Author: BO

One of the great challenges of watching “The Old Guard 2” is trying to remember what exactly happened in “The Old Guard.” The 2020 release was a riff on “Highlander,” presenting a graphic novel-inspired team of immortals out to take down threats and deal with their longevity. The picture was a pandemic hit, racking up streaming views with a captive audience, making the arrival of a sequel all but assured. Five years later, a continuation has finally emerged, though one with a rocky production history (it was shot three years ago), appearing with hope to turn a random hit movie into an ongoing series. “The Old Guard 2” probably isn’t going to expand the fan base, as director Victoria Mahoney (a television veteran) is in way over her head with the project, struggling to manage subplots, characters, and action in a film that’s surprisingly lifeless, unable to match the semi-fun factor of the original feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The making of 1975’s “Jaws” is not a secret. The picture’s troubled production experience has become the stuff of Hollywood legend, and tales of professional struggle and personal camaraderie have been explored in all kinds of media, most notably in a lengthy making-of documentary created for the feature’s laserdisc release (directed by Laurent Bouzereau), and there was 2007’s “The Shark is Still Working,” a marvelous fan-driven overview of the picture that strived to be a bit more comprehensive when handling the many details of the movie and its fans. Now there’s an anniversary to celebrate as Steven Spielberg’s massive summer blockbuster turns 50, inspiring Bouzereau to return to this world for “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,” which isn’t exactly complete, but it does the trick, especially for lovers of the suspense classic. Bouzereau treats the assignment as a victory lap, gathering interviewees and footage to celebrate five decades of cinema excellence and influence, covering the basics in moviemaking and personality while adding an oceanic angle to the story, reinforcing the power and majesty of the shark, working to erase the villainous label applied to the creature after “Jaws” was initially released. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One of the nice surprises of the 2019 film year was the release of “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” It seemed an impossible task to make a live-action “Dora the Explorer” picture, and one aimed at a teen demographic, but director James Bobin managed to make an entertaining, creative celebration of the animated world, giving it unusual life. Six years later, Dora is back, only now she’s played by a different actress and the production is working with a little less budgetary might to supply a screen adventure. “Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado” doesn’t share the same bigness as the previous endeavor, but director Alberto Belli and screenwriter JT Billings recapture most of its spirit in a pleasant sequel that’s greatly enhanced by its actors, with Samantha Lorraine (taking over for Isabela Merced) doing an exceptional job making the main role her own. She’s warm and excitable, helping to enliven “Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado” when it occasionally gets stuck in storytelling inertia. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The video store. It was once a place that launched cinematic journeys and shaped social connections. Now, most of the business is dead, long killed off by Hollywood’s need to chase profit by destroying profit, and video stores have become the focus for many documentaries, especially independent ones scraping together an appreciation of days gone by. Director Alex Ross Perry has a lot of indie cred, previously helming “Her Smell,” “Queen of Earth,” and the recent rock doc “Pavements,” and he goes where many moviemakers have gone before in “Videoheaven,” striving to assemble an understanding of the VHS generation and the business of the rental days. Perry looks to avoid glops of nostalgia, transforming the feature into a lengthy (nearly three hours long) academic examination of the business and its many influences, using inspiration from Daniel Herbert’s 2014 book, “Videoland: Video Culture at the American Video Store.” Perry doesn’t bring the joy for “Videoheaven,” but he comes prepared with hundreds of clips to back up his ideas, creating a visual trek across the once mighty omnipresence of the industry, identifying its cultural power. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actor Jack Donnelly heads to “Fatal Attraction” territory in “Pretty Thing,” making his feature-length screenwriting debut with the endeavor. It’s a study of lust gone wrong, this time involving a sexually adventurous woman and the younger lover she dares to momentarily possess, out to experience the thrill of the hunt. What she actually receives in return is a more complicated relationship that Donnelly takes his time examining, going slow-burn with the picture as it gradually visits other perspectives and tones. Director Justin Kelly (“JT LeRoy,” “King Cobra”) does a fine job sustaining the mysterious ways of “Pretty Thing,” generating a sense of steaminess as the offering delivers early eroticism. He also stays with the turns of the material, capably selling the rising distress felt by both characters as they confront the reality of their pairing. Donnelly generates uneasiness, and Kelly manages to sustain it all the way to the final minutes of the film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When it comes to a depiction of the end of the world, there’s a lot of competition for attention these days. Television is especially fond of doomsday experiences, using episodic storytelling to explore the pains of society as it deals with all sorts of survival challenges. “40 Acres” often feels like a series compacted into a feature film, as co-writer/director R.T. Thorne attempts to investigate the lives of his characters from different sides, chasing a few subplots and flashbacks. Thorne wants to create something a bit more meaningful with the movie, mostly saving beats of horror and action until the final act. It’s a laudable attempt to go a little deeper into characterization and mood, but “40 Acres” has plenty of pacing issues, as the helmer often mistakes stillness for suspense. What’s here is human and sensitive, but not always gripping, which is a strange feeling when the material focuses on the dismantling of world order. