Spring Breakers (2013)
written by: Harmony Korine
produced by: Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Jordan Gertner, Chris Hanley & David Zander
directed by: Harmony Korine
rating: R (for strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence throughout)
runtime: 93 min.
U.S. release date: March 22, 2013
DVD/Blu-ray release date: July 9, 2013
There are movies so bad that it is hard to describe. “Spring Breakers”, appropriately released this past March, is at the top of that list. What’s the appeal? Even the premise that four attractive young actresses would prance around in bikinis for 90 minutes didn’t seem enough. But watching with a friend – thank you Redbox credit! – I gave it a shot. It’s beyond a guilty pleasure, it’s just an awful movie. And away we go!
This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (08-27-13)
While a new “Transformers” movie is being filmed in Chicago right now, director Michael Bay’s recent movie “Pain & Gain” is now available to rent or own – and believe it or not, it was on some critic’s Top Five Films of 2013 (so far) lists. I didn’t get around to seeing the based-on-a-true-story action comedy in theaters, so I’m interested to see how it fares at home. On the flip side, I can’t see how Baz Lurhmann’s “The Great Gatsby” can have any impact at home unless you have a home theater system with 3D capabilities. The F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan didn’t do too much for me other than the razzle dazzle it offers, but many viewers really enjoyed it. “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (so many reasons why I shouldn’t like that title, but I do) didn’t find many viewers though. It might’ve been due to its limited release or maybe the time of year it was released or maybe that title after all. Directed by Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding” and “The Namesake”), someone whose films I enjoy, this intriguing thriller follows a young Pakistani man who finds himself caught between following his dreams here in America, getting finger-pointed for terrorist acts and finding himself pulled by the call of his homeland.
The Criterion Completist – Repulsion (1965)
written by: Roman Polanski and Gérard Brach
produced by: Gene Gutowski
directed by: Roman Polanski
rated: not rated
runtime: 109 min.
U.S. release date: May 16, 1965
DVD/Blu-ray release date: May 8, 2001
Last Sunday on August 18th, filmmaker Roman Polanski celebrated his 80th birthday, a huge milestone for the controversial and talented creator of such works as “Chinatown”, “Rosemary’s Baby”, and “The Pianist”. Today, I thought we’d take a look at his second full length feature, the highly influential and disturbing “Repulsion“, a shocking examination of a young woman’s slow descent into madness.
Only God Forgives (2013)
written by: Nicolas Winding Refn
produced by: Lene Børglum
directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
rating: R (for strong bloody violence including grisly images, sexual content and language)
runtime: 90 min.
U.S. release date: July 19, 2013 (limited theatrically and VOD)
Sometimes you get your hopes up for an upcoming film by a filmmaker you’ve come to respect and appreciate that you just allow the synopsis alone to bait you with anticipation and sometimes you get let down after finally watching it. Extremely let down. Sadly, “Only God Forgives” falls into that category. It’s the latest film from director Nicolas Wending Refn, following his ultra-cool “Drive” from 2011, which starred Ryan Gosling as a “real hero”. This film, which reteams Gosling with Refn, is the exact opposite of “Drive” and while I didn’t anticipate or want anything similar to their last film, I didn’t expect to be so put off by it either. It sounded promising and wound up looking quite good, with surreal visuals and striking color palette, but that’s about it for this pretentious slog of violence and bore.
The World’s End (2013)
written by: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
produced by: Nira Park, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
directed by: Edgar Wright
rating: R (for pervasive language including sexual references)
runtime: 109 min.
U.S. release date: August 23, 2013
There’s been a run of apocalyptic sci-fi movies lately, many fall in the drama or action genre with dazzling visuals yet convoluted or formulaic storylines – cough (ahem), I’m looking at you, “Oblivion” and “Elysium”. As I’ve begun to feel the aches of “apocalyptic fatigue” this year, I’ve come to realize I’d rather laugh off the end of the world than fight for humanity’s future. It took watching Edgar Wright’s “The World’s End”, the end of what’s being called “The Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy” (apparently it’s a delectable frozen dairy treat, I had to Google it), to remind me of that.
