Author: BO

Documentarian Leslie Iwerks has been making media about the creative process at Disney for quite some time, focusing on history and ambition in releases such as “The Imagineering Story,” “The Pixar Story,” and the recent “Disneyland Handcrafted.” She’s interested in the mechanics of creativity and how small ideas become very big things in the company, and Iwerks continues her filmmaking journey with “Disney Worldbuilders,” which examines the relationships between key creative figures and the theme park attractions that emerged from their imaginations. The documentary highlights the development of literal dreams for some, who grabbed concepts and visuals and developed a story to tell, eventually witnessing how these achievements were turned into walkable environments. “Disney Worldbuilders” welcomes viewers into attractions and lands with the creators, following emotions and memories, and Iwerks occasionally finds sincerity to highlight to help stave off the commercial-like turns of the endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2022’s “M3GAN” was a surprise success, riding a wave of viral video appreciation and helped along by a favorable release date, reaching audiences in the mood for a killer robot doll film that was energetically made. Big studio plans were soon formed around the world of “M3GAN,” including the creation of a sequel. However, 2025’s “M3GAN 2.0” died at the box office, suffering an unusual rejection from fans of the original picture, successfully killing off plans to keep the franchise going. Lost in the mess was “Soulm8te,” a spin-off endeavor also examining the dangers of AI-powered companions, which is finally seeing a quiet VOD release after some time in limbo. Instead of providing cutesy fun with a tiny dancing terror, the new feature looks to get very adult with the premise, with screenwriters Rafel Jordan and Kate Dolan (who also directs) out to generate an erotic chiller with the offering. “Soulm8te” launches with some sincerity and hope to explore our chatbot-infested world, but the lure of silliness eventually torpedoes the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A longtime editor (“The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot,” “The Woman,” “Jug Face”) and veteran of assorted moviemaking jobs, director Zach Passero takes on the herculean challenge of assembling an animated picture with a limited crew and budget. “The Weird Kidz” is as low-tech as it gets, but Passero uses limited resources to his advantage, building a crazy story of monster encounters and teen curiosity that rides a wild tone of silliness and seriousness. The film won’t win any awards for cinematic polish, but the helmer has a neat little vision for the feature, handling flashes of nostalgia and goofballery with care, also embracing a chance to get a little darker with nightmare encounters. “The Weird Kidz” is for a specific audience willing to go with its recollection of the juvenile experience, and Passero, while not after something slick, finds plenty of amusing and surprising moments in this strange offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Fernando Eimbcke goes personal with “Olmo,” which is a small film about life experiences and family ties. The production is dedicated to his loved ones, and the tale feels very personal, following the lead character as he navigates unwanted responsibilities and adolescent demands during a single day when everything seems to be happening. Eimbcke has a sense of humor about the trials of adolescence, but also a deep regard for its unusual challenges, especially when parental caretaking is involved. “Olmo” doesn’t push too hard in any direction, but the writing makes room for characterization, allowing viewers to understand the pressures facing the personalities as everyone fights for a little taste of freedom. It’s a well-observed and nicely acted feature, and a good fit for viewers in the mood for a small-scale coming-of-age picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Eli Roth has spent most of his career either lifting ideas from all kinds of horror movies, or paying tribute to his genre favorites. However, it should be noted that his latest, “Ice Cream Man,” isn’t a remake of the 1995 goofball chiller starring Clint Howard. Instead, Roth (and co-writer Noah Belson) seem to be riffing on 1980’s “The Children” with this look at the transformation of a town’s young population into murderous ghouls. Roth returns to his taboo-smashing ways, attempting to rile up audiences with his customary mix of extreme violence and strained silliness. “Ice Cream Man” is absolutely committed to bringing big displays of gore to viewers, but Roth isn’t trying as hard with the rest of the picture, unable to capture capable performances and preserve momentum as he launches another examination of sustained grisliness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Spider One is perhaps best known for his work as a musician, fronting the band Powerman 5000 for over three decades, and he’s also Rob Zombie’s younger brother. Spider One is also working on a career making horror movies, previously helming such endeavors as “Little Bites” and “Bury the Bride.” The creative process of conjuring cinematic evil seems to be the guiding force of “Big Baby,” which isn’t a true slasher film, but a commentary on the process of inventing evil, often for an unenthusiastic audience. Spider One has a Big Idea and perhaps plenty of personal experience he’s funneling into the picture, which tends to connect when it confronts the frustrating nature of artistic creation. Unfortunately, there’s not enough excitement in the feature to support the psychological investigation, as so much of “Big Baby” plays irritatingly slow, with the helmer going half-speed with material that typically invites a more furious approach. