REVIEWS FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Movie Review: ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’
**** out of 5
150 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images
20th Century Fox
Article first published as Movie Review: Ridley Scott’s ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ with Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton’ on Blogcritics.
If there was ever a director to humanize a Bible story, it would be an agnostic — so ready or not, here comes Ridley Scott’s take on Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings. I’m not much for religion myself either, so I was very interested to see how Scott would present the story of the famed Egyptian and his mission to free his people. Delivering on a grand scale, Scott has teamed up with four writers to give a far more realistic depiction of ancient times and question whether Moses was in fact, following orders from God, or simply suffering a concussion. Does he give any kind of answer? Thankfully, he leaves a few things up to the viewer.
In
1300 BC, Memphis, Egypt, Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel
Edgerton) love each other as brothers. Taken in as a baby by Seti (John
Torturro), and now grown, Moses and Ramses fight side-by-side, and are
even given each other’s swords as gifts after a prophecy proclaims that
one will save the other during battle and become a great leader. During a
trip to Pithom, while meeting with Viceroy Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), a
slave named Joshua (Aaron Paul) leads Moses to speak with Nun (Ben
Kingsley), who informs him he is Hebrew, sent by his sister Miriam (Tara
Fitzgerald) down the river, to be raised by the Pharaohs. Disbelieving
Nun’s story, he returns to Memphis to find Seti on his deathbed.
After Seti passes, Hegep shows up to inform Ramses about Moses’s true lineage and Queen Tuya (Sigourney Weaver) has him ostracized. While traveling through the desert, Moses winds up in Midian, where he takes a wife in Zipporah (Maria Valverde). Nine years later, Moses is rounding up some sheep on God’s Mountain and hits his head during a landslide. Here, he has a vision, of a burning bush and a messenger of God in the form of a boy named Malak (Isaac Andrews). Now, Moses must step up to save his Hebrew people, teaching them the art of war to attack the Egyptians prompting Malak to unleash the 10 plagues before the final mass exodus leads them all to the Red Sea for one final showdown.
Religion aside, Exodus: Gods and Kings works wonders as grand
scale entertainment. Filled with spectacular effects and wincing
brutality, it’s a wonder the film skirts by with a PG-13 rating. From a
vicious crocodile attack turning the water into blood to swarming
locusts to the death of every firstborn, Scott and his writers quartet
of writers (Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine, and Oscar-winner
Steve Zaillian) never hold back from the atrocities. Let alone that
we’re pitted right in the middle of the chaos in a stunning use of 3D.
Scott is definitely one the better users of the format, letting the
third dimension immerse you in an ancient land, not just as a gimmick
having objects leap from the screen.
The cast helped lend a definite air of realism, with Bale showing he’s still much more than The Dark Knight. He never lets his performance wander too far into crazy, providing sympathy for a man who really just wants to set his enslaved people free from tyranny. As the arrested development-challenged Ramses, Edgerton makes the man-child more likeable than you’d think without turning him into an outright villain. As for the supporting cast, the young Andrews and Kingsley fare the best, with Paul proving he was cast for having a fantastic set of crazy eyes, but poor Weaver is completely wasted and featured in only a handful of scenes. Let alone that she never once sports any kind of accent whatsoever.
For anyone looking for a more thoughtful and grounded presentation of Biblical lore, Exodus: Gods and Kings is the perfect kind of film that never turns into Bible-thumping, nor strays into any kind of sacrilege — it strikes the perfect balance. And in a year finding fewer than normal outstanding films, Exodus may not be one of the year’s best, but it’s definitely one of the year’s better.
Photos courtesy 20th Century Fox
150 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images
20th Century Fox
Article first published as Movie Review: Ridley Scott’s ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ with Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton’ on Blogcritics.
