Author: BO

Writer/director Mike Cahill made his first impression with 2011’s “Another Earth,” a sci-fi brain bleeder that attracted attention from critics and audiences, establishing interest in his career. He followed it up with “I Origins,” another mind bender that came and went quickly, unable to dazzle viewers taking a chance on another Cahill puzzle. He’s been away from feature filmmaking for seven years, returning with “Bliss,” which isn’t a drastic creative risk for the helmer, who reunites with the mysteries of the mind and the pains of the heart. Cahill only has the makings of a short with the endeavor, unable to squeeze enough drama out of the material, but there’s something here worth exploring, including a different approach to understanding the experience of drug addiction and mental illness, getting inside a melting mind instead of merely observing someone in the midst of a downward spiral. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While producers scramble to explore the world’s current pandemic situation with timely tales of separation and mounting frustration, “Little Fish” actually captures a familiar escalation of confusion and fear, perfectly in step with today’s daily news. The picture was shot nearly two years ago and doesn’t deal with the COVID-19 universe, but screenwriter Mattson Tomlin (adapting a short story by Aja Gabel) and director Chad Hartigan offer a vivid understanding of helplessness in the face of a public health crisis. The idea presented here is one of memory, with something happening to the population as individuals start to succumb to mental health issues. It all comes across eerily familiar, but the production remains on a dramatic path, dealing with the warmth of love and the challenges of a relationship, especially one that’s slowly being forgotten by two people desperate to save it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I don’t envy studio marketing departments, who are often tasked with selling difficult films to the general public, forced try anything to attract an audience. “The Right One” is a classic example of marketing misdirection, as the poster art promises a romantic comedy about a woman trying to deal with a man of many personalities, offering a beaming smile while her love interest is depicted in many stages of comical dress up. Fun? Well, the feature is actually about a journey of immense grief, examining coping mechanisms for a traumatized guy who can’t express his pain, dealing with his issues through denial. “The Right One” is a mess from writer/director Ken Mok, who probably had a cohesive idea at one point in the creative journey, losing his nerve with a pitch-black drama that’s suddenly trying to be sweet and silly at the worst moments. For those sitting down with the movie in hopes of enjoying the escapism promised on the poster, please adjust your expectations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Rams” is a remake of a 2015 Icelandic film. It’s been reimaged for an Australian setting, and lengthened by writer Jules Duncan, who spends more time in the tale, which involves a disturbing development in a farming community that prides itself on a love of animals and the land. The Icelandic version was compelling, with a balanced examination of comedy and drama, playing up a central crisis of brotherly estrangement. The update pursues a community atmosphere, with director Jeremy Sims (“Last Cab to Darwin”) enjoying his time with a range of actors, occasionally slowing the feature down to detail ensemble interplay. “Rams” remains approachable despite a bleak premise, and it certainly helps to have Sam Neill and Michael Caton in the lead roles, giving the endeavor richly communicative performances with limited dialogue. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Perhaps those jonesing for something in the same vein as 2019’s “Midsommar” might be the right audience for “Sacrifice.” Adapting a short story by Paul Kane and crediting H.P. Lovecraft as a storytelling influence, writer/director Toor Mian and Andy Collier attempt to summon a spooky mood of remote Norwegian evil involving the presence of a cult and psychological pressure applied to two Americans new to the area. “Sacrifice” doesn’t emerge with much authority, with the helmers aiming to achieve more of an unsettling viewing experience than an overtly violent one. The end result isn’t thunderous, with Mian and Collier going the slow-burn route to chills, but they still come up short with any sort of fear factor. There’s style and atmospheric churn, but the feature doesn’t deliver where it counts the most, taking the long way to an unsatisfying destination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s surprising to see director Neil Marshall back behind a camera so soon after tanking his shot to revive the world of “Hellboy” for the big screen. The 2019 release was mostly terrible, highlighting Marshall’s shortcomings as a helmer who’s spent his career chasing violent, bloody stories of monstrous conflict and war. He’s a genre guy, and now he’s trying to make do with a limited budget for “The Reckoning,” which is something of a vanity project for Marshall, collaborating with actress Charlotte Kirk, aiming to turn his girlfriend into a major action star. It’s a strange project all-around, trying to conjure a period world of plague horrors and “witch finder” monologuing, also delivering sexuality and scenes of torture. Marshall attempts to bring bigness to Kirk’s presence, but the feature is woefully small and silly, offering a community theater vibe for material that’s looking to be merciless and dramatically thunderous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s been a multitude of stories concerning the horrors of World War II brought to the screen, and there will be many more to come. It remains fertile dramatic ground to explore tales of heroism and suffering, giving producers more of a black and white opportunity to inspect personal sacrifice in the middle of a world-changing conflict. For “Dara of Jasenovac,” focus moves away from American and European concerns, highlighting the torturous experience of Croatia during the Ustase years, following one 10-year-old girl’s odyssey through a concentration camp system as she tries to keep her two-year-old brother alive. There’s perspective here worth noting, adding to the history of WWII, but there’s little in “Dara of Jasenovac” that hasn’t been done before, and by stronger filmmakers. It’s 130 minutes of hardship that quickly loses its impact, as director Predrag Antonijevic grows obsessed with finding new ways to photograph mental and physical breakdowns, creating an especially difficult sit for anyone beside students of history. