This week on DVD we look at the stellar Oscar winning foreign drama A Separation , Richard Linklater's unfortunately slept on Bernie , the direct to DVD efforts Breathless, A Girl Walks into a Bar , and the Dolph Lundgren starring One in the Chamber . Oh, and some indie film called The Hunger Games
This week, some films to appeal to our younger memories, as Phil Brown looks at the Blu-ray debuts of Jaws and The Royal Tenenbaums and dives into new blu's for Grosse Pointe Blank and Halloween 4 & 5
From top to bottom, ParaNorman is a little genre gem for longtime fans and pint-sized newcomers. This is an animated film that refuses to talk down to children, packs in more entertainment value than should be legally allowed, and actually has something to say to the impressionable viewers.
While far from the best film of the year like Ridley Scott said last year upon the film's UK release, The Awakening is an efficient and slow burning chiller does offer some genuinely good scares, some interesting thematic material, and a strong leading heroine before a muddled ending sours things slightly.
Does shit blow up? Yes. Does everyone get at least one good scene to showcase their talents? Yes. Is it better than the first film? Yes, and by quite a bit actually.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an odd duck of a film that’s trying so desperately to be inspirational that it turns out to be cheesy at best and downright creepy and off putting and worst.
This week at the video store we look at the much lauded Canadian film Monsieur Lazhar , the cult smash The Raid: Redemption , a look at the life of Bob Marley, the third season of Community , Ewan McGregor in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen , and Christian Bale in the Chinese film The Flowers of War .
While sick, one of our film critics went through a bunch of re-releases from the 80s and 90s from the 20th Century Fox archives (now being distributed by Anchor Bay). Without rhyme or reason he watched Ghost in the Machine, Six Pack, Hear No Evil, Jack the Bear, The Pirate Movie, Quicksilver Highways, Tough Enough, a made for TV remake of Vanishing Point , and former NFL great Howie Long's first starring role in Firestorm . We don't fully know why he did it , either, but some of them were good!
The Campaign tries to strike a balance between R-rated raunch comedy and political satire and it comes surprisingly close to pulling it off. Ultimately, it’s more about the baby punching and wife-banging, but more than enough of those gags land to make it worth your money and laughter.
Red Lights squanders a great concept, good performances, and wonderful atmosphere in favour of a twist ending so wrongheaded and incoherent that it kills and sets fire to everything that came before it.
A must see even for those who don't adore music documentaries, Searching for Sugar Man is far more than a lovingly fan-crafted piece of hero worship, but also fascinatingly human tale of the inexplicable power of art and unexpected redemption.
Despite a great leading performance from Jeremy Renner, The Bourne Legacy feels dully mechanical and designed only as an extremely long prologue to another film yet to come.
Based on a shockingly true story, the controversial, low key thriller Compliance will leave viewers' stomachs in knots whether they like it or not.
While not as great as the Paris set original, actress Julie Delpy's 2 Days in New York offers some nice late summer fluff and a return to form for co-star Chris Rock.
It certainly can't be recommended for everybody, but for keen viewers familiar with a stomach for pitch black humour and a cast of irredeemable characters, William Friedkin and Tracy Letts' Killer Joe might be one of the best movies of the year.
