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Updated May 7, 2013

Cloud Atlas ***1/2
Warner, 172 min., R, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $35.99, May 14
Based on David Mitchell’s bestselling 2004 novel, this unconventional epic fantasy begins with an elderly tattooed tribesman squatting near a campfire and recalling adventures through many lifetimes. Adapted and directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas’s multi-layered narrative is full of flashbacks and flash-forwards, meticulously cross-cut with the same actors playing a variety of roles in multiple stories, which are set in different time periods, spanning 500 years. On an 1849 South Pacific voyage, a malevolent doctor poisons an idealistic San Francisco attorney who helped an escaped slave. In Cambridge in 1936, an ambitious composer becomes a musical amanuensis to an aging master. In 1973, a San Francisco journalist investigates nuclear power corruption. In 2012, a London publisher faces unjust imprisonment. In 2144, a genetically-engineered Korean clone discovers the truth of her existence. And in the 24th century, following a planetary cataclysm, a goat-herder reluctantly trusts an alien emissary. Here, everything is connected, and the consequences of one person’s choices and actions impact another’s through past, present, and future. Some of the transitions and threads are more smoothly interwoven than others, just as some of the actors—Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving—demonstrate astonishing versatility in a challenging array of interlocking cultural identities. The costumes, hair, and makeup are astounding, as are the cinematography and production design in this gorgeous and glorious visual feast. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurette “A Film Like No Other” with the cast and crew. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are six additional “Focus Points” production segments, including “Everything is Connected” on the story, “The Bold Science Fiction of Cloud Atlas,” and “Spaceships, Slaves & Sextets” (55 min. total, including the previously mentioned featurette), trailers, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a visually mesmerizing film.] (S. Granger)


Future Weather ***
Virgil, 100 min., not rated, DVD: $19.99, Apr. 16
In filmmaker Jenny Deller's Future Weather, 13-year-old protagonist Lauduree (Perla Haney-Jardine) writes in a student essay, "Science brings me closer to the world." That connection comes in handy when her single mother, Tanya (Marin Ireland), abandons her to become a makeup artist in Hollywood, recommending that her daughter contact her grandmother, Greta (Amy Madigan), for assistance. Initially, the independent-minded girl simply goes about her business—not telling anyone anything—but when she’s caught shoplifting, Greta steps in to save the day. Greta, who works as a nurse, is a better provider than Tanya, but Lauduree has a hard time leaving her home and science experiments behind. Greta is also planning to move from Illinois to Florida to live with her long-distance boyfriend, Ed (William Sadler), which would further uproot Lauduree. In the midst of this turmoil, Lauduree forms bonds with her supportive science teacher, Ms. Markovi (Lili Taylor), and soft-spoken classmate Neel (Anubhav Jain), who shares her interest in the environment. The three join forces to make a video about endangered species, although Lauduree expects more from Ms. Markovi than the teacher can reasonably provide. More convincing than most Hollywood coming-of-age movies, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)


Mama **1/2
Universal, 100 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.98, May 7
In the prologue to this supernatural creature-feature, a distraught businessman, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), goes berserk when his financial company fails. After shooting his partners, he kills his estranged wife, grabs his terrified two young daughters and flees by car on icy roads, skidding into a steep ravine, and eventually winding up at an abandoned cabin, where one daughter observes, “There’s a lady outside—and she’s not touching the ground.” Five years later, Jeffrey’s twin brother, Lucas (also played by Coster-Waldau) finds the girls still living in the cabin—now deeply disturbed, filthy, feral animals, skittering about on all fours. Working with a psychiatrist (Daniel Kash), the siblings draw pictures of their life in the woods, explaining that “Mama” took care of them. While Uncle Lucas wants to raise Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), he’s also in love with self-centered Annabel (Jessica Chastain), a guitarist in a punk/rock band. Annabel has her doubts, which are underscored when an evil, vengeful presence known as Mama (CGI-enhanced seven-foot tall Javier Botet and the voice of Jane Moffat) refuses to release its ghostly grip on the girls. Wearing dark, cropped hair and a tight-fitting Misfits T-shirt, Chastain looks nothing like her Oscar-nominated persona in Zero Dark Thirty, while fans of TV’s Game of Thrones may recognize Danish actor Coster-Waldau as conniving Jaime Lannister. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, Mama is haphazardly directed by Andy Muschietti (the film is based on Muschietti and his sister Barbara’s three-minute horror short film, which originally intrigued del Toro). A middling horror flick, this is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director/co-writer Andy Muschietti and producer/co-writer Barbara Muschietti, a “making-of” featurette (10 min.), deleted scenes (8 min.), the original 2008 short with an intro by executive producer Guillermo del Toro (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Matriarchal Secrets: The Visual Effects” segment (6 min.), as well as bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven chiller.] (S. Granger)


