Only a week behind, folks, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of good within including the latest from the brothers Coen, an underappreciated sophomore effort from director Scott Cooper, an invisible dog movie, plus Statham, Van Damme, Lundgren and Vikings!
Fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart. It’s that time of the week.
Inside Llewyn Davis
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| Sony / Released 3/11/14 |
Inside Llewyn Davis follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles – some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of Greenwich Village to an empty Chicago club – on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul – and back again. Brimming with music performed by Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, as well as Marcus Mumford and Punch Brotheres, Inside Llewyn Davis is an epic on an intimate scale. The film represents the Coen Brothers’ fourth collaboration with multiple-Grammy and Academy Award winning music producer T Bone Burnett.
Last Word: The films of the Coen Brothers often feature some kind of anti-hero. Focusing on a single character’s (or group of characters’) journey that rarely ends positively. Yet, even though characters can be cruel (No Country For Old Men), honorable (Fargo), ridiculous (Burn After Reading), hopeless (A Serious Man) or tough (True Grit), they evoke a great amount of respect, if not, an odd infatuation. In Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel and Ethan Coen deliver something new: tenderness. A sensitive look at an insensitive man. We are given a week in the life of a struggling folk singer, who refuses to compromise his integrity to become a successful artist.
And in a few timeless days the Coen’s illustrate the consequential self-destruction of pride. Oscar Isaac is phenomenal as the title character. He is handsome mess easy to love and hate, simultaneously seductive and offensive with his big brown eyes and embittered speech. The duality makes the character incredible to watch. Llewyn Davis is, as Carey Mulligan’s, Jean Berkey, puts it, “an ASS HOLE”.
That unyielding need to become a successful folk singer requires a certain level of arrogance and selfishness. But it comes with the expense of isolation, resentment, and disappointment from family and friends. He strives to live, to succeed, not simply “exist”, as he puts it. Llewyn drifts from couch to couch, living on a few bucks and bummed cigarettes. He faces rejection and sadness, barely surviving. And yet he still strums his guitar, singing with verve and raw emotion, which makes him such a genius and such a fool. Llewyn really can’t catch a break, or make a friend.
His bitter desperation is at once pathetic and endearing, but his scruffy bohemian demeanor remains sexy, and his voice is undeniably beautiful and full of soul – each time he sang I was completely enthralled. The melancholy of Llewyn’s life is palpable and depressing, depicted beautifully through the Coens’ lens. Alongside the musical brilliance of T-Bone Burnett, Inside Llewyn Davis is a gorgeous picture, saddened by the Coens’ writing and illuminated by the music.
The Coen Brothers often stay camera-close to their characters creating a visceral journey that we enjoy, and/or fear, alongside them. And as we take the journey, hoping for, wishing for the directors to give us a happy ending, the ultimate tragedy is always that much more poignant. Llewyn really is incredibly talented, but the market just isn’t having it. He wants to be a great artist – making music about struggling and deep heartfelt emotion. He’s not interested in crowd-pleasing or saccharine. He is profoundly anti-what-the-people-want. Thus, the cookie cutter good boy acts (Justin Timberlake and Stark Sands as Jim Berkey and Troy Nelson, respectively) beat him every time.
Contrasting the good boys, is John Goodman as Roland Turner, a wise-and-full-of-shit jazz musician whose insistent condescending advice and anecdote spewing ceases only when he returns to a drug-induced slumber. Goodman’s presence is claustrophobic and mean, but entertaining. Opposing Goodman’s grotesqueness is Garrett Hedlund who simply skipped over from On the Road. Speaking sparingly, with marbles in his mouth, his presence only exacerbates Llewyn’s hopelessness. Carey Mulligan as Jean Berkey looks like a pure folk singer, harmonizing with her doofus of a husband and wide-eyed army friend. But beneath the surface lies a different sort of desperation. Where Llewyn is obnoxious, she is furious, angry at herself, at Llewyn, at her status. She wants the perfect life, to be a singer, to be a suburban wife. But unlike Llewyn, Jean compromises all of her morals for the sake of success. Mulligan’s ability to appear simultaneously pure and self-loathing is incredible.