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2023, “M3GAN” took a release slot during the first weekend in January, and like so many other horror movies, it managed to do some business in the dead of winter. The feature turned into a hit, but perhaps more importantly to Blumhouse Productions, “M3GAN” managed to capture the attention of social media users who became captivated with the film’s weirdness and meme-able offerings. Of course there was going to be a sequel, and director Gerard Johnstone returns with “M3GAN 2.0,” taking over screenwriting duties from Akela Cooper. One could debate that everything about this story was successfully covered in the first picture, but that’s not stopping Johnstone, who does away with any type of suspense or eeriness in the effort, going full speed into campiness instead with a more action-oriented and slapstick-heavy continuation. The meme-ification is prepackaged this time around, and the entertainment value takes a serious hit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Somewhere in the middle of all the Liam Neeson actioners, 2021’s “The Ice Road” was released, offering the usual in the star’s growly screen presence, but placing him behind the wheel for an unusual thriller about navigating wintry, unstable driving conditions across Canada. The feature found a somewhat captive audience during pandemic days, giving Neeson something of a hit during his “say yes to anything” phase. Four years later, and now there’s “Ice Road: Vengeance,” an unexpected follow-up that takes the main character from the slippery terrain of North America to the perilous mountain ranges of Nepal. It’s a big change of scenery for writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh, and, well, there are no ice roads involved in the story. However, there’s roughly the same mix of passable excitement and B-movie silliness to provide an entertaining sit, and while Neeson may be on autopilot at this point, he remains an enjoyably gruff action figure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2022’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” was intended to be a massive conclusion to the second trilogy of “Jurassic Park” movies. It blended casts from both sagas to deliver gigantic action set pieces to go with its Big Idea on the ways of science and the world we all share. Sadly, the feature came up a little short when providing dino action, also struggling with overlength and a surplus of characters to deal with. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” isn’t a sequel to “Dominion,” but it inhabits the same world as the previous effort, with screenwriter David Koepp challenged to keep the franchise going without committing to a new arc of danger, crafting a standalone story about jungle peril that’s meant to vaguely resemble the original 1993 Steven Spielberg film. Director Gareth Edwards (“The Creator,” 2014’s “Godzilla”) is no Spielberg, but he’s darn good with large-scale mayhem. Koepp isn’t quite as disciplined, delivering an offering that takes its time to get to dino rampaging, while the script is determined to handle too much, including personalities and backstory, limiting the usual cinematic rush one expects from the brand name. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Dale Dickey has been a highly respected actress for quite some time, entering her fourth decade in the film business. She’s been impressive in various pictures, attracting special acclaim for her turns in “Winter’s Bone” and 2022’s “A Love Song.” Dickey’s a reliable talent, and she receives another opportunity to shine in “The G,” though perhaps “shine” isn’t the right word to use in this cold-blooded crime story from writer/director Karl R. Hearne. “The G” is being sold as a revenge story, but it’s not entirely a thriller, as Hearne favors a slower creep to the effort, creating something that’s more Cronenbergian in tone and shock. Once again, Dickey offers commanding work in the feature, and while “The G” takes time to get where it’s going, the march to doom is interesting, especially when Hearne goes pitiless, preferring a chilling viewing experience over an action-packed one. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Danny Turkiewicz makes his feature-length directorial debut with “Stealing Pulp Fiction,” which is an adaptation of his 2022 short film. And it probably should’ve remained a short film, as the screenplay doesn’t exactly provide grand ideas worthy of a lengthier screen examination. The story concerns dumb people getting in too deep when electing to collect Quentin Tarantino’s personal 35mm print of “Pulp Fiction,” which is a very strange idea for a movie, but perhaps there’s some madcap potential in the execution of such a weird plan. Turkiewicz tries to mimic Tarantino loquaciousness when it comes to his characters, but there’s just not much here to hang an entire movie on. Efforts to turn the offering into something madcap fail, and the central caper isn’t very striking, forcing the actors to go big to help Turkiewicz find a bit of life in a fairly sedate comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Johnny Martin did okay with 2020’s “Alone,” which was a pandemic horror movie actually released during the early months of a pandemic. Timing was a bit eerie, but Martin managed to sell a small-scale understanding of a zombie apocalypse with some skill. He’s back with “Off the Grid,” which shares the same budgetary restrictions as “Alone,” only this time out the production tries to create a “First Blood”-style display of rural intimidation and survivalist violence. The screenplay by Jim Agnew (“Kill Em All 2,” “Rage”) doesn’t color outside the lines, setting up a basic confrontation between a man in the wild and the corporate stooges coming to get it. Perhaps more twists and turns would’ve been welcome, as “Off the Grid” visibly struggles to get any suspense going, watching Martin oversee a lifeless, poorly edited endeavor that also serves as something of an overacting competition. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Luc Besson has been working to rebuild his career after dealing with scandals, and the monster-budgeted box office wipeout of 2017’s “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” severely limited his professional opportunities. He’s been moving into smaller films to help with his rehabilitation, but offerings such as 2019’s “Anna” failed to attract much attention, and 2023’s “Dogman” was mostly ignored. Besson goes even more modest with his latest, turning to the power of a smartphone to photograph “June and John,” trying to launch a tale of free-spirited lovers with as little technical polish as possible, aiming to keep a sense of spontaneity to the endeavor, mirroring the energy of the lead characters. It’s a U.S. tale of attraction and impulsiveness for the French director (who also scripts), but his sense of storytelling is seriously out of whack. “June and John” hopes to be cute and meaningful, but the whole thing is bad poetry as the helmer strands his actors with impossibly lousy material. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com