Texas Chainsaw **
Lionsgate, 92 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.99, May 14
After innumerable remakes, sequels, prequels, and just plain ripoffs, John Luessenhop’s Texas Chainsaw is the latest to take up the tale of the murderous Leatherface, jumping off from the conclusion of Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic. According to the surprisingly coherent script, an infant was rescued from the killer’s blood-drenched home and raised without knowing about her origins. Now a svelte young beauty, Heather (Alexandra Daddario) learns that she’s adopted after receiving word that her real grandmother has died and left her the family estate. So Heather, her boyfriend, and another couple pack up their van and head for “home,” picking up a suspiciously friendly hitchhiker along the way. Unfortunately, grandma’s house isn’t exactly unoccupied, and its hidden resident doesn’t take kindly to unexpected visitors. Plenty of predictable mayhem ensues, but Texas Chainsaw is unlike most run-of-the-mill splatter flicks in that it spins a logical (if highly implausible) narrative while shoveling out the gore. The film also tries to rehabilitate its iconic madman, treating him as something of a sympathetic character who suffers at the hands of a malevolent town patriarch. Inevitably, however, this falls far short of the original’s impact. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include three audio commentaries (the first with director John Luessenhop and “Leatherface” star Dan Yeager; the second with producer Carl Mazzocone and filmmaker Tobe Hooper, and the third with “Chainsaw Alumni” costars Bill Moseley, Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, and John Dugan),“On-Set Short Subjects: Five-Minute Massacres” (33 min.), the production segments “Old Homestead” (15 min.), “Leatherface 2013” (15 min.), “Lights, Camera, Massacre” (12 min.), “Casting Terror” (12 min.), “Resurrecting the Saw” (9 min.), “It’s in the Meat” (8 min.), and “Texas Chainsaw Legacy” (7 min.), an alternate opening (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a slightly above average horror film.] (F. Swietek)

Updated April 23, 2013
Silver Linings Playbook ***
Anchor Bay, 122 min., R, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.99, Apr. 30
This quirky, offbeat, romantic dramedy explores dysfunctional relationships between unstable, psychologically-damaged people. After spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain after violently attacking his wife’s lover in the shower, Pat Solatano Jr. (Bradley Cooper) is released. Determined to control his anger and reconcile with his wife, bipolar Pat moves into the suburban Philadelphia home belonging to his parents: his superstitious, OCD, Philadelphia Eagles-loving, bookmaking father (Robert De Niro) and conciliatory housewife mother (Jacki Weaver). When Pat’s anxiety-riddled buddy (John Ortiz) and his controlling wife (Julia Stiles) invite him for dinner, he meets recently widowed, deeply depressed Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Sullen, smart-mouthed, sexually charged Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his estranged wife if he’ll agree to be her partner in a local ballroom-dancing competition—an endeavor that requires long hours of rehearsal. Based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel, director David O. Russell’s Best Picture nominee Silver Linings Playbook plumbs the poignant complexity of vulnerable characters, with Oscar-nominated turns from Cooper, De Niro, and Weaver, and a win by Lawrence. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Movie That Became a Movement” behind-the-scenes featurette (29 min.), deleted scenes (26 min.), a dance rehearsal (2 min.), a brief Steadicam segment with star Bradley Cooper, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are “Q&A Highlights” (27 min.), a “Learn to Dance Like Pat & Tiffany” instructional segment (12 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for one of 2012’s most highly acclaimed films.] (S. Granger)