If there was ever a director to humanize a Bible story, it would be an agnostic — so ready or not, here comes Ridley Scott’s take on Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings. I’m not much for religion myself either, so I was very interested to see how Scott would present the story of the famed Egyptian and his mission to free his people. Delivering on a grand scale, Scott has teamed up with four writers to give a far more realistic depiction of ancient times and question whether Moses was in fact, following orders from God, or simply suffering a concussion. Does he give any kind of answer? Thankfully, he leaves a few things up to the viewer.
In
1300 BC, Memphis, Egypt, Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel
Edgerton) love each other as brothers. Taken in as a baby by Seti (John
Torturro), and now grown, Moses and Ramses fight side-by-side, and are
even given each other’s swords as gifts after a prophecy proclaims that
one will save the other during battle and become a great leader. During a
trip to Pithom, while meeting with Viceroy Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), a
slave named Joshua (Aaron Paul) leads Moses to speak with Nun (Ben
Kingsley), who informs him he is Hebrew, sent by his sister Miriam (Tara
Fitzgerald) down the river, to be raised by the Pharaohs. Disbelieving
Nun’s story, he returns to Memphis to find Seti on his deathbed.After Seti passes, Hegep shows up to inform Ramses about Moses’s true lineage and Queen Tuya (Sigourney Weaver) has him ostracized. While traveling through the desert, Moses winds up in Midian, where he takes a wife in Zipporah (Maria Valverde). Nine years later, Moses is rounding up some sheep on God’s Mountain and hits his head during a landslide. Here, he has a vision, of a burning bush and a messenger of God in the form of a boy named Malak (Isaac Andrews). Now, Moses must step up to save his Hebrew people, teaching them the art of war to attack the Egyptians prompting Malak to unleash the 10 plagues before the final mass exodus leads them all to the Red Sea for one final showdown.
The cast helped lend a definite air of realism, with Bale showing he’s still much more than The Dark Knight. He never lets his performance wander too far into crazy, providing sympathy for a man who really just wants to set his enslaved people free from tyranny. As the arrested development-challenged Ramses, Edgerton makes the man-child more likeable than you’d think without turning him into an outright villain. As for the supporting cast, the young Andrews and Kingsley fare the best, with Paul proving he was cast for having a fantastic set of crazy eyes, but poor Weaver is completely wasted and featured in only a handful of scenes. Let alone that she never once sports any kind of accent whatsoever.
For anyone looking for a more thoughtful and grounded presentation of Biblical lore, Exodus: Gods and Kings is the perfect kind of film that never turns into Bible-thumping, nor strays into any kind of sacrilege — it strikes the perfect balance. And in a year finding fewer than normal outstanding films, Exodus may not be one of the year’s best, but it’s definitely one of the year’s better.
Photos courtesy 20th Century Fox
DVD Review: ‘Phobia’ (2013)
Movie: ** 1/2 out of 5
Extras: ***
Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Phobia’ (2013) - Directed by Rory Abel’ on Blogcritics.
As if being stuck in a haunted house wasn’t bad enough, imagine if you literally couldn’t leave. In co-writer/director Rory Douglas Abel’s low-budget Phobia, our main character suffers from agoraphobia, which makes dealing with the ghostly shenanigans impossible to escape. On top of that, he may have a case of schizophrenia from grieving over his recently-deceased wife. Talk about a claustrophobic setting if there ever was one.
Is Abel up to the task of keeping our interest piqued for 84 minutes? Most of it. Unfortunately, the cast is a wishy-washy blend of amateurs that eventually breaks the suspension of disbelief and the tension. For those interested, Phobia is now available on DVD from Image Entertainment.
Jonathan
(Michael Jefferson) is so distraught over his wife’s death, he can’t
leave his apartment. His therapist, Dr. Edmondson (Peter Gregus), makes
house calls to help Jonathan deal with his agoraphobia and grief. His
friend Taylor (Andrew Ruth) brings him a weekly load of groceries and
DVDs to help him alleviate the boredom of only being able to work from
home as a stenographer.
