A fairly light week with some fairly disappointing studio films, a few fantastic television releases and a must see documentary.
As always, fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart and check out this weeks’ latest releases!
The Call
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| Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Released 6/25/13 |
There are 188 million 911 calls a year. This one made it personal. In this heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thriller, veteran 911 operator Jordan (Halle Berry) takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) who has been kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a madman’s car. But with the clock ticking, Jordan soon realizes she must confront a killer from her past to put an end to a serial killer’s haunting rampage. Also starring Morris Chestnut. Extras include commentary, set tour, alternate ending, featurettes, and deleted and extended scenes)
Last Word: I’m continually amazed that an actor can win an Academy Award, yet time and time again choose such stupid projects. In The Call, Halle Berry plays likely the most resourceful 911 operator that ever lived. After an emergency call where a woman is being attacked leads to her murder, Berry comes back to work, and is able to randomly get on the line with the sociopath’s next victim, a conservative high school student after her abduction. Breslin’s Casey is scooped up in a mall parking lot and wakes up in a trunk. Berry’s suggestions, which include pushing out a tail light and leaving a paint trail, which result in the abductor (Michael Eklund) to kill a bunch more people. There’s a method to his madness, but ultimately it’s just madness until Berry leaves the office to track down Casey herself, which being a 911 operator like no other, she does. Ultimately, the film becomes a twisted revenge fantasy that does little other than suggest that Berry might need a new job. It’s illogical, stupid and cliché ridden. Director Brad Anderson, who in the past directed some interesting films, executes The Call like a surgeon wielding a butter knife; all over the place with little effect. You’re better off skipping it and watching Spoorloos (aka The Vanishing).
A Place at the Table
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| Magnolia / Released 6/25/13 |
50 million people in the U.S.-one in four children-don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of three people who are struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford. Their stories are interwoven with insights from experts including sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle; ordinary citizens like Pastor Bob Wilson and teachers Leslie Nichols and Odessa Cherry; and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef‘s Tom Colicchio and Oscarr-winning actor Jeff Bridges. Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides-as they have in the past-that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.
Last Word: An eye opening must see look the hows and whys of hunger and poverty in the United States, is a must see and one of the most important documentaries in recent history. This film should be seen by every politician, CEO, philanthropist and tax paying adult; it’s a problem that will not change unless the problem itself is acknowledged. Highest recommendation.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
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| Warner Bros. / Released on Blu-ray Combo, DVD and Digital Download 6/25/13 |
Superstar illusionists and Las Vegas headliners Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have fallen on hard times. The longtime friends now loathe each other and they face cutthroat competition from guerrilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose cult following surges with each outrageous stunt. But there’s still a chance to save the act – both onstage and off – if Burt can retrieve his magic mojo. Extras include featurettes, deleted scene and alternate takes, and a gag reel.
Last Word: Crippled with a script filled with various storylines that go nowhere, an inconsistent tone and lukewarm performances, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is anything but. An incredibly talented ensemble including Carell, Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Gillian Jacobs, Alan Arkin, Jay Mohr, Brad Garrett and a woefully unfunny Carrey, the film never seems quite sure if it’s supposed to be a dark comedy, a satire or outrageous and wacky. Unfortunately, you get all three and none of them are particularly effective. What’s most frustrating is that their are indications that there might have been a good film in there, but it’s hard to determine why a single vision couldn’t have been obtained. There’s plenty of material to mine with the notion of Las Vegas magicians as evident in David Tennant’s performance as Peter Vincent in 2011’s Fright Night did so much better. Carrell is always entertaining, but Carrey’s performance is so over the top it’s harder to believe than he exists within the same universe as the rest of the film. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone should be harmless fun; only it’s far from wonderful and even less fun.
Phantom
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| 20th Century Fox / Release 6/25/13 |
You’ll never see it coming. At the height of the cold war, the world holds its breath when a Soviet submarine armed with nuclear missiles goes missing in the Pacific. On board the vessel, the battle-tested captain (Ed Harris) and a rogue KGB agent (David Duchovny) are waging a life-and-death game of cat and mouse. With enemy forces closing in and time running out, the captain fights to keep control with nuclear armageddon hanging in the balance. Also starring William Fichtner, Lance Henriksen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Kip Pardue, and Johnathon Schaech. Extras include featurettes, commentary and music video.
