Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
July 12th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
As far as the visual design goes for a Woody Allen film, Café Society is among his best. Going over budget for the sake of this 1930s-set farce, Allen manages to put a well-cast ensemble in a number of great costumes, as they interact within well-designed sets and beautiful locations to evoke a level of nostalgia captured quite often in Allen films. It’s just a shame the story doesn’t take the audience anywhere new when it comes to Allen’s level of wit. It’s almost as if he were happier lounging in the café, rather than actually reading the menu.
d Continue reading ‘Find Woody Allen Not Working Too Hard With ‘Café Society’ (Movie Review)’
July 8th, 2016 by Jason Coleman
For those up for some sick and twisted fun via a past foreign film it’s time to get your game face on – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Today’s we’re heading to Thailand to highlight a film so cool, so sick and so utterly shocking that it promises to be an exciting cinematic experience you won’t forget. Broke? No job, no girl and no hope? Score some luck and play…13: Game of Death.
Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “13: Game Of Death”’
July 7th, 2016 by Jason Coleman
There are a few less indie titles out this week (both the engaging looking The Infiltrator and Our Little Sister we not made available to me!) I’ve tried to give you readers a little more bang for the movie buck with the inclusion of two more recent small-scale flicks to fill in the cinematic gap. Two new, two older, but all review ready for your convenience. So check out the Encapsulated Movie Reviews of Zero Days, 3rd Street Blackout, Clown and Swiss Army Man below!
Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – 4 New Indie Titles’
July 1st, 2016 by Jason Coleman
Ready for another dose of past Friday film fare still firmly planted in the foreign section? Then welcome back to Forgotten Friday Flick! Today we’re hitting the first delectable British feature of a talented female filmmaker who had at the time already won an Oscar. (Best Live Action Short for Wasp people!) It combines the classic qualities of a taunt suspenseful thriller with heartbreaking human drama for a movie that arrests at every terrific turn. Loss, obsession and facing demons of the past – let’s head down…Red Road!
Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Red Road”’
June 30th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
For all The Legend of Tarzan has going for it, which includes big stars, big budget effects and a proven director, the resulting film is a bland misfire. Attempting to create new interest in a 100+ year old pulp hero is not a terrible idea, but this film has seemingly no ambition to do much more than supply all the basic parts needed and hope it all works. Well, with $180 million put down to launch a new franchise featuring the King of the Jungle, it’s a shame this film has nothing to offer beyond the bare minimum of story, perfunctory levels of excitement and the abs of Alexander Skarsgard.
d Continue reading ‘‘The Legend Of Tarzan’ Fails To Swing To Great Heights (Movie Review)’
June 30th, 2016 by Jason Coleman
For those looking to balance big blockbusters with some smaller film fare your cinematic ship has come in. Dissected below are four new indie flicks that cover everything from crazed sharpshooters to docs for dudes all out this Friday, July 1 in select theaters, digital formats and so on for the enquiring movie geek. So feel free to browse the Encapsulated Movie Reviews of Carnage Park, Making The American Man, The Innocents and Our Kind of Traitor below!
Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – 4 New Indie Films’
June 29th, 2016 by Brian White
Something weird happened in 2014. My girlfriend made me take her to see The Purge: Anarchy in the theater. Why is this newsworthy? Hold on! I’m getting to it. I like a slow burn. Haha. It’s remarkable because of my disdain of the first entry in this Purge franchise. I initially absolutely hated the concept and just wasn’t a fan of the film overall. However, my qualms have slowly faded away over the past years given my love I have for Frank Grillo and his involvement in The Purge: Anarchy. The one scene where he was screaming at the man who took his son’s life, “you killed my boy,” nearly brought me to tears (and that’s hard to do). It was one of the best performances of the year in my playbook. I apologize about the previous spoiler, but I had to emphasize my point to hit it home to accurately describe my change of heart when it comes to the Purge franchise. So nevertheless, you better believe I was excited for this year’s Purge once I heard Grillo would be back. Hell to the yeah! Continue reading ‘It’s Your God Given Right To ‘Purge’ This ‘Election Year’ (Movie Review)’
June 29th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
There is something to admire in The Purge franchise that has stemmed from a singular voice, writer/director James DeMonaco. This twisted franchise has not been my favorite, but it has been influenced by topical subject matter that now pushes this latest entry, The Purge: Election Year, to a point that almost feels plausible. Some audiences can still be entertained by the over-the-top antics of this film universe’s annual event, but for a horror series to further embrace its social science fiction ideas and turn its subtext into text, I can extend a level of admiration.
d Continue reading ‘‘The Purge’ Finds A Winning Vote In Aptly-Titled ‘Election Year’ (Movie Review)’
June 28th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Sometimes you have to try and channel Roald Dahl to describe his films. Steven Spielberg certainly seems to be a fan, as he has done all he can to replicate the 1982 novel of the same name. Given both the Beard’s directorial sensibilities and being his first Disney movie there is perhaps almost too light of a touch, but The BFG makes up for this by way of delivering on spectacle without overdoing it. Really, what better way to see a movie about a little girl and her new giant best friend come to life than through the lens of a British comedy with big Hollywood effects?
