Author: BO

“The Stand In” gives Drew Barrymore her meatiest role in a long time. In fact, it’s her first big screen acting gig in five years, returning in dual roles (technically three) that provide her with the challenge of creating distinctly different personalities for a film that doesn’t know what to do with such thespian energy. Screenwriter Sam Bain (“Corporate Animals”) has many moods and subplots to follow in the feature, and while he appears to aiming for a sharp comedy with elements of Hollywood satire, the final cut slowly dissolves into nothingness after a strong first act. “The Stand In” wants to be a great number of things, and such tonal juggling doesn’t work for director Jamie Babbit (“But I’m a Cheerleader”), who soon loses control of the endeavor, ultimately unsure what kind of movie she wants to make with her impressively game star. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Safety” is a Disney production that plays to the studio’s strengths, offering a heartwarming story of brotherly love and sporting ambition, sold with a PG-level of emotional unrest, making it prime viewing for the whole family. It’s inspired by the true story of Ray McElrathbey, a young college football player suddenly tasked with juggling enormous responsibilities, including the raising of his younger brother while trying to make something of himself on the field. Director Reginald Hudlin delivers an intermittently energetic picture with a strong lead performance from Luke Tennie, who carries the feature with impressive power. The screenplay (by Nick Santora and Randy McKinnon) hits a few clunky areas of irrational behavior, but “Safety” has heart, a big one at times, helping the movie squeak past periodic ridiculousness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The limits of nostalgia are tested in the documentary “The Last Blockbuster,” which asks audiences to fondly recall the glory days of a video rental empire that helped to destroy the marketplace. For director Taylor Morden, a chance to understand the ways of Blockbuster Video is irresistible, questing to grasp the rise and downfall of the company and its deep-pocketed corporate owners, also charting the strange days of the titular establishment, located in Bend, Oregon. Morden juggles journalism with a memory piece in “The Last Blockbuster,” and he’s not especially skilled at balancing the two sides of the feature. Most compelling is a chance to listen to memories provided by a long list of interviewees, who share their experiences with Blockbuster as employees and customers, getting to the heart of a near-dead social experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There have been many attempts to bring The Punisher to screens of all sizes. While “Archenemy” isn’t another take on the hyperviolent character and his grim journey of revenge, screenwriter Luke Passmore and director Adam Egypt Mortimer certainly have a different approach to a Frank Castle-style tale of urban aggression and possible insanity. The production remains in a comic book mood, exploring the saga of a homeless man who believes he’s an interdimensional hero, partnering with an amateur reporter who’s pulled into this elaborate sci-fi narrative. Mortimer retains a graphic style for the feature, helping to adjust to its strange frequency, but the payoff for “Archenemy” isn’t nearly as strong as its introduction. Mortimer gets something going in early scenes, teasing a dark direction for the picture, but he doesn’t follow through, ending up with a winded, talky endeavor after a lively first half. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Prom” is an adaptation of a 2016 musical, which worked its way from Atlanta to a 2018 shot at Broadway, welcomed by audiences and winning a Drama Desk Award along the way. It tells the tale of four musical theater players from New York City who descend on a small Indiana town currently working to prevent a gay teenager from attending prom with her girlfriend. With broad antics and big tunes, the material seems like a proper fit for Broadway audiences, playing huge to fill the theater space. Director Ryan Murphy doesn’t fully understand how to translate that specialized energy to the screen with “The Prom,” retaining the material’s theatrical presence while trying to preserve sensitivity when it comes to issues of equality and humiliation. Murphy isn’t the guy for this job, and his inability to balance eye-crossing camp and broken hearts turns a well-meaning offering of hope into a hostile viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Mank” is a passion project for director David Fincher, who’s been eager to realize a screenplay written by his father, Jack Fincher (who passed away in 2003), for decades, finally receiving a chance to do so by Netflix. One can clearly see why major studios were reluctant to make the movie, with the story examining an obscure time in Hollywood history, while the helmer has chosen to use black and white cinematography and various tech tricks to replicate filmmaking trends of the 1930s and ‘40s. Fincher hasn’t made a feature in six years (last seen with “Gone Girl”), and “Mank” feels like the work of a man trying to satisfy himself instead of the audience. It’s precise in all the Fincher-ian ways, masterfully acted by most of the cast, and details industry experiences and practices previously unexplored. All the puzzle pieces are there to admire, but this isn’t a hypnotic picture with sizzling emotion. It’s wise and snappy, but cold, arriving as something to appreciate more than truly devour. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As Hollywood hunts for stories to bring to the screen, “All My Life” emerges as an irresistible idea for a major tearjerker for young audiences not exactly used to hardcore heartache on the screen. The picture is based on the true story of Jennifer Carter and Solomon Chau, a couple headed to a lifetime of love before a cancer diagnosis arrived to ruin their future and torpedo their wedding day. The community drive to give the pair their big day is the hook of the movie, but screenwriter Todd Rosenberg is challenged to provide more shading for the characters to help fill out a feature-length run time. “All My Life” does a lot of stretching to deliver a complete story, often going the philosophical route to remain viable. There’s not a whole lot here, but the endeavor isn’t as melodramatic as its competition, and stars Jessica Rothe and Harry Shum Jr. bring some welcome emotion to their parts, giving the production a few earned feelings as it struggles to find some type of parting