DVD/Movie Review: Ammonite

 

Ammonite is a romantic drama from 2020 starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. It was written and directed by Francis Lee and loosely based on the life of a British paleontologist named Mary Anning. The supporting cast includes Fiona Shaw, Gemma Jones, James McArdle, and Alec Secareanu. In the film, Mary (played by Winslet) runs a shop in Lyme Regis in Dorset, England with her mother. An archeologist named Roderick Murchison (McArdle) visits the shop with his wife Charlotte (Ronan) who has been sent to Lyme Regis to convalesce after losing a baby, with the sea air being prescribed for her depression. Roderick initially pays Mary to teach him about fossil collecting and leaves Charlotte in Mary's care (much to both of their chagrin) for six weeks while he visits mainland Europe. When Charlotte gets sick, Mary cares for her, and the two fall in love and begin a sexual relationship. 

The DVD is a single-disc release. The only bonus feature is a short making-of featurette featuring interviews with Winslet, Ronan, and Lee. The film is a well-written and acted romantic drama. It definitely has the feel of an independent movie with a slower plot. About two-thirds of the way into the movie, there is some sexual content, including a nude sex scene between Winslet and Ronan. So, it is not exactly family-friendly, but it is not full of gratuitous sex and nudity. Ultimately, if you like independent dramas and are not triggered by same-sex relationships, it is worth watching.    

DVD/Movie Review: Daddio

 

Daddio is an independent film from 2023 directed by Christy Hall and starring Dakota Johnson (who is also a producer) and Sean Penn. The movie's premise is quite simple but works very well. Johnson's character, who is just called "Girlie," takes a cab driven by Penn's character, Clark, home from the airport. During the ride, the two strike up a conversation that includes topics ranging from the role of technology in our lives to relationships and power dynamics between men and women. Almost the entire movie is set in the cab, with the two characters talking between the divider.

The DVD release is very bare-bones. It just contains the movie, which runs about an hour and a half and can be played with or without English captions. There is no behind-the-scenes material, deleted scenes, or other bonus content. The movie is excellent and plays to both Johnson's and Penn's acting strengths. Johnson is much better when she is not trying to play a seductress (which absolutely does not suit her). Penn (regardless of what you think of his personal life and beliefs) does a great job in any role he takes on, especially dialogue-driven roles. The movie does have some sexual content, mainly in the form of explicit text messages between Girlie and the man she is seeing that occur during the cab ride. Those include naked pictures. However, there are no actual sex scenes or "live" nudity. Ultimately, it is a well-written and acted drama. If you are a fan of either actors and/or independent films as a whole, this is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (2013)

 

Embrace of the Vampire is a 2013 horror film starring Sharon Hinnendael, Tiio Horn, C.C. Sheffield, Chelsea Reist, and Victor Webster. It is a remake of the mid-90s movie of the same name starring Alyssa Milano. The original movie was a decent B-level movie, and this, I would say, is a decent C-level movie. While it shares the name of the original, it is not a shot-for-shot remake and does tell its own story. In this version, Sharon Hinnendael plays Charlotte, a university freshman on a fencing scholarship. She starts having weird dreams and visions and blacking out randomly. She learns she is being stalked by a Vampire who wants to use her to become human. The movie also keeps the Vampire's identity hidden for a while and tries to get you to wonder who it is, as opposed to being upfront about it like the original movie was. And Charlotte never really does a "bad girl" transformation like Milano's character did in the original movie. There is more sex and violence in this version than in the original, and the special effects are much better. Also, the movie is made up exclusively of unknown and lesser-known actors and actresses, which does not really hurt the movie but does not help it either.

The Blu-Ray release is very bare-bones. It does include some previews before the menu loads and then just the movie itself. There are no bonus materials or extras specific to the film. Overall, if you do not expect the movie to be anything more than it is, basically an independent horror movie with no star power in the cast, then it is okay. If you are expecting anything more than that, you will be sorely disappointed. It is definitely not what I would call a must-see either way.

DVD/Movie Review: My Summer of Love

 

My Summer of Love is a 2004 independent British film starring Natalie Press, Emily Blunt, and Paddy Considine.  It definitely feels like a low-budget independent movie. The big draw is that it was the film debut of Emily Blunt, who has, of course, gone on to, at the very least, border super-stardom if she cannot already be called an A-list actress. It is a movie about two young girls named Mona (Press) and Tasmin (Blunt) who have a summer fling with each other, which ultimately ends up going bad. The acting is decent, but the writing was definitely not anything special, which, of course, affected the performances of the actors.