Last Word: Generic, predictable and uninspired, this would be Tom Clancy film fails on virtually every level. The fact that it’s based on a true story lends little credence when the accent-less ensemble is portraying a Soviet crew. With little dramatic tension and a clunker of an ending, you’d be better off checking out the under appreciated submarine thriller, Below, instead.
Todd & the Book of Pure Evil: The Complete Second Season
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| Entertainment One / Released 6/25/13 |
A stoner metal-head named Todd Smith, his crushee Jenny, his best friend Curtis and the geeky Hannah search their high school for a mayhem causing Satanic spell-book, while being opposed by Atticus, the evil guidance counselor. Imagine, if you will, a book of awesome power. A book that will make your deepest, darkest desires come true… but at a horrifying cost. This is The Book of Pure Evil, and it’s loose in Crowley High, unleashing its dark power and filling the school hallways with monsters made of human fat and flesh-eating zombie rockers. Thankfully, four teenagers stand between The Book and the end of the world as we know it. And they will save our souls — whether they like it or not. Extras include deleted and extended scenes, extended musical numbers, featurettes, blooper reel, commentary and cast Q & A.
Last Word: Imagine the stoner kids of Degrassi by way of Evil Dead 2 and that’s a pretty good approximation of this series. Except of course that it’s infectiously entertaining. This sleeper of a series doesn’t have particularly dynamic production values, but it doesn’t matter; truly in this instance, fun and enthusiasm win out. The characters and plots aren’t particularly deep (think a Bugs Bunny cartoon), but it doesn’t matter. It’s entertaining Unfortunately, this release marks the end of the series, but fortunately both volumes make for an fun weekend of lying on the couch eating pizza. Recommended.
Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids: The Complete Series
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| Shout! Factory / Released 6/25/13 |
Inspired by his childhood memories growing up in North Philadelphia, Bill Cosby created the stories surrounding the lovable Albert Jackson and his signature salutation “Hey! Hey! Hey!” as part of his stand-up comedy routine in the late ’60s. For Fat Albert and his friends, each day is an adventure as they face the exciting, and sometimes challenging, experiences of growing up in 1970s urban America. For these city kids, each day holds new lessons and surprises. They are a group of boys who, in spite of their shortcomings – whether it be an awkward growth spurt or a lack of athletic ability – always stick by each other. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids had a powerful impact on children across the country, entertaining and educating millions of kids and families alike while always fostering lessons in life, which were reinforced by Cosby’s live-action hosting segments. With Fat Albert as their leader and the junkyard as their playground, this band of misfits shows us that if you put your imagination to work, you can achieve anything. This set includes includes all 110 episodes and extras include commentary, a documentary and a booklet containing an essay by Dr. Gordon Berry, the educational adviser to the series.
Into The White
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| Magnolia / Released 6/25/13 |
Enemies in war. Allies in survival. April 27, 1940 – Two enemy fighter planes are shot down. After crash-landing, the stranded survivors, both German and British crew members, are forced to seek refuge in an isolated cabin in order to withstand the harsh spring in the mountainous wilderness of Norway. And by doing so, these enemies of war must band together, as their survival depends upon it. Extras include a featurette and trailer.
The Rambler
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| Anchor Bay / Released 6/25/13 |
Dermot Mulroney of The Grey and Zodiac stars as an ex-con just released from prison, kicked out of his trailer home, and gone on a cross-country journey to his long-lost brother’s pony ranch. But along the way, he’ll encounter a depraved American underbelly of dusty towns, bizarre strangers, sudden violence, and a device that can record dreams onto VHS. Lindsay Pulsipher (Justified, True Blood) and Natasha Lyonne (American Pie) co-star in this surreal Sundance sensation about shadowy pasts, questionable futures, and the deadpan traveling man known only as The Rambler.
