Top Ten DVD List for November 14, 2017

by Kam Williams

This Week’s DVD Releases

The Philadelphia Story [The Criterion Collection]

Patti Cakes [White Female Rapper Takes Shot at Stardom]

Afterimage [A Film by Andrzej Wajda]

Atomic Blonde [Charlize Theron as MI6's Most Lethal Assasin]

Wind River [Danger Comes with the Territory]

Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You [Movie + 3 Songs]

Romy Schneider: The Sissy Collection [Newly Restored]

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express [2010 PBS-TV Adaptation]

The Paul Naschy Collection II [Collectible 5-Disc Set]

Rake: Series 4 [Law and Disorder]

Honorable Mention

The Best of Agatha Christie: Volume 1 [Death on the Nile / Five Little Pigs / And Then There Were None]

The Best of Agatha Christie: Volume [The Witness for the Prosecution / Three Act Tragedy / Hallowe'en Party]

Albert: A Small Tree with a Big Dream [An Original Holiday Movie]

The Nut Job 2 [Nutty by Nature]

Kam's Kapsules for movies opening November 17, 2017

 

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

by Kam Williams

OPENING THIS WEEK

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Justice League (PG-13 for action and violence) DC Comics adaptation finds Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) inspired by Superman's (Henry Cavill) altruism to recruit Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to save the planet from an apocalyptic threat posed by a new nemesis (Ciaran Hinds) with an army of extraterrestrial minions. Cast includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred the Butler, and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (PG-13 for violence and profanity) Denzel Washington plays the title character in this crime drama about an idealistic attorney pressured to compromise his values after his law partner (Colin Farrell) suffers a heart attack. With Carmen Ejogo, Shelly Hennig and Nazneen Contractor.

The Star (PG for mature themes) Faith-based parable unfolding about a donkey (Steven Yeun), dove (Keegan-Michael Key) and lamb (Aidy Bryant) who were the unsung heroes in the stable on the very first Christmas. Co-starring Gina Rodriguez as Mary, Zachary Levi as Joseph, and Christopher Plummer as King Herod. Support cast includes Tyler Perry, Mariah Carey, Ving Rhames, Anthony Anderson, Tracy Morgan, televangelist Joel Osteen and Oprah.

Wonder (PG for bullying, mild epithets and mature themes) Adaptation of A.J. Palacio's inspirational best seller about a disfigured 5th grader's (Jacob Tremblay) adjustment to junior high after being home-schooled by his mom (Julia Roberts) all his life. With Owen Wilson, Mandy Patinkin and Sonia Braga.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Atomic Homefront (Unrated) Eye-opening expose' about the North County St. Louis' neighborhoods left contaminated with radioactive waste after serving as a dumping ground for the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Big Sonia (Unrated) Bittersweet biopic about great-grandmother, businesswoman and haunted Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski who, after losing her tailor shop's lease at the age of 91, recounts for posterity the horrors she witnessed at Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Majdanek, which included watching her mother being marched into the gas chamber.

Destined (Unrated) Bifurcated, ghetto fabulous saga chronicling the divergent fates of two young men (both played by Cory Hardrict) raised in the ghetto, one, growing up to become a gangsta', the other, to study architecture and make it out of the 'hood. With Zulay Henao, La La Anthony and Hill Harper.

Mr. Roosevelt (Unrated) Offbeat comedy about a fledgling comedienne (Noel Wells) who moves back to Austin from Hollywood to care for her cat when informed by her ex-boyfriend (Nick Thune) that it has fallen seriously ill. With Britt Lower, Daniella Pineda and Andre Hyland.

Mudbound (R for nudity, brief profanity and disturbing violence) Adaptation of Hillary Jordan's novel of the same name, set in Mississippi in 1946, chronicling the contrasting fates of a couple of World War II veterans, one black (Jason Mitchell), one white (Garrett Hedlund), returning to the same farm. With Mary J. Blige, Karey Mulligan and Jason Clarke. 

 

On the Beach at Night Alone (Unrated) Introspective character study of a famous actress (Min-hee Kim) who travels from Korea to Hamburg to reflect on life while hoping her married lover joins her in Germany. Supporting cast includes Young-hwa Seo, Jae-yeong Jeong and Seong-kun Mun. (In Korean, English and German with subtitles)

Murder on the Orient Express

Film Review by Kam Williams

Complex Costume Drama Does Justice to Agatha Christie's Classic Whodunit! 

First published in 1936, Murder on the Orient Express revolved around the most famous case handled by Inspector Hercule Poirot. Created by Agatha Christie, the Belgian detective appeared in 33 of her novels, as well as a play and over 50 short stories. 

 

This complex crime caper was first brought to the big screen by Sidney Lumet in a fairly faithful adaptation co-starring Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Sir John Gielgud, Albert Finney and Jacqueline Bisset. Bergman won the last of her three Oscars for her sterling performance as Greta Ohlsson, a Swedish nurse. 

