Category: Film Review

While Disney continues to figure out how to keep the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise afloat, “The Bluff” arrives to fill the gap with its tale of pirates in the Caribbean. Co-writer/director Frank E. Flowers elects to get a little more violent with this study of revenge and survival, striving to add some intensity to a fairly routine story. It’s a small-scale offering concerning a woman’s quest to defend her family from a bloodthirsty captain on the hunt for his missing gold, largely sticking to island-based conflicts, and Flowers endeavors to jazz up the usual in domestic defense with harder hits of brutality, keeping with the true pirate way. “The Bluff” is supported by periodic aggression, as dramatic interests aren’t exactly thrilling, making the viewing experience more enjoyably visceral than engrossing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The actual title of “The Napa Boys” is “The Napa Boys 4: The Sommelier’s Amulet.” Don’t worry, you don’t have to see the previous installments of this series to keep up with the ongoing story, simply because there are probably no other “Napa Boys” adventures. Co-writer/director Nick Coriossi has been creating meta comedy for quite some time, scoring a few viral hits over the years, and he brings his special love for madness to the screen again with “The Napa Boys,” following the misadventures of middle-aged men trying to enjoy life, love, and competition at a Napa Valley wine festival. This is extraordinarily niche silliness, but for those who’ve enjoyed Funny or Die, Tim and Eric, and Andy Kauffman in the past, Coriossi tries to tap into the same vibe of anything goes humor. The helmer has no idea when to quit, but he lands many laughs in the “sequel,” periodically finding inspired goofiness to help support the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Morgan Evans goes the mockumentary route with “Micro Budget,” which examines the troubled production of a low-budget disaster movie inside a Los Angeles rental home. Humor is the star here, with Evans overseeing a troupe of actors trying to find the funny with filmmaking setbacks and personality conflicts. There’s not a lot to the endeavor beyond riffing and increasing woes for the characters, but Evans tries to maintain a sense of humor throughout the feature, which really isn’t hilarious, but consistently amusing, following small issues of incompetence that snowball into larger displays of stupidity, providing a chance for the talent to find their way around awkwardness and the messiness of production mishaps. “Micro Budget” certainly has its moments, though the endeavor could definitely cut a little deeper with its comedy and interest in the difficulty of moviemaking, especially when a complete idiot is calling the shots. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Anderson .Paak is a musician who’s been working on his craft since he was a teenager, achieving some degree of success in the music industry. He uses such history to help inform “K-Pops,” which marks his directorial debut (also scripting with Khaila Amazan), using elements of his life to inspire a dramedy about a man with a recording dream finding a different kind of education when he encounters his son during a career-making stay in South Korea. It’s not an original tale of understanding and bonding, but .Paak tries to give the endeavor a defined sense of culture and character, helping to move the material away from straight formula. “K-Pops” isn’t going to stun, but .Paak goes easy on the senses with the movie, searching for some laughs and tenderness, while music also plays a significant part in the effort, keeping the feature moving along when a stale sense of drama threatens to slow it to a full stop. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Amy Landecker has been an actress of note for the last two decades, making memorable appearances here and there in television and movies, consistently working, which is no easy task. She assumes a little more control over her creative output with “For Worse,” making her feature-length debut as a screenwriter and director, and the endeavor certainly resembles a first film, remaining small in scale and completely attentive to characterization. “For Worse” is a comedy about post-divorce experiences, with Landecker taking the main role as a woman in her fifties trying to keep up with new experiences while surrounded by twentysomethings. It’s the stuff of sitcoms, and there’s certainly a touch of network T.V. in the writing, but Landecker wins on charm here, delivering a lively performance in a likeable picture that’s often funny and occasionally real, having a little fun with life’s challenges and humiliations. