Out Now: A Matter of Size

A Matter of Size is a comedy from Israel about a group of overweight friends that use sumo wrestling as a way to cope with and ultimately accept the way they look. My question is simple: how could you NOT want to watch this? After spending over a year touring film festivals all around the world, it’s finally seeing release on DVD in the United States so those of us who may have missed it before can finally give it a look. Here’s the trailer, complete with subtitles (if you don’t feel like reading them, you can just go stare blankly at a corner or whatever else you normally do):

Across the board, A Matter of Size has gotten rave reviews for its comedic timing and heartwarming story. Alissa Simon of Variety says A Matter of Size has “a finely honed visual sense and superb comic timing” especially in the scenes involving their training. David O’Connell at Screen Fanatic says that the movie is almost impossible to hate.

A Matter of Size is currently out on DVD.

Coming Soon: Chop

From the gorehounds at Bloody Disgusting comes Chop, a darkly comedic riff on the “torture porn” genre made famous by the Saw and Hostel franchises. Directed by first-timer Trent Haaga (screenwriter of Deadgirl), Chop stars Troma vet Will Keenan (Tromeo and Juliet, the excellent Terror Firmer) as Lance Reed, a businessman who is kidnapped by a man known only as The Stranger. The Stranger is seeking retribution for a crime that Lance may or may not have committed, and to pry the information out of him he puts him through a series of trials as well as systematically cuts his limbs off until Lance finally admits to the skeletons in his closet.

Chop has gotten favorable reviews thus far, with Jay Seaver of EFilmCritic giving the movie three stars but also cautions that the film is not for everyone and the “combination of slapstick and sadism is something that many fans may not go for”. U.K. horror site Flick Feast praises the acting and comedic timing of Keenan, as well as the work of Haaga in making the sure the film never feels staged in any way despite its lacking budget.

I’m a huge fan of Will Keenan’s work; in the two Troma films I’ve seen him in, he’s been able to rise above the more ridiculous (okay, it’s Troma, all ridiculous) elements and deliver a really good performance, especially in Terror Firmer. And from what I’ve read about Chop, this may just be his best work yet and will hopefully lead him into some more high-profile roles. I’m definitely excited to check this one out, to see how well sadism and black comedy mix. I’m hoping for it to err on the side of great, but you never know; the fact that the trailer all but sells it as a straight horror movie is a bit telling.

Chop arrives on DVD and Video on Demand December 27, 2011 the same day as Hostel Part III, which opens up an intriguing idea for a double feature.

Carjacked: The Straight2DVD Review

Carjacked stars Maria Bello as Lorraine, an unemployed single mother who is going through a rough patch in her life; not only is she divorced but her custody of son Chad (Connor Hill) is being challenged by her ex-husband due to a bout of accidental negligence that almost got Chad killed. While stopping for gas, she is carjacked (natch) by Roy (Stephen Dorff) who has escaped capture after robbing a bank. His request is simple: drive him to where he needs to be to pick up the money and no one will get hurt. Naturally things get tense and hectic as Lorraine struggles to save her son from a man slowly revealing himself to be a psychopath.

Let’s just get this right out of the way: had there been two other actors besides Bello and Dorff in the lead roles, Carjacked would not have worked nearly as well as it did. The two use their enormous talents to elevate both their characters and the movie as a whole. Bello makes Lorraine into a sympathetic and even complex character, whose bad luck has turned her into an almost beaten down shell of a human being. And when it’s time to step it up, Bello even turns into a decent action heroine with proper motivation to gun Roy down.

As good as Bello is in the lead, Dorff is even better and if there’s one reason to watch Carjacked it’s definitely him. I like it when villains in movies are given things to do other than snarl and with Roy, you get to see almost two sides of him. In the beginning he even seems like a nice guy, bonding with Chad and handing out life advice to Lorraine. Hell, for a second it looks like the two are even going to fall in love. The way the character is handled, going from nice to evil in a split second, is nice as well allowing the audience to never forget that yes, he’s a sociopath and yes, he will kill anyone who crosses him. Like many, I remember Dorff mostly from his villainous turn in 1998′s Blade so it’s really no surprise that he fits perfectly as the antagonist here.

As good as Bello and Dorff are, Carjacked has its fair share of problems that derail it from being a success. The most glaring, at least to me, is Chad. I get that children tend to be annoying (coming from a man without kids, naturally), but Chad would make the others seem like saints in comparison. He’s constantly complaining and whining, rolling his eyes, and being an all around ass which makes Lorraine’s desire to save him feel somewhat dumb (again I don’t have children so I don’t truly understand the bond). When he’s finally ushered out of the movie thanks to a far-fetched but passable coincidence, Carjacked instantly improves. I can’t stress enough how god-awfully annoying he is. Same goes for the rest of the cast; there isn’t much in the way of impressive acting once you get past Bello and Dorff.

Carjacked, weirdly enough, also creates a situation that doesn’t exactly feel that dire. Yes they have been carjacked, but it’s not like Roy is beating them up or murdering people left and right along the way or anything. Frankly, it seems that as long as Lorraine just brings him to where he needs to go, everything is going to be fine. But then there wouldn’t be a movie, I guess. The trip itself also lacks any true tension until Lorraine rebels; they get through a police roadblock relatively easily thanks to the stupidest policeman alive and, once again, it’s not like Roy is actively harming them. And then there’s the fact that what seems to be a major plot point and foreshadowing goes absolutely nowhere. Seriously. It’s never mentioned again. You’ll know what I mean once you see the movie.

The problems of Carjacked keep it from being a complete success, but it’s still a decent rental. Bello and Dorff are good in their roles and their chemistry with one another as well as their own understanding of their characters keep this movie afloat amidst a thin plot with forced tension and one of the more annoying child characters to be in a movie in the past few years. The third act is all action too, and competently done, so it does build up to a satisfying climax. Carjacked doesn’t break the bank creatively, but it won’t result in watcher’s remorse.

Out Now: The Christmas Bunny

It’s time to start thinking about Christmas, and that means an onslaught of holiday-themed movies over the next couple of months. The Christmas Bunny tells the story of Julia (Sophie Bolen) a lonely foster child who has moved in with a new family and is struggling to fit in. One day she comes across an injured bunny and nurses it back to health with the help of a woman known as The Bunny Lady (Florence Henderson, aka Mrs. Brady from The Brady Bunch). Needless to say Julia becomes attached to the bunny as well as fiercely protective. Colby French and Madeline Vail co-star as Julia’s adopted parents. Films like this aren’t normally in my movie-watching wheelhouse, but it looks like a cute holiday tale that’ll entertain kids and possibly even teach them a thing or two.

The Christmas Bunny is currently available on DVD. You can visit the official site for more details on the movie and on bunny adoption as well if you’re looking to give something special to your kids this Christmas.