 

Murder on the Orient Express 2.0 was directed by five-time, Oscar-nominee Kenneth Branagh who assembled a top-flight cast with an equally-impressive pedigree. His A-List ensemble features Academy Award-winners Judi Dench and Penelope Cruz, along with nominees Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe and Johnny Depp. 

 

Branagh also stars as Poirot, sporting a world-class mustache while playing the super sleuth with perfect aplomb. The visually-captivating costume drama is perhaps more memorable for its breathtaking panoramas than the deliberately-paced mystery which takes its sweet time to be unraveled. 

 

The picture's point of departure is Jerusalem, which is where we find Poirot paying homage at the Wailing Wall before boarding a slow boat to Istanbul. There, he starts soaking in the sights until the vacation is cut short by a telegram summoning him back to London immediately.

With the help of a fellow Belgian who happens to be a train company executive (Tom Bateman), he secures a berth aboard the lavishly-outfitted Orient Express for what he reasonably expected to be an unremarkable three-day trip. However, he shifts into detective mode when an American art dealer (Johnny Depp) dies soon after expressing a fear of being killed.

As Poirot digs deeper and deeper for clues, we gradually see that each of the 13 passengers had a good reason to want the unsavory character dead. Sure, everybody's a suspect, but which one's a murderer?

An Agatha Christie classic whodunit solved the old-fashioned way... by the extraordinary deductive reasoning of the legendary Hercule Poirot!

 

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, ethnic slurs and mature themes
In English and French with subtitles
Running time: 114 minutes
Production Studio: Kinberg Genre / The Mark Gordon Company
Distributor: 20th Century Fox


To see a trailer for Murder on the Orient Express, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq4m3yAoW8E

Mayhem

Film Review by Kam Williams



Attorney and Client Turn on Abusive Law Firm in Revenge-Fueled Splatterfest


Attorney Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) was a rising star working his way up the corporate ladder at Towers and Smythe when he was blindsided by a false accusation of making a million-dollar mistake. He was callously fired on the spot by the sadistic director of operations (Caroline Chikezie) and escorted by the heartless Grim Reaper (Dallas Roberts) to the basement of the building where he was pressured to sign a confession as a condition for receiving a severance package. 
 
It's obvious he'd been stabbed in the back by a colleague at the cutthroat law firm. But he has no idea who it was. While weighing his options, he swaps sob stories and forges an alliance with Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving), a client also screwed over by the firm. 
 

Before the two can be kicked to the curb, they're afforded an opportunity to even the score, thanks to divine intervention. For, an outbreak of Red Eye has the authorities sealing the offices of Towers and Smythe, with no one being allowed to either enter or leave the building. 

The highly-contagious virus sweeping through the ventilation system is not fatal, but it does cause those infected to act out their primal impulses, whether violent, sexual or elsewhat. So, the Center for Disease Control orders the skyscraper quarantined for the next 8 hours, the time it will take for the antidote to take effect .

Meanwhile, Derek and Melanie's infection not only makes them morph from model citizens into bloodthirsty killing machines, but conveniently provides an excuse for their ensuing reign of terror, namely, the virus made me do it. Soon, the pair proceed to track down their enemies to dispatch them, one-by-one, with a variety of unorthodox implements, ranging from buzzsaw to nail gun. 
 

Directed by Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End), Mayhem is a sophisticated social satire that might be best described as a compelling cross of Office Space (1999) and The Purge (2013). Lynch has deftly blended the wry, anti-establishment wit of the former with the temporary lawlessness of the latter into a riveting, revenge-fueled splatterfest you won't ever forget.

A righteous bloodbath in the boardroom!

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, nudity, drug use, graphic violence and pervasive profanity
Running time: 86 minutes
Studio: Circle of Confusion / Royal Viking Entertainment
Distributor: RLJ Entertainment



To see a trailer for Mayhem, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3x9ETZ6JvM

On Wings of Eagles

Film Review by Kam Williams

Eric Liddell's Missionary Work Memorialized in Bittersweet Sequel to "Chariots of Fire"

Chariots of Fire (1981) chronicled the real-life exploits of Eric Henry Liddell (1902-1945), aka "The Flying Scotsman," a world-class sprinter who won the gold medal in the 400-meter track race at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. What made his feat amazing is that he had only qualified to run the 100-meter dash but refused to compete when he learned that it would be staged on a Sunday. 

 

You see, he was a devout Christian raised by missionaries who had instilled in their son the Biblical notion that the Sabbath was a holy day of rest. Consequently, he decided to enter the 400-meter contest instead, and miraculously managed to prevail against the best in an event he hadn't trained for. 

 

Chariots of Fire was a critically acclaimed crowd-pleaser which landed a quartet of Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. However, it took 36 years for someone to mount a sequel showing what became of the Olympic great in the wake of his glory days. 

