Film Review “The Walking Deceased”

Starring: Tim Ogletree, Joey Oglesby, and Dave Sheridan
Directed By: Scott Dow
Rated: R
Running Time: 88 minutes
ARC Entertainment

Our Score 1 out of 5 Stars

“The Walking Deceased” is the brain dead version of “Shaun of the Dead” or “Zombieland”. But I may want to be careful because uttering such clever comedy movies in the same sentence as “The Walking Deceased” could be considered an egregious statement, punishable by death, in some circles. Those circles would be horrified to learn that the creators of “The Walking Deceased” think it’s Kosher to lampoon those two treasured movies. I could only imagine the different forms of medieval torture they believe the creators should endure.

If you have more than the few singular brain cells the films creators had, you can piece together from the title that this movie sets its unfunny comedic sights on the popular AMC TV show, “The Walking Dead”. While the movie starts out as a terrible spoof of the show, it slowly transcends into a dumpster fire with generic juvenile humor. They hope you’ll laugh at the mere sights of breasts or butts. I’m pretty sure better jokes have been told on school playgrounds and better scripts have been written by those in a coma.

The script follows a rag tag group, compromised of different pot shots at characters from popular pop-culture movies and TV shows of the past decade. Once they all meet up, they move from one poorly built comedic set-up to another cheaply designed set piece.

Among this sad bunch of actors is Dave Sheridan, who’s had his fair share of parody and horror movies roles. He plays Sheriff Lincoln, and I mention him only because Sheridan really tries to sell his goofy character and he seems to be the only one with comedic chops. Everyone else seems content with falling back on predictable physical comedy, while others wait for their counterpart to finally say something remotely humorous. Sheridan is by no means an A-lister, but he’s joined by a group of unknowns, playing characters that will only seem familiar if you’re a fan of AMC’s smash hit.

When the movie isn’t finding a strip club during the zombie Apocalypse funny, they’re thinking that they’ll laugh at their Mad Libs word play with character names. This movie also isn’t short of jokes that men with low self-esteems, who spend their free time attacking people they don’t know online, funny. There’s also the plethora of jabs at the “Walking Dead” story arc. So even if you aren’t a general viewer of the AMC show, it’s OK. Even the people who understand what’s being ridiculed can join you in not laughing.

If “A Haunted House” and “Meet the Spartans” are considered the last fleeting breathes from the dying corpse of parody movies, then “Walking Deceased” should be considered one of the final stages of decomposition. If you want some chuckles and fun with your zombie movies, you can never go wrong with a rewatch of “Shaun of the Dead” or simply finding your local repertory theater and hoping that they will be showing “Return of the Living Dead”. If this movie somehow winds up in your hands. Burn it.

Blu-ray Review “Inherent Vice”

Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon
Directors: Paul Thomas Anderson
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Run Time: 148 minutes

Film: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1 out of 5 stars

“Inherent Vice” made it on to some critics, top films of the year list…for myself though it made it onto my worst films of the year list. It is rare that I literally turn a film off mid-way through but that was the case here. It took me three sitting to finish it and I was left as bored and confused as a was when I started the first. Paul Thomas Anderson has his specific audience that loves everything he does and I am sure they love this one also but it was not for me at all, plus at nearly 2 1/2 hours long, no thanks. It is a real shame as well when you look at the films cast including Oscar® nominees Joaquin Phoenix (“Walk the Line”), Josh Brolin (“True Grit”), Owen Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”),Oscar® winners Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) and Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”), Martin Short (“Frankenweenie”) and Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games” series) doesn’t help either.

Official Premise: When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except this one usually leads to trouble. With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as The Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists…part surf noir, part psychedelic romp—all Thomas Pynchon.

