Noah (2014) - Review.

What were Darren Aronofsky's motivations in filming the story of Noah and the Great Flood?

It seems likely he intended to provide a parable about the coming horrors of man-made climate change (and, to a lesser extent, to promote veganism). Of course, it isn't a very interesting or affecting parable. That happens when you beat people over the head with relentlessly bombastic storytelling and self-righteous moralizing. And I'm someone that thinks we need to do something about climate change!

Who is Aronofsky trying to reach with this parable? Right-wing climate change deniers? I shouldn't think so. The whole thing with them is that whatever happens to the Earth's climate is in God's hands. If things go bad, it's God's punishment - not against them, but against everyone else - and is warranted. These are people that yammer endlessly about the end times and want their apocalypse now, now, now. For many of these folks, a Great Flood isn't a threat, but a fantasy.

These people aren't running from the great cleansing, Darren - they all think they're Noah.

Song for the Weekend

In light of this week's look at Prime Cut:

Weekly Review Recap (3/29/14)

Check out after the break for a summary of this week's reviews and final verdicts.

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/27/14

A few thoughts on some movies recently watched or re-watched, including Prince of the City, Anita, and Prime Cut, after the jump:

Bargain Bin - Warner Archive Sale

FYI, for you DVD collectors out there, Warner Archive is having a "birthday" sale in which they are offering 5 DVDs or Blu-Rays for $50 from a selection of a little over 1400 choices from their catalog. Click the banner below to peruse the list.

A lot of them are from their made-to-order list, meaning that at $10 a pop via the deal it's likely to be the best price you'll find for many of the selections. By way of comparison, one of the selections, Personal Best, is being offered by Amazon on DVD for $21.99, SD download at $9.99, and HD download at $17.99. Regular prices ranges from $14.95 to $19.95 so partaking in the deal accounts for anywhere from ~33% to ~50% savings. 

A sampling of some of the titles: Cruising, Pretty Maids All in a Row, Razorback, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Spirit, Kung Fu: The Movie, Kansas City Bomber, Freejack, Mitchell, The Great Santini, Fingers, and much more. Unfortunately many are free of extras, but not all - e.g., the Get Carter made-to-order DVD is supposed to have the commentary track with Michael Caine and Mike Hodges which I have listened to before and is worthwhile. But note that Get Carter is being released on Blu-Ray next month and you can pre-order it now on Amazon for $9.99. 

As to be expected, there are a ton of Golden Age films from Warner's vaults, as well as some more obscure stuff like old TV movies, some oddball animation series (like Chuck Norris' cartoon) and some horror and B movies that Warner has acquired over the years. Looks to be pretty light on Blu-Ray availability unfortunately. 

My five picks: Fearless, Zero Effect, Vision Quest, The Outfit, and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

Streaming Picks - 3/26/14.

Some Picks to Stream This Week After the Jump:

The Night Digger (1971) - Review.

Where Gothic Romance Meets Psycho

The Night Digger (aka The Road Builder) is a 1971 gothic horror most notable for being written by Roald Dahl. While far from perfect, the film's sense of humor and at least one relationship in the film save it and make it a worthwhile watch for anyone looking for something in the Hitchcockian vein (if decidely lesser than much of Hitchcock's canon).

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/25/14

Photo Courtesy of PF Productions

A few thoughts on The Grand Budapest Hotel and Particle Fever (after the jump):

Teenage (2014) - Review

Teenage Documentary - The Kids Just Wanna Have Fun

Teenage is a documentary - an unsatisfactory one - from Matt Wolf based on Jon Savage's book Teenage: The Prehistory of Youth Culture: 1875-1945. It starts with the premise that in the early 20th Century (it starts in 1904) child labor laws were passed and suddenly youths that had been consigned to field or factory work were left with lots of time and little to do. The result: youth culture.

Blood Ties (2014).

If you've seen enough movies, sooner or later you walk out of one with the feeling that the film you just saw is so deeply flawed that you're not quite sure why you don't actually hate it. I've spent a couple days tossing around the film Blood Ties, an American film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Guillaume Canet (Tell No One), in my head as a result of such a feeling.

Song for the Weekend

Weekly Review Recap (3/21/14)

Check out after the break for a summary of this week's reviews and final verdicts.