It seems that there are several versions of the DVD out there. The one I have has just the movie itself that plays from a title menu. There are no captions or any DVD extras. I am sure that is the case for most, if not all, of the releases. I definitely think it is a middle-of-the-road quality movie. It is not horrible, but it is not a must-see either.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jamón Jamón

 

Jamon Jamon is a movie from 1992 starring a young (about 23-year-old) Javier Bardem, an even younger (about 18-year-old) Penelope Cruz in her film debut, and Jordi Molla. The movie itself is bad. It is a very over-the-top soap opera (think every stereotype of the telenovela that has ever been shown on a US TV show lampooning Mexican or Spanish soap operas). It is part comedy, part drama, with a lot of WTF thrown in. Essentially, the story boils down to Cruz's character becoming pregnant by the son of a local underwear manufacturer (Molla) and then having an affair with Bardem's character, Raul. As I said, you do get to see a very young Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz in a movie that I would love to hear their honest thoughts on now.

The Blu-ray itself is very bare bones. It includes just the film, with the ability to play it with or without English subtitles. The movie itself is in Spanish. The video transfer and audio quality are okay for a low-budget foreign film from 1992. It is definitely not a great remastered transfer, but it is not the kind of movie that would ever get that.

DVD/ Movie Review: Lie With Me

 

Lie With Me is a 2005 movie starring Lauren Lee Smith and Eric Balfour.  The plot is not overly complicated. A sexually adventurous woman (Smith) meets an emotionally complicated guy (Balfour), and the two try to have a relationship, to varying degrees of success. 

The US version of the film is almost impossible to find at a reasonable price since the DVD is now out of print. If you look around, you can get international versions (I got the UK version), but you must ensure you have a region-free DVD or Blu-ray player to play the disc.  The UK release just has the movie itself but no bonus features. 

The movie is okay, but not great. The writing is very weak, and as a result, the acting is not much better. The visuals are pretty good (for a low-budget indie film), and while it is slow in parts, it does not seem much longer than the hour-and-a-half running time. There is a lot of sex in the movie, and it borders on being graphically explicit. There is full frontal nudity, both male and female, so if that is a dealbreaker for you, this is not for you at all.

DVD/Movie Review: The Assassin Next Door

 

The Assassin Next Door is a 2009 movie that was filmed and set in Israel. In it, Olga Kurylenko (probably best known in the US for her roles in The Quantum of Solace and Hitman) stars as Galia, a Ukrainian woman being trafficked in Israel by the Russian mob. At the beginning of the movie she tries to escape, and when she is recaptured, she is forced to kill a target of the mob. When she successfully does so, she is moved into an apartment and works (against her will) as an assassin, with the promise of a "last job" after which she will be paid $100,000 and given her passport so she can return home to reunite with her daughter. She discovers that the woman living in the apartment next door (played by Ninet Tayeb) is being abused by her husband and the two strike up a friendship.

The movie is just over an hour and a half long. The version that I have is a Region 2 import that can only be played on a Region 2  or Region free player. So, if you go looking for the DVD, pay attention to the listing, because it will not play on a regular US DVD or Blu-Ray player. The only extra on the version I have is a trailer for the movie that is playable from the main menu, and trailers for other movies that play as the disc loads before the menu screen comes up. 

The movie is a decent low-budget independent film. It is definitely a bit cookie-cutter in terms of the plot, requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, and can be silly at times (e.g., the track-suit-wearing mobsters). That said, both Kurylenko (who I have always felt is underrated as an actress) and Tayeb are very good in their respective roles and it is kind of nice that it is not a typical shoot-em-up action movie where the main character is an established killer from the outset. In the movie, characters speak English, Russian, and Hebrew, so the movie is partly in English (mostly when the two main characters are talking to each other) and is subtitled when characters are speaking Russian or Hebrew (which is most of the time). There is really no sexual content but there is one nude scene about 2/3 of the way through the movie. It is definitely not an award-winning drama or a big-budget action movie, but if you are looking for something different it is worth the time to check out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Below Her Mouth

 

Below Her Mouth is an erotic drama from 2016 about a woman named Jasmine (played by Natalie Krill) who cheats on her fiance with another woman named Dallas (played by Erika Linder) while her fiance (played by Sebastian Pigott) is away on business. Jasmine and Dallas originally meet at a lesbian bar when Jasmine agrees to go out with her friend Claire, to be her wing-woman for the night. Dallas and Jasmine make out, much to Jasmine's initial shock and horror and then discover that Dallas (who is a roofer) is working on the house next door to Jasmine, and the two begin a sexual relationship. Of course, the drama comes when Jasmine's fiance returns from his trip.