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Scout Taylor-Compton is a veteran actress, maintaining steady employment in B-movies for a long time now. She’s ready for more control, making her directorial debut with “Bring the Law,” selecting material (scripted by Daniel Figueiredo and Josh Ridgway) that’s as generic as most of the films she’s been involved with over the last decade. It’s a crime picture examining corruption and acts of intimidation, and it’s a low-budget endeavor, leaving the helmer with little time and money to really illuminate the details of the story. “Bring the Law” doesn’t hold attention for long enough, but there’s some basic steeliness in the first half that holds potential, and Taylor-Compton has a largely committed cast to handle the workload of tough guy lines and hard reactions. Hopes for a more dramatically involving and active effort aren’t met, but it’s not a complete wipeout, putting Taylor-Compton to work trying to shape something out of a mess of cliches and formula. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriters Elise Allen and Elie Choufany don’t have it easy when trying to figure out just what story to tell with “The Pout-Pout Fish.” It’s an adaptation of a 2008 children’s book by Deborah Diesen, who offered readers 32 pages of simple life lessons and colorful characters. The material has been turned into a 90-minute-long movie, requiring a significant boost in drama and adventure to help support a feature-length version of the literary success story, with Diesen moving on to create dozens of sequels and spin-offs, keeping a good thing going. As a film, “The Pout-Pout Fish” doesn’t have much in common with the book, electing to generate its own saga of lessons and exploration for its film debut, definitely lifting ideas from other animated hits, especially 2003’s “Finding Nemo.” Directors Ricard Cusso and Rio Harrington manage to keep things lively and charming in the offering, finding humor and a sense of discovery, even if fans of the original book might be slightly bewildered by what the endeavor does to reach a sellable run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1995’s “Seven” put screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker on the map. The feature’s dark obsessions and bleak worldview turned Walker into a go-to man for grim tales of humanity’s viciousness (including work on “8mm” and “Sleepy Hollow”), maintaining employment with harsh material. 31 years later, and Walker is still doing the same thing, creating “Psycho Killer,” which, once again, deals with an obsessive serial killer taking victims on his way to a final solution of sorts, hunted by a cop driven to take him down before he completes his vision for mass destruction. It’s definitely no “Seven,” with anything even remotely disturbing about the story peeled off the project by director Gavin Palone, who has tremendous difficulty juggling several subplots and overall tone. “Psycho Killer” (which was shot three years ago) is dreadful and an editorial mess, doing nothing to conjure a case of the creeps with its study of pain and suffering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“How to Make a Killing” is a loose adaptation of the 1907 novel, “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal,” which also served as the inspiration for the 1949 comedy, “Kind Hearts and Coronets.” Writer/director John Patton Ford made a decent first impression with his work on 2022’s “Emily the Criminal,” blending unlawful entanglements and social commentary, and he returns to the same dramatic ground with his follow up effort, reuniting with the dark thoughts and actions of desperate people. “How to Make a Killing” has a solid first hour of complication facing the main character, who’s looking to get ahead in life by killing family members standing in the way of a large inheritance. Darkly comedic action doesn’t sustain for long enough, but Ford achieves an engrossing setup, and star Glen Powell delivers a fine lead performance in a part that demands a balance of good and evil for a story that takes many turns. Perhaps too many. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“This Is Not a Test” can be a strange viewing experience. It’s based on a 2012 YA book by Courtney Summers, who endeavored to mix matters of adolescent concern with a zombie outbreak situation. Writer/director Adam MacDonald (“Pyewacket,” “Backcountry”) attempts to bring such tonal balance to the screen with his take on the source material, though he amplifies the horror angle to help give the picture some edge. “This Is Not a Test” hopes to deliver a “Breakfast Club” meets “Dawn of the Dead” event with its study of teen concern during an apocalyptic situation, and MacDonald brings just enough oddity to help support the effort. There’s blood everywhere and high school concerns, and while the offering isn’t entirely thrilling, MacDonald does a fine job with atmosphere at times as the characters face unusual points of pressure while the world falls apart around them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1985, Stan Woo had a dream. He was a young man in Los Angeles, trying to make his way through college and all the academic challenges it includes, but he had a distraction in “Star Trek,” with the franchise flying especially