Warner Bros released “Inherent Vice” as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet Digital HD included. The film, despite being impossible to watch in one sitting, is well shot thanks to cinematographer, Robert Elswit. The 35mm film looks nicely transfered to 1080p, same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, which works for the dialogue and film’s music. The special features are terrible like the film itself. There are three short promos included. The first is “Los Paranoias” narrated by Shasta (Katherine Waterston). Next is “Shasta Fay”, which is another promo for Shasta and “The Golden Fang” is another trailer. Lastly “Everything in this Dream” is a deleted/alternate sequence.

Own “Inherent Vice” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on April 28 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

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Blu-ray Review “The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death”

Starring: Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine, Adrian Rawlins, Oaklee Pendergast, Ned Dennehy, Hayley Joanne Bacon
Director: Tom Harper
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Run Time: 98 minutes

Film: 2,5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I am nothing but excited Hammer Films is back in business making new horror. I was a big fan of the first “The Woman in Black”. Honestly though, “The Woman in Black” wasn’t a film that I was screaming for a sequel but the trailer for “Angel of Death”, looked creepy as well. Too bad, the film didn’t pan out at all. The scares were so tame, you barely even noticed them. The pace was way off and the story was didn’t draw me in at all.

Official Premise: The supernatural terror returns and unspeakable evil sets its sight on new prey when a group of orphaned children are forced to move into the abandoned Eel Marsh House with their caretakers, Eve and Jean. As the children begin to mysteriously disappear, Eve makes a shocking discovery…it may not be a coincidence that she has come to reside in a place inhabited by the murderous Woman in Black.

“The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” was released as a combo pack with a BLu-ray and Digital HD copy. The 1080p transfer worked with the dark and dreary conditions. Like the first film, the shooting locations have that certain Hammer charm today and look great on Blu-ray. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks delivers everything that you would expect from a horror film.

Like the film itself, the special features are quite the let down as well. First off is “Pulling Back the Veil: The Woman in Black 2”, which includes behind-the-scenes footage with interviews mixed in. There is also “The Woman in Black 2: Chilling Locations”, which briefly looks into the shooting locations for the film. Lastly there is a deleted scene and trailer included.

DVD Review “Bad Asses on the Bayou”

Actors: John Amos, Danny Trejo, Danny Glover
Director: Craig Moss
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: April 7, 2015
Run Time: 85 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

When I “Bad Ass” was released back in 2012, I could have never predicted that this film would ever become a franchise. It was a blast of a film and a real surprise. The second was a bit of the same as the first and the third film follows again, a little campy and probably not needed but if you enjoy the team of Vega (Trejo) and Pope (Glover), then you will enjoy this. This guys may be older but like the title suggests, they can still are bad ass.

Official Premise: Bad Asses on the Bayou reunites the dynamic duo, Frank Vega (Danny Trejo) and Bernie Pope (Danny Glover), as they travel to Louisiana to attend the wedding of their dear friend Carmen Gutierrez (Loni Love). What was pictured as a wedding weekend escape to the south turns violently ugly as madness and mayhem ensue, pressing our senior heroes to once again serve justice.

Personally, I am a little disappointed with Fox that this film was only released on DVD. For “Bad Ass 1 & 2”, the films were released on Blu-ray and even included a Digital HD copy. That was not the case here for the third film as no Digital HD copy was included with this DVD only release. In terms of special features, there is only one extra included, which is a brief “Behind the Scenes of Bad Asses on the Bayou” featurette.

 

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DVD Review “My Little Pony Tales: The Complete Classic TV Series”

Voices of: Willow Johnson, Maggie Blue O’Hara, Kelly Sheridan, Laura Harris, Venus Terzo, Brigitta Dau, Lalainia Lindbjerg, Chiara Zanni
Directors: George Arthur Bloom
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: April 28, 2015
Run Time: 285 minutes

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

“My Little Pony Tales” is one of the follow up series to the original 1980’s “My Little Pony” series. It aired in 1992 though only lasted one season. This is the first time that all 26 adventures are included in one set, thanks to Shout! Factory. My daughter is a big fan of “Friendship is Magic” series of the “My Little Pony” franchise. She recently took a liking to the “My Little Pony: The Movie” DVD release, also put out by Shout!, so she was really excited to get into this series.