The movie is basically about a torrid affair and a woman figuring out she is bisexual. If it were made with a male-female affair it would probably not have gotten as much notoriety as it did, but because it was about a woman cheating on her male fiance with another woman, it got more buzz than an indie film would normally get. That said, I do think that, even though the plot is fairly cookie-cutter, the acting is good and the movie does not drag on. The movie looks fine on blu-ray, but because it is low-budget and does not have any special effects, the transfer is not outstanding and would be just fine on DVD. And, there are no extras, just the movie itself.

Certainly, the movie is not going to appeal to everyone. There is a lot of nudity and sex, and of course, because it involves lesbians, some people who would otherwise not care about the nudity and sex will be turned off by that aspect of it. If that does not bother you, it is an okay movie that will help kill an hour and a half, but it is not a must-see movie by any means.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Personal Shopper

 

Personal Shopper is a smaller-budget independent film from 2016 starring Kristen Stewart, whose best movies seem to be the smaller movies that she does between the large Hollywood blockbusters. In this one, she stars as Maureen, an American living in Paris who works as a personal shopper for a French supermodel. Maureen is also a medium who is waiting for a message from the afterlife from her deceased twin brother. She also has the same genetic heart condition that killed her brother and gets sicker over the course of the movie. The movie is in part a supernatural psychological thriller and in part a crime story. The two storylines interweave with each other throughout the course of the movie and work better at different points than others. And, the movie features one of the few topless scenes that Stewart has done in her career. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. The movie is not laden with special effects, but the location shots around Europe look very good, especially if you are watching on a large screen. The extras include the movie trailer, an almost 20-minute interview with the director, Oliver Assayas, and a 46-minute question and answer session from the Cannes Film Festival. 

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. Stewart definitely plays a different type of character than she has played in her more well-known roles in big-budget movies. Given that she seems to play more understated characters better than she does more charismatic characters, this role definitely suits her. I would not classify it as a must-watch, but if you are a fan of Stewart or indie movies in general, it is a good one to check out. 

DVD/Movie Review: The Breed

 

The Breed is 2006 a B-movie starring Michelle Rodriguez (from the Fast and Furious movie franchise), Taryn Manning (from Orange is the New Black), Hill Harper (from shows like Limitless and The Good Doctor), Oliver Husdon (Kate's brother, and Goldie Hawn's less famous child), and Eric Lively. It is a movie that is best described as a knockoff of Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds, but it is nowhere near as good as that. The basic plot is that a group of friends plan to vacation on a deserted island owned by the family of brothers Matt (Lively) and John (Hudson). Of course, the island is not totally deserted as the group encounters a pack of wild dogs that starts attacking them, and in the process discover a larger plot.

For those who get the DVD, the only extras are a making-of-documentary that runs about 25 minutes and some trailers for other movies. The documentary is okay, but nothing special. 

Overall, the movie is good but not great. It does have some jump-scare moments, but I would not quite call it a horror classic, despite the fact that it was produced by Wes Craven, who directed classics in the horror genre like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. The plot twist is a little silly and needed. It is definitely not as good as The Birds or Jaws (two movies that obviously heavily influenced the plot), but as a low-budget indie horror/thriller, it is worth a look, but is probably not a movie that most people would give a lot of repeat viewings.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Bigger Splash

 

A Bigger Splash is a 2015 movie starring Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Dakota Johnson. Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a rock singer who is vacationing in Italy with her boyfriend Paul ( Schoenaerts). Fiennes plays Harry Hawkes, Lane's ex-boyfriend who shows up at the villa Marianne and Paul are staying at with his previously estranged daughter, Penelope/Pen (Johnson). The plot basically involves Harry trying to win Marianne back and Pen trying to seduce Paul. It becomes a tale of jealousy and animosity, with a bit of a twist ending.