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a cartoon duo, Tom and Jerry have traveled to big cities and small towns. They’ve gone into the depths of the ocean and into space. And, as recently as a 2021 live action/animation release, they’ve made a mess of things in New York City. For “Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass,” the cat and mouse are taking a trip into fantasy, visiting China to join a supreme battle for control of power and heavenly might. The endeavor is a Chinese production created for eastern audiences, using the global recognition of the stars to help boost the appeal of an offering that’s loaded with cultural references and atmosphere. And there’s plenty of noise included too, with “Forbidden Compass” working extremely hard to be a cartoony viewing experience featuring a lot of characters competing with Tom and Jerry to be the focal point of the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Devil’s Mouth” is an offering of shark attack cinema, featuring a relentless predator stalking the depths to find fresh kills, terrorizing a collection of young characters trying to have a good time in Thailand. And yet, the most frightening element of the production is the hiring of director Jeff Wadlow. The helmer of “Fantasy Island,” “Truth or Dare,” “Cry Wolf,” and “Imaginary,” Wadlow is determined to have a career making horror pictures, though he isn’t exactly skilled when it comes to delivering suspense. He returns to genre entertainment in “The Devil’s Mouth,” which tries to summon a fear factor involving a bull shark on the loose in a claustrophobic system of caves. Wadlow has an ominous setting and certain threat level, but the movie eschews tension, preferring to land on obnoxiousness instead as annoying personalities take on obvious danger, while screenwriters Aja Gabel and Myung Joh Wesner stumble with dialogue and inventiveness. It becomes the rare shark attack film where viewers will root for the shark to win. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” elected to move away from the punky, cheery attitudes of the previous two chapters in the Tom Holland-starring series. It went epic, utilizing multiverse storytelling to give die-hard fans a real thrill as surprises and franchise-hopping was explored, changing the DNA of the saga. The picture was a colossal success, almost a religious experience for some viewers, and there’s no easy way to follow up on such an intricate undertaking. Five years later, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers look to return things back to one superhero, and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is an interesting attempt to restart things with a new reality for Peter Parker. The sequel remains bottom-heavy with mystery, but director Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) also scores with impressive action sequences and a fondness for comic book-y interplay as the main character faces a fresh threat that’s difficult to topple: maturity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Pavan Moondi is a fan of romantic comedies, but “Middle Life” is a Canadian production, which means one of the characters has a urinary issue while the other is on a journey of self-destruction. It’s not a Hollywood take on the tingles of love, but a movie that’s a bit quirkier and human. Stars Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis (who recently appeared in “Sinners”) have a day job as bandmates in the group July Talk, but here they’re playing people going through a lot of emotional stuff they can’t quite pinpoint, electing to experience the rush of companionship while maintaining different lives. Moondi doesn’t have a lot of money to work with, but he has characters and strange feelings, along with elements of comedy and exploration. “Middle Life” isn’t a profound understanding of personal evolution, but it has big charm and lovely performances from Goldstein and Dreimanis, who bring a special energy to a satisfying examination of attraction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Gregg Araki was last seen on screens with 2014’s “White Bird in a Blizzard,” which offered a dramatic challenge for a filmmaker usually drawn to more provocative ideas. 