Beyond being a wonderful character study, the movie features several memorable musical performances and the soundtrack begs to be revisited and enjoyed. Joel and Ethan Coen again and again create imperfect depictions of people that are accurate, sad, devious and incredibly authentic. (– Caitlyn Thompson)
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| 20th Century Fox / Released 3/11/14 |
Based on the beloved best-selling book comes the story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. Although Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is adopted by a German couple (Oscar Winner Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson). Although she arrives illiterate, Liesel is encouraged to learn to read by her adoptive father. When the couple then takes in Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jew hiding from Hitler’s army, Liesel befriends him. Ultimately, words and imagination provide the friends with an escape from the events unfolding around them in this extraordinary, acclaimed film directed by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey). Extras include featurette, deleted scenes and trailer.
Out of the Furnace
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| 20th Century Fox / Released 3/11/14 |
From Scott Cooper, the critically acclaimed writer and director of Crazy Heart, comes a gripping and powerful drama about family, fate, circumstance and justice. Russell Baze (Oscar Winner Christian Bale) leads a dead-end life – he works a meaningless steel mill job all day, and cares for his terminally ill father at night. When Russell’s brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) returns home from Iraq, he is lured into one of the Northeast’s most ruthless crime rings and mysteriously disappears. When the police fail to solve the case, Russell puts his life at risk in order to seek justice for his brother. This absorbing film features a knockout cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana and Sam Shepard. Extras include interviews, featurettes and trailer.
Last Word: Out of the Furnace is about so many things – it features the struggles of blue collar life, familial loyalty, the burden of being an Iraq-war veteran, post-prison consequences, gambling, love. Scott Cooper delivers intense material in a rustic Pennsylvania town where decency is rare and there isn’t much hope for improvement in life. It’s gritty and brutal.
There is a brilliant contrast Cooper captures between the beautiful and brutal in Out of the Furnace. The gorgeous angles and low sunlight make the rough steel mill look like an enormous art installation and the softness of those swarming takes is countered by brutal and gratuitous violence. Cooper shoots a series of unfortunate set of events beautifully, making the impoverished setting mythic and far away. Set in the time of Obama’s election and at the height of the recession, work options in the small town extend to a soon-to-be-shut-down steel mill, petty criminality, or the military. The film illustrates life where institutions are crumbling. Between the systematic outsourcing of American industry and the crushing recession, the environment feels without a future. Every man lives for himself, compromising morals and ethics for the sake of simply getting by. The movie succeeds primarily as a character study. A powerhouse cast depicts characters rich with emotion and turmoil. Though the plot can get convoluted and crowded, it was filmed so beautifully, and the characters’ chemistry is so palpable. Each character in this movie has been damaged.
Christian Bale, as always, is phenomenal, as Russell Baze, the eldest of two brothers, trying to live as honestly as possible as a third generation steel laborer. Personifying tragedy in his slow and towering posture, he manages to look very intimidating, weathered and dangerous, but capable. And with a breathy kindness in his voice he delivers a tender sadness that’s just astounding. Zoe Saldana and Forrest Whitaker –their roles are minor but memorable. Their characters cling to hope and reason amidst the impulsive violence that surrounds them.
On the bloody side, we have Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, and Casey Affleck. Harrelson is unrecognizable as the crazed criminal, Harlan DeGroat. Terrifying and marbled-mouthed to the point of incomprehensibility, he’s so menacing that you feel like he’ll reach through the screen and assault you in your seat (it doesn’t help that in the opening scene he beats a fellow drive-in member unconscious). Dafoe is vile and creepy. He uses his expressive features to cue the audience—his eyes and unsteady grin let us know when to be wary. Affleck is superb portraying a haunted war-veteran, whose insatiable fury ignites a series of unfortunate events. His soft voice is similar to Bale’s, but his anger is crippling – he transforms in the violent scenes, which is amazing to watch, because Affleck is so small and sweet looking. A young man poisoned by war.
Scott Cooper gets an A+ for guiding his actors through intense moments. But that’s all they are, moments. While there are too many great characters and too many great storylines that never really expand, I think the point of Out of the Furnace is to illustrate the decay of industrial America. Blue-collar decency supported by hard labor and fair wages doesn’t amount to a wonderful life in the “heartland”. Morality and hard work ethic devolve into violence and petty criminality. Hope dwindles. Building a middle class life seems hopeless and living by the rules looks foolish. Endless work in a place where there is no greater good, just paying off the next debt, trying to get through each day for the sake of simply getting by. (– Caitlyn Thompson)
Homefront
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| Universal / Released 3/11/14 |
Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder and Kate Bosworth star in this action-packed thriller fom screenwriter Sylvester Stallone about how far one man will go to protect his family. Widowed ex-DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) retires to a quiet Southern town with his 10-year-old daughter and discovers that the idyllic setting is riddled with drugs and violence. When a riveting chain of events forces him to face off with psychotic local drug lord Gator Bodine (Franco), Broker must retaliate using the fearsome skills he hoped to keep in his past. Extras include deleted scenes and a featurette.