To make matters worse, Jonathan starts having visions of a spooky dead woman (Sandra Palmeri, credited as “The Shade”) and his dead wife. Things start to go from bad to worse when Taylor goes on a trip and leaves him in the hands of Bree (Emma Dubery), who eventually warms him up to drinking and smoking pot. Let’s just say, things do not get better for poor Jonathan, and his visions become stronger and possibly more deadly.
Abel doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre with Phobia, aside from at least a new reason for someone to be stuck in a haunted house. Along with co-writer Matthew Barnes, they simply take the agoraphobia and put it through the motions of every haunted house movie we’ve seen before.
The cast is a mixed bag; few of the actors seem to be trying as hard as they should. Thankfully, Jefferson at least makes Jonathan a sympathetic character, even if the final twist makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The DVD’s special features include a “Commentary with Producer Elias Ganster and Director Rory Abel,” which has way more energy than their film does. Also included are “Deleted Scenes” (1:21) and a “Concept Art” gallery.
If this had been released back in the glory days of VHS, the cover art alone would make me want to rent the film, but in the days of streaming and digital downloads, there’s nothing scary enough about Phobia to warrant even a rental.
Extras: ***
Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Phobia’ (2013) - Directed by Rory Abel’ on Blogcritics.
As if being stuck in a haunted house wasn’t bad enough, imagine if you literally couldn’t leave. In co-writer/director Rory Douglas Abel’s low-budget Phobia, our main character suffers from agoraphobia, which makes dealing with the ghostly shenanigans impossible to escape. On top of that, he may have a case of schizophrenia from grieving over his recently-deceased wife. Talk about a claustrophobic setting if there ever was one.
Is Abel up to the task of keeping our interest piqued for 84 minutes? Most of it. Unfortunately, the cast is a wishy-washy blend of amateurs that eventually breaks the suspension of disbelief and the tension. For those interested, Phobia is now available on DVD from Image Entertainment.
Jonathan
(Michael Jefferson) is so distraught over his wife’s death, he can’t
leave his apartment. His therapist, Dr. Edmondson (Peter Gregus), makes
house calls to help Jonathan deal with his agoraphobia and grief. His
friend Taylor (Andrew Ruth) brings him a weekly load of groceries and
DVDs to help him alleviate the boredom of only being able to work from
home as a stenographer.To make matters worse, Jonathan starts having visions of a spooky dead woman (Sandra Palmeri, credited as “The Shade”) and his dead wife. Things start to go from bad to worse when Taylor goes on a trip and leaves him in the hands of Bree (Emma Dubery), who eventually warms him up to drinking and smoking pot. Let’s just say, things do not get better for poor Jonathan, and his visions become stronger and possibly more deadly.
Abel doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre with Phobia, aside from at least a new reason for someone to be stuck in a haunted house. Along with co-writer Matthew Barnes, they simply take the agoraphobia and put it through the motions of every haunted house movie we’ve seen before.
The cast is a mixed bag; few of the actors seem to be trying as hard as they should. Thankfully, Jefferson at least makes Jonathan a sympathetic character, even if the final twist makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The DVD’s special features include a “Commentary with Producer Elias Ganster and Director Rory Abel,” which has way more energy than their film does. Also included are “Deleted Scenes” (1:21) and a “Concept Art” gallery.
If this had been released back in the glory days of VHS, the cover art alone would make me want to rent the film, but in the days of streaming and digital downloads, there’s nothing scary enough about Phobia to warrant even a rental.
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Death Kiss’ (1932)
Movie: **** out of 5
Video: ** 1/2
Audio: **
Extras: **
Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘The Death Kiss’ (1932) with Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan’ on Blogcritics.
It’s nothing new these days for studios to cash in on the success of another film. It even dates back to the early days of film. There was a reason studios made actors, directors, writers, etc., sign multi-picture deals. After Universal Pictures’ successful Dracula adaptation, Tiffany Pictures decided they would cast the trio of Bela Lugosi (Dracula himself), David Manners (John Harker), and Edward Van Sloan (Van Helsing) in something completely different. Instead of capitalizing on the creature feature angle, the three are dropped in the middle of a fantastic little murder mystery in The Death Kiss.
