansive cinematic universe. Though it’s difficult to know exactly how much of Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish’s original script was retained in the final version, the former’s fingerprints are all over the film, especially the climactic third-act battle that takes place entirely inside of a little girl’s bedroom. Still, while “Ant-Man” isn’t quite as out there as Wright’s version likely would have been (even for a movie about a guy who talks to ants), it’s an undeniably unique comic book film that’s loaded with charm.

EXTRAS: In addition to an audio commentary by director Peyton Reed and star Paul Rudd, there’s a behind-the-scenes look at making the movie, a visual effects featurette and some deleted scenes.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Minions”

WHAT: Set in the late 1960s, before their introduction to the despicable Gru, the Minions send Stuart, Kevin and Bob on a journey to find their tribe an evil boss to serve. They’re eventually recruited by supervillain Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock), who plans to steal the Queen of England’s royal crown and take over the world.

WHY: After emerging as the unexpected stars of “Despicable Me,” it was only a matter of time before the Minions were given a movie of their own. Unfortunately, what anyone at Universal failed to realize is that the yellow, gibberish-speaking henchmen only work in small doses. Or maybe they did but simply didn’t care, because “Minions” is an uninspired cash grab that feels more like an attempt to sell branded merchandise than create a film that actually contributes something to the franchise. Nobody cares what the Minions were up to before meeting Gru, including the movie’s writer, who can’t even produce a mildly interesting story about the creatures’ origins. And when your protagonists don’t have any distinct personalities or character-defining arcs, no amount of silly, pantomimed humor changes the fact that without someone to truly invest in, it’s a pretty one-dimensional experience.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes three new shorts starring the Minions, a series of featurettes about making the movie, and an interactive map with fun facts about each location visited by the Minions in the film.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Entertainment, Movies

Blu Tuesday new Blu-rays

Movie Review: “Krampus”

December 3, 2015 / Jack Giroux

Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Emjay Anthony, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell

Michael Dougherty

It’s been eight long years since Mike Dougherty’s directorial debut, the excellent horror anthology “Trick ‘r Treat,” and he’s back to once again raise hell on the holidays with his sophomore effort. “Krampus” is a darkly funny Christmas film that features some solid laughs, playful set pieces and a fantastic use of practical effects.

Max (Emjay Anthony) loves Christmas. His family, however, doesn’t exactly share his excitement for the holidays: Max’s dad, Tom (Adam Scott), works too much; his mother, Sarah (Toni Collette), is a worrying control freak; and the rest of his family is constantly bickering and fighting. After Max tears apart his letter to Santa, asking for his family to be happy again, Krampus – an evil spirit who’s sort of like the anti-Santa Claus – comes to town. At its side is a horde of minions, including evil gingerbread men, a bloodthirsty teddy bear and a monstrous jack-in-the-box. If they hope to survive the night, Max’s family must put aside their problems and fight back.

The villains are the highlight of “Krampus.” Dougherty’s handmade approach to the film is exciting to watch. There’s a huge reliant on practical effects, making these monsters all the funnier, scarier and more believable. There’s very little noticeable CGI in the movie, with the exception of the comical gingerbread men.

But as fantastical as the story is, the threat in “Krampus” feels real. The first kill in the movie is unsettling, and as much as this family bickers, the audience cares when they’re attacked or mutilated. The actors, especially the young ones, bring a real sense of fear and sadness to the film. It also helps that Dougherty has a great handle of tension. When Max’s sister, Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), is running from Krampus, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, it’s wonderfully timed.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Adam Scott Toni Collette

Movie Review: “Macbeth”

December 3, 2015 / Jack Giroux

Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine, David Thewlis

Justin Kurzel

Some lucky high school kids are going to watch director Justin Kurzel’s “Macbeth” during class someday. If you find William Shakespeare’s language difficult to interpret, Kurzel helps you wash it down with some stunningly nightmarish imagery, stirring performances and a surprising amount of levity.

Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) is a battered and scarred soldier. A thane of Scotland, he hears of a prophecy from three witches that he will one day rule his land as its king. The character is haunted by the start of the film, after he and Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) lose a child, but his madness grows and grows over the course of the story. At the insistence of his domineering yet loving wife, he murders the King of Scotland, taking over the throne.

Kurzel and the film’s three screenwriters, Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie and Todd Louiso, have turned Shakespeare’s play into a horror movie of sorts. They dive under the skin of the characters, making their pain, past and present, collide in an explosive fashion. It goes without saying that Shakespeare did that as well, but Kurzel and the writers have crafted both a faithful and modern adaptation, although one that’s not too modern.