God Bless America (2011)

Bobcat Goldthwait is Falling Down

Tara Lynne Barr and Joel Murray in GOD BLESS AMERICA,
a Magnet Release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

Not long ago I had the chance to screen World's Greatest Dad, a sharp satire of American culture written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, a director, actor, and stand-up comedian. Goldthwait's film was dark and perhaps even a little bitter, but it captured one man's humanity amid a savaging of American celebrity culture and our tendency to want to turn someone else's loss into our own selfish experience. I saw it too late to check out Goldthwait's follow-up in the theater, but I hoped God Bless America on DVD would live up to the promise of the earlier film.

God Bless America does touch on at least some of the same ground as World's Greatest Dad, but it lacks the core of humanity, the discipline, and the skill of the latter. It is, to put it simply, a disappointment.

Searching the DVD Bargain Bin

One of the things I loved to do as a kid (and budding movie-lover) was searching the VHS bargain bins of the various discount stores (K-Mart, Zayre, Wal-Mart, Target, etc) for movies. Now video bargains are more available than ever thanks to the Internet (and a tanking DVD market), but also more in need of curating given the sheer breadth of the selection at consumers' fingertips. I thought I'd highlight a few films that I recommend at some good prices. Of course, prices may vary and are subject to change (and often will change, so double-check).

Selections after the jump.

Streaming Picks - 3/19/14

Some picks to stream for this week: 

Warner Archive Instant
Hearts of the West (1975) - Warner Archive Instant seems to be having something of a miniature Howard Zieff festival, showing Slither, Private Benjamin, and Hearts of the West. Hearts of the West stars Jeff Bridges as a naive farmboy in the 1930s that dreams of writing western novels. He heads west, suckered in by some con men. When the con men try to rob Bridges, he makes off with their loot and stumbles into a western movie set. This leads to that and soon enough Bridges is starring in movies and running from the con men that want their loot back. Co-stars Andy Griffith and Blythe Danner. The film is amiable, if a bit uneven, and features a good cast. The movie seems like it is going to end on a dark note, but Zieff and writer Rob Thompson thirst for their happy ending, and Bridges gets what he deserves. If you're looking for some lighter fare, and particularly if you're nostalgic for Old Hollywood, this is a good option. Check it out with a Warner Archive Instant 2 week Free Trial

Sparks (2014)

Superheroes on a Budget

Given the relentless wave of mega-budgeted superhero movies out of Hollywood, is there really room - or a need - for a low-budget indie superhero movie? Sparks answers the question in the affirmative, if not resoundingly so. There's always room for an entertaining movie, and Sparks is entertaining and worth a couple hours of your time, particularly if you are a comic book fan.

Desperate Lives (1982)

Bo Peep is dead!

I suspect historians look back on the 1980s as a rich period for the study of moral panics. Satanists, child molesters, pornographers, and, perhaps most importantly, drug dealers were lurking around every corner. If Ozzy Osbourne didn't get your kid, you could be damn sure some scumbag drug dealer was just waiting and ready to destroy little Johnny's or Mary's lives. Lock them up and don't let them go outside!!! 

Desperate Lives is a 1982 TV movie that represents peak 1980s drug panic. It revolves around a guidance counselor, Eileen, that begins working at a high school and quickly realizes that drug abuse is rampant. By the way, I won't spend a lot of time differentiating between drug use and abuse in this review, but I will note that this movie recognizes no distinction between the two at all. In this movie's world, any use at all pretty much puts you on a one-month ticking clock toward diving off a cliff high on angel dust. 

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/17/14

A few thoughts on some movies recently watched or re-watched:

Patrick: Evil Awakens/Phase 4 Films

Patrick: Evil Awakens

(2014) Director Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood, Machete Maidens Unleashed) puts his well-established knowledge of genre convention to work in this mostly effective, if perhaps a bit too serious, remake of a late 1970s Australian horror movie. The titular character is a patient at an experimental hospital - set in the spookiest old house they could find, of course - that treats patients in a persistent vegetative state. A doctor, played by Charles Dance, appears to be working toward nefarious ends along with his daughter and head nurse played by the always welcome Rachel Griffiths. In arrives a soft-hearted new nurse, played by Sharni Vinson, who quickly becomes interested in Patrick - and even becomes a bit obsessed once she learns that Patrick has the power of telekinesis. Eventually the young nurse makes a few key mistakes and unleashes the power of Patrick's depraved mind on the hospital.