Last Word: I’m going to make a bold statement. Homefront is the first time I’ve been disappointed by a film starring Jason Statham. I know that sounds a bit ridiculous, but Statham is extremely smart and self aware when it comes to his onscreen persona. His ensemble films are hit and miss, but when it comes to his own starring vehicles, Statham usually provides a good time.
I’m not quite sure why he’s in Homefront. Was it the script by Expendables co-star Stallone? A chance to work with James Franco? Whatever the reason, it was a mistake. The dated revenge screenplay feels like a script Sly wrote for himself a few decades ago; there’s lots of action, but both the screenplay and direction from Gary Felder does it’s job, but not much else. It’s entertaining enough, but instantly forgettable as it feels like one of any dozen action films from the late Eighties through mid-Nineties starring Patrick Swayze, Steven Seagal or Van Damme. Everything is serviceable, but not much else. If you’re looking for a diversion, Homefront delivers. It just could have been better, and that always is a disappointment.
Samson & Delilah
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| Paramount / Released 3/11/14 |
Journey through time to a gloriously extravagant setting of lust, violence, and treachery in this meticulously restored Oscar-winning masterpiece from legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. Starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature in the title roles, Samson And Delilah follows the story of the Bible’s legendary strongman and the woman who seduces, then betrays him. Also featuring a young Angela Lansbury in one of her early film roles and eye-popping costumes from acclaimed designer Edith Head, Samson And Delilah was an instant classic that remains an enduring favorite. Extras include trailer.
Rogue: Complete First Season
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| Entertainment One / Released 3/11/14 |
Grace Travis (Thandie Newton) is an undercover detective, torn between her identity as a loving mother and her cold, calculating persona as an agent for the crime boss Jimmy Laszlo (Marton Csokas). Tormented by her son’s unsolved murder, Grace conducts her own investigation, convinced that the killer lies somewhere within Jimmy’s treacherous ranks. Now, in order to uncover the truth and stay alive, Grace must help Jimmy weed out the traitor in his midst. Extras include featurette and webisodes.
The Outsider
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| Image Entertainment / Released 3/11/14 |
Recalled from the battlefields of Afghanistan to identify the remains of his daughter, British mercenary Lex Walker (Craig Fairbrass) arrives in Los Angeles to find that the body in the morgue belongs to a stranger. With his daughter now missing, Walker convinces a street-wise detective (Jason Patric) that his daughter is still alive and in danger. The two follow a trail of high-tech intrigue that leads them to his daughter’s former boss (James Caan), a crooked cyber-millionaire who will do whatever it takes to protect his empire – including taking down anyone who gets in his way. Driven by desperation and rage, Walker must fight his way through an army of thugs and hired killers to save the one person that means more to him than life itself.
Enemies Closer
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| Lionsgate / Released 3/11/14 |
Martial arts legend Jean-Claude Van Damme reunites with Timecop director Peter Hyams in the action thriller, Enemies Closer, which follows two former enemies forced into a deadly game of cat and mouse deep in the forest on the Canadian border attempting to escape a ruthless drug cartel hell-bent on retrieving a missing drug shipment.
Van Damme stars as Xander, the maniacal leader of the drug cartel who forces Henry (Tom Everett Scott), a forest ranger and former Navy SEAL to help in the search. Henry is plunged into survival mode as he is soon trapped in the wilderness with no communication to the outside world, and finds himself face to face with Clay (Orlando Jones), a man with a personal vendetta against him who has returned for retribution. Now, the two mortal enemies must make a choice: put aside their past and work together, or die alone at the hands of the drug runners, a ruthless gang who will stop at nothing to retrieve their lost cargo. Extras include commentary and featurette.
In Fear
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| Anchor Bay / Released 3/11/14 |
Young couple Tom (Iain De Caestecker of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Lucy (Alice Englert of Beautiful Creatures) are driving to a festival in the remote Irish countryside. When they leave the main highway to look for their hotel, they quickly lose their way along the back-roads. Lost and tormented as night falls, Tom and Lucy’s primal anxieties of the dark and the unknown start to take hold. When the couple discovers they are not alone, they realize that their worst fears lay in the road ahead. Allen Leech (Downton Abbey) co-stars in this shattering debut feature by writer/director Jeremy Lovering.