12 years later, Araki returns with “I Want Your Sex,” reuniting with his old impishness and bluntness for this examination of a dominant/submissive relationship, with the participants fighting strange emotions while navigating the contemporary art scene. The helmer is working with recharged batteries, reviving his feistiness and dark sense of humor for the offering, which is mostly successful with elements of satire and askew eroticism. Stars Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman help the cause, submitting themselves in full to Araki’s vision, giving the endeavor a big boost of energy with their lively performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Hanna Bergholm greatly impressed with her feature-length debut, 2022’s “Hatching.” Creating an unusual, creepy monster movie, the helmer also touched on elements of caretaking and a kind of motherhood. She continues this dramatic exploration in “Nightborn,” which examines the ruination of a woman and the newborn she’s brought into the world, unsure what to do with a creature who demands more than she’s initially willing to give. Bergholm is going for more of as psychological freak-out here, playing with the vulnerabilities of the birthing experience and the cold reality of responsibility at home, only here there’s something of a creature feature developing along the way. “Nightborn” keeps Bergholm’s macabre interests in play, out to craft a disturbing tale of parental duty that’s mostly successful when it comes to the creation of cinematic pressure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Gentleman Thief” is the third installment of the “Cash Out” series, though I doubt few are keeping up on the ongoing story of a team of thieves setting out to make various fortunes around America. These productions offer a chance for star John Travolta to make easy money, and they keep director Randall Emmett (credited here as “Randall Ives Emmett”) employed, creating ridiculous, half-speed capers for an undiscerning streaming audience. There’s nothing wrong with a brain-dead distraction, but these pictures are limply executed and atrociously performed, with “The Gentleman Thief” joining the franchise as another weak study of crime and camaraderie, with sun-drenched locations trying to beautify an otherwise forgettable installment of a series nobody asked for. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Magic Faraway Tree” book series was created by author Enid Blyton in 1939, carrying on for four installments which managed to delight young readers from around the world with its exploration of adventure and imagination. It’s taken some time, but now producers are out to launch Blyton’s creation as a possible film franchise, with “The Magic Faraway Tree” the first installment. Screenwriter Simon Farnaby (“Paddington 2,” “Wonka”) is tasked with establishing a fantasy playground, following young characters as they encounter a special world of possibilities while dealing with the colder realities of their lives. Magic is promised in the title, but not entirely delivered by the picture, which strains extremely hard to provide whimsy, only to end up constipated and a bit confused. Earnestness is present at times, but most of the feature is aggressive and oddly structured, making it difficult to get swept up in its sense of wonder. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Anthony Steven Giordano previously worked on “Robo-Dog,” “Robo-Dog: Airborne,” and “Space Pups.” Now he’s looking to get away from canine adventures by trying his luck with shark attack cinema, hoping to add to the subgenre with “Above and Below,” which is more of a crime picture than an oceanic danger one. Director Jesse V. Johnson, a veteran of low-budget entertainment, tries once again to make a small idea for a film seem bigger than it really is, attempting to generate suspense and threat with a story that takes place on a boat floating on the water. There’s not a lot to the tale, which only adds shark-based trouble on occasion, offering more time following tough men endeavoring to clean up a major criminal mess. “Above and Below” is a little different from the usual in this type of feature, but Giordano doesn’t supply much imagination for screen tension, leaving the movie lacking in excitement for far too long. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Rachel Hirons (“2nd Date Sex,” “Breaking Point”) isn’t trying to do much with the romantic comedy in “Finding Emily.” She follows the subgenre playbook, creating a tale of an unlikely partnership between two young characters that turns into something more personal along the way. There are best pals, humiliations, unspoken desires, and near-misses, joined by a hip soundtrack and quirky performances. Surprises are minimal in the picture, which hopes to get by on the tingles of attraction and the journey of realization. The writing isn’t remarkable, but director Alicia MacDonald has casting to help her create a few memorable moments along the way, with leads Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice delivering as much charm as possible to help elevate the endeavor, generating passable personalities to help stave off the sameness that dominates “Finding Emily.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com