 

Co-directed by Stephen Shin and Michael Parker, On Wings of Eagles stars BAFTA-nominee Joseph Fiennes (for Shakespeare in Love) as Eric Liddell. At the point of departure, we learn that the unassuming athlete eschewed fame and fortune in favor of returning to China, the country of his birth, in 1925, to follow his calling to do missionary work. 

 

He would settle down in Asia and start a family with the woman of his dreams, Florence Mackenzie (Elizabeth Arends). However, their marital bliss would be irreversibly altered by the Japanese invasion of China in 1937.

 

During the occupation, the Liddells were afforded a brief opportunity to leave the country. The dedicated minister decided to not abandon his flock, though he did send his pregnant wife and daughters, Patricia (Laura Justine Friis Lodahl) and Heather (Asta Friis Lodahl), to live with his in-laws in Canada. Sadly, he was subsequently interned in a concentration camp where he would suffer terribly before passing away in 1945, just months before Japan's surrender. 

 

A bittersweet tribute to a man of great faith who always opted to follow humbly in the footsteps of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated
In English, Mandarin and Japanese with subtitles
Running time: 96 minutes
Production Studio: Goodland Pictures / Innowave Ltd / Bondit
Distributor: Archstone Distribution


To see a trailer for On Wings of Eagles, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNYDhGVM7sA

Top Ten DVD List for November 7, 2017

by Kam Williams

This Week’s DVD Releases

The Settlers [Eye-Opening Look at Israel's Politically-Explosive West Bank]

Ingrid Goes West [Hilariously Dark Social Satire]

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York [25th Anniversary Edition]

Champion [Victory Begins in the Heart]

In His Own Home [Documentary about Police Shooting of Crippled Black Man]

19-2: Season 4 [The Final Season]

The Limehouse Golem [Before the Ripper, Fear Had Another Name]

The Good Karma Hospital: Series 1 [Heartwarming Drama Set in India]

Teen Wolf: Season 6, Part 2 [Final Fight. Be Afraid.]

The Glass Castle [Based on the #1 Best-Selling Memoir]

Honorable Mention

Age of Kill [6 Targets in 6 Hours or London Burns]

Slamma Jamma [Wrongfully-Convicted Hoop Star's Tale of Redemption]

POV: Swim Team [Uplifting Documentary about Autistic Children]

Kam's Kapsules for movies opening November 10, 2017

 

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun  

by Kam Williams 

OPENING THIS WEEK

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Daddy's Home 2 (PG-13 for profanity and some suggestive material) Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell reprise their roles as a father and stepfather, respectively, in this sequel which now finds the two competing for their kids' affections at Christmastime. With John Lithgow, Mel Gibson, John Cena and Linda Cardellini.

Murder on the Orient Express (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Director Kenneth Branagh also stars as the legendary Inspector Poirot in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic whodunit revolving around 13 strangers stranded on train with a killer in their midst. A-List cast includes Oscar-winners Judi Dench and Penelope Cruz, as well as nominees Michelle Pfeiifer, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp and Branagh.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Destination Unknown (Unrated) Inspirational documentary painting intimate portraits of a dozen Holocaust survivors.

Flesh and Blood (Unrated) Mark Webber wrote, directed and stars in the autobiographical mockumentary in which the characters are played by actual members of his family.

Intent to Destroy (Unrated) Genocide denial documentary chronicling the Turkish government's ongoing refusal to apologize for its ethnic cleansing of Armenian citizens a century ago. Featuring commentary by Christian Bale, Atom Egoyan and Eric Bogosian.

Mayhem (R for sexuality, nudity, drug use, graphic violence and pervasive profanity) Claustrophobic horror flick set inside a quarantined law office where the outbreak of a contagious virus has the infected acting out their wildest fantasies. Ensemble cast includes Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie and Kerry Fox.

No Greater Love (Unrated) Afghan War documentary examining the effect of combat on soldiers' as captured on camera by a chaplain (Justin Roberts) embedded with an infantry regiment deployed to Kunar Province. 

 

The Price (Unrated) Wall Street drama about a 24 year-old, Nigerian-American Aml Ameen) stockbroker whose insider trading jeopardizes both his career and his relationship with a wealthy white socialite (Lucy Griffiths). Supporting cast includes Bill Sage, Michael Hyatt and Hope Olaide Wilson. (In Yoruba and English with subtitles)

Thelma (Unrated) Eili Harboe plays the title character in this Scandinavian suspense thriller, set in Oslo, about a college freshman who discovers she has dangerous superpowers when she falls in love with a classmate (Kaya Wilkins). With Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen and Camilla Belsvik. (In Norwegian with subtitles)

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (R for violence, sexual references and pervasive profanity) Frances McDormand stars in this dark comedy as a grieving mom who resorts to extreme measures to pressure her town's police chief (Woody Harrelson) to find her daughter's (Kathryn Newton) killer. Supporting cast includes Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage and Abbie Cornish.