While filming a pivotal scene in the film-within-the-film The Death Kiss,
star Myles Brent (Edmund Burns) is gunned down by a car of thugs, only
to be shot with a real bullet. While no one on set is surprised that
someone would want to kill Myles, everyone becomes a suspect and studio
manager Joseph Steiner (Lugosi) is put in charge to help Detective
Lieutenant Sheehan (John Wray) investigate. What looks like an accident
at first becomes a clear case of murder after screenwriter Franklyn Drew
(Manners) digs a bullet out of the set wall. Now, Sheehan must find the
killer, with Drew leading the way with clues, in hopes of coming up
with a new script.
The Death Kiss comes out of the public domain courtesy Kino Classics touting a 35mm archival restoration and slapped with the Library of Congress label to boot. Fitting nicely on a 25GB disc and framed in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, when The Death Kiss looks good, it shines. Unfortunately, the audio and video come burdened with all the trappings of the usual anomalies consistent with public domain titles. Filled with scratches, hairs, dirt, fluctuating contrast, and missing frames, thankfully, not all is woe. At least it wasn’t run through the old DNR machine to try to scrub the image clean; otherwise, it may have felt like you were watching the whole film through cellophane.
Random color tinting pops up in some key scenes involving fire and flashlights, but considering the film doesn’t really deserve a frame-by-frame restoration, this looks really good all things considered. As for the audio, things don’t fare any better. Filled with all kinds of dropouts, fluctuations, and the standard hisses and pops, the 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio sounds about how you’d expect in a film that’s over 80 years old. This is definitely a track you’re gonna have to crank up the volume to hear. As for the special features, a “Commentary by Richard Harlan Smith” is all we get, but at least he’s an expert on every aspect of the film. There’s also a trailer for Bela Lugosi’s White Zombie.
The Death Kiss is far from a forgotten masterpiece, but there’s something refreshing when you watch older films. Filled with some fun dialogue and a really funny “twist” at the end, director Edwin L. Marin at least shines a light on the behind-the-scenes functionality of a working studio. Featuring video and audio quality that’s as good as you can expect, The Death Kiss is worth a look for anyone interested in seeing what it means when someone says “They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Video: ** 1/2
Audio: **
Extras: **
Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘The Death Kiss’ (1932) with Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan’ on Blogcritics.
It’s nothing new these days for studios to cash in on the success of another film. It even dates back to the early days of film. There was a reason studios made actors, directors, writers, etc., sign multi-picture deals. After Universal Pictures’ successful Dracula adaptation, Tiffany Pictures decided they would cast the trio of Bela Lugosi (Dracula himself), David Manners (John Harker), and Edward Van Sloan (Van Helsing) in something completely different. Instead of capitalizing on the creature feature angle, the three are dropped in the middle of a fantastic little murder mystery in The Death Kiss.
While filming a pivotal scene in the film-within-the-film The Death Kiss,
star Myles Brent (Edmund Burns) is gunned down by a car of thugs, only
to be shot with a real bullet. While no one on set is surprised that
someone would want to kill Myles, everyone becomes a suspect and studio
manager Joseph Steiner (Lugosi) is put in charge to help Detective
Lieutenant Sheehan (John Wray) investigate. What looks like an accident
at first becomes a clear case of murder after screenwriter Franklyn Drew
(Manners) digs a bullet out of the set wall. Now, Sheehan must find the
killer, with Drew leading the way with clues, in hopes of coming up
with a new script. The Death Kiss comes out of the public domain courtesy Kino Classics touting a 35mm archival restoration and slapped with the Library of Congress label to boot. Fitting nicely on a 25GB disc and framed in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, when The Death Kiss looks good, it shines. Unfortunately, the audio and video come burdened with all the trappings of the usual anomalies consistent with public domain titles. Filled with scratches, hairs, dirt, fluctuating contrast, and missing frames, thankfully, not all is woe. At least it wasn’t run through the old DNR machine to try to scrub the image clean; otherwise, it may have felt like you were watching the whole film through cellophane.
