Some more 2013 films that have hit video:
Quartet
Maggie Smith moves into a retirement home suited for those who spent their young lives in the opera, the symphony, or other musical talents. There, she reunites with her fellow Rigoletto players, including the spurned Tom Courtenay, and is the only prima donna able to boost their annual charity drive show. Despite the major presence of Dustin Hoffman behind the camera, nothing jumps out from this play adaptation. Everything is just okay, a breezy affair, and is never funny unless you have somehow not seen an elder in a movie talk about sex and hip-hop before. The main four actors are acceptable, even though we never clearly hear their "unique" and "celebrated" singing voices. However, they are easily trumped by the background players, all of whom are actual performers who haven't lost their step or let age get in the way when it comes to making beautiful music.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Mama
An artist's long search for his lost nieces, who were whisked away by their murderer father, finally ends when the two are found to be feral in a strange wooden cabin. Given special custody to them, he and his rock-star girlfriend try to raise them like a normally dysfunctional family but they begin to notice the signs of "Mama", their invisible guardian whose past ties lie within the woods. Adapted from his own short horror film, which is recreated in its entirety here, Andy Muschietti pulls off an impressive film debut and able to create a frightening movie while observing the confines of a PG-13 rating. The young girl actresses are suitably top-notch, with the younger Isabelle Nélisse pilfering the limelight with her disturbing commitment to extreme acts and body language. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau obviously needed to get back to the Game of Thrones set, hence why he rarely appears after the opening, but Jessica Chastain is able to carry the parental load as a dissatisfied rocker who won't let her dashed dreams affect her maternal instincts for the girls. Despite its innate creepiness, the film has its legs cut off from under it thanks to an awkward ending, which has bad shades to last year's dreadful DARK SHADOWS.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Dark Skies
A family of four starts to experience unexplainable phenomenon that affects their middle-class white lifestyle, possibly by shadowy aliens dubbed "The Grays". Despite several mental disorders, skin branding, teleportation, blackouts, and three flocks of birds crashing into their house, they refuse to bolt and nobody else in this cocky world thinks something beyond human could be the cause. Written and directed by the man who gave us PRIEST, this is a stupid greatest hits version of recent popular horror films (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, INSIDIOUS) when it should have sticked to its minor allusions to BUG and THE SEVENTH CONTINENT. Talented workers such as Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, and the young Dakota Goyo have to endure plenty of pitiful dialogue, a supporting cast of jerks whose alternate forms of theories make no logical sense, and the absolute worst child actor in some time. Seriously, Kadan Rockett is a menace to cinema, dropping bombs in every scene and decaying the patience of any viewer. I attribute the veritably creepy visual and lighting schemes by cinematographer David Boyd, plus a cameoing J.K. Simmons, as the few stars keeping this horror ship afloat. Featuring a confusingly surreal twist ending and a family who buys a dog just to watch it die, this is a film destined to be a "scare first, laugh second" rental.
FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5
The Last Stand
A drug lord/racing savant orchestrates his own breakout and drives in his "faster than a chopper", custom-made ZL1 to the Mexican border. The only ones able to aid the FBI in stopping him and his large crew of goons is a small town sheriff and a few deputies. Though it's a vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger to get back into the action game, the film's stars are actually director Kim Ji-woon (I SAW THE DEVIL) and his Korean staff. They craft well-staged violent encounters that are easy to follow visually and pack a mighty punch. Arnold does alright stepping front and center again but it is clear that he doesn't have the older magnitude of the likes of Clint Eastwood. The flimsy script is tailor-made to make him the smartest, most capable hero for all of his impressionable allies to admire yet his bloodthirsty grace has slowed considerably and he lacks the bite he once had. Worthy of being a hugger for your DVD collection.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Broken City
A potboiler drama that'll kill a day but surely will slip through through the cracks of time, unless it pops up on TNT. Mark Wahlberg is a disgraced NY cop turned private investigator who does a job for Mayor Russell Crowe: find out who his cold wife is seeing on the side. Nothing's what it seems, yadda, yadda, yadda, roll credits. For a script that was deemed worthy of being on "The Black List", nothing really stands out that couldn't be seen in past film noir and corrupt city films. Even the dialogue lacks the pulp juicy enough to expunge a tough and gritty flavor. The cast is fine, led by Russell's too quiet menacing but it is Barry Pepper, along with his campaign pal Kyle Chandler, who tended to steal the spotlight and the entire show. The movie is best when dealing with its mayor election subplot than it does with the actual main action. Also, the film has a weird message about alcoholism; Wahlberg literally gets powered up by alcohol in the second half, liquid courage indeed, despite it leading him to many problems in the past. Stay for the long laundry list of producers at the end, including Mr. Mudd (?!).
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment