Free the Nipple DVD Review

     Actors: Lina Esco, Lola Kirke, Casey LaBow

Director: Lina Esco

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: June 9, 2015

Run Time: 79 minutes

 

 

        I took pages of notes watching this movie, marking down all of the particular lines and scenes that irritated me. I could list them all, but I think it is more effective to simply say that this movie changed my stance on the whole “Free the Nipple” campaign which inspired the film. While I was on the fence before, having to endure this dull and contrived hipster film and hearing plenty of bad dialogue and ill-logic in defense of the issue, I can now say that I am absolutely against the cause. This movie is responsible for that, as well as having people like Lena Dunham and unfortunate celebrity offspring Scout Willis and Miley Cyrus as the cause’s advocates. But the worst offense of the film is blatant hypocrisy within the drifting message of the cause. 

 

Camp X-Ray Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Kristen Stewart, Peyman Moaadi, Lane Garrison

Director: Peter Sattler

Format: Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Run Time: 117 minutes

 

 

        How successful Camp X-Ray is as a film is entirely dependent upon how willing each audience member is to sit through nearly two hours of understated dialogue between two characters separated by walls, glass, and fences, despite knowing where the storyline is inevitably headed. The fact that the material is not more cloying is a testament to writer/director Peter Sattler, though it is thanks to the two leads that the realism in the screenplay feels sincere. The entire film is a balancing act between realism and a contrived relationship, meant to offer introspection over complicated issues of duty and standard operating procedures within the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention camp. While the film falls flat in a somewhat over-inflated running-time, Camp X-Ray earns most of its emotional payoff with a well-researched script and dedicated performances from its actors.

 

Asmodexia DVD Review

     Actors: Albert Baro, Pepo Blasco, Marta Belmonte

Director: Marc Carreté

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: Spanish

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI Home Video

DVD Release Date: June 2, 2015

Run Time: 81 minutes

 

 

 

        At the very least, Asmodexia has a somewhat original plot that deters from most other exorcism horror films, though it still revels in all of the typical visual tropes of the genre. Young girls, elderly people and children are subjected to the usual demon-possession sequences, though the film eventually offers a thinly veiled twist on the narrative which removes faith and Christianity from the equation altogether. Even though the misdirection of the movie’s early sequences are fairly transparent, Asmodexia is ultimately brought down by an overcomplicated screenplay trying too hard to surprise the audience with mystery. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who is good or bad; the movie relies almost entirely on the style of individual exorcism sequences.

 

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Orson Welles

Director: Chuck Workman

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Cohen Media Group

Release Date: May 26, 2015

Run Time: 94 minutes

 

        Orson Welles was a fascinating person, as were his films, so any documentary about him has that element already going for it. Chuck Workman’s film, Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles, provides all of the necessary stories and career points of the iconic actor/director, serving as a concise introduction for those unfamiliar with his work. As for those already fans, much of the content will seem redundant and lacking any new insight. Workman realizes that Orson is interesting enough on his own, and fails to insert any viewpoint or unique opinion of his own. This is more like a documentary that you’d expect to find in the DVD special features of an Anniversary release for Citizen Kane.

 

McFarland, USA Blu-ray Review

Actors: Kevin Costner, Rafael Martinez, Johnny Ortiz, Carlos Pratts

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: Spanish, English

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG 

Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Run Time: 129 minutes

 

        Sports movies released under the Disney logo are usually predictable from the trailer alone, following a formula that hasn’t changed much since the horribly contrived Remember the Titans. While McFarland, USA boasts a slightly better screenplay, nearly every aspect of the film aligns with this specific group of films. Based on a true story, dealing with issues of diversity, and centering on a group of underdogs, McFarland, USA feels like a paint-by-numbers Disney sports film, but that doesn’t always detract from its charms. Audiences going into a film like this know what they are getting, and this one delivers what is expected; no more and no less.

 

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Sofia Boutella, Joe Demspie, Johnny Harris, Sam Keely, Nicholas Pinnock

Director: Tom Green

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Run Time: 122 minutes

        What happens when you try to shoehorn a monster movie into the failed screenplay for a Hurt Locker rip-off? You get the sequel to Gareth Edwards’ indi-hit, Monsters (which was good enough to land him Godzilla). First of all, the reason movies like The Hurt Locker, Lone Survivor and American Sniper are successful seems reliant on the fact that they are based on true stories, so these original screenplays trying to mimic the success are doomed from the start. The choice to then take the film even further from reality by adding monsters as the enemy may sound like a solid solution. The only problem is that the monsters aren’t the enemies in Monsters: Dark Continent.

 

10 Years Ranting: Uwe Boll 2005 Interview Revisited

        In 2005 I gave my first interview as a professional film journalist, and nothing has quite matched that experience. Sure, I’ve met and interviewed filmmakers and celebrities that I admire greatly, but they have all been within the sterile environment of press junkets, red carpets, and other typical Hollywood events. The primary concern for each of these interviews has always been the promotion of a film being released, and even the most candid responses to my questions felt slightly self serving. My interview with German filmmaker Uwe Boll was nothing like this.

 

The Taking of Tiger Mountain Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Zhang Hanyu, Lin Gengxin, Tong Liya, Tony Leung Ka-fai

Director: Tsui Hark

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Cantonese

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Run Time: 136 minutes

 

        The Taking of Tiger Mountain uses history as its starting off point, and then switches to the realism of a superhero film for the action sequences. Laws of gravity and what the human body is actually capable of are dismissed in favor of spectacularly stylized fight scenes that are far more fun than the plot demands. However, somehow seasoned filmmaker Hark Tsui manages to do this without losing any of the emotional resonance in the film’s non-fiction material.