Official Premise: Ponyland is full of excitement, if you know where to find it, and now all of your favorite My Little Pony Tales are finally collected in one amazing set! Join the 7 Pony Friends (Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody, Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover and Bon Bon) for 13 episodes of outrageous fun! Games, picnics, ice cream shops, roller derbies and even UFOs… nothing is off-limits when it comes to grand Pony adventures!

The quality of the episodes honestly aren’t spectacular. Like the Complete Collection of the original 1980’s “My Little Pony” series, released from Shout! last year, it is really subpar quality and not terribly impressive. The colors seem very muted and lacking the charm that is brought in “Friendship in Magic” series. There are no special features included on this collection other than the 26 episodes. Still I am curious to see what Shout! has planned next for “My Little Pony”.

Blu-ray Review “Escape from New York: Collector’s Edition”

Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Season Hubley
Director: John Carpenter
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: April 21, 2015

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4.5 out of 5 stars

When I thought to myself, “do I really need another edition of Escape from New York on Blu-ray”?, I quickly remember that this was being released from Shout! Factory and they give a lot of love to their releases. This film was previously released in 2010, but this new Collector’s Edition includes a new 2K scan of the inter-positive, struck from the original negative and a butt-load of new special features. This film is still a classic and a blast to watch. Kurt Russell is so iconic as Snake Plissken.

Official Premise: In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam. But when the US president (Donald Pleasence) crash-lands inside, only one man can bring him back: notorious outlaw and former Special Forces war hero Snake Plissken (Russell). But time is short. In 24 hours, an explosive device implanted in his neck will end Snake’s mission, and his life, unless he succeeds!

The Collector’s Edition of “Escape from New York” includes a nice improvement over the 2010 Blu-ray. with its 1080p transfer presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I was expecting a little more from the new 2K scan but there was a nice improvement in quality from the previous release. I believe the same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which sounds classic score by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. Also included is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track but the 5.1 is easily the winner here.

There are special features filled out on both discs. The first one features, a brand new audio commentary with Actress Adrienne Barbeau and Director of Photographer Dean Cundey. This is worth the purchase alone, love these two. There is also an audio commentary track both Director John Carpenter and Actor Kurt Russell, as well as another with audio commentary with Producer Debra Hill and Production Designer Joe Alves. Each track is amazing in its own way and worth checking out for any fan.

Disc two kicks off with a collection of high-def extras. “Big Challenges in Little Manhattan: The Visual Effects of Escape from New York” looks behind-the-scenes with some interviews with Dennis Skotak, Director of Photography of Special VFX and Robert Skotak, Unit Supervisor and Matte Artist. “Scoring the Escape: A Discussion with Composer Alan Howarth” chats with the composer on creating the sound for the film. “On Set with John Carpenter: The Images of Escape from New York” is a collection of work from Still Photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker.

There are two more interview features, the first is “I Am Taylor: An Interview with Actor Joe Unger” and the second is My Night on Set: An Interview with Filmmaker David DeCoteau. There is a deleted scene for the original Opening Bank Robbery Sequence including optional commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. “Return to Escape from New York Featurette” is a cool vintage EPK with interviews. Lastly there are Theatrical Trailers and Photo Galleries included.

Tribeca Film Festival Review “Man Up”

Director: Ben Palmer
Starring: Lake Bell, Simon Pegg, Rory Kinnear, Olivia Williams
Runtime: 80 minutes
Big Talk Productions, StudioCanal

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever been watching a romantic comedy and right as your arguing couple is about to explain What’s Going On(?!) they just…don’t? For some reason explaining a simple misunderstanding like adults just doesn’t happen? Ever wish those lovers would man up, quit moping around and keep the movie going already? Blissfully Ben Palmer’s refreshing Man Up does just that. It takes what could have been a very contrived setup and spins it into a fantastically wild night out in London with stars Lake Bell and Simon Pegg.