Overall, the story is okay, but a bit predictable. The movie is odd in a lot of respects, the first being that Swinton barely talks in the movie because her character had surgery on her throat. At most, she can whisper, so Swinton has to basically act non-verbally the entire movie. Fiennes' character, Harry, on the other hand, is totally extroverted and talks too much. Fiennes goes really over-the-top with his performance which some may like and some may find annoying. Johnson really seems out of place trying to play a seductress, which she does not have the personality for. Yes, she is hot and has no problem getting naked for a role (which she does in this movie), but she just does not seem to have the personality type to pull off the role she was trying to play.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is good for a movie that is not special effects-laden. The extras are very bare bones, just the trailer, a stills gallery, and a handful of very short (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) featurettes that amount to being short character profiles

Movie Review: The Girlfriend Experience

 

The Girlfriend Experience was a movie by Steven Soderbergh and starring now ex-pornographic actress Sasha Grey, although she was still performing in porn when the movie was made. It is about a woman named Christine (who uses the name Chelsea) who is being interviewed about her life as a high-end escort, and the effect that it has on her personal life, including her real relationship with her boyfriend. It is also a period piece that works in the financial crisis as her clients are finding it harder and harder to pay for her services, and she and her boyfriend are worried about having enough money to maintain their lifestyle.

This is definitely not a film with a lot of sex or even a lot of nudity in it. Grey is topless in a handful of scenes, but that is really it. It is more about the overall life of a call girl. There was much more sex in the series adaptation that aired on Starz. The movie most definitely has an indie film feel, and it is not fast-paced at all. The character of Christine was written to be very reserved with a lot of emotional barriers, so Grey really was not able to show the personality that she does in her YouTube videos.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, there are two cuts of the movie, the theatrical version and the unrated cut (which does not really add much at all to the movie, and unlike what some may think does not have any salacious sex in it). There is a commentary track on the movie with Grey and Soderbergh, a very short making-of featurette, and a few trailers for other movies.

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. It can definitely be a bit slow at times, but it does have a lot of great visuals of NY, which do look really good in HD. Grey was very young (just 21) when the movie was made, and she definitely gives off the vibe of trying to act like she's more in control of her life than she actually is. Whether this was true for her real life or just as the character she was portraying was hard to tell, but either way, it worked. It is not a movie that is going to appeal to everybody. But if you are a fan of indie movies and don't mind a slower, documentary-like style, then this is worth checking out.

DVD/Movie Review Addicted to Her Love

 

Addicted to Her Love (also titled Love is the Drug) is an indie drama from 2006 directed by Elliot Lester. It stars  Lizzy Caplan, DJ Cotrona, John Patrick Amedori, Jenny Wade, and Jonathan Trent. The movie starts out telling what you think is going to be a typical good kid, falls in with the wrong crowd movie, and then takes a turn and becomes a very dark, unrequited love story. Caplan stars as Sara Weller, who is part of a close-knit quartet of drug users that includes her boyfriend Troy (Jonathon Trent) and their friends Lucas (D.J. Cotrona) and Erin (Jenny Wade) at a wealthy private school. John Patrick Amedori plays Jonah, a poor kid who gets into the school on a scholarship and tries to befriend the group of "cool" kids. Jonah becomes obsessed with Sara, and the film basically becomes about his obsession with her.

For those who get the DVD, the extras are pretty meager. There is a commentary track on the movie with the director and Amedori, a 12-minute-long making-of featurette, a photo gallery, some promos that play before the disc menu loads, and a trailer for the movie. So, it is not a ton, but it is there if you like watching the bonus content. Overall, the movie is very good. It definitely has an indie feel (much like the movies The Informers and Havoc). Amedori gives a great performance, and while I do not think Caplan gives her best performance in the movie, I think she did a good job even though her character was not always well written. It is definitely worth checking out if you are in the mood for a dark drama.

DVD/Movie Review: The Guitar

 

The Guitar is an independent movie from 2008 directed by Amy Redford (Robert Redford's daughter), and stars Saffron Burrows, Isaach De Bankole, and Paz de la Huerta. The story involves a woman named Melody Wilder (played by Saffron Burrows) who discovers that she has terminal cancer. After losing her job and having her boyfriend walk out on her, she decides to live it up as much as possible, maxing out her credit cards, buying everything in sight, and getting into sexual relationships with a couple of delivery people played by Isaach De Bankolé and the crazy-hot Paz De La Huerta (probably first known for the great movie The Cider House Rules, then the series Boardwalk Empire, and a bunch of indie movies). During all of this, Melody teaches herself how to play the guitar, which is something she always has wanted to do.