The Impossible ***
Summit, 114 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.99, Apr. 23
Director Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Impossible is based on the true story of a British family who were vacationing at a beach hotel on Khao Lak in Thailand when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit. Businessman Henry (Ewan McGregor), his wife Maria (Oscar nominee Naomi Watts), and their three sons are enjoying a tropical paradise until the morning of December 26th, when they’re suddenly swept in different directions by an immense tidal wave. Along with thousands of others, Maria struggles through the shattered trees and scattered debris, eventually spying their oldest son, terrified but courageous Lucas (Tom Holland), but she has no idea what happened to Henry and the two younger boys. Propelling the film, Watts is fiercely brave, acting with every muscle in her body, while McGregor’s sense of urgency is gripping. The depiction of the tsunami’s devastation is horrific, with Maria being repeatedly submerged under rushing water, and struggling to the surface. Badly injured and in excruciating pain, she makes her way through muddy rubble with Lucas to seek help and locate the rest of her family amid the teeming hoards of refugees. Unfortunately, The Impossible suffers somewhat from unnecessary detours into sentimentality--including a ponderous, philosophical interlude between Lucas and an elderly survivor (Geraldine Chaplin)—but otherwise this grim and gritty disaster film is a powerful watch. Recommended. (S. Granger)


Gangster Squad **
Warner, 113 min., R, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $35.99, Apr. 23
Notorious Los Angeles gangster Mickey Cohen has been portrayed by several actors over the years, including Harvey Keitel, Oscar-nominated for his role in Bugsy. Now Sean Penn plays the boxer-turned-mobster—here, as a cold, ruthless psychopath who is the kingpin of drugs, gaming, and prostitution on the West Coast. In 1949, LAPD Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin), a no-nonsense WWII combat vet, decided to take down Cohen, assembling an undercover “Gangster Squad” of renegade officers handpicked by his worried, pregnant wife, Connie (Mireille Enos), and authorized by crusading Chief William Parker (Nick Nolte). The team includes an electronics whiz (Giovanni Ribisi), a street enforcer (Anthony Mackie), a grizzled sharp-shooter (Robert Patrick) and his apprentice (Michael Peņa), and a cocky, womanizing rebel (Ryan Gosling) who falls for Cohen’s moll (Emma Stone) as they’re waging guerrilla warfare. Adapted from Paul Lieberman’s Los Angeles Times articles, this violently sensationalistic melodrama—directed with an astonishing lack of subtlety by Ruben Fleischer—is slick, synthetic, cartoonish schlock, filled with broadly caricatured performances that bear only a passing resemblance to historical truth. The real-life Cohen was known to be charismatic, charming the celebrated film colony along with journalists and politicians with parties at his Brentwood mansion. A garish, bullet-riddled, forgettable flick, this is optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurette “Tough Guys with Style” (5 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an audio commentary by director Ruben Fleischer, “The Gangland Files” picture-in-picture track with behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews, a “Rogues’ Gallery: Mickey Cohen” featurette on the real-life gangster (47 min.), “The Set-Up” behind-the-scenes featurettes (46 min. total), a “Then and Now Locations” featurette (8 min.), deleted scenes (12 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)


The Guilt Trip **
Paramount, 95 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Apr. 30
In her first starring role in over 15 years, Barbra Streisand plays Joyce Brewster, the widowed mother of organic chemist/inventor Andy (Seth Rogen), who has a new product he is trying to pitch to manufacturers/distributors across the United States. Sensitive to his mother’s loneliness, Andy invites her to join him on his upcoming road trip, while secretly scheming to reunite her with a lost love, a man she adored before meeting and marrying Andy’s father. Leaving from New Jersey and heading toward San Francisco, the pair make several stops along the way, as Joyce not only delivers a running commentary about Andy’s love life but also offers suggestions about how he should pitch the totally organic cleaning liquid it took him five years to develop. Blandly directed by Anne Fletcher from an episodic screenplay by Dan Fogelman (who based it on a real road trip with his mother), The Guilt Trip boasts some laughs but not nearly enough, and the usually rowdy Rogen seems intimidated by notoriously demanding Streisand (unfortunately, she never sings), who insisted that the entire film be shot within 45 minutes of her Malibu home. Optional, at best. [Note: Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (20 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Barbra’s World” on star Streisand (9 min.), “Barbra & Seth” with Streisand and Rogen (8 min.), “In the Drivers Seat” (8 min.), “Real Mother of a Road Trip” on the true story that inspired the film (5 min.), and “Not Really a Road Trip Movie” on location (5 min.), a gag reel (5 min.), alternate openings (3 min.), an alternate ending (2 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent Blu-ray extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)

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