Random color tinting pops up in some key scenes involving fire and flashlights, but considering the film doesn’t really deserve a frame-by-frame restoration, this looks really good all things considered. As for the audio, things don’t fare any better. Filled with all kinds of dropouts, fluctuations, and the standard hisses and pops, the 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio sounds about how you’d expect in a film that’s over 80 years old. This is definitely a track you’re gonna have to crank up the volume to hear. As for the special features, a “Commentary by Richard Harlan Smith” is all we get, but at least he’s an expert on every aspect of the film. There’s also a trailer for Bela Lugosi’s White Zombie.
The Death Kiss is far from a forgotten masterpiece, but there’s something refreshing when you watch older films. Filled with some fun dialogue and a really funny “twist” at the end, director Edwin L. Marin at least shines a light on the behind-the-scenes functionality of a working studio. Featuring video and audio quality that’s as good as you can expect, The Death Kiss is worth a look for anyone interested in seeing what it means when someone says “They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
Blu-ray Review: ‘Housebound’
Movie: **** out of 5
Video: **** 1/2
Audio: ****
Extras: *** 1/2
Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘Housebound’ on Blogcritics.
With horror-comedy, sometimes the kitchen sink method just works. If you rely too heavily on one aspect over the other, it either stops being scary and is even less funny. When it does work, it’s a fantastic concoction. While most would hold the likes of Scream as the best of the bunch, they probably haven’t seen Peter Jackson’s early works: Dead Alive and Bad Taste. Most recently, we’ve been treated to the likes of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, The Cabin in the Woods, and You’re Next. The one thing these films need to be is a wild ride, and writer/director Gerard Johnstone’s debut Housebound (now available on Blu-ray exclusively on Amazon.com from XLrator Media) finds just the right balance across the board.
Kylie
Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is having a bad night. While attempting to
rob an ATM, her cohort has knocked himself unconscious, and she winds up
high centering the getaway car. Sentenced to eight-months of house
arrest, Kylie is sent to live with her overbearing mum Miriam (Rima Te
Wiata) and step-father Graeme (Ross Harper). Straddled with an ankle
monitor, Kylie quickly learns that Miriam thinks her house is haunted
after overhearing her call in to a paranormal radio show. It’s not soon
after that Kylie begins to also hear bumps in the night, and she may
have more to fear than land lines and dial-up internet.
If there’s one thing holding back XLrator’s transfer, it’s their continuing use of 25GB discs. If their films had more space to breathe, they’d have some technically flawless transfers on their hands. As it stands, Housebound winds up with the single anomaly of banding creeping in and in the oddest place you’d imagine: a bathroom ceiling. Thankfully, blacks are inky when necessary but leave plenty of shadow delineation with no crush whatsoever. Skin tones on the yellow side, but seems to be a post-production color correction because whenever blood finally spurts – or police car lights flash – they really pop, and never, well, bleed. And detail is excellent throughout, helping add extra creepiness to the house.
As for the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, dialogue may be a little on the muddled side, but it’s never overwhelmed by music or sound effects. Something that comes in handy as there are plenty of verbal gags to along with the atmospherics. Directionality is precise with each creak and groan right where it would be as if you were the characters onscreen. Bass also makes for some fun jump moments and English subtitles are available.
The special features may be on the slim side, but do add plenty of behind the scenes and lots of spoilers. The “Commentary By the Filmmakers” consists of director Johnstone, producer Luke Sharpe, and executive producer Ant Timson. Offering up a rowdy and rambunctious affair, they offer lots of tidbits about the whole process. A collection of “Deleted Scenes” (3:59) include on-screen explanations as to their being cut and include “2nd Dinner Table Scene,” “Peanut Butter,” and “Stairwell Argument.”