Abner the Invisible Dog
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| Inception Media / Released 3/11/14 |
When a top-secret,experimental formula ends up in the wrong hands, Chad and his loyal, canine sidekick must save the day in the family-friendly comedy Abner the Invisible Dog.
When science nerd Chad Sheppard gets a chemistry set for his 13th birthday, little does he know he’s in for a much bigger surprise. While experimenting with the kit, his best friend, Abner, a big, furry sheepdog, suddenly starts talking before vanishing into thin air!
Chad already has enough problems fighting off two bullies who want to wreck his chances with Sophie, the cute girl next door. Now, he has to hide an invisible, talking dog – who’s a bit of a wise guy – from his parents and figure out how to get everything back to normal… All while outwitting a pair of clumsy crooks who are determined to steal the top-secret formula that gave Abner his super-spy powers.
With his parents out of the house, Chad and his canine sidekick have to defeat the bad guys, get the girl and save the day!
Vikings
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| BBC Home Video / Released 3/11/14 |
What’s the real story behind the powerful Norsemen who ransacked Britain’s peaceful monasteries? Were they simply blood-drenched pillagers? Or savvy medieval adventurers and entrepreneurs? Discover exciting new insights as historian Neil Oliver digs for clues. You’ll travel to archaeological sites in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, where Norsemen launch expeditions and raids. Follow their hunt for money – taking it by force from rich Anglo-Saxon and French kingdoms, and trading silk, bronze, and slaves from Dublin to Russia and Constantinople. Watch as the warriors settle Britain, Iceland, and Greenland and transform themselves from illiterate pagans into Christian farmers, statesmen, and kings – all in less than 200 years. The dramatic truth behind the legends will change your understanding of Vikings forever.
Puncture Wounds
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| Lionsgate / Released 3/11/14 |
After returning home from a traumatic tour of duty in Iraq, John (MMA champion Cung Le) finds himself struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. What little peace he had managed to build around him is shattered one fateful day when he rescues a local call girl from a group of violent Aryan Brotherhood pimps. Having killed several of the high-ranking brotherhood during the rescue, John and his family are now the prime targets of Hollis (Dolph Lundgren), the ruthless criminal leader of the group. Extras include behind-the-scenes cast and crew interviews.
Pig
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| Horizon Movies / Released 3/11/14 |
Pig tells the story about a man (Rudolf Martin), who wakes up alone in the middle of the desert with a black hood on his head and his hands tied behind his back. At death’s door, he is discovered by a woman and is nursed back to health. Upon regaining consciousness, the man realizes he has amnesia, and has no idea who he is. His only clue, a piece of paper in his pocket with the name “Manny Elder” on it, sends him on a journey to discover his past. But things and people are not what they seem and clues lead to something bigger and more unusual than the man could have ever imagined.
Noah’s Ark
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| Shout! Factory / Released 3/11/14 |
All hands, paws, and hooves on deck for an adventure on the most famous boat of all time! Award-winning filmmaker Juan Pablo Buscarini’s Noah’s Ark presents the classic story as a fresh and funny animated retelling that the entire family will love. Noah is building a whale of a boat in order to save two of every species from a flood that will cover the entire world. Pretty soon, animals are lining up to board the Ark two by two. But as the rain begins to fall outside, it soon becomes clear that living together on a very cramped ship isn’t going to be easy! Trouble begins to brew when the animals begin to get hungry, a pair of stowaways plot to take over the ship, Dagnino the Tiger wants to replace the irresponsible Lion, Xiro, as king of the beasts and Noah’s own family begins to squabble! One thing’s for sure – it won’t be smooth sailing on this trip. But with a little luck and a little faith, Noah will be able to deliver his floating zoo to safety!
Big History
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| Lionsgate / Released 3/11/14 |
The Big History collection turns history on its head, breaks down the walls between history and science, and tells the story of the universe from the Big Bang through today. Crisscrossing through time and space, each episode reveals the transformative relationships between science and history that you never knew existed. For example, most people don’t know that they carry the legacy of the Titanic, and even the Big Bang, in their pockets every day in the form of a cell phone. We’ll explore 13.7 billion years of history and ask questions like: What is the connection between Egyptian mummies and today’s ham and cheese sandwich? Was the American Revolution driven in part by a biological thirst for caffeine? And why does nearly every ancient civilization build massive structures in the shape of a pyramid? Narrated by Bryan Cranston, this History series uses cutting-edge visuals and graphics to show surprising links between past and present. Extras include trailers and 10 featurettes.
