After a false start with the character of Wade Wilson in 2009’s uneven yet unjustly maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds gets another chance at superhero-albeit unorthodox superhero-stardom. This time he scores big in this twisted film from first time director Tim Miller.

Deadpool establishes its weirdness with scathing opening credits that poke fun at Reynolds’s stint as Green Lantern and all aspects the film’s production. It then becomes a consistently funny tragi-comedy involving Wade, a recently smitten mercenary who comes down with terminal cancer, dimming the lights on his future with girlfriend, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He submits himself into an experiment that leaves him disfigured yet superhuman, bent on revenge against the criminal who made him this way.

Reynolds finally gets a really good movie to match his charms, and Deadpool gets the nasty film the character beckons for.

The film gets an R-rating for many reasons, and there really was no other way to make a Deadpool film. It needed to be depraved, and it is. T.J. Miller provides nice comic support as a weary bar owner, and a couple of X-Men do show up in a way that is full on hilarious. A sequel is already in the works, and this is a very good thing. 

A prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp serving in the Sonderkommando (prisoners forced to do grisly tasks for the Nazis) finds a young boy who initially survives the gas chamber, and makes it his mission to protect him as if he were his son.

Geza Rohrig is heartbreaking as Saul, a broken man desperate to maintain dignity in a situation determined to destroy him and his spirit. Director Laszlo Nemes films in a way where Rohrig is constantly in focus, and the horrors around him are often blurred. It’s as if the camera is a prisoner in the camp trying to shut everything out. It’s a bold choice, and Rohrig delivers a solid and stirring performance.

Also in the background would be the events leading up to a legendary Sonderkommando revolt. It isn’t until late in the film that it becomes apparent that is part of the film’s purpose. Son of Saul is nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar, and I suspect it will win. 

Celebrate something this weekend. Whether you're in the mood for an erotic Valentine's-themed circus, bringing a furry friend home, or simply enjoying the local beer scene, Tucson has you covered. 

Or, celebrate your own space by stocking up for a movie night at home. Here's a list of Casa Video's most sought after movies from the last week:

1. The Martian

Last year was a banner year for the horror genre (It Follows, Bone Tomahawk, We are Still Here) and 2016 gets off to a good and creepy genre start with this anthology offering.

From the producers of the uneven V/H/S series, this consists of 4 short films tied together with themes of guilt and dread. It’s remarkable how well the work of four different directors binds together in one dread-inducing piece.

The film starts with two blood covered men driving in the desert as they notice floating death skeletons observing their actions. This segment ends badly for the duo, and things just get stranger and nastier as the film progresses to a story about a girl rock band that ingests strange meat served by a weird guy (Dana Gould) who is more than likely a Satanist. This is followed by a dude looking for his sister in an eerie town, and it’s the stuff of nightmares (Oh, that ending!). Then there’s the story of a home invasion where a family is targeted for reasons unknown.

The whole thing wraps up with a tasty twist that caught me by surprise. This is a low budget affair, but that works in its favor because the special effects feel very old school. The score is reminiscent of, yes, John Carpenter (many directors go for that vibe, and I have no problem with that) and the performances are solid throughout.

There were many moments in this movie where I was legitimately scared and uncomfortable while watching it. Bravo!

The zombie movie craze hits what I hope to be its low point with this crap attempt at horror comedy featuring a fairly faithful take on the Jane Austen classic mixed with the undead.

Lily James, so delightful in Cinderella, plays Elizabeth Bennet, one of the esteemed Bennet sisters and zombie hunter. She sets her sight on Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley), who thinks she’s pretty and all that but must refrain from serious courtship in order to behead some ghouls.

For starters, director Burr Steers shoots for a PG-13 rating, which results in much of the action taking place off screen, via incomprehensible editing, or in the dark so as to reduce the bloodletting. The movie features so much carnage that it feels incomplete for soft-shoeing the yucky stuff. As for the balance of period romance and comedic bloodletting, Steers never finds a comfortable place. The movie feels uneven and sloppy, with lousy special effects and players that look lost.