Housebound finds fantastic ways to spoof the standard haunted house film while finding new ground. And just when you think you have it all figured out, director Johnstone throws another curveball at the audience. O’Reilly gets a lot of mileage out of simple facial expressions as she becomes more bewildered with the circumstance, ghostbusting security expert Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) gets plenty of hilarious one-liners, and Miriam puts her deadpan delivery to brilliant use. While the ending seems to keep going and going, don’t worry, it all winds up fitting together perfectly by the time the credits roll. There’s a nice mystery abound and Housebound is a hilarious goosebump-inducing funhouse of a film.
Picture courtesy XLrator Media
Video: **** 1/2
Audio: ****
Extras: *** 1/2
Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘Housebound’ on Blogcritics.
With horror-comedy, sometimes the kitchen sink method just works. If you rely too heavily on one aspect over the other, it either stops being scary and is even less funny. When it does work, it’s a fantastic concoction. While most would hold the likes of Scream as the best of the bunch, they probably haven’t seen Peter Jackson’s early works: Dead Alive and Bad Taste. Most recently, we’ve been treated to the likes of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, The Cabin in the Woods, and You’re Next. The one thing these films need to be is a wild ride, and writer/director Gerard Johnstone’s debut Housebound (now available on Blu-ray exclusively on Amazon.com from XLrator Media) finds just the right balance across the board.
Kylie
Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is having a bad night. While attempting to
rob an ATM, her cohort has knocked himself unconscious, and she winds up
high centering the getaway car. Sentenced to eight-months of house
arrest, Kylie is sent to live with her overbearing mum Miriam (Rima Te
Wiata) and step-father Graeme (Ross Harper). Straddled with an ankle
monitor, Kylie quickly learns that Miriam thinks her house is haunted
after overhearing her call in to a paranormal radio show. It’s not soon
after that Kylie begins to also hear bumps in the night, and she may
have more to fear than land lines and dial-up internet.If there’s one thing holding back XLrator’s transfer, it’s their continuing use of 25GB discs. If their films had more space to breathe, they’d have some technically flawless transfers on their hands. As it stands, Housebound winds up with the single anomaly of banding creeping in and in the oddest place you’d imagine: a bathroom ceiling. Thankfully, blacks are inky when necessary but leave plenty of shadow delineation with no crush whatsoever. Skin tones on the yellow side, but seems to be a post-production color correction because whenever blood finally spurts – or police car lights flash – they really pop, and never, well, bleed. And detail is excellent throughout, helping add extra creepiness to the house.
As for the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, dialogue may be a little on the muddled side, but it’s never overwhelmed by music or sound effects. Something that comes in handy as there are plenty of verbal gags to along with the atmospherics. Directionality is precise with each creak and groan right where it would be as if you were the characters onscreen. Bass also makes for some fun jump moments and English subtitles are available.
The special features may be on the slim side, but do add plenty of behind the scenes and lots of spoilers. The “Commentary By the Filmmakers” consists of director Johnstone, producer Luke Sharpe, and executive producer Ant Timson. Offering up a rowdy and rambunctious affair, they offer lots of tidbits about the whole process. A collection of “Deleted Scenes” (3:59) include on-screen explanations as to their being cut and include “2nd Dinner Table Scene,” “Peanut Butter,” and “Stairwell Argument.”
Housebound finds fantastic ways to spoof the standard haunted house film while finding new ground. And just when you think you have it all figured out, director Johnstone throws another curveball at the audience. O’Reilly gets a lot of mileage out of simple facial expressions as she becomes more bewildered with the circumstance, ghostbusting security expert Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) gets plenty of hilarious one-liners, and Miriam puts her deadpan delivery to brilliant use. While the ending seems to keep going and going, don’t worry, it all winds up fitting together perfectly by the time the credits roll. There’s a nice mystery abound and Housebound is a hilarious goosebump-inducing funhouse of a film.
Picture courtesy XLrator Media
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