Socially awkward Nancy (Bell) is on a train to her parents’ 40th Anniversary party looking a bit worse for wear after a failed arranged date the previous night. Lonely and tired, she’s confronted by the perky Jessica (Ophelia Lovibond, the expolsive Carina of Guardians of the Galaxy) who foists a fad self help book onto Nancy. As it turns out the book was meant to signal Jessica’s blind date Jack (Pegg) at their Waterloo Station meeting point but before she can replace her copy, he spots Nancy instead. In the spirit of Nancy taking more chances and in the face of the Simon Pegg Charm Offensivetm, she decides to go ahead and be “Jessica” for the evening. It’s quite the setup but Nancy and Jack’s immediate chemistry had me rooting for them despite the inevitable truth coming out. Through a contagiously fun night of drinking and bowling it becomes apparent that the older Nancy was really more suited to the just-divorced Jack than 24-year-old Jessica.

There’s a wonderful balance in Palmer’s film between over the top humor and raw emotional moments from these two damaged lovebirds and Bell and Pegg are more than capable of selling both extremes. A skill that’s cleverly emphasized by Palmer giving Jack an emotional breakdown during a cheesy club dance. When the not-Jessica reveal finally comes to the forefront, sure they leads handle it for the bizarre decision that it was but they really sort of barrel through it to present a united front against Jack’s exe appearing (Olivia Williams) in the midst of it all. Bigger fish to fry and all that. In this instance and more Palmer, working from a script by Tess Morris, keeps the pace speedy throughout and offers some written gems like “the tactical puke” that had the audience cracking up.

Compliments too must be paid to Morris for avoiding writing in any shrewish females–not the exes, Nancy’s family, even that spunky Jessica, not an evil caricature among them. I wish I didn’t have to put a special shoutout in this regard but the rarity of women helping other women in romcoms, especially where love triangles are concerned, is usually a major drawback of the genre. And if Man Up culminates in a Grand Romantic Gesture as the genre also demands then it damn well did everything else right to earn it.

Man Up premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19th 2015 and has additional screenings through the festival’s end on April 26th.

Tribeca Film Festival Review “The Survivalist”

Director: Stephen Fingleton
Starring: Martin McCann, Mia Goth, Olwen Fouéré
Runtime: 105 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

There is an admirable practicality at the heart of Stephen Fingleton’s post-apocalyptic film, The Survivalist. With small cast, no musical score and only a patch of woodland as a setting, Fingleton delivers a no-nonsense drama as lean as its protagonist.

For better or worse, Fingleton wastes no time with exposition as to what has happened to humanity. He opts instead to show a simple line graph charting the descent of human population. It is with only this information we are introduced to Martin McCann’s unnamed Survivalist. He lives a solitary existence on a makeshift farm in the Irish woods. His daily routine is not glamorous, more than once he uses his own bodily fluids to fertilize his crops, but it is successful. For one at least.

The Survivalist’s way of life is disrupted by the appeared if the elderly Kathryn (Olwen Fouéré) and her daughter Milja (Mia Goth). When the women’s initial attempts at trading the man no-longer-valuables in exchange for some food, he reluctantly lets them in. There Milja very matter-of-factly offers her body instead. All the while, the Survivalist keeps them at gunpoint.

No matter how comfortable the three get around each other, the threat of running out of supplies hangs over them all and this is where Fingleton wrings out the most dramatic tension. While Kathryn chastises Milja for becoming sentimental about the man, Milja is gradually realizing her mother might not be the optimal partner for survival. What’s great about the situation Fingleton has set up is it doesn’t take sides. Milja has just as much right to decide who her safest life raft is as the survivalist does carrying two shot gun shells on his person at all times.