message for viewers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s hard to deny the formula in play during “Godmothered,” but it’s equally difficult to ignore the charm from the cast as they try to make some magic happen on-screen. Screenwriters Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack come up with a cross between “Elf” and “Enchanted” for this fantasy comedy, trying to make something sincere about the needs of the human heart while periodically issuing scenes of slapstick. The paint-by-numbers approach to the material isn’t reassuring, but the lead performance from Jillian Bell is a good reason to stick with “Godmothered,” finding the actress visibly enjoying her time playing a slightly daffy magical being encountering the crusty wonders of the real world. Laughs are intermittent, but the endeavor aims to please, and often does when Bell is permitted to take command of the story and deliver appealing shenanigans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With “Nomadland,” writer/director Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”) examines the rise of a subculture involving older Americans and their struggle with stability, experiencing the country on their own terms, getting away from economic and social demands, with many already painting themselves into corner while pursing a “traditional” life. The material originated in 2017 book by Jessica Bruder, and now Zhao hopes to bring it life for the screen, putting her faith in actress Frances McDormand (her first starring role since her Oscar-winning turn in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) to realize the specific headspace of a woman trying to find her way after losing everything, in many ways preferring the distance a nomadic life offers. It’s a character study, providing a shapeless but searing look at the hustle and reflection of such an existence, highlighting an unusual movement happening within a pained country. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Dennis Dugan befriended Adam Sandler nearly 25 years ago (where they collaborated on 1996’s “Happy Gilmore”), and he’s largely been a Happy Madison employee even since. Over the last decade, Dugan has helmed “Grown Ups” and its sequel, “Just Go With It,” and “Jack and Jill,” adding few more excruciating efforts to his stacked resume of comedy wipeouts (including “Problem Child,” “Beverly Hills Ninja,” and “Saving Silverman”). Suddenly ready to take a break from his meal ticket, Dugan tries to mature with “Love, Weddings & Other Disasters,” which is his version of an adult romantic comedy. Also taking on screenwriting duties, Dugan flails while trying to find some level of heart in a braindead endeavor, displaying uncomfortable levels of confusion when exploring one-dimensional characters and their self-destructive ways with friendship and partnership. While dealing with matters of tenderness, there’s not a single human being to be found in the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2014, director Luke Greenfield scored a surprise box office success with “Let’s Be Cops,” which offered coarse entertainment to audiences happy to have it. Returning to screens six years later (a bizarre career gap), Greenfield tries the softer route to laughs with “Half Brothers,” which has its moments of slapstick, but ultimately wants to become a sensitive study of forgiveness and sibling bonding. Greenfield isn’t someone interested in boosting his helming creativity, going on autopilot for the feature, following a limp screenplay by Jason Shuman and Eduardo Cisneros that tries to deliver an opposites attract idea with road trip trimmings, but doesn’t get anywhere emotionally with the writing, and ideas for funny stuff are often unbearable. Nobody’s trying all that hard with “Half Brothers,” with digestibility the goal here, not hilarity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Maybe 2020 isn’t the best year to release a movie about a crazed conspiracy theorist embarking on a journey into the heart of paranoia where he’s rewarded for his unhinged thoughts. But here’s “Wander” anyway, with screenwriter Tim Doiron using the current energy of America’s darkest subculture to inspire a slice of detective fiction, only the man on the hunt to solve a murder is a lunatic, coming into contact with the possibility that his wildest fantasies are indeed a reality. “Wander” has a decent idea for a character study, but director April Mullen doesn’t know what to do with it, out to make an itchy viewing experience that’s missing interesting characters and measured acts of hysteria. Material like this would be better suited for the literary realm, with the feature held back by crude filmmaking choices and some wild overacting by lead Aaron Eckhart, who doesn’t have the discipline for the part. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One can clearly see what “Ammonite” wants to express about attraction and individuality, and it’s somewhat heartbreaking to watch the film struggle to overcome its editorial and storytelling limitations. Writer/director Francis Lee (“God’s Own Country”) creates a movie about textures and secret desires, exploring the life of British paleontologist Mary Anning, but the focus here isn’t on science, instead highlighting an affair between the main character and a woman put into her care, with the lovers figuring out their passions in a short amount of time. It’s not meant to be a bio-pic, but perhaps it should’ve been one, finding Lee unable to add much flavor to the stark tale, despite working with two actresses capable of doing remarkable things. “Ammonite” has some hot-bloodedness to spark it to life, but the overall viewing experience is surprisingly dull. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Lawrence Michael Levine is the writer/director of “Black Bear,” out to create a cheeky, slippery mind-bender about the wilds of the creative process. He’s made a puzzle in many ways, and one with two defined levels of engagement, hoping to keep the audience on edge as he explores the depths of drama and the manufacturing of moments. “Black Bear” attempts to be a wily experience, but the viewing event is more about satisfying Levine’s loose sense of playfulness and understanding of human behavior. The first half of the feature winds up nicely, presenting tortured lives and acidic social engagement. Once Levine reveals what he’s up to at the halfway point of the endeavor, the movie collapses, transforming into a Charlie Kaufman-like tale of bent perspective and thin-ice reality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com