Patrick relies heavily on an old-school approach to horror - creaking stairs, creepy old medical implements, people popping up for no good reason other than to give a good scare - and it works for the most part to create a spooky mood and keep the audience jumping. You do have to give yourself over to the movie - you have to ignore some of the sillier aspects and just have a good time. On the downside, while it is worth a watch overall, Hartley doesn't seem to make any effort to twist any genre convention or play with any of the film references he makes. The film is ultimately limited by Hartley's too-slavish devotion to the films he grew up watching. Every bone in this movie's body is old-school. Nevertheless, Hartley does show enough talent to make him worth watching. The question is whether he'll work up the gumption to take his films to another level, or whether he'll forever be content paying homage to his favorites. The orchestral score by Pino Donaggio (who built his career on scoring horror movies in the 70s and 80s) is massively overbearing in the first act and it hurts the film, but once the action gets going it complements well what Hartley is trying to do. Lead Vinson is game here but she doesn't bring any real heat to the role. Griffiths as the spooky head nurse is excellent. Peta Sergeant as another nurse brings some very welcome sexuality to the role and seems to be the one having the most fun (perhaps that's the benefit of being the sexy friend in horror films; the downside, of course, being that a horrible death for the character is a given). Again, worth a view, but not a game-changer. Screened via VOD.

Americathon and U Want Me To Kill Him? after the jump

The Art of the Steal (2014)

The Art of Wasting Talent

The most brilliant filmmakers use style to tell a story, or to make a point, or to evoke a feeling. And then there are others that use style because they really have nothing at all to say and don't know what else to do to cover it up. Sometimes it works well enough to make it an interesting enough exercise in part, and other times it only works to annoy and distract the audience from better elements that could have made it at least more fun.

In the latter category we have The Art of the Steal, a heist comedy written and directed by Jonathan Sobol. It stars a pretty nice collection of actors - Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Terence Stamp, and Jay Baruchel among others - but more on that in a moment.

Bonus Streaming Pick 3/14

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

Earlier in the week I recommended streaming Cisco Pike, the story of a struggling folk singer whose hangover from the 60s made the 70s a drug-addled nightmare. That story of the 70s hangover and bitterness from the high times of the 1960s got me thinking about an American Masters documentary I saw a few months ago on Phil Ochs, called Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune.

If you have a Roku, you can subscribe to the highly recommended PBS channel and currently stream There But for Fortune for free. Watch it.

Song for the Weekend

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/14/14

A few thoughts on some movies recently watched or re-watched:

Each Dawn I Die (1939) - This Jimmy Cagney vehicle is intended as an exposé of prison conditions, and is particularly damning toward solitary confinement. Which, sadly, makes the subject matter as relevant as ever 75 years later. Unfortunately, adherence to the Code means that the prison conditions are far too antiseptic and the messaging is too muddled for it to be effective as a message movie. Yet Cagney is Cagney, and his charisma and intensity are enough to sustain the picture and make it worth a viewing, if perhaps not move it to the top of Cagney's oeuvre. Screened via Warner Archive Instant.

Weekly Review Recap (3/14/14)

Check out after the break for a summary of this week's reviews and final verdicts.

Special ID (2014)

You Can Do A Lot of Things to This Guy, But Do NOT Mess With His Mom

When we buy a ticket to a martial arts action movie, the plot is often beside the point. We're looking for action, action, and more action. The most creativity we're hoping for is that the filmmakers find an interesting way to shoot the fights and the stunts to make us go "wow" a few times. But what happens if a martial arts film becomes preoccupied with plot and forgets the action for too long?

That brings us to Special ID, the new film starring Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen. The opening scene of the film brings us a mildly entertaining fight sequence, and we quickly learn that Yen is a deep undercover police officer that has infiltrated the highest levels of organized crime. Sadly, the film then mostly eschews fight sequences - the second act features only one really big fight scene but it isn't particularly memorable - and instead opts for plot. 

Catching Up for 2014

There have been several other films released in 2014 that I have seen in the theaters but have not written about at any length and do not expect to write about at length (does not include films released in late 2013 that I saw in 2014).

So I thought I'd list them with whether I would recommend them or not. More expansive thoughts on 2014 movies Non-Stop, About Last Night, Kids for Cash, and In Fear at the links.