In the title role, McCann brings to mind alternately a deer in headlights and a predatory bird. He is captivating to watch and a good anchor to this taut thriller.

The Survivalist held its New York premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest last night with additional public screenings at TFF scheduled through April 25th.

Film Review “Unfriended”

Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob Storm, and Renee Olstead
Directed By: Levan Gabriadze
Rated: R
Running Time: 82 minutes
Universal Pictures

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 stars

I remember when “Paranormal Activity 4” came out, I wondered how well a movie would work when the story is told through the eyes of video chat on a computer, cell phone, or any other form of digital technology. While I never saw the movie and can’t judge on whether or not it worked, I’m sure it had its glaring flaws. It probably had the problem of keeping up the believability that characters would continuously be videochatting in the face of supernatural doom. So here comes “Unfriended”, a movie solely based within a computer screen. The resulting experiment is an absolute mess.

“Unfriended” starts with Blaire (Hennig) looking through a couple of videos of Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) killing herself. Laura blew her brains out because of a video, of her on Youtube, in an uncompromising scenario (No…not that kind). Blaire is a childhood friend of Laura and still harbors some sorrow, despite the giggles and bitter comments from her friends who never give a reason as to why they have such a vast hatred for Laura. Like most teenagers nowadays (I assume), she begins Skyping with her boyfriend and as soon joined by her dopey friends, compromising of a fat nerdy kid who smokes pot, a blonde airhead, a hot headed macho male, and a girl that nobody likes, but they all still hang around. You know, the 21st Century version of teens that you hate.

As if somehow answered your prayers for something terrible to happen to these high schoolers, a Skype caller joins the conversation. Nobody knows who it is and nobody can drop them from the group video chat. Soon the caller begins sending threatening messages, hacking their Facebook, and seemingly doing things that NSA only wishes they could do to your personal computer. So is Laura coming back from the dead to seek vengeance with her master hacking skills from beyond the grave? Or is it simply a vengeful living person…with master hacking skills?

“Unfriended” combines the excitement of calling IT and the horrors of calling IT. For a movie that’s barely below an hour and a half, it sure seems like a three hour long saga of dull proportions. It’s a concept that seems better fit for a “Twilight Zone” episode, if the “Twilight Zone” was ever rebooted for millennials. It’s also a concept that could justify its runtime if there wasn’t so much overactive screaming at one another, glaring continuity errors, and the inability to touch upon some powerful themes.

Yes. There are some powerful themes behind a movie like this. This is a movie that’s very knowledgeable about the Internet and it’s constantly taking advantage of every current form of digital communication. But it never really finds a way to hit home the idea that everything we do online can come back to haunt us. The videos, pictures, and things we’ve said will always be online. They’ll always be somewhere. “Unfriended” manages to do this at one point in the movie, but fails to incorporate the technology that’s dooming our privacy and backstabbing. Instead of forging a new path, it takes the predictable road and falls back on an abundance of horror movie clichés.

Now, I will give style points where style points are deserved. Having the movie take place entirely through the viewpoint of a computer screen is a bold concept, but one that ultimately becomes very tiring to look at. If we didn’t have to do so much waiting on instant messaging responses, we could easily cut out a good 10 minutes. Essentially though, “Unfriended” is something that’s better for a short film format, but it’s trapped in a bloated feature length movie.

DVD Review “John Doe: Vigilante”

Starring: Jamie Bamber, Lachy Julme and Sam Parsonson
Directed by: Kelly Dolen
Rated: R
Released by: ARC Entertainment
Release date: April 14, 2015
Running time: 1 hour 33 mins

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars

Vigilante films have been around for many years. The most popular, “Death Wish,” made Charles Bronson a star and spawned four sequels over 2 decades. Even more subtle films, like “The Star Chamber,” made the question of whether vigilantism is acceptable. Now a new film takes on that question, and your answer may not be what you think it is.

John Doe (Bamber) has been put on trial, charged with killing 33 people. The trial is over and the verdict is about to be read when suddenly an explosion rocks the courthouse area.

A violent film with a compelling message, “John Doe: Vigilante” is a well made, thought provoking film that asks viewers to put away their black and white definitions of right and wrong and truly ask themselves “what would you do?” The film begins with John Doe sitting down with a journalist to answer any questions he may have. John’s first crime was killing a pedophilic former priest. He videotapes the killing and sends it to the mainstream media. They run it, but edit it, so it looks like John killed an innocent old man. No mention is made of the crime or the fact that the tape contains an image of the man giving piano lessons to a young girl with his fly literally open. A woman who’s boyfriend abuses her refuses to leave him. After another horrific beating John Doe beats the man to death. Murderers who’ve escaped justice. Abusers. Rapists. Anyone who has committed a horrific crime and escaped punishment, be it by no prosecution or being released with a slap on the wrist by the court, is told to watch their backs.

Eventually John Doe grows a following, calling themselves “Speak for the Dead.” This faction begins imitating John Doe’s actions, though not as successfully as the real thing. As the interview progresses we see how the media also had a hand in promoting John Doe. A station manager says he was against running the footage supplied at first, but agreed when assured it would be exclusive.

The film is well written and well cast. Bamber, who I’m very familiar with through “Battlestar Galactica” and the UK version of “Law and Order,” steps out of the proper comfort zone he’s been in and gives a dark, yet enlightened performance. He’s an even more crafty Clyde Shelton, Gerard Butler’s character from “Law Abiding Citizen.” The direction is first rate as well, with filmmaker Dolen mixing up the source materials (film, surveillance camera, hand-held video) cleanly.

The EXTRAS are also enjoyable, featuring (2) audio commentaries by the director and screenwriter as well as one by Jamie Bamber, three “behind the scenes” featurettes and cast and crew interviews.

Film Review “True Story”

Starring: James Franco, Jonah Hill and Felicity Jones
Directed by: Rupert Goold
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hour 40 mins
Fox Searchlight

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

In a remote village, two young men are talking to a journalist, explaining to him the horrible conditions they endure at work. The reporter introduces himself as “Mike Finkle – New York Times. Meanwhile, in Mexico, a woman tourist strikes up a conversation with a man she meets at a museum. Surprisingly, he also introduces himself as “Mike Finkle – New York Times.” Whaaaaaaaaaat?

A film with performances much better than its material, “True Story” tells the, presumably, true story of Christian Longo (Franco), a seemingly nice man who may or may not have murdered his family and his relationship with Mike Finkle (Hill) who is, you guessed it, a reporter for the New York Times. Their meeting comes when both are down on their luck. Finkle has been dismissed by the paper for, at the advice of his editor, jazzing up a recent story. Finkle visits Longo in prison to see why he impersonated him, with Longo telling him that he is a longtime admirer of his work. Longo agrees to chat with Finkle about his case, with the reporter figuring that “everybody deserves to have their story told.” Longo agrees to give Finkle an exclusive while Finkle agrees to help Longo write. However, as with most deals made with the devil, things don’t always go as planned.

As stated above, Franco and Hill do well, even though the story does neither of them any favors. I found it incredulous that a reporter with the reputation pointed out in the film as Finkle would lose his job over mis-identifying one of his subjects in his story. It wasn’t like he was Jayson Blair, a real NY Times reporter who plagiarized and fabricated dozens of stories (also made into a much better film called “Shattered Glass”). The more Finkle investigates the more you know Longo’s stories don’t make sense yet Finkle is so set on selling the story as a book that he just disregards any journalistic instinct he may have. The supporting cast is also strong, with Jones scoring as Finkle’s fiancée’.