This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (08-20-13)
2 GUNS (2013) review
written by: Blake Masters (screenplay) and Steven Grant (graphic novel)
produced by: Marc Platt, Norton Herrick, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Ross Richie & Andrew Crosby
directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
rating: R (for violence throughout, language and brief nudity)
runtime: 109 min.
U. S. release date: August 2, 2013
“2 Guns” is one of those summer movies that will take an audience by surprise, if they would only give it a chance. Its looks are deceiving though, coming across like a familiar black-and-white buddy comedy, something we expect from the likes of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, two movie stars who usually exude cool charisma and effortlessly deliver clever banter in-between comedic (and often quite stylish) action sequences. Well, this violent and pulpy feature is that, but it’s actually much more entertaining than you’d expect. With its August release, one would assume this is yet another movie that is trying to quietly eke out with the studio hoping for the best. As it turns out, this could (maybe even should) be the best sleeper hit of the summer, providing a lesson to all those bloated blockbusters we’ve been force-fed so often this time of the year.
Dead Man Down (2013)
written by: J. H. Wyman
produced by: J. H. Wyman and Neal H. Mortiz
directed by: Niels Arden Orlev
rating: R (for violence, language and a scene of sexuality)
runtime: 117 min.
U.S. release date: March 8, 2013
DVD/blu-ray release date: July 9, 2013
Having directed the huge 2009 hit “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo“, Neils Arden Oplev made an interesting decision. He stepped away. The film broke box office records, but Oplev was in no rush to get behind a film camera again, instead working some in television. He’s finally returned to movies, coming back in strong fashion with “Dead Man Down”.
10 Years (2012)
written by: Jamie Linden
produced by: Marty Bowden, Reid Carolin, Wyck Godfrey & Channing Tatum
directed by: Jamie Linden
rating: PG-13 (for language, alcohol abuse, some sexual material and drug use)
runtime: 100 min.
U.S. release date: September 14, 2012
DVD/Blu-ray release date: December 18, 2012
I had a momentary freak out recently following my 28th birthday. It’s 2013. I graduated from high school in 2003. By my count, that means I’ve been out of high school for 10 years. Oh, no! Ten year reunion! I can’t be that old, can I? Thankfully no invite for said reunion has come in the mail so I can calm down a little for the time being. In the meantime, I can watch other people struggle through the same issues in “10 Years”.
This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (08-13-13)
Out of the three recent releases we’re looking at this week, two of them, “The Company You Keep” and “Emperor”, barely received a recognizable theatrical release, while “Olympus Has Fallen” wound up being one of two Die-Hard at the White House movies this year. “The Company You Keep” is a thriller directed by Robert Redford, a filmmaker who, like Clint Eastwood, hasn’t slowed down with age, but instead continues to produce films that mean something to him, while drawing an impressive cast. Redford stars as a Weather Underground activist who finds himself on the run once a journalist (Shia LaBeouf) outs him. That sounds like the political leanings we’ve come to expect from Redford. Another film that had a limited theatrical run earlier this year is “Emperor” the one where Tommy Lee Jones portrays General Douglas McArthur during the American occupation of Japan, just after Emperor Hirohito’s World War II surrender. Directed by Peter Webber (whose last film was 2007’s “Hannibal Rising”) and co-starring Matthew Fox, “Emperor didn’t register with moviegoers, nor did it receive praise from critics. But, something about Jones playing a historical figure, one you’d thing he’d be perfect for, has my curiosity. As for “Olympus”, an Antoine Fuqua action thriller that looks to deliver nothing more than what you’d expect, well, somehow I gravitate to a movie that is probably as ridiculous, cliche-riddled and insulting as everyone says it is.
