Snatched

 
Blu-ray Review by Kam Williams


Mother-Daughter Vacation Nightmare Comedy Comes to Home Video

Emily Middleton (Amy Schumer) is just having one of those days. First, she's fired from her sales job in a boutique for irresponsibly ignoring customers in order to try on outfits for herself. Second, her boyfriend (Randall Park) callously dumps her on the eve of their planned romantic getaway to Ecuador, stating, "You don't have any direction in life."

Then, she cries on the shoulder of her mother (Goldie Hawn) who only proceeds to rub salt in her wounds with, "Michael was the best you'll ever do." Nevertheless, against her better judgment, Emily invites her on the trip because the pre-paid vacation package is non-refundable. 

 

Trouble is, Linda is also highly-neurotic, a worrier who rarely leaves the house, let alone the country. Plus, she's a helicopter mom, which means she'll be hovering around Emily the whole time, and thus probably preventing her from meeting a new guy. In the end, Linda grudgingly agrees to step out of her comfort zone, and hastily packs for what ought to be an uneventful stay an exclusive resort in paradise, judging from the brochure. 

 

That is the stock setup of Snatched, a screwball comedy far more entertaining than it might read on paper. For, while the script does unfold like a generic "Vacation from Hell" yarn, it's actually way above average, since it's executed by a stellar cast topped by a quartet of consummate comediennes. 

 

The picture co-stars Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as the aforementioned mother-daughter at the center of the story. It also features a couple of veterans in scene stealers Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack who make the most of their supporting roles. 

 

The plot thickens soon after the protagonists land in Ecuador. First, Emily's swept off her feet by a tall, dark and handsome stranger (Tom Bateman) she meets in a bar. The next morning, he lures them off the safe confines of the compound for what's supposed to be an innocuous adventure of the countryside. 

 

Next thing you know, the Middletons find themselves kidnapped by a ruthless gang led by the bloodthirsty Morgado (Oscar Jaenada) demanding $100, 000 ransom. Trouble is, the U.S. State Department could care less, and Emily's brother Jeffrey (Ike Barinholtz) is an agoraphobic who couldn't be counted on to come to the rescue. 

 

Not to worry. The squabbling mother-daughter put aside their differences and rely on their wits to survive. Schumer, Hawn, Sykes and Cusack, all at the top of their game!

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, brief nudity, pervasive profanity and crude humor
Running time: 90 minutes
Production Studio: Chernin Entertainment
Distributor: Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary by director Jonathan Levine; deleted scenes; extended and alternate scenes; and a gag reel.



To see a trailer for Snatched, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcyeYFXdHNQ

To order a copy of Snatched on Blu-ray, visit  

 

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Blu-Ray Review by Kam Williams


Visual F/X Variation of the Classic Tale Arrives on Home Video


Do you remember what happened to the Sherlock Holmes franchise in Guy Ritchie's hands? The low-key, cerbral sleuth who solved mysteries with his intellect suddenly morphed into a flamboyant, two-fisted superhero as likely to rely on brawn as brains to solve a case.

Well brace yourself for a similar transformation with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Again, Ritchie makes a concession to the attention-deficit demographic in crafting a fanciful reimagining of the beloved epic that plays out more like a frenetic, action-packed video game than a classic medieval tale. 
 
Nonetheless, the good news is that the movie works, if all you're looking for is to be entertained by an overblown summer blockbuster with an A-rating when it comes to state-of-the-art special f/x. And the characters even sport familiar names, from King Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) to Lady Guinevere (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) to Merlin the Magician (Kamil Lemieszewski). But I still defy anyone to make sense of this hyperactive adventure which abandons the British folklore upon which it's ostensibly based in deference to a cinematic mandate for incessant stimulation.

The picture's rudimentary plot unfolds as follows. At the point of departure, King Uther (Eric Bana) is assassinated at the behest of his power-hungry brother, Vortigern (Jude Law). Instead of ascending to the thrown, Arthur grows up a lowly street urchin, utterly oblivious of his royal bloodline until the moment, years later, he manages to pull the magical sword Excalibur out of a stone. 
 
Cognizant of his rendezvous with destiny, with the help of a big bird, an archer (Aidan Gillen), a black knight (Djimon Hounsou) and psychic Guinevere, Arthur embarks on an epic quest to reclaim his birthright. And what an eye-popping spectacle it proves to be!

Guy, I like what you've done with the legend!



Very Good (3 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, action, suggestive content and brief profanity
Running time: 126 minutes
Distributor: Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras: Arthur with Swagger; Sword from the Stone; Parry and Blood; Building on the Past; Inside the Cut: The Action of King Arthur; Camelot in 93 Days; Legend of Excalibur; and Scenic Scotland.