Highly Recommended
Gloria

Recommended
The LEGO Movie
Cold Comes The Night
Enemies Closer

Not Recommended
Monuments Men
Robocop
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Stranger By The Lake
Welcome to the Jungle

Of the group of Not Recommended films, I'd have to say the Jack Ryan film was the worst. Cold Comes the Night really is close to the line of recommended or not recommended, but while it isn't great, I found it to be a decent little genre film - worth a rental for Bryan Cranston or Alice Eve fans.

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/12/14

A few thoughts on some movies recently watched:

Non-Stop (2014) – This thriller is definitely a B movie, but the kind of B movie that has turned Liam Neeson into an unlikely late career action star. It has a few silly moments, but the film never really slows down long enough to allow the film to dissolve in your mind. It’s a solid thriller that hearkens back to old school mysteries. There’s a killer aboard a plane and plenty of recognizable faces – who could it be? Solid film worth a trip to the theater for an old-fashioned good time. Screened in the theater.

The Wind Rises (2013) – Billed as Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell to the cinema, this animated melodrama is gorgeous to look at but devoid of an engaging, coherent story. About halfway through the visuals stop being enough and I could no longer pretend I was anything but bored. Screened in the theater.

About Last Night (2014) – I’ve never been much of a Kevin Hart fan, but he and Regina Hall are the life of this party. I found myself laughing out loud at their interactions and found their relationship nearly enough to justify the price of admission. Nearly. Alas, the rest of the movie falls completely flat, thanks to a paint-by-numbers script that doesn’t stand up to logical scrutiny and lifeless performances by the other two leads in the film, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant. When Hart and Hall weren’t filling up the screen, I felt like I was watching a bland beer commercial (obvious product placement sponsor: Heineken). Screened in the theater.

Review - The Last Run (1971)

Yet Another 'One Last Job'

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a criminal decides to take "one last job," and, of course, all hell breaks loose. The Last Run, a George C. Scott vehicle released shortly after Patton, employs that venerable gangster/crime movie premise but, despite almost threatening to be interesting at times, it never quite manages to break out of the generic mold.

Review - Demon Seed (1977)

Can We Pretend This Movie Never Happened?

If you made the most powerful, self-aware computer on earth, what would it wish for? A child, of course. At least that's how one film sees it - Demon Seed, the awful 1977 horror film starring Julie Christie and based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz.

Review - In Fear (2014)

Two Kids Alone in a Car in the Country...What Could Go Wrong?

 

Three actors, two cars, two dilapidated houses, and some country roads. That is the list of ingredients for the recipe of In Fear, a gratifyingly simple English gothic horror film directed by Jeremy Lovering.

Review - Kids for Cash (2014)

The High Price of Zero Tolerance

Courtesy SenArt Films/Kids for Cash Movie

What price do we pay for being tough on crime? In Robert May's excellent documentary Kids for Cash, we see that part of the price we are paying is the future of thousands upon thousands of children - the most in the world - that are being locked up in a broken justice system.

Kids for Cash details the 2008-2009 scandal involving two Pennsylvania judges that were accused of taking kickbacks to send kids to juvenile detention. As it turns out, whether the judges actually took kickbacks specifically to send particular kids to jail is unknown and disputed. What we do know is that these judges, Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, took money from a for-profit prison corporation and greased the wheels to ensure that the corporation would be able to build a juvenile detention center in their county and that it would be fully stocked with inmates. They then worked hard to hide the kickback they did receive and committed the classic criminal mistake of not paying their taxes on the money.

Streaming Picks 3/12/14

Some picks to stream for this week:

Warner Archive Instant 
Point Blank (1967) - John Boorman's classic story of Walker, a man out to get his money - or is it something more - is an absolutely essential viewing experience. After helping his friend pull off a heist on Alcatraz, Lee Marvin's Walker is shot and left for dead by the friend and Walker's own wife. With the aid of a mysterious Keenan Wynn, Walker sets out to get the money he is owed, and to haunt some of the people responsible for the betrayal. Brilliantly stylized - but never overbearingly so - by John Boorman and featuring a master's performance by Marvin as existential hero Walker. Marvin is able to portray Walker with a merger of cool indifference and simmering rage and in the process creates one of the foundational models for movie anti-heroes to come. Catch it while you can, as Warner Archive has it listed in the "Leaving Soon" category. Warner Archive Instant 2 week Free Trial

Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Crackle picks to follow after jump...