high during the 1980s. Stan grew up with the show, falling in love with its vision of the future and its inclusion of the character Sulu (played by George Takei), the Asian helmsman, who represented a place for himself in the bigger world. Not merely content to consume the show, Stan wanted to become part of it, eventually organizing the production of “Yorktown: A Time to Heal,” a fan film starring himself, also managing to land Takei for a supporting part as Sulu, instantly elevating his small endeavor. However, the project was never completed, putting directors Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider on the case with “Beam Me Up, Sulu,” a documentary about Stan’s initial vision for his short film and the long road to a final cut, also making plenty of stops to understand the impact of “Star Trek” and its lengthy history of inclusion, consistently bringing light and hope to the fanbase. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Redux Redux” is a time travel movie, but it’s really not interested in the specifics of such science fiction. The details of adventuring are fairly limited, which might drive some viewers bananas, but thankfully there’s an effort from writer/directors Kevin and Matthew McManus (“The Block Island Sound”) to give this low-budget endeavor a real run of suspense that carries throughout the entire viewing experience. Characterization is the primary focus here, with the tale using the ways of magical travel to boost a story of grief that’s slipped into madness. There’s energy to the picture, along with fine performances and plenty of enigmatic events to keep things interesting, and the helmers are dedicated to crafting an exciting effort. “Redux Redux” really shines at times, using time travel to inspire some twisted turns of plot and a few surprises, staying heated in a way that helps to hold back dozens of questions raised by the time the end credits arrive. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, writer/director Natasha Kermani explored the world of Dracula in “Abraham’s Boys,” taking a slow-burn approach to the horror tale, and perhaps it was too slow for some. The feature retained mood and an appreciation for developing moments of danger, and the helmer remains on the same creative path for “The Dreadful,” which is also careful with its movement but intermittently alert with its violence. Inspiration comes from an ancient Shin Buddhist parable, which also inspired the 1964 Japanese film, “Onibaba,” and Kermani attempts to make her own way with a story of jealousy and suspicion set in the 15th century. “The Dreadful” is in no hurry, with the endeavor working careful to build an atmosphere of strange events and suspicious motives. It’s not a movie that jumps off the screen, but for those who have some patience, Kermani captures stretches of unease as the characters experience something unreal while residing in the middle of nowhere. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Joe’s College Road Trip” is writer/director Tyler Perry’s eighth film since 2024, and it’s the first in his career to open with a warning for audiences. The production wants to make sure viewers fully understand what they’re getting into with the picture, which isn’t his usual Christian-pandering entertainment. Instead of calling on the wisdom of Jesus, Perry is looking to the ways of Redd Foxx instead, making something of a “party album” with his latest, out to test the endurance of his streaming audience with a hard R-rated feature. Madea appears, but Joe is the focus of the movie, and he’s listed as a “dying breed” prone to awful opinions and foul language as an ex-pimp. “Joe’s College Road Trip” attempts to give the supporting character the star treatment, but Perry doesn’t do nuance. He’s back again with another cheap endeavor that mixes rough comedy with insincere messages on black history, remaining as slapdash as ever with his writing and direction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2023’s “Saltburn” was meant to rock theaters with depictions of sexuality, kinks, and perversions. It was the follow up project for writer/director Emerald Fennell after she attracted attention with 2020’s “Promising Young Woman.” However, few saw the feature during its original theatrical engagement, with popularity arriving after its streaming debut, allowing viewers to dissect its extremity, turning scenes into social media moments. “Saltburn” went in a funny direction on its way to fame, but Fennell still has cinematic aspirations with her particular approach to eroticism, returning with “Wuthering Heights,” a loose, very loose, adaptation of Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel. The English stiffness of the source material has been eliminated, with Fennell after something more feral with the endeavor, and she’s perfectly happy to recycle habits and fixations for the period piece, out to “Saltburn”-up a tale of obsession, which often resembles a blend of music videos and telenovelas. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Back in 2007, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol joined forces to make a web series, with “Nirvanna the Band the Show” managing to delight viewers during its initial three year run. The creators returned to the idea for another few seasons of “Nirvanna the Band the Show” in 2017 for cable broadcast, giving the central idea of two friends and their dream to play a show at Toronto’s Rivoli performance space a little extra production polish. Johnson and McCarrol aren’t done with the brand just yet, co-scripting “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” which brings the stars to the big screen for some additional tomfoolery, with this round involving a time travel nightmare that challenges friendships and career ambition, once again taking to the streets of Toronto for comedic mischief. And what a joyful viewing experience this is, as “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” delivers consistent laughs and craziness that should play well with fans, but remains accessible to all as Johnson (who also directs) and McCarrol get creative and downright crazy with this consistently surprising feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Crime 101” is an adaptation of a 2021 novella by author Don Winslow, who delivers a tale of crime and punishment featuring leathery characters and dangerous situations. He’s been working on gritty thrillers for decades, and writer/director Bart Layton has also been here before, previously helming the 2017 heist picture, “American Animals.” It’s not exactly new ground for either creative force behind the movie, but “Crime 101” is all about reliable entertainment, bringing audiences back into a web of trouble for disparate personalities on both sides of the law. Excitement is intermittent in the endeavor, but Layton has a capable cast to help bring concern and caution to life, also doing well with a Los Angeles-based noir-ish approach, trying to scratch many Michael Mann itches while still delivering a maze of motivations for viewers. He certainly takes his time to arrive at an ending, but the offering is mostly successful with its turns and underworld routine. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Richard Lowry doesn’t have an original idea to share in “Hellfire.” It’s yet another story of a one-man-army confronting criminal control of a small town, forcing an outsider to summon his particular set of skills to protect the innocent and eliminate evil. The feature isn’t intending to win on drama, instead moving ahead as a B-movie experience, putting director Isaac Florentine to work creating multiple scenes of physical conflict and even more hard stares and threats. He’s trying to create a neo-western with the endeavor, painting in primary colors to inspire audience involvement, and simplicity in execution certainly helps the viewing experience. “Hellfire” (which was shot nearly four years ago) isn’t rousing, but it works in small ways, with star Stephen Lang understanding what’s expected of him as troubles mount for his character, who realizes the only way to find peace is through extreme violence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Basketball and animation. In 1996, “Space Jam” was the name of the game, finding some success at the box office while launching an enduring fandom that continues to carry on to this very day (a 2021 sequel is barely remembered anymore). Writers Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley are well aware of the power of “Space Jam,” using the feature as a primary influence on “Goat,” also mixing in heaping helpings of “Zootopia” for this underdog sports picture. Director Tyree Dillihay doesn’t have a powerful story to work with, but he brings an appealing visual approach to the endeavor, using trendy “Spider-Verse”-style animation to realize a basic tale of a small animal with big dreams to play professional basketball. “Goat” has style and active voicework, and for younger audiences, lessons on teamwork might do the trick, but the material’s fantastical take on sporting challenges is more likely to hold attention. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “Spider-Man,” “Mission: Impossible”) takes on adaptation duties on “Cold Storage,” which is based on his 2019 book. Why Koepp isn’t directing the picture as well is a bit of a mystery, handing the reins over to television helmer Jonny Campbell, who’s attempting to make a horror comedy with the material, which involves a vicious fungal breakout at a storage facility, putting those new to such biological horrors and those familiar with the devastation on the hunt for a way to prevent any spread of the nightmare. “Cold Storage” (which was shot three years ago) tries to play the central idea of the feature as loosely as possible, but Koepp doesn’t aim for a rollicking viewing experience, electing to slow down trouble, leaving Campbell to handle gory encounters, which the film could use more of. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com