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the grand scheme of Hollywood business and the quest for guaranteed moneymakers from golden IPs, it’s amazing there hasn’t been a sequel created for 1985’s “The Goonies” or, more realistically, a remake of some sort. There’s plenty there to work with, leaving screenwriter Christina Strain (“The Magicians”) with a free shot to harness that special screen energy and find a way to reintroduce it to a new audience. “Finding ‘Ohana” isn’t nearly as feisty or madcap as “The Goonies,” but it’s clearly aiming to achieve the same dramatic goals, putting kids on a path to hidden treasure to seek adventure and help solve a few family problems. Director Jude Weng (“Fresh Off the Boat”) delivers some spirited sequences for the picture, but the material isn’t strictly after thrills, often more interested in the nuances of Hawaiian culture and the power of love. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director John Lee Hancock has maintained a strange career, primarily concerned with male characters dealing with some sort of dissatisfaction in their lives (including “The Rookie,” “The Founder,” and “The Highwaymen”). With “The Little Things,” Hancock stays within his comfort zone, only now he’s assembling a detective story about a serial killer, aiming to stay procedural while dealing with the business of characters trying to move past some form of psychological blockage. It’s a very weird picture, and not always in a refreshing way, with Hancock attempting to remain elusive with cat and mouse elements while offering some of the most cliched dialogue in recent memory. The eccentricity of it all is almost worth a viewing, watching Hancock mount something sinister without really going for it, keeping “The Little Things” restrained to emphasize atmosphere the feature doesn’t always have. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Dig” concerns the specifics of an archaeological excavation project in 1939, a subject that doesn’t exactly scream riveting cinema. In the hands of director Simon Stone (“The Daughter”) and screenwriter Moira Buffini (“Tamara Drewe”), the picture comes alive with a rich level of exploratory adventure, transforming the mystery of Sutton Hoo and its buried treasures into a uniquely riveting sit. Buffini doesn’t simply regurgitate real-world specifics of the labor, working to transform the situation into a parade of characters dealing with the thrill of the hunt and specific fears tied to the oncoming darkness of World War II. “The Dig” does a terrific job sneaking up on viewers, with a simple request to explore a mound of dirt turning into a rich understanding of character and the sheer labor of the mission. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It hasn’t been easy to take Justin Timberlake seriously as an actor. He’s been unremarkable in mediocre movies (“Runner Runner,” “In Time”), often favoring comedic turns to best match his charms as a pop performer, finding a merging of worlds in his most recent thespian turns, providing voice work for the “Trolls” animated franchise. Timberlake is handed more of a challenge with “Palmer,” portraying a broken character working to put his life back together while assuming a parental role for a neighbor boy who needs the domestic support. “Palmer” isn’t a stunningly original endeavor, but screenwriter Cheryl Guerriero does manage to layer in some heart where it counts the most, also providing Timberlake with a conflicted personality to help show his stuff, which he does in a surprisingly understated turn. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s initial caution when approaching “Penguin Bloom,” which has the appearance of a Disney production, highlighting the special relationship between an ailing family and the wounded bird they’ve taken in and nursed back to health. What’s seems painfully vanilla at first quickly reveals itself to be a deeply moving picture about rehabilitation and love, with director Glendyn Ivin working extra hard to keep the material as emotionally authentic as possible while featuring the antics of a mischievous magpie. “Penguin Bloom” is a simple but highly effective drama that never strays far from character, dealing sensitively with dueling situations of immobility facing a long road of rehab and recognition on their way back to health. The sweetness of it all is there, but Ivin manages to deliver a movie that isn’t cloying, which is an impressive achievement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When a clearer picture emerged of detainee treatment at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in the mid-2000s, filmmakers jumped at the chance to examine and dramatize such experiences. It was a trend meant to mirror journalism features of the 1970s, but with the exception of a few provocative offerings, most of the movies didn’t work, with a few downright awful (anyone rewatch “Rendition” lately?). The decade of dread hasn’t been visited in earnest for some time, but “The Mauritanian” is trying to find its way back to the Guantanamo Bay nightmare, with the screenplay an adaptation of “Guantanamo Diary,” a book by Mohamedou Ould Salahi which detailed his cruel treatment during his lengthy stay behind bars. The literary offering gives director Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland,” “State of Play”) a meaty tale of injustice to sink his teeth into, helped by the presence of Jodie Foster, who delivers a commanding lead performance. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com