To see a trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rbPTQIdjmY

To order a copy of the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack, visit:

Top Ten DVD List for August 8, 2017

by Kam Williams

This Week’s DVD Releases

I Am Battle Comic [Standup Comics Entertain Troops Overseas]

I Am the Blues [Blues Legends Retrospective]

 

Snatched [Mother-Daughter Vacation Nightmare]

Room on the Broom [Enchanting Children's Tale about Witch's Trip]

The Exception: The Kaiser's Last Kiss [World War II Suspense Thriller]

Frontline: Bannon's War [Trump Advisor Agenda Expose']

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword [Visual F/X Variation on the Classic Tale]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul [Family Road Trip from Hell]

The Dinner [Well-Connected Parents Conspire to Cover Up Kids' Crime]

Kung Fu Yoga [Jackie Chan Slapstick Comedy]

Honorable Mention

Phoenix Forgotten [Fact-Based UFO Sighting Saga]

Kate & Mim-Mim: Super Kate [4 Fun-Filled Adventures in Mimiloo]

Kam's Kapsules for movies opening August 11, 2017

 

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun  

by Kam Williams

OPENING THIS WEEK

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Annabelle: Creation (R for horror violence) Tale of demonic possession about a dollmaker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife (Miranda Otto) who open their home to a nun (Stephanie Sigman) and several orphans only to have them terrorized by one of his creations (Samara Lee). With Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson and Kerry O'Malley.

The Glass Castle (PG-13 for profanity, smoking and mature themes) Brie Larson stars in this adaptation of Jeanette Walls' best-selling memoir of the same name recounting being raised in a dysfunctional family by an artist (Naomi Watts) and an alcoholic (Woody Harrelson). Cast includes Sarah Snook, Josh Caras and Max Greenfield.

The Nut Job 3: Nutty by Nature (PG for action and rude humor) Animated sequel finds Surly the squirrel (Will Arnett) and his sidekick Buddy (Tom Kenny) joining forces with other animals in order to prevent their crooked mayor (Bobby Moynihan) from paving the park to put up an amusement park. Voice cast includes Maya Rudolph, Jackie Chan, Katherine Heigl and Jeff Dunham.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Good Time (R for violence, drug use, sexuality and pervasive profanity) NYC crime drama revolving around a mobster's (Robert Parkinson) efforts to spring his brother (Ben Safdie) from jail after a botched bank robbery. With Buddy Duress, Barkhad (I'm the Captain, now!") Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

In This Corner of the World (PG-13 for mature themes and images of war) Animated historical drama, set in Japan during World War II, revolving around the survivor's guilt of an 18 year-old girl (Non) who married and moved away from Hiroshima before the atom bomb was dropped on her hometown. Voice cast includes Megumi Han, Natsuki Inaba and Nanase Iwai. (In Japanese with subtitles)

Ingrid Goes West (R for sexuality, disturbing behavior, drug use and pervasive behavior) Aubrey Plaza handles the title role in this character study of a stalker who relocates from Pennsylvania to L.A. after becoming obsessed with an Instagram celebrity (Elizabeth Olsen). Featuring O'Shea Jackson, Jr., Wyatt Russell and Billy Magnussen.

The Only Living Boy in New York (R for profanity and drug use) Dysfunctional family drama about the love triangle which develops after a recent college grad (Callum Turner) discovers that his father's (Pierce Brosnan) cheating on his mother (Cynthia Nixon) with a younger woman (Kate Beckinsale). With Jeff Bridges, Kiersey Clemons and Wallace Shawn.

Planetarium (Unrated) Supernatural fantasy about a couple of psychic sisters (Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp) who are hired by a film studio executive (Emmanuel Salinger) to star in a movie about spiritualism. Support cast includes Louis Garrel, Amira Casar and Pierre Salvadori. (In English and french with subtitles)

A Taxi Driver (Unrated) Fact-based drama, set in South Korea in 1980, recounting how a cabbie (Kang-ho Song) helped a German reporter (Thomas Kretschmann) covering an insurrection in the city of Gwangju. With Hae-jin Yoo, Jun-yeol Ryu and Daniel Joey Albright. (In Korean with subtitles)

The Trip to Spain (Unrated) Third installment in the culinary series finds comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon cracking jokes while traveling around Spain and sampling the local cuisine over the course of five days.

Whose Streets? (R for pervasive profanity) Black Lives Matter documentary taking an unvarnished look at Ferguson, Missouri in the wake of the police shooting of 18 year-old Mike Brown.

The Dark Tower

Film Review by Kam Williams

Gunslinger Defends Planet from Extinction in Adaptation of Stephen King's Sci-Fi Epic

Laurie Chambers (Katheryn Winnick) is understandably worried about her 11 year-old son's recurrent nightmares. After all, Jake's (Tom Taylor) becoming increasingly convinced of Earth's imminent demise. 

 

So, she takes him to a shrink who misdiagnoses the visions as delusional and has the kid committed to a mental health facility. Truth be told, Jake is indeed psychic and has accurately forecast an impending extinction level event. 

 

The planet's only hope of averting an apocalypse rests on the shoulders or, more precisely, on the trigger fingers of Roland Deschain (played by Idris Elba with that trademark gravitas). He's the last in a long line of gunslingers from another dimension who've been locked in mortal conflict with forces led by Walter Padick (capably played by the terminally-suave Matthew McConaughey), an evil sorcerer on a quest for infinite power. World domination is attainable should he reach the Dark Tower, the nexus between time and space located in a parallel universe called End-World. 