Like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter before it, a perhaps clever idea gets lost in messy direction and lousy scripting. It’s a shame, because Riley and James are much better than this. 

In 1952, an oil tanker called the Pendleton split in two during a blizzard off the coast of Cape Cod. All eight crewmembers who were in the stern at the time the boat broke in two perished. Thirty-three men initially survived in the bobbing bow section of the ship, mere hours away from certain death. Upon hearing news of the situation, a four-man crew boarded the smallish CG-36500 boat and set out to sea, a violently choppy sea, in search of the Pendleton and its crew.

Director Craig Gillespie has crafted an exciting sea-faring movie. That is, an exciting sea-faring movie when it is actually out at sea. Some of the stuff that happens back on shore bogs the movie down in schmaltziness.

Chris Pine plays Bernie Webber, who captains the tiny ship tasked with saving more than thirty men. Yes, this provides the opportunity for the guy who plays Captain Kirk to be called Captain a lot during the course of this film. It’s a slight distraction, but a good one nonetheless. Bernie rides into the belly of the beast with three crewmembers played by Ben Foster, John Magaro and Kyle Gallner. All four are terrific at looking scared shitless while being drenched and bounced about like a 5-year-old in a bounce house with a bunch of energetic and older fat people. Casey Affleck is terrific as a member of the Pendleton crew trying to keep everybody alive.

The film rocks when there’s lots of water involved, but it falters when the story turns to Bernie’s new love affair. Holliday Grainger is given a tough role to pull off as the love interest. Most of her scenes simply distract from the good stuff. 

Listen up: I'd never say one needs an "excuse" to get themselves a bowl of buttery, wonderful popcorn—but if you find grease stains all over your tax documents, maybe the situation could use some work?

It's movie time. Here's a list of the 10 movies most rented from Casa Video last week:


1. The Martian

Jack Black returns as the voice of Po in this decent second sequel in the saga of the Panda warrior and his warrior cronies.

This time out, Po encounters his long lost dad Li (the warm growl of Bryan Cranston), who takes him to the land of the pandas so that he can learn the powers of his chi. Such an advancement in his warrior techniques is absolutely essential for the lands are being threatened by a spirit realm warrior named Kai (J.K. Simmons voicing what I think is some sort of super muscular yak typed thing).

The stuff with Po and Li is cute, with the added element of Po’s adopted dad (James Hong) being a little jealous. There’s a cool psychedelic look at times, and the animated series continues to impress on artistic levels.

The story feels a bit like a repeat of the previous two. That’s okay, but doesn’t necessarily place this chapter high on the originality scale. I’ll say this for the film: with a voice cast that includes Black, Cranston, Simmons, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Kate Hudson, David Cross, Jackie Chan and Angelina Jolie, Kung Fu Panda 3 boasts one of history’s all time great performer lineups (as far as animated movies are concerned).

This one is good enough to ensure there will be more chapters to come. 

 
Looking for a some meaningful discussion next weekend? Come see the Oscar-nominated 2014 film, "Selma," at the The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., on Saturday Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. as a part of the Journalism on Screen series.

There will be a question and answer period after the film with journalist and Pulitzer Price winning author, Diane McWhorter.

Tickets are available here. For more information about the event, click here.

I'll be honest: watching movies is kind of a new thing for me. Well, newer movies. Growing up, I'd seen every Ginger Rodgers film you could think of—but I wouldn't have been able to pick Tom Hanks out of a lineup. I saw Ghostbusters for the first time in 2014, and I still haven't found the time to watch Jaws. I know. I'm sorry, and I'm working on it.

Below is a list of the the most rented DVDs at Casa Video last week—they're all new releases, hot off their cinema run. For me? I'm still playing catch up. I think it's going to be a Being John Malkovich kind of weekend.


1. The Martian