The premise of the movie is good, but the execution is a bit off. Of course, you have to suspend your disbelief to think that a person who is diagnosed with terminal cancer is going to be able to rent out a high-end loft and is likely to get a bunch of credit cards (the latter probably being easier than the former). Plus, she does not appear sick until the end of the movie. Having known someone with throat cancer, that is not remotely close to real life. But, you have to accept that you are watching a movie and not a documentary. Certainly, the idea that someone in that position would say (or think) "screw it; I am going to do what I want with the time I have left" is not far-fetched, the issues with the movie are that the pacing can be slow and the dialog can be really dumb at times.

For those who get the DVD, it just has the movie itself. No extras. The DVD is now out of print, so it is expensive to get new. I am not sure if it is on any of the major streaming services, but you can probably find it if you look hard enough. It definitely has the feel of a small-budget independent movie, so if you do not like those generally, this is probably not going to be your proverbial cup of tea. It does have some sexual content and nudity in it, but that does not dominate the plot. I would not classify it as a must-see, but I do not think it is as bad as some make it out to be.

DVD/Movie Review: The Limits of Control

 

The Limits of Control is an indie movie written and directed by Jim Jarmusch starring Isaach De Bankolé as "The Lone Man" a character who says almost nothing the entire movie and receives instructions from a bunch of oddball characters including Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, and the hot, yet seemingly batshit crazy Paz De La Huerta (check out her social media pages) whose character The Nude Woman is, as is pretty obvious, is naked every time she is on the screen. She is, honestly, the best part of the movie. There is a plot in there somewhere, but it is really incomprehensible what is going on until the end. I think the movie tries so hard to be edgy and offbeat that it goes too far and just comes across as weird and boring.

For those who get the DVD, the movie does have great cinematography, and even on DVD that looks great. It is set in different locations around Europe and some of those location shots really do pop, especially if you have a large screen TV. As far as extras, there is an almost hour-long making-of documentary that shows a lot of the filming process but is not all that insightful. Then there is a short feature on some of the cinematography shots which is worth watching.

I can definitely not say that everyone will like this movie. If you are a fan of offbeat indie films it is probably right in your wheelhouse. However, I think it could be a lot better, especially given the acting talent the movie did have available.

DVD/Movie Review: The Dreamers

 

The Dreamers is a movie that was made back in 2003 by director Bernardo Bertolucci, who also directed the controversial film starring Marlon Brando, Last Tango in Paris. Like that movie, this movie is pretty hyper-sexualized. It is set in 1968 Paris. A young American played named Matthew by Michael Pitt, goes to Paris to learn French and ends up getting into the movie scene. He meets a brother and sister played by Eva Green and Louis Garrel, who have a very creepy relationship that borders on incestuous. They invite Matthew to their house when their parents are out of town, and engage in all sorts of debauchery.

The film definitely earns an NC-17 rating, as there is a lot of nudity, much of it by Green, and leaves almost nothing to the imagination. It definitely has the feel of a low-budget independent film that is really not "about" any one particular topic. While it does make a lot of references to a lot of movies of the era in which it was set (and older), it is mostly to show off the young cast in various states of undress. Of course, Green is stunningly gorgeous and has never been shy about getting naked on film, and this, really her first big break in movies, is no exception.

For those who get the DVD, the extras include a commentary track on the film by the director, writer, and producer, a making-of documentary, a featurette on the 1968 political climate in France, a music video, and the trailer. A good amount of bonus material, especially for a non-blockbuster movie.

Overall, the movie is not going to appeal to everyone. Some people will get it just to see Eva Green nude, and will not care about the plot (or lack thereof), others will totally hate the plot regardless of the nudity, and others will hate the nudity and sexual content regardless of how much they would otherwise like the plot. If you are a fan of independent films that are kind of period pieces, then you may like this. If you are simply a fan of Eva Green, you will love this, and if you are one that gets turned off by nudity and strong sexual content, you should avoid this like the plague.