d Continue reading ‘‘The BFG’ Is Bubbling Fantabulous Goodness (Movie Review)’
June 27th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Just when you thought it was safe to get Blake in the water, along comes The Shallows. Here’s an efficient thriller that milks a solid premise for all it’s worth. A surfer is trapped on a rock near the shore, while a shark circles her. Other details keep it interesting, even while the film goes over-the-top in its final act, but it does all it can to satisfy its b-movie machinations. Not hurting is star Blake Lively, who is more than capable of providing an action-movie lead to keep us involved with the thrills.
d Continue reading ‘‘The Shallows’ Packs Efficient Bite In The Not-So-Deep Blue Sea (Movie Review)’
June 24th, 2016 by Jason Coleman
For my first film reviews here at the amazing Why So Blu it felt right to hit the movie review ground running, so I’m going to examine a colossal six indie films (I try to see EVERYTHING for the fans!) that are hitting select theaters, digital formats and the like all this Friday. So take a gander at the encapsulated (for your convenience!) critiques of Les Cowboys, Wiener-Dog, The Neon Demon, My Love, Don’t Cross That River, Vigilante Diaries and Misconception all below!
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Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – 6 New Indie Films’
June 24th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
I have both nostalgic love and admiration for the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. The film turned Will Smith into a superstar, provided Irwin Allen disaster movie-like thrills on a grand scale, and delivered a fun sci-fi alien invasion flick. It was also earnest, heartfelt and audacious. 20 years later we have Independence Day: Resurgence, which ups the ante from a visuals standpoint, but finds itself lost when it comes to channeling what made the first film special.
d Continue reading ‘‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ – The Aliens Strike Back (Movie Review)’
June 24th, 2016 by Jason Coleman
I’m back with my famed week-ending peek into past pictures worthy of a retro revisit – but now on a brand new site! And being that this is the first official one here at my new home Why So Blu it felt appropriate to not only keep the foreign film angle alive we hatched on our previous site, but to knock it out of the park with a choice that’s cinematically savory in every way – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! For all newbies it’s my long running weekly column that brings to light hidden movie gems that some of you may have forgotten, dismissed or perhaps never even heard of – all for the consideration of the inquisitive cinefile. Today I’m delving into a weird movie world where genres are used as mere fodder to build one fine film. Comedy, drama, romance and a pinch of horror all embody our selection – a movie so explicit in every wondrous way that the film was at the time slapped with an all new rating. A sensational Spanish NC-17 product of the 1990’s, let’s get the review rope ready for Pedro Almodóvar’s…Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!”’
June 23rd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
The press notes for the bizarre buddy comedy that is Swiss Army Man state the film comes from the minds behind the visionary “Turn Down For What” music video. That is an apt way of presenting a film that allows a man and a living corpse to become friends and explore the facets of life to varying emotional degrees. You also have to take into account how much this film almost feels like a dare for audiences to look past the fact that it largely plays like the artsiest fart joke to ever get acquired during Sundance.
d Continue reading ‘‘Swiss Army Man’ Passes Gas And The Weirdness Test With Aplomb (Movie Review)’
June 23rd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
It’s a sad reality when you realize a film’s noble intentions can’t save it from the truth. There is an interesting story to tell in regards to Newton Knight and the men and women who joined him in rebellion against the Confederacy (and the Union) during the Civil War. Unfortunately, despite the efforts from a talented cast and the inherent emotions that come from seeing the rigors of slavery at its worst, Free State of Jones is a dramatically inert film with little to add to the cinematic landscape.
d Continue reading ‘‘Free State Of Jones’ Sparks Little Interest In Rebellion Tale (Movie Review)’
June 22nd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
It’s something of a shame that live-action adventure movies intended for a family audience are relegated to being the talk of film festivals, rather than something in demand by studios these days. Hunt for the Wilderpeople was met with much acclaim at Sundance this past winter and it deserves it, but it is almost as if the film won people over for being a good example of what we used to get more of. Regardless, this little New Zealand gem features a fine story about two people learning to work with one another and the madcap adventure they experience in the bush.
d Continue reading ‘‘Hunt For The Wilderpeople’ Is One Charming Adventure (Movie Review)’
June 21st, 2016 by Erica Lawrence
Coming Friday, June 24th by IFC Midnight, Intruder is (as the title suggests) a home invasion thriller that depicts one woman’s unsettling weekend home alone, written and directed by Travis Zarwiny. Starring Louise Linton as Elizabeth, a young cellist in the Portland Oregon Symphony, decides to escape the stresses of her life by retreating to the solitude and safety of her own home. However the dangers of the storm outside are nothing compared to what Elizabeth finds inside the comfort of her apartment. Continue reading ‘Intruder (Movie Review)’
June 16th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
There is a future that will find Central Intelligence playing at various times of day on cable channels over and over again. This lightweight action-comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart has the kind of likable qualities that serve as the same reasons so many remember Rush Hour or various Martin Lawrence movies from the 90s so well. Central Intelligence is not particularly good, but it is the kind of film that will make you laugh every few minutes, helping it to add up to a film that doesn’t seem that bad when it’s all over.
d Continue reading ‘‘Central Intelligence’ Features A Smart Pairing In A Dumb Movie (Movie Review)’
As far as the visual design goes for a Woody Allen film, Café Society is among his best. Going over budget for the sake of this 1930s-set farce, Allen manages to put a well-cast ensemble in a number of great costumes, as they interact within well-designed sets and beautiful locations to evoke a level of nostalgia captured quite often in Allen films. It’s just a shame the story doesn’t take the audience anywhere new when it comes to Allen’s level of wit. It’s almost as if he were happier lounging in the café, rather than actually reading the menu.