Siberia: Season One
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| Lionsgate / Released 3/11/14 |
In 1908, an unexplained event occurred deep in the remote Siberian territory of Tunguska. Now, 100+ years later, 16 reality-show participants descend on Tunguska unknowing of the land’s mysterious past. These contestants, from varied walks of life, will attempt to battle the elements and each other in a quest to survive the harsh winter and claim a large cash prize. What is initially met with unbridled enthusiasm quickly turns to sheer panic as a series of strange events begin to occur. The contestants soon attribute the occurrences to ruses set up by the producers, even dismissing the death of a fellow contestant as accidental. When a contestant is badly injured and no help arrives, the contestants meet the chilling realization that the strange occurrences are not part of the show. With their safety threatened, competing contestants must band together in an effort to survive.
Commitment
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| Well Go USA / Released 3/11/14 |
After his father’s botched espionage mission, North Korean Myung-hoon (CHOI
Seung-hyun, aka T.O.P) and his young sister Hye-in (HAN Ye-ri) are sent to a labor prison camp. In order to save his sister’s life, Myung-hoon volunteers to become a spy and infiltrates the South as a teenage defector. Extras include trailer and making of.
101st: A-Company
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| Inception Media / Released 3/11/14 |
Allied special forces stage a daring raid on a Nazi fortress where they are attempting to raise a demon army in 101st: A-Company. Called on by President Roosevelt, a daring team of special forces soldiers (The Captain, The Sniper and Black Hercules) is assembled for a top-secret mission in 1944 Poland where a group of occultist Nazis are building an army of demon-possessed, super soldiers. Trapped behind enemy lines, with no escape route, the enraged troops are forced to cooperate as they devise a plan to infiltrate the heavily fortified Third Reich lair. There, they must use their unique talents to take down the mad scientist, rescue kidnapped virgins and stop hell from boiling over. It takes guts, split-second timing and a whole lot of bullets.
Iron Sky: Director’s Cut
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| E1 Entertainment / Released 3/11/14 |
The Reich strikes back. In the last moments of WWII, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by making a daring escape to the Dark Side of the Moon. In the intervening 70 years they have re-colonized, re-armed and silently plotted their revenge. When an American astronaut stumbles upon the Reich’s secret Moon lair, the Fuhrer (Udo Kier) decides to unleash their devastating armada upon the Earth. Now every man, woman and child must unite to stop the Nazi UFO invasion and save humanity! Extras include concept art book, teasers, making of documentary and photo gallery.
Last Word: Although it doesn’t work all of the time, Iron Sky, which focuses on a secret Nazi base on the moon attacking the Earth is more entertaining than it deserves to be. There’s a Palin-esque President in power, who sends a new mission to the moon (hoping it will cinch her a second term). In addition, she’s put an African American male model on the team (he’s not an astronaut, but very marketable). When the landing team discovers the Nazi base on the dark side of the moon, the model, James Washington, is captured and interrogated by a mad Nazi scientist and his betrothed daughter, who becomes smitten with Washington. The solution? The scientist injects Washington with a serum to turn him into a true Aryan (that’s right, whiteface). From there, it’s back to Earth to set the plan in motion and overtake the planet under Aryan rule.
Depending if you’re smiling after reading that will likely determine if you’d enjoy the film. Then understand that it never reaches the fun that you’ve imagined in your head. It’s a great looking film and there are moments of absurd inventiveness and innovation, but overall, it just doesn’t work. The biggest problem is that it seems that the filmmakers set out to make a “cult film”, and that never seems to work. A cult film has to be discovered and embraced, not constructed and marketed as such. Extras include commentary, featurettes and trailers.
If you do like the concept, it’s well worth a rental and if you’re one of those, “it’s so bad, it’s good” it might disappoint. It’s not that bad and it’s not that good. Just a wasted execution of what could have been a fun concept.
Armistice
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| XLrator Media / Released 3/11/14 |
In the role of Royal Marine, A.J. Budd, Joseph Morgan stars in this brutal psychological and supernatural thriller, in which he finds himself trapped in the Warhouse. Imprisoned, he is forced to fight for his life against grotesque, inhuman opponents. He must kill every day or die himself. His one glimmer of hope comes in the form of a diary, left by a former occupant of the house, WWI Lieutenant Edward Sterling, played by Matt Ryan.