 

It's not long before these mysterious figures from Jake's dream begin to materialize on the streets of Manhattan. After Walter's minions murder his mom, the boy is rescued by Roland. The two soon escape through a portal to Mid-World where the epic battle to preserve life as we know it is set to unfold. 

 

That is the engaging point of departure of The Dark Tower, an ambitious adaptation of Stephen King's magnum opus of the same name. The sci-fi series was inspired by "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," a poem written by Robert Browning back in 1855. King also credits Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns, and the Legend of King Arthur as major influences.

The Dark Tower took a rather circuitous route to the big screen. The story was originally optioned by J.J. Abrams in 2007. Ron Howard subsequently acquired the rights in 2010. However, the picture was ultimately written and directed by Nikolaj Arcel, whose A Royal Affair was nominated in 2013 for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category. 
 

This movie marks the great Dane's first foray into English , which helps explain why he sought help with the screenplay from a trio of scriptwriters, including Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsman (for A Beautiful Mind). The final production's pretty skittish, yet engaging enough to establish the franchise and leave you eagerly anticipating a sequel. 

 

The best sci-fi Western since Cowboys & Aliens!

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated PG-13 for action, gun violence and mature themes
Running time: 95 minutes
Production Studio: Sony / Media Rights Capital / Imagine Entertainment/ Weed Road
Distributor: Sony Pictures


To see a trailer for The Dark Tower, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjwfqXTebIY

Kidnap

Film Review by Kam Williams

It's Halle Berry vs. Hillbillies in High-Octane Chase Thriller

Karla (Halle Berry) is a stressed-out single-mom waitressing in a diner when she'd rather be spending more quality time with her young son, Frankie (Sage Correa). In fact, today, he's patiently waiting right there in the restaurant for her overtime shift to end.

After she finally gets off, the two drive to an amusement park for what promises to be a fun-filled afternoon. Trouble is, she's in the midst of bitter custody battle over Frankie with her vindictive ex-husband (Jason George). That explains why she wanders a few feet away for a little privacy when she gets a call from her divorce attorney. 

 

Unfortunately, it's enough of a distraction to afford a lurking kidnapper (Chris McGinn) an opportunity to pounce. Next thing you know, Margo's dragging the kid to a waiting getaway car with her husband Terry (Lew Temple) at the wheel.

Karla frantically rushes into the parking lot where she drops her cell phone before spotting a suspicious Mustang GT with tinted windows and no license plates peel rubber. At that point, her maternal instincts kick in, and she decides to pursue the perps despite the fact that she's driving a relatively-sluggish, Chrysler Town & Country.

What ensues is an extended chase scene that lasts the rests of the movie. So unfolds Kidnap, a low-budget variation of Baby Driver directed by Luis Prieto (Pusher). Although the plot arrives riddled with comical holes big enough for Karla to drive her minivan through, the picture nevertheless proves pretty compelling thanks to a combination of heart-pounding action and the protagonists convincing embodiment of pure desperation. 

 

It's Halle vs. hillbillies in a high-octane showdown where there's never a doubt about whether "Mommy Driver" will prevail.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for violence, profanity and scenes of peril
Running time: 95 minutes
Production Studio: Well Go USA Entertainment /Gold Star/ 606 Films / Lotus Entertainment
Distributor: Aviron Pictures


To see a trailer for Kidnap, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Ht8VRPRvU

I Am Battle Comic

Film Review by Kam Williams

Standup Comics Entertain Troops Stationed Overseas in Inspirational Concert Flick

For over 50 years, Bob Hope served as emcee of the USO tour traveling overseas to entertain the troops. From World War II through Operation Desert Storm, Hope never hesitated to put himself in harm's way. The well-received shows proved to be pretty popular back home, too, where they aired periodically on NBC.

Although no longer televised, an altruistic band of talented comedians have continued to venture to war zones in the wake of Bob Hope's passing. Their unheralded efforts are the subject of I Am Battle Comic, a combination concert flick and documentary directed by Jordan Brady.

The inspirational film was shot on location in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain, and stars 14 standup veterans, including George Lopez, Dave Attell and George Wallace, to name a few. While it's certainly fun watching them perform onstage before very grateful audiences, what's far more rewarding is the behind-the-scenes footage of them bonding with the soldiers.

For instance, we witness Lopez stick around after a show to sign an autograph for anybody that wanted one, over 1,000 in total. Then there's Bob Kubota, who explains that he's actually anti-war, and isn't there for those who started or profit from the conflict. Rather, he wistfully recalls the satisfaction coming from receiving a letter from grateful parents thanking him for lifting the spirits of a son who'd been down in the dumps for eight months. 
 
The picture also features funny archival footage of Bob Hope and Robin Williams. Still, what'll probably stick with you longer than any witty one-liners are sobering moments like a weeping private's heartfelt reflections on his service and a comic's visit to an infirmary to chat with wounded warriors. 
 
A moving concert flick that'll make you laugh while bringing a tear to your eye in appreciation of our soldiers' selfless sacrifices.




Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 89 minutes
Studio: Brady Oil Entertainment
Distributor: Monterey Media


To see a trailer for I Am Battle Comic, visit:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e9Jg0-tOJ8