‘The Founder’ Has A Well Done Screenplay Served With Undercooked Direction (Movie Review)
January 18th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
The story behind McDonald’s is almost as fascinating as the world’s obsession with the McRib. The Founder is a straightforward attempt to tell that story (of the history, not the pork sandwich), with a focus on Ray Kroc, the man who turned McDonald’s into what it would come be today, for better or worse. Given what took place, the topic is ripe for a solid film, but despite a screenplay full of ideas and potential to morph into something cinematically great, the film feels undercut by fairly standard direction that takes less of a bite into the material than the customers do into their Big Macs.
Lionsgate’s USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage tells a true tale from World War II about a ship that help transport parts of an Atomic Bomb and then was shot up in the water with its survivors hanging afloat for 5 days. Headlining the cast is Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage (The Wicker Man, Left Behind) along with Tom Sizemore (Slumber Party Slaughter, Pauly Shore Is Dead), Thomas Jane (LOL, Pawn Shop Chronicles) and James Remar (Deleted Scenes from Aliens). USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage is directed by Mario Van Peebles. It will be available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate on January 24th. You can pre-order the film now from Amazon and be able to have it right on release day if you’re a Prime member. 
Jack Reacher is one of those films I had to go back and revisit to not only freshen up going into the premiere of Jack Reacher Never Go Back, but make sure I liked it too. I honestly could not remember as I hadn’t seen the first film since 2013 when I reviewed the Blu-ray 
It’s that time of year film festival fans – Park City movies time! That’s right, yours truly will be covering both the Sundance Film Festival (stay tuned!) and the even more illustrious Slamdance Film Festival for the great 
Death Race, the original, was made in 1975, considered a cult classic piece of B-grade genre filmmaking from the master of such, Roger Corman. We went a whole 33 years with no sequels, TV spin-offs or remakes. In 2008, the film was remade as is popular to do nowadays, but it spawned a straight-to-video surge for this franchise, and now in just over 8 years, we have 4 films added to the original. Two not mentioned are sequels to the remake (Which Paul WS Anderson apparently feels is a prequel to the original). Now, Corman is back behind it all (Though his name is over the title, he only produced, GJ Echtenkamp directs), and he’s making sequel-reboot (Rebootquel, legacy sequel…all the terms) to the original. There’s been a surprising amount of press for this. Not much, mind you, but much more making the common movie watcher aware than you would think for something like this. 
Spencer Strasmore and his boys are back to “ball out” in Season 2 of the hit HBO comedy Ballers. I couldn’t be more excited about this! Not only am I a fan of NFL football, which this show revolves around, but HBO’s Ballers also brought me closer to The Rock as an actor. I love him now even more than I did in the Fast & Furious films (and I did not think that was possible). Dwayne Johnson takes the reins with his larger-than-life charisma in this series that looks at the whirlwind lifestyles and real-life problems of former and current football players in sun-soaked Miami (a paradise on Earth). In case you missed it you can read all about my Season 1 coverage over 
The Accountant makes for a stupid film title in my opinion. I don’t care how good the movie is, I still hate the name given. I probably couldn’t come up with anything better, but that’s why I am writing Blu-ray movie reviews and not films themselves. However, you can’t say it doesn’t grab your attention. Come on! I don’t know about you, but my mind strays to thoughts of how boring this flick can be with a name like this. I can’t help it. I’m high maintenance and like my lifestyle I want a zinger of a movie title to accompany the features I adore. Whoa! Stop the press! This one stars Ben Affleck! The man brought Batman back to life. You can Argo F#%* yourselves. He deserves our undivided attention. So listen up as here comes the 4-1-1 on The Accountant releasing on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray January 10th.
Both my breakdancing and 80’s vibe are in full boogaloo swing as I continue to check out high hair flicks – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! This week it’s all about comedy and crazy characters as we head into what can only be described as Tootsie in high school with a side of Yentl. Featuring a fed up gal who decides to see how the other sex lives, there’s plenty of laughs, love and teen debauchery (courtesy of the great Billy Jacoby!) running rampant as a very fetching female tries to be…Just One Of The Guys!
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Moana, the sweeping story of a spirited teenager who sets sail on a daring adventure to save her people, starring newcomer Auli‘i Cravalho as the voice of brave and tenacious Moana and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (HBO’s “Ballers,” “Central Intelligence”) as the larger-than-life demigod Maui, has dazzled both critics and audiences. The film earned a 95% critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes and the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office opening weekend. Now, “Moana” sets a new course, sailing home on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) on Feb. 21, and on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on March 7. Pre-order now! 
In its most-watched season to date, season 5 of the hit HBO® comedy series Veep is the winner of three 2016 Emmy® awards including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has won an Emmy® for each season of Veep), and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. The 10-episode VEEP: The Complete Fifth Season will be available on Blu-ray™ and DVD on April 11, 2017, including a free digital download copy of the full season, plus exclusive new bonus content containing more than 30 minutes of hilarious deleted scenes and entertaining audio commentaries from cast and crew including Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, David Mandel and more! 
There’s going to be some major Park City film coverage taking over this month, so before I head out thought I’d leave you film fans with a quick current critical film sneak peek to tide you over. So in my very first Encapsulated Movie Reviews column of 2017 I lost some sleep and took on a whopping seven films that you can check out while I’m movie binging in Utah. A doc on family vs. religion, a heist flick by a gal who’s been making movies since she was twelve, a dark drama about disappearance, a graphic novel come to life, a suspense story told from two different perspectives and two horror tales that both scream beware of strangers – WHEW! Check out the skinny on the films An Act Of Love, Coin Heist, Claire In Motion, Bad Kids of Crestview Academy, Detour, We Are The Flesh and The Bye Bye Man all below!
Before I begin this 4K Ultra HD review I wanted to give a big shout out to all my new Facebook friends on the 4K Ultra HD Home Cinema Group (join all the conversations 
A man sets out on a mission to rescue his brother from a formidable mobster when the thriller Arsenal arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD), DVD and Digital HD March 28 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. Directed by Steven C. Miller (Marauders, Extraction), the action-packed movie features an all-star cast including Adrian Grenier, Johnathon Schaech, Lydia Hull, Academy Award®Winner Nicolas Cage (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Leaving Las Vegas, 1995), and Golden Globe®Nominee John Cusack (Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, High Fidelity, 2001). From the producers of Lone Survivor, the Arsenal Blu-ray and DVD will be available March 28th. 
A hit with audiences and critics alike, DreamWorks Animation’s TROLLS, is the “feel-good” movie of the year receiving an outstanding audience reaction with a coveted “A” CinemaScore® and a Certified Fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com. DreamWorks TROLLS, the fresh, music-filled adventure packed with humor and heart dances onto Digital HD on Jan. 24 and Blu-ray™ and DVD on Feb. 7 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