Tribeca Film Festival Review “Slow West”

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorious, Rory McCann
Directed By: John Maclean
Running Time: 84 mins
A24/DirecTV

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

There’s a surprising streak of gallows humor coursing through Slow West, available now on DirecTV and having its NY premiere at Tribeca this week. The terrain is merciless and bloody but plenty meet their doom with a darkly ironic twist. Coupled with stunning visuals and a plethora of perfectly cast outlaws, John Maclean’s tale of star crossed lovers in the old west is an unexpectedly quirky entry into the genre.

We meet Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), an upper class young Scotsman riding through the deep Colorado woods on a mission to find his lost love, Rose (Caren Pistorious). Jay is way out of his depths, bearing with him too much luggage and the old west equivalent of a Frommer’s guide. He narrowly avoids being shot when a lone bounty hunter named Silas intervenes on his behalf. “You need chaperoning,” the rugged Silas says, “and I’m a chaperone.” Naturally Silas has his own agenda regarding Rose, but Jay pegs Silas as a lonely man in need of company and accepts his help.

Naïve Jay is an interesting romantic lead insofar as his flashbacks to his time with Rose in Scotland reveal him to have been ye olde friend-zoned. It puts a nice tragicomic edge on his mission and earnest dealings with Silas. It’s also entertaining to watch the wide-eyed McPhee wear down the gruff Fassbender. The addition of Silas to Jay’s mission comes with its own baggage in the form of Ben Mendelsohn’s Payne. Payne, in an outrageous large furry coat, leads Silas’s old gang each of them looking every inch the old-timey outlaw. They bring with them absinthe and their own absurd tales from the road where Maclean is not afraid to cull some laughs from deadly stories even as Payne’s gang looms ominously over our leads.

Ultimately of course finding Rose is going to come down to a good old fashion shoot out as the west demands. Like the rest of the film, its gorgeously shot (New Zealand subbing for Colorado) and gives all the players a chance to shine before the bullets begin to really fly. It’s a satisfying climax to top off this brief offbeat journey through the west.

 

 

 

Film Review “20 Years of Madness”

Starring: Jerry White, Jr and John Ryan
Directed by: Jeremy Royce
Not Rated
Running time: 1 hour 30 mins

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“20 Years of Madness” is a look back at a local cable access show that aired in the early 1990’s in Michigan called ’30 Minutes of Madness’. It was “Jackass” meets “Tom Green” before either of those shows existed. “30 Minutes of Madness” was written, produced, directed, and starred a group of teen-age friends whom all came together to create madness and insanity, and recorded it on VHS, then put it out for public consumption.

The show was created and overseen by Jerry White Jr., a talented writer/director with a few anger issues. Very controlling and not open to other people’s input, the show hit well with a local audience, but fell apart when tempers would rise as each show was made, and slowly the friendships of those involved broke apart.

Twenty years later Jerry White Jr attends his twentieth high school reunion and uses the opportunity to reach out to those friends, to come back and make one more episode of “30 Minutes of Madness.” Having crowd-sourced funding to make the episode, Jerry returns to Michigan, rents a house, and collects all the previous cast members that he can. From here we see just how much twenty years can change people, and how grudges can remain.

What I really liked about this documentary was that it is extremely honest. You are able to openly like and dislike everyone involved. It doesn’t arbitrarily paint anyone in an unfavorable light, although quite a few of them are behaving in ways that make them hard to care about. But in the end: you do.

“20 Years of Madness” is about that teen-age sense of invincibility. Feeling that you have the entire world within your grasp, and that you can do anything. It’s about doing whatever you want whenever you want as a teen-ager because you can’t see the future repercussions. It’s about ego driving out rational thought, and tempers flaring over art that ruins friendship. It’s also definitely about dreaming larger than what you have the ability to create on your own. Then realizing you have to looked past yourself and ask for forgiveness and for the help of others.

“20 Years of Madness” isn’t about two decades of insanity captured on video; it’s about anger between people whom were once friends trying to come back together and reclaim that sense of innocence and fun that they lost. Director Jeremy Royce has crafted a great story out of the very interesting person that is Jerry White Jr. The film is very well-balanced, and is worth seeing in the theatre.