The battle sequences rely more on mood than hack-and-slash action. This isn’t “300,” for example, as Kurzel is more focused on how the violence affects Macbeth than showing heads flying in the air. There are these fantastic moments in which Kurzel and his DP Adam Arkpaw use slow-motion, not to amp up the action, but to heighten the reaction shots of Macbeth. The battle sequences are impressive on a technical level, but how the director tackles the interior conflicts is just as powerful, if not more so.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Macbeth Marion Cotillard Michael Fassbender

Movie Review: “The Danish Girl”

December 3, 2015 / David Medsker

Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Adrian Schiller

Tom Hooper

Last year, he won an Academy Award for playing Stephen Hawking. This year, he’s playing a pioneer in the transgender community. You’ll understand why people who haven’t yet seen “The Danish Girl” (this writer included, until now) have been quick to predict that Eddie Redmayne might be the first person to win back-to-back Oscars for Best Actor since Tom Hanks did it in 1994 (“Philadelphia”) and 1995 (“Forrest Gump”). This talk will change once more people see the film. This is not to say Redmayne is awful. He’s not, at all, but he’s not convincing, either. It doesn’t help matters that his co-star, Alicia Vikander, blows him off the screen in nearly every scene. There is an Oscar-worthy performance in this film; it just isn’t Redmayne’s.

It is the year 1926, and Einar Wegener (Redmayne) is a successful painter. His wife Gerda (Vikander) is also a painter, but struggling to find an audience. Einar agrees to help Gerda finish an overdue painting by posing as a woman, wearing panty hose and holding the dress up over his body, and the experience awakens something long-dormant in him. He starts to dress as a woman around the house (going by the name Lili), and even poses for Gerda for paintings, and those paintings change Gerda’s fortunes in the art world. This cross-dressing thing is no joke for Einar, though; he is a woman trapped in a man’s body, and he is desperate to experience life as the woman he sees himself to be. The medical experts he visits want to have him committed, but luckily for him, Gerda has got his/her back.

There are several things to admire about “The Danish Girl.” First and foremost is the courage that it must have taken Einar to take the steps to bring Lili to life, as it were, especially considering the medical profession’s then-understandable but still-barbaric position on the idea of transgenderism. Immediately behind that is Gerda, for supporting her husband through an unthinkable ordeal, considering the time period and knowing that ultimately, it would end them. (When Gerda realizes that she’s never getting her husband back, Vikander cries what is quite possibly the saddest tear in movie history.) Third, back to Einar, for going out in public as Lili, and fooling men into thinking he was a woman. That’s career suicide if he’s outed. Who would risk that? Einar would, because it matters that much to him, and that is damned impressive.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Alicia Vikander Eddie Redmayne The Danish Girl Tom Hooper

Blu Tuesday: Fear the Walking Dead, Mississippi Grind and More

December 1, 2015 / Jason Zingale

“Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete First Season”

WHAT: When a mysterious outbreak causes Los Angeles to go into complete meltdown, a dysfunctional blended family led by high school guidance counselor Madison (Kim Dickens) and her boyfriend Travis (Cliff Curtis) is forced to band together in order to survive the chaos.

WHY: Why: It’s easy to understand why AMC would be attracted to the idea of producing a companion series to “The Walking Dead” (after all, it’s the most-watched show in cable TV history), but there was always the risk that it would have an adverse effect on their flagship drama. Thankfully, the poorly titled “Fear the Walking Dead” distances itself enough from the original series that it doesn’t tarnish the brand, even if the new show pales in comparison. Not only is the writing heavy-handed, but the characters and their various relationships just aren’t as interesting. Though it makes sense that Madison and Co. wouldn’t be as savvy as anyone on “The Walking Dead” due to the story taking place during the early stages of the zombie outbreak, the characters come across as being especially whiny and foolish. Additionally, although the first season only contains six episodes, it’s a very slow burn that doesn’t hit its stride until the penultimate hour. If there’s any reason to stick around, it’s for Kim Dickens and Cliff Curtis, both of whom are such good actors that they manage to hold your interest even when you’ve given up hope that the show will improve. But while Season Two promises bigger and better things, whether anyone will still be watching is another matter entirely.

EXTRAS: There are two brief featurettes about the series and the characters.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Mississippi Grind”

WHAT: Down-on-his-luck gambling addict Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) owes everybody in town, and instead of paying off his debts, he continues to dig himself further into a hole. But his fortune begins to change when he meets a charismatic drifter named Curtis (Ryan Reynolds), who agrees to accompany Gerry on a road trip down the Mississippi River to play in a high stakes poker game in New Orleans.

WHY: After making a splash with the emotional one-two punch of “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,” writers/directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden were unable to replicate that success with their first studio project, the lackluster “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.” It’s been five years since Fleck or Boden did anything of significance, but the duo has bounced back nicely with their latest movie, a character-driven drama that plays like a gritty mash-up of “Rounders” and “Sideways” and is bolstered by a pair of fantastic performances. This is arguably the best that Ryan Reynolds has ever been, showcasing a subtler, more mature side that’s been missing in his previous work, while Ben Mendelsohn proves that he’s not just an amazing character actor, but a viable leading man as well. Both of their characters are deeply flawed, and it’s to their credit (as well as the script, which crackles with wit and heart) that you care about them even when they seem beyond all help. “Mississippi Grind” starts to drag in the final act, exposing its barebones plot in the process, but Reynolds and Mendelsohn have such great chemistry that it’s rarely boring.

EXTRAS: There’s a making-of featurette, but that’s all.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Entertainment, Movies, Television

Blu Tuesday new Blu-rays The Walking Dead