Blu-ray Review “Batman vs. Robin”

Voices: Jason O’Mara, Stuart Allen, Jeremy Sisto
Director: Jay Oliva
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Run Time: 72 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Batman vs. Robin” is the latest DC Universe animated original movie. It is based on Scott Snyder and and Greg Capullo’s “Court Of Owls” story. This is an exciting film for an DC Universe fan. They have been really stepping up their games with their animated films. As far as their films go, this is no “Dark Knight Returns” but it is another good step forward for DCU, with a good story and some classics Batman baddies. Can’t wait to see what they have planned next for “Justice League: Gods & Monsters” out later this year!

The voice cast is quite impressive with both Jason O’Mara and Stuart Allan reprise their respective roles of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Robin/Damian. The rest of the voice cast includes Jeremy Sisto as Talon, musician Weird Al Yankovic as The Dollmaker, David McCallum as Alfred, Grey Griffin as Samantha, Sean Maher as Nightwing, and Kevin Conroy as Thomas Wayne. Cool to see Kevin Conroy return to the franchise and sticking with the Wayne name.

Official Premise: The shadows of Gotham City are no place for a child but Damian Wayne (Stuart Allen) is no ordinary child. Now bearing the mantle of Robin, he blazes a headstrong and sometimes reckless trail alongside his father, Batman (Jason O’Mara). While investigating a crime scene, Robin encounters a mysterious figure, Talon (Jeremy Sisto), who leads him on a life-altering course through the depths of Gotham’s secret society, known as The Court of Owls. It’s a dangerous journey that will force Batman and Robin to face their most dangerous adversary: each other.

Warner Bros is releasing this as a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD combo pack as well as a Deluxe Edition gift set (which includes a Batman figurine). The 1080p transfer is on par with the rest of the DC Univere animated movies. Like expected from a Batman film, it is dark but it looks great and the shadowing is impressive. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is also powerful and very entertaining.

The special features included are not bad either. “Gotham’s City Secret: The Mythic Court of Owls” look into the background of the secret society and their connection with Gotham. “Talons of the Owl”  takes a look at the Owls and their assassins called The Talons. There is an audio commentary track included, as a Blu-ray exclusive. Like past Blu-rays, there are bonus cartoons from the DC Comics Vault. Lastly there is a sneak peak at “Justice League: Gods & Monsters”.

Own it on Blu-ray™ Combo, DVD & Digital HD April 14

Blu-ray Review “The Wedding Ringer”

Starring: Josh Gad, Kevin Hart, Affion Crockett, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Jorge Garcia, Dan Gill
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Run Time: 101 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I am sure the studios thought that this film would be an instant win taking one of comedies biggest names, Kevin Hart and putting him with the voice of Olaf from Disney’s Frozen in an R-rated comedy?! Well it might have sounded better on paper I guess. The duo are funny together but the film itself is quite forgettable and what I call a one-timer. It is funny to watch once and there are in fact some good moments but overall, I will not remember this film next year.

Official Premise: Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a loveable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.

Sony is releasing this film as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + UltraViolet included. The 1080p transfer honestly looks quite amazing. I rather laughed when I saw that this film was mastered in 4K but it does pay off and the transfer is quite solid. Usually, I would expect this for the big budget films but the colors are quite vibrant in this. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track also works well with captured the film’s craziness and jokes.

In terms of special features, there isn’t a whole lot of substances here. There is a audio commentary track (on select scenes) with Director Jeremy Garelick and Actor Josh Gad. Pretty decent and quite funny even though limited. There are 15 Deleted/Extended scenes, as well as a few outtakes as well. “Line-O-Rama” is about 15 minutes of non-stop ad-lib and more outtakes. “Going to the Chapel of Love” is a short feature with the cast/crew chatting about their real life wedding experiences. Lastly there is a music video for “Can You Do This” by Aloe Blacc.